The 2011 Philip C. Jessup International Law

The State of Rigalia and the State of Ardenia submit the present dispute concerning the Zetian Provinces to the International Court of Justice by Special Agreement, dated 5 May 2010, pursuant to article 40(1) of the Statute of the International Court ofJustice

Study of waterborne polyurethane materials under aging treatments. Effect of the soft segment length

Coatings made of waterborne polyurethane dispersions are a promising alternative to solvent-borne ones but their mechanical and thermal properties under harsh outdoor conditions such as high temperature and humidity are somewhat limited. In this work saturated polyesters (PBA) with different molecular weights (800–2600 g/mol) were synthesized by reacting adipic acid with 1,4 butanediol. These polyols, an internal emulsifier, and an aliphatic diisocyanate were used as raw materials to synthesize polyurethane (PU) aqueous dispersions with solids contents of 29–38 wt%. The increase of the molecular weight of the polyol decreased the mean particle size of the PU dispersions from 308 to 78 nm. Polyurethane (PU) films were obtained by water evaporation of the PU dispersions and they were annealed at 80 °C for 2 h. Accelerated aging studies were performed by submerging the PU films in the water at 80 °C for 2 h. The PU films synthesized with the polyols with lower molecular weight exhibited enhanced phase miscibility, giving place to storage and loss moduli of similar magnitudes in a wide temperature range and they were less susceptible to hydrolytic degradation. Microphase miscibility was favored when shorter polyols are used. Contact angle measurement and cross-hatch adhesion test on PU coatings placed on stainless steel plate, before and after annealing and water aging were carried out. All PU coatings retained the adhesion to the substrate after aging, the PU coatings synthesized with shorter polyols exhibited enhanced adhesion.The authors thank the University of Antioquia for the “Estudiante Instructor” grant and to CODI for the economic and time support on the project 785 registered in the act 2018-19331

Biochemical differentiation of the porphyrias

Objectives: To differentiate the porphyrias by clinical and biochemical methods. Design and methods: We describe levels of blood, urine, and fecal porphyrins and their precursors in the porphyrias and present an algorithm for their biochemical differentiation. Diagnoses were established using clinical and biochemical data. Porphyrin analyses were performed by high performance liquid chromatography. Results and conclusions: Plasma and urine porphyrin patterns were useful for diagnosis of porphyria cutanea tarda, but not the acute porphyrias. Erythropoietic protoporphyria was confirmed by erythrocyte protoporphyrin assay and erythrocyte fluorescence. Acute intermittent porphyria was diagnosed by increases in urine delta-aminolevulinic acid and porphobilinogen and confirmed by reduced erythrocyte porphobilinogen deaminase activity and normal or near-normal stool porphyrins. Variegate porphyria and hereditary coproporphyria were diagnosed by their characteristic stool porphyrin patterns. This appears to be the most convenient diagnostic approach until molecular abnormalities become more extensively defined and more widely available

IKs Computational Modeling to Enforce the Investigation of D242N, a KV7.1 LQTS Mutation

A KCNQ1 mutation, D242N, was found in a pair of twins and characterized at the cellular level. To investigate whether and how the mutation causes the clinically observed lost adaptation to fast heart rate, we performed a computational study. Firstly, we identified a new I Ks model based on voltage clamp experimental data. Then we included this formulation in the human action potential model of O'Hara Rudy (ORd) and simulate d the effects of the mutation. We also included adrenergic stimulation to the action potential, since the basal adrenergic tone is likely to affect the influence of I Ks on QTc in vivo. Finally, we simulated the pseudo-ECG, taking into account the heterogeneity of the cardiac wall. At the basal rate (60bpm), the mutation had negligible effects for all cell types, whereas at the high rate (180bpm), with concomitant β-adrenergic stimulation (mimicking exercise conditions), the mutant AP failed to adapt its duration to the same extent as the wild-type AP (e.g. 281ms vs. 267ms in M cells), due to a smaller amount of I Ks current. Pseudo-ECG results show only a slight rate adaptation, and the simulated QTc was significantly prolonged from 387ms to 493ms, similar to experimental recordings

Cryoprotectant role of exopolysaccharide ID1 in the vitrification/in-straw warming of in vitro-produced bovine embryos

Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICThe cold-adapted bacterium Pseudomonas sp. ID1 produces the extracellular exopolysaccharide ID1 (EPS ID1) with cryoprotective activity. This study was designed to optimize the vitrification/in-straw warming protocol of in vitro-produced (IVP) blastocysts by adding EPS ID1 to the vitrification media. Day 7-expanded blastocysts were vitrified/warmed using the VitTrans device after the addition of 0 or 100 μg/mL EPS ID1 to the vitrification media. Blastocysts vitrified by the Cryotop method and fresh non-vitrified blastocysts served as controls. Outcomes were assessed in the warmed embryos in terms of survival rates and mRNA relative abundances of BAX, BCL2, GPX1, and CDX2 genes. No differences in survival rates were observed at 3 h post-warming between vitrification treatments. At 24 h post-warming, the addition of EPS prior to vitrification with the VitTrans device produced similar survival rates to Cryotop-vitrified embryos and similar hatching rates to fresh non-vitrified or Cryotop-vitrified embryos. No differences emerged in BCL2 gene expression. Lower BAX (p <.05) and higher GPX1 (p <.05) and CDX2 (p <.1) gene expression were observed in expanded and/or hatched blastocysts derived from VitTrans-EPS-vitrified embryos when compared to those from the non-supplemented group. In conclusion, addition of EPS not only promoted blastocyst survival and hatching after VitTrans vitrification/warming but also modified the expression of genes associated with better embryo quality

Assessing the distribution of the Argentine ant using physiological data

To address the lack of physiological approaches in current models assessing the potential distribution of the Argentine ant, we used data on brood development from distinct sources to evaluate a series of degreeday models for Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula), and data on the brood survival and oviposition rates to develop a worker production model. The degree-day model generated using data from Newell and Barber (1913) and Benois (1973) indicated that the number of degree-days required for the complete development from egg to adult worker was 445.4 degree-days above a threshold of 15.9°C, while the model calibratedusing data from Abril et al. (2008, in press) suggested 599.5 degree-days above 18.4°C. Comparisons between the degree-day model predictions and the currently known distribution of the Argentine ant suggested that the one generated using data from Newell and Barber (1913) and Benois (1973) overestimated the presence of the species, while the one calibrated using data from Abril et al. (2008; in press) underestimated it. On the other hand, the predicted daily net production of Argentine ant workers generated by the worker production model predicted more accurately the distribution of the Argentine ant than the degree-day models. Our results show the utility of incorporating physiological data in models to assess the distribution limits of the Argentine ant, which up to date have taken little account of the physiological needs of the species in terms of its establishment and dispersion in its introduced ranges.Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biolog

Creep Burst Testing of a Woven Inflatable Module

A woven Vectran inflatable module 88 inches in diameter and 10 feet long was tested at the NASA Johnson Space Center until failure from creep. The module was pressurized pneumatically to an internal pressure of 145 psig, and was held at pressure until burst. The external environment remained at standard atmospheric temperature and pressure. The module burst occurred after 49 minutes at the target pressure. The test article pressure and temperature were monitored, and video footage of the burst was captured at 60 FPS. Photogrammetry was used to obtain strain measurements of some of the webbing. Accelerometers on the test article measured the dynamic response. This paper discusses the test article, test setup, predictions, observations, photogrammetry technique and strain results, structural dynamics methods and quick-look results, and a comparison of the module level creep behavior to the strap level creep behavior