Experimental Study of the Brittle Behavior of Clay shale in Rapid Unconfined Compression

The mechanical behavior of clay shales is of great interest in many branches of geo-engineering, including nuclear waste disposal, underground excavations, and deep well drilling. Observations from test galleries (Mont Terri, Switzerland and Bure, France) in these materials have shown that the rock mass response near the excavation is associated with brittle failure processes combined with bedding parallel shearing. To investigate the brittle failure characteristics of the Opalinus Clay recovered from the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory, a series of 19 unconfined uniaxial compression tests were performed utilizing servo-controlled testing procedures. All specimens were tested at their natural water content with loading approximately normal to the bedding. Acoustic emission (AE) measurements were utilized to help quantify stress levels associated with crack initiation and propagation. The unconfined compression strength of the tested specimens averaged 6.9MPa. The crack initiation threshold occurred at approximately 30% of the rupture stress based on analyzing both the acoustic emission measurements and the stress-strain behavior. The crack damage threshold showed large variability and occurred at approximately 70% of the rupture stres

Equine recurrent uveitis - A spontaneous horse model of uveitis

Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is an autoimmune disease that occurs with a high prevalence (10%) in horses. ERU represents the only reliable spontaneous model for human autoimmune uveitis. We already identified and characterized novel autoantigens (malate dehydrogenase, recoverin, CRALBP) by analyzing the autoantibody-binding pattern of horses affected by spontaneous recurrent uveitis (ERU) to the retinal proteome. CRALBP also seems to be relevant to human autoimmune uveitis. Proteomic screening of vitreous and retinal samples from ERU diseased cases in comparison to healthy controls has led to the identification of a series of differentially regulated proteins, which are functionally linked to the immune system and the maintenance of the blood-retinal barrier. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel

CRALBP is a Highly Prevalent Autoantigen for Human Autoimmune Uveitis

Cellular retinaldehyde binding protein (CRALBP) is an autoantigen in spontaneous equine recurrent uveitis. In order to test whether CRALBP contributes to human autoimmune uveitis, the specificity of antibodies from human uveitis patient's sera was first evaluated in two-dimensional (2D) Western blot analysis. Subsequent identification of the immunoreactive proteins by mass spectrometry resulted in the identification of CRALBP as a putative autoantigen. Additionally, sera from human uveitis and control patients were by Western blot using purified human recombinant CRALBP. Anti-CRALBP autoantibodies occur more frequently (P<.01) in human uveitis patients than in normal controls. Thirty out of 56 tested uveitis patient's sera contained autoantibodies reactive against CRALBP, compared to only four out of 23 normal control subjects. The presence of CRALBP autoantibodies in 54% of tested uveitis patients supports CRALBP as a possible autoantigen in human autoimmune uveitis

Cellular actors, Toll-like receptors, and local cytokine profile in acute coronary syndromes

Aims Inflammation plays a key role in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Toll-like receptors (TLR) on leucocytes mediate inflammation and immune responses. We characterized leucocytes and TLR expression within coronary thrombi and compared cytokine levels from the site of coronary occlusion with aortic blood (AB) in ACS patients. Methods and results In 18 ACS patients, thrombi were collected by aspiration during primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Thrombi and AB from these patients as well as AB from 10 age-matched controls without coronary artery disease were assessed by FACS analysis for cellular distribution and TLR expression. For further discrimination of ACS specificity, seven non-coronary intravascular thrombi and eight thrombi generated in vitro were analysed. In 17 additional patients, cytokine levels were determined in blood samples from the site of coronary occlusion under distal occlusion and compared with AB. In coronary thrombi from ACS, the percentage of monocytes related to the total leucocyte count was greater than in AB (47 vs. 20%, P = 0.0002). In thrombi, TLR-4 and TLR-2 were overexpressed on CD14-labelled monocytes, and TLR-2 was increased on CD66b-labelled granulocytes, in comparison with leucocytes in AB. In contrast, in vitro and non-coronary thrombi exhibited no overexpression of TLR-4. Local blood samples taken under distal occlusion revealed elevated concentrations of chemokines (IL-8, MCP-1, eotaxin, MIP-1α, and IP-10) and cytokines (IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-7, IL-12, IL-17, IFN-α, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) regulating both innate and adaptive immunity (all P < 0.05). Conclusion In ACS patients, monocytes accumulate within thrombi and specifically overexpress TLR-4. Together with the local expression patterns of chemokines and cytokines, the increase of TLR-4 reflects a concerted activation of this inflammatory pathway at the site of coronary occlusion in AC

The marker quantification of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 2: A middle-of-the-road scenario for the 21st century

AbstractStudies of global environmental change make extensive use of scenarios to explore how the future can evolve under a consistent set of assumptions. The recently developed Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) create a framework for the study of climate-related scenario outcomes. Their five narratives span a wide range of worlds that vary in their challenges for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Here we provide background on the quantification that has been selected to serve as the reference, or ‘marker’, implementation for SSP2. The SSP2 narrative describes a middle-of-the-road development in the mitigation and adaptation challenges space. We explain how the narrative has been translated into quantitative assumptions in the IIASA Integrated Assessment Modelling Framework. We show that our SSP2 marker implementation occupies a central position for key metrics along the mitigation and adaptation challenge dimensions. For many dimensions the SSP2 marker implementation also reflects an extension of the historical experience, particularly in terms of carbon and energy intensity improvements in its baseline. This leads to a steady emissions increase over the 21st century, with projected end-of-century warming nearing 4°C relative to preindustrial levels. On the other hand, SSP2 also shows that global-mean temperature increase can be limited to below 2°C, pending stringent climate policies throughout the world. The added value of the SSP2 marker implementation for the wider scientific community is that it can serve as a starting point to further explore integrated solutions for achieving multiple societal objectives in light of the climate adaptation and mitigation challenges that society could face over the 21st century

Stoffbilanzmodellierung für Spurenstoffe auf Einzugsgebietsebene

Stand: 28. Juli 202036

Occurrence and levels of micropollutants across environmental and engineered compartments in Austria

Occurrence and concentration of a broad spectrum of micropollutants are investigated in Austrian river catchments, namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organotin compounds, perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and metals. The parallel analysis across multiple environmental and engineered compartments sheds light on the ratio of dissolved and particulate transport and on differences in concentration levels between point and diffuse emission pathways. It is found that some PAHs and organotins are present in rivers, groundwater and bulk deposition at higher concentrations than in municipal wastewater effluents. Among PFAAs and metals, highest concentrations were recorded either in atmospheric deposition or in discharges from wastewater treatment plants. The relevance of the analysis across compartments is best shown by the case of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). Despite municipal wastewater effluents being the emission pathway with highest concentrations, this study reveals that not only rivers, but also atmospheric deposition and groundwater sometimes exceed the environmental quality standard for surface waters. Moreover, this work reveals partially counterintuitive patterns. In rivers with treated wastewater discharges, increasing levels of dissolved compounds were measured at rising flow conditions, whereas the opposite would be expected owing to the dilution effect. This might derive from the mobilisation from soil or suspended particulate matter or rather find its explanation in high concentrations in atmospheric deposition. These hypotheses require however being tested through targeted studies. Additional future research includes the analysis of how regional or catchment specific characteristics might alter the relative importance of different emission pathways, and the modelling of emission and river loads to assess their relative contribution to river pollution.Federal Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT)6366531

Laser spectroscopy for breath analysis : towards clinical implementation

Detection and analysis of volatile compounds in exhaled breath represents an attractive tool for monitoring the metabolic status of a patient and disease diagnosis, since it is non-invasive and fast. Numerous studies have already demonstrated the benefit of breath analysis in clinical settings/applications and encouraged multidisciplinary research to reveal new insights regarding the origins, pathways, and pathophysiological roles of breath components. Many breath analysis methods are currently available to help explore these directions, ranging from mass spectrometry to laser-based spectroscopy and sensor arrays. This review presents an update of the current status of optical methods, using near and mid-infrared sources, for clinical breath gas analysis over the last decade and describes recent technological developments and their applications. The review includes: tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy, cavity ring-down spectroscopy, integrated cavity output spectroscopy, cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy, photoacoustic spectroscopy, quartz-enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy, and optical frequency comb spectroscopy. A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) is presented that describes the laser-based techniques within the clinical framework of breath research and their appealing features for clinical use.Peer reviewe