Protective effects of galacturonic acid-rich vinegar brewed from Japanese pear in a dextran sodium sulfate-induced acute colitis model

The effects of pear vinegar (PV), which was specially brewed for enhanced galacturonic acid content, on the DSS-induced ulcerative colitis (UC) mouse model were evaluated. PV improved clinical symptoms, colon inflammation, and histological tissue injury in the DSS-induced acute UC mouse model. Moreover, PV suppressed inflammation due to acute UC by suppressing the myeloperoxidase (MPO)-mediated activation of inflammatory cells such as leukocytes and decreasing the serum concentration of IL-6. Our results demonstrated the protective action of PV in the DSS-induced acute UC mouse model. On the other hand, commercial apple vinegar did not show a protective effect in the DSS-induced acute UC mouse model. Our findings indicate that PV may act as a new functional food for inflammatory bowel disease patients.     

Artifact reduction using reliability reasoning for image generation of FTV

In this paper, we present a new view synthesis method in multiview camera configurations of Free viewpoint TV (FTV) where potential depth errors are considered. The emphasis is on the artifacts eliminating for photorealistic synthesis especially near object boundaries. In contrast to conventional techniques which ignore geometry errors, we first categorize the artifact cases and depth modes. Furthermore, this paper infers the complementarity principle of the artifacts from left and right references. This complementarity guarantees the effectiveness of our reliability-based synthesis. The reliability reasoning is crucial for artifacts reduction. The reliable and unreliable areas from different views can be correctly labeled. Then artifacts caused by unreliable pixels from one reference can be replaced by the reliable pixels from the other reference. As a final result, artifacts of novel view are demonstrated to be significantly reduced on different multiview sequences.     

Improvement of mechanical properties of ferritic stainless steel weld metal by ultrasonic vibration

Authors investigated the effect of ultrasonic vibration on the solidification microstructure and mechanical properties of the weld metal of ferritic stainless steel by introducing directly ultrasonic vibration into the weld molten pool using ultrasonically vibrating filler metal. The main results obtained in this study are as follow.     

Analysis of annotations on documents for recycling of information

In order to make collaborative business activities fruitful, it is essential to know characteristics of organizations and persons in more details and to gather information relevant to the activities. In this paper, we describe a notion of “information recycling” that actualizes these requirements by analyzing documents. The key of recycling information is to utilize annotations on documents as clues for generating user profiles and for weighting contents in the context of the activities. We also propose a method of extracting annotations on paper documents just by pressing one button with the help of techniques of camera‐based document image analysis. Experimental results demonstrate that it is fundamentally capable of acquiring annotations on paper documents on the condition that their electronic versions without annotations are available for the processing. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 165(2): 60–68, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20516     

Modification of cyanate ester resin by soluble polyimides

Soluble polyimides (PIs) were prepared as random or multiblock types with 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene) diphthalic anhydride (6FDA) and 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (s‐BPDA) as acid dianhydride components and 4,4′‐bis(m‐aminophenoxy) diphenyl sulfone (m‐BAPS) as a diamine component by a one‐pot process and used to improve the brittleness of the cyanate ester resin. Random‐type PIs were more effective as modifiers than multiblock‐type PIs. The morphologies of the modified resins depended on PI structure, molecular weight, and concentration. The most effective modification of the cyanate ester resin was attained because of a heterogeneous phase structure composed of a flat matrix phase and phase‐inverted structures of the modified resin; a 15 wt % inclusion of a random PI (weight‐average molecular weight = 63,400) composed of 6FDA, s‐BPDA, and m‐BAPS (0.5/0.5/1.0 molar ratio) led to a 65% increase in the fracture toughness for the modified resin with a slight loss of flexural strength and a retention of flexural modulus and glass‐transition temperature, compared with the values for the unmodified resin. Water absorptivity of the modified resin was comparable to that of the unmodified resin up to 400 h, and then, water absorption of the modified resins increased considerably. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 1–11, 2003     

An efficient method for the two-dimensional elastostatic boundary element method

In order to obtain accurate results and to reduce computation time, we have proposed in this paper a new strategic method, where quadratic elements are used at the corner points and linear elements at the points off the corner points. A computer program using this method has been developed and applied to several problems of various shapes. The usefulness of this method was illustrated by the application results.     

Ubiquitous Memories: a memory externalization system using physical objects

In this paper we propose an object-triggered human memory augmentation system named “Ubiquitous Memories” that enables a user to directly associate his/her experience data with physical objects by using a “touching” operation. A user conceptually encloses his/her experiences gathered through sense organs into physical objects by simply touching an object. The user can also disclose and re-experience for himself/herself the experiences accumulated in an object by the same operation. We implemented a prototype system composed basically of a radio frequency identification (RFID) device. Physical objects are also attached to RFID tags. We conducted two experiments. The first experiment confirms a succession of the “encoding specificity principle,” which is well known in the research field of psychology, to the Ubiquitous Memories system. The second experiment aims at a clarification of the system’s characteristics by comparing the system with other memory externalization strategies. The results show the Ubiquitous Memories system is effective for supporting memorization and recollection of contextual events.     

Electromigration of sodium ions and electro-osmotic flow in water-saturated, compacted Na-montmorillonite

Sodium ions spiked with ²²Na as a tracer were migrated by electromigration and electro-osmosis in the water-saturated compacted Na-montmorillonite at dry densities 1.0×10³ kg m⁻³, under an electric potential gradient. Dissolved helium was also migrated by electro-osmosis in the montmorillonite. After migration, concentration profiles of the sodium ions and helium were obtained by γ-spectrometry and mass-spectrometric methods, respectively. From the profiles of both chemical species, not only migration due to electrokinetic phenomena but also mechanical dispersion was observed in the montmorillonite. The dispersion coefficients, D_i, and apparent migration rates, U_i^a, of ²²Na and helium were found in the compacted Na-montmorillonite at 1.0×10³ kg m⁻³. The migration of helium in the montmorillonite under an electric potential gradient reflects that of water because helium migrates as an electrically neutral species. The parameters D_He^m, U_He^a, and α_He correspond to those of water. The mechanical dispersion coefficients, D_Na^m, of ²²Na⁺ ions are much smaller than those of water obtained by helium. The dispersivity parameters, α_Na, for ²²Na⁺ obtained from these D_Na and U_Na^a values are 10⁻⁵ m and those for water (α_He) are 10⁻³ m. This indicates that ²²Na⁺ ions migrate in different spaces than water in the compacted montmorillonite under a potential gradient. This finding suggests that the migration of Na⁺ ions occurs in the interlayer and/or on the outer surfaces of the montmorillonite; whereas dissolved helium migrates in the pore water.     

Encapsulation of lead-free Sn/Zn/Bi solder alloy particles by coating with wax powder for improving oxidation resistance

An encapsulation treatment of lead-free Sn/Zn/Bi solder powder was investigated for improving the oxidation resistance. Sn-8mass%Zn-3mass%Bi alloy particles were coated with a wax (12-hydroxystearic acid) powder by means of a dry mechanical treatment method using a ball mill. In order to determine the optimum operating conditions of the ball mill in the wax-coating treatments, the compressive energy required for deforming a single Sn/Zn/Bi alloy particle was measured with an unconfined compression tester and the mechanical energy applied to the alloy particles in the ball mill was estimated using the results of the compression test. The optimum operating conditions were determined based on both the applied energy and the flowability of solder pastes, and the wax-coated alloy particles maintaining the spherical shape were obtained under the conditions. The wettability test and the solder balling test for the solder pastes containing the wax-coated alloy particles stored at room temperature in air were carried out to evaluate the oxidation resistance performance. The wax-coated alloy particles had an excellent wettability compared with the original alloy particles, and the oxidation resistance of the Sn/Zn/Bi solder powder was improved by the encapsulation treatment.