Influence of nitrate, ascorbic acid, and nitrate reductase microorganisms on N-nitrosamine formation during Korean-style soysauce fermentation.

Traditional Korean soysauce samples were collected from households in Chinju, Gyeongnam, Korea and analysed for volatile N-nitrosamines. Five of 24 samples contained NDMA (range = 1.6-10.4 micrograms/l) which was the only volatile N-nitroso compound found. Soysauce made from well water contained NDMA more often (4 of 6 samples) than soysauce made from tap water (1 of 18). This suggests that the water source is a determinate in the NDMA content of soysauce, probably due to a higher nitrate content of well water. The source of salt used did not clearly influence NDMA content. Soysauce was prepared in the laboratory using traditional methods but with 0 to 400 mg/l nitrate and in some cases made 6.5 to 65 mM in ascorbic acid and fermented for 120 days. The NDMA content of the samples was positively correlated with increasing nitrate concentration. Nitrate at 400 mg/l resulted in an NDMA content of 203 micrograms/l. Ascorbic acid substantially inhibited NDMA formation. All samples contained large numbers of nitrate reductase-containing organisms (greater than 1 x 10(7) CFU/ml).     

Computer modeling of the continuous annealing furnace

A computer program to calculate the strip temperature heated in the continuous annealing furnace was developed, using the zone method for radiative heat transfer analysis with the measured gas temperature in the furnace. Using theF _E Operator, the present study considered the effects of soot and transient species, in addition to the H₂O−CO₂ gas mixture on the gas radiative heat transfer. The predicted strip temperature distribution forF _E=1.05 represented well the measured data. The maximum difference in the heat flux transfered to the strip from the combustion gas forF _E=1.0 (without soot and transient species gas radiation) and 1.05 (with soot and transient species gas radiation) was about 15%. The present study also investigated the effects of line speed and thickness variations on the strip temperature, establishing the bases for the on-line computer model.     

Pseudorandomness of Basic Structures in the Block Cipher KASUMI

The notion of pseudorandomness is the theoretical foundation on which to consider the soundness of a basic structure used in some block ciphers. We examine the pseudorandomness of the block cipher KASUMI, which will be used in the next‐generation cellular phones. First, we prove that the four‐round unbalanced MISTY‐type transformation is pseudorandom in order to illustrate the pseudorandomness of the inside round function FI of KASUMI under an adaptive distinguisher model. Second, we show that the three‐round KASUMI‐like structure is not pseudorandom but the four‐round KASUMI‐like structure is pseudorandom under a non‐adaptive distinguisher model.     

Effect of the Liquid-Phase Characteristic on the Microstructures and Dielectric Properties of Donor- (Niobium) and Acceptor- (Magnesium) Doped Barium Titanate

Changes in the microstructure and dielectric properties with the variation of the donor/acceptor ratio in BaTiO₃ ceramics were investigated. In donor-rich specimens, a liquid that appeared during sintering did not penetrate into grain boundaries. However, in the acceptor-rich specimens, the grains were separated by a liquid film during sintering. The much higher mobility of the liquid film than that of the grain boundaries was suggested to cause extensive grain growth in acceptor-rich BaTiO₃. The macroscopic homogenization of dopants because of grain growth in acceptor-rich specimens resulted in changes in the dielectric properties.     

共面转换液晶显示器中获得对比度高于1:600的新技术

薄膜晶体管液晶电视(TFT-LCD TV)因为具有薄、轻、紧凑和可随意放置的特点，已经占据了大部分电视机市场。除了这些物理特性以外，最重要的特性是已具有了良好像质的对比度。为了将对比度提高到1：600以上，对偏振片膜、背光源板、滤色片树脂、电极锥角和摩擦条件等都进行了研究。优化的背光板组合，光滑的电极锥角和摩擦方法的控制是提高对比度的主要控制因素。应用新开发的滤色片树脂，对获得高对比度最为有效。     

Fiberoptic intrinsic fluorescence for in-situ cure monitoring of amine cured epoxy and composites

The cure reactions of epoxy-diamine and its composites are monitored in-situ using the intrinsic fluorescence of the aromatic diamine, diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS). With a fiberoptic fluorimeter, in-situ cure monitoring was performed via a single fiber, distal-end probe, in neat epoxy as well as in commercial grade prepregs containing graphite fibers and DDS curing agent. The prepregs were investigated during multiply lamination in an oven. The fluorescence excitation spectra were obtained by emitting at 420 nm with a scan range of 320 to 400 nm, and the DDS peak position was determined as a function of cure time and temperature. The DDS spectra show a progressive red shift up to 24 nm when the primary amine is reacted with epoxide to become the secondary and the tertiary amines. The spectral shift of the DDS is also correlated with the extent of epoxide reaction determined by the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Both data exhibit a linear relation, consistent with the behavior of the DDS peak shift, which increases linearly with the amine reaction. The excitation spectra also show a temperature dependency such that the amount of red shift increases with the measurement temperature in a manner that can be described by an exponential function. The temperature effects also depend on the state of cure in the sample. The temperature correction can be made by the application of an empirically developed equation. Thus, a direct comparison can be made among the on-line data obtained under varying conditions of cure, by reducing the spectral data to any reference temperature. This intrinsic fluorescence technique is much simpler than the previously reported extrinsic fluorophore technique, which requires the addition of an extrinsic fluorophore and an internal dye, and can be applied to any commercial prepregs containing DDS, thus making it a very powerful and widely applicable monitoring tool for composite processing.     

Thermal Stability of the Pigments Hydroxysafflor Yellow A, Safflor Yellow B, and Precarthamin from Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)

ABSTRACT Three major yellow pigments were isolated from safflower petals ( Carthamus tinctorius ) and characterized as hydroxysafflor yellow A (1), safflor yellow B (2), and precarthamin (3) by ¹H-NMR, ¹H-¹H COSY, ¹³C-NMR, HMQC, and HMBC spectral analysis. Thermal degradation reactions of 3 yellow pigments 1 to 3 at temperatures of 70 to 90 °C were carried out at different pH levels within the range of 3.0 to 10.0 by UV-vis spectral measurements. First-order reaction kinetics was observed for the degradation of safflower yellow pigments (1 to 3) at pH 3.0 and 5.0. Activation energies of thermal degradation of 1-3 at pH 5.0 were calculated as 17.0, 15.4, and 20.1 kcal/mol, respectively. At neutral and alkaline conditions, yellow pigments 1-3 did not follow simple first-order kinetics.     

New approach to enhance adhesions between carbon nanotube emitters and substrate by the combination of electrophoresis and successive electroplating

Complementary electroplating combined with electrophoresis enhanced the field emission characteristics of emitters by improving the adhesions between CNT emitters and substrate. The emitting current of the CNT emitters prepared by our combined method increased nine times higher than that of CNT emitters prepared by electrophoresis only, since electroplating improved the adhesion of CNT emitters. During the life-time measurement for 10 h, the emitting current of CNT emitters fabricated by electrophoresis only was drastically decreased to 13% of the initial current, while that prepared by the combination of electrophoresis and successive electroplating decreased to 64% of the initial current. We suggest that our method is a promising approach for the efficient fabrication of reliable CNT emitters.