Search

The presence of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms is a concern for the safety of apples. In the present study, we evaluated the hygienic status of electrolyzed water (EW)- or ozonated water (OW)-washed apples, which were stored over 2 weeks under the combination of 2 different temperatures (25 and 30°C) and 2 different relative humidity (RH) conditions (85 and 90%). The average numbers of bacteria or fungi from unwashed and washed apples (EW or OW) did not show statistically significant differences at storage for 0, 1, or 2 weeks and had an increased tendency as the storage temperature, RH, and period increased. Identification of fungal isolates from apples revealed 3 main genera (Fusarium sp., Trichoderma sp., and Alternaria sp.) together with 8 minor genera (Meyerozyma sp., Aspergillus sp., Glomerella sp., Neofusicoccum sp., Penicillium sp., Hypoxylon sp., Talaromyces sp., and Coprinellus sp.). Moreover, sensory tests using EW- or OW-washed apples showed that OW did not significantly affect 5 quality characteristics (appearance, taste, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability). Our data suggest that EW or OW washing did not significantly reduce the levels of microorganisms on apples relative to the unwashed and that EW or OW washing did not deteriorate the quality of washed apples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A radar altimeter (RA) is useful to improve autonomous functions such as landing guidance or navigation control of an aircraft. To ensure more precise and safer flights by aircraft, an interferometric RA (IRA) capable of measuring the angle of a target is required. However, the phase-comparison monopulse (PCM) technique used in IRAs has a problem in that an angular ambiguity arises with respect to a target with multiple reflection points, such as terrain. In this paper, we propose an altimetry method for IRAs that reduces the angular ambiguity by evaluating the quality of the phase. The altimetry method as introduced here is sequentially described based on synthetic aperture radar, a delay/Doppler radar altimeter, and PCM techniques. Finally, a phase quality evaluation method is proposed for use in the azimuth estimation process. Aircraft captive flight test results are presented and analyzed, and the validity of the proposed method is examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a rate control scheme using a rate-distortion (R-D) estimation model, which produces a consistent picture quality between consecutive frames. The R-D estimation used in our rate control scheme offers a closed-form mathematical model that enables us to predict the bits and the distortion generated from an encoded frame at a given quantization parameter (QP) and vice versa. The most attractive feature of the R-D estimation is the low complexity of computing the R-D data. Furthermore, it is accurate enough to be applied to practical video coding. In our simulation, the estimation errors for the rate and the distortion are less than 2.5% and 1.5%, respectively. Therefore, the proposed rate control scheme using this R-D estimation model is appropriate for applications requiring low delay and low complexity, and able to control the output bit-rate and quality accurately. Our rate control scheme ensures that the video buffers do not underflow and overflow by satisfying the buffer constraint and additionally prevents quality difference between consecutive frames from exceeding a demanded certain level by adopting the distortion constraint. In addition, a consistent picture quality is maintained within a frame and error propagation that is caused by quality degradation of anchor frames is reduced by differentiating the control procedure for the anchor frames from that for the nonanchor frames. Simulation results show that our control scheme achieves 0.52-1.84 dB peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) gain over MPEG-2 Test Model 5 (TM5) rate control and maintains very consistent quality within a frame as well as between frames. Index Terms--MPEG video, rate control, R-D model.

Since ferrites are electromagnetic wave absorbing materials of composition-dependent resonance type, useful frequency ranges are typically narrow. In the present study, laminated electromagnetic wave absorbers composed of ferrite-ferrite or ferrite-dielectric layers were constructed to improve electromagnetic wave absorbing properties. When ferrites of different composition and thickness were layered, center frequency of the laminated ferrite could be changed between the center frequencies of each ferrite. Compared with monolithic ferrites, ferrite-dielectric laminates exhibited broader frequency ranges with 20 dB or more attenuation.