Trace precious metal Pt doped plate-type anodic alumina Ni catalysts for methane reforming reaction

A novel plate-type anodic alumina supported 17.9 wt% Ni/Al₂O₃/alloy showed a quick deactivation in daily start-up and shut down (DSS) steam reforming of methane (SRM) at 700 °C, because of the Ni oxidation reaction with steam. When 0.078 wt% Pt was doped, the catalyst exhibited self-activation and self-regeneration ability, while 3000 h continual and 500-time DSS stability was testified. Further, this Pt–Ni catalyst also showed excellent reactivity during carbon dioxide reforming of methane (CMR) and partial oxidation of methane reaction (POM). According to the TPR and XRD analyses, the H₂ spillover effect and the formation of Pt–Ni alloy were believed to be the main reason for the reactivity improvement of this catalyst.     

An investigation of two xylan‐degrading enzymes and a novel xylanase inhibitor in malted barley

Two enzymes with activity on xylan and xylan‐based substrates were isolated from malted barley. One appears to be relatively anionic and the other more cationic. Both are endo‐acting enzymes. The first of these was studied in more detail and shown to be of molecular weight ca. 59,000 and capable of acting through the pH range 5–7.5. It is relatively heat tolerant, with 30% of its activity surviving for 30 min at 70 °C. A low‐molecular‐weight (ca. 1300) inhibitor of xylanase that developed during germination was investigated. Its potency was not lowered by treatment with proteolytic enzymes, but treatment with polyvinylpolypyrrolidone did reduce its impact. Ultraviolet spectrophotometry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, as well as staining with Folin–Ciocalteu reagent, indicated the presence of phenolic species, while mass spectroscopy studies suggested the presence of arabinose and possibly poly‐hexose. The presence of material that stained with aniline phthalate would be consistent with the presence of reducing sugar in the inhibitor. Copyright © 2013 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Water quality analysis in Lake Hachiroko,Japan, using ALOS AVNIR‐2 data

In recent years, remote sensing has been used to assessing water pollution distribution. In this study, water quality is analyzed using data collected by the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type‐2 (AVNIR‐2) of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) at various points in time. We carried out fuzzy regression analysis of the AVNIR‐2 data and direct measurements of local water quality. The relationship between the water quality data and the AVNIR‐2 data was analyzed by solving both the min and max problems. By comparing the maps of estimated water quality with actual distributions of water quality in the study area, we found that the method used in this study allows effective derivation of water quality conditions from AVNIR‐2 data, which provides 10‐m spatial resolution. Furthermore, by comparing the maps created using AVNIR‐2 data collected at different times, we obtained results suggesting temporal changes in water quality. We also compared the results obtained using data collected by the optical sensor of the Landsat thematic mapper (TM) with 30‐m resolution and those obtained using data collected by the active sensor of JERS‐1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and examined the differences in classification results resulting from differences in resolution and sensors. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Analysis of lip motion change arising as a result of amusement feeling

This letter develops a novel algorithm for lip motion analysis arising as a result of feeling amused after watching television comedy programs as emotion‐eliciting stimuli. The analysis is based on measuring the variance of new lip motion features extracted from pronouncing some sentences after watching the stimuli. The results of the conducted experiment show that these features can serve as efficient indices for determining the occurrence of amusement feelings. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Development of a freeze‐dried mixture of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) croquette using a GA‐based multiobjective optimisation

BACKGROUND: The mechanically separated meat (MSM) of Nile tilapia is an example of a by‐product that can be used in the development of new foods. The aim of this study was to optimise the mixture of different flours in the development of a freeze‐dried mixture of fish croquette using Nile tilapia MSM. Flavour, texture and overall acceptance of seven formulations were evaluated by an acceptance test. A genetic algorithm (GA) with desirability functions was combined with a multiobjective optimisation of the response surface models. RESULTS: The combination of flours was chosen to minimise cost and maximise overall acceptance and fibre content. Overall acceptance showed a statistically significant correlation (P?0.05) with flavour (r = 0.67) and texture (r = 0.61). The GA‐based approach indicated that the highest overall acceptance was obtained when using wheat and rye flours in equal parts. This formulation had an overall acceptance of 7.52, a fibre content of 11.50 g kg^?1 and a cost of US$ 2.21/kg. After 24 h of freeze‐drying, the water activity of the mixture was 0.11. CONCLUSION: The GA‐based approach was able to optimise the croquette formulation. The freeze‐drying process contributed to the development of a value‐added product with high quality and long shelf‐life. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Novel angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides derived from soya milk

Inhibitors of angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) are useful in treating hypertension, and many have been derived from food products, including soybeans. Using the industrial protease PROTIN SD-NY10, we developed a processed soya milk (PSM) with enhanced ACE inhibitory activity. The ACE inhibitory activity of PSM (IC₅₀ = 0.26 μg/ml) was greater than that of regular soya milk (IC₅₀ = 8.75 μg/ml). Eight novel ACE inhibitory peptides were purified from PSM by reversed-phase chromatography: FFYY (IC₅₀,1.9 μM), WHP (4.8 μM), FVP (10.1 μM), LHPGDAQR (10.3 μM), IAV (27.0 μM), VNP (32.5 μM), LEPP (100.1 μM), and WNPR (880.0 μM). The IC₅₀ values of these peptides are comparable to those reported for other ACE inhibitory peptides derived from wheat, chicken, bonito, wine, etc. Due to the relatively low IC₅₀ values of several peptides identified in this study, they may serve as ideal base components of food supplements for patients with hypertension.     

Correlation of animal diet and fatty acid content in young goat meat by gas chromatography and chemometrics

The meat fatty acids (FA) profiles of caprines submitted to different dietary treatments were determined by gas chromatography. The data were treated by Chemometrics to consider all variables together. The contents of saturated FA (SFA), monounsaturated FA (MUFA), polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), omega-3 (n-3) FA, and omega-6 (n-6) FA in 32 samples were analyzed. PUFA:SFA and n-6:n-3 ratios were also considered. The multivariate methods of hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to analyze the experimental results. HCA can group samples according to their basic composition, and PCA can explain the relationship among the dietary treatments according to the meat fatty acid composition. Treatment 1 presented the highest n-6 FA concentration, PUFA:SFA, and n-6:n-3 ratios, and the lowest MUFA and n-3 concentrations. Opposite results were observed for treatment 4. Treatments 2 and 3 were highly similar with differences mainly in SFA and MUFA concentrations.     

Effects of Flavor and Texture on the Sensory Perception of Gouda‐Type Cheese Varieties during Ripening Using Multivariate Analysis

The impact of flavor composition, texture, and other factors on desirability of different commercial sources of Gouda‐type cheese using multivariate analyses on the basis of sensory and instrumental analyses were investigated. Volatile aroma compounds were measured using headspace solid‐phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and steam distillation extraction (SDE)‐GC/MS, and fatty acid composition, low‐molecular‐weight compounds, including amino acids, and organic acids, as well pH, texture, and color were measured to determine their relationship with sensory perception. Orthogonal partial least squares‐discriminant analysis (OPLS‐DA) was performed to discriminate between 2 different ripening periods in 7 sample sets, revealing that ethanol, ethyl acetate, hexanoic acid, and octanoic acid increased with increasing sensory attribute scores for sweetness, fruity, and sulfurous. A partial least squares (PLS) regression model was constructed to predict the desirability of cheese using these parameters. We showed that texture and buttery flavors are important factors affecting the desirability of Gouda‐type cheeses for Japanese consumers using these multivariate analyses.     

Layered alkali titanates (A2TinO2n+1): possible uses for energy/environment issues

Uses of layered alkali titanates (A₂Ti_nO_2n+1; Na₂Ti₃O₇, K₂Ti₄O₉, and Cs₂Ti₅O₁₁) for energy and environmental issues are summarized. Layered alkali titanates of various structural types and compositions are regarded as a class of nanostructured materials based on titanium oxide frameworks. If compared with commonly known titanium dioxides (anatase and rutile), materials design based on layered alkali titanates is quite versatile due to the unique structure (nanosheet) and morphological characters (anisotropic particle shape). Recent development of various synthetic methods (solid-state reaction, flux method, and hydrothermal reaction) for controlling the particle shape and size of layered alkali titanates are discussed. The ion exchange ability of layered alkali titanate is used for the collection of metal ions from water as well as a way of their functionalization. These possible materials design made layered alkali titanates promising for energy (including catalysis, photocatalysts, and battery) and environmental (metal ion concentration from aqueous environments) applications.     

Two‐stage grafting onto polyethylene fiber by radiation‐induced graft polymerization and atom transfer radical polymerization

Two‐stage graft polymerization onto polyethylene (PE) fiber was demonstrated. The graft side chain was formed by radiation‐induced graft polymerization. A PE fiber was irradiated with an electron beam and immersed in a vinyl monomer solution. The terminal of the formed graft chain was halogenated using N‐bromosuccinimide. The halogenated graft chain was then extended by atom transfer radical polymerization to obtain block‐copolymer grafted PE fibers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010