Deterioration of diacylglycerol‐ and triacylglycerol‐rich oils during frying of potatoes

The stabilities of a commercial diacylglycerol‐rich oil (DAG) and a salad oil (TAG) that had been prepared from a mixture of rapeseed and soybean oils were compared while frying potatoes at 180 °C for 3 h. The representative chemical and physical characteristics of the oils were assessed before and after frying, together with the amount of volatile aldehydes in the exhaust of frying. Among the deterioration indications, the carbonyl value, polymer content, and residual polyunsaturated fatty acid content were similar and not significantly different between the TAG and DAG. On the other hand, the characteristics relating to free fatty acids, i.e. the acid value and emission of chemiluminescence at 100 °C, were greater and the smoke and flash points were lower in the DAG than in the TAG. An irritating odor was generated from the DAG after 1 h of frying and got stronger as frying continued. These results suggested that DAG more easily forms free fatty acids under frying conditions than TAG.     

Antioxidant effects of chlorophyll and pheophytin on the autoxidation of oils in the dark. II. The mechanism of antioxidative action of chlorophyll

To understand the mechanism of the antioxidant effect of chlorophyll on the autoxidation of oils in the dark, antioxidant activities of several derivatives of chlorophyll were compared. Antioxidant activities were observed in chlorophyll derivatives such as protopor-phyrin methyl ester and its magnesium chelated compound. Porphyrin seems to be an essential chemical structure for the antioxidant activity of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll did not decompose the hydroperoxides, but reduced free radicals such as 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl. Electron spin resonance spectrum of the π-cation radical was recorded during the oxidation of chlorophyll in methyl linoleate solution. These observations suggest that chlorophyll may act as a hydrogen donor to break the chain reaction.     

Polymeric phosphonium salts as a novel class of cationic biocides. VII. Synthesis and antibacterial activity of polymeric phosphonium salts and their model compounds containing long alkyl chains

Various polymeric phosphonium salts containing long alkyl chains (C₁₀? C₁₈) and their corresponding model compounds were prepared, which possess the same hydrophobic structure as that of the common disinfectants (quaternary ammonium salts), and their antibacterial activities were evaluated by means of the viable cell counting method against Staphylococcus aureus (Gram-positive) and Escherichia coli (Gram-negative). The polymer with the decyl group exhibited a higher activity than that of the corresponding model compound, particularly against the Gram-positive strain. Furthermore, antibacterial activity of the polymers was found to decrease as the chain length increased. In contrast with the polymers, the antibacterial activity of the corresponding model compounds increased as hydrophobicity of the substituents increased. The antibacterial activity was strongly dependent on the structure, particularly on the length of the alkyl chain. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Corrosion of silicon nitride ceramics under hydrothermal conditions

Corrosion behaviour of Si₃N₄ ceramics containing Y₂O₃, Al₂O₃ and AIN as sintering aids was investigated under hydrothermal conditions at 200–300 C and saturated vapour pressures of water for 1–10 days. Hydrothermal corrosion resulted in the dissolution of the Si₃N₄ matrix and the formation of a product layer consisting of the original grain-boundary phases and hydrated silica. The dissolution rate of Si₃N₄ ceramics decreased with decreasing crystallinity of the grain-boundary phase. The dissolution rate could be adequately described by a parabolic plot in the initial stage of the reaction. The apparent activation energies were 83.5–108 kJ mol^–1, and the bending strength of the corroded samples decreased from 600 to 400 MPa in the initial stage of the reaction upto a weight loss of 0.004 g cm^–2, and then was almost constant up to a weight loss of 0.012 g cm^–2.     

Study on stiffness visualization and safety control based on will-consensus building for tele-palpation robot system

This paper proposes a method for visualizing the stiffness of a soft object in a palpation-support information system by the teleoperation of a robot hand. It is important that a palpation system display a body’s shape and stiffness. In our method, the stiffness of the contact area between the soft object and the robot finger is estimated by a recursive least-squares method with forgetting factor that uses an impedance dynamics model. With the estimated stiffness and direction of contact force, we calculate the scalar parameter for visualization of stiffness. Moreover, we propose a safety control method for the palpation system, which is part of a tele-control method based on will-consensus building. The system configuration, estimated algorithm, and experimental results are presented.     

A new optical elasticity resin for mobile LCD modules

Abstract— The display used in current cell phones has an air gap between the cover glass and the liquid‐crystal‐display (LCD) module to prevent the LCD glass from being damaged. Reflections at the boundaries of the air gap cause a reduction in the LCD luminance and contrast. To address this problem, a newly proposed LCD structure has been investigated. The “Super View Resin (SVR),” a transparent elastic resin which improves the shock resistance and visibility of the LCD, has been developed. Filling the air gap between the cover glass and LCD module with a refractive‐index‐matching resin solves the light‐reflection problem inherent in the use of a reinforced cover‐glass lens. Moreover, the elastic filler works as a damper, reducing any external shock, which prevents not only the cover glass and LCD module from being damaged, but also the glass from being shattered when it is broken.     

Multiphase composites of tetragonal zirconia agglomerate dispersed into alumina and alumina-zirconia matrices

Multiphase composites of yttria- and ceria-doped tetragonal zirconia agglomerates (10–50 m) dispersed into an alumina or alumina-zirconia matrix were sintered at 1500–1600 °C in air, followed by post-Hot Isostatic Pressing (HIP) at 1450°C and 150 MPa in an Ar gas atmosphere. The relative density of the recovered composites was above 98% of the theoretical density. By chemically etching on the surface of zirconia agglomerates, the sinterability of composites was apparently improved; and no microcracks nor pores were observed at the interface of agglomerate and matrix. According to scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation, tetragonal and tetragonal-monoclinic zirconia agglomerates were highly dispersed into the alumina or alumina-zirconia matrix. The multiphase composites containing 10 vol% spherical agglomerates demonstrate the relatively low value of bending strength, < 400 MPa, and a high value of fracture toughness, > 11 MPa m^1/2. The crack propagation introduced by Vickers indentation was efficiently suppressed and deflected by the agglomerates.     

SPIDER: An availability-aware framework for the service function chain placement in distributed scenarios

The network function virtualization (NFV) paradigm replaces hardware-dependent network functions by virtual network functions (VNFs) that can be deployed in commodity hardware, including legacy servers. Consequently, the use of NFV is expected to reduce operating and capital expenses, as well as improve service deployment operation and management flexibility. For many use cases, the VNFs must be visited and invoked following a specific order of execution in order to compose a complete network service, named service function chain (SFC). Nonetheless, despite the benefits from NFV and SFC virtualization technologies, their introduction must not harm network performance and service availability. On the one hand, redundancy is seen by network service planners as a mechanism well established to combat availability issues. At same time, there is a goal to optimize resource utilization in order to reduce operational expenditure. In this article, we share our experience in the design use of a framework, named SPIDER, focused on SFC placement that considers the network infrastructure condition and the required SFC availability to define the placement strategy. The SPIDER monitors the status of infrastructure nodes and links and defines which servers the VNFs should be placed on and the number of redundant replicas needed. We present a proof-of-concept of SPIDER using Kubernetes to launch the VNFs as containers. We also use Kubernetes to forward the traffic between the VNFs, composing the service chain. We perform experiments to evaluate the runtime of SPIDER and the SFC delay under different network conditions.     

Revolving Vernier Mechanism Controls Size of Linear Homomultimer

A new kind of the Vernier mechanism that is able to control the size of linear assembly of DNA origami nanostructures is proposed. The mechanism is realized by mechanical design of DNA origami, which consists of a hollow cylinder and a rotatable shaft in it connected through the same scaffold. This nanostructure stacks with each other by the shape complementarity at its top and bottom surfaces of the cylinder, while the number of stacking is limited by twisting angle of the shaft. Experiments have shown that the size distribution of multimeric assembly of the origami depends on the twisting angle of the shaft; the average lengths of the multimer are decamer, hexamer, and tetramer for 0°, 10°, and 20° twist, respectively. In summary, it is possible to affect the number of polymerization by adjusting the precise shape and movability of a molecular structure.     

Phylogenetic analyses of the matrix and non-structural genes of equine influenza viruses

Matrix (M) and nonstructural (NS) genes of thirteen equine H3N8 and H7N7 influenza viruses were sequenced and analyzed from an evolutionary point of view. The M and NS genes of H3N8 viruses isolated between 1989 and 1993 evolved into two minor branch clusters, including isolates from Europe and the American continent, respectively. It was noteworthy to reveal that the nucleotide sequences of the M and NS genes of an earlier American strain showed highest homology to those of recent European viruses. "Frozen evolution" was observed in the M and NS genes of A/eq/LaPlata/1/88. It was also evident that the NS gene of an H7N7 virus from 1977 was very similar to that of a 1979-H3N8 virus, while the M gene was closest phylogenetically to that of the earliest H7N7 virus isolated in 1956. Furthermore, the M2 protein of A/eq/Newmarket/1/77 virus contained a carboxyl terminal deletion of three amino acids. The evolutionary rates of the M and NS genes of H3N8 equine influenza viruses were estimated to be 5.4 x 10(-4) and 5.1 x 10(-4) substitutions per site per year, respectively, which were slower than those of human viruses.