Internal Resistance to Water Mobility in Seafood during Warm Air Drying and Microwave-Vacuum Drying

We present a novel microwave-vacuum drying technique as an effective method for seafood. Microwave is irradiated just for the latent heat supply to keep the material at room temperature. We made several experiments using the scallop and examined the internal resistance for water transport based on the porous media model. The experimental and theoretical study indicates that the microwave-vacuum drying keeps the channel for water transportation and results in the high permeability at the wide range of moisture content. The drying time was significantly shortened as compared with the warm-air drying and the room-temperature drying results in good quality of dried seafood.     

DNA microstructure based on self-assembly of 4-sticky-end Holliday junctions in aqueous solution

Liverwort-like DNA microscale structures consist of 4-sticky-end Holiday junctions as DNA bricks that can be used in nanotechnology and nanobiotechnology to direct the self-assembly of nanomachines as well as DNA assembly. Previously it has not been possible to obtain such DNA microscale structural forms, but herein we report construction of a mesh-like material made up of 4 strands of 40-base DNA. Advanced bioimaging techniques such as fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), laser scanning microscopy (LSM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) help us as ultrasensitive detection tools for examing structures in solutions. Combinations of these techniques allow us to survey various chemical conditions of materials and solutions.     

Practical inspection system of drill point geometry by using simple measurement jig and image processing

The proper simple inspection system for drill point geometry will support the skillful drill regrinding operation. In this paper, a newly developed system for practical use in machine shops has been described. The measurement method is based on silhouette image processing described in the author’s previous papers. But, for easy and robust inspection, a simple measurement jig was designed and the identification method of the five geometrical parameters describing its complete geometry was modified. Then, the error motion of the jig was tested and a compensation strategy of its error was proposed. The results show that the drill angles such as the outer clearance angle measured by this system are more precise than those measured by a microscope. Moreover, this system can measure the five geometrical parameters of the drill, which cannot be measured by using the microscope.     

Copolymerization of zinc methacrylate and perfluoroalkyl acrylate in hydrocarbon medium

The copolymerization of zinc methacrylate (ZMA) and 2-(N-ethylperfluorooctanesulfonamide)ethyl acrylate (RFA) in benzene was studied as a model for the copolymerization of ZMA and RFA in synthetic rubber during the peroxide curing process (in situ copolymerization). To confirm copolymer formation from combination of the specified monomers bearing functional groups with different characteristics, experimental procedures to quantify unchanged monomers and two types of monomer units in the copolymer were established. As a result, it was ascertained that the copolymer composition was the same with that of the comonomer composition for an equimolar mixture of the monomers regardless of conversion. We can conclude that the composition of the copolymer resulting from the in situ copolymerization can be determined and the in situ copolymerization could be a novel method to modify the properties of rubber. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Effect of crystallographic orientation on transparency of alumina prepared using magnetic alignment and SPS

Transparent polycrystalline alumina was developed over many years because its attractive properties are expected to find applications in many fields. Crystallographic orientation is one of the effective ways to improve transparency in birefringent ceramics such as alumina, because birefringence at grain boundaries can be suppressed by the alignment of optical axis. Fabrication of high-transparency alumina with an oriented c-axis and fine microstructure can be attained by slip casting in a strong magnetic field, followed by spark plasma sintering at 1150?°C for 20?min. The real in-line transmittance of the textured alumina with a thickness of 0.80?mm was 70% at λ?=?640?nm, which was higher than that of randomly-oriented alumina. The c-axis orientation reduced the actual difference of the refractive index and suppressed remarkably the birefringence.     

In situ copolymerization behaviour of zinc dimethacrylate and 2-(N-ethylperfluoro-octanesulphonamido)ethyl acrylate in hydrogenated nitrile–butadiene rubber during peroxide crosslinking

The in situ copolymerization behaviour of zinc dimethacrylate (ZMA) and 2-(N-ethylperfluoro-octanesulphonamido)ethyl acrylate (RfSA) in hydrogenated nitrile–butadiene rubber (HNBR) initiated with di-tert-butyl peroxy di-isopropylbenzene (PO) was studied by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, surface tension and surface composition. About 80% of the monomers were copolymerized within the half-lifetime of PO at 140 °C. The compositions of the copolymers were almost the same as the co-monomer compositions at high conversions. The crosslinking of the HNBR proceeded within the press time of 300 min. At the initial stage of the copolymerization, ZMA seemed to form cluster domains in the HNBR matrix, followed by a decrease in the domain size to become too small to exhibit a tanδ peak of the clusters on phase separation between the matrix and the copolymer. The surface compositions were different from the average compositions. The RfSA unit in the copolymer was segregated at the surface of the vulcanizates with an increase in the press time. During phase separation and migration of the copolymer towards the surface, Zn and N were oxidized and ionized. Finally, the in situ copolymerizations formed a continuous network structure of which the domain size was 30–60 nm. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

The number distribution of complex shear modulus of single cells measured by atomic force microscopy

The viscoelastic properties of a large number of mouse fibroblast NIH3T3 cells (n?130) were investigated by combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) with a microarray technique. In the experiments, the cells were arranged and cultured in the wells of a microarray substrate, and a force modulation mode experiment was used to measure the complex shear modulus, G*, of individual cells in a frequency range 0.5–200 Hz. The frequency dependence of G* of the cells exhibited a power-law behavior and similar frequency dependencies have been observed in several cell types cultured on flat substrates. This indicated that the NIH3T3 cells cultured in the wells of a microarray have analogous structural organization to those cells cultured on flat substrates. The number distribution of both the storage and loss moduli of G* fitted well to a log-normal distribution function, whereas the power-law exponent estimated by a power-law structural damping model showed a normal distribution function. These results showed that combining AFM with a microarray technique was a suitable approach for investigating the statistics of rheological properties of living cells without the requirement of cell surface modification.     

One-Chip Microcomputer-Based Controller for the McMurray Inverter

Control signals applied to a power converter can be obtained with the aid of microcomputer software. A reliable, low-cost, and small-sized gate circuit can be realized by using microcomputers. The generation of control signals required to control the McMurray inverter are attained by the one-chip microcomputer Intel 8748. The microcomputer generates not only the required firing pulses but monitors the commutating process of the inverter. Once the commutation failure has been detected, the gating sequence is changed to return the system to normal operation, thus realizing the commutation failure-free inverter control.     

Effect of water content of hydrophilic amidoxime polymer on adsorption rate of uranium from seawater

Amidoxime polymers crosslinked with tetraethylene glycol dimethacrylate (40 wt%) and with differing water contents were prepared by poly(acrylonitrile) treatment in various quantities of toluene with hydroxylamine. Adsorption rates of uranium on the amidoxime polymers from seawater were examined in relation to their porosity. The amidoxime polymer prepared from poly(acrylonitrile) in an increasing quantity of toluene exhibits a significantly increasing water content. On the basis of mercury intrusion measurements, the increasing water content was revealed to be predominantly owing to the enhancement of porosity. The adsorption rate of uranium from seawater increased steadily with an increase of porosity, suggesting the dependence of the adsorption rate on a diffusion process of uranium into the pore domain.