Synthesis of N,N-diethyl-N-{4-[(E)-(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]phenyl}amine via in situ diazotisation and coupling in supercritical carbon dioxide

The synthesis of azo dyes via a conventional aqueous-based diazotisation and coupling reaction requires the use of relatively high concentrations of mineral acids, which leads to high electrolyte concentrations in wastewater. Reported in this paper is an environmentally benign one-pot method for the synthesis of a nonionic azo dye, N,N -diethyl- N -{4-[( E )-(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl]phenyl}amine, in supercritical carbon dioxide without using a mineral acid. The product yield increased significantly with temperature, with 91% theoretical yield afforded at 80 °C. The pressure of the system had little influence on product yield.     

The relationship between bioelectrical impedance phase angle and subjective global assessment in advanced colorectal cancer

Background  

Bioelectrical Impedance (BIA) derived phase angle is increasingly being used as an objective indicator of nutritional status in advanced cancer. Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) is a subjective method of nutritional status. The objective of this study was to investigate the association between BIA derived phase angle and SGA in advanced colorectal cancer.     

Evaluating the mixing performance of a ribbon blender

This paper investigates the effects of processing and equipment parameters of a ribbon blender (i.e. loading method of lubricant, fill level, blade speed and blade design) on magnesium stearate homogeneity. A core sampling technique is used to obtain at least one hundred samples per sampling event, which are extracted throughout the blender and yield a thorough characterization of the entire bed. The results presented here can be used as a guideline to develop appropriate blending processes and characterization protocols for ribbon blenders.     

Moral value transfer from regulatory fit: What feels right is right and what feels wrong is wrong.

People experience regulatory fit (E. T. Higgins, 2000) when the strategic manner of their goal pursuit suits their regulatory orientation, and this regulatory fit feels right. Fit violation feels wrong. Four studies tested the proposal that experiences of fit can transfer to moral evaluations. The authors examined transfer of feeling wrong from fit violation by having participants in a promotion or prevention focus recall transgressions of commission or omission (Studies 1 and 2). Both studies found that when the type of transgression was a fit violation, participants expressed more guilt. Studies 3 and 4 examined transfer of feeling right from regulatory fit. Participants evaluated conflict resolutions (Study 3) and public policies (Study 4) as more right when the means pursued had fit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modeling and sensitivity analysis of fire emissions in southern Africa during SAFARI 2000

This paper uses three recently generated southern African satellite burned area products for the month of September 2000 in a sensitivity study of regional biomass burning emissions for a number of trace gases and particulates. Differences in the extent and location of areas burned among products generated from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Systeme Pour l'Observation de la Terre (SPOT-VEGETATION), and Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR-2) data are significant and result in different emissions estimates for woodland and grassland land cover types. Due to the different emission profiles in woodlands and grasslands, favoring relatively more products of incomplete combustion in woodlands compared with products of complete combustion in grasslands in the late dry season, these changes are not proportional to the differences in the burned area amounts. The importance of accurate burned area information not just in terms of the total area but also in terms of its spatial distribution becomes apparent from our modeling results. This paper highlights the urgent need for satellite data producers to provide accuracy assessments associated with satellite-derived products. Preferably, these accuracy data will be spatially explicit, or defined in a way that can be applied in a spatially explicit modeling context, to enable emissions uncertainties to be defined with respect to different landscape units in support of greenhouse gas emissions reporting.     

Social environmental selection as a mediator of gender, ethnic, and personality effects on college student drinking.

Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediational role of social environmental selection on alcohol use in cross-sectional samples of 447 students from a rural state university and 421 students from an urban private university. Results showed that male gender, White ethnicity, and sensation seeking were uniquely associated with greater alcohol use. Mediational analyses indicated that socioenvironmental factors (i.e., Greek involvement, friends' approval of drinking/getting drunk) were positively associated with alcohol use and significantly accounted for parts of the effects of ethnicity and sensation seeking, but not gender, on alcohol use. Results suggest that White students and those high on sensation seeking may drink more heavily in college, in part because they select social environments in which alcohol use is encouraged. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal bone mineral density changes in early rheumatoid arthritis

A prospective longitudinal study of patients with early RA was performed to examine the influence of disease duration, disease activity and physical activity on bone loss. Sixty-seven patients with non-steroid treated RA of less than 5 yr duration, including 16 patients with disease duration less than 6 months, had BMD measurements of the femoral neck and the lumbar spine over a 12-month period using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. The BMD changes were compared with values from 72 control patients and were also correlated with serial measurements of disease activity (measured by the Stoke Index) and disability [measured by the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) score], at 3-monthly intervals over the 12-month period. No significant differences in BMD changes were found between RA patients and controls overall. Patients with disease duration of less than 6 months had significantly greater loss of BMD at the femoral neck (-3.9%, S.E.M. 1.5) than the remainder of the cohort (-0.2%, S.E.M. 0.7) (P = 0.02) and controls (-0.8%, S.E.M. 0.6). Lumbar spine BMD changes correlated with the initial Stoke Index (Rs-0.373, P = 0.01) but not mean Stoke Indices. There was no correlation of BMD changes with age or HAQ scores. These findings suggest that significant bone loss occurs within the first few months of disease in patients with RA.     

Development of an animal model for across-herd genetic evaluation of number born alive in swine

An animal model and computer software were developed to conduct across-herd genetic evaluations using data from producers participating in the Sow Productivity Index program of the American Yorkshire Club. The final data set consisted of 61,596 litter records from 1986 to early 1990. The animal model included fixed contemporary group effects and random additive direct, service sire, permanent environmental, and residual effects. Additive genetic relationships among animals were included. A separate relationship matrix for service sires and their sires was also included. A data set similar to the Yorkshire field data was simulated to use in testing the animal model. The simulated data set consisted of 40 herds, each with 120 reproducing dams and either four or five sires. Six generations of simulated data were produced, resulting in 20,605 litter records. These records were then evaluated using the animal model for number of pigs born alive. Finally, correlations between the true breeding values from the simulation and the predicted breeding values were computed. The correlation between the 918 true and predicted sire breeding values was considerably lower for the animal model without a service sire effect than when it was included (.53 vs .74, respectively). However, the difference was cut in half (.66 vs .77) when only sires with greater than five daughter records were included. The high accuracy of the animal model with a random service sire effect indicates that the proposed model adequately accounts for the variation found in records for number of pigs born alive.