Proteolysis Affects Thermal Gelation of Squid Mantle Muscle

Thermal gelation of squid mantle muscle was studied by means of gel strength measurement and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The gel strength of thermally induced squid meat gel decreased when squid meat paste was heated in two steps (35°C for 30 min followed by 90°C for 30 min). This decrease in gel strength was effectively depressed by the addition of protease inhibitors such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF), and soybean trypsin inhibitor, indicating that me-tallo- and/or serine-proteases were mainly involved in the deterioration of squid meat gel prepared by two-step heating. SDS-PAGE analysis demonstrated that EDTA or PMSF suppressed the degradation of myosin heavy chain.     

Effects of titanium on magnetic properties of semi-processed non-oriented electrical steel sheets

The effects of titanium inclusions on magnetic properties of non-oriented electrical steel sheets were investigated. The magnetic induction and core loss of test specimens deteriorated as the titanium content increased. Electron microscopic study revealed that the deterioration was classified into two types: one was caused in the steels containing <0.016 wt% titanium by the “pinning effects” of titanium carbonitrides on the recrystallization of cold-rolled sheets, and the other occurred in the steels containing >0.016 wt% titanium by numerous (Fe, Ti)P precipitates in both grains and grain boundaries. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Lattice Constants and Compositions of Manganese-Bearing Ferrites

When manganese-bearing ferrites (Mn _x Fe_{3- x} O_4-delta, with x = 0.17-1.09) were prepared in the present study via a solid-state reaction, manganese ions were incorporated into the lattice sites of the ferrites in the divalent state. The lattice constant ( a ₀) of those ferrites increased linearly as the manganese composition x increased. A ferrite with x = 1.28 contained manganese ions with a valence state higher than 3+; however, no further increase in a ₀ occurred at valences higher than 2+.     

Influence of Drying Methods on Volatile Sulfur Constituents of Caucas (Allium victorialis L.)

The effects of freeze-drying, hot air, and vacuum far infrared-drying on caucas (Allium victorialis L.) flavor was studied. The GC and GC-MS characterization of volatiles from dried caucas powders revealed the main flavor components; disulfides and trisulfides, as well as the antithrombotic substances; vinyldithiins, remained in all products. Vi-nyldithiins were isolated and subsequently confirmed by IR, NMR and Mass Spectrometry. Rehydration of the dried powders increased measurable volatile compounds, which were produced enzymatically. Increased-storage time decreased measurable volatiles in freeze-dried and hot air-dried caucas powders while the volatile profile remained unchanged.     

Effect of antimony surface treatment on nitrogen absorption during batch annealing of an electrical steel sheet

Nitrogen absorption is usually observed during batch-type hot-band annealing of electrical steel sheets containing aluminium. This nitrogenizing causes the deterioration of magnetic properties, such as core loss and induction. In order to prevent nitrogenizing, we investigate an antimony treatment on the hot strip surface of electrical steel sheets containing aluminium. Potassium antimonyl tartrate and colloidal antimony oxides (Sb2O5) are effective against nitrogenizing. It seems that active sites on the surface of the hot strip after pickling are covered with antimony oxides to block the adsorption of nitrogen. Magnetic properties, after cold-rolling and continuous annealing of the nitrogenizing hot band, deteriorate due to small grains near the surface whose boundaries are pinned by aluminium nitrides.     

A Binomial Error Model with a Truncated Latent Distribution and its Application

Behaviormetrika - A binomial error model which has a truncated beta distribution as its latent trait distribution is proposed for the analysis of test scores. This model can be used when the...     

The relative neighborhood graph for mixed feature variables

The rectangular influence graph (RIG) is presented as an extension of the relative neighborhood graph (RNG). The RNG is an efficient tool for analyzing the clustering of multidimensional feature vectors when all the features are quantitative. The RIG is a similar tool that can accommodate feature vectors some of whose components are qualitative. We show that the RIG is a superset of the Gabriel graph with respect to any Minkowski metric.As tools to analyze interclass structure, the interclass RIG (IRIG) and the mutual neighborhood graph (MNG) are presented. These graphs can be used to reduce the training set in the design of piecewise linear classifiers. The MNG leads also to a sufficient condition for the linear separability between classes.     

FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN BIAXIAL STRESS FIELDS

Abstract Biaxial tension-compression fatigue tests were conducted with cruciform shaped specimens in a closed-loop servo hydraulic testing machine. The effects of static and cyclic non-singular stresses acting parallel to the crack plane on the crack growth rate are discussed based on the experimental observations of crack opening behaviour and fractography. Those non-singular stresses did affect the growth rate significantly under certain conditions. The range of crack-tip opening displacement was found to be a better parameter in correlating the growth rate than the stress intensity range or its effective range. The rate tended to increase with increasing non-singular stress which is correlated to the opening displacement range. This tendency was explained by the shift of fracture mechanisms to a more brittle type due to a higher elevation of hydrostatic stress near the crack tip for the case of a larger non-singular stress term.     

Magnesium and lanthanide ions promoted electrochemical coupling of aliphatic esters and tetrahydrofuran for the synthesis of acetals

Electroreduction of aliphatic esters in THF was found to be promoted by the catalytic amount of porphine-magnesium(II) complexes and afforded 2-alkoxytetrahydrofuran derivatives, the coupling products between alkoxide anions formed by the electroreduction of aliphatic esters and THF cation generated by the anodic oxidation of the solvent (THF). In this reaction, chlorophyll a extracted from Trifolium repens L was remarkably effective. In addition, lanthanide metal(III) ions such as samarium trichloride were also found to be effective for the electroreduction of aliphatic esters.