Heat Gelling Properties of Hen's Egg Yolk Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) in the Presence of Other Protein

Ovalbumin (OV), bovine serum albumin (BSA) and lysozyme (Lys) were added to egg yolk low density lipoprotein (LDL) and the heat-induced gel formation of LDL-protein mixture was studied. The gel formation of LDL-protein mixture was different between the acidic and alkaline pH region; fine stable gels were formed in the alkaline pH region, but weak paste-like gels were formed in the acidic pH region. The effect of added BSA or OV on the gel strength of LDL was much larger than that of Lys. Scanning electron micrographic observation showed that the microstructures of both LDL-BSA and LDL-OV gels were more uniform than that of LDL-Lys gel.     

Magnetorefractive Effect for Co/Ru Multilayer Film with Antiferromagnetic Interlayer Exchange Coupling

The spin‐dependent scattering of conduction electron in metallic magnetic multilayers was investigated to reveal the optical properties which corresponded to the magnetization state. From the measurement of magnetorefractive effect in antiferro‐magnetically exchange coupled Co/Ru multilayers, it was found that (1) the transmittance varied around 1% at wavelength of 1550 nm during the parallel/antiparallel spin alignment changes, (2) as a result of number of repetition and Co thickness for the multilayers, transmittance difference between the parallel and antiparallel spin alignment states had trade‐off relationship with the magnitude of transmittance, and (3) asymmetric Co/Ru/Co stacking structure brought different interlayer exchange coupling fields in each layer, which resulted in magnetic field sensitive transmittance.     

EIGENVECTOR METHOD IN MULTICRITERIA OUTRANKING RELATIONS

Most complex decision problems involve conflicts among multiple criteria and uncertain and imprecise data. The (fuzzy) outranking relation model that was introduced by Roy can tackle such complex situations. The present paper proposes a new ranking procedure based on the eigenvector in multicriteria outranking relations. The properties of the eigenvector method in ordinary outranking relations are investigated. Then, the eigenvector method is compared to that of qualification by several examples. Finally, we compare the eigenvector method with the distillation method in ELECTRE III in fuzzy outranking relations. The results of the two methods did not exhibit significant differences. The eigenvector method turns out useful, because it can promote a complementary viewpoint.     

Mixed H2 /H∞ control under variance constraints

Dual problems, which we call output and input variance constrained H₂ /H_∞ controls, are considered. In these problems, we seek control-laws that satisfy mixed H₂ /H_∞ performance criteria, under multiple variance constraints on either outputs or inputs of time-invariant multivariable systems. The approach taken is to convert the problems into non-linear programming with both equality and inequality constraints. For both problems, the Kuhn-Tucker optimality condition is employed to obtain a first-order necessary condition for a regular point that minimizes an upper bound on the quadratic performance for the given H_∞ constraint. A second-order necessary condition and sufficiency for the strict local minimizer of the upper bound are investigated. Efficient algorithms for synthesizing the desired controllers are proposed.     

Investigation of Water Tree Degradation in Dry‐Cured and Extruded Three‐Layer (E‐E Type) 6.6‐kV Removed XLPE Cables

Dry‐cured and extruded three‐layer (E‐E type) 6.6‐kV cross‐linked polyethylene (XLPE) cables were introduced into electric power systems more than 30 years ago, but they do not experience failures because of water tree degradation. Also, the degradation index of water treeing for these cables has not been established. Therefore, investigating results of residual breakdown voltage and water tree degradation of these cables will help us plan for cable replacement and determine water tree degradation diagnosis scheduling, and will be fundamental data for cable lifetime evaluation. In this study, the authors measured the ac breakdown voltages of dry‐cured and E‐E type 6.6‐kV XLPE cables removed after 18 to 25 years of operation and observed the water trees in their XLPE insulation. As a result, it was observed that breakdown voltages were larger than the maximum operating voltage (6.9 kV) and the ac voltage for the dielectric withstanding test (10.3 kV). Water trees were mainly bow‐tie water trees and their maximum length was approximately 1 mm. Although the number of measured cables was limited, the lifetime of this type of cable was estimated to be approximately 40 years, even experiencing water immersion.     

EFFECT OF HIGH PRESSURE ON THE ACCUMULATION OF IMP AND ON THE STABILITY OF AMP DEAMINASE IN RABBIT SKELETAL MUSCLE

This study evaluated the effect of high pressure on rabbit skeletal muscle, specifically on the production of inosinic acid (IMP), one of “umami” components, and on the activity of adenosine triphosphate (AMP) deaminase, which plays a role in the conversion of AMP to IMP. By increasing the pressure (0.1 to 300 MPa), nucleotide analysis showed that IMP content in muscle increased instantly with a concomitant decrease in ATP content. The IMP content of muscle at 300 MPa was approximately 15% higher than with lower pressures (0.1–200 MPa) when stored for 1 week at 4C after pressurization. These results suggested that the metabolism of nucleotides in muscle was not significantly impaired by pressure treatment. At 300 MPa, AMP deaminase maintained approximately 70% of the activity at 0.1 MPa. In contrast, the activity of purified AMP deaminase was completely lost at 200 MPa, and irreversible conformational changes were observed by in situ fluorescence spectroscopy. These results indicated that purified AMP deaminase was irreversibly denatured under pressure as high as 300–400 MPa.     

Evaluation of the Fatigue Characteristics of Laser-processed Hot Work Tool Steel Based on Reliability

It is reported that laser-processing is effective to repair the heat checks, which are fine shallow cracks on a surfaceof die-casting dies.     

Purification of Milk Catalase by Immunoaffinity Chromatography

Antiserum against commercially available bovine liver catalase was prepared in rabbits. Anti-catalase antibody in serum was prepared following 30% ammonium sulfate treatment and Sephacryl S-300 column chromatography. The anti-catalase antibody was coupled to cyanogen bromide-activated Sepharose 4B, and using this immunoadsorbent crude milk catalase was purified. About 7.0 mg pure catalase was produced from 10 kg milk. Activity of the purified products was about 2.58 × 10⁴ times as pure as cows' milk. The purified catalase was electrophoretically homogeneous, appearing as a single band.     

猫与四季流转的生活诗

春的樱花,夏的萤火,秋的落叶,冬的飘雪。四季的景致在平凡琐碎的生活中悄然划过。时间流转之中的细微美感也在快速厚重的现代化包裹之中渐渐磨失不见。或许大多数的我们选择接受这种方式、调整自己适合如此的生活,但也有人最终还是逆势去找寻内心最渴望的回归。