Influence of Hydrothermal Treatment on Hemicellulose Structure in Cryptomeria japonica

The influence of hydrothermal treatment (HTT) on the hemicellulose, i.e. glucomannan/galactoglucomannan (GM/GGM) and arabinoglucurono-xylan (AGX) in Japanese cedar was examined using mild temperatures (95 °C and 120 °C) for its kiln drying. Based on infrared spectra, only a slight change due to HTT was observed in the hemicellulose chemical structure. The quantitative changes of the major chemical components including lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose also exhibited slight differences among samples. However, the molecular chain-length composition of GM/GGM and AGX in the cell walls decreased clearly with HTT, as well as with an increase in temperature. Also, it was found that the strength of the interaction between cellulose and hemicellulose molecules such as GM/GGM and AGX in cell walls decreased depending on the increase in HTT temperature. These results showed that the polymeric structure of GM/GGM and AGX was degraded by hydrolysis at 95 °C of HTT and proceeded further at 120 °C of HTT

Robotic exoskeleton for rehabilitation and motion assist

For elderly and or physically disabled people who have lost their body functioning of motions due to geriatric disorders, and/or disease processes including trauma, sports injuries, spinal cord injuries, occupational injuries, and strokes, we have been developing a 3DOF mobile robotic exoskeleton for rehabilitation and for assisting motion of elbow and shoulder, since human shoulder and elbow motions are involved in a lot of activities of everyday life. The robotic exoskeleton is mainly activated and is controlled by the skin surface electromyogram (EMG) signals,since EMG signals of muscles directly reflect how the user intends to move. This paper focused on the mechanism of mobile robotic exoskeleton and proposed passive and active assist mode of rehabilitation scheme in addition to assist daily upper-limb motion by the aid of robotic exoskeleton. The proportional derivative (PD) control has been applied to the controller for the passive mode of rehabilitation whereas neuro-fuzzy based biological controller is responsible for active assist mode of rehabilitation as well as to assist daily upper limb motion