Saltiness and Acidity: Detection and Recognition Thresholds and Their Interaction Near the Threshold

ABSTRACT:  Interaction of saltiness and acidity at the threshold level was studied employing 35 to 40 young female panelists. As a 1st step, the detection and recognition thresholds of salt, rice vinegar, and rice black vinegar have been measured for each panelist. To investigate the above interaction, the thresholds have been again measured for each panelist of salt, but this time, vinegar at half the concentration of each panelist's detection threshold was added to the salt solution. Similar measurement has been performed for vinegars with salt at half the concentration of each panelist's detection threshold. The data analysis has been done in 2 ways, namely, (1) by using Student's t -test to detect the significant difference in average between the data with and without the added ingredient and (2) detecting significant deviations from zero in the individual shifts in 2 sensory tests among panelists who participated in the 2 measurements. In doing that, a conversion of the scale was necessary to correct the systematic skewness existing in the original data. As a result, both the detection and recognition thresholds of salt were decreased with the existence of the added vinegar ingredient ( P < 0.001). This tendency was more pronounced with rice black vinegar than with rice vinegar. On the contrary, no significant changes in the threshold of both detection and recognition were observed when salt at the half concentration of the detection threshold was added to rice vinegar. The interaction therefore was found to be asymmetric.     

Flexible transparent self-standing binderless clay film prepared by hydrothermally-treated synthetic clay

A transparent flexible self-standing film with high heat resistance was formed from hydrothermally-treated synthetic clay without binders; the hydrothermal treatment engendered the clay particle growth; the treatment at 400 °C yielded the enlarged particles over 10 000 nm, which were 300 times as larges as those of the original clay. The film prepared by the particles showed the good film formability/flexibility that originated from the change in the stacking structure affected by the particle size.     

Synthesis and Superconducting Properties of Layered Ruthenocuprates

Superconducting properties of layered ruthenocuprates, RuSr ₂ RECu ₂ O ₈ and RuSr ₂ (RE _1-x Ce _x ) ₂ Cu ₂ O ₁₀ (RE = Sm, Eu, Gd), are investigated. The differences between superconductivity of these two phases are considered to be due to, their structural differences ; The RE/Sr substitution is more feasible in RuSr ₂ RECu ₂ O ₈ than in RuSr ₂ (RE _1-x Ce _x ) ₂ Cu ₂ O ₁₀ , while the latter phase shows larger oxygen nonstoichiometry. The superconducting RuSr ₂ Eu ₂ Cu ₂ O ₈ (T _{c, onset} = 25K, T _{c, zero} = 7K) phase was successfully synthesized for the first time, and coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in these systems was reconfirmed by using single-phase samples.     

Fabrication and characterization of ITO thin films on heat-resistant transparent flexible clay films

Transparent conductive indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films were deposited on transparent flexible clay films with heat resistant and high gas barrier properties by rf magnetron sputtering. The electrical, structural, and optical properties of these films were examined as a function of deposition temperature. A lowest resistivity of 4.2 × 10^− 4 Ωcm and an average transmittance more than 90% in the visible region were obtained for the ITO thin films fabricated at deposition temperatures more than 300 °C. It was found that ITO thin films with low resistivity and high transparency can be achieved on transparent flexible clay film using conventional rf magnetron sputtering at high temperature, those characteristics are comparable to those of ITO thin films deposited on a glass substrate.     

Development research on composite adsorbents applied in adsorption heat pump

A novel adsorbent design technique base on the concept of Kelvin equation was proposed to develop hydrophilic adsorbent applicable to water vapor adsorption heat pump (AHP) for high performance. In the process, the composite adsorbent was prepared after silica gel was synthesized in the pores of activated carbons by impregnating activated carbons in sodium silicate solution. Two kinds of activated carbons were tested to produce composite adsorbent and to investigate the performance by measuring the adsorption isotherms of water vapor and pore structure characteristics. All adsorption isotherms of the silica impregnated activated carbons prepared shifted to a lower region of water vapor pressure compared to those of the raw activated carbons. The volume-based amount of adsorption in the AHP operation range (φ = 0.1–0.4) for the adsorbents prepared at sodium silicate solution concentration of 10 wt.% and impregnating time of 48 h are 5.88 and 2.62 times that of the raw activated carbons (AC1 and AC2), respectively. Based on the Kelvin equation, it is clarified that the contact angle and the volume of pore radius greater than 1.2 nm decrease with the increase of sodium silicate solution concentration for the novel composite adsorbents, which contributes the isothermals shift to lower relative pressure range.     

Immobilization of lysozyme on the layered silicate RUB-15

Adsorption of lysozyme over layered silicate, denoted as RUB-15, and the modified compound RUB-15-nano have been studied. The amount of enzyme adsorbed onto RUB-15 or RUB-15-nano was smaller than that recently reported as being adsorbed onto mesoporous silicas such as MCM-41 or SBA-15. However, lysozyme adsorbed onto RUB-15-nano exhibits enzymatic activity. Lysozyme was found to be immobilized on RUB-15-nano, which was modified from the layered silicate RUB-15. RUB-15-nano may therefore be useful as an inorganic substrate to immobilize enzymes.     

Title Current Status of the Search for Biomarkers for Optimal Therapeutic Drug Selection for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by destructive synovitis. It is significantly associated with disability, impaired quality of life, and premature mortality. Recently, the development of biological agents (including tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-6 receptor inhibitors) and Janus kinase inhibitors have advanced the treatment of RA; however, it is still difficult to predict which drug will be effective for each patient. To break away from the current therapeutic approaches that could be described as a “lottery,” there is an urgent need to establish biomarkers that stratify patients in terms of expected therapeutic responsiveness. This review deals with recent progress from multi-faceted analyses of the synovial tissue in RA, which is now bringing new insights into diverse features at both the cellular and molecular levels and their potential links with particular clinical phenotypes.     

Structure and Properties of Silica Derived from Silicon Alkoxide Reacted with Tartaric Acid

The effects of tartaric acid that was used in sol–gel processing on specific surface area, pore-size distribution, and gel structure of sol–gel-derived silica gels were investigated. The specific surface area of silicas that were calcined at 450°C increased from ∼600 m²/g to ∼1200 m²/g as the amount of tartaric acid that was used increased. The pore-size distribution changed as the surface area increased, and only the gels that had a surface area of 930-990 m²/g showed a very sharp pore-size distribution in the mesopore range. The difference in gel structure and properties was explained in terms of the acidity of tartaric acid and the inhibition of condensation among primary particles through the coordination or adsorption of tartaric acid on the particle surface. From the thermal behavior of the gels with different features, it was concluded that gel properties are determined not only by the structure of the precursor gel but also by the surface activity. The gel with uniform mesopores gave a high surface area over a wide range of calcination temperatures.     

Forecasting daily peak load by a deterministic prediction method employing Gram-Schmidt orthonormalization

A technique for forecasting daily peak load in a utility power system is presented. After embedding time series data of daily peak load into a reconstructed state space, a nonlinear mapping is constructed by a local approximation method based on the orthonormal Gram-Schmidt bases. This method utilizes only the past load data for short-term prediction of the daily peak load, while many conventional methods make predictions with various kinds of data such as temperature and weather. The quality of prediction by the proposed method is as good as those with other prediction methods. Moreover, the results of short-term prediction by this method are satisfactory even with data as small as 250 points.     

Power system stability enhancement by static var system using self-commutated inverters

This paper deals with static var compensators using self-commutated inverters (which is so-called SVG) compared with conventional SVC and Rotary Condenser. Improvement of power system stability is explained by using simple system model and checked by dynamic digital simulation. In the latter part of this paper, system outline, basic specifications and control diagram of the SVG rated 154 kV, ±80 MVA, which has been installed at INUYAMA Switching Station, are briefly presented. Field tests at INUYAMA verify that power swing is effectively damped and transmission capacity is increased.