CH‚́ emissions from a West Siberian mire

Tiivistelmä: Metaanivuo länsi-siperialaiselta suolta

Cardiovascular effects in patrol officers are associated with fine particulate matter from brake wear and engine emissions

Background: Exposure to fine particulate matter air pollutants (PM2.5) affects heart rate variability parameters, and levels of serum proteins associated with inflammation, hemostasis and thrombosis. This study investigated sources potentially responsible for cardiovascular and hematological effects in highway patrol troopers. Results: Nine healthy young non-smoking male troopers working from 3 PM to midnight were studied on four consecutive days during their shift and the following night. Sources of in-vehicle PM2.5 were identified with variance-maximizing rotational principal factor analysis of PM2.5-components and associated pollutants. Two source models were calculated. Sources of in-vehicle PM2.5 identified were 1) crustal material, 2) wear of steel automotive components, 3) gasoline combustion, 4) speed-changing traffic with engine emissions and brake wear. In one model, sources 1 and 2 collapsed to a single source. Source factors scores were compared to cardiac and blood parameters measured ten and fifteen hours, respectively, after each shift. The "speed-change" factor was significantly associated with mean heart cycle length (MCL, +7% per standard deviation increase in the factor score), heart rate variability (+16%), supraventricular ectopic beats (+39%), % neutrophils (+7%), % lymphocytes (-10%), red blood cell volume MCV (+1%), von Willebrand Factor (+9%), blood urea nitrogen (+7%), and protein C (-11%). The "crustal" factor (but not the "collapsed" source) was associated with MCL (+3%) and serum uric acid concentrations (+5%). Controlling for potential confounders had little influence on the effect estimates. Conclusion: PM2.5 originating from speed-changing traffic modulates the autonomic control of the heart rhythm, increases the frequency of premature supraventricular beats and elicits proinflammatory and pro-thrombotic responses in healthy young men. [Authors]

Non-contact microdrilling of mouse zona pellucida with an objective-delivered 1.48-microns diode laser.

BACKGROUND and OBJECTIVE: A non-touch laser-induced microdrilling procedure is studied on mouse zona pellucida (ZP). STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS and METHODS: A 1.48-microns diode laser beam is focused in a 8-microns spot through a 45x objective of an inverted microscope. Mouse zygotes, suspended in a culture medium, are microdrilled by exposing their ZP to a short laser irradiation and allowed to develop in vitro. RESULTS: Various sharp-edged holes can be generated in the ZP with a single laser irradiation. Sizes can be varied by changing irradiation time (3-100 ms) or laser power (22-55 mW). Drilled zygotes present no signs of thermal damage under light and scanning electron microscopy and develop as expected in vitro, except for a distinct eight-shaped hatching behavior. CONCLUSION: The microdrilling procedure can generate standardized holes in mouse ZP, without any visible side effects. The hole formation can be explained by a local photothermolysis of the protein matrix.

Traitement au laser des trous maculaires [Laser treatment of macular holes]

OBJECTIVE: To study a new technic of laser treatment of macular holes. METHODS: 21 eyes with stage II-IV macular hole were treated with Argon-green laser. Pigment epithelium in the area of the hole was whitened with spots of 100-200 microns, 100-300 mW. We expected this treatment to create a cellular proliferation that could close and contract the hole. Follow-up after treatment ranged from 3 to 24 months (mean: 9.3 months). RESULTS: Within one month after treatment, the macular hole was closed in 7 eyes (33%) and partially closed in 5 eyes (24%). The visual acuity increased from 1 to 5 lignes (ETDRS chart) in 9 eyes (43%), it remained the same in 9 eyes (43%) and decreased from 1 to 2 lignes in 3 eyes (14%). CONCLUSION: Laser treatment of macular holes seems to be effective and could be proposed as an alternative to the patients who cannot be operated on by vitrectomy and gas tamponade.

Correlation of the Roughometer to the High-Speed Laser Profiler, MLR-97-7, 1997

The Iowa Department of Transportation has been using the Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) Roughometer as part of its detour analysis process for more than 20 years. Advances in technology have made the BPR Roughometer obsolete for ride quality testing. High-speed profilers that can collect the profile of the road at highway speeds are the standard ride instruments for determining ride quality on pavements. The objective of the project was to develop a correlation between the BPR Roughometer and the high-speed laser South Dakota type Profiler (SD Profiler). Nineteen pavement sections were chosen to represent the range of types and conditions for detours. Three computer simulation models were tested on the profiler profiles. The first model is the International Ride Index (IRI) which is considered the standard index for reporting ride quality in the United States. The second model is the Ride Number (RN) developed by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute and the third model used is a quarter-car simulation of the BPR Roughometer (ASTM E-1170) which should match the speed and range of roadway features experienced by Iowa's BPR Roughometer Unit. The BPR Roughometer quarter-car model provided the best overall correlation with Iowa's BPR Roughometer.

Aplicaciones del laser de baja potencia en odontologia

La utilización de la tecnología láser en Odontología ha tenido una constante evolución y desarrollo. Con este trabajo se pretende hacer una actualización desde un punto de vista crítico, científico y objetivo de los avances y aplicaciones que se han publicado sobre el láser de baja potencia en el ámbito de cada una de las especialidades odontológicas. Asimismo, se exponen sus características, las normas de seguridad necesarias para su utilización, sus efectos secundarios y sus contraindicaciones.

Aplicaciones del laser de diodo en odontologia

El láser de diodo tiene numerosas aplicaciones en la especialidad de Cirugía Bucal siendo utilizado preferentemente para realizar intervenciones quirúrgicas sobre los tejidos blandos siempre que no impliquen un excesivo sangrado. En Endodoncia, Implantología Bucofacial y Periodoncia se emplea por su importante efecto bactericida. También se utiliza en procedimientos de blanqueamiento dentario. Es importante controlar adecuadamente el tiempo de aplicación y la potencia de trabajo para evitar el sobrecalentamiento de los tejidos vecinos, lo que produciría su necrosis. Siempre que se utilice el láser de diodo se debe efectuar la protección ocular recomendada tanto para el profesional, sus ayudantes y personal auxiliar, como para el paciente.

Aplicaciones del laser de CO2 en odontologia

La incorporación de las nuevas tecnologías en las ciencias de la salud es, hoy en día, una realidad, ante la cual los profesionales sanitarios deben estar preparados. La tecnología láser ofrece numerosas ventajas en casi la totalidad de las especialidades odontológicas. De la amplia gama de láseres disponibles, el láser de CO2 destaca por sus aplicaciones en el ámbito de la cirugía bucal, especialmente en la cirugía de los tejidos blandos, aunque su uso también ha sido estudiado en otras disciplinas como la odontología conservadora y la endodoncia. Su uso no está exento de riesgos, y el odontólogo especializado en cirugía bucal debe poseer los conocimientos y las habilidades pertinentes para su utilización. Las características del láser de CO2 permiten una cirugía rápida y cómoda para el profesional y unas molestias postoperatorias mínimas para el paciente.

Measuring the diurnal pattern of leaf hyponasty and growth in Arabidopsis - a novel phenotyping approach using laser scanning

Plants forming a rosette during their juvenile growth phase, such as Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh., are able to adjust the size, position and orientation of their leaves. These growth responses are under the control of the plants circadian clock and follow a characteristic diurnal rhythm. For instance, increased leaf elongation and hyponasty - defined here as the increase in leaf elevation angle - can be observed when plants are shaded. Shading can either be caused by a decrease in the fluence rate of photosynthetically active radiation (direct shade) or a decrease in the fluence rate of red compared with far-red radiation (neighbour detection). In this paper we report on a phenotyping approach based on laser scanning to measure the diurnal pattern of leaf hyponasty and increase in rosette size. In short days, leaves showed constitutively increased leaf elevation angles compared with long days, but the overall diurnal pattern and the magnitude of up and downward leaf movement was independent of daylength. Shade treatment led to elevated leaf angles during the first day of application, but did not affect the magnitude of up and downward leaf movement in the following day. Using our phenotyping device, individual plants can be non-invasively monitored during several days under different light conditions. Hence, it represents a proper tool to phenotype light- and circadian clock-mediated growth responses in order to better understand the underlying regulatory genetic network.

International Equity on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and World Levels: an integrated analysis through distributive welfare indices

Up until now, analyses of the international distribution of pollutant emissions have not paid sufficient attention to the implications that, in terms of social welfare, the combined evolution of the global world average entails. In this context, this paper proposes the use of environmental welfare indices, taken and adapted from the literature on social welfare and inequality, in order to make a comprehensive examination of the international equity factor and the mean factor in this field. The proposed methodology is implemented empirically in order to explore the evolution in distributive-based environmental welfare on a global level for the three main pollutants with greenhouse gas effects: CO2, CH4 and NO, both globally and for selected years during the period of 1990- 2005. The main results found are as follows: firstly, typically, the environmental welfare associated with the overall greenhouse gases decreased significantly over the period, due primarily to the role of CO2; secondly, in contrast, the global welfare associated with CH4 and NO improved; and thirdly, typically, the evolutions can be attributed to a greater extent to the mean component than to the distributive component, although there are exceptions. These results would seem to be relevant in policy terms. JEL codes: D39; Q43; Q56. Keywords: environmental welfare: greenhouse gases; environmental equity.

Empirics of the international inequality in CO2 emissions intensity: explanatory factors according to complementary decomposition methodologies

This paper analyses the international inequalities in CO2 emissions intensity for the period 1971–2009 and assesses explanatory factors. Multiplicative, group and additive methodologies of inequality decomposition are employed. The first allows us to clarify the separated role of the carbonisation index and the energy intensity in the pattern observed for inequalities in CO2 intensities; the second allows us to understand the role of regional groups; and the third allows us to investigate the role of different fossil energy sources (coal, oil and gas). The results show that, first, the reduction in global emissions intensity has coincided with a significant reduction in international inequality. Second, the bulk of this inequality and its reduction are attributed to differences between the groups of countries considered. Third, coal is the main energy source explaining these inequalities, although the growth in the relative contribution of gas is also remarkable. Fourth, the bulk of inequalities between countries and its decline are explained by differences in energy intensities, although there are significant differences in the patterns demonstrated by different groups of countries. JEL codes: D39; Q43; Q56. Key words: CO2 international distribution, inequality decomposition, CO2 emissions intensity

Laser scanning evaluation of atrophy after autologous free muscle transfer.

Denervated muscle tissue undergoes morphologic changes that result in atrophy. The amount of muscle atrophy after denervation following free muscle transfer has not been measured so far. Therefore, the amount of muscle atrophy in human free muscle transfer for lower extremity reconstruction was measured in a series of 10 patients. Three-dimensional laser surface scanning was used to measure flap volume changes 2 weeks as well as 6 and 12 months after the operation. None of the muscles transferred was re-innervated.All muscles healed uneventfully without signs of compromised perfusion resulting in partial flap loss. The muscle volume decreased to 30 ± 4% and 19 ± 4% 6 and 12 months, respectively, after the operation, ie, the volume decreased by approximately 80% within a 12-month period.Denervated free muscle flap tissue undergoes massive atrophy of approximately 80%, mostly within the first 6 months.

The data treatment dependent variability of U-Pb zircon ages obtained using mono-collector, sector field, laser ablation ICP-MS

U-Pb dating of zircons by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) is a widely used analytical technique in Earth Sciences. For U-Pb ages below 1 billion years (1 Ga), Pb-206/U-238 dates are usually used, showing the least bias by external parameters such as the presence of initial lead and its isotopic composition in the analysed mineral. Precision and accuracy of the Pb/U ratio are thus of highest importance in LA-ICPMS geochronology. We consider the evaluation of the statistical distribution of the sweep intensities based on goodness-of-fit tests in order to find a model probability distribution fitting the data to apply an appropriate formulation for the standard deviation. We then discuss three main methods to calculate the Pb/U intensity ratio and its uncertainty in the LA-ICPMS: (1) ratio-of-the-mean intensities method, (2) mean-of-the-intensity-ratios method and (3) intercept method. These methods apply different functions to the same raw intensity vs. time data to calculate the mean Pb/U intensity ratio. Thus, the calculated intensity ratio and its uncertainty depend on the method applied. We demonstrate that the accuracy and, conditionally, the precision of the ratio-of-the-mean intensities method are invariant to the intensity fluctuations and averaging related to the dwell time selection and off-line data transformation (averaging of several sweeps); we present a statistical approach how to calculate the uncertainty of this method for transient signals. We also show that the accuracy of methods (2) and (3) is influenced by the intensity fluctuations and averaging, and the extent of this influence can amount to tens of percentage points; we show that the uncertainty of these methods also depends on how the signal is averaged. Each of the above methods imposes requirements to the instrumentation. The ratio-of-the-mean intensities method is sufficiently accurate provided the laser induced fractionation between the beginning and the end of the signal is kept low and linear. We show, based on a comprehensive series of analyses with different ablation pit sizes, energy densities and repetition rates for a 193 nm ns-ablation system that such a fractionation behaviour requires using a low ablation speed (low energy density and low repetition rate). Overall, we conclude that the ratio-of-the-mean intensities method combined with low sampling rates is the most mathematically accurate among the existing data treatment methods for U-Pb zircon dating by sensitive sector field ICPMS.

Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry: A tool to predict pork quality

Expression of water soluble proteins of fresh pork Longissimus thoracis from 4 pure breed pigs (Duroc, Large White, Landrace, and Piétrain) was studied to identify candidate protein markers for meat quality. Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) was used to obtain the soluble protein profiles of Longissimus thoracis muscles. The pure breeds showed differences among the studied meat quality traits (pHu, drip loss, androstenone, marbling, intramuscular fat, texture, and moisture), but no significant differences were detected in sensory analysis. Associations between protein peaks obtained with SELDI-TOF-MS and meat quality traits, mainly water holding capacity, texture and skatole were observed. Of these peaks, a total of 10 peaks from CM10 array and 6 peaks from Q10 array were candidate soluble protein markers for pork loin quality. The developed models explained a limited proportion of the variability, however they point out interesting relationships between protein expression and meat quality

Monitoring and failure mechanism interpretation of an unstable slope in Southern Switzerland based on terrestrial laser scanner

We present the application of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for the monitoring and characterization of an active landslide area in Val Canaria (Ticino, Southern Swiss Alps). At catchment scale, the study area is affected by a large Deep Seated Gravitational Slope Deformation (DSGSD) area presenting, in the lower boundary, several retrogressive landslides active since the 1990s. Due to its frequent landslide events this area was periodically monitored by TLS since 2006. Periodic acquisitions provided new information on 3D displacements at the bottom of slope and the detection of centimetre to decimetre level scale changes (e.g. rockfall and pre-failure deformations). In October 2009, a major slope collapse occured at the bottom of the most unstable area. Based on the comparison between TLS data before and after the collapse, we carried out a detailed failure mechanism analysis and volume calculation.