Human responses to high levels of carbon dioxide and air temperature

In this study, 30 subjects were exposed to different combinations of air temperature (T_a: 24, 27, and 30°C) and CO₂ level (8000, 10 000, and 12 000 ppm) in a high-humidity (RH: 85%) underground climate chamber. Subjective assessments, physiological responses, and cognitive performance were investigated. The results showed that as compared with exposure to T_a = 24°C, exposure to 30°C at all CO₂ levels caused subjects to feel uncomfortably warm and experience stronger odor intensity, while increased mental effort and greater intensity of acute health symptoms were reported. However, no significant effects of T_a on task performance or physiological responses were found. This indicated that subjects had to exert more effort to maintain their performance in an uncomfortably warm environment. Increasing CO₂ from 8000 to 12 000 ppm at all T_a caused subjects to report higher rates of headache, fatigue, agitation, and feeling depressed, although the results were statistically significant only at 24 and 27°C. The text typing performance and systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased significantly at this exposure, whereas diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and thermal discomfort increased significantly. These effects suggest higher arousal/stress. No significant interaction effect of T_a and CO₂ concentration on human responses was identified.     

Capsiate Intake with Exercise Training Additively Reduces Fat Deposition in Mice on a High-Fat Diet,but Not without Exercise Training

While exercise training (ET) is an efficient strategy to manage obesity, it is recommended with a dietary plan to maximize the antiobesity functions owing to a compensational increase in energy intake. Capsiate is a notable bioactive compound for managing obesity owing to its capacity to increase energy expenditure. We aimed to examine whether the antiobesity effects of ET can be further enhanced by capsiate intake (CI) and determine its effects on resting energy expenditure and metabolic molecules. Mice were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 per group) and fed high-fat diet. Mild-intensity treadmill ET was conducted five times/week; capsiate (10 mg/kg) was orally administered daily. After 8 weeks, resting metabolic rate and metabolic molecules were analyzed. ET with CI additively reduced the abdominal fat rate by 18% and solely upregulated beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue (p = 0.013) but did not affect the metabolic molecules in skeletal muscles. Surprisingly, CI without ET significantly increased the abdominal fat rate (p = 0.001) and reduced energy expenditure by 9%. Therefore, capsiate could be a candidate compound for maximizing the antiobesity effects of ET by upregulating beta-3-adrenoceptors in adipose tissue, but CI without ET may not be beneficial in managing obesity.     

The effect of Na addition on the first hydrogen absorption kinetics of cast hypoeutectic Mg–La alloys

With superior properties of Mg such as high hydrogen storage capacity (7.6 wt% H/MgH₂), low price, and low density, Mg has been widely studied as a promising candidate for solid-state hydrogen storage systems. However, a harsh activation procedure, slow hydrogenation/dehydrogenation process, and a high temperature for dehydrogenation prevent the use of Mg-based metal hydrides for practical applications. For these reasons, Mg-based alloys for hydrogen storage systems are generally alloyed with other elements to improve hydrogen sorption properties. In this article, we have added Na to cast Mg–La alloys and achieved a significant improvement in hydrogen absorption kinetics during the first activation cycle. The role of Na in Mg–La has been discussed based on the findings from microstructural observations, crystallography, and first principles calculations based on density functional theory. From our results in this study, we have found that the Na doped surface of Mg–La alloy systems have a lower adsorption energy for H₂ compared to Na-free surfaces which facilitates adsorption and dissociation of hydrogen molecules leading to improvement of absorption kinetic. The effect of Na on the microstructure of these alloys, such as eutectic refinement and a density of twins is not highly correlated with absorption kinetics.     

Rapid screening of DON contamination in whole wheat meals by Vis/NIR spectroscopy and computer vision coupling technology

This work intends to develop an online experimental system for screening of deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination in whole wheat meals by visible/near-infrared (Vis/NIR) spectroscopy and computer vision coupling technology. Spectral and image information of samples with various DON levels was collected at speed of 0.15 m s⁻¹ on a conveyor belt. The two-type data were then integrated and subjected to chemometric analysis. Discriminant analysis showed that samples could be classified by setting 1000 μg kg⁻¹ as the cut-off value. The best correct classified rate obtained in prediction was 93.55% based on fusion of spectral and image features, with reduced prediction uncertainty as compared to single feature. However, quantification of DON by quantitative analysis was not successful due to poor model performance. These results indicate that, although not accurate enough to provide conclusive result, this coupling technology could be adopted for rapid screening of DON contamination in cereals and feeds during processing.     

Stabilization of 6H-Hexagonal SrMnO3 Polymorph by Al2O3 insertion

We demonstrate the structural evolution of polymorphic phases in Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ ceramics synthesized by solid state reaction. While the 4H-hexagonal phase is predominant in pure SrMnO₃ ceramics, a small amount of 6H-hexagonal polymorph is identified in addition to the primary 4H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ and the secondary hexagonal SrAl₂O₄ phases in the as-sintered ceramics, evidenced by x-ray diffraction and subsequent Rietveld refinement analyses. The existence of the 6H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ phase is corroborated using Raman spectroscopy. The chemical compositions and electronic structures of the Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ compounds are also examined using energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The first-principles calculations reveal that there is no clear difference between the total energies of 4H- and 6H-hexagonal polymorphs regardless of the presence/absence of Sr and oxygen vacancies. Possible origins are discussed with the estimation of actual strain based on the refined lattice parameter of 6H SrMnO₃.