Accidents and close call situations connected to the use of mobile phones

The aim of our work was to study the accidents and close call situations connected to the use of mobile phones. We have analyzed how the accidents/close call situations are connected to background information, in particular age, gender and self-reported symptoms. The study was carried out as a cross-sectional study by posting the questionnaire to 15,000 working-age Finns. The responses (6121) were analyzed using the logistic regression models. Altogether 13.7% of respondents had close call situations and 2.4% had accidents at leisure, in which the mobile phone had a partial effect, and at work the amounts were 4.5% and 0.4% respectively, during the last 12 months. Essentially, we found that: (1) men tend to have more close calls and accidents while on a mobile phone, (2) younger people tend to have more accidents and close calls while on a mobile phone, but it does not appear to be large enough to warrant intervention, (3) employed people tend to have more problems with mobile phone usage and accidents/close calls, and (4) there was a slight increase in mobile-phone-related accidents/close calls if the respondent also reported sleep disturbances and minor aches and pains. In the future, it is important to take into account and study how symptoms can increase the risk of accidents or close call situations in which a mobile phone has a partial effect.     

Polymeric dual-slab waveguide interferometer for biochemical sensing applications

A polymer based dual-slab waveguide Young's interferometer was demonstrated for biochemical sensing. Evanescent field is utilized for probing the binding events of biomolecules on the waveguide surface. Refractive index sensing in analyte and protein adsorption on the sensing surface were investigated with glucose de-ionized water solution and bovine serum albumin, immunoglobulin G solutions in phosphate buffered saline buffer. A detection limit of 10(-5) RIU and 4 pg/mm(2) was achieved for homogeneous and surface sensing, respectively. Also, the influence of water absorption inside the polymeric device on the measurement stability was evaluated. The results indicate that the waveguide polymer sensor fabricated with the spin coating technique can achieve a satisfactory sensitivity for homogeneous refractive index sensing and, as well, for monitoring molecular binding events on the surface.     

A Gaussian Mixture Autoregressive Model for Univariate Time Series

The Gaussian mixture autoregressive model studied in this article belongs to the family of mixture autoregressive models, but it differs from its previous alternatives in several advantageous ways. A major theoretical advantage is that, by the definition of the model, conditions for stationarity and ergodicity are always met and these properties are much more straightforward to establish than is common in nonlinear autoregressive models. Another major advantage is that, for a pth‐order model, explicit expressions of the stationary distributions of dimension p + 1 or smaller are known and given by mixtures of Gaussian distributions with constant mixing weights. In contrast, the conditional distribution given the past observations is a Gaussian mixture with time‐varying mixing weights that depend on p lagged values of the series in a natural and parsimonious way. Because of the known stationary distribution, exact maximum likelihood estimation is feasible and one can assess the applicability of the model in advance by using a non‐parametric estimate of the stationary density. An empirical example with interest rate series illustrates the practical usefulness and flexibility of the model, particularly in allowing for level shifts and temporary changes in variance. Copyright © 2014 Wiley Publishing Ltd     

The Carbon Cost of Work—Impacts of Office Building and Commuting Energy in Sydney Workplaces

We investigate greenhouse emissions of office workers in Sydney, drawing on census data, national building energy benchmarks as well as journey-to-work and energy data from two study buildings. Comparing work locations in the central business district (CBD) and Macquarie Park Corridor with metro-wide averages, we find that building emissions dominate over commuting emissions across the city, but commuting is increasingly important as building energy efficiency increases. Furthermore, our results indicate that efforts to improve a building's energy efficiency at Macquarie Park are largely negated by high reliance on car travel despite the introduction of the Epping–Chatswood train line. We conclude that improving building energy efficiency, office space utilisation and network connectivity (currently evident only in the CBD) delivers the best opportunity to reducing the carbon cost of workplaces.     

A study of spalling behaviour of PAN fibre-reinforced concrete by thermal analysis

Comparisons are made between polypropylene (PP) fibres and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibres in order to relate the thermal properties of fibres with the respective fibre mortar behaviour under thermal exposure. Thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermochromatography (ThGC) are utilized. When a cementitious fibre mortar is being heated, several physical phenomena occur in the temperature range between 100°C and 200°C. There is a significant difference in the thermal behaviour between PP and PAN fibres. PP fibres melt at 160–170°C. The non-melting behaviour of PAN fibre together with its rapid exothermic degradation reactions at around 300°C may add risk to the spalling of fibre mortar under rapid thermal exposure.     

Energy for sustainable development in India: Linkages and strategic direction

In recent times the two major international endorsements of the elements of sustainable development the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), have recognized universal access to energy as an important goal. In India, with a population of over a 1000 million people, it is estimated that a mere 43.5% of the households have access to electricity. The choices that the country makes towards energizing the remaining population will have a significant impact on other Sustainable Development parameters such as agriculture, water, health, and even biodiversity. India has set itself a target, going beyond the MDGs, of energizing all households by the year 2012. In view of the differentiated responsibilities of the various ministries to the Government of India, the strategy for reaching this target may not address itself to the larger development goals.     

DNA Adducts Derived from Diesel Emissions - Assessment of Genotoxic Potency in Vitro and Human Exposure Monitoring

Diesel particle extracts, which originated from three different diesel fuels, were used to study the activation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). DNA adducts were analyzed in vitro calf thymus, human skin tissue culture and in lymphocytes isolated from diesel exposed workers. Direct-acting mutagens (e.g. nitro-PAHs) measured by Ames test were compared with DNA adducts formed in vitro by nitroreductive xanthine oxide enzyme. PAH-DNA adducts were analyzed by ³²P-postlabeling, and when characterizing adducts from skin DNA, a solid-phase micro extraction (SPME) method was developed for sample preparation before HPLC analysis. A good accordance between mutagenicity and DNA adducts showed that the three extracts contain higher amounts of direct-acting PAHs than the PAHs needing S9 activation. Skin DNA adducts demonstrated two-fold differences between the tissue cultures. ³²P-postlabeling and HPLC analysis did not confirm the identity of skin DNA adducts with the BPDE-DNA standard. The pilot study on 13 diesd exposed bus garage and waste collection workers showed low levels of PAH exposure (<50 ng/m³) and lymphocyte PAH-DNA adducts less than 2 adducts/10⁸ nucleotides.     

In vitro dissolution of bioactive glass S53P4 microspheres

Static and dynamic in vitro dissolution studies showed large differences for various size-fractions of non-porous, flame-sprayed commercial microspheres (45–500 µm) of bioactive glass S53P4. The smaller the spheres, the more their composition deviated from the nominal glass. The dissolution studies were carried out in simulated body fluid and tris(hydroxymethyl) aminomethane buffer for seven days. The ion concentrations in solutions were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, and the pH was measured as a function of time. Also, changes in the sphere size distribution and mass losses were determined. The calcium phosphate and the silica-rich layers at the sphere surfaces were investigated using scanning electron microscopy after several immersion times. The smallest (45–90 µm) spheres appeared almost inert. In contrast, typical silica-rich and calcium phosphate layers were identified at the largest spheres after three days of static and dynamic dissolutions. During the past years, bioactive glass microspheres have been added to paste-like injectable bone grafting materials, putties to enhance their molding properties. The obtained results provide a better understanding of the dissolution patterns of bioactive glass microspheres.     

Exploring the Ion Channel TRPV2 and Testicular Macrophages in Mouse Testis

The cation channel TRPV2 is known to be expressed by murine macrophages and is crucially involved in their functionality. Macrophages are frequent cells of the mouse testis, an immune-privileged and steroid-producing organ. TRPV2 expression by testicular macrophages and possible changes associated with age or inflammation have not been investigated yet. Therefore, we studied testes of young adult and old wild-type (WT) and AROM⁺ mice, i.e., transgenic mice overexpressing aromatase. In these animals, inflammatory changes are described in the testis, involving active macrophages, which increase with age. This is associated with impaired spermatogenesis and therefore AROM⁺ mice are a model for male infertility associated with sterile inflammation. In WT animals, testicular TRPV2 expression was mapped to interstitial CD206⁺ and peritubular MHC II⁺ macrophages, with higher levels in CD206⁺ cells. Expression levels of TRPV2 and most macrophage markers did not increase significantly in old mice, with the exception of CD206. As the number of TRPV2⁺ testicular macrophages was relatively small, their possible involvement in testicular functions and in aging in WT mice remains to be further studied. In AROM⁺ testis, TRPV2 was readily detected and levels increased significantly with age, together with macrophage markers and TNF-α. TRPV2 co-localized with F4/80 in macrophages and further studies showed that TRPV2 is mainly expressed by unusual CD206⁺MHC II⁺ macrophages, arising in the testis of these animals. Rescue experiments (aromatase inhibitor treatment and crossing with ERαKO mice) restored the testicular phenotype and also abolished the elevated expression of TRPV2, macrophage and inflammation markers. This suggests that TRPV2⁺ macrophages of the testis are part of an inflammatory cascade initiated by an altered sex hormone balance in AROM⁺ mice. The changes in testis are distinct from the described alterations in other organs of AROM⁺, such as prostate and spleen. When we monitored TRPV2 levels in another immune-privileged organ, namely the brain, we found that levels of TRPV2 were not elevated in AROM⁺ and remained stable during aging. In the adrenal, which similar to the testis produces steroids, we found slight, albeit not significant increases in TRPV2 in both AROM⁺ and WT mice, which were associated with age. Thus, the changes in the testis are specific for this organ.     

Mössbauer spectroscopy study of the chemical state of iron in Danish Mesozoic sediments

The chemical state of iron in sediments from six wells in the Danish North Sea and the Danish land area has been studied by use of Mössbauer spectroscopy. It was found that iron was mainly present in pyrite, clay minerals and the carbonates siderite and ankerite. The relative amounts of iron in different minerals have been determined as a function of depth in the wells. A comparison of the results with available data for source rock maturity suggests that there may be a correlation between the presence of ankerite and the formation of oil and gas in the sediments.