Preparation of macroreticular anion exchange membrane and its behavior relating to organic fouling

Base membranes were prepared by coating a monomer mixture consisting of styrene–divinylbenzene–polybutadiene–t-amyl alcohol onto a polypropyrene cloth and subsequently by polymerizing the monomers. The resultant base membranes were chloromethylated and then quaternized. Thus, macroreticular anion exchange membranes were prepared and their properties were investigated. Furthermore, the organic fouling of the membranes was studied by using Na dodecylbenzenesulfonate as a foulant. The resistibility of the membranes was dependent on the balance between the porosity of the membranes and the foulant quantity.     

Information capacity of the stationary Gaussian channel

The averaged information capacity of the mismatched stationary continuous-time Gaussian channel is considered, in the limit as the observation time becomes infinite. It is required only that the signal satisfy a reproducing kernel Hilbert space constraint on expected energy. This requires the, signal energy to be distributed in regions where the noise energy, is not too small, and is the weakest condition that provides finite capacity. In the case when both the noise covariance and the filter on the message are expressed by rational functions, the results complement those previously obtained by Gallager and Holsinger (1968), and the combination gives a complete solution to the capacity problem. The treatment provides a desirable generality on the class of transmitted signals that is not present in previous treatments     

Maximum scintillation yields in NaI(Tl) and CsI(Tl) crystals estimated from the scintillation model for liquid rare gases

The maximum scintillation yields in NaI(Tl) and CsI(Tl) crystals were estimated theoretically by applying the scintillation model for liquid rare gases to crystal scintillators. Average energies required to produce one scintillation photon in the maximum scintillation yield, W_so, were estimated to be 10.6 ± 0.3 or 11.6 ± 0.3 eV for NaI(Tl) and 11.6 ± 0.3 or 12.5 ± 0.3 eV for CsI(Tl). The new experiment on scintillation yields gives W_so of 10.8 ± 2.0 eV for NaI(Tl) and 11.3 ± 2.1 or 9.3 ± 1.7 eV for CsI(Tl). The values show good agreement with the theoretical estimations. These results demonstrate that the scintillation model in liquid rare gases is applicable to inorganic scintillators such as NaI(Tl) and CsI(Tl) crystals.     

Water Treatment Using Discharge Generated in Cavitation Field with Micro Bubble Cloud

A new method of wastewater treatment using electric discharge in the water cavitation field formed by a large number of micro bubbles generated by high‐speed water flow is proposed in this paper. Indigo carmine solution, which is a type of dye, with a concentration of 9 mg/liter was used as the specimen solution for demonstration of water treatment. The total volume of solution and the average speed of solution in the cavitation field were 20 liters and about 7.4 m/s, respectively. An absorbance decrease rate of 96% was obtained in 50 min of treatment time at the electrode distance of 2 mm and discharge power of 16 W. It was also found that the efficiency of decolorization was improved by changing the electrode location. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 186(4): 1–10, 2014; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.22483     

Effects of buttermilk powders on emulsification properties and acid tolerance of cream

Emulsifying properties and acid tolerance are 2 of the most important characteristics of cream. The effects of the buttermilk component, especially its phospholipids, on the emulsifying properties and acid tolerance of cream were investigated in this study. Two buttermilks with differing phospholipid contents and skimmed milk were used to evaluate the effects of phospholipids on the aforementioned parameters. The mean diameter of fat globules and the cream viscosity were used as indicators of emulsifying properties. Acid tolerance was evaluated by studying the effect of citric acid on the maximum viscosity of cream. This was tested by adding 400 μL of 10% (w/w) citric acid solution to cream every minute and simultaneously measuring pH and viscosity. In 45% and 40% fat cream systems, buttermilk, and especially that with higher phospholipid content, improved the emulsifying properties and acid tolerance of the cream. The components of buttermilk could alter the properties of the surface of fat globules, thereby altering the emulsification properties of the cream. However, neither of the tested buttermilks affected the emulsifying properties and acid tolerance of lower-fat (35% and 30%) cream systems. Emulsifying components exist in proportionately larger amounts in lower-fat creams, which could render the emulsifying properties resistant to change. The number of fat globules may also influence acid-induced changes in viscosity. The addition of phospholipids or lysophospholipids did not improve the acid tolerance of creams, a finding that may be attributable to the formation of complexes of phospholipids and protein. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The findings presented herein demonstrate the ability to improve the acid tolerance of cream using materials derived from milk. Implementing these findings appropriately may result in a high-quality cooking cream.     

Tip radius effect of AFM probe on K4Nb6O17·3H2O nanosheets groove machining accuracy

This paper presents a technique for groove machining of potassium niobate nanosheets using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Groove machining operations are performed using super sharp silicon (SSS) probes. The tip radius of these probes is less than 5 nm and is one-third that of a conventional silicon (Si) probe. The results obtained using these probes are compared with those obtained using a Si probe, in order to examine the tip radius effects of the AFM probe on groove machining accuracy, i.e., coarseness of the machined groove. These results show that the degree of coarseness of the machined groove for varying machining loads with the SSS probe was much worse than that with the Si probe. Thus, groove machining with the SSS probe was more difficult to control with varying machining loads. We propose a groove fabrication model that considers the stochastic energy and difference in tip radius of the AFM probe. Using our groove fabrication model, changes in the coarseness of the machined groove for varying machining loads can be predicted.     

Preparation of multilayered organic-inorganic hybrid core-shell particles by stepwise surface formation

This paper introduces a stepwise formation method for micro-sized, multilayered core-shell particles comprising an inorganic core, organic inner shell, and inorganic outer shell. A silica core was coated with a polystyrene seed layer, followed by surface seed polymerization with styrene, to afford the inner shell. These particles were then coated with a silica outer shell by a surface sol-gel reaction with tetraethoxysilane. The versatility of this combined surface seed polymerization and sol-gel method is emphasized by the precise control achieved over particle diameter as well as shell thickness and count. Moreover, the organic inner shell can be readily eliminated to afford a single-core-containing micro-capsular structure.     

Nonresponse Adjustments for Estimates of Proportions in the 2010 Survey on Stratification and Social Psychology

The main purpose of this study is to investigate influence of nonresponse in the “Interview Survey for Stratification and Social Psychology in 2010” (SSP-I2010 Survey). Now, social stratification is one of main research themes in the study of Japanese society, and the SSP-I2010 Survey provides basic data to study social stratification and people’s views on economic inequality in Japan. From a target sample of 3,500, approximately half (1,737) did not respond in the survey, thus nonresponse bias is a serious concern. From a survey methodological viewpoint, studies applying methods for dealing with nonresponse to Japanese surveys are few. Therefore many empirical studies with nonresponse bias adjustment are needed to understand influence of nonresponse in Japanese surveys. In an attempt to reduce the nonresponse bias in the SSP-I2010 Survey, we used two bias adjustment methods using information on both survey locations and individuals as auxiliary variables. The effectiveness of the bias adjustment methods was evaluated by a simulation and several items of the SSP-I2010 Survey where the values of population proportions are known. In this study, stratum identification was relatively insensitive to bias adjustment. On the other hand, the estimates of the proportion of people who accept the economic inequality increased by bias adjustment.

     

Identification of two missense mutations in the GIP receptor gene: a functional study and association analysis with NIDDM: no evidence of association with Japanese NIDDM subjects

Gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP) potently stimulates insulin secretion from pancreatic islets in the presence of glucose as an incretin. Because the insulinotropic effect of GIP is reduced in NIDDM, it should be clarified whether defects in the GIP receptor gene contribute to the impaired insulin secretion in NIDDM. Using genomic DNA samples from Japanese NIDDM and non-NIDDM subjects, we have investigated the entire coding region of the GIP receptor gene by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP). We have identified two missense mutations, Gly198-->Cys (Gly198Cys) in exon 7 and Glu354-->Gln (Glu354Gln) in exon 12. Investigation of the function of GIP receptor with either of these mutations reveals a half-maximal stimulation value of GIP-induced cAMP response in Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing the GIP receptor with Gly198Cys of 6.3 +/- 1.2 x 10(-10) mol/l (n = 3), which was considerably higher than that of the normal GIP receptor, 9.4 +/- 3.8 x 10(-12) mol/l GIP (n = 3), whereas that of the GIP receptor with Glu354Gln was not significantly different from that of the normal GIP receptor. To assess the possible role of the GIP receptor gene in genetic susceptibility to NIDDM, we have examined the allelic frequencies of Gly198Cys and Glu354Gln in NIDDM and control subjects. Association studies show no relationship between NIDDM and either of the two mutations.