Olfactometric characterization of aroma active compounds in fermented fish paste in comparison with fish sauce,fermented soy paste and sauce products

Aroma active compounds in commercial fermented fish meat paste product (fish miso), fermented soy paste (soy miso), fish sauce and soy sauces were characterized by using a dynamic headspace method for volatile isolation and GC olfactometry for odor perception. A total of 123 volatile compounds consisting mainly of aldehydes, alcohols, esters, ketones, furans, sulfur and nitrogen-containing compounds, aromatics and acids were consistently identified. A major 16 odor-active compounds were distinguished to contribute as key aroma compounds for the miso and sauce products. Olfactometric and sensory findings clearly differentiated miso products with caramelic, fruity aroma notes, whereas fish sauce products were characterized by ammoniacal, fishy, nutty and cheesy odor note. Soy sauce products, however, were dominated by nutty and cheese aroma. Use of koji for fish miso production was found effective to enhance sweet aroma to the product with a reduction of nutty, meaty and rancid nuance. Principal component analysis employed for statistical interpretations clearly elucidated the relationship among different types of fermented products.     

CO2 Sensing Property of CuO-BaTiO3 Mixed Oxide Film Prepared by Self-Assembled Multibilayer Film as a Precursor

Preparation of CuO-BaTiO₃ mixed oxide thin film by the decomposition of a self-assembled multibilayer film as a molecular template was investigated in this study. Furthermore, CO₂ sensing property of the resultant thin film was investigated as a capacitive type sensor. The self-assembled bilayer film of few 1000 layers thickness can be obtained easily by casting an aqueous suspension consisting of dimethyldihexadecylammoiun bromide (DC1-16), Cu(ClO₄)₂, Ba(TiO(C₂H₄)₂), 2,6-dimetyle-3,5heptadione (DHP), and polyvinyl alcohol. Divalent copper ion (Cu²⁺)) which is associated with 2 DHP molecules was incorporated into the molecular bilayer film and BaTiO₃ precursor exists at the interspace of molecular bilayer film by coordinating with polyvinyl alcohol. Upquenching the organic-inorganic film at 1173 K leads to the uniform film of CuO-BaTiO₃ oxide mixture. Although operating temperature shifted to higher temperature, the resultant film exhibits the capacitance change upon exposure to CO₂. Consequently, it is concluded that the mixed oxide film of CuO-BaTiO₃ prepared by the decomposition of multibilayer film was also an appropriate capacitive type CO₂ sensor.     

Synthesis and mechanical properties of polybenzimidazole nanocomposites reinforced by vapor grown carbon nanofibers

Polybenzimidazole (PBI) nanocomposites containing 0.5–5 wt% vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGNFs) were successfully synthesized by solvent evaporation method. Fracture morphology examination confirmed the uniform dispersion of VGNFs in the matrix. The mechanical properties of neat PBI and the nanocomposites were systematically measured by tensile test, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), hardness measurement, and friction test. Tensile tests revealed that Young's modulus increased by about 43.7% at 2 wt% VGNFs loading, and further modulus growth was observed at higher filler loadings. DMA studies showed that the nanocomposites have higher storage modulus than neat PBI in the temperature range of 30–350°C, holding storage modulus larger than 1.54 GPa below 300°C. Outstanding improvement of hardness was achieved for PBI upon incorporating 2 wt% of VGNFs. The results of friction test showed that coefficient of friction of PBI nanocomposites decreased with VGNFs content compared with neat PBI. POLYM. COMPOS., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Performance Comparison of Circuits for Pole‐Mounted STATCOM Using SiC Devices

The recent years have seen an increasing trend in the cumulative installed capacity of distributed generators. As a result, voltage management may become difficult in existing power distribution systems in the future. A STATCOM (STAtic synchronous COMpensator) is a promising option for solving this problem because it can control reactive power rapidly and continuously. For a distribution system, STATCOM needs to be pole‐mounted to realize its low cost. However, a transformer for a STATCOM is large and heavy, and hence it is difficult to install a STATCOM on a distribution pole. We adopt a transformerless STATCOM to reduce STATCOM size and use SiC devices with low‐loss performance to obtain a more compact and efficient STATCOM. There are a large number of circuits available for a STATCOM, and there has been considerable research on performance comparisons among these circuits. However, these comparisons were drawn under different conditions, including switching frequency and level number for the circuits. In addition, these comparisons do not include the use of SiC devices. We made an equitable comparison for a 100 kVa pole‐mounted STATCOM using SiC devices. We discuss the performance and characteristics of each circuit in terms of efficiency and volume.     

Preparation and characterization of Mg–Al layered double hydroxides intercalated with benzenesulfonate and benzenedisulfonate

Mg–Al layered double hydroxides (Mg–Al LDHs) intercalated with benzenesulfonate (BS^–) and benzenedisulfonate (BDS^2–) ions were prepared by coprecipitation and characterized by X-ray diffraction, FT-IR spectroscopy, and chemical analyses. The intercalated BS^– and BDS^2– maintained their intrinsic molecular structures within the Mg–Al LDH interlayers. At low intercalation levels, the benzene ring of BS^– in BS · Mg–Al LDH was inclined at 30° relative to the plane of the brucite-like layers of Mg–Al LDH. With increasing BS^– content, the benzene ring adopted an additional configuration perpendicular to the Mg–Al LDH layers. In BDS-intercalated Mg–Al LDH, the benzene ring of BDS^2– was tilted at 26° relative to the plane of the Mg–Al LDH layers. Intercalation levels of BDS^2– were smaller than those of BS^– despite the greater charge density of BDS^2–, which was likely attributable to a greater degree of electrostatic repulsion between intercalated anions.     

Sintering of Ceria-Doped Tetragonal Zirconia Crystallized in Organic Solvents, Water, and Air

Amorphous CeO₂–ZrO₂ gels were prepared by coprecipitation in ammonia solutions. The onset of crystallization of the gels, from calcining in air, was 420°C, while 200° to 250°C in the presence of water and organic solvents such as methanol and ethanol. The sintering behaviors of CeO₂–ZrO₂ powders were sensitive to the crystallizing conditions, since hard agglomerates formed when the precipitated gels were crystallized by normal calcination in air, whereas soft agglomerates formed when they were crystallized in water or organic solvents. CeO₂–ZrO₂ powders crystallized in methanol and water at 250°C were sintered to full theoretical density at 1150° and 1400°C, respectively, whereas that crystallized by calcination in air at 450°C was sintered to only 95.2% of theoretical density, even at 1500°C.     

New modifications of poly(vinyl alcohol)s and their applications

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PV-OH), prepared from poly(viny) acetate), is used widely in many industries. Various grades have been produced, with different degree of polymerization and degree of hydrolysis. Recently, novel modified (PV-OH)s with anion, cation, silanol or hydrophobic groups have been studied and developed. They have new properties in addition to those of ordinary PV-OH and have new applications. The methods of modification and the characteristics and some applications of the modified polymers are described.     

Finite-time settling adaptive observer for linear discrete-time systems

This paper deals with a design method for an adaptive scheme which would identify the parameters and observe the state of any unknown single-input single-output linear discrete-time systems using only input-output data. Kreisselmeier's parametrized system [5] is used instead of the original system. Then the parameter identification process and the state observation process are well separated. To accelerate the convergence rate of the estimates, a finite-time settling scheme is proposed. It is shown that the estimates obtained converges to true values at k = 3n ?1, where k is the discrete time and n is the order of system. A numerical example is given to indicate acceptable performance of the proposed scheme.