Search

Edible crickets have recently been used as a new alternative protein source with high nutritional value. The nutritional and flavor-related value of edible crickets varies greatly depending on the species, growth conditions and processing conditions. However, few studies have investigated the effects of the diet fed to crickets during their growth phase on flavor. Therefore, in this study, we characterized the flavor-related factors of powder from crickets reared on apple by-products (ACP) by comparing them with those of powder from crickets reared on a control diet (CCP). The fatty acid composition and volatile compounds of each powder were determined using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, followed by sensory analysis and color measurement. A decrease in unsaturated fatty acids, specifically γ-linolenic acid, α-linolenic acid, arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, was observed in ACP. A total of 50 volatile compounds were identified, of which 11 were present in only ACP, while 39 were found in both powders. The sensory analysis showed that the overall balance score of ACP was higher than that of CCP, and according to the color measurements, ACP was darker than CCP. These differences between CCP and ACP might have been due to the differences in the chemical composition of the diets fed to the crickets during their growth phase. The results of this study suggest that one of the factors determining the food value of edible crickets, especially in terms of flavor, is the diet they are fed during their growth phase.

For source apportionment by tracer method of secondary organic aerosol (SOA), the ratios of aerosol tracer to total SOA mass (fSOA) were determined during the oxidation of toluene, naphthalene, α-pinene, and isoprene by a series of laboratory experiments. Seven anthropogenic SOA tracers maintaining an aromatic ring structure, including 4-nitrophthalic acid and 3,5-dinitrosalicylic, were newly investigated as a chamber study together with 21 traditional aerosol tracers of anthropogenic and biogenic SOA. Experiments of the OH-initiated oxidation of anthropogenic VOCs were conducted as a function of the initial VOC/NOx ratio. No significant dependence on the VOC/NOx ratio was observed for the fSOA of 2,3-dihydroxy-4-oxopentanoic acid from toluene and phthalic acid from naphthalene, whereas the fSOA of nitroaromatic compounds such as 5-nitrosalicylic acid, 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid, and 4-nitrophthalic acid increased with decreasing VOC/NOx ratio. Among seven newly evaluated anthropogenic SOA tracers, we concluded that 3,5-dinitronsalicylic can be used as a toluene SOA tracer, whereas 4-nitrophthalic acid can be used as a naphthalene SOA tracer. Results of kinetic calculations suggest that naphthalene is a major source of 5-nitrosalicylic acid under urban and rural conditions of previous observation studies. The ozonolysis and NO3-initiated oxidation of biogenic VOCs were investigated in addition to OH-initiated oxidation of biogenic VOCs. As for biogenic SOA tracers such as pinic acid and 2-methyltetrols, the fSOA value measured for the NO3-intiated reaction was lower than that of the OH-initiated oxidation and the fSOA value measured for the ozonolysis was not necessarily close to that of the OH-initiated oxidation. These results suggest that daytime and nighttime biogenic SOA formation events are interpreted by using different sets of the fSOA values.

To better understand precursors of dicarboxylic acids in ambient secondary organic aerosol (SOA), we studied C4–C9 dicarboxylic acids present in SOA formed from the oxidation of toluene, naphthalene, α-pinene, and isoprene. C4–C9 dicarboxylic acids present in SOA were analyzed by offline derivatization gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. We revealed that C4 dicarboxylic acids including succinic acid, maleic acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, DL-tartaric acid, and meso-tartaric acid are produced by the photooxidation of toluene. Since meso-tartaric acid barely occurs in nature, it is a potential aerosol tracer of photochemical reaction products. In SOA particles from toluene, we also detected a compound and its isomer with similar mass spectra to methyltartaric acid standard; the compound and the isomer are tentatively identified as 2,3-dihydroxypentanedioic acid isomers. The ratio of detected C4–C5 dicarboxylic acids to total toluene SOA mass had no significant dependence on the initial VOC/NOx condition. Trace levels of maleic acid and fumaric acid were detected during the photooxidation of naphthalene. Malic acid was produced from the oxidation of α-pinene and isoprene. A trace amount of succinic acid was detected in the SOA produced from the oxidation of isoprene.

To understand the characteristics of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs) and estimate their impact on water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in urban areas in Japan, we measured 17 organic tracers using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry from particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm collected at five urban sites in Japan during spring and summer. Most anthropogenic, monoterpene-derived, and isoprene-derived SOA tracers showed meaningful correlations with potential ozone in both these seasons. These results indicate that oxidants play an important role in SOAs produced during both seasons in urban cities in Japan. WSOC was significantly affected by anthropogenic and monoterpene-derived SOAs during spring and three SOA groups during summer at most of the sites sampled. The total estimated secondary organic carbons (SOCs), including mono-aromatic, di-aromatic, monoterpene-derived, and isoprene-derived SOCs, could explain the WSOC fractions of 39–63% in spring and 46–54% in summer at each site. Notably, monoterpene-derived and mono-aromatic SOCs accounted for most of the total estimated SOCs in both spring (85–93%) and summer (75–82%) at each site. These results indicate that SOAs significantly impact WSOC concentrations during both these seasons at urban sites in Japan.

Glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (G/P) are direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) that achieve a high sustained virological response (SVR) rate for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We investigated G/P effectiveness for HCV patients based on real-world experience and the clinical features of retreatment cases. HCV patients (n = 182) were compared for clinical features and outcomes between first treatment (n = 159) and retreatment (n = 23) G/P groups. Overall, 77 patients (42.3%) were male, the median age was 68 years, and 86/66/1/4 cases had genotype 1/2/1 + 2/3, respectively. An SVR was achieved in 97.8% (178/182) of cases by intention-to-treat analysis and 99.4% (178/179) of cases by per-protocol analysis. There were no remarkable differences between the first treatment and retreatment groups for male (42.8% vs. 39.1%, p = 0.70), median age (68 vs. 68 years, p = 0.36), prior hepatocellular carcinoma (5.8% vs. 8.7%, p = 0.59), or the fibrosis markers AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) (0.5 vs. 0.5, p = 0.80) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index (2.2 vs. 2.6, p = 0.59). The retreatment group had a significantly more frequent history of interferon treatment (12.3% vs. 52.2%, p < 0.01) and the Y93H mutation (25.0% vs. 64.7%, p = 0.02). The number of retreatment patients who had experienced 3, 2, and 1 DAA treatment failures was 1, 3, and 19, respectively, all of whom ultimately achieved an SVR by G/P treatment. In conclusion, G/P was effective and safe for both HCV first treatment and retreatment cases despite the retreatment group having specific resistance mutations for other prior DAAs. As G/P treatment failure has been reported for P32 deletions, clinicians should consider resistance mutations during DAA selection.

Bonfire night is a worldwide phenomenon given to numerous annual celebrations characterised by bonfires and fireworks. Since Thailand has no national ambient air quality standards for metal particulates, it is important to investigate the impacts of particulate injections on elevations of air pollutants and the ecological health impacts resulting from firework displays. In this investigation, Pb and Ba were considered potential firework tracers because their concentrations were significantly higher during the episode, and lower than/comparable with minimum detection limits during other periods, indicating that their elevated concentrations were principally due to pyrotechnic displays. Pb/Ca, Pb/Al, Pb/Mg, and Pb/Cu can be used to pin-point emissions from firework displays. Air mass backward trajectories (72 h) from the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model indicated that areas east and north-east of the study site were the main sources of the airborne particles. Although the combined risk associated with levels of Pb, Cr, Co., Ni, Zn, As, Cd, V, and Mn was far below the standards mentioned in international guidelines, the lifetime cancer risks associated with As and Cr levels exceeded US-EPA guidelines, and may expose inhabitants of surrounding areas of Bangkok to an elevated cancer risk.

Airborne particulate matter, suspected to induce adverse effects on human health, have been one of the most important concerns regarding recent air pollution issues in Japan. To characterize regional and seasonal variations in emission sources of fine airborne particulate matter (d < 2 μm), monthly samples (n = 36 for each site) were collected at urban (Tokyo), suburban (Maebashi), and mountainous (Akagi) sites in Japan from April 2003 to March 2006. Multielement analysis of chemical species (Na, Al, K, Ca, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Sb, and Pb) was performed by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The combined source receptor model, which consists of positive matrix factorization and chemical mass balance, determined the contributions of nine emission sources (local and continental soils, road dust, coal and oil combustion, waste incineration, steel industry, brake wear, and diesel exhaust) to the observed elemental concentrations. Large regional differences were identified in the source contributions among the observational sites. Diesel exhaust was identified as the most significant source (70% of identified contributions) at the urban site. Local and continental soils, coal combustion, and diesel exhaust were intricately assigned (20–30% each) to the suburban site. Continental soil was the predominant source (65%) at the mountainous site. Respective significant source contributions dominated the seasonal variations of total elemental concentrations at each site. These results suggest that a better understanding of the regional and seasonal characteristics of impacting emission sources will be important for improving regional environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]