Migration of dehydroabietic and abietic acids from paper and paperboard food packaging into food-simulating solvents and Tenax TA

An investigation was undertaken to establish the concentration in paper products of dehydroabietic (DHA) and abietic (AA) resin acids, present in rosin, which are major toxicants of pulp- and paper-mill effluent. Their migration was studied from paper and paperboard products into various food-simulating solvents and the substitute fatty food simulant Tenax TA (modified polyphenylene oxide). DHA and AA were detected in five of 10 virgin paper products and in all 10 recycled paperboard products for food-contact use at concentrations of 14-500 and 110-1200 µg/g, respectively. In virgin paper products, the highest migration was into 95% ethanol or heptane, with negligible or no migration into other solvents. In recycled paperboard products, migration was highest into 95% ethanol, but was also observed into 20% ethanol, water and heptane. Migration to Tenax TA was also observed and the migration level increased with time. The maximum migration levels of DHA and AA into food simulants were 0.853 and 3.14 µg/g, respectively. The results suggest that, in the worst case, the daily intake of DHA and AA from paper and paperboard products was 50 times lower than the tolerable daily intake of rosin.     

创意纷呈的东京创意市集博览会Tomoko的时尚日记(八)

Design Festa是一个没有边界的艺术盛会．它超越了年龄和国界。此时的东京就像一个充满了大量艺术和时尚产品的胃，虽然它依旧难以令所有人满意．但你很难再找到超越它的艺术博览会了。[编者按]     

风景的交叉点东京2006日本时装周

新组建的第三届日本时装周,2006年9月4日至8日在日本东京举行。本届时装周由设计师和素材协作展,JFW素材展(Designer & Textile Manufacturers Collaborative Works Exhibition)以及构成核心的东京时装周组成。时装发布的正式日程较以前有了大幅度压缩,为时五天的时间里,东京聚集了所有时装界人士。作为设计师管理机构的东京时装设计师协会,以向前看的姿态修正了规定,     

Cover Image,Volume 97, Issue 8

The cover image, by Yuko Shimamura et al, is based on the Research Article Inhibitory effects of Japanese horseradish (Wasabia japonica) on the formation and genotoxicity of a potent carcinogen, acrylamide, DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.8055 .

     

The use of electronic pharmacy data to investigate prescribed medications and fatal motor vehicle crashes in a military population, 2002-2006

The authors examined the association between prescribed medications and fatal motor vehicle crashes (MVCs) in an active duty military population between 2002 and 2006. Using a case-control design, MVC deaths were ascertained using a military mortality registry, and an integrated health system database provided information on health system eligibility, pharmacy transactions, and medical encounters. Cases and controls were matched on comparable observation time outside periods of deployment. Among selected categories, only one, antidepressant medications, was an independent predictor of fatal MVC (odds ratio, 3.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-10.07). Male gender, Black race, enlisted rank, service branch (Navy and Marine Corps), and selected co-morbidities were also independent predictors. Unexpectedly, the odds of younger age quartiles (<27 years) and history of deployment were reduced for MVC cases. Although results need to be considered in the context of data limitations, the association between prescribed antidepressants and fatal MVC may reflect unmeasured co-morbidities, such as combined effects of prescribed and over-the-counter medications and/or alcohol or other substance abuse. Younger individuals, representing new military accessions in training or returning from deployment with serious injuries, may have fewer opportunities to operate vehicles, or targeted efforts to reduce MVC following deployment may be showing a positive effect.     

First-Principles Study on the Grain Boundary Embrittlement of Metals by Solute Segregation: Part II. Metal (Fe,Al, Cu)-Hydrogen (H) Systems

The microscopic mechanism of grain boundary (GB) embrittlement in metals by hydrogen segregation (trapping) has been not well understood for many years. From first-principles calculations, we show here that the calculated cohesive energy of bcc Fe Σ3(111) and fcc Al(Cu) Σ5(012) symmetrical tilt GBs can be significantly reduced if many hydrogen atoms segregate at the GBs. This indicates that the reduction of the cohesive energy of the GB may cause the hydrogen-induced GB embrittlement in Fe, Al, and Cu. Considering the “mobile” effect of hydrogen during fracture, especially for the Fe system, more hydrogen atoms coming from solid solution state can segregate on the gradually formed two fracture surfaces and reduce further the cohesive energy. We suggest a new idea about the upper and lower critical stresses observed in the constant-load test of hydrogen-induced delayed fracture in high-strength steels; the upper critical stress is determined by the amount (density) of “immobile” hydrogen atoms segregated at the GB before fracture, and the lower critical stress is determined by the total amount (density) of immobile and mobile hydrogen atoms, the latter of which segregate on the two fracture surfaces during fracture.     

Giant electric double-layer capacitance of heavily boron-doped diamond electrode

The physical and electrochemical properties of boron-doped polycrystalline diamond electrodes, prepared with various B/C ratio, i.e., 0.1%, 0.5% (BDD-A), 1% (BDD-B), and 5% (BDD-C), were investigated. Electrochemical measurements of the heavily boron-doped films (BDD-C) showed giant electric double-layer capacitance and activity which is significantly larger than BDD-A and BDD-B as well as glassy carbon electrodes. However, interestingly, actual boron concentration of BDD-C was observed to be almost the same as that of BDD-B by secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy (GDOES) analysis. It is suggested that the large capacitance is due to a few sp²-bonded carbon impurities, which was observed only in BDD-C, although the amount of the sp²-bonded nondiamond species are very small. In the present work, the reason for the interesting electrochemical properties of heavily boron-doped diamond electrodes is discussed. Furthermore, dimensional stability of the electrodes was also confirmed by conducting harsh anodic treatment.     

Methanol decomposition to synthesis gas over supported Pd catalysts prepared from synthetic anionic clays

Supported Pd or Rh catalysts were prepared by the solid-phase crystallization method starting from hydrotalcite anionic clay minerals based on [Mg₆Al₂(OH)₁₆CO ₂ ²⁻ ]·4H₂O as the precursors. The precursors were prepared by a coprecipitation method from the raw materials containing Pd²⁺ and various trivalent metal ions which can replace each site of Mg²⁺ and Al³⁺ in the hydrotalcite. Rh³⁺ was also used for preparing the catalyst as comparison. The precursors were then thermally decomposed and reduced to form supported Pd or Rh catalysts and used for the methanol decomposition to synthesis gas. Among the precursors tested, use of Mg–Cr hydrotalcite containing Pd²⁺ resulted in the formation of efficient Pd supported catalysts for the production of synthesis gas by selective decomposition of methanol at low temperature. Although Pd²⁺ cannot well replace the Mg²⁺ site in the hydrotalcite, the Pd supported catalyst (Pd/Mg–Cr) prepared by the solid-phase crystallization method formed highly dispersed Pd metal particles and showed much higher activity than that prepared by the conventional impregnation method. When the precursor was prepared under mild conditions, more fine particles of Pd metal were formed over the catalyst, resulting in high activity. It is likely that the high activity may be due to the highly dispersed and stable Pd metal particles assisted by the role of Cr as the co-catalyst. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.