Oligomerization mechanism of tea catechins during tea roasting

Roasting of green tea causes oligomerization of tea catechins, which decreases the astringency. The aim of this study was to elucidate the oligomerization mechanism. The 13C NMR spectrum of the oligomer fraction showed signals arising from catechin and sugar residues. Heating of epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate with 13C-labeled glucose (150 °C for 2 h) suggested that condensation of sugars with catechin A-rings caused the oligomerization. The dimeric product obtained by heating for a shorter period (30 min)suggested cross-linking occurred between sugars and catechin A-rings. Furthermore, heating of phloroglucinol, a catechin A-ring mimic, with glucose, methylglyoxal, and dihydroxyacetone, confirmed that the basic mechanism included reaction of the catechin A-ring methine carbons with carbonyl carbons of glucose and their pyrolysis products

既製幼児服下衣のウエスト部に関する研究

Our study was aimed to clarify the actual situation of waist area construction of ready-made children\u27s pants and skirts, and the mothers buying behavior and their consciousness to children\u27s clothes, and how mothers dress their children and the problems which control us. We investigated them through a market research, a wearing test and a questionnaire study. The main results are as follows. 1. By the market research, there were 5 kinds of construction styles: two of them were adjustable to each waist and three of them were not. Adjustable pants and skirts tended to be handled by the department stores, and non-adjustable ones by the volume sales stores. 2. By the wearing test, though the pants size matched the child, the pants were too tight for the child\u27s waist. It showed the necessity for the adjustable pants waist specification. 3. The mothers mainly used the volume sales stores attaching greater importance to economical and design matters than to functional ones. They thought that the waist construction was an adjustable specification and made by rubber, that the hook was better than the button, and pants\u27 waist was made by rubber than by the hook, and the clothes which the child could put on and take off by himself were good. But the mothers\u27 behavior tended to be different from their consciousness to the ready-made children\u27s wear and it was found that they did not use careful consideration when dressing a child.This study showed the necessity to provide the cheap adjustable waist pants and skirts, the size indication by not only the height but also the height and the other body measurement, and durable and pretty design garments. It also suggested that the mothers should be educated to use careful consideration then dressing their children

Decreased circulating branched-chain amino acids are associated with development of Alzheimer’s disease in elderly individuals with mild cognitive impairment

BackgroundNutritional epidemiology has shown that inadequate dietary protein intake is associated with poor brain function in the elderly population. The plasma free amino acid (PFAA) profile reflects nutritional status and may have the potential to predict future changes in cognitive function. Here, we report the results of a 2-year interim analysis of a 3-year longitudinal study following mild cognitive impairment (MCI) participants.MethodIn a multicenter prospective cohort design, MCI participants were recruited, and fasting plasma samples were collected. Based on clinical assessment of cognitive function up to 2 years after blood collection, MCI participants were divided into two groups: remained with MCI or reverted to cognitively normal (“MCI-stable,” N = 87) and converted to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (“AD-convert,” N = 68). The baseline PFAA profile was compared between the two groups. Stratified analysis based on apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE ε4) allele possession was also conducted.ResultsPlasma concentrations of all nine essential amino acids (EAAs) were lower in the AD-convert group. Among EAAs, three branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), valine, leucine and isoleucine, and histidine (His) exhibited significant differences even in the logistic regression model adjusted for potential confounding factors such as age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and APOE ε4 possession (p < 0.05). In the stratified analysis, differences in plasma concentrations of these four EAAs were more pronounced in the APOE ε4-negative group.ConclusionThe PFAA profile, especially decreases in BCAAs and His, is associated with development of AD in MCI participants, and the difference was larger in the APOE ε4-negative population, suggesting that the PFAA profile is an independent risk indicator for AD development. Measuring the PFAA profile may have importance in assessing the risk of AD conversion in the MCI population, possibly reflecting nutritional status.Clinical trial registration[https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000025322], identifier [UMIN000021965]

Range and Battery Depletion Concerns with Electric Vehicles

This study investigates the effects of the range of a battery electric vehicle (EV) by using questionnaire data. The concern about battery depletion changes according to charging station deployment. Firstly, the methodology for deriving the probabilistic distribution of the daily travel distance is developed, which enables us to analyze people’s tolerance of the risk of battery depletion. Secondly, the desired range of an EV is modeled. This model considers the effect of changing charging station deployment and can analyze the variation in the desired range. Then, the intention of a household to purchase an EV is analyzed by incorporating range-related variables. The results show that people can live with a risk of battery depletion of around 2% to 5%. The deployment of charging stations at large retail facilities and/or workplace parking spaces reduces the desired range of an EV. Finally, the answers to the questionnaire show that the probability of battery depletion on a driving day has little effect on the intention to purchase an EV. Instead, people tend to evaluate the range by itself or directly compare it with their desired range

Commuting behavior in emerging urban areas: Findings of a revealed-preferences and stated-intentions survey in Cluj-Napoca, Romania

As an emerging Eastern European country, Romania has demonstrated continuous economic development since the change in its political system in 1989. This has led to increased car ownership and extensive car usage in the country as well as rapid and uncontrolled land usage and expansion of urban areas. The proposed study aims at determining individual and alternative-specific variables that influence citizens\u27 choice of the transportation mode for commuting trips. Data used in the proposed analysis were obtained by means of a computer-assisted telephonic interview survey conducted in the metropolitan area of Cluj-Napoca in July 2015. The one-time retrospective survey assumed an alternative ticketing policy for public transport, and subsequently, a methodology for simultaneously evaluating revealed-preference and stated-intentions mode choices was adopted to evaluate the willingness of commuters to adopt such a policy. As no such study had previously been performed in Romania, this work serves to fill a void in available literature by revealing the role of demographic, socioeconomic, and attitudinal characteristics along with transport supply and built environment in explaining commuting patterns in the country. As age influences the desires and priorities concerning travel behavior, the proposed study sheds light on how generational differences serve to influence urban transport towards sustainability through non-coercive interventions in post-communist transitional societies

Use of latent variables representing psychological motivation to explore citizens’ intentions with respect to congestion charging reform in Jakarta

The aim of this paper is to investigate the intentions of Jakarta citizens with respect to the electronic road pricing (ERP) reform proposed by the city government. Utilizing data from a stated preference survey conducted in 2013, we construct six variables representing latent psychological motivations (appropriateness of ERP adoption; recognition that ERP can mitigate congestion and improve the environment; car dependency (CDC); awareness of the problems of cars in society; inhibition of freedom movement caused by ERP; and doubts about the ability of ERP to mitigate congestion and environment problems). A multiple-indicators multiple-causes (MIMIC) model is developed to investigate the effects of respondents’ socio-demographics (causes) on the latent constructs in order to gain better understanding of the relationship between respondents’ intentions and the observed individual’s responses (indicators) obtained from the stated preference survey. The MIMIC model offers a good account of whether and how socio-demographic attributes and individual indicators predict the latent variables of psychological motivation constructs. Then, we further verify the influences of the latent variables, combining them with levy rate patterns and daily mobility attributes to investigate significant determining factors for social acceptance of the ERP proposal. A latent variable representations based on the generalized ordered response model are employed in our investigations to allow more flexibility in parameter estimation across outcomes. The results confirm that there is a strong correlation between latent psychological motivations and daily mobility attributes and the level of social acceptance for the ERP proposal. This empirical investigation demonstrates that the latent variables play more substantial role in determining scheme’s acceptance. Moreover, elasticity measures show that latent attributes are more sensitive compared to levies and daily mobility attributes. Therefore, in order to gain the acceptance of the majority of road users, a gradual introduction of ERP may be needed to allow users to gain understanding of the scheme, thereby gaining a more acceptable response. The findings from this work should provide insight for the Jakarta government in designing a more effective and acceptable policy aiming at promoting the adoption of ERP in Jakarta