We investigated the ability of synchrotron radiation computed tomography (SR-CT) to demonstrate trabecular microstructure, detail of trabecular surfaces, and mineralization of bones. Eight rat vertebrae, six rat tibiae, and eight minipig vertebrae were scanned using SR-CT at the synchrotron radiation facility Super Photon ring-8GeV (SPring-8). Images obtained using conventional micro-CT, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact microradiography (CMR) were compared with the SR-CT images. SR-CT showed high image quality without visible partial volume effect. Three-dimensional SR-CT revealed shallow concavities in the bone surface, which were considered to correspond to osteoclastic resorption areas, as well as the connectivity, anisotropy, and shape (rod- or platelike) of trabeculae. Two-dimensional SR-CT showed different density along the surface of the trabecular bone, indicating the degree of bone mineralization. In conclusion, SR-CT seems to be a useful tool for delineating trabecular surfaces, evaluating bone mineralization, and revealing precise trabecular structure.

Purpose The environmental impact of the social building stock is relevant, particularly in emerging economies. Life cycle thinking is not yet established, however. Locally available, alternative building concepts could potentially reduce the environmental impact of the construction segment. This paper examines the environmental performance of Bas-builtl ow-cost housing for an example of the Philippines, and the potential to reduce its environmental impact through use of three alternative building technologies: cement-bamboo frames, soil-cement blocks, and coconut board-based housing. Methods Life cycle assessment models are implemented and evaluated with software SimaPro, using the single-impact indicators global warming potential (GWP) and cumulative energy demand (CED) and the multi-impact indicator Impact2002+. According to EN 15978, the life cycle phase product and construction process (A), use stage (B), end-of-life (C) and supplementary information beyond the building life cycle (D) have been assessed. Theoretically calculated inflows from standard construction procedures used in phase A have been verified with 3 years of empirical data from implemented construction projects. For phases B, C and D, attention was given to service life, use-phase, allocation of waste products, biogenic carbon and land-use assumptions. Scenarios reflect the actual situation in the emerging economy. Processes, such as heat recovery from thermal utilization, which are not existing nor near to implementation, were excluded. Results and discussion For an assessment of the phases A-B-C-D with GWP, a 35% reduction of environmental impact for soil-cement blocks, 74% for cement-bamboo frame, and 83% for coconut board-based houses is obtained relative to a concrete reference house. In absolute terms, this relates to a reduction of 4.4, 9.3, and 10.3 t CO 2 equivalents over a service life of 25 years. CED showed higher impacts for the biogenic construction methods coconut board and cement-bamboo frames of +8.0 and +4.7%, while the soil-cement technology was evaluated −7.1% compared to GWP. Sixteen of 17 midpoint categories of Impact2002+ confirmed an overall reduction potential of the alternative building methods, with the midpoint category land occupation being the exception rating the conventional practice over the alternatives. Conclusions It is concluded that the alternative construction technologies have substantial potential to reduce the environmental burden caused by the social housing sector. The service life of the alternative technologies plays a vital role for it. LCA for emerging economies needs to incorporate realistic scenarios applicable at their current state or belonging to the most probable alternatives to ensure valuable results. Recommendations for further research are provided.

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Purpose The share of variable renewable energy sources (vRES) in the German electricity grid has increased over the past few decades. Due to the nature of the generation pattern of vRES, the increase of vRES causes the emission factor (EF) to fluctuate on an hourly basis. This fluctuation raises concerns about the accuracy of quantifying emissions with the current metric of the annual average EF as the respective EF may change depending on the time at which it is consumed. Methods The study calculated the hourly EF of Germany from 2011 to 2015 and investigated the effect of an increase of vRES on the EF. The calculated hourly EF was clustered based on three aspects of time: the period of time, the time of a day, and the day of the week. Results and discussion The study showed a higher proportion of vRES on weekend daytimes while the weekday nighttimes resulted in a lower share than the annual average. The study highlighted potential underestimation and overestimation of emissions by using annual average EF which ranged from +22% (2015 weekday nighttime of October) to −34% (2015 weekend daytime of May). Conclusions The study suggested that the application of hourly EF may be necessary to quantify the respective emission from the consumers that use electricity during the weekend daytime and weekend nighttime. For consumer use at other times, the emissions could be quantified appropriately by using the conventional annual average EF.

SUMMARY To assess left ventricular diastolic filling in patients with amyloid heart disease 12 patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy and 15 normal subjects were studied by pulsed Doppler echocardiography. None of the patients had clinical evidence of overt heart disease or restrictive cardiomyopathy and only two of them showed ventricular wall thickening. The peak flow velocity of rapid diastolic filling and the acceleration rate of early diastolic inflow were significantly lower in patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy than in controls. The pressure half time was significantly longer in patients than in controls. In addition, the peak flow velocity during atrial contraction and the ratio of atrial peak flow velocity to rapid diastolic peak flow velocity were significantly greater in patients than in controls. Although there were no significant correlations between measurements ofdiastolic filling and clinical findings in patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy, the ratio of atrial peak flow velocity to rapid diastolic peak flow velocity was significantly related to left ventricular posterior wall thickness.These findings suggest that in patients with cardiac amyloidosis without restrictive cardiomyopathy, abnormal left ventricular diastolic filling, manifested by a reduction in the rate and volume of rapid diastolic filling with enhanced atrial contraction, can be seen even in the early stage of the disease.Familial amyloid polyneuropathy causes progressive systemic amyloidosis with polyneuropathy that can affect the heart. Amyloid deposits have been reported in the myocardium when there is no clinically identifiable heart disease or ventricular wall thickening.' In earlier serial echocardiographic studies'2 we found that the development of extensive amyloid deposition caused not only progressive increases in ventricular wall thickness but also altered left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. Left ventricular diastolic filling in several cardiac diseases has been non-invasively assessed by pulsed Doppler echocardiography. But so far the profile of left Requests for reprints to Dr Minoru Hongo,