Understanding the interactions of cellulose fibres and deep eutectic solvent of choline chloride and urea

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Springer Verlag via the DOI in this record.A deep eutectic solvent composed of choline chloride (ChCl) and urea has been recently introduced as a promising cellulose compatible medium that enables e.g. fibre spinning. This paper clarifies the influence of such a solvent system on the structure and chemical composition of the cellulosic pulp fibres. Special emphasis was placed on the probable alterations of the chemical composition due to the dissolution of the fibre components and/or due to the chemical derivatisation taking place during the DES treatment. Possible changes in fibre morphology were studied with atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Chemical compositions of pulp fibres were determined from the carbohydrate content, and by analysing the elemental content. Detailed structural characterisation of the fibres was carried out using spectroscopic methods; namely X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Raman Spectroscopy. No changes with respect to fibre morphology were revealed and negligible changes in the carbohydrate composition were noted. The most significant change was related to the nitrogen content of the pulp after the DES treatment. Comprehensive examination using spectroscopic methods revealed that the nitrogen originated from strongly bound ChCl residuals that could not be removed with a mild ethanol washing procedure. According to Raman spectroscopic data and methylene blue adsorption tests, the cationic groups of ChCl seems to be attached to the anionic groups of pulp by electrostatic forces. These findings will facilitate the efficient utilisation of DES as a cellulose compatible medium without significantly affecting the native fibre structure.The authors acknowledge the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation (TEKES) for funding the work via Design Driven Value Chains in the World of Cellulose 2.0 project. The Academy of Finland (Project ID 300367) is acknowledged for enabling the research mobility of T.T. to the University of Exeter, UK. Unto Tapper (VTT) is thanked for the SEM imaging, Atte Mikkelson, Ritva Heinonen and Marita Ikonen (VTT) for the chemical analysis and Robertus Nugroho (Aalto University) for the AFM imaging

Changes in BMI and physical activity from youth to adulthood distinguish normal-weight, metabolically obese adults from those who remain healthy

HighlightsAdults with MONW have a lower BMI during youth until young adulthood, but higher BMI after this than adults with metabolically healthy normal weight. Adults with MONW have a greater decrease in physical activity from youth to adulthood than other adults. Healthy lifestyle is important in the prevention of metabolic disorders, particularly in individuals who are slim in childhood.BackroundIndividuals with metabolically obese normal-weight (MONW) have higher risk of cardiovascular events than those with obesity but a metabolically healthy status. Etiological factors leading to MONW are not well known. We hypothesized distinct trajectories of changes in BMI and physical activity may modify metabolic risk and distinguish individuals with MONW from those who remain healthy.MethodsWe compared the mean levels of BMI and physical activity at eight time points (1980, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1992, 2001, 2007, 2011) between MONW and healthy normal-weight adults using linear mixed-model analysis. The analyses included 1180 participants of the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study, a population-based study that represents six different age cohorts 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18 years of age at baseline.ResultsIndividuals with adult MONW had significantly lower BMI in childhood and young adulthood, but their BMI increased more than in other adults after this age (pConclusionsRelative leanness in youth and subsequent weight gain in young adulthood, and a gradual decrease in physical activity levels from youth to adulthood, predispose normal-weight individuals to metabolic impairments. The results highlight the importance of a healthy lifestyle in the prevention of metabolic disorders, particularly in individuals who are slim in childhood.</p

Childhood Psychosocial Environment and Adult Cardiac Health : A Causal Mediation Approach

Introduction: This study used causal mediation analysis to assess the life-course associations of a favorable childhood psychosocial environment with left ventricular mass and diastolic function in adulthood and the extent to which adult health behaviors mediate these associations. Methods: The sample included 880 participants (56% women) from the Young Finns Study with data on the childhood environment from 1980, adult health behaviors (smoking, physical activity, diet, and BMI) from 2001 and an echocardiographic assessment of the left ventricular mass (g/m(2.7)) and diastolic function (E/e' ratio; higher values indicating a lower diastolic function) from 2011. The associations of the childhood environment with the left ventricular mass and E/e' ratio and mediation pathways through health behaviors were assessed using marginal structural models that were controlled for age, sex, and time-dependent confounding by adult socioeconomic position (measured as educational attainment) via inverse probability weighting. The data were analyzed in 2018-2019. Results: The mean age in 2011 was 41 (range 34-49) years. Those above versus below the median childhood score had a 1.28 g/m(2.7) lower left ventricular mass (95% CI = -2.63, 0.07) and a 0.18 lower E/e' ratio (95% CI = -0.39, 0.03). There was no evidence for indirect effects from childhood environments to left ventricular outcomes through adult health behaviors after controlling for time-dependent confounding by the adult socioeconomic position (indirect effect beta = -0.30, 95% CI = -1.22, 0.63 for left ventricular mass; beta = -0.04, 95% CI = -0.18, 0.11 for E/e' ratio). The results after multiple imputation were similar. Conclusions: A favorable childhood environment is associated with more optimal cardiac structure and function in adulthood. After accounting for socioeconomic positions, adult health behaviors explain little of the associations. (C) 2019 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Designing electronic collaborative learning environments

Electronic collaborative learning environments for learning and working are in vogue. Designers design them according to their own constructivist interpretations of what collaborative learning is and what it should achieve. Educators employ them with different educational approaches and in diverse situations to achieve different ends. Students use them, sometimes very enthusiastically, but often in a perfunctory way. Finally, researchers study them and—as is usually the case when apples and oranges are compared—find no conclusive evidence as to whether or not they work, where they do or do not work, when they do or do not work and, most importantly, why, they do or do not work. This contribution presents an affordance framework for such collaborative learning environments; an interaction design procedure for designing, developing, and implementing them; and an educational affordance approach to the use of tasks in those environments. It also presents the results of three projects dealing with these three issues

Does Childhood Temperamental Activity Predict Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior over a 30-Year Period? Evidence from the Young Finns Study

We examined associations between childhood temperamental activity, physical activity (PA), and television (TV) viewing over a 30-year period. The participants (1220 boys and 1237 girls) were aged 3, 6, 9, and 12 years in 1980 and were followed until 2011. Temperamental activity was evaluated by participants' mothers at baseline. The PA was assessed based on maternal ratings of the child from ages 3 to 6 and via self-report age from the age of 9 across all measurements. TV viewing was assessed using self-reports taken from 2001 to 2011. The associations between temperamental activity and the level and change of PA and TV viewing were determined using linear growth modeling stratified by gender and age group. High temperamental activity assessed from ages 9 to 12 was associated with high levels of childhood PA in both genders, but with a steeper decline in PA levels during the first 9 years of follow-up in boys. High temperamental activity assessed from ages 3 to 6 was associated with the decline of PA from childhood to youth in girls. High childhood temperamental activity was associated with decreased levels of PA in adulthood in men, but not in women. The associations between childhood temperamental activity and TV viewing during adulthood seemed to be positive but not consistently significant in all age and gender groups. High temperamental activity may contribute to the development of a physically inactive lifestyle. More evidence is needed with regard to gender differences among participants in similar study settings.Peer reviewe