Corrosion study on ceramics for conductance measurements of molten carbonates

In order to find corrosion-resistant materials applicable to a conductance cell used in a conductance measurement apparatus for molten carbonates, several ceramics were examined for durability in both hydrochloric acid solution and carbonate melt. It was found that beryllia-based ceramics and alumina ceramics of high purity exhibited high corrosion-resistance against those agents, and could be applied in conductance cells. This article gives valuable criteria for the application of potential ceramic materials in carbonate melts.     

Seamless proactive handover across heterogeneous access networks

Dual-mode handsets and multimode terminals are generating demand for solutions that enable convergence and seamless handover across heterogeneous access networks. The IEEE 802.21 working group is creating a framework that defines a Media Independent Handover Function (MIHF), facilitates handover across heterogeneous access networks, and helps mobile users experience better performance during mobility events. In this paper, we describe this 802.21 framework and also summarize a Media-independent Pre-Authentication (MPA) mechanism currently under discussion within the IRTF that can further optimize handover performance. We discuss how the 802.21 framework and the MPA technique can be integrated to improve handover performance. Finally, we describe a test-bed implementation and validate experimental performance results of the combined mobility technique.     

Analyses of microbial community within a composter operated using household garbage with special reference to the addition of soybean oil

A commercially available composter was operated using fixed composition of garbage with or without the addition of soybean oil. The composter was operated without adding seed microorganisms or bulking materials. Microflora within the composter were analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) in the case of oil addition, or by 16/18 S rRNA gene sequencing of the isolated microorganisms in the case of no oil addition. The results showed that, irrespective of the addition of oil, the bacteria identified were all gram positive, and that lactobacilli seemed to be the key microorganisms. Based on the results, suitable microflora for use in a household composter are discussed.     

Line profile reconstruction from simultaneously recorded secondary and backscattered electron signals

We propose a reconstruction method of surface morphology using a combination of secondary and back-scattered electron signals from the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Compared with multiple-detector methods, the proposed system requires only conventional secondary and backscattered electron detectors for a line profile reconstruction in one direction. This method is an application of genetic algorithms to the measurement of surface morphology in SEM. We use the chi-square distribution of the reconstruction error as the objective function within a scheme to minimize the number of vertices in the reconstructed surface profile. (The reconstruction error is the relative difference between the calculated and experimental data.) To evaluate the efficacy of our method, a surface profile is successfully reconstructed from a pair of line scans across the center of a latex particle.     

Detailed CFD modelling of fast pyrolysis of different biomass types in fluidized bed reactors

In the present study, an Eulerian‐Eulerian computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, combined with a comprehensive biomass reaction scheme, was used to simulate fast pyrolysis of four different biomass types in the fluidized bed reactors. The study focuses on the influence of biomass components of different biomass types on the yields, formations, and contents of compositions of pyrolysis products. The result showed that the bio‐oil yield of cellulose‐rich biomass was higher than other biomass types, and char was mainly produced by the fast pyrolysis of LIG‐C of biomass. Moreover, the contents of bio‐oil components were affected by the fast pyrolysis of biomass components. Further, the energy recovery coefficient (ERC) of bio‐oil obtained from pyrolysis of different biomass types was also calculated and analyzed in this paper.

     

Measurements of Singlet Oxygen‐Quenching Activity of Vitamin E Homologs and Palm Oil and Soybean Extracts in a Micellar Solution

Recently, a new assay method that can quantify the singlet oxygen‐absorption capacity (SOAC) of antioxidants (AO) and food extracts in homogeneous organic solvents has been proposed. In the present study, second‐order rate constants (k_Q) for the reaction of singlet oxygen (¹O₂) with vitamin E homologs (α‐, β‐, γ‐, and δ‐tocopherols [Toc] and α‐, β‐, γ‐, and δ‐tocotrienols [Toc‐3]) were measured in an aqueous Triton X‐100 (5.0 wt%) micellar solution (pH 7.4). Toc‐3 showed k_Q values larger than those of Toc in a micellar solution, although Toc and Toc‐3 showed the same k_Q values in a homogeneous solution. Similar measurements were performed for 5 palm oil extracts 1–5 and one soybean extract 6, which contained different concentrations of Toc, Toc‐3, and carotenoids. It has been clarified that the ¹O₂‐quenching rates (k_Q) (that is, the relative SOAC value) obtained for extracts 3–6 may be explained as the sum of the product of the rate constant () and the concentration ([AO‐i]/100) of AO‐i contained. The UV–vis absorption spectra of Toc and Toc‐3 were measured in a micellar solution and chloroform. The results obtained demonstrated that the k_Q values of AO in homogeneous and heterogeneous solutions vary notably depending on (1) polarity (dielectric constant [ε]) of the reaction field between ¹O₂ and AO, (2) the local concentration of AO, and (3) the mobility of AO in solution. The results suggest that the SOAC method is applicable to the measurement of ¹O₂‐quenching activity of general food extracts in a heterogeneous micellar solution.     

Carbon isotope composition of dissolved humic and fulvic acids in the Tokachi River system

This study reports carbon isotopic ratios (Δ(14)C and δ(13)C) of dissolved humic and fulvic acids in the Tokachi River system, northern Japan. These acids have a refractory feature and they represent the largest fraction of dissolved organic matter in aquatic environments. The acids were isolated using the XAD extraction method from river water samples collected at three sites (on the upper and lower Tokachi River, and from one of its tributaries) in June 2004 and 2005. δ(13)C values were -27.8 to -26.9 ‰ for humic and fulvic acids. On the other hand, the Δ(14)C values ranged from -247 to +26 ‰ and the average values were -170 ± 79 ‰ for humic acid and -44 ± 73 ‰ for fulvic acid. The difference was attributed to the residence time of fulvic acid in the watershed being shorter than that of humic acid. The large variation suggested that humic substances have a different pathway in each watershed environment.     

Fates of foodborne pathogens in raw hams manufactured rapidly using a new patented method

To manufacture raw ham in an efficient manner, we recently developed a new system in which presliced pork loin was used, and the processing time was reduced to 5% of the conventional method. This study aimed to examine whether this raw ham could be as safe as ham produced by the conventional method. Pork loin spiked with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli serotype O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes serotype 1/2c, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, and Staphylococcus aureus were processed using either the new or conventional method. The fate of the foodborne pathogens and behavior of hygiene indicator bacteria were examined. Whereas nitrite had disappeared during the conventional packaging process, the reduced processing time in the new system allowed for the ham to be vacuum packed with retention of the nitrite (6.9±1.2 ppm, P<0.01). This accounts for the prominent decrease in L. monocytogenes (2.3 log reduction in 35 days) and S. aureus (3.3 log reduction in 13 days) counts during storage. E. coli O157 and Salmonella Enteritidis were likely resistant to the nitrite in the ham. However, they were unable to multiply in the ham and decreased gradually as in the conventionally produced ham. The bacteriostatic nature of the raw ham was also indicated by the gradual decrease in coliforms (1.3 log reduction in 13 days) in nonspiked ham. In conclusion, the raw ham produced using presliced pork loin is practically as safe as conventionally produced raw ham. It is worth validating these results in a small-scale production setting.     

Performance improvement of Distributed Virtual Environments by exploiting objects’ attributes

Distributed virtual environments need to address issues related to the control of network traffic, resource management, and scalability. Given the distributed nature of these environments, the main problems they need to overcome are the efficient distribution of workload among the servers and the minimization of the communication cost. In this direction, a lot of work has been done and numerous relevant techniques and algorithms have been proposed. The majority of these approaches mainly focus on user entities and their interactions. However, most of actual DVE systems include additional and non-dynamic elements, denoted as objects, whose presence can affect users?? behavior. This paper introduces virtual objects?? attributes and proposes two approaches that exploit these attributes in order to handle workload assignment and communication cost in DVE systems. Both approaches take into account scenario-specific aspects of DVE systems, such as the impact that entities?? attributes have on each other and the way this impact can affect the system??s state. These scenario-specific aspects are then combined with quantitative factors of the system, such as workload, communication cost, and utilization. The experiments conducted in order to validate the behavior of the proposed approach show that the incorporation of object??s presence can improve the DVE system??s performance. More specifically, objects?? presence and their attributes can assist in the significant reduction in the communication cost along with effective workload distribution among the system??s servers.