Toughening of Silicon Nitride Matrix Composites by the Addition of Both Silicon Carbide Whiskers and Silicon Carbide Particles

Si₃N₄ matrix composites reinforced by SiC whiskers, SiC particles, or both were fabricated using the hot-pressing technique. The mechanical properties of the composites containing various amounts of these SiC reinforcing materials and different sizes of SiC particles were investigated. Fracture toughness of the composites was significantly improved by introducing SiC whiskers and particles together, compared with that obtained by adding SiC whiskers or SiC particles alone. On increasing the size of the added SiC particles, the fracture toughness of the composites reinforced by both whiskers and particles was increased. Their fracture toughness also showed a strong dependence on the amount of SiC particles (average size 40 μm) and was a maximum at the particle content of 10 vol%. The maximum fracture toughness of these composites was 10.5 MPa·m^1/2 and the flexural strength was 550 MPa after addition of 20 vol% of SiC whiskers and 10 vol% of SiC particles having an average particle size of 40 μm. These mechanical properties were almost constant from room temperature to temperatures around 1000°C. Fracture surface observations revealed that the reinforcing mechanisms acting in these composites were crack deflection and crack branching by SiC particles and pullout of SiC whiskers.     

Evaluation of antioxidative activity of vegetable extracts in linoleic acid emulsion and phospholipid bilayers

The antioxidative effects of vegetable extracts were evaluated using linoleic acid emulsion and liposomal phospholipid suspension systems. First, the antioxidative activities of water, ethanol and 2% metaphosphoric acid extracts of the vegetables were investigated by measuring the rate of oxygen consumption in the peroxidation of linoleic acid initiated by a radical generator, 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH), with a Clark electrode in the absence of metal chelators. Ethanol extracts of moroheiya and perilla exhibited the highest antioxidative activities. Without metal chelators, 12 ethanol extracts and one water extract acted as prooxidants, and this phenomenon could be attributed to the prooxidant action of ascorbic acid in the presence of free transition metal ions. Next, peroxyl radical-scavenging activities of vegetable extracts were examined by adding a metal chelator, diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), to the linoleic acid emulsion system. The results were compared with their antioxidative activities in phospholipid bilayers by measuring the inhibition of lipid peroxidation in large unilamellar vesicles composed of egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (PC). A good correlation was observed between the antioxidative activities obtained from these two systems. The antioxidative activities in the liposomal phospholipid suspension system correlated with total contents of ascorbic acid and polyphenols in vegetable extracts. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

A high fill factor and progressive scan PtSi Schottky-barrier IR-CCD image sensor using new wiring technology

A back surface illuminated 130/spl times/130 pixel PtSi Schottky-barrier (SB) IR-CCD image sensor has been developed by using new wiring technology, referred to as CLOSE Wiring, CLOSE Wiring, designed to effectively utilize the space over the SB photodiodes, brings about flexibility in clock line designing, high fill factor, and large charge handling capability in a vertical CCD (VCCD). This image sensor uses a progressive scanned interline-scheme, and has a 64.4% fill factor in a 30 /spl mu/m/spl times/30 /spl mu/m pixel, a 3.9 mm/spl times/3.9 mm image area, and a 5.5 mm/spl times/5.5 mm chip size. The charge handling capability for the 3.3 /spl mu/m wide VCCD achieves 9.8/spl times/10/sup 5/ electrons, The noise equivalent temperature difference obtained was 0.099 K for operation at 120 frames/sec with a 50 mm f/1.3 lens.<>     

Diffusion coefficient of antimony leaching from polyethylene terephthalate bottles into beverages

A variety of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles commercially available as soft drink containers from 80 different brands was collected in Japan and subsequently examined to determine the amount of Sb in both the PET plastic and drink. The concentration of Sb in the plastic material ranged from 0.1 to 216.5 mg/kg, while this value ranged from 0.3 to 1.6 μg/L in bottled solutions. The diffusion coefficients of Sb in PET samples were determined at 25, 40, 55, and 70 °C. The migrated-Sb in all simulated food solutions (e.g., ultra pure water, 4% acetic acid, and 50% ethanol) increased with storage time and temperature. The temperature-dependent diffusion coefficients were derived from the Arrhenius equation. The predicted model for Sb migration suggested that storage conditions of all PET drink products should be below 70 °C for a maximum of 72 d to avoid Sb levels above the recommended value of 5 μg/L, which is based on the European standards.     

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Big1p,a putative endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein required for normal levels of cell wall beta-1,6-glucan

Deletion of Saccharomyces cerevisiae BIG1 causes an approximately 95% reduction in cell wall beta-1,6-glucan, an essential polymer involved in the cell wall attachment of many surface mannoproteins. The big1 deletion mutant grows very slowly, but growth can be enhanced if cells are given osmotic support. We have begun a cell biological and genetic analysis of its product. We demonstrate, using a Big1p-GFP fusion construct, that Big1p is an N-glycosylated integral membrane protein with a Type I topology that is located in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Some phenotypes of a big1Delta mutant resemble those of strains disrupted for KRE5, which encodes another ER protein affecting beta-l,6-glucan levels to a similar extent. In a big1Deltakre5Delta double mutant, both the growth and alkali-soluble beta-l,6-glucan levels were reduced as compared to either single mutant. Thus, while Big1p and Kre5p may have similar effects on beta-l,6-glucan synthesis, these effects are at least partially distinct. Residual beta-l,6-glucan levels in the big1Deltakre5Delta double mutant indicate that these gene products are unlikely to be beta-l,6-glucan synthase subunits, but rather may play some ancillary roles in beta-l,6-glucan synthase assembly or function, or in modifying proteins for attachment of beta-l,6-glucan.     

Purification and some properties of beta-fructofuranosidase I formed by Aureobasidium pullulans DSM 2404

beta-Fructofuranosidase I (FFase I) formed by Aureobasidium pullulans DSM 2404 was purified. The enzyme had a molecular weight of about 430 kDa, was not affected by various metal ions and showed high transfructosylating activity. The yield of fructooligosaccharides production using purified FFase I was 62%.     

Production of extracellular bifidogenic growth stimulator by anaerobic and aerobic cultivations of several propionibacterial strains

Production of a bifidogenic growth stimulator (BGS) by propionic acid bacteria was investigated under anaerobic and aerobic culture conditions. To measure the concentration of extracellular BGS produced by propionic acid bacteria, we evaluated the effects of bioassay conditions using Bifidobacterium longum as a test microorganism on the formation of a growth-stimulation zone. The diameter of the growth-stimulation zone was significantly affected by both the component concentrations and the pH of a bioassay medium. The optimum component concentrations and pH of a bioassay medium were one-half of the normal values and 8.5, respectively. Using the bioassay method, we can measure the concentration of BGS produced by propionic acid bacteria ranging in concentrations from 0.1 microg/l to 1 mg/l using 1,4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (DHNA) and 2-amino-3-carboxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (ACNQ) as standards. Of six dairy propionic acid bacterial strains tested, the four strains (Propionibacterium freudenreichii ET-3, P. shermanii PZ-3, P. acidipropionici JCM 6432, and P. jensenii JCM 6433) produced BGS at a concentration range of 4-23 mg/l under the anaerobic culture conditions. Analysis of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) showed that more than 70% of total BGS produced in supernatant samples was DHNA and no ACNQ was produced by the strains. The effect of oxygen supply on BGS production was investigated for the four BGS-producing strains. The aerobic conditions exerted in positive effects on BGS production by only P. acidipropionici JCM 6432. The concentration of BGS obtained in the aerobic cultivation of P. acidipropionici JCM 6432 was 1.3-fold than that in anaerobic cultivation. Different properties (BGS production as well as cell growth and glucose metabolism) occurring in response to the aerobic conditions were observed, depending on the propionic acid bacterial strain used. This paper is the first report on BGS production by propionibacterial strains except for P. freudenreichii.     

Lipid components,fatty acid distributions of triacylglycerols and phospholipids in rice brans

Endogenous tocochromanols in extracted lipids from rice brans of the five cultivars were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography, and were investigated in relation to the fatty acid (FA) distribution of triacylglycerols (TAG) and phospholipids (PL). The dominant tocols were α-tocopherol and γ-tocotrienol, followed by α-tocotrienol and with much smaller amounts of γ-tocopherol and δ-tocotrienol. The lipids of these rice brans comprised mainly TAG (80.6–86.0 wt.%), free FA (4.2–9.0 wt.%), and phospholipids (5.5–6.7 wt.%), whilst other components were also detected in minor proportions (0.2–2.1 wt.%). The PL components included phosphatidyl choline (31.8–46.8 wt.%), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (25.0–38.9 wt.%) and phosphatidyl inositol (20.2–23.2 wt.%). Comparison of these different cultivars showed, with a few exceptions, no significant differences (P > 0.05) in FA distribution. FA distribution of TAG among the five cultivars was evident in the rice brans: unsaturated FA were predominantly concentrated at the sn-2 position and saturated FA primarily occupying the sn-1 or sn-3 position. These results suggest that the tocopherol content, lipid component, and FA distribution in rice brans are not dependent on the cultivation areas during the growing season.     

Photosensitive microspheres for photoresists

Crosslinked copolymer microspheres of n-butyl methacrylate (BMA) and 2-hydroxyethl methacrylate (HEMA) having varied diameters and composition were prepared by emulsion polymerization. Photosensitive materials were obtained by reacting hydroxyl pendant groups with cinnamovl chloride. Photosensitivity and conversion curves were determined after ultraviolet irradiation for different periods of time, and were evaluated as function of composition and particle size. Minimum irradiation time for insolubilization for each product was also determined, and it has been noted that almost all of the photosensitive microspheres have shown higher performance compared to linear poly(vinyl cinnamate). Synthesized products were characterized by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies, differential scanning calorimetry, size exclusion chromatography, and transmission electron microscopy. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.