Determination of Foaming Properties of Proteins by Conductivity Measurements

A new method was established to estimate the foaming properties of proteins from the conductivity of foams using a simple apparatus that consisted of a glass column with the conductivity cell. A close correlation was observed between the initial conductivity of foams and the foam volumes of heat-denatured ovalbumins or 11 native proteins, suggesting that the initial conductivity of foams can be used as a measure of foaming power. In addition, a close correlation was obtained between the foam stability determined from changes in the conductivity and foam volume with time of heat-denatured ovalbumins or 11 native proteins, suggesting that foam stability also can be estimated from changes in the conductivity of foams. The advantages of the conductivity measurements are to determine the foaming properties more simply and accurately than the currently used methods.     

Ferroelectric-Paraelectric Phase Transition in Lead Titanate Containing Lattice Defects

A series of lead titanates containing lattice defects was prepared and characterized in terms of inhomogeneously distributed vacancies, □_Pb and □_O•. The tetragonal lattice strain and the Curie temperature varied as functions of the Pb or O deficiency in the crystals. The tetragonal strain for these crystals decreased slowly with increasing temperature as the Curie temperature was approached. The phase transition, which extends over a temperature interval, is interpreted according to a model in which microregions in the crystal differ in composition and therefore have different Curie temperatures.     

Characterization of NAD(P)H-dependent ubiquinone reductase activities in rat liver microsomes

Exogenous ubiquinone-10 was efficiently reduced by rat liver microsomes in the presence of NADH and NADPH under anaerobic conditions. Ubiquinone-10 reduced under anaerobic conditions was rapidly re-oxidized by the re-aeration. The reduction and re-oxidation were not observed when the reactions were carried out with the boiled microsomes or without microsomes, suggesting that the reactions were enzymatically catalyzed by the electron transport system(s) from NAD(P)H to O2 through the ubiquinone. The Km and Vmax of the reductase activity for NADH were 0.4 mM and 1.7 nmol/min per mg of protein, and those for NADPH were 19 microM and 2.1 nmol/min per mg of protein, respectively. The NADH-dependent oxidoreduction system was different from the NADPH-dependent system because of the following observations; (1) rotenone inhibited only the NADH-dependent ubiquinone-10 reductase, (2) dicoumarol inhibited the NADPH-dependent ubiquinone-10 reduction more potently than the NADH-dependent reduction and (3) the activity oxidizing the reduced ubiquinone-10 in the presence of NADH was less than that in the presence of NADPH. Endogenous ubiquinone-9 was also reduced and re-oxidized in essentially the same manner as exogenous ubiquinone-10. Thus, ubiquinone-10 oxidoreductase in rat liver microsomes acts on endogenous ubiquinone-9.     

Growth characteristics of Bacillus subtilis (natto) in milk

In this paper, Bacillus subtilis (natto) was incubated to develop a possible functional ingredient in ice cream. A lab‐scale culture revealed that incubation in the sterilised milk without dilution and concentration at 37°C for 28 h could obtain ideal growth characteristics of Bacillus subtilis (natto), especially with continuous aeration. Following freezing operation of the cultured milk, survival content of Bacillus subtilis (natto) was at 49–92%, while nattokinase activity was conserved at 62–98% comparing with the initial contents, which indicating a potential for application of natto functional ingredient in frozen milk products.     

Anionic Conduction in Lead Halosilicate Glasses

Electrical conductivity due to halide ions has been measured for the glasses in the system 30SiO₂· (70 − x )PbO · x PbX₂ (0 < x < 17.2 mol%; X = F, Cl). The conductivity increases with x by several orders of magnitude for both series of glasses. The contribution of principal factors to the conductivity has been examined. The analysis of the activation energy on the basis of the Anderson-Stuart model shows that the strain energy is a predominant term in the Cl glasses, while both the strain energy and the electrostatic energy have a comparable contribution in the F glasses. The decrease in the activation energy with increasing PbX₂ content is related to the decrease in the shear modulus for the Cl glasses and to the increase in the permittivity for the F glasses.     

Effect of shot peening on fatigue limit of surface flawed samples

The effects of shot peening on the fatigue limit of specimens having a semicircular notch of varied surface length, 2a , are investigated. In the case of un-peened specimens, the fatigue limit of specimens having a notch of a = 0.05 mm was equal to that of the un-notched specimens. However, the fatigue limit of a = 0.3 mm was 46% smaller than that of the un-notched specimens. On the contrary, in the case of peened specimens, the fatigue limit of a = 0.2 mm was equal to that of the un-notched specimens and furthermore, that of a = 0.3 mm was only 5% smaller than that of the un-notched specimens. Multiple non-propagating cracks were observed in peened specimens after fatigue testing. The stress intensity factor of the maximum non-propagating crack size corresponded to that of a = 0.2 mm notch. These results indicate that shot peening increases fatigue limit and decreases the likelihood that a surface flaw will result in failure.     

Water quality characteristics of rivers and ponds in Japan

In Japan, various countermeasures have been taken to improve the water quality of public waters such as rivers and lakes. Though water quality has improved, it is still insufficient. In summer, eutrophication is seen in lakes and inner bays, as well as rivers. As a countermeasure to prevent eutrophication, the removal treatment of nutrient salts such as nitrogen and phosphorus is done, in addition to organic substance elimination in the domestic sewerage system. This report will show the water quality characteristics of rivers and ponds in Japan It is considered that these investigative results are effective when the water quality improvement of the stabilization ponds where eutrophication occurs are examined in China.     

新日本钢铁公司高强度汽车用钢板的开发

在对汽车提高燃料利用率、节能和提高冲撞安全性的要求日益强烈的情况下,不增加车体重量而提高安全性的方法之一,就是使用高强度钢板.钢板高强度化带来的最大问题就是钢板加工性能变差.为适应用户的要求,新日铁已经开发出各种高强度钢板.本文对适应于汽车不同部位的、具有良好成形性的各种高强钢板的特点及冲撞吸收能、疲劳强度等特性进行了介绍.     

Evaluation method of dam behavior during construction and reservoir filling and application to real dams

In this paper we analyzed a real fill-type dam, named the Minami-Aiki Dam, to verify a numerical consolidation method with an elastoplastic model for unsaturated soils. The validities were conducted by comparing the analyzed and measured values during construction and impounding. The settlements calculated showed good agreement to those observed. Though the changing patterns of the measured and calculated pore water pressures were similar, the amounts of pore water pressures induced by the self-weights of embankment and the dissipation speeds were different. The earth pressures measured at the bottom of the core zone showed good agreement with those calculated. This method is valid for estimating behavior of fill-type dams during construction and impounding.