Radiation and chemical degradation of UVR protection characteristics of fabrics

Clothing can provide substantial protection against solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and quantifying the amount of protection can have useful applications to recreational, occupational and medical situations. However, exposure of fabrics to sunlight and sea water can alter their physical and chemical properties, resulting in a change of UVR attenuation characteristics. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of environmental degradation of fabrics on their UVR protection characteristics. The methodologies applied in this study can be used also for the assessment of protective clothing against occupational exposure.     

Redox‐Switchable Phase Tags – Facile Mitsunobu Reactions using Ferrocenyl‐Tagged Triphenylphosphine

The use of redox‐switched phase tags in ferrocenyl‐substituted triphenylphosphine combined with DBAD (di‐tert‐butyl azodicarboxylate) allows high yield (>90 %) Mitsunobu transformations without the need for the chromatographic purification of the products. The redox‐switchable phosphine can be easily synthesized in two steps from 4‐bromoaniline, ferrocene and chlorodiphenylphosphine. It is separated from the reaction mixture by oxidation with iron(III) chloride and can be recycled efficiently by reductive treatment.     

Assessment of dietary exposure to annatto (E160b), nitrites (E249-250), sulphites (E220-228) and tartaric acid (E334) in the French population: the second French total diet study

The results of the assessment of the dietary exposure to annatto, nitrites, tartaric acid and sulphites within the framework of the second French total diet study (TDS) are reported. These 4 additives were selected from the Bemrah et al. study [Bemrah N, Leblanc JC, Volatier JL. 2008. Assessment of dietary exposure in the French population to 13 selected food colours, preservatives, antioxidants, stabilizers, emulsifiers and sweeteners. Food Addit Contam B. 1(1):2-14] on 13 food additives which identified a possible health risk for annatto, sulphites and nitrites and a lack of data for tartaric acid. Among the composite samples selected for the whole TDS, 524 were analysed for additives (a sample was analysed for a given additive when it was identified as a major contributor for this additive only): 130 for tartaric acid, 135 for nitrites, 59 for annatto and 200 for sulphites. Estimated concentrations (minimum lower bound to maximum upper bound) vary nationally from 0 to 9 mg/kg for annatto, 0 to 420 mg/kg for tartaric acid, 0 to 108 mg/kg for sulphites and 0 to 3.4 mg/kg for nitrites. Based on the analytical results, the dietary exposure was calculated for adults and children, separately, using lower bound and upper bound assumptions. The European ADIs for these 4 additives were not exceeded except for the dietary exposure for sulphites among 2.9% of the adult population, where the major contributors were alcoholic drinks and especially wine under both hypotheses (lower and upper bound).     

Fatty acids and sterols in oils from canola screenings

One sample of canola seed (variety Tower) and five samples of screenings were commercially processed to yield first an “expeller oil” and subsequently an “extractor oil” by the hexane extraction of the residue. The screening samples contained 25–50% intact or broken canola seed. The balance included 21–31% weed seeds (especially lambsquarter and stinkweed), hulls, fragments of the embryo, and chaff. All the oil samples were analyzed for sterol and fatty acid composition. The extractor screening samples had slightly higher sterol contents than the corresponding expeller samples, while the Tower samples gave the lowest values. The averages (in mg/g oil or extract) for the extractor screening samples were: brassicasterol, 1.0; campesterol, 4.1; and β-sitosterol, 7.3. For expeller screening samples the average were: 0.9, 3.6 and 6.2 and for the Tower oils they were, respectively, 0.9, 3.8, 5.3 and 0.9, 3.5, 4.7. The fatty acid compositions of the screening samples for both extractor and expeller oils were similar to that of the Tower oil except for the higher proportions of docosenoic acid (22:1) and eicosenoic acid (20:1) and the more obvious presence of three C₁₈ conjugated dienes totalling up to 0.6% of one screening oil sample. The docosenoic acid level (mainly erucic acid) ranged from 3.0 to 7.0% for the extractor oils and from 2.5 to 8.0% for the expeller samples, compared to 0.1% for the two Tower oils. The oil contents of the screenings ranged from 20 to 30%, and the fatty acids and sterols appear to be nutritionally useful and innocuous in all respects. Presented in part at the ISF/AOCS World Congress, New York, April–May 1980.     

Assessment of dietary exposure of nitrate and nitrite in France.

The aim of this study was to assess the dietary exposure of nitrate and nitrite in France. A total of 13, 657 concentration levels of nitrate and nitrite measured in food, representing 138 and 109 food items, respectively, and coming from French monitoring programmes between 2000 and 2006, were used. Depending on the non-detected and non-quantified analysis treatment, lower and upper concentration mean estimates were calculated for each food item. These were combined with consumption data derived from 1474 adults and 1018 children from the French national individual consumption survey (INCA1), conducted in 1999 and based on a 7-day food record diary. A total of 18% of spinaches, 6% of salads, 10% of cheeses, 8% of meat products and 6% of industrial meat products exceeded the European nitrate maximum level or maximum residual level. A total of 0.4% of industrial meat products and 0.2% of meat products exceeded their European nitrite maximum level or maximum residual level. Nitrate dietary exposure averaged 40% of the acceptable daily intake (ADI; 3.7 mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1)) for adults and 51 - 54% of the ADI for children with the major contributors being, for adults and children, respectively, vegetables (24 and 27% of ADI), potatoes (5 and 11% of ADI), and water (5 and 5% of ADI). The individual nitrate dietary intake of 1.4% (confidence interval (CI(95th)) [0.8; 2.0]) to 1.5% (CI(95th) [0.9; 2.1]) of adults and 7.9% (CI(95th) [6.2; 9.6]) to 8.4% (CI(95th) [6.7; 10.1]) of children were higher than the ADI. Nitrite dietary exposure averaged 33-67% of the ADI (0.06 mg kg(-1) body weight day(-1)) for adults and 67-133% of the ADI for children, with contributions of additive food vectors at 33% of ADI for adults and 50-67% of ADI for children. The individual nitrite dietary intake of 0.7% (CI(95th) [0.3; 1.1]) to 16.4% (CI(95th) [14.5; 18.3]) of adults and 10.5% (CI(95th) [8.6; 12.4]) to 66.2% (CI(95th) [63.3; 69.1]) of children were higher than the ADI.     

Benefits, limitations and uncertainty of in situ spectrometry.

In situ spectrometers are comparable robust instruments and can be operated long term with relatively low maintenance demand. The decisive factor for their applicability is the development of a medium and installation location specific correlation model, which estimates the concentration of the requested target parameter from the measured absorption values. In some cases it might turn out, that the development of a single site specific correlation model is not sufficient, due to frequent and substantial variations of the (waste) water composition.In order to assess the total uncertainty of in situ spectrometry, a comprehensive lab test was carried out. It includes a detailed investigation of the uncertainty of CODreference methods (DIN and small tube tests), a precision analysis of the absorption spectra and the impact of those two factors on the total uncertainty of the COD(EQ) correlation model.     

小浪底大坝防渗墙和灌浆工程特殊处理技术

本文介绍了在小浪底水利枢纽工程建造中地下混凝土防渗墙体系的不同施工技术。大坝的地下截渗和上游围堰防渗灌浆采用了不同的施工,包括岩石灌浆、帷幕灌浆、冲积地层中建造地下混凝土防渗墙和高压旋喷灌浆等技术。特别要说明的是在建造地下混凝土防治在墙体系中采用了许多新技术,进行了多项的技术革新,缩短了施工工期,解决了河床底底部地形轮廓条件下清的施工技术难题。     

A very promising new glucolipidic surfactant: Lipowheat

Lipowheat is an entirely biodegradable 100% natural active ingredient, extracted from non-transgenic wheat. Thanks to its very interesting properties, it can integrate the composition of most cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. The aim of this work was first to realize a large range of stable simple or multiple emulsions, in order to determine and evaluate the ability of a new glucolipidic surfactant Lipowheat to form and stabilize emulsions. The rheological properties of these emulsions were tested during a 30-day storage period at three different storage conditions (cold, room temperature and at 40 degrees C). In addition to dynamic and static rheological tests, droplet size distribution of the cream was also determined. Furthermore, a stable simple emulsion was selected to realize percutaneous absorption and evaluate the properties of Lipowheat.     

Timing of artificial insemination using fresh or frozen semen after automated activity monitoring of estrus in lactating dairy cows

The objective of this observational experiment was to determine the association between the time of artificial insemination (AI) and pregnancy per AI (P/AI) in lactating Holstein cows inseminated with either fresh or frozen semen considering different characteristics of an estrus event (i.e., onset, peak, and end) using an automated activity monitoring system. A total of 3,607 AI services based on the alert of an automated activity monitoring system (Heatime; SCR Engineers Ltd., Netanya, Israel) were evaluated from 4 commercial dairy farms in Germany. Pregnancy diagnosis was performed by transrectal palpation 38 ± 3 d after AI or by transrectal ultrasonography 30 ± 3 d after AI. Estrus intensity was categorized based on peak activity of estrus (PAE) into low (35–89 index value) and high (90–100 index value) intensity. The mean (± standard deviation) duration of an estrus event was 14.3 ± 4.6 h. The mean (± standard deviation) interval from onset of estrus (OE; moment where index value was ≥35) to AI was 16.8 ± 8.0 h, from PAE to AI was 11.9 ± 8.1 h, and from end of estrus (EE; moment where index value returned to <35) to AI was 2.5 ± 8.7 h. Primiparous cows had greater P/AI than multiparous cows, whereas first AI postpartum yielded greater P/AI compared with subsequent AI services. Type of semen was not associated with P/AI. Cows with heat stress 1 wk before AI had decreased P/AI. Cows with low estrus intensity (26.0%) were less fertile compared with cows showing high estrus intensity (32.8%). Cows with intermediate 100-d milk yield had decreased P/AI compared with cows with either low or high 100-d milk yield. There was a quadratic effect of the interval from OE to AI on P/AI. At 38 d after AI, P/AI was greatest for cows inseminated from 7 to 24 h after OE, within 18 h after PAE, or from 5 h before EE to 12 h after EE. There was no interaction between the interval from OE to AI and type of semen. There tended to be an interaction between the intervals from PAE to AI and type of semen and from EE to AI and type of semen. Cows inseminated with fresh semen within 5 h before EE had greater P/AI compared with frozen semen, whereas cows inseminated with frozen semen from 13 to 18 h after EE had greater P/AI compared with fresh semen. In conclusion, inseminating cows from 7 to 24 h after OE or 1 to 18 h after PAE yielded greatest P/AI irrespective of type of semen. In addition, high estrus intensity was positively associated with P/AI.