Thermal Processing Effects on Rice Characteristics

Whole kernels of four cultivars of milled rice were treated under different conditions according to our traditional methods such as boiling, steaming, autoclaving or roasting with sand. During the vari ous processing conditions, the moisture contents of the kernel , heating temperatures, pressures and heating times were varied. In this paper, the physicochemical properties of those processed samples were investigated and compared. Based on degree of gelatinization , water absorption index , water solubility index , swelling power, viscoamylograms and X-ray diffraction patterns, the propenies of waxy rice samples arc different from that of non -waxy rice samples. They are also different even among the non-waxy rice samples. Besides , each processed sample under diverse treatments has its own properties. In boiled samples, the starch granules almost gelatinized to form a film-like gel substance, whereas in othe r processed samples, ungelatinized starch granules were noticeable

U(1) CS Theory vs SL(2) CS Formulation: Boundary Theory and Wilson Line

We first derive the boundary theory from the U(1) Chern-Simons theory. We then introduce the Wilson line and discuss the effective action on an $n$-sheet manifold from the back-reaction of the Wilson line. The reason is that the U(1) Chern-Simons theory can provide an exact effective action when introducing the Wilson line. This study cannot be done in the SL(2) Chern-Simons formulation of pure AdS$_3$ Einstein gravity theory. It is known that the expectation value of the Wilson line in the pure AdS$_3$ Einstein gravity is equivalent to entanglement entropy in the boundary theory up to classical gravity. We show that the boundary theory of the U(1) Chern-Simons theory deviates by a self-interaction term from the boundary theory of the AdS$_3$ Einstein gravity theory. It provides a convenient path to the building of "minimum surface=entanglement entropy" in the SL(2) Chern-Simons formulation. We also discuss the Hayward term in the SL(2) Chern-Simons formulation to compare with the Wilson line approach. To reproduce the entanglement entropy for a single interval at the classical level, we introduce two wedges under a regularization scheme. We propose the quantum generalization by combining the bulk and Hayward terms. The quantum correction of the partition function vanishes. In the end, we exactly calculate the entanglement entropy for a single interval. The pure AdS$_3$ Einstein gravity theory shows a shift of central charge by 26 at the one-loop level. The U(1) Chern-Simons theory does not have such a shift from the quantum effect, and the result is the same in the weak gravitational constant limit. The non-vanishing quantum correction shows the naive quantum generalization of the Hayward term is incorrect.Comment: 39 pages, 2 figure

CPT-BASED SIMPLIFIED LIQUEFACTION ASSESSMENT BY USING FUZZY-NEURAL NETWORK

ABSTRACT Due to the difficulty and the cost of obtaining high quality undisturbed samples, simplified methods based on in-situ tests such as the standard penetration test (SPT) and the cone penetration test (CPT) are preferred by geotechnical engineers for evaluation of earthquake induced liquefaction potential of soils. Because of the increasing popularity worldwide of the CPT for site characterization, significant progress on the CPTbased methods has been made. In most existing CPT-based methods, empirically determined curves are used to predict liquefaction and non-liquefaction. These empirical curves are generally relied on engineering judgment and are essentially performance functions that were established based on field observations of soil performance during earthquakes at sites where in-situ CPT data are available. The performance functions can be referred to as the limit state functions and the empirical curves are generally limit state functions such that the curve are generally limit state curve. The limit state for liquefaction evaluation is defined by CRR being equal to CSR, in which CRR is liquefaction resistance of a soil that is generally expressed as cyclic resistance ratio, and CSR is the cyclic stress ratio, i.e., the seismic load that causes liquefaction. In this study, a fuzzy-neural network with 466 CPT field observations is developed first to evaluate liquefaction potential of soils. Then a search procedure is presented to locate data points on the limit state function. Finally, regression is used to determine a simple formula of limit state curve that can easily evaluate cyclic liquefaction potential of soils

BEHAVIOR OF REGULAR TRIANGULAR JOINTS UNDER CYCLIC SHEARING

ABSTRACT Synthetic regular triangular joints made of gypsum plaster were cyclicly sheared to measure asperity degradation and mathematical behavior of regular triangular joints. Laboratory cyclic shear tests were conducted for three joint types under three different normal stresses. Asperity degradation and shear strength of joints were found to be a function of joint roughness, normal stress, shearing displacement and number of loading cycles. Based on the experimental results, mathematical models were developed for evaluation of shear strength in cyclic loading conditions. Comparison of the test results with that of the proposed model, it was found a good agreement was observed

High Resolution Two Dimensional Electrophoresis of Soluble Proteins in Human Spermatozoa

The evaluation of human semen is very important for diagnosis of male infertility. Combined with the analysis of seminal plasma, a comprehensive biochemical screening of human spermatozoan proteins may be of assistance in providing qualitative and quantitative information to the physician to assist with evaluation. In this study, human spermatozoa were ruptured by sonication. The soluble spermatozoan proteins were separated from the cellular debris by centrifugation and then analyzed in dissociated forms by two dimensional electrophoresis. The separated proteins were visualized by a silver stain method. It has been shown that these combined techniques can resolve- four to five hundred spots. Four protein spots have been tentatively identified by co-electrophoresis with purified proteins. With its high resolution and sensitivity, the technique presented may become a valuable analytical tool in andrological screening

Inhibition of Neuroblastoma Cell Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase by CDP-Diacylglycerol and Phosphatidate

Phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase is activated by a variety of agents, including various growth factors, and has been proposed to play a role in initiation of cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. We here investigate the effect of various membrane lipids on PI 3-kinase immunopurified from human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. CDP-diacylglycerol (CDP-DAG) inhibited PI 3-kinase activity with an IC 50 of 6 µ M . Phosphatidate (PA) was also inhibitory (IC 50 = 38 µ M ) as was lysophosphatidate. Neither DAG nor any of the other phospholipids examined affected PI 3-kinase activity. The results offer the possibility that CDP-DAG or PA at critical membrane sites may exert functionally significant metabolic regulation at the point of convergence of the PI 3-kinase-directed and the PI 4-kinase-directed phosphoinositide signal transduction pathways.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/65661/1/j.1471-4159.1996.66020811.x.pd

Report January 1998 - June 1999 Project-Group ESRF-Beamline (ROBL-CRG): Report January 1998 - June 1999 Project-Group ESRF-Beamline (ROBL-CRG)

Bi-annual report on the activities at the ROssendorf BeamLine (ROBL) at the ESRF in Grenoble. The report contains selected contributions on actual research topics, a list of all scheduled experiments, and short experimental reports

Sediment Budget in the Taiwan Strait with High Fluvial Sediment Inputs from Mountainous Rivers: New Observations and Synthesis

The shallow Taiwan Strait at the southern opening of the East China Sea (ECS) receives abundant sediments from turbid mountainous rivers in Taiwan. The volume of sediment is among the highest sediment yields on the global surface. This large amount of sediment discharged from modern Taiwan (range: 175 - 380 Mt y-1 based on 50-yr data) is comparable to that discharged from Changjaing (500 Mt y-1-decreasing in recent decades), underscoring the importance of sediment budget in the Taiwan Strait and sediment flux from Taiwan into the ECS.We documented fluvial mud and sand concentrations during flash flooding with our observations indicating that fluvial materials in Taiwan¡¦s rivers are chiefly composed of mud (> 70 and up to 98 ). By contrast, sand fraction dominates (> 85 for most stations) surface sediments in the Taiwan Strait. Super typhoon Herb alone delivered 130 Mt of sediments from Choshui, the largest river in Taiwan, yet only insignificant amounts of mud were found at the river mouth six months later. The actions of waves, tides, and currents apparently prevent the deposition of fine grained sediments. Assuming sand occupied 30 (the maximum) of the 60 Mt y-1 total sediment input from major western Taiwanese rivers, our annual budget estimate shows that the amount of sand input (18 5 Mt y-1) is comparable to the burial output of sand (12 10 Mt y-1). However, mud burial (6 5 Mt y-1) in the strait is far below the estimated mud input (42 11 Mt y-1), resulting in a significant shortfall. Hydrodynamic conditions were synthesized to explain the distribution pattern of limited mud patches in the strait and to reveal potential pathways by which fine-grain sediment transportation takes place in the seas surrounding Taiwan. A significant shortfall in the mud budget in the Taiwan Strait suggests that ~85 of the fluvial mud left the strait. Alternatively, the 50-year modern sediment flux data used in this study reflects exacerbated sediment flux due to human activity and is possibly too high to represent loads during pre-Anthropocene. Additional studies are needed to explore the flux and fate of mud in and surrounding Taiwan over a longer time scale