Rapid enzymatic-colorimetric method for detecting organophosphorous insecticide residues in milk

The authors developed a new enzymatic-colorimetric rapid method for testing milk for residues of organophosphorous insecticides. The test is based on the colour reaction of indoxyl acetate with the esterase of the OROSERAN (Dessau) horse serum which is inhibited by organophosphorous insecticides. Calibration curves were established for Trichlorphon and Dichlorphos (DDVP). The limit of detection lies at 0.02 mg/kg. The time actually needed per sample is about 15 min. The result is obtained within 90 min. Since this procedure requires no clean-up operations, it is labour-saving compared to other thin-layer or gas chromatographic methods. It may be recommended as a screening test for the detection of organophosphorous insecticides in milk samples.     

Deficits in emotional and social cognition in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Objective: These studies investigated whether non-demented ALS patients display impairments on tests of emotional decision making and social and emotional cognition, sensitive to frontal variant Frontotemporal Dementia (fvFTD). Previous studies have shown predominant executive dysfunction and dorsolateral prefrontal involvement in ALS, but evidence of other prefrontal dysfunction implicated in fvFTD is sparse. Method: In Study A, 19 ALS patients and 20 healthy controls undertook a test of affective decision making, modified Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). Behavioral measures included the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale. In Study B, 14 ALS patients and 20 controls undertook tests of social and emotional cognition (Judgment of Preference based on eye gaze, the Mind in the Eyes, recognition of Facial Expressions of Emotion). Results: In Study A, ALS patients demonstrated a significantly different performance profile from healthy controls on the IGT and did not learn to avoid the disadvantageous stimuli (Block 3, d = 0.60, Block 4 days = 0.68). Behavior ratings showed increased apathy from premorbid levels. In Study B, ALS patients were impaired on attentionally demanding (d = 3.12) and undemanding (d = 7.52) conditions of the Judgment of Preference task, despite many showing intact executive functions. A smaller subset showed impaired emotion recognition. Behavior change was also evident. Conclusions: The findings reveal a Theory of Mind deficit on a simple test that was dissociated from the presence of executive dysfunction and suggests a profile of cognitive and behavioral dysfunction indicative of a subclinical fvFTD syndrome. The relative contribution of prefrontal pathways to the cognitive profile in ALS is considered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Inorganic–organic hybrid materials prepared from zirconium oxo‐clusters and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate

This article describes the preparation and characterization of hybrid materials obtained from the polymerization of vinyl‐substituted zirconium oxo‐clusters [Zr₆O₄(OH)₄(OOCCH₂CHCH₂)₁₂(n‐PrOH)]₂·4(CH₂CHCH₂COOH) (Zr12) and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The zirconium oxo‐clusters serve as cross‐linking agents, forming a 3D network by means of the copolymerization of their vinylic ligands with HEMA. To optimize the conditions for cross‐linking, the polymerization was monitored with a differential scanning calorimeter. The resulting hybrid materials were also characterized using thermo‐mechanical techniques. There was evidence not only of a greater rigidity above T_g, but also of a better thermal stability for several hybrid formulations than for simple poly‐2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate. After immersion in water, the hybrids containing 20 or 60% w/w zirconium oxo‐clusters also showed a stable behavior with an equilibrium swelling at about 27 and 18% w/w of water, respectively. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41568.     

A model predictive control approach for discrete-time rescheduling in complex central railway station areas

Railway networks are operated more and more at capacity margins, schedules are becoming more susceptible to disturbances, and delays propagate and hamper the service level experienced by the customers. As a consequence railway traffic management is becoming increasingly challenging, thus motivating the development of computer-aided systems. This paper proposes a dispatching assistant in the form of a model predictive control framework for a complex central railway station area. The closed-loop discrete-time system suggests rescheduling trains according to solutions of a binary linear optimization model. The model assigns precomputed blocking-stairways to trains while respecting resource-based clique constraints, connection constraints, platform related constraints and consistency constraints with the objective of maximizing customer satisfaction. In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), the approach was successfully applied for an operational day at the central railway station area Berne, Switzerland. The model is capable of considering many alternative routing possibilities and departure timings, a potential of our approach, which can also be deduced from computational results.     

ChangeLedge: Change design and planning in networked systems based on reuse of knowledge and automation

Proper management of Information Technology (IT) resources and services has become imperative for the success of modern organizations. The IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) represents, in this context, the most widely accepted framework to help achieve this end. Among the processes that compose ITIL, change management has an important role in defining best practices and processes for the efficient and prompt handling of IT changes. In practice, however, such changes are usually described and documented in an ad hoc fashion, due to the lack of proper support to assist the design process. This hampers knowledge acquired when specifying, planning, and carrying out previous changes to be reused in subsequent requests, even though such reuse may result in fewer incidents and faster specification of change plans. To address this problem, in this paper we present a conceptual solution to support the design and planning of IT changes and explore the concept of change templates as a mechanism to formalize, preserve, and (re)use knowledge in the specification of (recurrent and similar) IT changes. To prove concept and technical feasibility of the proposed solution, we have developed a prototypical implementation of a change management system called ChangeLedge and used it to carry out a set of experiments, considering typical IT changes. The results obtained indicate the effectiveness and efficiency of the system, which is able to generate accurate and actionable change plans in substantially less time than would be spent by a skilled human operator.     

An Evaluation of Mass-Weighted Size Distribution Measurements with the Model 3320 Aerodynamic Particle Sizer

The ability of the Model 3320 aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) to make accurate mass-weighted size distribution measurements was investigated. Significant errors were observed in APS size distribution measurements with measured mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMADs) as much as 17 times higher than from cascade impactor measurements. Analysis of APS correlated time-of-flight and light scattering data indicated that the MMAD distortions were due to a few anomalous large particle measurements (～0.1% of the total measurements) with surprisingly low scattered light. Computational fluid dynamics modeling indicated that these anomalous measurements were due to particles that deviated from the intended aerosol pathway and recirculated through the APS measurement volume at low velocities leading to erroneous large particle measurements. A technique for removing erroneous measurements based on correlated aerodynamic diameter and light scattering values is presented. When this technique was used, APS and cascade impactor size distribution measurements agreed well.     

Zirconium nano building blocks based on the 3‐butynoic acid ligand: Synthesis and thermomechanical studies of the resulting inorganic–organic hybrid material

A new zirconium nano building block (ZrNBB) was prepared by the reaction of Zirconium tetrapropoxide with 3‐butynoic acid in an alkoxide/acid at a 1 : 3 or 1 : 6 molar ratio. The complex was characterized by FTIR, ¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, energy‐dispersive X‐ray analysis, and elementary analysis. A spontaneous alkyne‐to‐allene isomerization process was observed for ZrNBB. A bulk sample was also prepared and analyzed via dynamical mechanical spectroscopy in compression mode. The zirconium complex was then embedded in a polymeric matrix by radical copolymerization with vinyl trimethoxysilane. The inorganic–organic hybrid material was chemically and thermally stable. The shear storage modulus and loss modulus were measured to determine the mechanical properties of the material. The preliminary results are presented. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012