Disinfection by-product formation after biologically assisted GAC treatment of water supplies with different bromide and DOC content

Chlorination of drinking water in the presence of bromide and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) leads to the formation of brominated and chlorinated disinfection by-products (DBP). The concentration of bromide ions in the raw water is a significant factor in the speciation of DBP formed, and causes shifts in trihalomethane (THM) formation from chlorinated to brominated species. Drinking water treatment techniques that remove organic contaminants without affecting bromide ion concentrations cause increases in the brominated THM. For the present study, three water supplies containing different DOC and ambient bromide concentrations were filtered through biologically assisted granular activated carbon (BGAC). Similar to adsorption and coagulation treatment, this treatment does not remove bromide from drinking water; also, THMFP (trihalomethane formation potential) analysis indicated that the chlorinated effluent contained higher concentrations of brominated THM in comparison to the influent. Although BGAC may increase the brominated THM, which may be more toxic than the chlorinated THM, the overall reduction of THMFP by DOC removal far exceeds this negative change, thereby producing a much less toxic finished drinking water. This work is part of a study to make high DOC surface waters on the Canadian prairie safe and palatable for small volume users (individuals or small communities).     

Problems with contracting out government services: lessons from orderly services at SCGH

This paper identifies and discusses the problems associatedwith contracting out labor-intensive government services. Itexamines in detail the contracting out of the orderly serviceat Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital (SCGH) in Western Australiaand its subsequent return to in-house delivery. When the orderlyservice was contracted out, the result was poor in terms ofcost, quality and externalities. Subsequent return of the serviceto in-house provision reduced costs and improved quality. Theproblems that led to failure of contracting out and subsequentsuccess of in-house provision can be explained in terms of transactioncost economics.     

Longitudinal relations between forgiveness and conflict resolution in marriage.

Does forgiveness predict later conflict resolution in married couples? Twelve-month follow-up data on conflict resolution were collected from the couples studied by F. D. Fincham, S. R. Beach, and J. Davila (see record 2004-11293-007), who had provided earlier reports of forgiveness and conflict resolution. For wives, the positive dimension of forgiveness or benevolence predicted husbands' later reports of better conflict resolution controlling for initial levels of conflict resolution. This finding was independent of wives' marital satisfaction and the degree of hurt engendered by husbands' transgressions. For husbands, the only predictor of wives' reports of later conflict resolution was initial level of conflict resolution. The findings are discussed in terms of the direction of effect between forgiveness and conflict resolution and of the mechanisms that might link them. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of Scaffolds,Subchondral, Intra-Articular Injections of Fresh Autologous Bone Marrow Concentrate Regenerative Cells in Treating Human Knee Cartilage Lesions: Different Approaches and Different Results

The value of bone marrow aspirate concentrates for treatment of human knee cartilage lesions is unclear. Most of the studies were performed with intra-articular injections. However, subchondral bone plays an important role in the progression of osteoarthritis. We investigated by a literature review whether joint, subchondral bone, or/and scaffolds implantation of fresh autologous bone marrow aspirate concentrated (BMAC) containing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) would improve osteoarthritis (OA). There is in vivo evidence that suggests that all these different approaches (intra-articular injections, subchondral implantation, scaffolds loaded with BMAC) can improve the patient. This review analyzes the evidence for each different approach to treat OA. We found that the use of intra-articular injections resulted in a significant relief of pain symptoms in the short term and was maintained in 12 months. However, the clinical trials indicate that the application of autologous bone marrow concentrates in combination with scaffolds or in injection in the subchondral bone was superior to intra-articular injection for long-term results. The tendency of MSCs to differentiate into fibrocartilage affecting the outcome was a common issue faced by all the studies when biopsies were performed, except for scaffolds implantation in which some hyaline cartilage was found. The review suggests also that both implantation of subchondral BMAC and scaffolds loaded with BMAC could reduce the need for further surgery.     

Exploring the genetic and environmental etiology of high general cognitive ability in fourteen- to thirty-six-month-old twins

Two definitions of normality ("isolated" or "correlated") are considered. The boundaries of "isolated" normality were determined by a statistical procedure, whereas the "correlated" approach was related to a clinical or predictive definition. In the latter case, the biological variations were considered abnormal if they implied a hazard with some significant future ailment as a risk factor. In this pragmatic approach, the upper limit of normal/abnormal variations is the point beyond which medical strategy is related to the most expected benefit when applied to a definite population or to an individual patient. The capacity of a diagnostic test to discriminate between patients with a defined risk and those without risk depends strictly on the value of the parameter chosen. In medical care for the prevention of vascular complications in diabetic patients or with foetal risks in pregnant women, the limits of the so-called normal range of glycaemia and other parameters should be determined according to the objective of the preventive and/or therapeutic measures to be prescribed.     

Techno-economic assessment of pulverized coal boilers and IGCC power plants with CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> capture

The current studies on power plant technologies suggest that Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) systems are an effective and economic CO₂ capture technology pathway. In addition, the system in conventional configuration has the advantage of being more “CO₂ capture ready” than other technologies. Pulverized coal boilers (PC) have, however, proven high technical performance attributes and are economically often most practical technologies. To highlight the pros and cons of both technologies in connection with an integrated CO₂ capture, a comparative analysis of ultrasupercritical PC and IGCC is carried out in this paper. The technical design, the mass and energy balance and the system optimizations are implemented by using the ECLIPSE chemical plant simulation software package. Built upon these technologies, the CO₂ capture facilities are incorporated within the system. The most appropriate CO₂ capture systems for the PC system selected for this work are the oxy-fuel system and the postcombustion scheme using Monoethanolamine solvent scrubber column (MEA). The IGCC systems are designed in two configurations: Water gas shift reactor and Selexol-based separation. Both options generate CO₂-rich and hydrogen rich-gas streams. Following the comparative analysis of the technical performance attributes of the above cycles, the economic assessment is carried out using the economic toolbox of ECLIPSE is seamlessly connected to the results of the mass and energy balance as well as the utility usages. The total cost assessment is implemented according to the step-count exponential costing method using the dominant factors and/or a combination of parameters. Subsequently, based on a set of assumptions, the net present value estimation is implemented to calculate the breakeven electricity selling prices and the CO₂ avoidance cost.     

Identification and Characterization of Buried Unpaired Cysteines in a Recombinant Monoclonal IgG1 Antibody

The heterogeneity in therapeutic antibodies arising from buried unpaired cysteines has not been well studied. This paper describes the characterization of two unpaired cysteines in a recombinant humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody (referred to as mAb A). The reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) analysis of mAb A samples showed three distinct peaks, indicating the presence of three species. The heterogeneities observed in the RP-HPLC have been determined to arise from unpaired cysteines (Cys-22 and Cys-96) that are buried in the V(H) domain. The Fab containing free thiols (referred to as "free-thiol Fab") and the Fab containing the disulfide (referred to as "intact Fab") of mAb A were generated through limited Lys-C digestion and purified with an ion exchange chromatography method. The binding of free-thiol Fab and intact Fab to its antigen was measured in a cell-based binding assay and an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The unpaired cysteines in the Fab of mAb A were found to have no significant impact on the binding to its target. Consistent with these Fab binding data, the enriched intact mAb A containing free thiols was determined to be fully active in a potency assay. The data reported here demonstrate that the redox status of cysteines is potentially a major source of heterogeneity for an antibody.     

Segment-constrained regression tree estimation of forest stand height from very high spatial resolution panchromatic imagery over a boreal environment

Mean stand height is an important parameter for forest volume and biomass estimation in support of monitoring and management activities. Information on mean stand height is typically obtained through the manual interpretation of aerial photography, often supplemented by the collection of field calibration data. In remote areas where forest management practices may not be spatially exhaustive or where it is difficult to acquire aerial photography, alternate approaches for estimating stand height are required. One approach is to use very high spatial resolution (VHSR) satellite imagery (pixels sided less than 1 m) as a surrogate for air photos. In this research we demonstrate an approach for modelling mean stand height at four sites in the Yukon Territory, Canada, from QuickBird panchromatic imagery. An object-based approach was used to generate homogenous segments from the imagery (analogous to manually delineated forest stands) and an algorithm was used to automatically delineate individual tree crowns within the segments. A regression tree was used to predict mean stand height from stand-level metrics generated from the image grey-levels and within-stand objects relating individual tree crown characteristics. Heights were manually interpreted from the QuickBird imagery and divided into separate sets of calibration and validation data. The effects of calibration data set size and the input metrics used on the regression tree results were also assessed. The approach resulted in a model with a significant R² of 0.53 and an RMSE of 2.84 m. In addition, 84.6% of the stand height estimates were within the acceptable error for photo interpreted heights, as specified by the forest inventory standards of British Columbia. Furthermore, residual errors from the model were smallest for the stands that had larger mean heights (i.e., > 20 m), which aids in reducing error in subsequent estimates of biomass or volume (since stands with larger trees contribute more to overall estimates of volume or biomass). Estimated and manually interpreted heights were reclassified into 5-metre height classes (a schema frequently used for forest analysis and modelling applications) and compared; classes corresponded in 54% of stands assessed, and all stands had an estimated height class that was within ± 1 class of their actual class. This study demonstrates the capacity of VHSR panchromatic imagery (in this case QuickBird) for generating useful estimates of mean stand heights in unmonitored, remote, or inaccessible forest areas.     

Synthesis of Organotin Polyamine Ethers Containing Acyclovir and their Preliminary Anticancer and Antiviral Activity

Organotin polyamine ethers containing acyclovir in their backbone were synthesized in moderate to high yield employing the aqueous interfacial polycondensation system. The products are high molecular weight polymers. Infrared spectroscopy of the products shows new bands characteristic of the formation of Sn–N and Sn–O bonds consistent with the proposed structure. MALDI-TOF MS below 2000 Da shows the presence of organotin and acyclovir units containing these two moieties. The products show moderate inhibition of a number of cancer cell lines and exhibit the ability to inhibit a number of viruses, particularly the herpes simplex virus-1 and varicella zoster virus that are responsible for herpes, chicken pox and shingles.