Process of forming catalytic surfaces for wet oxidation reactions

A wet oxidation process was developed for oxidizing waste materials, comprising dissolved ruthenium salt in a reactant feed stream containing the waste materials. The feed stream is introduced into a reactor, and the reactor contents are then raised to an elevated temperature to effect deposition of a catalytic surface of ruthenium black on the interior walls of the reactor. The feed stream is then maintained in the reactor for a period of time sufficient to effect at least partial oxidation of the waste materials

Intracameral Injection of Bevacizumab for the Treatment of Neovascular Glaucoma

Purpose: To assess the duration of the effect of intracameral bevacizumab in patients presenting with rubeosis iridis and neovascular glaucoma (NVG). Methods: Retrospective analysis of 24 consecutive eyes of 24 patients with decompensated NVG (> 21 mm Hg) treated with a single intracameral injection of bevacizumab over a minimum follow-up of 6 months. The endpoint of the study was the need for retreatment due to recurrence of raised intraocular pressure (IOP). Secondary outcome was the course of visual acuity (VA) and IOP over 6 months. Results: A Kaplan-Meier calculation revealed a mean duration of the treatment effect of 23 +/- 4.4 days. Compared to mean IOP before treatment (26.3 mm Hg), decreases to 17.5 mm Hg at 1 week after treatment (p < 0.002) and to 17.1 mm Hg (p < 0.005) at 6 months following a single injection were seen. At 6 months, additional treatment was performed in 87.5% (n = 21) of eyes. VA remained stable or improved in 75% (n = 18) of all cases. Conclusion: The IOP-lowering effect of intracameral bevacizumab can be seen 1 week after the injection, but is limited to a period of approximately 3 weeks. However, the fast and effective response to intracameral bevacizumab injection opens a time window for additional treatments, which are often necessary. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

Domestic Violence Survivors Eperience of Psycho-Educational Career Group: A Qualitative Study

Domestic violence is a prevalent occurring phenomenon not only within the United States but in other countries as well. Research has just begun to explore the impact domestic violence has on the career paths of survivors and has made limited exploration of the impact domestic violence, in general, has on ethnic minorities. The purpose of this study was to explore and grow our understanding of the impact of a career counseling group on the vocational goals and opportunities of survivors of domestic violence through qualitative analysis. Ground Theory was chosen for the qualitative analysis specific because it provides for the real and detailed lived experiences of women survivor’s of domestic violence in a career intervention group. The study resulted in the development of a theoretical model. The model was conceptualized with human agency as the core and seven empowering constructs that flow in and out of and interact with the core construct. The seven empowering constructs included connectedness; domestic violence awareness; culture; external resources; internal barriers; external barriers; and identifying goals. As the seven empowering constructs interact with the core construct, self-efficacy, the most influential component of human agency, appears to have increased. Self-efficacy in this model was related to career self-efficacy due to the focus of the group was on employment, vocational interests, skills, and goals. At the beginning of the research study all six participants were unemployed and had hopes of gaining employment. At the termination of the study, four of the six participants were satisfactorily employed, one participant was enrolled as a student at the local university, and one participant’s employment was unknown due to attrition of that participant. At termination of this study the group participants were motivated and each made progress towards their vocational goals. They also all noted they gained valuable friendships as a result of the group process. The results of this study indicate supportive, educational, and empowering interventions may lead to survivor’s pursuit of vocational goals

Study of life support systems for space missions exceeding one year in duration, phase 1A. Volume 1 - Analysis of new concepts Final report

Methane, methanol, glycerol, and hydrocarbons for microbial life support systems on extended space missions, animal links in closed system, use of wastes, and chemical synthesis of foo

Preparation of Neurospora crassa mitochondria

The fungus Neurospora crassa represents a eukaryotic cell with high biosynthetic activities. Cell mass doubles in 2-4 hr during expone ntial growth , even in simple salt media with sucrose as the sole carbon source. The microorgani sm forms a mycelium of long hyphae durlng vegetative growth . The mitochondria can be isolated under relatively gentle condi tions since a few breaks in the threadlike hyphae are sufficient to cause the outflow of the organelles. This article describes two methods for the physical disruption of the hyphae : (I) The cell s are opened in a grind mill between two rotating corundum di sks. This is a continuous and fast procedure and allows large- and small-scale preparations of mitochondria. (2) Hyphae are ground with sand in a mortar and pestle. This procedure can be applied to microscale preparations of mitochondria starting with minute amounts of cells. Other procedures for the isolation of Neurospora mitochondria after the physical di sruption or the enzymatic degradation of the cell wall have been described elsewher

Water risks for hydroelectricity generation

This paper studies how reduced water availability affects hydroelectricity generation in Europe and the US. We build a novel dataset for the period 2015-2021 that matches information on hydropower plants with geospecific precipitation and water risk (a compound measure reflecting different aspects of water availability). The paper develops two complementary research designs. First, it uses a cross-sectional design that considers changes in hydroelectricity generation in 2021 - a low rainfall year - compared to its historical average. We find that plants located in riskier basins produced less electricity vis-a-vis the historical average compared to their counterparts located in less risky basins. Second, we use a panel design where we exploit changes in precipitation over time. Consistent with our cross-sectional results, we find a that an increase in precipitation is associated with higher levels of electricity generation. The empirical strategies adopted in this paper offer a framework that can be replicated for other sectors and environmental risks. The findings inform the design of the low-carbon transition and the management of environmental financial risks

Water risks for hydroelectricity generation

This paper studies how reduced water availability affects hydroelectricity generation in Europe and the US. We build a novel dataset for the period 2015-2021 that matches information on hydropower plants with geospecific precipitation and water risk (a compound measure reflecting different aspects of water availability). The paper develops two complementary research designs. First, it uses a cross-sectional design that considers changes in hydroelectricity generation in 2021 - a low rainfall year - compared to its historical average. We find that plants located in riskier basins produced less electricity vis-a-vis the historical average compared to their counterparts located in less risky basins. Second, we use a panel design where we exploit changes in precipitation over time. Consistent with our cross-sectional results, we find a that an increase in precipitation is associated with higher levels of electricity generation. The empirical strategies adopted in this paper offer a framework that can be replicated for other sectors and environmental risks. The findings inform the design of the low-carbon transition and the management of environmental financial risks

Metamemory training for memory disorders in adults with a closed head injury

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of a memory and metamemory training program on memory performance and metamemory judgement accuracy in adults with a closed head injury. A multiple baseline across subjects design was used with six subjects. All subjects were seen at least two years post-injury. Training included general metamemory information about the nature of memory, use of a specific memory strategy to assist verbal recall (to Preview, Question, Read, State and Test- PQRST), specific metamemory information about the strategy, and a self instruction procedure (WTSC- What is the task, Select a strategy to use, Try out strategy, Check to evaluate strategy effectiveness). During the training period all subjects recalled greater than fifty percent of paragraph ideas while using PQRST. Follow-up tests showed that five of the six subjects maintained recall levels but a gradual decrease in slope was observed over eight weeks post-training. Tests of recall, recognition and metamemory judgements on Sentence and Action Tasks were used to evaluate generalisation of training. Two subjects showed improved recall and two subjects showed improved recognition performance. In addition, four subjects demonstrated greater metamemory judgement accuracy about recognition performance following training. Improved performance post-training was also observed for three subjects on the Rivermead Behavioral Memory Test and the Logical Memory subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, greater than that expected for repeated testing. Several factors were identified as having a role in subjects’ ability to benefit from training