Synthesis, Modification, and Application of Siloxane Materials for Environmental Sensing

As human populations and resource consumption increase, it is increasingly important to monitor the quality of our environment. While laboratory instruments offer useful information, portable, easy to use sensors would allow environmental analysis to occur on-site, at lower cost, and with minimal operator training. We explore the synthesis, modification, and applications of modified polysiloxane in environmental sensing. Multiple methods of producing modified siloxanes were investigated. Oligomers were formed by using functionalized monomers, producing siloxane materials containing silicon hydride, methyl, and phenyl side chains. Silicon hydride-functionalized oligomers were further modified by hydrosilylation to incorporate methyl ester and naphthyl side chains. Modifications to the siloxane materials were also carried out using post-curing treatments. Methyl ester-functionalized siloxane was incorporated into the surface of a cured poly(dimethylsiloxane) film by siloxane equilibration. The materials containing methyl esters were hydrolyzed to reveal carboxylic acids, which could later be used for covalent protein immobilization. Finally, the siloxane surfaces were modified to incorporate antibodies by covalent, affinity, and adsorption-based attachment. These modifications were characterized by a variety of methods, including contact angle, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, dye labels, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The modified siloxane materials were employed in a variety of sensing schemes. Volatile organic compounds were detected using methyl, phenyl, and naphthyl-functionalized materials on a Fabry-Perot interferometer and a refractometer. The Fabry-Perot interferometer was found to detect the analytes upon siloxane extraction by deformation of the Bragg reflectors. The refractometer was used to determine that naphthyl-functionalized siloxanes had elevated refractive indices, rendering these materials more sensitive to some analytes. Antibody-modified siloxanes were used to detect biological analytes through a solid phase microextraction-mediated enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (SPME ELISA). The SPME ELISA was found to have higher analyte sensitivity compared to a conventional ELISA system. The detection scheme was used to detect Escherichia coli at 8500 CFU/mL. These results demonstrate the variety of methods that can be used to modify siloxanes and the wide range of applications of modified siloxanes has been demonstrated through chemical and biological sensing schemes.

Scaling Social Impact in Europe: Quantitative Analysis of National and Transnational Scaling Strategies of 358 Social Enterprises

A wide variety of different socially motivated organisations perform exceptional feats in alleviating societal ills using creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in their quest to scale their social impact. Their focus is seldom limited to one specific region – instead they strive to benefit the largest possible number of people, thereby often transcending national borders. After all, societal issues usually don’t stop at a countries’ borders – why then should good ideas and impactful concepts aimed at solving these issues? For many socially motivated organisations, the goal of disseminating their social impact remains a solemn wish due to lacking experience and know-how of how to plan and conduct systematic scaling.

Ages analysis, trace elements and relative frequencies of foraminifera snd diatoms from sediment cores AvH248260-2 and AvH248260-1, Ameralik Fjord, SW Greenland

A multiproxy record including benthic foraminifera, diatoms and XRF data of a marine sediment core from a SW Greenland fjord provides a detailed reconstruction of the oceanographic and climatic variations of the region during the last 4400 cal. years. The lower part of our record represents the final termination of the Holocene Thermal Maximum. After the onset of the 'Neoglaciation' at approximately 3.2 ka cal. BP, the fjord system was subject to a number of marked hydrographical changes that were closely linked to the general climatic and oceanographic development of the Labrador Sea and the North Atlantic region. Our data show that increased advection of Atlantic water (Irminger Sea Water) from the West Greenland Current into the Labrador Sea was a typical feature of Northeast Atlantic cooling episodes such as the 'Little Ice Age' and the 'European Dark Ages', while the advection of Irminger Sea Water decreased significantly during warm episodes such as the 'Mediaeval Warm Period' and the 'Roman Warm Period'.Whereas the 'Mediaeval Warm Period' was characterized by relatively cool climate as suggested by low meltwater production, the preceding 'Dark Ages' display higher meltwater runoff and consequently warmer climate. When compared with European climate, these regional climate anomalies indicate persisting patterns of advection of colder, respectively warmer air masses in the study region during these periods and thus a long-term seesaw climate pattern between West Greenland and Europe.

National-Regional Impact Evaluation System : structure, performance, and application of a bottom-up interregional econometric model /

At head of title: NRIES.

Pore size distribution analysis of activated carbons: Application of density functional theory using nongraphitized carbon black as a reference system

The application of nonlocal density functional theory (NLDFT) to determine pore size distribution (PSD) of activated carbons using a nongraphitized carbon black, instead of graphitized thermal carbon black, as a reference system is explored. We show that in this case nitrogen and argon adsorption isotherms in activated carbons are precisely correlated by the theory, and such an excellent correlation would never be possible if the pore wall surface was assumed to be identical to that of graphitized carbon black. It suggests that pore wall surfaces of activated carbon are closer to that of amorphous solids because of defects of crystalline lattice, finite pore length, and the presence of active centers.. etc. Application of the NLDFT adapted to amorphous solids resulted in quantitative description of N-2 and Ar adsorption isotherms on nongraphitized carbon black BP280 at their respective boiling points. In the present paper we determined solid-fluid potentials from experimental adsorption isotherms on nongraphitized carbon black and subsequently used those potentials to model adsorption in slit pores and generate a corresponding set of local isotherms, which we used to determine the PSD functions of different activated carbons. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of line x environment interactions for yield in navy beans. 2. Pattern analysis of lines and environment within years

Seven years of multi-environment yield trials of navy bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) grown in Queensland were examined. As is common with plant breeding evaluation trials, test entries and locations varied between years. Grain yield data were analysed for each year using cluster and ordination analyses (pattern analyses). These methods facilitate descriptions of genotype performance across environments and the discrimination among genotypes provided by the environments. The observed trends for genotypic yield performance across environments were partly consistent with agronomic and disease reactions at specific environments and also partly explainable by breeding and selection history. In some cases, similarities in discrimination among environments were related to geographic proximity, in others management practices, and in others similarities occurred between geographically widely separated environments which differed in management practices. One location was identified as having atypical line discrimination. The analysis indicated that the number of test locations was below requirements for adequate representation of line x environment interaction. The pattern analyses methods used were an effective aid in describing the patterns in data for each year and illustrated the variations in adaptive patterns from year to year. The study has implications for assessing the number and location of test sites for plant breeding multi-environment trials, and for the understanding of genetic traits contributing to line x environment interactions.

A Correlation Analysis on LSA and HAL Semantic Space Models

In this paper, we compare a well-known semantic spacemodel, Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA) with another model, Hyperspace Analogue to Language (HAL) which is widely used in different area, especially in automatic query refinement. We conduct this comparative analysis to prove our hypothesis that with respect to ability of extracting the lexical information from a corpus of text, LSA is quite similar to HAL. We regard HAL and LSA as black boxes. Through a Pearsonrsquos correlation analysis to the outputs of these two black boxes, we conclude that LSA highly co-relates with HAL and thus there is a justification that LSA and HAL can potentially play a similar role in the area of facilitating automatic query refinement. This paper evaluates LSA in a new application area and contributes an effective way to compare different semantic space models.

Probing three-way interactions in moderated multiple regression:Development and application of a slope difference test

Researchers often use 3-way interactions in moderated multiple regression analysis to test the joint effect of 3 independent variables on a dependent variable. However, further probing of significant interaction terms varies considerably and is sometimes error prone. The authors developed a significance test for slope differences in 3-way interactions and illustrate its importance for testing psychological hypotheses. Monte Carlo simulations revealed that sample size, magnitude of the slope difference, and data reliability affected test power. Application of the test to published data yielded detection of some slope differences that were undetected by alternative probing techniques and led to changes of results and conclusions. The authors conclude by discussing the test's applicability for psychological research. Copyright 2006 by the American Psychological Association.

Strategic group theory:review, examination and application in the UK pharmaceutical industry

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to consider the current status of strategic group theory in the light of developments over the last three decades. and then to discuss the continuing value of the concept, both to strategic management research and practising managers. Design/methodology/approach – Critical review of the idea of strategic groups together with a practical strategic mapping illustration. Findings – Strategic group theory still provides a useful approach for management research, which allows a detailed appraisal and comparison of company strategies within an industry. Research limitations/ implications – Strategic group research would undoubtedly benefit from more directly comparable, industry-specific studies, with a more careful focus on variable selection and the statistical methods used for validation. Future studies should aim to build sets of industry specific variables that describe strategic choice within that industry. The statistical methods used to identify strategic groupings need to be robust to ensure that strategic groups are not solely an artefact of method. Practical implications – The paper looks specifically at an application of strategic group theory in the UK pharmaceutical industry. The practical benefits of strategic groups as a classification system and of strategic mapping as a strategy development and analysis tool are discussed. Originality/value – The review of strategic group theory alongside alternative taxonomies and application of the concept to the UK pharmaceutical industry.