Marine Benthic Habitat Mapping of Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska With an Evaluation of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard III

Seafloor geology and potential benthic habitats were mapped in Muir Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska, using multibeam sonar, ground-truth information, and geological interpretations. Muir Inlet is a recently deglaciated fjord that is under the influence of glacial and paraglacial marine processes. High glacially derived sediment and meltwater fluxes, slope instabilities, and variable bathymetry result in a highly dynamic estuarine environment and benthic ecosystem. We characterize the fjord seafloor and potential benthic habitats using the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) recently developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NatureServe. Substrates within Muir Inlet are dominated by mud, derived from the high glacial debris flux. Water-column characteristics are derived from a combination of conductivity temperature depth (CTD) measurements and circulation-model results. We also present modern glaciomarine sediment accumulation data from quantitative differential bathymetry. These data show Muir Inlet is divided into two contrasting environments: a dynamic upper fjord and a relatively static lower fjord. The accompanying maps represent the first publicly available high-resolution bathymetric surveys of Muir Inlet. The results of these analyses serve as a test of the CMECS and as a baseline for continued mapping and correlations among seafloor substrate, benthic habitats, and glaciomarine processes

Best practice management of industrial process control alarm floods

This report aims to determine recommendations for best practices in managing alarm floods in real time under all operating conditions, by identifying the underlying attributes and purpose of an alarm, including human factors impacting the alarm management system. Alarm floods are introduced in the context of process control systems. Three standards and two companies were investigated to assess control systems technology, alarm philosophy, alarm flood management techniques and alarm flood control. Analysis methods have been developed using standard software to compare company alarm performance against industry standards EEMUA Publication 191, ISA 18.2 and IEC-62682. The investigations and alarm data analysed identified improvement areas in the alarm standards lifecycle stage ‘monitoring and assessment’. Analysis proved high frequency alarms corrupt data and performance measurements therefore require timely identification, repair, replacement and or removal. Alarm priority distribution analysis identified a tendency for alarms to be assigned high priority, averaging 5 to 6 times the standard percentage limit. Causing stress on operator’s to respond faster than a low priority alarm require. Analysing unspecified performance areas for time periods between alarm annunciation, acknowledgment and returning to normal, identified a potential 30% reduction in alarm rates through targeted suppression, certain alarms for tuning, repair or review and contributes to the assessment of alarm manageability and operator work rate. Continuously assessing all alarm performance areas specified in the standards will identify areas necessary to improve alarm performance, inversely increase profits and reduce exposing companies and public to undue hazards and risk

An overview of Polaroid sun eyewear: Function, application and market

Patients are constantly looking for the newest technologies that will assist them in accomplishing the activities that they desire more comfortably and efficiently, in both their personal and professional lives. It is our responsibility as primary care practitioners to be current with the latest advancement in ophthalmic therapies, and effectively pass this knowledge on to our patients. This paper will encompass the properties of specialty protective sun eyewear, emphasizing polarized sunglasses, and how they can be incorporated into a private practice as a viable profit center. The intent is to provide the practitioner with a general overview of the basic properties of light and the history of polarized sunglasses and the functional benefits that they may offer consumers. This review will help to enable a practitioner to feel confident and more comfortable in prescribing and recommending these specialty performance lenses to their patients

Development of PDT/PET theranostics: synthesis and biological evaluation of an ¹⁸F-radiolabeled water soluble porphyrin

Synthesis of the first water-soluble porphyrin radiolabeled with fluorine-18 is described: a new molecular theranostic agent which integrates the therapeutic selectivity of photodynamic therapy (PDT) with the imaging efficacy of positron emission tomography (PET). Generation of the theranostic was carried out through the conjugation of a cationic water-soluble porphyrin bearing an azide functionality to a fluorine-18 radiolabeled prosthetic bearing an alkyne functionality through click conjugation, with excellent yields obtained in both cold and hot synthesis. Biological evaluation of the synthesized structures shows the first example of an 18 F-radiolabeled porphyrin retaining photocytotoxicity following radiolabeling and demonstrable conjugate uptake and potential application as a radiotracer in vivo. The promising results gained from biological evaluation demonstrate the potential of this structure as a clinically relevant theranostic agent, offering exciting possibilities for the simultaneous imaging and photodynamic treatment of tumors