Integrating legal liabilities in nanomanufacturing risk management

Among other things, the wide-scale development and use of nanomaterials is expected to produce costly regulatory and civil liabilities for nanomanufacturers due to lingering uncertainties, unanticipated effects, and potential toxicity. The life-cycle environmental, health, and safety (EHS) risks of nanomaterials are currently being studied, but the corresponding legal risks have not been systematically addressed. With the aid of a systematic approach that holistically evaluates and accounts for uncertainties about the inherent properties of nanomaterials, it is possible to provide an order of magnitude estimate of liability risks from regulatory and litigious sources based on current knowledge. In this work, we present a conceptual framework for integrating estimated legal liabilities with EHS risks across nanomaterial life-cycle stages using empirical knowledge in the field, scientific and legal judgment, probabilistic risk assessment, and multicriteria decision analysis. Such estimates will provide investors and operators with a basis to compare different technologies and practices and will also inform regulatory and legislative bodies in determining standards that balance risks with technical advancement. We illustrate the framework through the hypothetical case of a manufacturer of nanoscale titanium dioxide and use the resulting expected legal costs to evaluate alternative risk-management actions.     

Migration age profiles for local authority areas in England, 1971-1981

"This paper is a report on continuing research on the application of age profiles in migration analysis. In particular, it is an update of previous work published in this journal with an analysis of 1981 Census data for local authority areas in England. The changes in migration patterns over the intercensal period from 1971 to 1981 are described." The focus is on internal migration     

Relationships of serum insulin-like growth factor I concentrations to growth, composition, and reproductive traits of swine

Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) is a peptide hormone that has been shown to be involved in metabolic regulation of growth and reproduction in livestock species. The objectives of this study were to quantify concentrations of IGF-I in growing pigs and determine whether IGF-I concentration can be used as a predictor of growth, composition, and reproductive traits. Forty male and 60 female pigs, divided equally between two locations, were weighed and bled at 3-wk intervals from 6 to 21 wk of age. At each sampling, two blood samples were collected via jugular venipuncture at an interval of at least 1 h. Serum was separated and IGF-I concentration determined via RIA. Pigs were weighed at each sampling date. Backfat and longissimus muscle area were measured with the use of B-mode ultrasound and adjusted to 100 kg. Age at puberty and first-parity litter size were measured on gilts. Effects of age, sex, location, and pig within sex x location on log-transformed IGF-I concentrations were determined by analyzing data as a split-plot. Performance traits were fitted to a model including the effects of IGF-I concentration, sex, location, and interactions. The IGF-I concentrations increased (P < .05) from 3 to 18 wk of age before dropping at 21 wk of age. Concentrations increased more rapidly in males than in females and differed significantly between sexes from 12 to 21 wk of age. Repeatability of IGF-I concentration was .29 +/- .02; IGF-I concentrations of samples collected at 6 wk were not correlated with those at later ages. Correlations between IGF-I concentrations of samples at later ages ranged from .27 to .51. Heritability of IGF-I concentration was .27 +/- .07. There was a tendency for weight to be affected by a sex x age interaction (P = .09). Weight of boars exceeded weight of gilts only at 21 wk (111.4 +/- 1.1 vs 107.1 +/- .8 kg). Regressions of weight on IGF-I concentrations were positive at all ages but greatest at 6 wk. The IGF-I concentration did not affect backfat thickness, longissimus area, percentage of lean, age at puberty, or litter size.     

Changes of respiratory chain activity in mitochondrial and synaptosomal fractions isolated from the gerbil brain after graded ischaemia

In this study we have examined (1) the integrated function of the mitochondrial respiratory chain by polarographic measurements and (2) the activities of the respiratory chain complexes I, II-III, and IV as well as the ATP synthase (complex V) in free mitochondria and synaptosomes isolated from gerbil brain, after a 30-min period of graded cerebral ischaemia. These data have been correlated with cerebral blood flow (CBF) values as measured by the hydrogen clearance technique. Integrated functioning of the mitochondrial respiratory chain, using both NAD-linked and FAD-linked substrates, was initially affected at CBF values of approximately 35 ml 100 g-1 min-1, and declined further as the CBF was reduced. The individual mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes, however, showed differences in sensitivity to graded cerebral ischaemia. Complex I activities decreased sharply at blood flows below approximately 30 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (mitochondria and synaptosomes) and complex II-III activities decreased at blood flows below 20 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (mitochondria) and 35-30 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (synaptosomes). Activities declined further as CBF was reduced below these levels. Complex V activity was significantly affected only when the blood flow was reduced below 15-10 ml 100 g-1 min-1 (mitochondria and synaptosomes). In contrast, complex IV activity was unaffected by graded cerebral ischaemia, even at very low CBF levels.     

Child care history and kindergarten adjustment.

Parents gave histories of 589 children just before kindergarten. Children were later assessed with teacher, peer, and observer measures of social adjustment in school. Children with higher day-care amounts in each of 3 eras (0–4, and 4–5 yrs) scored higher on the composite negative adjustment and lower on positive adjustment (however, they also scored lower on teacher-rated internalizing problems). Day care predicted even after statistical control for measures representing alternative explanations, such as family stress and socioeconomic status, accounting for 2.7% of variance in negative adjustment and 2.9% of positive adjustment. Interactions between day care and other variables did not add to predictions of the molar adjustment composites. Extensive infancy care did not in itself predict adjustment, according to planned contrasts that controlled for total amount of day care received across the 3 eras of the child's life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Functionalisation of lyocell. Part 2: Synthesis of 6‐p‐aminoanilino‐4‐p‐(β‐sulphatoethylsulphonyl)anilino‐1,3,5‐triazin‐2(1H)‐one†

A new water‐soluble monomeric agent for the aminisation of lyocell has been designed and synthesised. The agent, which contains a sulphatoethylsulphonyl group, an s‐triazinyl keto–enol tautomeric system and a primary aromatic amine was prepared in acidic media, in good yield from cyanuric chloride, p‐aminophenyl‐β‐sulphatoethylsulphone and p‐phenylenediamine, via a triazinyl betaine intermediate.     

Fluctuations,Order, and Disorder in Short Diblock Copolymers

The phase behavior for a series of poly(1,4‐isoprene‐b‐DL‐lactide) diblock copolymers characterized by a relatively large Flory–Huggins segment–segment interaction parameter (χ) and low degrees of polymerization (N) over a range of compositions was reported. Ordered‐state morphologies were deduced from small‐angle x‐ray scattering (SAXS) measurements, and χ(T) was determined from order‐disorder transition temperatures (T_ODT's) associated with the compositionally symmetric specimens and assuming the mean‐field theory, that is, (χN)_ODT=10.5. The ODT was determined by differential scanning calorimetry, SAXS, and dynamic mechanical spectroscopy, and shown to be weakly first‐order, with latent heats of transition that vary strongly with composition. We interpret this behavior in terms of the mean and Gauss interfacial curvature of the ordered‐state morphologies and with respect to composition fluctuations in the disordered state. These results offer a fresh strategy for investigating weakly first‐order phase transitions within the Brazovskii universality class. © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 3502–3513, 2013     

Treasure of the Past VI: Standard Potential of the Silver-Silver-Chloride Electrode from 0° to 95° C and the Thermodynamic Properties of Dilute Hydrochloric Acid Solutions

From electromotive-force measurements of the cell without liquid junction: Pt;  H₂,  HCl (m),  AgCl;  Agthrough the range 0° to 95° C, calculations have been made of (1) the standard potential of the silver–silver-chloride electrode, (2) the activity coefficient of hydrochloric acid in aqueous solutions from m (molality) =0 to m=0.1 and from 0° to 90° C, (3) the relative partial molal heat content of hydrochloric acid, and (4) the relative partial molal heat capacity of hydrochloric acid.The extrapolations were made by the method of least squares with the aid of punch-card techniques. Data from at least 24 cells were analyzed at each temperature, and 81 cells were studied at 25° C. The value of the standard potential was found to be 0.22234 absolute volt at 25° C, and the standard deviation was 0.02 millivolt at 0° C, 0.01 millivolt at 25° C, and 0.09 millivolt at 95° C. The results from 0° to 60° C are compared with earlier determinations of the standard potential and other quantities derived from the electromotive force.     

The experiences of Sudanese unaccompanied minors in foster care.

Sudanese unaccompanied minors were separated from their parents in childhood and lived apart from their families in refugee camps for close to a decade before being resettled in the United States. This phenomenological study examines the refugees’ experiences of living in American foster families after living in peer groups in the camps. Interviews with 18 young adults, 7 years after resettlement, revealed that nearly all of the youth struggled with parental authority initially, and nearly half of them changed placements because of relationship difficulties with their foster parents. Misunderstandings based on cultural differences often exacerbated conflicts. However, 15 of 18 youth currently had a positive relationship with at least 1 foster parent, sometimes with a parent from their second or third placement. Changing foster families is often considered a failure in the child welfare system, but several Sudanese youth reported that having supportive relationships helped them during the acculturation process whether those relationships developed during the first or last placement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)