Production of 5-aminolevulinic acid by Propionibacterium acidipropionici TISTR442

Propionibacterium acidipropionici TISTR442 produced the highest amount of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) when cultivated in medium supplemented with glycine at 18g/l. ALA production correlated with ALA synthase activity, whereas ALA dehydratase activity was maintained at a low level. ALA yield reached 405mg/l after prolonged cultivation for 1 month.     

Utilization of adzuki bean extract as a natural antioxidant in cured and uncured cooked pork sausages

A commercial adzuki bean extract (AE) was evaluated for antioxidant effectiveness in cured and uncured cooked pork sausages. TBARS values, instrumental color evaluation and sensory panel scores were assessed. For uncured sausages, AE at 0.2% was equally effective as 0.1% butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in reducing TBARS values. Similarly, AE at 0.2% significantly (P<0.01) reduced the TBARS in cured sausages. Incorporation of 0.2% AE into sausages produced higher (P<0.05) CIE lab color a* value and lower (P<0.05) L* and b* values. Sensory panels did not detect any difference in color, odor, taste, flavor, and overall acceptance in uncured pork sausages with addition of 0.2% AE. However, there were adverse changes in the color and odor of cured sausages, even though the taste, flavor, and overall acceptance were similar. Therefore, the results suggest that AE is a potential antioxidant.     

Zinc oxide-coated plasmonic chip modified with a bispecific antibody for sensitive detection of a fluorescent labeled-antigen

A plasmonic biosensor chip of silver-coated PMMA grating with a zinc oxide (ZnO) overlayer is fabricated for surface plasmon field-enhanced fluorescence (SPF) detection of Cy5-labeled green fluorescent protein (GFP). A bispecific antibody (anti-GFP x anti-ZnO antibody) prepared in our lab is densely immobilized on the sensor chip for GFP detection. The sensitivity of the plasmonic biosensors is improved due to densely packed antibodies and ZnO-coating that suppresses nonspecific protein adsorption and fluorescent quenching. With the ZnO-coated plasmonic chip, Cy5-labeled GFP of 10 pM can be detected through SPF. This sensitivity is 100 higher compared with the normal fluorescent detection on a ZnO-coated glass slide.     

Numerical simulation of fracture of model Al-Si alloys

Hypoeutectic Al-Si alloys consist of primary α-Al and Al-Si eutectic phases and show typical elasticplastic fracture. To understand their fracture behavior, fracture processes were simulated using an elastic-plastic finite-element method. The validity of the J-integral-based criterion was verified and applied to the simulations. A complicated model was used to simulate the fracture in an idealized dendritic microstructure, and four simplified models were intended to more clearly understand the interaction between a crack and individual α phases. Results show that the crack is attracted to the soft α phase when passing by the α phase, whereas it is repelled when the α phase is close in front of or behind the crack tip. The presence of α phase close in front of or behind the crack tip leads to an amplification of the driving force. However, the α phase beside the tip reduces the driving force. Furthermore, the fracture behavior is mainly affected by the adjacent α phase on one side around the crack tip, while the remote α phase on the opposite side has an offsetting effect. The local stress-strain fields were examined to analyze the simulated behavior. The simulated crack-growth path in the dendritic model was compared and verified with the experimentally observed path.     

High cycle fatigue strength of butt welded joints of small diameter pipes

Fillet welds are usually used for joints of small pipelines with 2-inch nominal outer diameter or smaller. The fillet welded joints might not be strong enough to withstand the high cycle fatigue produced by steady-state vibrations, because they have inherent crack-like discontinuities in the root portion. The fatigue strength of butt welded joints is believed to be higher than that of fillet welded joints, so that it is desirable to use butt welded joints for small pipelines under steady-state vibrations. However, there are no available data on high cycle fatigue strength of small diameter piping butt welded joints. This paper presents new data on high cycle fatigue strength of butt welded joints in small diameter pipes and development of their fatigue strength reduction factors for design use.     

Solving fuzzy shortest path problems by neural networks

In this paper, we introduce the neural networks for solving fuzzy shortest path problems. The penalization of the neural networks is realized after transforming into crisp shortest path model. The procedure and efficiency of this approach are shown with numerical simulations.     

Order relation between intervals and its application to shortest path problem

It is true that intervals are frequently partially ordered and cannot be compared. Nevertheless, varous definitions for ranking intervals have been proposed. In this paper, we propose a new definition for order relation between intervals by introducing a parameter called “a degree between partial and total order”, and apply it to the shortest path problem with arcs represented as intervals. In order to solve this problem, we modify the Dijkstra's algorithm, and propose a new algorithm obtaining some incomparable interval solutions. Finally, a numerical example is shown.     

The effect of washing and heat treatment on the surface characteristics of fluorocarbon resin-treated polyester

Polyester fabrics and films treated with two fluorocarbon resins were washed and heat treated. Water repellency, surface tension and ESCA measurements were carried out. Changes in the water repellency of the resin-treated polyester fabric caused by washing and heat treatment are related to modification of the chemical composition of the polyester surface.     

Recent developments in Japanese titanium research and development

Activity in the titanium industries in Japan has been steadily increasing as the demand for titanium and titanium alloys in consumer goods grows. The key issues in continuing the growth of these applications are lowering costs and developing new markets. In this article, advances in R&D reported mainly in the Japanese journals and at Japanese conferences are briefly described.     

Cellular array processor CAP and applications

The general-purpose, highly parallel, cellular array processor (CAP) we developed features multiple-instruction stream, multiple-data stream (MIMD) processing and image display. Processor elements can number in several hundreds. The present system uses 256 processors. Each processor element consists of a general-purpose microprocessor, memory, and a special VLSI chip that performs parallel-processing-specific functions such as processor communication and synchronization. The VLSI has two 2M byte/s independent common bus interfaces for data broadcating and six 15M bit/s serial communication ports for local data communication. The chip also can process image data in real time for multiple processors. Use of the communication interfaces enables a variety of processor networks to be configured. One CAP application has been computer graphics, in which ray tracing is used to generate quality images.