CHARACTERISTICS OF WATER UPTAKE OF AUSTRALIAN POLISHED BARLEY IN SHOCHU-MAKING

Characteristics of water uptake during steeping of 70% polished Australian barley, used as material for shochu making, were studied on 6 grain samples. There were some similarities in water uptake curves in spite of the differences in varieties and regions of harvest. Polished barley abruptly absorbed water at the same time when in contact with water. After 5 h the water uptake content reached 52 to 56, 54 to 59, and 58 to 63% grain wet weight at 15, 20, and 30°C respectively. The relationship between water uptake and steeping time may be described by the equation Y=aX^b, where Y is the water uptake (%), X is the time (min), and a and b are coefficients¹. From the data obtained with Schooner (South), the water uptake curve in steeping at 15°C was described as Y=5.50X^0.40 (r²=0.993). Furthermore a log-log plot of water uptake (%) against integrated steeping temperature (1ST), which was presented by the product of temperature and time, showed a very clear linear relationship, and could be represented by Y=2.047(T · t)^0.382 (r²=0.987). The coefficient values a and b determined the relationship of water uptake and 1ST on 6 samples. The values of 5 samples, excluding Stirling (West) were close (a=2.05 to 2.33 and b= 0.37 to 0.38), and no differences were apparent amongst these varieties and regions. Stirling (West) with a=1.81 and b=0.40 were similar to the Japanese barley cultivar Nishinochikara (a=1.99, b=0.39). The Schooner (South) equation could generally be applied to control water uptake during steeping on 70% polished Australian barley supplied to our factory. The water uptake values from the steeping experiments were between 35.1 and 36.7% when the objective value was set at 35% .     

Thermodynamic,transport and radiation properties of high-temperature CF3I and transient conductance of residual arc sustained in axial CF3I flow

The present paper reports fundamental properties of CF₃I under high-temperature conditions to find out the usefulness of CF₃I as an arc-quenching gas. Firstly, particle compositions of CF₃I were theoretically calculated in a temperature range from 300 to 30 000 K. Secondly, thermodynamic, transport and radiation properties of the CF₃I were also obtained for pressures 0.1–1.0 MPa. Finally, the transient process of a conductance of a residual arc in CF₃I was derived to compare with those in other arc-quenching gases. In addition, an arc extinguishing capability of CF₃I in a thermal re-ignition region was derived to find out whether CF₃I shows a higher capability than CO₂, N₂ and air. © 2006 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Finishing characteristics of brittle materials by ELID-lap grinding using metal-resin bonded wheels

ELID-lap grinding is a method of constant pressure grinding which utilizes an electrically conductive wheel and the electrolytic in-process dressing (ELID) method. This method has the advantage of using micro grain-wheels above #10 000 and also, through simple modification, can be used on existing lap machines. To find the characteristics of metal-resin bonded wheels developed for ELID-lap grinding, experiments on the grinding of brittle materials were performed using wheels with a variety of grain diameters. The wheels used in the experiments were #8000, #120 000 and #3 000 000 metal-resin bonded diamond wheels (#8000 MRB-D, #120 000 MRB-D and #3 000 000 MRB-D wheels). The workpieces were silicon and glass. The results of the experiments showed that stable grinding can be achieved with the #8000 to #3 000 000 MRB-D wheels. With the #3 000 000 MRB-D wheel, very smooth surface finishes were obtained for both silicon (PV 2.8 nm) and glass (PV 2.5 nm). Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observations indicated these surfaces to be very smooth in the order of several nanometers, obtained by mechanical removal using an ultrafine wheel.     

Effect of TiO2 on morphology and mechanical properties of PVDF/PMMA blend films prepared by melt casting process

Effect of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) on morphology and mechanical properties of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blend films prepared at different TiO₂ contents by a melt casting process was studied. The results showed that tensile moduli in both the machine direction (MD) and the transverse direction (TD) increased with increasing TiO₂ content, and calculated tensile moduli based on the Halpin–Tsai and the Kerner model were consistent with experimental ones in both the MD and TD of films containing 10 wt % TiO₂. However, experimental tensile moduli exhibited smaller values compared with calculated ones, as the TiO₂ content increased to 30 wt %_, and it was assumed that this is due to the decrease of crystallinity of PVDF. Morphological observations indicated that TiO₂ particles did not affect crystal structures of PVDF and the morphology of PVDF/PMMA amorphous phase, but hindered the crystallization of PVDF. The MD and TD elongation at break exhibited >200 and <20%, respectively. The SEM micrographs revealed that spherulites could deform along the MD when the tensile force was applied along the direction. By contrast, spherulites could not deform along the TD and fractured at very small elongation, owing to the anisotropic morphology of spherulites. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40454.     

Intestinal absorption and biological effects of orally administered amorphous silica particles

Although amorphous silica nanoparticles are widely used in the production of food products (e.g., as anticaking agents), there is little information available about their absorption and biological effects after oral exposure. Here, we examined the in vitro intestinal absorption and in vivo biological effects in mice of orally administered amorphous silica particles with diameters of 70, 300, and 1,000 nm (nSP70, mSP300, and mSP1000, respectively) and of nSP70 that had been surface-modified with carboxyl or amine groups (nSP70-C and nSP70-N, respectively). Analysis of intestinal absorption by means of the everted gut sac method combined with an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer showed that the intestinal absorption of nSP70-C was significantly greater than that of nSP70. The absorption of nSP70-N tended to be greater than that of nSP70; however, the results were not statistically significant. Our results indicate that silica nanoparticles can be absorbed through the intestine and that particle diameter and surface properties are major determinants of the degree of absorption. We also examined the biological effects of the silica particles after 28-day oral exposure in mice. Hematological, histopathological, and biochemical analyses showed no significant differences between control mice and mice treated with the silica particles, suggesting that the silica nanoparticles evaluated in this study are safe for use in food production.     

Influence of reaction temperature on direct esterifications in a continuous recycling process between terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol

Simulations were carried out with a continuous recycle esterification model for the terephthalic acid–ethylene glycol (TPA–EG) system proposed previously. The influence of reaction temperatures, recycle ratios, and residence times on the oligomer characteristics was examined and the following results were obtained: (1) The main reactions proceed more under higher reaction temperatures, but the side reactions on diethylene glycol (DEG) proceed further than do the main reactions. (2) The higher residence time ratio of the first reactor to the total results in the proceeding of esterifications, which becomes remarkable as the temperature becomes high. (3) As the recycle ratio becomes high, the esterfications proceed, but in the very high degree of esterification, the tendency is reversed. (4) The characteristics of oligomer are almost the same at the same degree of esterification, independent of the reaction conditions. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Amorphous nanosilicas induce consumptive coagulopathy after systemic exposure

We previously reported that well-dispersed amorphous nanosilicas with particle size 70 nm (nSP70) penetrate skin and produce systemic exposure after topical application. These findings underscore the need to examine biological effects after systemic exposure to nanosilicas. The present study was designed to examine the biological effects. BALB/c mice were intravenously injected with amorphous nanosilicas of sizes 70, 100, 300, 1000 nm and then assessed for survival, blood biochemistry, and coagulation. As a result, injection of nSP70 caused fatal toxicity, liver damage, and platelet depletion, suggesting that nSP70 caused consumptive coagulopathy. Additionally, nSP70 exerts procoagulant activity in vitro associated with an increase in specific surface area, which increases as diameter reduces. In contrast, nSP70-mediated procoagulant activity was absent in factor XII-deficient plasma. Collectively, we revealed that interaction between nSP70 and intrinsic coagulation factors such as factor XII, were deeply related to nSP70-induced harmful effects. In other words, it is suggested that if interaction between nSP70 and coagulation factors can be suppressed, nSP70-induced harmful effects may be avoided. These results would provide useful information for ensuring the safety of nanomaterials (NMs) and open new frontiers in biological fields by the use of NMs.     

Three-dimensional measurement of ice crystals in frozen beef with a micro-slicer image processing system

A novel technique has been developed for measuring the three-dimensional (3-D) structure and distribution of ice crystals formed in frozen beef by using a micro-slicer image processing system (MSIPS). The system has functions to reconstruct the 3-D image based on the image data of exposed cross-sections obtained by multi-slicing of a frozen sample with the minimum thickness of 1 μm and to display the internal structure as well as an arbitrary cross-section of the sample choosing observation angles. The size and distribution of ice crystals can be determined from the 2-D quantitative information, such as the periphery and area of the crystals. The effects of freezing conditions on the morphology and distribution of the ice crystals were demonstrated quantitatively from the observations of raw beef stained by fluorescent indicator. For the samples frozen at −15 °C, the network structure of ice crystals were observed mainly at intercellular space, having approximately 100 μm in cross-sectional size, while that prepared at −120 °C showed the spherical crystals of 10–20 μm in diameter within the cells. The 3-D image of the sample demonstrated that the growth of ice columns was restricted by the intrinsic structure of muscle fibers. The proposed method provided a new tool to investigate the effects of freezing conditions on the size, morphology and distribution of ice crystals.     

Meshless analysis of potential problems in three dimensions with the hybrid boundary node method

Combining a modified functional with the moving least‐squares (MLS) approximation, the hybrid boundary node method (Hybrid BNM) is a truly meshless, boundary‐only method. The method may have advantages from the meshless local boundary integral equation (MLBIE) method and also the boundary node method (BNM). In fact, the Hybrid BNN requires only the discrete nodes located on the surface of the domain. The Hybrid BNM has been applied to solve 2D potential problems. In this paper, the Hybrid BNM is extended to solve potential problems in three dimensions. Formulations of the Hybrid BNM for 3D potential problems and the MLS approximation on a generic surface are developed. A general computer code of the Hybrid BNM is implemented in C++. The main drawback of the ‘boundary layer effect’ in the Hybrid BNM in the 2D case is circumvented by an adaptive face integration scheme. The parameters that influence the performance of this method are studied through three different geometries and known analytical fields. Numerical results for the solution of the 3D Laplace's equation show that high convergence rates with mesh refinement and high accuracy are achievable. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Attribute-based quality classification of academic papers

Investigating the relevant literature is very important for research activities. However, it is difficult to select the most appropriate and important academic papers from the enormous number of papers published annually. Researchers search paper databases by combining keywords, and then select papers to read using some evaluation measure—often, citation count. However, the citation count of recently published papers tends to be very small because citation count measures accumulated importance. This paper focuses on the possibility of classifying high-quality papers superficially using attributes such as publication year, publisher, and words in the abstract. To examine this idea, we construct classifiers by applying machine-learning algorithms and evaluate these classifiers using cross-validation. The results show that our approach effectively finds high-quality papers.