Selection of acid tolerant bifidobacteria and evidence for a low-pH-inducible acid tolerance response in Bifidobacterium longum

Acidity is an environmental condition commonly encountered by lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and fermented foods. In the present study, 22 strains of Bifidobacterium were screened for acid tolerance in artificial gastric juice (AGJ, pH 3.0) and fermented milk. AGJ tolerance was found to be strain-specific, with a pronounced variation among the strains. Several strains with a high survival rate in AGJ that belonged to Bifid. longum, Bifid. breve and Bifid. adolescentis were selected. Among them, only strain BL1 of Bifid longum was found to possess a high survival rate in fermented milk during refrigerated storage. Strain BL1 exhibited a survival rate of more than 25% in AGJ at pH 3.0 for 2 h and maintained a viable cfu level of more than 10(8) per gram of product in fermented milk (pH 4.6) under refrigerated conditions for 2 weeks. The acid tolerance of strain BL1 was found to depend on the final growth pH (<4.5). Rapid loss of acid tolerance was observed when the cells were shifted from acid to neutral conditions by addition of NaOH. Strain BL1 cells were able to maintain much higher intracellular pH under acid conditions, in comparison with those of AGJ sensitive mutant (BL1-S) or cells that lost acid tolerance following pH shifting from acid to neutral conditions. These results suggested that a cytoplasmic pH homeostasis system may function in the acid tolerance response in this strain.     

Insulation characteristics of SF6 gas for nonstandard impulse voltage polarity reversal pulse waveforms

Evaluation of insulation strength for lightning surge that actually enters into substations is important in estimating insulation reliability of gas‐insulated equipment. The standard lightning impulse voltage (1.2/50 µs) is used for factory tests. However, the actual lightning surge waveforms in substations are complex and are usually superimposed with various oscillations. Insulation characteristics of SF₆ gas as a function of such complex voltages have not been sufficiently clarified. This paper deals with gap breakdown characteristics in SF₆ gas under submicrosecond pulses. Breakdown voltages are lower under a polarity reversal condition than under a monopolarity condition. The cause of this difference is discussed while observing discharge propagation using an image converter camera. The electrode size effect is also discussed. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(4): 18–25, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10246     

具有反射率及亮度补偿功能的光纤振动计

介绍了一种结构简单、价格低、带有反射率和亮度补偿的光纤振动计。该光纤式振动计由发光二极管、光纤探头和两个光子探测器组成。光纤探头的光纤束分为三部分：一根发射光纤、第一邻近接收光纤组（组A）、第二邻近接收光纤组（组B）。光纤组A和光纤组B的输出信号平均值的比值取决于光纤探头和被测表面之间的平均距离，而与被测表面的反射率及亮度无关。根据这一比值可以实现探头与被测表面间距离的估计。然后根据光纤组A和B的标定曲线，对振动计的灵敏度进行了补偿。因为在比值运算中使用的是平均值，所以振动频率的提高不会限制这一技术的使用。实验结果表明，这一方法适宜于动态测量，可以实现被测表面反射率、入射亮度及探头与被测表面间平均距离的补偿。     

High Power Characterization of Piezoelectric Materials

Three techniques for measuring high voltage/power piezoelectric properties, which have been developed recently, are compared: a voltage-constant piezoelectric resonance method, a current-constant piezoelectric resonance method, and a pulse drive method. The conventional resonance method with a constant voltage circuit exhibits significant distortion (or a hysteresis) in the resonance frequency spectrum under a high vibration level due to large elastic non-linearity, which limits precise determination of the electromechanical coupling parameters. To the contrary, the resonance method with a constant current circuit (i.e., constant velocity) can determine the coupling parameters more precisely from a perfectly-symmetrical resonance spectrum. The general problem in both resonance methods is heat generation in the sample during the measurement. In order to separate the temperature characteristic from the non-linearity, it is recommended that the pulse method be used in parallel, even though the accuracy is not very high.     

An ultrasonic motor driven by the phase-velocity difference between two traveling waves

This paper presents a new ultrasonic motor in which the rotor rotation speed is locked by the phase-velocity difference between the two traveling waves propagating on the stator and the rotor. First, the unique construction to excite two traveling waves both in the stator and the rotor is described. Then, the operation principle of the present motor is revealed by our careful experiments. Dynamics of the two traveling waves are measured by an in-plane laser Doppler vibrometer under various conditions, as well as the motor performances. Our experiments show that the rotation speed of the motor is equal to the phase-velocity difference between the two traveling waves on the contact surfaces of rotor and stator. It is confirmed that the rotor rotates so as to cancel the phase-velocity difference between the traveling vibrations along the circumferences of the rotor and stator. If the load does not exceed the maximum torque that is determined by the vibration amplitude, the rotation speed is subject only to the phase-velocity difference.     

Stability of PZT Piezoelectric Ceramics under Vibration Level Change

Stability of the piezoelectric properties with changing vibration level was studied in lead zirconate–titanate (PZT) ceramics by using the constant-current/velocity driving method. The changes of Young's modulus Y^E₀ and mechanical loss factor Q^–1_m are a function of the square of effective vibration velocity v ₀. The nonlinear proportional constants of the above functions indicate the degree of stability under vibration level change. The stability of PZT estimated by these constants coincides with the results obtained through the heat generation study.     

Insulation characteristics of GIS under nonstandard lightning‐impulse oscillations: Insulation characteristics under single‐frequency oscillations with various frequencies and damping ratios

To improve GIS insulation specifications, it is important to recognize the insulation characteristics under oscillatory overvoltage waveforms occurring in the field. This paper describes investigations of insulation characteristics for single‐frequency oscillatory waveforms with various frequencies and damping ratios. It was found that minimum breakdown voltages (V_min) rose with frequency rising under the same damping condition and V_min rose with damping ratio rising under the same frequency condition. From an analysis of actual breakdown voltage characteristics, the probability of breakdown at a valley of oscillation rose with damping increasing. It was found that the insulation characteristics were treated all‐inclusively based on the characteristics of V_min for rise time or damping time. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(3): 43–49, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10156     

A kinetic study of the formation of 12-molybdosilicate and 12-molybdogermanate in aqueous solutions by ion transfer voltammetry with the nitrobenzene-water interface

A novel electrochemical approach was developed for the kinetic study of the formation of heteropolyanions. The method (dual pulse amperometry, DPA) is based on the detections of currents due to the transfers of polyanions at the nitrobenzene-water interface. In this study, DPA was applied to the kinetic study of the formation of two Keggin anions, viz., [SiMo₁₂O₄₀]⁴⁻ and [GeMo₁₂O₄₀]⁴⁻. Prior to the kinetic study, cyclic voltammetric measurements were performed to confirm that the Keggin anion and its lacunary anion ([H₃SiMo₁₁O₃₉]⁵⁻ or [H₃GeMO₁₁O₃₉]⁵⁻) coexist at equilibrium under certain conditions. In DPA, double voltage pulses of different amplitudes were alternately applied to the interface to follow the concentrations of both the Keggin and the lacunary anions. The concentration-time profiles for the polyanions could be elucidated by the two-step consecutive reactions mechanism. The lacunary anion was then found to be the intermediate of the Keggin anion.     

Analysis of Bed Load Equations and River Bed Level Variations Using Basin-Scale Process-Based Modelling Approach

Bed load transport is a key process in maintaining the dynamically stable channel geometry for restoring the form and function of river ecosystems. Bed load consists of relatively large sediment particles that are moved along the streambed by rolling, sliding or saltation. Currently, various empirical correlations are used to estimate bed load transport rates since no single procedure, whether theoretical or empirical, has yet to be universally accepted as completely satisfactory in this aspect. Bed load particles are primarily sourced from river bed materials or banks. The amount of bed load and its spatial distribution contributes significantly to river bed level changes. Hillslope sediment contribution, mostly available to the river in the form of suspended load, also plays an important role in river bed level changes. This study aims to analyse different bed load equations and the resultant computations of river bed level variations using a process-based sediment dynamic model. Analyses have revealed that different bed load equations were mainly deduced from the concept of relating bed shear stresses to their critical values which are highly factored by the slope gradient, water discharge and particle sizes. In this study, river bed level variations are calculated by estimating total surplus or deficit sediment loads (suspended loads and bed loads) in a channel section. This paper describes the application of different widely used bed load equations, and evaluation of their various parameters and relative performances for a case study area (Abukuma River Basin, Japan) using a basin-scale process-based modelling approach. Relative performances of river bed level simulations obtained by using different bed load equations are also presented. This paper elaborates on the modelling approaches for river bed load and bed level simulations. Although verifications were not done due to unavailability of field data for bed load, qualitative evaluations were conducted vis-à-vis field data on flow and suspended sediment loads as well as the bed loads presented in different past studies.