Synthesis, characteristics and oxygen-sensitive properties of SrMgxTi 1 − xO3 nanocrystals

SrMg_xTi_{1 - x}O₃ nanocrystals (x = 0.1–0.6) were synthesized by the stearic acid gel method. Powder samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron (XP) spectroscopy. The results showed that the lattice parameter a and the O 1s XP spectrum changed not only with the Mg content x but also with the grain size d of the samples. The conductivity of a thick film specimen fabricated on an aluminium oxide wafer was investigated in a nitrogen—oxygen atmosphere.     

Apparent diffusion coefficient determination of sodium hydroxide through potato skin and flesh under different temperatures and concentration conditions

The aims of the present study were to analyze the most important chemical reactions between sodium hydroxide and potato constituents involved in potato chemical peeling, and to measure the apparent diffusivity of NaOH in potato skin and flesh separately, as a function of temperature and NaOH concentration, selected according to potato chemical peeling process. Chemical reaction of the suberin of the potato skin with NaOH was proposed as the most important one to promote chemical peeling. Whereas starch hydrolysis, middle lamella dissolution and cell wall disruptions were proposed as the principal chemical reactions in flesh. Experiments to determine NaOH apparent dijfusivities in skin and flesh were performed following a cell diffusion method at 25, 40, 50, 60 and 70 °C temperatures and concentrations of 4, 12 and 20 g NaOH/100 g of solution. Finally, correlation equations were determined to describe apparent diffusivity dependence on temperature and concentration.     

Effects of viscosity on the bitterness and astringency of grape seed tannin

To examine the separate effects of viscosity and sweetness on astringency, aqueous solutions of grape seed tannin (GST) were thickened with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) from 2 to 45 cP (experiment 1) or sweetened with 0 to 1.8 g/L aspartame (experiment 2). Trained subjects continuously rated astringency and bitterness in duplicate. Subjects were categorized by the salivary flow induced by citric acid and ability to taste n-propyl thiouracil (PROP). In experiment 1, maximum intensity and total duration of astringency were significantly decreased as viscosity rose, although time to maximum intensity of astringency was not affected. Maximum intensity and total duration of bitterness were not significantly affected by increasing viscosity; however, the onset of bitterness was significantly delayed. In experiment 2, increasing sweetness had no affect on any astringency parameter, although maximum intensity of bitterness was significantly decreased. Neither PROP nor salivary flow-status had any effect on perception of bitterness or astringency in either experiment.     

Microscopic fatigue processes in a plain-weave glass-fibre composite

This paper focuses on the microscopic damage and progressive failure of a composite reinforced by plain-weave glass cloth under tensile fatigue loading. The fatigue process was divided into three stages like that of multi-directional laminates. It was found that the internal damage at each stage (matrix cracks, debonds in the weft, successive debonds in the warp and ‘metadelaminations’ between warps and wefts) occurred near the cross-over point of the fabric. The modulus decay mechanism was explained by considering the progression of this internal damage. From the end of the first stage to the beginning of the middle stage, a characteristic damage state (CDS) (called a ‘meta-CDS’) was observed. It was found that woven composites have a unit area of damage accumulation (called a ‘unit cell’) and the damage of each unit cell and its distribution control the total fatigue damage of the material.     

Multimedia Signal Processors: An Architectural Platform with Algorithmic Compilation

Novel algorithmic features of multimedia applications and advances in VLSI technologies are driving forces behind the new multimedia signal processors. We propose an architecture platform which could provide high performance and flexibility, and would require less external I/O and memory access. It is comprised of array processors to be used as the hardware accelerator and RISC cores to be used as the basis of the programmable processor. It is a hierarchical and scalable architecture style which facilitates the hardware-software codesign of multimedia signal processing circuits and systems. While some control-intensive functions can be implemented using programmable CPUs, other computation-intensive functions can rely on hardware accelerators.To compile multimedia algorithms, we also present an operation placement and scheduling scheme suitable for the proposed architectural platform. Our scheme addresses data reusability and exploits local communication in order to avoid the memory/communication bandwidth bottleneck, which leads to faster program execution. Our method shows a promising performance: a linear speed-up of 16 times can be achieved for the block-matching motion estimation algorithm and the true motion tracking algorithm, which have formed many multimedia applications (e.g., MPEG-2 and MPEG-4).     

Application of outranking methods to economic and financial justificaton of CIM systems

Traditional economic evaluation methods concentrate on maximizing or minimizing a single objective such as net present value and pay back period. In the last decade, there has been an increased awareness of the need to consider multiple attributes in the evaluation of advanced manufacturing systems. Various methods have recently been developed for the evaluation of CIM systems. This paper discusses multiattribute methods for justification of CIM systems and outranking methods including ELECTRE, ORESTE, and PROMETHEE.     

Effect of processing history on the properties of Ag-based tapes

The Bi-system tapes and coils were prepared by the powder-in-tube method. The effect of processing and heat treatment on the properties of the tapes and coils was studied. It is found that the shearing stress produced by the rolling process may destroy the 2223 phase, and the destroyed 2223 phase cannot be recovered by heat treatment, whereas the pressing stress produced by the uniaxial pressing process only makes the 2223 phase grains break, and the broken 2223 phase can be closed by the heat treatment. TheJ _c values of the rolling samples, pressing sample, and the coil with a diameter of 35 mm are over 1.3×10⁴, 2.5×10⁴, and 4×10³ A/cm² (77 K, 0 T), respectively.     

Sensors for the food industry

This article presents an overview of the results of a five-year research project on sensors for the food industry in Japan. This project was a government-sponsered research programme involving the food industry and the instrumentation industry, coordinated by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The programme focussed on 17 food processing operations and quality control tasks, where the need for an on-line (or rapid at-line) measurement had been established. The instrument development work employed biosensors pH and gas sensors, optical-imaging devices, as well as near-infrared, microwave, ultrasound and mechanical resonance techniques, together with robotics and advanced data-processing techniques.