Long-term weathering behavior of UV-curable clearcoats: Depth profiling of photooxidation,UVA, and HALS distributions

The long-term weathering performance of two UV-curable clearcoat systems was studied using in-plane microtomy in combination with infrared spectroscopy, UV spectroscopy, and ESR spectroscopy. Oxygen transport characteristics were also studied using the half-time method. The photooxidation versus depth profile was highly dependant on the presence of hindered amine light stabilizers (HALS) for both coating systems. Ultraviolet light absorbers (UVA) had little effect on the photooxidation profile. A photooxidation gradient was formed in both clearcoats due to a reduction in oxygen solubility when compared to standard thermoset clearcoats. This gradient was only seen in formulations not containing HALS. Presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology, on October 27–29, 2004, in Chicago, IL.     

An Objective Method to Prioritize Socio‐Environmental Water Management Tradeoffs Using Multi‐Criteria Decision Analysis

Rivers provide many social and environmental services that benefit humanity. A critical role of water mangers is to prioritize water allocation options that trade off socio‐economic and hydro‐ecological benefits in rivers. Methods for multi‐criteria decision analysis (MCDA) provide a structured and systematic manner for researchers to aid in this process. In this paper, we describe a new MCDA method that prioritizes large multi‐dimensional sets of tradeoffs to support well‐informed water management in rivers. The method was developed based on an environmental flows planning study in the Goulburn‐Broken River catchment, Victoria, Australia. A combined simulation and heuristic optimization procedure was previously integrated into a hydrological catchment network model. That process resulted in a large set of viable daily water allocation schedules that traded off long‐term irrigation and hydro‐ecological benefits at the catchment outlet. We provided new guidance procedures to identify priority tradeoffs that can be used in stakeholder deliberations and catchment decision‐making. Our MCDA method included combined multi‐dimensional ordination and cluster analysis to spread the water allocation alternatives onto a two‐dimensional plane to discover alternatives with similar criteria tradeoffs. A geometric distance‐based method was performed on the full set of alternatives and on the identified clusters to rank the alternatives in accordance with minimizing the distance of the alternatives to an ideal but non‐feasible reference point in multi‐dimensional space. This method complements the use of elicitation procedures when water manager or other stakeholder interaction is not an option or when objectivity is desired. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Controlling the familywise error rate in functional neuroimaging: a comparative review

Functional neuroimaging data embodies a massive multiple testing problem, where 100,000 correlated test statistics must be assessed. The familywise error rate, the chance of any false positives is the standard measure of Type I errors in multiple testing. In this paper we review and evaluate three approaches to thresholding images of test statistics: Bonferroni, random field and the permutation test. Owing to recent developments, improved Bonferroni procedures, such as Hochberg's methods, are now applicable to dependent data. Continuous random field methods use the smoothness of the image to adapt to the severity of the multiple testing problem. Also, increased computing power has made both permutation and bootstrap methods applicable to functional neuroimaging. We evaluate these approaches on t images using simulations and a collection of real datasets. We find that Bonferroni-related tests offer little improvement over Bonferroni, while the permutation method offers substantial improvement over the random field method for low smoothness and low degrees of freedom. We also show the limitations of trying to find an equivalent number of independent tests for an image of correlated test statistics.     

Field study of the removal of linear alkylate sulfonate detergents by the activated sludge process

Field evaluation of the removal of linear alkylate sulfonate (LAS) detergents by the activated sludge process was carried out at the Kettle Moraine Boys’ School near Plymouth, Wisconsin. The procedures and controls afforded by the school’s central supply system along with its new and well-operated “extended aeration” activated sludge plant, provided an excellent arrangement for controlled field comparison of the removal of LAS and ABS (alkyl benzene sulfonate) material. In addition, the sewage treatment plant was operated intentionally to produce poor results in order to observe the effects of such conditions on removals. Previous work showed that, with products containing ABS in use at the school, removals of methylene blue active substance could be expected to fall in the region of 75 to 85%. Removals with LAS material in use at the school were shown to be from 95 to 99% as long as the plant was operated satisfactorily. Further, the results showed that there was a strong correlation between LAS removal and BOD removal with a one to one slope. The results support the conclusion that for biological treatment processes, the removal of LAS material corresponds to the removal of BOD.     

Premedication with oral midazolam in children--an assessment of psychomotor function, anxiolysis, sedation and pharmacokinetics

We studied 30 children, aged 4 to 12 years, undergoing elective circumcision, premedicated with midazolam 0.5 mg.kg-1 and atropine 0.02 mg.kg-1 by mouth. A modified postbox test and the coding component of the Wechsler intelligence scale (WISC-R) was used to assess the preoperative effect of premedication on psychomotor function. Mood and sedation were also scored and related to serum midazolam concentrations. The children showed a significant decline in psychomotor performance 30 and 60 minutes after premedication when compared with their best unmedicated performance recorded the previous evening. This decline in psychomotor performance was only weakly associated with serum midazolam concentrations (r = 0.1). The postbox toy ratio is a suitable measurement of psychomotor performance in children because of its simplicity and ease of use in the clinical environment, although it may suffer the "test-retest" limitations of similar types of assessment. The sedative and anxiolytic effects of midazolam provide a quiet environment for a smooth induction of anaesthesia.     

Evaluation of the synergism between ketorolac and morphine in the treatment of postoperative pain

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study is to determine what concentration of ketorolac and morphine administered together i.v. achieve best synergic effect between NSAID antiinflammatory and opioids analgesic properties. DESIGN: Randomized comparative study was carried out on 180 patients, ASA II-IV, undergoing major general surgery, in an University Clinic. METHODS: Postoperative pain therapy by i.v. PCA: group 1 morphine 0.75 mg.ml + ketorolac 0.75 mg.ml; group 2 morphine 0.50 mg.ml + ketorolac 1.50 mg.ml; group 3 morphine 0.25 mg.ml + ketorolac 1.50 mg.ml; in saline solution. Initial bolus: 2 ml. Continuous infusion 1.5 ml.h. Demand bolus: 0.2 ml. Lockout time: 30 minutes. Evaluations included: pain intensity (T0, T3, T18); total amount of infused drugs (T18); number of valid demands and attempts (T18); amount of autoadministered analgesic drugs in percent of highest available amount (T18); side effects (T18); patient's judgment. DATA ANALYSIS: ANOVA and Student's "t"-test. RESULTS: A statistically significant reduction of pain intensity was found after 3 and 18 hours in the three groups, no differences were found among the groups. Group 2 required an amount of autoadministered drugs significantly lower than other groups. Rare side effects. Patient's judgment was generally positive. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest a greater synergetic effect between morphine and ketorolac in concentrations used in group 2.     

'98 Escherichia coli SWISS-2DPAGE database update

The combination of two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE), computer image analysis and several protein identification techniques allowed the Escherichia coli SWISS-2DPAGE database to be established. This is part of the ExPASy molecular biology server accessible through the WWW at the URL address http://www.expasy.ch/ch2d/ch2d-top.html . Here we report recent progress in the development of the E. coli SWISS-2DPAGE database. Proteins were separated with immobilized pH gradients in the first dimension and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the second dimension. To increase the resolution of the separation and thus the number of identified proteins, a variety of wide and narrow range immobilized pH gradients were used in the first dimension. Micropreparative gels were electroblotted onto polyvinylidene difluoride membranes and spots were visualized by amido black staining. Protein identification techniques such as amino acid composition analysis, gel comparison and microsequencing were used, as well as a recently described Edman "sequence tag" approach. Some of the above identification techniques were coupled with database searching tools. Currently 231 polypeptides are identified on the E. coli SWISS-2DPAGE map: 64 have been identified by N-terminal microsequencing, 39 by amino acid composition, and 82 by sequence tag. Of 153 proteins putatively identified by gel comparison, 65 have been confirmed. Many proteins have been identified using more than one technique. Faster progress in the E. coli proteome project will now be possible with advances in biochemical methodology and with the completion of the entire E. coli genome.     

Localization of Luminescent Inhomogeneities in Turbid Media with Spatially Resolved Measurements of cw Diffuse Luminescence Emittance

We present a steady-state method for localizing a source ofluminescence (i.e., fluorescence or phosphorescence) buried in asemi-infinite turbid medium with unknown optical properties. Adiffusion theory expression describing the emittance of an isotropicpoint source is fit to spatially resolved surface measurements of thediffuse emittance from the luminescent source. The techniquereports the location of the center of a 6.0-mm-diameter, fluorophore-containing spherical bulb embedded in a liquid phantom withan accuracy of 1.0 mm or better for source depths as great as 40.0mm. Monte Carlo data are analyzed to investigate the range and thepossible sources of error in the reconstructed source depth.     

Do cardiovascular risk factors explain the relation between socioeconomic status, risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and acute myocardial infarction?

Much remains to be understood about how low socioeconomic status (SES) increases cardiovascular disease and mortality risk. Data from the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (1984-1993) were used to estimate the associations between acute myocardial infarction and income, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular mortality in a population-based sample of 2,272 Finnish men, with adjustment for 23 biologic, behavioral, psychologic, and social risk factors. Compared with the highest income quintile, those in the bottom quintile had age-adjusted relative hazards of 3.14 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.77-5.56), 2.66 (95% CI 1.25-5.66), and 4.34 (95% CI 1.95-9.66) for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and AMI, respectively. After adjustment for risk factors, the relative hazards for the same comparisons were 1.32 (95% CI 0.70-2.49), 0.70 (95% CI 0.29-1.69), and 2.83 (95% CI 1.14-7.00). In the lowest income quintile, adjustment for risk factors reduced the excess relative risk of all-cause mortality by 85%, that of cardiovascular mortality by 118%, and that of acute myocardial infarction by 45%. These data show how the association between SES and cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality is mediated by known risk factor pathways, but full "explanations" for these associations will need to encompass why these biologic, behavioral, psychologic, and social risk factors are differentially distributed by SES.