4-(3-Azaniumylpropyl)morpholin-4-ium chloride hydrogen oxalate: An unusual example of a dication with different counter-anions

© 2014 International Union of Crystallography. The mixed organic-inorganic title salt, C7H18N2O2+·C2HO4-·Cl-, forms an assembly of ionic components which are stabilized through a series of hydrogen bonds and charge-assisted intermolecular interactions. The title assembly crystallizes in the monoclinic C2/c space group with Z = 8. The asymmetric unit consists of a 4-(3-azaniumylpropyl)morpholin-4-ium dication, a hydrogen oxalate counter-anion and an inorganic chloride counter-anion. The organic cations and anions are connected through a network of N - H⋯O, O - H⋯O and C - H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming several intermolecular rings that can be described by the graph-set notations R33(13), R21(5), R12(5), R21(6), R23(6), R22(8) and R33(9). The 4-(3-azaniumylpropyl)morpholin-4-ium dications are interconnected through N - H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming C(9) chains that run diagonally along the ab face. Furthermore, the hydrogen oxalate anions are interconnected via O - H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming head-to-tail C(5) chains along the crystallographic b axis. The two types of chains are linked through additional N - H⋯O and O - H⋯O hydrogen bonds, and the hydrogen oxalate chains are sandwiched by the 4-(3-azaniumylpropyl)morpholin-4-ium chains, forming organic layers that are separated by the chloride anions. Finally, the layered three-dimensional structure is stabilized via intermolecular N - H⋯Cl and C - H⋯Cl interactions

Effects of formalin fixation on polarimetric properties of brain tissue: fresh or fixed?

Imaging Mueller polarimetry (IMP) appears as a promising technique for real-time delineation of healthy and neoplastic tissue during neurosurgery. The training of machine learning algorithms used for the image post-processing requires large data sets typically derived from the measurements of formalin-fixed brain sections. However, the success of the transfer of such algorithms from fixed to fresh brain tissue depends on the degree of alterations of polarimetric properties induced by formalin fixation (FF). Comprehensive studies were performed on the FF induced changes in fresh pig brain tissue polarimetric properties. Polarimetric properties of pig brain were assessed in 30 coronal thick sections before and after FF using a wide-field IMP system. The width of the uncertainty region between gray and white matter was also estimated. The depolarization increased by 5% in gray matter and remained constant in white matter following FF, whereas the linear retardance decreased by 27% in gray matter and by 28% in white matter after FF. The visual contrast between gray and white matter and fiber tracking remained preserved after FF. Tissue shrinkage induced by FF did not have a significant effect on the uncertainty region width. Similar polarimetric properties were observed in both fresh and fixed brain tissues, indicating a high potential for transfer learning

Cério: propriedades catalíticas, aplicações tecnológicas e ambientais

Cerium based-compounds have great importance in a wide range of technological applications, such as: fuel cell devices development; metallurgic processes, petroleum refining; glass and ceramic production. Recently, its catalytic properties have been also explored for environmental applications, especially those to prevent or to control atmospheric and water pollution. Subjects covered in this work include a brief description of the fundaments of cerium catalytic properties and some relevant technological applications. Special attention is given to its photocatalytic activity and its ability to degrade pollutants. Recent results and future prospect about these applications are also evaluated

Prime beef cuts : culinary images for thinking 'men'

The paper contributes to scholarship theorising the sociality of the brand in terms of subject positions it makes possible through drawing upon the generative context of circulating discourses, in this case of masculinity, cuisine and celebrity. Specifically, it discusses masculinity as a socially constructed gender practice (Bristor and Fischer, 1993), examining materialisations of such practice in the form of visualisations of social relations as resources for 'thinking gender' or 'doing gender'. The transformative potential of the visualisations is illuminated by exploring the narrative content choreographed within a series of photographic images positioning the market appeal of a celebrity chef through the medium of a contemporary lifestyle cookery book. We consider how images of men 'doing masculinity'are not only channelled into reproducing existing gender hierarchy and compulsory heterosexuality in the service of commercial ends, but also into disrupting such enduring stereotyping through subtle reframing. We acknowledge that masculinity is already inscribed within conventionalised representations of culinary culture. In this case we consider how traces of masculinity are exploited and reinscribed through contemporary images that generate resources for rethinking masculine roles and identities, especially when viewed through the lens of stereotypically feminised pursuits such as shopping, food preparation, cooking, and the communal intimacy of food sharing. We identify unsettling tensions within the compositions, arguing that they relate to discursive spaces between the gendered positions written into the images and the popular imagination they feed off. Set against landscapes of culinary culture, we argue that the images invoke a brand of naively roughish "laddishness" or "blokishness", rendering it in domesticated form not only as benign and containable, but fashionable, pliable and, importantly, desirable. We conclude that although the images draw on stereotypical premeditated notions of a feral, boisterous and untamed heterosexual masculinity, they also set in motion gender-blending narratives

Task design for audiographic conferencing: promoting beginner oral interaction in distance language learning

This paper presents the challenges involved in designing a full set of online tutorial materials for a beginners' Spanish course for distance language learners utilising an online audiographic conferencing VLE for synchronous oral interaction. Although much has been written about task design and task-based learning and teaching (TBLT) in language learning (Johnson, 2003; Klapper, 2003; Ellis, 2000; Nunan, 1989, among others), the shift to an audiographic Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) medium presents a number of challenges to task design which are only just beginning to be documented (Hampel 2003, Hampel & Baber 2003, Hampel & Hauck 2004). Here we will discuss what the challenges are for the design and implementation of activities suited to the development of oral skills in a foreign language in such an environment in the light of current theories of SLA (Skehan, 2003; Doughty & Long, 2003; Doughty, 2000; Long, 1996), task design, and CALL (Warschauer, 1997; Chapelle 1998) and how those challenges were met for the production of a full set of materials for a beginners' Spanish distance learning course at the Open University using a tool that had been deemed unsuitable for that level (Kötter, 2001). We will also present the findings of the developmental testing of a sample of these activities and recommend a model for tasks in an audiographic VLE to promote oral interaction at beginner level

Optimization viewpoint on Kalman smoothing, with applications to robust and sparse estimation

In this paper, we present the optimization formulation of the Kalman filtering and smoothing problems, and use this perspective to develop a variety of extensions and applications. We first formulate classic Kalman smoothing as a least squares problem, highlight special structure, and show that the classic filtering and smoothing algorithms are equivalent to a particular algorithm for solving this problem. Once this equivalence is established, we present extensions of Kalman smoothing to systems with nonlinear process and measurement models, systems with linear and nonlinear inequality constraints, systems with outliers in the measurements or sudden changes in the state, and systems where the sparsity of the state sequence must be accounted for. All extensions preserve the computational efficiency of the classic algorithms, and most of the extensions are illustrated with numerical examples, which are part of an open source Kalman smoothing Matlab/Octave package.Comment: 46 pages, 11 figure

DNA adducts in human urinary bladder and other tissues.

Tobacco smoking is associated with an increased risk of cancer in a number of organs, including bladder and lung. Tobacco smoke contains at least 50 known chemical carcinogens that exert their biological effects through their covalent binding to cellular DNA. Examining human DNA for the presence of altered nucleotides is a means of monitoring exposure to genotoxic chemicals. DNA isolated from 73 human bladder biopsies has been analyzed by 32P-postlabeling for the presence of aromatic/hydrophobic adducts. Butanol extraction of DNA digests resulted in up to a 3-fold greater recovery of adducts than nuclease P1 digestion. Among 16 nonsmokers, adduct levels were in the range 3.2-20.8/10(8) nucleotides (mean 9.7). Eight ex-smokers had values in the range 2.6-12.3 (mean 7.1). Thirteen smokers had adduct levels between 1.3 and 26.7 adducts/10(8) nucleotides (mean 9.5, not different from nonsmokers). Six cigar smokers had higher levels of adducts (mean 12.1, range 7.3-15.0), but pipe smokers did not (five samples, mean 8.6, range 2.9-12.7). A further 8 samples from nonsmokers and 17 from smokers were examined in more detail. Although most of the DNA binding appears not to be smoking related, the levels of one adduct were found to be on average 2-fold higher in smokers (p < 0.005, one-tailed t test). Studies on tissues of the respiratory tract demonstrate a correlation between DNA adduct levels and exposure to tobacco smoke. Evidence to date on the influence of smoking on adducts in peripheral blood cells is equivocal; some studies demonstrate a significant effect, whereas others do not.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS

Feasibility study to inform the design of a randomised controlled trial to eradicate Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in individuals with Cystic Fibrosis

There are controversies about the most effective treatment to eradicate first growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P aeruginosa) from the lower airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). UK guidelines recommend oral treatment, but some advocate intravenous (IV) treatment. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility of conducting a randomised controlled trial comparing two treatment strategies to eradicate P aeruginosa in CF patients

Ambiguous loss and incomplete abduction narratives in Kosovo

Ten mothers of men and boys who were abducted and listed as missing during the war in Kosovo in 1998/1999 were interviewed in Kosovo in the spring of 2012. Although the missing are presumed dead by the authorities, the mothers continue to live in a state of emotional ambiguity where a presumption of death is balanced with the hope of being reunited. In the absence of absolute proof, finding the remains of their loved ones becomes a major preoccupation. Using a social phenomenological approach, this study explored the social and political complexities existing within the life-world of these women. The findings suggest that they live in a continual state of psychological distress, and even when remains are returned, the unknown elements of the narrative of their abduction and murder only add to their distress and force many into self-imposed emotional exile away from community and close family