Dissimilarity of the oxidations of rapeseed and butter oil triacylglycerols and their mixtures in the absence of tocopherols

Although fatty acid composition is the most important attribute used to control oxidation stability, all edible oils are affected by lipid oxidation irrespective of whether they are highly unsaturated or not. The aim of the study was to compare the oxidation of rapeseed oil (RO) and butter oil (BO) triacylglycerols (TAGs) and their mixtures containing 10% or 20% of the other. Oxidation of the TAGs at 40°C was followed by formation of primary and secondary products. Statistical methods were used to interpret the data. The RO and BO TAGs and their mixtures began to oxidise without any induction periods. In the RO TAGs more hydroperoxides and p‐anisidine reactive compounds were formed than in the BO TAGs. The BO TAGs oxidised more than would be expected by their fatty acid composition. High susceptibility of BO TAGs to oxidation was caused by the easy breakdown of their hydroperoxides. Heptadienal and heptenal were specific products of oxidised RO TAGs and heptanal and nonenal of oxidised BO TAGs. Mixtures of RO and BO TAGs behaved according to which was dominant in the mixture. However, as little as 10% of RO or BO TAG introduced its specific oxidation products to the mixture. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

Development and application of an automated subcatchment generator for SWMM using open data

An open source subcatchment generator program was developed for the Stormwater Management Model (SWMM) to automate tedious stages in the model construction process. The generator divides the investigated area into subcatchments using a uniform computation grid and connects the grid cells together and to the underlying stormwater network. The system was tested by applying it to two small urban catchments with different fractions of impervious surfaces in Helsinki, Finland, using mostly openly available data. The simulated discharge results were compared to measured data and to results obtained from manually built models. The proposed system significantly accelerated the setup of a SWMM modelling project, as the routing between the subcatchments as well as the subcatchment slopes and flow widths were directly derived from the computation grid. Automatically generated and manually constructed SWMM models produced discharge results that differed only slightly from each other.     

Evaluation of the Acute Toxicity and Genotoxicity of Orange,Red, Violet and Yellow Pyrotechnic Smokes In Vitro

The acute toxicity and the genotoxicity of four colored smokes were studied by an in vitro method based on the exposure of human bronchial epithelial cell cultures to the smokes. All smoke formulations consisted of the oxidizer fuel mixture (potassium chlorate/lactose), talcum and the following dyes: 1,4‐dihydroxy anthraquinone (orange), 1‐(p‐tolylamino)‐4‐hydroxy anthraquinone (violet), 1‐methylamino anthraquinone (red) and 4,4′‐methylidyne‐bis‐3‐methyl‐1‐phenyl‐2‐pyrazolin‐5‐one (yellow). The experiments were carried out in a laboratory scale chamber and in a large container. The toxicity was compared to that of hexachloroethane (HC)‐based reference smoke with known toxicity. All the colored smokes displayed acute toxicity. The order of toxicity in the laboratory scale tests was orange>violet≈red>HC>yellow and in the container tests orange>violet≈yellow>red. The orange smoke appeared genotoxic in all the tests. With the yellow and the violet smokes, the genotoxicity could not be totally excluded. The red smoke showed evidence of weak genotoxicity only in one test series at the highest concentration level.     

Oxidative capacity and hemolytic activity of settled dust from moisture‐damaged schools

Exposure to moisture‐damaged indoor environments is associated with adverse respiratory health effects, but responsible factors remain unidentified. In order to explore possible mechanisms behind these effects, the oxidative capacity and hemolytic activity of settled dust samples (n = 25) collected from moisture‐damaged and non‐damaged schools in Spain, the Netherlands, and Finland were evaluated and matched against the microbial content of the sample. Oxidative capacity was determined with plasmid scission assay and hemolytic activity by assessing the damage to isolated human red blood cells. The microbial content of the samples was measured with quantitative PCR assays for selected microbial groups and by analyzing the cell wall markers ergosterol, muramic acid, endotoxins, and glucans. The moisture observations in the schools were associated with some of the microbial components in the dust, and microbial determinants grouped together increased the oxidative capacity. Oxidative capacity was also affected by particle concentration and country of origin. Two out of 14 studied dust samples from moisture‐damaged schools demonstrated some hemolytic activity. The results indicate that the microbial component connected with moisture damage is associated with increased oxidative stress and that hemolysis should be studied further as one possible mechanism contributing to the adverse health effects of moisture‐damaged buildings.     

Ante- and perinatal factors and child characteristics predicting parenting experience among formerly infertile couples during the child's first year: A controlled study.

In this prospective controlled study, the authors examined (a) parenting experiences among couples with successful assisted reproduction treatment (ART; n = 367) and fertile spontaneously conceiving controls (n = 371) and (b) the impact of ante- and perinatal factors and child characteristics on parenting experiences. The results show that positive mothering experiences increased more during the 1st year of parenting and were generally higher among ART mothers than control mothers. No differences were found between ART fathers and controls in their fathering experience. Unpleasant birth experiences, low birth weight, and difficulty soothing the child were associated with high levels of parental stress in the control group, but this was not so among the ART parents. Psychosocial interventions in maternal care should take into account the various meanings that couples give to the history of infertility and conception and ante- and perinatal experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mannans as stabilizers of oil-in-water beverage emulsions

The stabilizing effect of spruce galactoglucomannan (GGM) on a model beverage emulsion system was studied and compared to that of guar gum and locust bean gum galactomannans, konjac glucomannan, and corn arabinoxylan. In addition, guar gum was enzymatically modified in order to examine the effect of the degree of polymerization and the degree of substitution of galactomannans on emulsion stability. Use of GGM increased the turbidity of emulsions both immediately after preparation and after storage of up to 14 days at room temperature. GGM emulsions had higher turbidity than the emulsions containing other mannans. The initial turbidity increased with increasing GGM content, but after 14 days storage at room temperature, the turbidity was the highest for GGM/oil ratio of 0.10:1 when ethanol-precipitated GGM was used. Increasing the storage temperature to +45 °C led to rapid emulsion breakdown, but a decrease in storage temperature increased emulsion stability after 14 days. Confocal microscopy showed that the average particle size in the bottom part of GGM emulsions stored for 14 days was smaller than 1 μm. A low degree of polymerization and a high degree of substitution of the modified galactomannans were associated with a decrease in emulsion turbidity.     

Group Climate and Creativity in Temporary Innovation Camp Settings

This study examines how perceived group climate shapes the creativity of groups in temporary, collaborative and non‐virtual innovation setting. As no previous studies have examined antecedents of group creativity in temporary non‐virtual innovation settings, this study takes as a starting point the findings of the current studies in conventional ongoing groups to examine the conditions of temporary group innovation camp settings. Through a survey study and partial least squares‐structural equation modelling (PLS‐SEM), the paper sheds light on the antecedents of group creativity in temporary conditions. According to the results, task orientation was the only significant antecedent of group creativity, supporting the assertion that temporary work settings tend to be more task oriented than relationship oriented. The results indicate that many aspects of the social working environment that have been found to affect group creativity in ongoing and stable settings do not exert a similar influence in temporary settings.     

Morphological,mechanical, tribological,and thermal expansion properties of organoclay reinforced polyethylene composites

The morphological, mechanical, thermal, and tribological properties of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) composites reinforced with organo‐modified nanoclay (3 and 6 wt%) were studied. A commercial maleic anhydride‐based polymeric compatibilizer (PEgMA) was used to improve the adhesion between the polyethylene and clay. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization of composites revealed that nanoclay exists mainly in a multilayered structure in the HDPE matrix. Mechanical testing of composites showed that Young's modulus and tensile strength increased with nanoclay content. Coefficients of the linear thermal expansion (CLTE) of HDPE–PEgMA–clay composites were slightly lower in the flow direction than those of HDPE–PEgMA. The tribological properties were measured in dry conditions against a steel counterface. The friction coefficient of the matrix was decreased by the addition of clay. Electron microscopic results suggested that the wear mechanism for HDPE and HDPE composites was mainly adhesive. Clay agglomerates were observed on the worn surfaces of the composites, which may partly explain decreased friction. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Compatibilization of Poly(propylene)/Polyamide 6 Blends with Functionalized Poly(propylene)s Prepared with Metallocene Catalyst

Summary: Propylene was copolymerized with 10‐undecen‐1‐ol using dimethylsilanylbis(2‐methyl‐4‐phenyl‐1‐indenyl)zirconium dichloride as catalyst and MAO and TIBA as cocatalysts. Comonomer incorporations from 0.1 to 0.9 mol‐% (0.5 to 3.6 wt.‐%) were obtained. These hydroxyl functionalized copolymers were applied as compatibilizers to PP/PA6 blend with a composition of 70/30. For comparison, hydroxyl functionalized polyethylene prepared with metallocene catalyst and commercial MAH grafted ethylene butyl acrylate (E/BA/MAH) and poly(propylene) (PP‐g‐MAH) were also used as compatibilizers. Effects of the compatibilizers on morphology and mechanical and thermal properties of the blends were studied. Enhanced adhesion between the blend components was observed in morphology and dynamic mechanical studies. Although improvement in toughness was not as pronounced as expected, there were indications that the hydroxyl functionalized propylene copolymers prepared with metallocene catalysts could serve as a new type of compatibilizer in polymer blends.

SEM micrograph (5 000×) of an PP/PA6/PP‐co‐OH4 blend.