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Identifying the main factors influencing the land surface temperature (LST) of each local climate zone (LCZ) built type is of great significance for controlling LST. This study investigated the main factors influencing the LST of each LCZ built type in two Asian megacities: Tokyo and Shanghai. Each area in both megacities was classified according to the LCZ scheme. The diurnal LST, pervious surface fraction (PSF), surface albedo (SA), average building height ( 〈 B H 〉 ), and gross building coverage ratio (λp) of each LCZ were also calculated. Finally, the influence of the properties of each LCZ built type on LST was investigated. The results demonstrated that the main factors influencing LST of different LCZ built types differed in Tokyo and Shanghai. 〈 B H 〉 was the main factor influencing LST for compact mid-rise and open high-rise types in Tokyo, and the compact mid-rise type in Shanghai; PSF was the main factor influencing LST for other LCZ built types. Moreover, both 〈 B H 〉 and PSF negatively correlated with LST. Based on the above results and characteristics of each LCZ built type, specific LST mitigation strategies for each LCZ built type were proposed for Tokyo and Shanghai. The approach in this study can contribute to perspectives for urban planners and policymakers to develop highly feasible and reasonable LST mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea breezes are important in a coastal urban climate; however, the impact of urban development on the effects of sea breezes, which decrease air temperature and increase humidity, has not been understood quantitatively. To quantitatively evaluate this impact in Sendai, Japan over the past twenty years, this study analyzed the heat balance mechanisms in urban spaces based on the simulation results of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with Local Climate Zone (LCZ) maps. Compared to the observation data on air temperature, specific humidity, and wind in August 2002, results of the numerical simulation, using the 2002 LCZ map and the meteorological conditions of August 2002, confirmed that the WRF model could reproduce meteorological factors well. Thereafter, two numerical simulations using the LCZ maps from 2002 and 2022 were conducted based on the same meteorological condition, from 25 July to 1 September 2008, to extract the impact of urban development on the effects of sea breeze. Consequently, when land use changed from urban built-up land to natural land cover, both the effects of sea breeze—decreasing air temperature and increasing humidity—decreased. Additionally, increases in LCZ 3 (compact low rise), mainly from LCZ 6 (open low rise) and LCZ 9 (sparsely built), decreased the effects of sea breeze (decreasing air temperature and increasing humidity) by 5% and 10%, respectively, in areas around Sendai Station. This was because the consumption of the sea breeze's potential to decrease air temperature and increase humidity increased and the wind speed of sea breezes decreased in the windward areas of Sendai Station. These results provide new insights into the impact of urban development on the effects of sea breeze and quantitatively reveal changes in the effects of sea breeze. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most previous studies clarify the interference effect between only two or three buildings, and very few assess the effect of a high-rise building within an urban block on its surrounding buildings. Accordingly, in this study, wind tunnel experiments were conducted on low-rise urban blocks having a high-rise building, and the wind pressure acting on the low-rise buildings was measured. For low-rise buildings located downwind of a high-rise building, an extremely low negative peak pressure was observed at the windward end of the roof at wind directions of approximately 30°. Further, a large-eddy simulation was applied to the flow field within an urban block, where extremely low negative pressure was observed. The strong negative pressure was generated because the detached flow at the windward corner of the high-rise building blew downward and struck the low-rise building located on the leeward side, and the flow became detached at the windward corner of the roof. The findings of this study indicate the importance of considering the wind-related damage to low-rise buildings caused by strong winds generated by high-rise buildings under extremely strong wind conditions. • Wind pressure on the low-rise buildings around a high-rise building was measured. • Negative pressure acting on the building roof behind a high-rise building was low. • Its negative peak value was extremely low at a wind direction of around 30°. • Wind flow that generated the strong negative pressure was analyzed by LES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The urban configuration, which pertains to the arrangement and height of buildings, has strong relationships not only with pedestrian wind environment within the focused urban district but also with that in areas leeward of the focused area. Therefore, such influences on leeward areas should be considered concurrently when improving the wind environment within the focused area. In this study, a large-eddy simulation (LES) was applied to four types of flow field over urban-like roughness using two different building layouts: regular and staggered, and two different building height conditions: uniform and non-uniform. Periodic boundary conditions are imposed laterally and streamwise directions to simulate an infinite array in equilibrium flow field. Based on LES data, the vertical structures of the transport and dissipation of kinetic energy were analyzed. Negative effects of the increase the wind velocity and enhancement the outdoor ventilation at pedestrian-level within the focused area on the wind environment of the leeward area were evaluated quantitatively with respect to the energy dissipation rate of the kinetic energy within the focused area. Additionally, the normalized airflow rate was defined for evaluating the relationship between the total amount of kinetic energy dissipation and outdoor ventilation performance, and the relationship was investigated. Highlights • Constant flux was formed by setting the constant momentum to the upper boundary. • Dissipation occurred within twice the building height by resistance of roughness. • Kinetic energy was mostly lost at canopy height in uniform height case. • Dissipation was largely caused by high-rise buildings in the non-uniform case. • Dissipation and normalized airflow rate in urban areas are negatively correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC) using a vertical microfurnace pyrolyzer and a flame ionization detector (FID) was applied to rapid analysis of chemical composition for polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) components in human serum. Here, the authors used a reactive thermal desorption (RTD) method, where 2 μL of a serum sample was subjected to the THM reaction at 250 °C for 20 s, to detect PUFA components with high selectivity and sensitivity. The resulting chromatograms clearly showed a series of fatty acid methyl esters including PUFAs without any interference peaks derived from the matrix components of the serum samples. Furthermore, the observed chemical composition and n-6 / n-3 ratio for PUFA components were in good agreement with those obtained by a conventional analytical technique involving solvent extraction and transmethylation. • Reactive thermal desorption (RTD) enabled selective detection of PUFAs. • N-6 / n-3 PUFA ratios were analyzed rapidly and conveniently. • Only 2 μL of a human serum sample was enough to be analyzed. • Tedious and time-consuming sample pretreatments were not required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of phenolic compounds, possessing outstanding antioxidant activity corresponding to ascorbic acid, in wasted acorn shells was revealed by means of thermochemolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (thermochemolysis-GC/MS) in the presence of organic alkalis. The chromatogram of intact acorn shell samples obtained by thermochemolysis-GC/MS using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) showed a strong peak of 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid methyl ester. This product was also clearly observed on the chromatograms of the methanol and water extracts from the acorn shells, indicating that 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoic acid methyl ester was derived from free and/or esterified gallic acids through the thermochemolysis reaction. Based on the peak intensities, the contents of gallic acid components were determined as ca. 27 wt% for the both extracts. Furthermore, the content of free gallic acid was selectively estimated with discriminating from its esterified counterpart by using tetramethylammonium acetate (TMAAc) as a methylating reagent. These results were also correlated with high antioxidant activity of the acorn shell extracts evaluated by a DPPH radical scavenging method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recently, cryotherapy has become a common practice for postoperative pain management. The current accepted practice in Japan is the use of cryotherapy at 5 °C after arthroscopic shoulder surgery. However, this therapy has been reported to be highly intense because the sustained low temperature causes discomfort for patients. The optimum temperature and duration of cooling required for comfortable and effective cryotherapy after arthroscopic shoulder surgery were investigated. Methods: Because pain levels might differ depending on the condition, we selected 52 patients with rotator cuff injuries, which were the most common disorders indicated for arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Patients were treated with cryotherapy at 5 °C or 10 °C for 16 h or 24 h. The pain level was determined using the visual analogue scale, and deep shoulder joint temperatures were recorded at different time points for analysis. Results: Pain after arthroscopic shoulder surgery was found to be related to the presence of a brachial plexus block using the interscalene approach during surgical anesthesia. To obtain effective analgesia with cryotherapy, the cooling temperature and duration of cryotherapy had to be changed based on the presence or absence of the brachial plexus block. Patients who received brachial plexus blocks had the lowest recorded pain scores after receiving cryotherapy at 5 °C for 24 h after surgery. Patients who did not receive the block had the lowest recorded pain scores when receiving cryotherapy at either 5 °C for 16 h or 10 °C for 24 h. Conclusions: Using universal cryotherapy intensity and duration settings regardless of the use of other interventions is likely to unintentionally increase postoperative pain levels. This study revealed that cryotherapy at 5 °C for 24 h was optimal for patients who received an anesthesia block and at 5 °C for 16 h or at 10 °C for 24 h for those who did not receive the anesthesia block. These results can be used as a reference for setting the temperature and duration of cryotherapy after arthroscopic shoulder surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Ethanol oxidation in subcritical water was examined at 25MPa in the temperature range of 260–350°C with equivalence ratio of 0.6. With oxygen as the oxidiser, the overall first-order decomposition reaction parameters were determined to be 102.9±0.4 s−1 for the pre-exponential factor and 53.8±4.6kJmol−1 for the activation energy. The products obtained by the hydrothermal oxidation of ethanol were acetaldehyde, acetic acid, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. First-order kinetics was enough to capture the main characteristics of species concentration profiles. Consecutive reaction network: C2H5OH→CH3CHO→CH3COOH→CO→CO2 well described the behaviour of components obtained from wet oxidation of ethanol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Reaction efficiencies of two organic alkalis, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and trimethylsulfonium hydroxide (TMSH), with lipids during thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM) were examined focusing on (1) the types of lipids and (2) degree of unsaturation of fatty acid moieties. Different types of lipids such as triglycerides, phospholipids, free fatty acids and cholesteryl esters containing saturated, monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) residues were subjected to THM-gas chromatography (GC) in the presence of TMAH or TMSH. The obtained results revealed that the THM reaction using TMAH allowed almost quantitative methylation of saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid components independently of the classes of lipids. However, strong alkalinity of TMAH brought about isomerization and/or degradation of PUFA components. In contrast, the use of TMSH was effective to highly sensitive detection of PUFA as well as saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid components contained in triglycerides, phospholipids (phosphatidylcholines) and free fatty acids. On the other hand, TMSH was proved to react hardly with any kind of fatty acid residues in cholesteryl esters due to their steric hindrance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effect of additives, such as an inorganic alkali and a nickel catalyst, on the hydrothermal process was examined to generate hydrogen from biomass with high selectivity at relatively low temperatures around 400°C. At first, a cellulose sample as model biomass was subjected to the hydrothermal process at 400°C under 25MPa in the presence of an alkali (Na2CO3) and a nickel catalyst (Ni/SiO2). The combination of these two additives led not only to highly efficient generation of hydrogen but also to effective dissolution of CO2 into an alkaline liquid layer. Here the molar yields of gas products from the cellulose sample were compared with the equilibrium quantities obtained using a thermodynamics calculation software. Furthermore, the hydrothermal process of real biomass, such as wood chips, organic fertilizer and food waste, in the presence of both the two additives resulted in highly selective production of hydrogen even at 400°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Thermochemolysis-gas chromatography in the presence of tetrabutylammonium hydroxide was applied to the direct determination of phenolic compounds present as “extractives” in a wood sample (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). The phenolic extractives converted into their perbutyl derivatives were separated from the other phenolic products derived from the lignin skeleton in the observed chromatogram of the wood sample. On the basis of their peak intensities, the contents of the phenolic extractives in the wood sample were rapidly and precisely determined without using preliminary solvent extraction of the wood sample. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The molecular structure of lipids in whole bacteria cells was characterized in detail by using two different and complementarily direct analyses; thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) combined with on-probe sample pretreatment. First, THM-GC in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) was applied to compositional analysis of the fatty acid components of lipids in whole bacterial cells. On the resulting chromatograms, a series of fatty acid components in bacterial lipids were clearly observed as resolved peaks of their methyl esters. The fatty acid compositions determined on the basis of the peak intensities were in good agreement with those obtained by the conventional technique involving solvent extraction of the lipids in the samples. Furthermore, MALDI-MS combined with the on-probe sample treatment, using 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB) and sodium iodide (NaI) as matrix and cationization reagents, respectively, was used to detect intact phospholipids directly from whole bacterial cells. The MALDI spectra thus obtained showed an array of ions generated from bacterial phospholipids, such as phosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) and phosphatidylglycerols (PGs). Finally, the bacterial lipids were comprehensively characterized in terms of the acyl groups and the molecular structures by taking both of the results obtained by THM-GC and MALDI-MS into consideration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The effect of off-line alkylation using a powerful methylating reagent of carbanion and methyl iodide on the kind and yield of degradation products of humic and fulvic acids in their pyrolysis-gas chromatography (Py-GC) was examined. The humic and fulvic acids used were prepared from three soils including a Dystric Cambisol, an Umbric Andosol, and a Podzol. The yields of aliphatic and lignin-derived phenolic compounds did not increase or decreased generally after the off-line methylation in comparison with conventional thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM) using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) for unmethylated samples. However, benzenetetracarboxylic acid tetramethyl esters and benzenepentacarboxylic acid pentamethyl ester became detectable or increased in yield for all the three fulvic acids examined and one humic acid sample characterized by its high concentration of carboxyl groups. Benzenehexacarboxylic acid hexamethyl ester was also detected in off-line methylated fulvic acids soluble in dichloromethane and purified with Sephadex LH-20. The addition of TMAH in pyrolysis of the off-line methylated samples did not improve the yields. Hence, the conventional THM comparatively lead to lower yields of the benzenepolycarboxylic acids (BPCAs) with 4–6 carboxyl groups, and the Py-GC after the off-line methylation could give additional information on structural unit of humic substances, although its single use did not increase total yields of degradation products. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The structural changes of a polymeric hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS), Adekastab LA-68LD (MW=1900) added in PP materials during UV-irradiation were investigated by reactive thermal desorption-gas chromatography (RTD-GC) in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide [(CH3)4NOH, TMAH]. Not only the products formed from the residual intact HALS, but also those from its oxidized moiety (nitroxyl radical) were observed on the resulting chromatograms without the use of any troublesome sample pretreatment such as solvent extraction. The changes in the yields of these key products were then examined as a function of UV-exposure time. As a result, it was revealed that the amount of the nitroxyl radical increased in the initial stage of UV-irradiation but then slightly decreased mainly because of further decomposition into the smaller compounds, whereas that of the intact HALS monotonously decreased during exposure. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A highly sensitive method to analyze the intact lipids in a single zooplankter individual at the level of a few tenths of a microgram was developed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) combined with a direct sampling technique. The sampling procedure involved (1) putting a zooplankter individual sample onto the MALDI sample plate, (2) cutting the sample into a few pieces by means of tweezers, (3) depositing aliquots of matrix and cationization reagent solutions on the zooplankter sample, and (4) irradiating with a N[SUB2] laser to cause MALDI. By using this technique, the mass spectra of the single zooplankter samples showed a series of ions generated from phospholipids with 34 or 36 carbons in the acyl groups and neutral lipids such as triglycerides and diacylglyceryl ethers with 5054 carbons in their acyl and alkenyl groups. Accordingly, this method enabled us to estimate the relative quantity between "structured lipids" (phospholipids) and "storage lipids" (neutral lipids) in an individual zooplankter, which should give us a good clue to elucidate the roles of each class of lipids in its growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC) in the presence of trimethylsulfonium hydroxide (TMSH) was applied to the analysis of the lipid contents and their fatty acid compositions in individual zooplankters, especially focusing on polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) components. On the resulting chromatograms, fatty acid components including PUFAs such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; C20:5) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; C22:6) in single zooplankters were clearly observed as their methyl esters without doing any tedious and time-consuming pretreatment. By using this technique, the lipid contents and fatty acid compositions in a powdered plankter sample prepared by cryomilling homogenization were estimated on the basis of the observed peak intensities with relative standard deviations of less than 6%. The fatty acid compositions thus determined were in good agreement with those obtained by the conventional technique involving solvent extraction of the samples for every fatty acid component including PUFAs. The differences among individual zooplankter samples were then evaluated by THM-GC method. As a result, the chemical compositions of EPA and DHA showed relatively large inter-individual fluctuations even for the samples cultured under the same conditions. This suggests that lipid biosynthesis of the highly unsaturated fatty acid components and their consumption proceeded differently depending on the life history for each individual zooplankter. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A case of pseudoaneurysm that is a rare complication of shoulder arthroscopy is reported. A 73-year-old man with rotator cuff tear underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. On post-operative day 3, a pulsating mass (diameter 5 mm) was detected near the anterior portal. Then, the mass gradually enlarged, which was diagnosed as pseudoaneurysm. After the consultation with vascular surgeons, the mass was surgically excised following ligation of feeding artery 6 weeks after the arthroscopic surgery. Thus far, no recurrence has been observed. Level of evidence V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the characterization of natural resin shellac by reactive pyrolysis-gas chromatography in the presence of organic alkali, tetramethylammonium hydroxide. Determination of terpenic acids, aleuritic acid, several minor fatty acids and wax components of shellac; Distribution of acidic components for shellac samples produced in India and Thailand.

This paper considers the realization of an intelligent digital signal processing system for representing time series and its application to the classification of stock prices. The system utilizes an effective mechanism to detect the nonstationary part (transient waves) which includes important information on the time series based on the Gabor representation and the knowledge representation of waveforms using an expert system. In the subsystem for digital signal processing, an adaptive ARMA model is fitted to the time series obtained by subtracting the moving average from the original time series to generate the time series containing enhanced transient waves. The Gabor representation is applied to classify the kinds of transient waves. A set of codebooks for the spectrum of transient waves is used to identify the kind of transient wave. In the subsystem of the expert system, the characteristics of the time series obtained by digital signal processing and other features recognized by conventional methods such as trend lines are transferred to the frames so that the recognition rules of experts are applied to classify the time series. As an applications, 194 time series of stock prices are recognized and classified into 11 categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determines styrene copolymer sizing agents in paper by pyrolysis gas chromatography. Use of styrene monomer derived from the styrene sequences; Determination of the amounts of sizing agents retained in paper samples; Interpretation of the amounts of sizing agents in paper by degree of sizing.

On-probe sample pretreatment using trifluoroacetic acid as an additional reagent enabled the direct detection of phospholipids in whole bacteria by means of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry for not only gram-negative organisms but also gram-positive ones with a thicker peptidoglycan layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is considerable interest in the development of simple methods for quantifying production of the biodegradable polyester poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB)] by bacteria. Cells of Cupriavidus necator were grown on agar medium containing different concentrations of glucose (10–25 g/L) as a sole carbon source. Trace amounts (100±5 μg) of dried C. necator cells were directly subjected to thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC) in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). On the resulting chromatograms, a series of characteristic peaks, attributed to the THM products from poly(3-hydroxybutylate) accumulated in the bacterial cells, were clearly observed without any interfering component. Based on the peak intensities, the contents of P(3HB) in C. necator were determined precisely and rapidly without using any cumbersome sample pretreatment. Furthermore, the values of the P(3HB) contents coincided overall with those obtained by the conventional method involving solvent extraction followed by gravimetric determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subcritical water (SCW) extraction of citrus pomaces (CPs) was carried out, and antioxidant activity and nutraceutical compound levels of the SCW extracts were evaluated in detail. At first, CP samples were subjected to the SCW extraction under various conditions focusing on the extraction temperature and time. Consequently, the highest total phenol contents, radical scavenging activity, and reducing power were found when extraction was carried at 200°C and 1.4 MPa for 60 min. Furthermore, the amounts of three kinds of polymethoxylated flavones (sinensetin, nobiletin, and tangeretin) in the SCW extracts also showed the highest values under this condition. These results indicate that SCW is an effective medium for the fast and highly efficient extraction of the antioxidants and nutraceutical compounds from CPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. The composition of fatty acids (FA) from C14 to C18 was measured for edible seston and for individual Daphnia galeata, Diaphanosoma brachyurum and Eodiaptomus japonicus from Lake Biwa using a pyrolysis--gas chromatography (Py-GC) method. Based on the relative abundance of the FA, inter-and intraspecific differences in composition were examined. 2. Among the FA, C16 : 0 was the most abundant, both in the three zooplankton species and in edible seston smaller than 20 μm, suggesting that the composition of the zooplankton was roughly reflected by their diet. However, the abundance of C18 : 1 relative to C16 : 1 and C18 : 0 was much higher in each zooplankton species than in the diet. 3. Comparison of the relative abundance of FA among the three zooplankton species revealed that intraspecific differences in FA composition are greater than interspecific differences. These results indicate that variability in FA composition is not necessarily species-specific, and can be obscured by variation in composition between individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • THM-GC was applied to monitor the change in copolymer composition of film samples during soil burial test. • 3 HHx moieties in the polymer chains were preferentially biodegraded owing to their low crystallinity. • Local variation in the degree of biodegradation using only 30 μg of P(3HB-co-3HHx) film sample. Abstract Soil burial biodegradation behavior of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyhexanoate) [P(3HB- co -3HHx)] was studied based on its copolymer composition determined by thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC). The change in copolymer composition of P(3HB- co -3HHx) film samples during soil burial degradation test was monitored in detail by THM-GC. As a result, the copolymer compositions of 3HB units gradually increased, while those of 3HHx units decreased with soil burial time, almost correlating with recovery weight. Based on these results, the biodegradation mechanism of P(3HB- co -3HHx) was elucidated with considering the influence of the crystallinity on the biodegradability. Furthermore, local differences in biodegradability of a given P(3HB- co -3HHx) film after soil burial test were also successfully evaluated from the copolymer compositions obtained by THM-GC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was performed to investigate the enhanced antioxidant effects of citrus pomace (CP) extracts processed by super-heated steam (SHS). CP extracts were obtained using a closed SHS system at three different temperatures (100, 200, and 300 °C) with an extraction time of 10 or 20 min. These extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant activities by measuring their DPPH, alkyl, and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity using Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) spectroscopy and for their protective effects against H 2 O 2 -induced oxidative stress in Vero cells. All extracts exhibited strong radical scavenging activities and protective effects against H 2 O 2 -induced Vero cell damage. Especially, the SHS-CP extracts obtained at 300 °C with extraction times of both 10 min and 20 min exhibited antioxidant activities that were significantly higher than those of ethanol extracts and SHS-CP extracts obtained at other temperatures. The total phenolic and flavonoid contents of SHS-CP extracts and their antioxidant activities were found to be increased with elevated processing temperatures. Moreover, gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in the presence of a methylating reagent revealed that some characteristic polyphenols and polyhydroxycyclohexanes were present in the SHS-CP extracts. Thus, this study demonstrated that SHS extraction is an efficient and environmentally friendly method for extracting antioxidants from CP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although a loss of rotator cuff integrity leads to the superior migration of the humeral head, the parameters that characterize the anterolateral migration of the humeral head have not been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between the translation of the humeral head scale (T-scale) and clinical outcomes of rotator cuff repair, as well as the correlation between the T-scale and radiologic parameters.Methods: One hundred thirty-five consecutive patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears underwent primary rotator cuff repair. The T-scale, which indicates the distance from the center of the humeral head to the lateral coracoacromial arch, was measured on axial computed tomography scans, and the acromiohumeral interval (AHI) was measured radiographically. The correlation of the two parameters with the clinical scores of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association and University of California-Los Angeles scores and active forward elevation (FE) were evaluated at the preoperative and postoperative stages, respectively.Results: The postoperative T-scale and AHI correlated well with the postoperative FE and clinical scores in the patients with large-massive tears but not in those patients with small-medium tears and preoperative large-massive tears. A significant correlation was observed between the postoperative T-scale and AHI. The T-scale was subject to cuff repair integrity.Conclusions: We demonstrated that the postoperative T-scale was well correlated with the clinical results and postoperative AHI after rotator cuff repair for large-massive tears, indicating that poor outcomes are associated with combined superior and anterolateral migration of the humeral head following retears. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC) in the presence of an organic alkali was validated for the compositional analysis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyhexanoate) [P(3HB- co -3HHx)] accumulated in whole bacterial cells. Recombinant Cupriavidus necator Re2058/pCB113 was grown in a batch fermentation with different concentration of palm oil and fructose in order to control the molar fraction of 3HHx in P(3HB- co -3HHx) produced in the cells. Trace amounts (30 μg) of freeze-dried cells were directly subjected to THM-GC in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) at 400 °C. The obtained chromatograms clearly showed nine characteristic peaks, attributed to the THM products from 3HB and 3HHx units in the polymer chains, without any appreciable interference by the bacterial matrix components. Based on these peak intensities, the copolymer compositions were determined rapidly without using any cumbersome and lengthy sample pretreatment as in conventional GC method. Moreover, the compositions thus obtained were strongly correlated with those by NMR and conventional GC involving solvent extraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In our previous paper, thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC) measurements of poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide had revealed that the butylene adipate (BA) content in the PBSA films gradually decreased with soil burial degradation time. In order to clarify the cause of this change in copolymer composition, biodegradation behavior of PBSA with lowered crystallinity was evaluated by THM-GC. PBSA film samples with lower degree of crystallinity, prepared by heating and cooling quickly the original commercially available films, were subjected to a soil burial biodegradation test at 30°C for up to 4 weeks. The copolymer compositions between BA and butylene succinate (BS) units in various stages of the degraded film samples were estimated on the basis of chromatograms obtained by THM-GC with less than 5% of the relative standard deviations. As a result, the change in copolymer composition for the heated PBSA films during soil burial was relatively small compared to the original films, suggesting that biodegradation for the heated films proceeded with the comparable rate for both BA and BS-rich moieties due to lowered crystallinity. Based on these results, the reason for the change in copolymer composition observed for the original PBSA films was clarified as follows: (1) the BA-rich moieties in the copolymer chains could show relatively lower crystallinity than the BS-rich moieties and (2) the BA-rich moieties were preferentially biodegraded during soil burial test, leading to the decrease in the BA content as the biodegradation proceeded. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Biodegradability of poly(butylene succinate-co-butylene adipate) (PBSA) was studied based on its copolymer composition determined by thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation-gas chromatography (THM-GC) using trace amounts (20 µg) of the film samples. The copolymer compositions of butylene adipate (BA) units gradually decreased with soil burial degradation time, reflecting preferential biodegradation of BA moieties during soil burial due to their lower crystallinity. Furthermore, local differences in biodegradability of a given PBSA film after soil burial were also successfully evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Hydrogen gas has successfully been produced from biomass by hydrothermal gasification. Various alkaline additives have been found to increase the hydrogen yield. However, studies have not yet been done on pollutants that would be produced in the hydrothermal gasification with real biomass waste containing hetero-atoms such as S, N, and P elements. Studies have also yet to be done on finding ways to suppress the formation of pollutants. For this purpose, l-cysteine containing hetero-atoms S and N, and O-phospho-dl-serine with P, were selected as pure test samples. The objective was to determine the optimum conditions for the suppression of the pollutants produced in the hydrothermal gasifications, while effectively generating hydrogen. Phosphate ion was found in the liquid phase after the gasification of O-phospho-dl-serine with and without additive at 400°C. Phosphorus compounds were not detected in the gas phase. When a large quantity of Ca(OH)2 was added, phosphorus compounds were precipitated in the solid phase. Hydrogen gas yields were increased and other gases were suppressed by using the additive. These results were same as those of chicken manure. The test samples were used to determine the optimum conditions of 400°C, 21MPa, and the Ca(OH)2 additive. was mainly produced in liquid phase by using the model sample of l-cysteine. With the addition of Ca(OH)2, the yields of SO2 and H2S are significantly decreased. and were detected at trace levels. The main gas produced was hydrogen and the generation of CO2 gas was efficiently suppressed. These optimum conditions were then applied to real biowastes, cow dung. Hydrogen production increased and was found to be mainly in the gas phase, while there was negligible generation of pollutants, with these were in the gas phase. H2S were detected at trace levels. NO was not recorded, and production of other gases were suppressed by using the additive. Nitrogen in the sample was trapped as in the liquid phase. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Fischer–Tropsch synthesis (FTS) of syngas was carried out using Fe-based catalysts in order to produce hydrocarbons (HCs) equivalent to kerosene, which is used as an alternative aviation fuel. The FTS was conducted in a downdraft continuous-flow-type fixed-bed reactor under a temperature of 533–573K and a pressure of 3.0MPa. The effects of reduction gases and time of the Fe-based catalyst, reaction temperature and the chemical species included in the Fe-based catalyst on the FTS were studied by focusing on primary kerosene yield and the carbon mass balance. The carbon mass balances in the study were almost 100%. In C6+HCs, the selectivity of CO to the C11−C14 HCs equivalent to kerosene was found to be the second highest, the highest being its selectivity to C20+HCs equivalent to wax. The amount of primary kerosene produced was maximum under the following conditions: the prepared Fe catalyst did not contain other chemical species, the feed ratio of the reduction gases H2:CO:N2 was 2:1:3, the catalyst reduction time was 8h, and the FTS reaction temperature was 553K. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Conventional methods used to analyze total fatty acids in wood generally require tedious and time-consuming pretreatments such as solvent extraction and hydrolysis of esterified fatty acids of fats. In this study, both total fatty acid composition and the yield from free and esterified fatty acids of fats in Acacia species were investigated using a rapid and direct method of thermochemolysis–gas chromatography (GC)–flame ionization detector (FID)/mass spectrometry (MS) with organic alkalis. Using tetrabutylammonium hydroxide (TBAH) at 300°C, thermochemolysis–GC–FID/MS gave total fatty acids including the fat origin as pyrolyzates with suppressed lignin fragment formation because of the basicity of TBAH compared to other organic alkalis: tetramethylammonium hydroxide and tetramethylammonium acetate. The obtained results of fatty acid composition were consistent with those obtained using conventional methods consisting of a series of procedures such as solvent extraction, hydrolysis, derivatization, and analysis by GC–FID/MS in fatty acid composition analysis. Furthermore, thermochemolysis–GC–FID gave a higher yield of total fatty acid than the conventional method, quantitatively reflecting the difficulty in solvent extraction of these components. Consequently, thermochemolysis–GC with TBAH promises to be a rapid and direct method to characterize total fatty acids in wood, avoiding artifacts by solvent extraction of wood. Furthermore, this method discriminated Acacia auriculiformis from Acacia mangium based on the observed fatty acid contents and selected individuals containing low total fatty acids to minimize paper sliding on a printer drum. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Copolymer composition of a biodegradable aliphatic copolyester, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (P(3HB-co-3HV)) with a wide range of 3HV contents (ca. 4–23mol%) was determined by pyrolysis-gas chromatography (Py-GC) in the presence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). Nine major peaks of methylated products, five of which were attributed to the products from 3HV unit and the other four from 3HB unit, were commonly observed in the pyrograms. The copolymer compositions of P(3HB-co-3HV) samples estimated based on the relative intensities of these peaks were consistent with those by 1H NMR. These results demonstrated that Py-GC in the presence of TMAH can be applied to the accurate and highly sensitive compositional analysis of P(3HB-co-3HV) using trace amounts (ca. 0.1mg or less) of the samples. Furthermore, the fact that a small amount (ca. 1%) of the pyrolyzate from 3HV unit was also observed on the pyrogram of a commercially available poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), PHB, suggested that the given PHB might be actually a copolymer containing minor amount of 3HV unit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highly sensitive and specific determination of trace amounts of a polymeric hindered amine light stabilizer (HALS) in polypropylene (PP) materials could be established by improving reactive thermal desorption–gas chromatography (RTD–GC) in the presence of an organic alkali, tetramethylammonium hydroxide. By using nitrogen–phosphorus detection, highly selective detection of the HALS-related components was attained. In addition, the use of a polar poly(ethylene glycol) separation column alleviated the adsorption of minor specific pyrolysis products. This modified RTD–GC method allowed the determination of the polymeric HALS (Mr 1900) in PP even for trace concentrations between 100 and 500 ppm, through observing selectively the characteristic products containing a tetramethylpiperidine moiety, which had been impossible to detect under the previous RTD–GC conditions using a non-polar separation column and conventional flame ionization detection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A novel rapid and sensitive method to characterize wood extractives in wood samples was developed on the basis of reactive thermal desorption-gas chromatography (RTD-GC) in the presence of an organic alkali, tetramethylammonium acetate ((CH3)4N+OCOCH3−, TMAAc) without using any cumbersome pretreatment such as solvent extraction. The RTD at 200 °C using TMAAc allowed highly sensitive detection of wood extractives such as fatty acid, phenolic acid and gallocatechin components in Eucalyptus camaldulensis as their methyl derivatives on the resulting chromatograms with suppressing the pyrolysis of the major wood constituent to the utmost. The fatty acid contents were able to be determined directly by RTD-GC using approximately 100 μg of the powdered wood samples with in relative standard deviations of 5%. The observed result was in fairly good agreement with that obtained by the conventional standard method including off-line transmethylation of acetone extracts followed by GC measurements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Presents a quantitative analysis of detailed lignin monomer composition by pyrolysis-gas chromatography. Contribution of the lignin acetylation procedure; Determination of the dehydrogenative polymers; Accuracy of the preacetylation in analyzing the detailed lignin monomer composition.