Impact of compression,physical aging,and freezing rate on the crystallization characteristics of an amorphous sugar matrix

Amorphous matrices made up of sugar molecules, are frequently used in food and pharmaceutical industries. A drawback to their use is that they are susceptible to collapse, as a result of water uptake and an increase in temperature and subsequently crystallize. Herein, the crystallization characteristics of amorphous sugar (sucrose and α-lactose) preparations were analyzed, with the purpose of obtaining knowledge that could lead to the prediction of how long the amorphous state is retained under various conditions. The impact of compression, physical aging and freezing rate on the induction period (t_ind) for crystallization were examined. Freeze-dried sugar samples were compressed at 74 or 443 MPa (5 min) and then rehumidified at specified RHs. Some freeze-dried sucrose samples were physically aged, and alternatively freeze-drying was conducted under different conditions. The isothermal crystallization of the prepared samples at different temperatures (T), the glass transition and the crystallization temperature (T_cry) were measured, using differential scanning calorimetry. The compression markedly decreased the t_ind, while significantly lowered the hygroscopicity. Physical aging and slower-freezing also shortened the t_ind. The t_ind was found to be correlated exclusively with (T_cry–T), regardless of rehumidification, compression, sugar type, physical aging and freezing rate in the freeze-drying process.     

斜齿正时皮带传动的噪音和寿命

一种新的降低噪音的斜齿正时皮带已经被开发,本研究采用一种曲线齿廓分别设计了斜角为3°、5°和10°的三种皮带.把这些正时皮带的噪音和寿命与斜角为0°的常规正时皮带进行了比较.这些具有斜角为5°和10°的新型斜齿皮带的噪音比常规带低5 dB(A).设置装配张力传递动力时带松边张力最低,对各型带的寿命几乎相同.本研究结果表明,在实际应用中如果噪音是关键要素,则应选用斜齿带.     

Seasonal and spatial variations and the effects of clear-cutting in the methane absorption rates of a temperate forest soil

Methane absorption rates of soils in a deciduous broad-leaf secondaryforest dominated by Quercus serrata in central Japan were measured by closed chamber technique from July 1995 to March 1999, focusing on its seasonal and spatial variations and the effects of clear-cutting. The measurement indicated that the methane absorption rate was the highest from late summer to beginning of autumn. The maximum value of the mean absorption rate was about 0.1 CH₄ m⁻²hr⁻¹. Regarding the spatial variation of the absorption rate, it varied along the position in a slope: the rate was higher at the lower position in a slope and lower at the upper position. After clear-cutting in the one of two adjacent watersheds constituting the study site, the highest mean absorption rate decreased to about 60–70 % of the last year's rate; our observations suggest that partial disturbance and erosion of the surface soil was the main reasons for the decrease. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Microstructure and magnetic properties of aerosol‐deposited Sm‐Fe‐N thick films

In this study, the relationship among magnetic properties, Aerosol Deposition (AD) conditions, and microstructures in Sm‐Fe‐N AD films was investigated. The maximum thickness of 145µm was obtained under AD conditions of gas flow rate (gfr)=6liters/min for 10 min. The density of Sm‐Fe‐N films was in the range of 5.43 to 6.24g/cm³, that is, 71 to 81% of the X‐ray density of the Sm₂Fe₁₇N₃ compound reported (7.67g/cm³). The Sm‐Fe‐N AD films showed remanence in the range of 0.38 to 0.42 T, that is, 61 to 68% of that of the Sm‐Fe‐N host powder (0.62 T). The coercivities increased from 1.16 to between 1.74 and 1.79 T after the deposition because the grain size decreased from 1.94µm to 0.32µm. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 158(1): 8–13, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20214     

Time Follower's Vision: a teleoperation interface with past images

Time-Followers's Vision is a mixed-reality-based visual presentation system that captures a robotic vehicle's size, position, and environment, allowing even inexperienced operators to easily control it. The technique produces a virtual image using mixed reality technology and presents the vehicle's surrounding environment and status to the operator. Therefore, even for inexperienced operators, the vehicle's position and orientation and the surrounding situation can be readily understood. The authors implement a prototype system and evaluate its feasibility. This article is available with a short video documentary on CD-ROM.     

A super‐fine‐pitch screen for rear‐projection TV

Abstract— An advanced screen for use with LCD/LCoS/DMD rear‐projection TV has been developed. A lenticular lens having a pitch of 64 μm has been developed without loss in any other optical property. A 70% black‐stripe ratio was obtained by optimizing the patterning process, which maintains high contrast. As described in this paper, the FC‐Screen manufacturing technology has been further developed.     

Isolation of a novel human canalicular multispecific organic anion transporter, cMOAT2/MRP3, and its expression in cisplatin-resistant cancer cells with decreased ATP-dependent drug transport

Since the 1950s the U.S. military has used intramuscular injections of benzathine penicillin G (BPG) to control outbreaks of respiratory disease. In an effort to find an alternative prophylaxis, a randomized field trial was conducted among 1,016 male U.S. Marine trainee volunteers at high risk for respiratory disease. Participants were evaluated for evidence of acute respiratory infection by serological tests on pretraining and posttraining sera (63 days apart). Oral azithromycin prophylaxis (500 mg/w) outperformed BPG, preventing infection from Streptococcus pyogenes (Efficacy [E] = 84%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 63%-93%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (E = 80%; 95% CI, 50%-92%), Mycoplasma pneumoniae (E = 64%; 95% CI, 25%-83%), and Chlamydia pneumoniae (E = 58%; 95% CI, 15%-79%) in comparison with results in a no-treatment group. Azithromycin group subjects reported few side effects and less respiratory symptoms than the BPG and no-treatment groups. According to serological tests, oral azithromycin is an effective alternative prophylaxis to BPG for military populations.     

Positive Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity in Ba1-xSrxPb1+yO3-8 Ceramics

The positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) effect in Ba_1-xSr_xPb_1+yO_3-s ceramics is systematically studied. The influence of the preparation conditions on the PTCR properties is experimentally tested. The PTCR effect in metallic-conducting BaPb_1+yO₃ is confirmed around 700°C. The temperature where the PTCR effect starts can be shifted to a higher temperature range by substituting strontium for the A-site barium. By the enhancement of the sintering, the magnitude of the PTCR effect was increased and the resisitivity was reduced. In addition to Pb(IV) in the perovskite structure, Pb(II) is detected at the grain boundary in the sintered body.     

TITAC: design of a quasi-delay-insensitive microprocessor

TITAC is an asynchronous version of an 8-bit von Neumann microprocessor based on the delay-insensitive model incorporating the isochronic-forks assumption. In its two-phase, event-driven design scheme, a working phase and an idle phase alternate to execute control and data transfer. The data path design uses a two-rail, multilevel AND-OR scheme with a binary decision diagram structure for efficient signal generation