Effect of Storage Conditions on 2–Acetyl-1–pyrroline Content in Aromatic Rice Variety, Khao Dawk Mali 105

ABSTRACT: The effect of package and temperature on 2–acetyl-1–pyrroline content in milled aromatic rice during storage was investigated. 2 -Acetyl-1 -pyrroline content was decreased faster at higher storage temperature. However, fat acidity of rice was increased during storage and inversely correlated with 2–acetyl-1–pyrroline content at an early stage of storage. The difference in 2–acetyl-1 -pyrroline recovery from the samples, which were extracted with ethanol at 40 °C and 75 °C, revealed that the starch bound and free forms of 2–acetyl-1–pyrroline may occur in aromatic rice. These results suggested that the biosynthesis of 2–acetyl-1 -pyrroline before starch structure formation in rice kernel could play a key role in the aroma quality of aromatic rice.     

Observation of multiple stroke and multipoint discharges by means of UHF interference

Results of interferometric observations of cloud‐to‐ground flashes in Darwin (Australia) have been analyzed to investigate some features of the lightning phenomenon. Our study focused on comparison between multipoint and multiple negative cloud‐to‐ground flashes. The speed of leaders was estimated with submillisecond resolution for both multipoint and multiple strokes. Leaders preceding the first stroke in multiple‐stroke flashes progress in a stepped fashion, and their behavior exhibits the same features as leaders in multipoint flashes. The estimated average speed of the leaders is on the order of 10⁵ m/s, and the mean step length is found to be 96 m with a mean pause time of 73 μs. The running time of the leader found from results of these observations has a mean value of 89 μs. The duration of UHF radiation bursts generated by leaders propagating along previously formed channels ranges from 0.2 to 55.3 ms with a mean value of 7.5 ms. By contrast, the duration of UHF radiation in leaders preceding multipoint strokes ranges from 21.1 to 90.6 ms with a mean value of 47.5 ms. The time intervals between strokes that strike at the same point as the previous stroke range from 22.5 to 330.6 ms with a mean value of 75.1 ms, while intervals between strokes in multipoint flashes range from 55.6 to 633.7 ms with a mean value of 149.1 ms. All leaders preceding multipoint strokes start in the same region inside the cloud. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 134(4): 62–69, 2001     

Bird detection and species classification with time‐lapse images around a wind farm: Dataset construction and evaluation

Collisions of birds, especially endangered species, with wind turbines is a major environmental concern. Automatic bird monitoring can be of aid in resolving the issue, particularly in environmental risk assessments and real‐time collision avoidance. For automatic recognition of birds in images, a clean, detailed, and realistic dataset to learn features and classifiers is crucial for any machine‐learning‐based method. Here, we constructed a bird image dataset that is derived from the actual environment of a wind farm and that is useful for examining realistic challenges in bird recognition in practice. It consists of high‐resolution images covering a wide monitoring area around a turbine. The birds captured in these images are at relatively low resolution and are hierarchically labeled by experts for fine‐grained species classification. We conducted evaluations of state‐of‐the‐art image recognition methods by using this dataset. The evaluations revealed that a deep‐learning‐based method and a simpler traditional learning method were almost equally successful at detection, while the former captures more generalized features. The most promising results were provided by the deep‐learning‐based method in classification. The best methods in our experiments recorded a 0.98 true positive rate for bird detection at a false positive rate of 0.05 and a 0.85 true positive rate for species classification at a false positive rate of 0.1.     

Effect of amylose content and rice type on dynamic viscoelasticity of a composite rice starch gel

Amylose content is an important indicator to determine the utility of raw milled rice. Indica type rice with high amylose content is usually used for manufacturing rice noodles, while Japonica rice may be mixed partially to adjust the noodle texture. The effect of amylose and rice type on dynamic viscoelasticity of rice starch gel was investigated using a model starch composite in this study. The information will be helpful to control and obtain the required noodle texture by combination of different rice types. The results show that nonwaxy Indica and waxy Japonica rice starches in a composite mixture were incompatible and demonstrated their individual gelatinization behavior during heating. High amylose starch showed higher moduli and lower loss tangent values, as well as higher retrogradation rate. The starch gel made from Japonica rice starch showed a slow retrogradation rate even containing a similar amount of amylose to Indica starch. The storage modulus of the gel made from higher amylose rice was shown to be more independent of frequency. Not only amylose content but also chain length distribution in amylopectin affected the dynamic viscoelasticity of rice gel. Japonica rice starch, with fewer super-long chains in amylopectin, retrograded slower after gelatinization than Indica rice, thus the paste is too sticky for production of rice noodles.     

3D imaging of lightning channel and leader progression velocity

Three‐dimensional imaging of lightning channels by means of UHF interferometers is performed. To realize this, a field campaign was conducted with two observation sites in Darwin, Australia. The distance between the two sites is about 14 km, and the triangulation scheme is applied to estimate locations of UHF radiation sources. Since the UHF radiation is more likely during the leader progression than in the return stroke phase, imaging of lightning channels is obtained mainly for downward leaders. Velocities of downward leaders are estimated and statistics are presented for first and subsequent strokes. The result is consistent with those of former investigations obtained by optical observations. The statistics for the velocity of leader propagation inside thunderclouds are presented herein. Using optical measurement, velocity estimation of leader progressions inside thunderclouds is impossible, and the presented results are concluded to be the first results of their kind. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 137(3): 22–28, 2001     

Simple,Selective, and Rapid Quantification of 1-Deoxynojirimycin in Mulberry Leaf Products by High-Performance Anion-Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection

ABSTRACT: 1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) occurs in mulberry and other plants and is a highly potent glycosidase inhibitor reported to suppress blood glucose levels, thus preventing diabetes. Derivatization is required for quantification of DNJ upon use of spectral detection methods. Because of this difficulty, the DNJ contents of mulberry-based food products are rarely stated, even if DNJ is their active component. A simple, selective, and rapid method of high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) to quantify DNJ in mulberry-based food products was developed. Stability testing of DNJ under heat treatment was also performed. A water extract of mulberry tea sample was subjected to HPAEC-PAD in a CarboPac MA1 column with a sodium hydroxide gradient. DNJ was clearly separated at a retention time of 7.26 min without interference and was selectively detected in the water extract. The detection limit was 5 ng. Heat stability studies suggested that DNJ was heat stable. HPAEC-PAD was not subject to interference, was highly selective for DNJ, and was superior to other high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques in terms of sample preparation, resolution, and sensitivity. The method allowed simple, selective, and rapid analysis of DNJ in food matrices and might be useful for development of mulberry-based food products. Heat treatment could be an option for sterilizing mulberry-based products.     

Lightning activity during winter thunderstorm and leader progression in thundercloud

We have been studying lightning discharges by means of a UHF interferometer, and we show a comparison between lightning during winter thunderstorms are those during summer. The main objective of the comparison is further understanding of features of lightning during winter storms, especially of positive cloud to ground flashes. For this purpose we compare negative and positive flashes on UHF radiation and pulse density, and perform two‐dimensional mappings of UHF radiation sources. Moreover we show the three‐dimensional imaging for a cloud flash, and discuss the relationship between the altitude of leader progressions and atmospheric temperature profiles as a function of height. We also show the estimated velocity of leader progressions and find no discrepancy with the earlier results obtained by Proctor. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 133(4): 71–78, 2000     

γ-Ray measurements in boron neutron capture therapy using BeO ceramic thermoluminescence dosimeter

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - In boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), neutrons and γ-rays cause different biological effects, and it is necessary to discriminate...     

Response evaluation of a compact and highly efficient neutron diffractometer for compact accelerator neutron sources

We fabricated the spheroid neutron diffractometer with 79 neutron detector rings using the transparent rubber sheet type Eu:LiCaAlF₆ scintillators and wavelength-shifting fibers.We confirmed that the fabricated detector shows a clear neutron peak and can discriminate neutron and gamma-ray events in a signal pulse spectrum.We additionally checked that the fabricated diffractometer can detect a neutron diffraction peak of ferrite powder at Kyoto University Accelerator-driven Neutron Source.Consequently,it can be expected that crystal structural analysis will be possible even by small accelerator neutron sources.     

Contribution of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in maintaining [Ca2+]c at a stable state in rat pancreatic islets

The effects of lowering extracellular Na+ concentration [Na+]o, on cytosolic Ca2+ concentration, [Ca2+]c were examined by a microfluorimetric method using fura-2 in perifused preparations of isolated rat pancreatic islets. The total replacement of extracellular Na+ (Na+o) by equimolar N-methyl-D-(--)-glucamine caused a rapid rise in [Ca2+]c, and partial replacement of Na+o resulted in correlative rises in [Ca2+]c in accordance with the magnitude of reduced [Na+]o. The rise in [Ca2+]c induced by Na+o removal was strongly inhibited in the Ca2+o-deficient environment or by Ni2+. The [Ca2+]c rise, however, remained almost unchanged in the presence of nifedipine or SK&F 96365, and was enhanced by the addition of ouabain. The electrochemical gradients for Ca2+ (delta mu Ca2+) and Na+ (delta mu Na+) were calculated to be 39.08 and 12.8 kJ/mol, respectively, in this study, indicating a stoichiometry of 3Na+: 1 Ca2+. These results indicate that, in rat pancreatic islets, the rise in [Ca2+]c induced by lowering [Na+]o is mainly due to Ca2+ entry medicated by the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger operating with the stoichiometry of 3Na+:1 Ca2+, and that the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger plays an important role in maintaining stable-state [Ca2+]c.