Removable Thin Films used for the Abatement and Mitigation of Beryllium

The use of removable thin films for the abatement of hazardous particulates has many advantages. Removable thin films are designed to trap and fix particulates in the film's matrix by adhesion. Thin films can be applied to an existing contaminated area to fix and capture the particulates for removal. The nature of the removable thin films, after sufficient cure time, is such that it can typically be removed as one continuous entity. The removable thin films can be applied to almost any surface type with a high success rate of removal

Rescue leadless pacemaker implantation in a pacemaker-dependent patient with congenital heart disease and no alternative routes for pacing

Congenital heart disease patients are considered a unique group of patients regarding their high risk of conduction abnormalities, whether de novo or surgically induced, and the challenges in both implantation and management of device related complications. We present a case of a pacemaker-dependent patient with congenital heart disease who experienced complications of both previous epicardial and transvenous pacing which rendered her a non-suitable candidate of both routes

Maternal Risk of Breeding Failure Remained Low throughout the Demographic Transitions in Fertility and Age at First Reproduction in Finland

Radical declines in fertility and postponement of first reproduction during the recent human demographic transitions have posed a challenge to interpreting human behaviour in evolutionary terms. This challenge has stemmed from insufficient evolutionary insight into individual reproductive decision-making and the rarity of datasets recording individual long-term reproductive success throughout the transitions. We use such data from about 2,000 Finnish mothers (first births: 1880s to 1970s) to show that changes in the maternal risk of breeding failure (no offspring raised to adulthood) underlay shifts in both fertility and first reproduction. With steady improvements in offspring survival, the expected fertility required to satisfy a low risk of breeding failure became lower and observed maternal fertility subsequently declined through an earlier age at last reproduction. Postponement of the age at first reproduction began when this risk approximated zero–even for mothers starting reproduction late. Interestingly, despite vastly differing fertility rates at different stages of the transitions, the number of offspring successfully raised to breeding per mother remained relatively constant over the period. Our results stress the importance of assessing the long-term success of reproductive strategies by including measures of offspring quality and suggest that avoidance of breeding failure may explain several key features of recent life-history shifts in industrialized societies

Altruism and sacrifice : mafia free gift giving in south Italy

As a social phenomenon that torments modern states, mafia receives considerable political and legal attention. The term mafia itself is often directly related to criminality and violence. Thus far violence has been employed as an analytical construct that could explain compliance with the mafia ethos. Nevertheless this schema fails to take into consideration possible discourses that make mafia tolerable. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Reggio Calabria, South Italy, this paper explores distinctive mafia notions of giving and charity. Mafia free gifts, albeit rare, are paradoxical in the sense that through elaborate speech registers both the donor and the recipient debase the very act of gift-giving so as not to be bound in relations of reciprocity and obligation. These mafia gifts, which have so far escaped anthropological attention, are conceptualised as tropes of worldly imagining aspiring to non-worldly discourses. Status, umiltà, duty and sacrifice frame free gifting as accorded to the overt religious rhetoric of mafia hierarchy. In this paper I argue that a) free gifting embraces a series of complex non-violent discourses which relate closely to religious duty and altruism but work alongside capitalist systems b) in principal these gifts do not bind people, yet are imbued with the potential of a relation.PostprintPeer reviewe

Cork : properties, capabilities and applications

Cork is a natural, renewable, sustainable raw material that has been used for many centuries. As a result of this very long term interest, the scientific literature on cork is extensive. The present review focuses on the chemical composition, physical and mechanical properties of cork and on its products and sub-products. The substantial efforts to fully characterise cork, as well as new developments and evolving research, are reviewed, beginning with its histology, growth and morphology (at macro- and microscales). The chemical structure is analysed in detail, covering both the materials that form the wall structure and the low molecular weight, extractable components. The unique properties of cork are discussed and correlated with current knowledge on morphology and chemical structure. Finally, the important industrial applications of cork are reviewed, in the context of research to provide cork with novel, high added-value applications

Heliostat cost reduction study.

Power towers are capable of producing solar-generated electricity and hydrogen on a large scale. Heliostats are the most important cost element of a solar power tower plant. Since they constitute {approx} 50% of the capital cost of the plant it is important to reduce heliostat cost as much as possible to improve the economic performance of power towers. In this study we evaluate current heliostat technology and estimate a price of $126/m{sup 2} given year-2006 materials and labor costs for a deployment of {approx}600 MW of power towers per year. This 2006 price yields electricity at$0.067/kWh and hydrogen at $3.20/kg. We propose research and development that should ultimately lead to a price as low as$90/m{sup 2}, which equates to $0.056/kWh and$2.75/kg H{sup 2}. Approximately 30 heliostat and manufacturing experts from the United States, Europe, and Australia contributed to the content of this report during two separate workshops conducted at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility

Maternal Environment Influences Cocaine Intake in Adulthood in a Genotype-Dependent Manner

Background: Accumulating epidemiological evidence points to the role of genetic background as a modulator of the capacity of adverse early experiences to give rise to mental illness. However, direct evidence of such gene-environment interaction in the context of substance abuse is scarce. In the present study we investigated whether the impact of early life experiences on cocaine intake in adulthood depends on genetic background. In addition, we studied other behavioral dimensions associated with drug abuse, i.e. anxiety- and depression-related behaviors. Methodology/Principal Findings: For this purpose, we manipulated the maternal environment of two inbred mouse strains, the C57BL/6J and DBA/2J by fostering them with non-related mothers, i.e. the C3H/HeN and AKR strains. These mother strains show respectively high and low pup-oriented behavior. As adults, C57BL/6J and DBA/2J were tested either for cocaine intravenous self-administration or in the elevated plus-maze and forced swim test (FST). We found that the impact of maternal environment on cocaine use and a depression-related behavior depends upon genotype, as cocaine self-administration and behavior in the FST were influenced by maternal environment in DBA/2J, but not in C57BL/6J mice. Anxiety was not influenced by maternal environment in either strain. Conclusions/Significance: Our experimental approach could contribute to the identification of the psychobiological factor