A study of chemically modified poly(vinyl butyral)

Poly (vinyl butyral) (PVB) is prepared-by the-acetalisation-of-poly-(vinyl - alcohol) with butanal. Due to the random nature of the reaction, some of the hydoxyl groups are left unreacted. The residual hydroxyl groups greatly influence its solution behaviour leading to aggregate formation in many solvents. A number of modified samples of PVB were prepared by esterification of the hydroxyl groups with butanoic anhydride, benzoic anhydride, trifluroacetic anhydride, phthalic anhydride and succinIcanhydriue: - These modified samples were examined by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and dilute solution viscometry. The degree of modification was determined by chemical determination of the residual hydroxyl groups, by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) or Fourrier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Viscosity measurements showed that modification with non-polar ester groups diminished the degree of aggregate formation in THF while modification. with the cyclic anhydrides showed an increased tendency towards aggregation in THF while the aggregates were efficiently disrupted by methanol. The miscibility of the modified PVB with a polyester, a polyurethane, polyethylenimine and poly (vinyl pyrrolidone) was investigated by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). It was found that samples modified with non-polar. ester groups showed reduced miscibility with these polymers, while samples modified with cyclic anhydrides showed improved miscibility with these polymers and formed macromolecular complexes with polythylenimine and poly (vinyl pyrrolidone). It was concluded that intermolecular hydrogen bonding ~fected the viscosity behaviour of PVB in various sole vents and was the main thermodynamic reason for promoting miscibility with the polymers studied

Peacekeeping after Brexit

A one-day roundtable examining the UK’s relationship with UN peace operations in the context of Brexit was held on 7 September 2018 at RUSI. Organised by the British International Studies Association (BISA) Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Working Group in partnership with RUSI, the roundtable took as its starting point the broader question of the role of multilateral institutions in UK foreign and defence policy after the UK formally leaves the EU, and sought to identify and understand the role of peace operations within the framework of the ‘Global Britain’ agenda.Some 30 delegates from academia and the policy and NGO sectors provided perspectives on how different forms of engagement with UN peace operations could strengthen the UK government’s commitment to supporting a rules-based international system. The roundtable provided an opportunity for more focused policy discussions pertaining to how the UK commits to UN operations, what the commitment should look like, and what opportunities and challenges exist in the varying ways in which the UK can approach UN operations. This conference report captures the key issues and themes discussed by participants

Developing Drinking-Water Quality Regulations and Standards

This document provides practical guidance to support the development or revision of customized national or subnational drinking-water quality regulations and standards.The principles and guidance presented are broadly applicable across countries and contexts, including more resource-limited settings. Supporting examples from both lower- and higher-income countries are included.Drinking-water quality regulations and standards developed or revised in accordance with this guidance will reflect the best practices identified in the WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality to most effectively protect public health. Moreover, the regulations and standards will consider local needs, priorities and capacities to ensure that they are realistic and appropriate. Topics covered include:Guiding principlesGetting startedSelecting parameters and parameter limitsSetting out compliance monitoring requirement

Fingerprint comparison and adversarialism: The scientific and historical evidence

This article suggests that lawyers and courts are largely oblivious to scientific insights regarding the value and limitations of latent fingerprint evidence. It proceeds through a detailed historical analysis of the way fingerprint evidence has been reported and challenged. It compares legal responses with mainstream scientific research. Our analysis shows that fingerprint evidence is routinely equated with categorical proof of identity notwithstanding scientific warnings that such an approach is ‘indefensible’. We find that legal challenges to latent fingerprint evidence have been uniformly focused on adjectival issues (e.g. compliance with enabling legislation), leaving the validity and accuracy of this subjective comparison technique virtually unexamined since its first reception at the very beginning of the twentieth century. Lack of legal engagement with validity, error and scientific research suggest that adversarial procedures have not worked effectively to secure scientifically reliable expert evidence and that legal personnel struggle with elementary scientific reasoning

Peacekeeping after Brexit. RUSI Conference Report, December 2018

A one-day roundtable examining the UK's relationship with UN peace operations in the context of Brexit was held on 7 September 2018 at RUSI. Organised by the British International Studies Association (BISA) Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding Working Group in partnership with RUSI, the roundtable took as its starting point the broader question of the role of multilateral institutions in UK foreign and defence policy after the UK formally leaves the EU, and sought to identify and understand the role of peace operations within the framework of the 'Global Britain' agenda.Some 30 delegates from academia and the policy and NGO sectors provided perspectives on how different forms of engagement with UN peace operations could strengthen the UK government's commitment to supporting a rules-based international system. The roundtable provided an opportunity for more focused policy discussions pertaining to how the UK commits to UN operations, what the commitment should look like, and what opportunities and challenges exist in the varying ways in which the UK can approach UN operations. This conference report captures the key issues and themes discussed by participants

Effect of restricting the legal supply of prescription opioids on buying through online illicit marketplaces: interrupted time series analysis

Objective: To examine the effect on the trade in opioids through online illicit markets (“cryptomarkets”) of the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s ruling in 2014 to reschedule hydrocodone combination products. Design: Interrupted time series analysis. Setting: 31 of the world’s largest cryptomarkets operating from October 2013 to July 2016. Main outcome measures: The proportion of total transactions, advertised and active listings for prescription opioids, prescription sedatives, prescription steroids, prescription stimulants, and illicit opioids, and the composition of the prescription opioid market between the US and elsewhere. Results: The sale of prescription opioids through US cryptomarkets increased after the schedule change, with no statistically significant changes in sales of prescription sedatives, prescription steroids, prescription stimulants, or illicit opioids. In July 2016 sales of opioids through US cryptomarkets represented 13.7% of all drug sales (95% confidence interval 11.5% to 16.0%) compared with a modelled estimate of 6.7% of all sales (3.7% to 9.6%) had the new schedule not been introduced. This corresponds to a 4 percentage point yearly increase in the amount of trade that prescription opioids represent in the US market, set against no corresponding changes for comparable products or for prescription opioids sold outside the US. This change was first observed for sales, and later observed for product availability. There was also a change in the composition of the prescription opioid market: fentanyl was the least purchased product during July to September 2014, then the second most frequently purchased by July 2016. Conclusions: The scheduling change in hydrocodone combination products coincided with a statistically significant, sustained increase in illicit trading of opioids through online US cryptomarkets. These changes were not observed for other drug groups or in other countries. A subsequent move was observed towards the purchase of more potent forms of prescription opioids, particularly oxycodone and fentanyl

The international darknet drugs trade - a regional analysis of cryptomarkets

This chapter presents a descriptive analysis of illicit drug trading conducted via cryptomarkets, ‘eBay’ style marketplaces operating on the darknet (Martin 2014a, 2014b). Over the past seven years, cryptomarkets have emerged as a significant new vector for the retail and delivery of illicit drugs. One of the least understood aspects of cryptomarket-facilitated drug trading concerns the location of vendors who use the darknet to trade illicit drugs across national borders. While previous quantitative papers in this area have noted the locations of vendors selling drugs on cryptomarkets (eg Christin 2013; Soska & Christin 2015), these previous studies have not differentiated between vendors who are prepared to sell drugs to international or domestic-only clientele. The aim of this research is to fill this gap in knowledge and determine which countries are the most active, in terms of both domestic-only and internationally oriented drug vendors, as well as which countries dominate the trade in particular drugs, specifically cannabis, ecstasy-type products, cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids

Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa: Introducing the EAMENA Project

This project uses satellite imagery and historic aerial photographs to discover and interpret archaeological sites. It has created an open access database of archaeological records that provides basic information so that the sites can be better under- stood and preserved in the future. The threats to sites in the Middle East and North Africa are increasing and creating a record of previously unrecorded sites using this methodology may be our the last chance before they are destroyed

Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa: Introducing the EAMENA Project

This project uses satellite imagery and historic aerial photographs to discover and interpret archaeological sites. It has created an open access database of archaeological records that provides basic information so that the sites can be better under- stood and preserved in the future. The threats to sites in the Middle East and North Africa are increasing and creating a record of previously unrecorded sites using this methodology may be our the last chance before they are destroyed