Biodegradation of nonionic surfactants containing propylene oxide

Insertion of oxypropylene groups into the polyoxyethylene chain of fatty and oxo alcohol ethoxylates decreased the rate and extent of biodegradation. The magnitude of the effects was proportional to the PO-block size and the extent of branching in the alcohol. Data are presented from a series of PO-containing nonionic surfactants in semi-continuous activated sludge reactors over test periods of up to 12 weeks. Bioassays performed on effluents from the SCAS units showed little or no toxicity due to residual degradation metabolities towardPimephales promelas andDaphnia pulex and a stimulatory effect onSelenastrum capricornutum growth rate.     

The role of carbon deposition on precious metal catalyst activity during dry reforming of biogas

Gold and palladium were supported on a mesoporous TiO₂ for total oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Mesoporous high surface area titania support was synthesised using of Ti(OC₂H₅)₂ in the presence of CTMABr surfactant. After removing the surfactant molecules, 0.5 or 1.5 wt% of palladium and 1 wt% of gold were precipitated on the support by, respectively, wet impregnation and deposition–precipitation methods. The activity for toluene and propene total oxidation of the prereduced samples follows the same order: 0.5%Pd-1%Au/TiO₂ > 1.5%Pd/TiO₂ > 0.5%Pd/TiO₂ > 1%Au-0.5%Pd/TiO₂ > 1%Au/TiO₂ > TiO₂. Moreover, a catalytic comparison with samples based on a conventional TiO₂, shows the catalytic advantage of the mesoporous TiO₂ support. The promotional effect of gold added to palladium could be partly explained by small metallic particles (TEM), but meanly by metallic particles made up of Au-rich core with a Pd-rich shell. Moreover, the hydrogen TPR profile of 0.5%Pd-1%Au/TiO₂ shows only the signal attributed to small PdO particles. Gold also implies a protecting effect of the support under reduction atmosphere. Operando diffuse reflectance infrared fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy was carried on and allowed to follow the VOCs oxidation and the formation of coke molecules, but also a metallic electrodonor effect to the adsorbed molecule which increases in the same order as the activity for oxidation reaction. The presence of coke after test was also shown by DTA–TGA by exothermic signals between 300 and 500 °C and by EPR (g = 2.003).     

Monoarthritis

By definition, monoarticular arthritis means one-joint involvement, even though, in fact, such a condition is often an oligoarthritis because as many as two or three separate joints will be involved. Arthritis is often limited and may regress, so that it is frequently misdiagnosed. Sometimes, a monoarticular condition may be a polyarthritis onset (i.e., rheumatoid arthritis). Monoarticular arthritis can be caused by many factors, such as infections (septic arthritis), nonspecific inflammatory processes (reactive arthritis), crystals deposition (gout, CPPD crystal deposition disease), trauma, neoplasm (pigmented villonodular synovitis), immunologic conditions (amyloidosis) and hormonal changes (parathyroid disease). Its onset is usually acute and sometimes dramatic, with fever, pain and joint swelling, so that a decision must be made promptly to stop rapid illness evolution and to prevent the irreversible destruction of cartilage and bone (especially in septic arthritis). Diagnostic studies are performed with mono-bilateral radiographs of the joint. Radiographic findings (i.e., soft tissue swelling, joint effusion, widening and thinning of joint spaces, bone erosions and destruction of bone surface) are typical of the disease, but some findings (e.g., type of evolution and progression), laboratory tests, synovial biopsy and arthroscopy can differentiate infectious from inflammatory forms. Scintigraphy can depict isotopic joint uptake, before articular abnormalities are demonstrated with radiography, thanks to its high sensitivity; nevertheless, because of its low specificity, scintigraphy may miss some kinds of lesions (including osteoarthritis) and cannot easily differentiate osteomyelitis from septic arthritis. CT and MRI play a secondary, though not negligible, role, especially to study such deep infections as psoas abscesses, which may mimic arthritides.     

Are Trademark Counts a Valid Indicator of Innovation? Results of an In-Depth Study of New Benelux Trademarks Filed by SMEs

This paper extends the emerging literature on the value of trademarks for innovation studies and policy-making with the first empirical study at the trademark level. It gives a view on how companies use trademarks and interpret trademark activities. A sample of 660 new Benelux trademarks registered by small- and medium-sized enterprises reveals that 60 per cent of recently registered Benelux trademarks refer to innovation activity, predominantly to product or service innovation. The reference to innovation co-varies with various applicant and trademark characteristics unknown from previous studies. Finally, the sample reveals that most of the trademarks used to signal innovative offers are filed close to its market introduction without combining them with other intellectual property rights. This holds especially for trademarks related to service innovation.     

Sorption processes and XRD analysis of a natural zeolite exchanged with Pb(2+), Cd(2+) and Zn(2+) cations

In this study the Pb(2+), Cd(2+) and Zn(2+) adsorption capacity of a natural zeolite was evaluated in batch tests at a constant pH of 5.5 by polluting this mineral with solutions containing increasing concentrations of the three cations to obtain adsorption isotherms. In addition X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) was used to investigate the changes of zeolite structure caused by the exchange with cations of different ionic radius. The zeolite adsorption capacity for the three cations was Zn>Pb>Cd. Moreover a sequential extraction procedure [H(2)O, 0.05 M Ca(NO(3))(2) and 0.02 M EDTA] was applied to zeolite samples used in the adsorption experiments to determine the chemical form of the cations bound to the sorbent. Using this approach it was shown that low concentrations of Pb(2+), Cd(2+) and Zn(2+) were present as water-soluble and exchangeable fractions (<25% of the Me adsorbed), while EDTA extracted most of the adsorbed cations from the zeolite (>27% of the Me adsorbed). The XRD pattern of zeolite, analysed according to the Rietveld method, showed that the main mineralogical phase involved in the adsorption process was clinoptilolite. Besides structure information showed that the incorporation of Pb(2+), Cd(2+) and Zn(2+), into the zeolite frameworks changed slightly but appreciably the lattice parameters. XRD analysis also showed the occurrence of some isomorphic substitution phenomena where the Al(3+) ions of the clinoptilolite framework were replaced by exchanged Pb(2+) cations in the course of the ion exchange reaction. This mechanism was instead less evident in the patterns of the samples doped with Cd(2+) and Zn(2+) cations.     

Real-Time Quantitative Analysis of Combustion-Generated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Resonance-Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

We have combined resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) time-of-flight mass spectrometry with on-line flame sampling to determine the centerline concentrations of naphthalene, fluorene, and anthracene in a pure methane + oxygen/argon (1:5) diffusion flame. Naphthalene concentrations between 100 parts per billion by volume (ppbV) and 6 parts per million by volume (ppmV) and fluorene concentrations below 50 ppbV are determined using one-color REMPI on jet-cooled samples extracted from the flame; anthracene concentrations in the 5-40 ppbV range are determined using two-color REMPI. The REMPI ion signals are converted to absolute concentrations in real time by performing gas-phase standard additions to the flame sample. Isomer-selective detection of larger polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, such as perylene and benzo[a]pyrene, is possible using the two-color REMPI approach.     

FePt and CoPt nanoparticles co-deposited on silicon dioxide-a comparative study

We compare CoPt and FePt nanoparticles grown under identical conditions on oxidized Si?substrates by electron beam co-evaporation. Growth was performed under high vacuum conditions at substrate temperatures of 1023?K and was immediately followed by an annealing step. This process forms CoPt and FePt nanoparticles with mean diameters between ～17 and ～22?nm. In particular, the annealing step results in grain size enlargement for all samples and in a progressive magnetic hardening of the nanoparticles which reach maximum perpendicular coercivities of ～6.6?kOe (for the CoPt) and ～10.2?kOe (for the FePt nanoparticles). We show that, during this annealing step, a progressive transition towards the hard magnetic L1(0) ordered phase takes place in both materials. In contrast to FePt, CoPt nanoparticles must be annealed in order to crystallize in this phase.     

Single-lens theta microscopy — a new implementation of confocal theta microscopy

A new microscopical technique based on the principle of confocal theta microscopy (Stelzer, E.H.K., Lindek, S. & Pick, R. (1996) Konfokales Mikroskop . German Patent Office DE 43 26 473 (filed 6.8.1993, granted 6.12.1996)) is described. It uses a single objective lens in combination with a mirror unit to achieve the theta configuration that leads to axial and volume resolution improvements. In this paper we present technical details of possible microscopical set-ups, and we discuss different versions of mirror units.     

Alkylphenol ethoxylates in the environment

A comprehensive monitoring study, sponsored by the Chemical Manufacturers Association and designed in cooperation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), measured the levels of nonylphenol (NP) and its ethoxylates (NPE) in 30 rivers. The sites, all receiving municipal or industrial wastewater, were selected at random from EPA’s United States river reach database by a statistical procedure. Water column and bottom sediment samples were collected along a perpendicular transect at each site. All samples were assayed for NP and NPE₁, and the higher ethoxylates (NPE₂ to NPE₁₇) were determined in the water samples. Analysis was by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection of microgram quantities of NPE obtained by extractive steam distillation (NP and NPE₁) or a dualcolumn extraction procedure (NPE₂ to NPE₁₇). Sample collection and analytical procedures were validated according to rigorous EPA guidelines, and quality assurance standards were met throughout the study. NP and NPE concentrations in river water were mostly (60 to 75% of the samples) below their detection limits (about 0.1 ppb for NP, NPE₁, and NPE₂; 1.6 ppb for NPE_3–17). The highest levels found were about 1 ppb for NP, NPE₁, and NPE₂, 15 ppb for NPE_3–17. A majority of sediment samples contained detectable amounts of NP and NPE₁, ranging up to 3000 ppb for NP and 170 ppb for NPE₁. Sediment interstitial water concentrations of NP were estimated to be similar to concentrations in the water column. A portion of this paper was presented at the 1991 Annual AOCS Meeting in Chicago     

Influence of acquisition time and resolution on wheat yield estimation at the field scale from canopy biophysical variables retrieved from SPOT satellite data

Detailed information about the prediction of within-field potential in terms of yield at the field scale is an attractive goal that would allow useful applications in precision agriculture. Biophysical variables characterizing crop canopies, such as the leaf area index (LAI), fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (FAPAR), fractional ground cover (Fcover) and the concentration of chlorophyll-a and -b (Cab), can be estimated from satellite remote-sensing data through the application of a neural network inversion of a radiative transfer model, such as PROSAIL. The knowledge of the temporal and spatial variability of these variables can enhance the possibilities of estimating yield at the field scale. The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of acquisition time and spatial resolution of biophysical variables estimated from satellite data on the grain yield estimation of wheat crops. We used SPOT 4 (spatial resolution: 20 m) and SPOT 5 (spatial resolution: 10 m) images, acquired at six different dates during the wheat growing season in 2012, to obtain LAI, Fcover, FAPAR, and Cab on five fields in Maccarese (Central Italy). A preliminary survey was carried out to correlate spatially biophysical variables with the final grain yield at each acquisition date. Biophysical variables estimated at a spatial resolution of 10 m during the stem elongation stage showed the best simple and spatial correlation with yield. At this stage, all the biophysical variables showed the highest correlation values as compared to the other dates. Subsequently, we used the variables estimated from SPOT data at each growth stage to calibrate multiple linear regression (MLR) and cubist regression (CR) models for two fields, which were then validated on five independent fields. Although the CR calibration models provided better accuracy than MLR, the best validation statistics were gained from MLR models, obtaining a root mean square error (RMSE) of about 1 t ha^?1 for three of these fields, using remote data having a spatial resolution of 10 metres and acquired between steam elongation and booting stage. The optimal acquisition time is affected, ceteris paribus, by the agricultural management and in particular by the variety that can influence the trend of crop growth. However, the optimal growth stage for yield estimation seems to be quite similar over the study area during a growth season. The validation of models on field data collected in another growing season is mainly affected by the climate conditions. These results highlight the importance of spatial resolution and the influence of acquisition time of satellite images on the estimation of yield at the field scale by remote-sensing data.