Predictors of supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution among at-risk parents.

Supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution is associated with increased father involvement which can buffer against the negative effects of parental relationship dissolution. Low-income, at-risk families are much more likely to experience relationship dissolutions; hence, supportive coparenting after dissolution is particularly important in these families. We examined whether relationship (commitment and quality) and child (difficult temperament and gender) characteristics predicted initial levels of, and change in, supportive coparenting after relationship dissolution in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 1,603). We used structural equation modeling of latent growth curves to examine four time points collected at the focal child's birth and first, third, and fifth birthdays. Ninety-percent of the mothers had nonmarital births, and about three-quarters had a high school diploma or less education. Overall, supportive coparenting decreased over time. Mothers in more committed relationships prior to the dissolution initially had significantly lower supportive coparenting. But over time, mothers who had been in more committed relationships increased in supportive coparenting. Mothers who had been in higher quality relationships prior to dissolution initially reported more supportive coparenting. At each time point, if a mother was romantically involved with a new partner, she reported significantly lower supportive coparenting compared to mothers who were single. With regard to child characteristics, mothers who reported their child as more difficult had significantly lower initial supportive coparenting. Similar results for fathers are discussed. Overall, the relationship characteristics of parents were important predictors of supportive coparenting both initially and over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Molecular recognition of DNA–protein complexes: A straightforward method combining scanning force and fluorescence microscopy

Combining scanning force and fluorescent microscopy allows simultaneous identification of labeled biomolecules and analysis of their nanometer level architectural arrangement. Fluorescent polystyrene nano-spheres were used as reliable objects for alignment of optical and topographic images. This allowed the precise localization of different fluorescence particles within complex molecular assemblies whose structure was mapped in nanometer detail topography. Our experiments reveal the versatility of this method for analysis of proteins and protein–DNA complexes.     

Simple and Sensitive HPLC Method with Fluorescence Detection for the Measurement of Ibuprofen in Rat Plasma: Application to a Long-Lasting Dosage Form

A simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay applied to the measurement of ibuprofen in rat plasma has been developed. Two parameters have been investigated to improve ibuprofen detectability using fluorescence detection: variation of mobile phase pH and the use of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD). Increasing the pH value from 2.5 to 6.5 and adding 5 mM β-CD enhanced the fluorescence signal (λ_exc = 224 nm; λ_em = 290 nm) by 2.5 and 1.3-fold, respectively, when using standards. In the case of plasma samples, only pH variation significantly lowered detection and quantification limits, down to 10 and 35 ng/mL, respectively. Full selectivity was obtained with a single step for plasma treatment, that is, protein precipitation with acidified acetonitrile. The validated method was applied to a pharmacokinetic study of ibuprofen encapsulated in microspheres and subcutaneously administered to rats.     

Moisture barrier and physical properties of acetylated derivatives with increasing acetylation degree

Four acetostearin products with increasing acetylation degree were synthesized by chemical interesterification followed by fractionation/blending stages. Their physical properties and functional barrier properties were studied and compared to the properties of technical tristearin. Increasing acetylation degree (AD) modified the triacylglycerols crystal habits and probably led to an increase in acyl chain fluidity, which induced, at macroscopic levels, a decrease in solid fat content (SFC), in melting point, in surface and bulk material hydrophobicity, and an increased moisture effective diffusivity. Water vapor permeability (WVP) coefficients of the materials were partially influenced by the AD factor, but also by the development of macroscopic cracks in lipids presenting high SFC. Acetylated stearin up to 47% (acetyl mol/mol of esterified chain) presented the lowest WVP at 20 °C resulting from an adequate balance between hydrophobicity and mechanical properties of the material.     

MA‐NOTMP: A Triazacyclononane Trimethylphosphinate Based Bifunctional Chelator for Gallium Radiolabelling of Biomolecules

In the past few years, gallium‐68 has demonstrated significant potential as a radioisotope for positron emission tomography (PET), and the optimization of chelators for gallium coordination is a major goal in the development of radiopharmaceuticals. Methylaminotriazacyclononane trimethylphosphinate (MA‐NOTMP), a new C‐functionalized triazacyclononane derivative with phosphinate pendant arms, presents excellent coordination properties for ⁶⁸Ga (low ligand concentration, labelling at low pH even at room temperature). A “ready‐to‐be‐grafted” bifunctional chelating agent (p‐NCS‐Bz‐MA‐NOTMP) was prepared to allow ⁶⁸Ga labelling of sensitive biological vectors. Conjugation to a bombesin_(7–14) derivative was performed, and preliminary in vitro experiments demonstrated the potential of MA‐NOTMP in the development of radiopharmaceuticals. This new chelator is therefore of major interest for labelling sensitive biomolecules, and further in vivo experiments will soon be performed.     

‘WAKE/UP/AND/DREAM/FOR/THE/EIGHTIES’: Nigel Coates 1975–82

Nigel Coates graduated from Bernard Tschumi's unit at the Architectural Association in 1974, before joining him in 1977 to develop a new unit together. These were formative years for Coates, a period that shaped his architectural preoccupations for the following decades – yet they remain relatively unexplored. Between 1974 and 1977, Coates produced a number of installation and performance works with the artist Antonio Lagarto and fellow AA graduate Jenny Lowe, influenced by Tschumi's own explorations with the curator RoseLee Goldberg, and their exhibition at the Royal College of Art, A Space: A Thousand Words (1975). The works considered the potential for space to be amplified by the introduction of markers, representations of other spaces and the movement of the body. This article exposes these works for the first time, tracing the changes in Coates's thinking during this period and how it was reflected in the Unit 10 briefs that he and Tschumi developed in the period 1977–80. It chronicles Coates's pivotal trips to New York during 1980–81 to teach at Bennington College, where his exposure to a dynamic club-scene and influential new art would mark a step change in the young architect's trajectory. Charting Coates's development through his own work and his teaching at the AA, the article constructs the background from which the radical architectural group NATØ emerged in 1983.     

Investigations of silica scaling on reverse osmosis membranes

In reverse osmosis systems with high silica water severe and irreversible membrane scaling can be observed. But suitable test methods to find an appropriate antiscalant agent and the optimal dosage are missing. Usually only the silicate concentration in the feed water is regarded.In this paper the results of laboratory experiments about the influence of Ca²⁺- and Mg²⁺-ions on the behaviour of supersaturated solutions of silica in different test waters are discussed first. After that the new developed membrane-based test method to determine the effectiveness of antiscalants is presented.The applied different methods of analysis enabled the differentiation of three groups of silicates: ‘monomeric’, ‘polymeric’ and ‘filterable’.With the test method the strong impact of silicate scaling was proven, even if only small amounts of scale had been formed. It could be shown, that the ‘polymeric silica’ is mainly responsible for the membrane scaling. The kinetic of the formation of ‘polymeric silica’ is strongly influenced by the cations and the pH-value. It could be demonstrated that the use of a suitable antiscalant makes it possible to operate the plant at significantly higher recovery rates.     

Historical perspective of heavy metals contamination (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Zn) in the Seine River basin (France) following a DPSIR approach (1950-2005)

The Driver-Pressures-State-Impact-Response approach is applied to heavy metals in the Seine River catchment (65,000 km(2); 14 million people of which 10 million are aggregated within Paris megacity; 30% of French industrial and agricultural production). The contamination pattern at river mouth is established on the particulate material at different time scales: 1930-2000 for floodplain cores, 1980-2003 for suspended particulate matter (SPM) and bed-sediments, 1994-2003 for atmospheric fallout and annual flood deposits. The Seine has been among the most contaminated catchments with maximum contents recorded at 130 mg kg(-1) for Cd, 24 for Hg, 558 for Pb, 1620 for Zn, 347 for Cu, 275 for Cr and 150 for Ni. Today, the average levels for Cd (1.8 mg kg(-1)), Hg (1.08), Pb (108), Zn (370), Cu (99), Cr (123) and Ni (31) are much lower but still in the upper 90% of the global scale distribution (Cr and Ni excepted) and well above the natural background values determined on pre-historical deposits. All metal contents have decreased at least since 1955/65, well before metal emission regulations that started in the mid 1970's and the metal monitoring in the catchment that started in the early 1980's. In the last 20 y, major criteria changes for the management of contaminated particulates (treated urban sludge, agricultural soils, dredged sediments) have occurred. In the mid 1990's, there was a complete shift in the contamination assessment scales, from sediment management and water usage criteria to the good ecological state, now required by the 2000 European Directive. When comparing excess metal outputs, associated to river SPM, to the average metal demand within the catchment from 1950 to 2000, the leakage ratios decrease exponentially from 1950 to 2000 for Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn, meanwhile, a general increase of the demand is observed: the rate of recycling and/or treatment of metals within the anthroposphere has been improved ten-fold. Hg environmental trajectory is very specific: there is a marked decontamination from 1970 to 2000, but the leakage ratio remains very high (10 to 20%) during this period. Drivers and Pressures are poorly known prior to 1985; State evolution since 1935 has been reconstructed from flood plain cores analysis; Impacts were maximum between 1950 and 1970 but remained unknown due to analytical limitation and lack of awareness. Some Responses are lagging 10 y behind monitoring and have much evolved in the past 10 y.