Effect of ratcheting deformation on fatigue and creep-fatigue life of 316FR stainless steel

Components of fast breeder reactor (FBR) plants will be subjected to large thermal load, and progressive deformation with loading cycles (ratcheting) and creep-fatigue damage should be considered in their design. To clarify the effect of ratcheting on fatigue and creep-fatigue life, a series of fatigue and creep-fatigue tests coupled with strain progress were carried out for 316FR stainless steel. It was found that tensile ratcheting decreases the failure life to a large extent at small strain range, while compressive ratcheting does not decrease the failure life. Measurement of striation intervals on fracture surface showed small influence of strain increment on the crack propagation rate, suggesting that the main cause of the life reduction is the decrease in the crack initiation life. It was also found that failure life in various conditions is correlated well with a product of strain range and tensile peak stress.     

Development and Continuous Operation of a Bench-Scale System for the Production of O3 + O2 + CO2 Hydrates

Ozone (O₃) has many industrial applications such as in sterilization. One of the long-term O₃ preservation methods is molecular storage in clathrate hydrate. In this study, an experimental system was developed for continuously forming O₃ + O₂ + CO₂ hydrates. The parameters that affect the continuous operation of the system and that lead to increases in the concentration of O₃ in the hydrates were also experimentally evaluated, implementing the method of quality engineering. After optimizing these operating parameters, the O₃ storage capacity in the hydrates was measured to be 0.26 wt % at 2 h of total operation time. By X-ray diffraction, it was found that the produced sample contained hydrates, and long-term preservation for 6 months was possible at the temperature of general freezing warehouses.     

Three-dimensional vortex simulation for particulate jet generated by free falling particles

The particulate jet generated by solid particles falling from a circular orifice into an unbounded quiescent air is simulated. The three-dimensional vortex method, proposed for the analysis of particle-laden free turbulent flow in a prior study, is employed for the simulation. It is found that the falling particles induce complicated three-dimensional unsteady air flow involving large-scale eddies. The air takes its maximum velocity at the jet centerline, and the velocity profile satisfies the self-similarity around the centerline. The effect of particle diameter on the velocity distribution for the two phases is investigated. The entrained air flow rate is favorably compared with the value predicted by the analytical models.     

Proteome profiling of vitreoretinal diseases by cluster analysis

Vitreous samples collected in retinopathic surgeries have diverse properties, making proteomics analysis difficult. We report a cluster analysis to evade this difficulty. Vitreous and subretinal fluid samples were collected from 60 patients during surgical operation of non‐proliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, and rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. For controls, we collected vitreous fluid from patients of idiopathic macular hole, epiretinal, and from a healthy postmortem donor. Proteins from these samples were subjected to quantitative proteomics using two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis. We selected 105 proteins robustly expressed among ca. 400 protein spots and subjected them to permutation test. By using permutation test analysis we observed unique variations in the expression of some of these proteins in vitreoretinal diseases when compared to the control and to each other: (i) the levels of inflammation‐associated proteins such as alpha1‐antitrypsin, apolipoprotein A4, albumin, and transferrin were significantly higher in all four types of vitreoretinal diseases, and (ii) each vitreoretinal disease elevated a unique set of proteins, which can be interpreted based on the pathology of retinopathy. Our protocol will be effective for the study of protein expression in other types of clinical samples of diverse properties.     

Antioxidation reaction mechanism studies of phenolic lignans,identification of antioxidation products of secoisolariciresinol from lipid oxidation

The chain-breaking antioxidation reaction mechanism of a phenolic lignan in a lipid oxidation system was investigated. The 2,2′-azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN)-induced radical oxidation reaction in a large amount of ethyl linoleate in the presence of secoisolariciresinol, one of the potent antioxidative lignans widely distributed in edible plants, produced two types of peroxides as radical termination products, as well as a cyclic derivative. The isolation and structure determination of the peroxides revealed that they have a peroxide linkage with ethyl linoleate or isobutyronitrile at the 1-position of the benzene ring of secoisolariciresinol. The cyclic derivative was also identified as lariciresinol by spectroscopic analysis. Based on the chemical structures of these products, a reaction pathway for the antioxidation reaction of secoisolariciresinol in oxidising lipid media was proposed.     

Controlled adhesion of human lymphocytes on electrically charged polymer surface having phosphorylcholine moiety

The human lymphocytes were interacted with polymer surfaces whose surface potential was controlled by the formation of a polyion complex (PIC) having a phosphorylcholine moiety. 3-(Methacryloyloxypropyl)-trimethyl ammonium iodide as the cationic unit or potassium 3-methacryloyloxypropyl sulfonate as the anionic unit was copolymerized with 2-methacryloyloxyethylphosphorylcholine (MPC) and _n-butyl methacrylate. PIC was made at the solid-liquid interface, that is, an aqueous solution containing an anionic polymer with different concentrations was contacted with a cationic polymer coated polymer membrane. The formation process of PIC was followed using a quartz crystal microbalance, and the PIC surfaces were analyzed by ζ potential and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The surface potential on the PIC was controllable from +20 to -16 mV, which increased in the amount of adsorbed anionic copolymer as the ζ potential decreased toward the negative charge. The PIC surface in contact with human lymphocyte for 5 h was observed using ascanning electron microscopy and the density of the adherent human lymphocyte was determined by the lactate dehydrogenase method. The lymphocyte adhesion on the surface was gradually reduced with an increase in the negative value of the ζ potential. The morphological change in the adherent lymphocytes was not observed on the polymer surfaces with MPC units.The adherent lymphocytes were not activated on the PIC surface. The lymphocyte adhesion with reduced activation could be controlled by changing the surface potential on the polymer with the MPC unit.     

Sensory characteristics and relative sweetness of tagatose and other sweeteners

The present study investigated the sensory characteristics and relative sweetness of tagatose, an emerging natural low-calorie sweetener with various functional properties, compared to other sweeteners (sucrose, sucralose, erythritol, rebaudioside A), over a wide range of sweetness commonly found in foods and beverages (3% to 20% sucrose [w/v]). A total of 34 subjects evaluated aqueous solutions of the 5 sweeteners for the perceived intensities of sweetness, bitterness, astringency, chemical-like sensations, and sweet aftertaste, using the general version of the Labeled Magnitude Scale. The relationship between the physical concentrations of the sweeteners and their perceived sweetness (that is, psychophysical functions) was derived to quantify the relative sweetness and potency of the sweeteners. The results suggest that tagatose elicits a sweet taste without undesirable qualities (bitterness, astringency, chemical-like sensations). Out of the 5 sweeteners tested, rebaudioside A was the only sweetener with notable bitterness and chemical-like sensations, which became progressively intense with increasing concentration (P < 0.001). In terms of perceived sweetness intensity, the bulk sweeteners (tagatose, erythritol, sucrose) had similar sweetness growth rates (slopes > 1), whereas the high-potency sweeteners (sucralose, rebaudioside A) yielded much flatter sweetness functions (slopes < 1). Because the sweetness of tagatose and sucrose grew at near-identical rates (slope = 1.41 and 1.40, respectively), tagatose produced about the same relative sweetness to sucrose across the concentrations tested. However, the relative sweetness of other sweeteners to sucrose was highly concentration dependent. Consequently, sweetness potencies of other sweeteners varied across the concentrations tested, ranging from 0.50 to 0.78 for erythritol, 220 to 1900 for sucralose, and 300 to 440 for rebaudioside A, while tagatose was estimated to be approximately 0.90 times as potent as sucrose irrespective of concentration. Practical Application: The present study investigated the sensory characteristics and relative sweetness of tagatose, an emerging natural low-calorie sweetener, compared to other sweeteners. Study results suggest that tagatose elicits a sweet taste without undesirable qualities over a wide range of concentrations. Tagatose produced about the same relative sweetness to sucrose across the concentrations tested, while the relative sweetness of other sweeteners was highly concentration dependent. The present data provide a general guideline when considering the use of tagatose and other sweeteners in foods and beverages.     

Radical scavenging capacities of saba-narezushi,Japanese fermented chub mackerel,and its lactic acid bacteria

Narezushi (salted and fermented fish with rice) is a traditional Japanese food prepared using lactic acid-fermentation. In the current study, the antioxidant (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^?)) and superoxide anion radical (O₂^?) scavenging capacities of four saba-narezushi (fermented chub mackerel with rice) products were determined. Lactose utilizing, bile resistant, acidophilic and antioxidative lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were also screened from 182 isolates derived from narezushi samples for use as starters of fermented foods as well probiotics. Radical scavenging capacities varied by product, with viable cell counts ranging from 7.9 to 9.4 log CFU/g and lactic acid content ranging from 0.27 to 1.2 mmol/g. Of the LAB isolates examined, five (four Lactobacillus plantarum and one Leuconostoc mesenteroides) were identified that were able to ferment lactose, grow in MRS containing 3 g/L bile, grow in broth adjusted to pH 3.6, and scavenge DPPH^? and/or O₂^? radicals. Two strains, Lb. plantarum 7FM10 and Ln. mesenteroides 1RM3, were able to grow and ferment in soybean milk and vegetable juice. These LAB also exhibited synergistic effects in milk fermentation, where samples containing both LAB showed a significant increase in O₂^? radical scavenging capacity.     

Transformation of vulcanized natural rubber into lower molecular weight polymers and their application to grafted copolymer synthesis with some vinyl monomers

Graft copolymerization of several vinyl monomers onto polyisoprene was carried out to explore the possibility to recycle waste rubber to useful functional materials. Synthetic polyisoprene, vulcanized natural rubber, and vulcanized natural rubber with carbon black were converted to lower molecular weight polymers at 300°C, under air or nitrogen atmosphere. The obtained low molecular weight natural rubber and polyisoprene were soluble in organic solvents, such as hexane, toluene, tetrahydrofuran (THF), chloroform, and monochlorobenzene. Radical copolymerization of styrene with a thermally fragmented natural rubber was carried out at 80°C in bulk for 2 h in the presence of 2,2′‐azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) under air atmosphere to give the corresponding grafted copolymer. The obtained polymer was a beige powdery copolymer at room temperature and consisted of isoprene (38 mol %) and styrene (62 mol %) units, respectively. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 4003–4010, 2006