Beaver bridge

“The Little Beaver Bridge is situated on the A. & P. R. R., 3 ¾ S. W. of Rolla it is built on the “Howe Truss” plan and spans a valley through which flows the “Little Beaver Creek” - it has two approaches (stringers supported by trestles), the length of the northern one is 38 ft., while that of the southern one is 35’5”. The bridge is composed of 5 spans and is supported on 6 piers; the length of the bridge proper is 687’ 2”, with the abutments it is 760’7”. The piers are of sandstone and have a batir, from about one half of their height to the top, of one inch to the foot. In consequence of the comparatively small size of the used in their construction, the Railroad Company has commenced to tear them down in order to erect larger piers. The dimensions of the new piers (for the bottom course) will be 13’1” x 30’ instead of 7’6” x 24’3” as in the old one - the batir will however in the new piers start from the second course. All the timber used in this bridge (except the ties which are oak) is white pine --pages 5-6

High Temperature, Low Relative Humidity, Polymer-type Membranes Based on Disulfonated Poly(arylene ether) Block and Random Copolymers Optionally Incorporating Protonic Conducting Layered Water insoluble Zirconium Fillers

Our research group has been engaged in the past few years in the synthesis of biphenol based partially disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) random copolymers as potential PEMs. This series of polymers are named as BPSH-xx, where BP stands for biphenol, S stands for sulfonated, H stands for acidified and xx represents the degree of disulfonation. All of these sulfonated copolymers phase separate to form nano scale hydrophilic and hydrophobic morphological domains. The hydrophilic phase containing the sulfonic acid moieties causes the copolymer to absorb water. Water confined in hydrophilic pores in concert with the sulfonic acid groups serve the critical function of proton (ion) conduction and water transport in these systems. Both Nafion and BPSH show high proton conductivity at fully hydrated conditions. However proton transport is especially limited at low hydration level for the BPSH random copolymer. It has been observed that the diffusion coefficients of both water and protons change with the water content of the pore. This change in proton and water transport mechanisms with hydration level has been attributed to the solvation of the acid groups and the amount of bound and bulk-like water within a pore. At low hydration levels most of the water is tightly associated with sulfonic groups and has a low diffusion coefficient. This tends to encourage isolated domain morphology. Thus, although there may be significant concentrations of protons, the transport is limited by the discontinuous morphological structure. Hence the challenge lies in how to modify the chemistry of the polymers to obtain significant protonic conductivity at low hydration levels. This may be possible if one can alter the chemical structure to synthesize nanophase separated ion containing block copolymers. Unlike the BPSH copolymers, where the sulfonic acid groups are randomly distributed along the chain, the multiblock copolymers will feature an ordered sequence of hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments. If, like in Nafion, connectivity is established between the hydrophilic domains in these multiblock copolymers, they will not need as much water, and hence will show much better protonic conductivity than the random copolymers (with similar degree of sulfonation, or IEC) at partially hydrated conditions. The goal of this research is to develop a material suitable for use as a polymer electrolyte membrane which by the year 2010 will meet all the performance requirements associated with fuel cell operation at high temperatures and low relative humidity, and will out-perform the present standard Nafion{reg_sign}. In particular, it is our objective to extend our previous research based on the use of thermally, oxidatively, and hydrolytically, ductile, high Tg ion containing polymers based on poly(arylene ethers) to the production of polymer electrolyte membranes which will meet all the performance requirements in addition to having an areal resistance of < 0.05 ohm-cm{sup 2} at a temperature of up to 120 C, relative humidity of 25 to 50%, and up to 2.5 atm total pressure. In many instances, our materials already out performs Nafion{reg_sign}, and it is expected that with some modification by either combining with conductive inorganic fillers and/or synthesizing as a block copolymer it will meet the performance criteria at high temperatures and low relative humidity. A key component in improving the performance of the membranes (and in particular proton conductivity) and meeting the cost requirements of $40/m{sup 2} is our development of a film casting process, which shows promise for generation of void free thin films of uniform thickness with controlled polymer alignment and configuration

Polybenzimidazoles and methods of making and using thereof

Disclosed are polybenzimidazoles containing sulfonyl groups. The polymers can be synthesized in Eaton's reagent from 3,3′,4,4′-tetraaminodiphenylsulfone, which itself can be synthesized from 4,4′-dichlorodiphenylsulfone. Methods of synthesizing the polymers are disclosed. The disclosed polymers can be used for high temperature H2/CO2 separation membranes and other uses.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Extraosseous Osteosarcoma of the Esophagus: A Case Report

Extraosseous osteosarcoma (EOO) is a malignant mesenchymal neoplasm that is located in the soft tissues without direct attachment to the skeletal system and that produces osteoid, bone, or chondroid material. EOO is an extremely rare disease, accounting for only 1% of soft tissue sarcomas, and typically presents in either an extremity or the retroperitoneum. This paper presents the case of a 45-year-old Caucasian male with extraosseous osteosarcoma of the esophagus

Definitive Hematopoiesis in the Yolk Sac Emerges from Wnt-Responsive Hemogenic Endothelium Independently of Circulation and Arterial Identity

Adult-repopulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) emerge in low numbers in the midgestation mouse embryo from a subset of arterial endothelium, through an endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. HSC-producing arterial hemogenic endothelium relies on the establishment of embryonic blood flow and arterial identity, and requires β-catenin signaling. Specified prior to and during the formation of these initial HSCs are thousands of yolk sac-derived erythro-myeloid progenitors (EMPs). EMPs ensure embryonic survival prior to the establishment of a permanent hematopoietic system, and provide subsets of long-lived tissue macrophages. While an endothelial origin for these HSC-independent definitive progenitors is also accepted, the spatial location and temporal output of yolk sac hemogenic endothelium over developmental time remain undefined. We performed a spatiotemporal analysis of EMP emergence, and document the morphological steps of the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition. Emergence of rounded EMPs from polygonal clusters of Kit(+) cells initiates prior to the establishment of arborized arterial and venous vasculature in the yolk sac. Interestingly, Kit(+) polygonal clusters are detected in both arterial and venous vessels after remodeling. To determine whether there are similar mechanisms regulating the specification of EMPs with other angiogenic signals regulating adult-repopulating HSCs, we investigated the role of embryonic blood flow and Wnt/β-catenin signaling during EMP emergence. In embryos lacking a functional circulation, rounded Kit(+) EMPs still fully emerge from unremodeled yolk sac vasculature. In contrast, canonical Wnt signaling appears to be a common mechanism regulating hematopoietic emergence from hemogenic endothelium. These data illustrate the heterogeneity in hematopoietic output and spatiotemporal regulation of primary embryonic hemogenic endothelium

The use of TeleMedicine in the Treatment of Pediatric Obesity: Feasibility and Acceptability

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Davis, A. M., James, R. L., Boles, R. E., Goetz, J. R., Belmont, J. and Malone, B. (2011), The use of TeleMedicine in the treatment of paediatric obesity: feasibility and acceptability. Maternal & Child Nutrition, 7: 71–79. doi:10.1111/j.1740-8709.2010.00248.x, which has been published in final form at http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1740-8709.2010.00248.x. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility of conducting empirically supported family based pediatric obesity group treatment via telemedicine. METHODS: Seventeen families were randomly assigned to one of two conditions (physician visit, TeleMedicine). Measures included feasibility, satisfaction, and intervention outcome measures such as BMI percentile, and nutrition and activity behaviors. Measures were completed at baseline, post-treatment, and at one-year follow-up. RESULTS: Analyses indicate that both feasibility and satisfaction data regarding the TeleMedicine intervention were positive. Intervention outcome indicates no change in BMI percentile or nutrition and activity behaviors for either treatment group. CONCLUSIONS: A behavioral family-based weight loss intervention delivered via TeleMedicine was well received by both parents and providers. Due to the small sample size, null findings regarding intervention outcome should be interpreted with caution. Future research should focus on methods to increase the impact of this intervention on key outcome variables

Production of crystallizable human chymase from a Bacillus subtilis system

AbstractA Bacillus subtilis strain deficient in seven extracellular proteases was used to produce human mast cell chymase and is a viable expression system for serine proteases and other classes of proteins. Chymase is produced at 0.3–0.5 mg/l and is purified by three chromatography steps. Two crystal forms of PMSF-treated chymase were optimized. The first is C2 with a=47.94 Å, b=85.23 Å, c=174.18 Å, β=96.74°, and diffracts to at least 2.1 Å, while the second is P212121, with cell dimensions a=43.93 Å, b=58.16 Å, and c=86.09 Å, and a diffraction limit of approximately 1.9 Å. The first crystal form has either three or four molecules/asymmetric unit, while the second has one molecule/asymmetric unit

Energy-efficient polymeric gas separation membranes for a sustainable future: A review

AbstractOver the past three decades, polymeric gas separation membranes have become widely used for a variety of industrial gas separations applications. This review presents the fundamental scientific principles underpinning the operation of polymers for gas separations, including the solution-diffusion model and various structure/property relations, describes membrane fabrication technology, describes polymers believed to be used commercially for gas separations, and discusses some challenges associated with membrane materials development. A description of new classes of polymers being considered for gas separations, largely to overcome existing challenges or access applications that are not yet practiced commercially, is also provided. Some classes of polymers discussed in this review that have been the focus of much recent work include thermally rearranged (TR) polymers, polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs), room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), perfluoropolymers, and high-performance polyimides