Ascorbic Acid as Corrosion Inhibitor for Steel in Alkaline Media Containing Chloride Ions

The investigation of nature-designed molecules and blends of naturally synthesized chemical compounds as possible inhibitor candidates for reinforcing steel in concrete is of raising interest due to the health and environmental hazards involved in the use of most inorganic corrosion inhibitors. In the alkaline media of concrete pore solution, the oxide film is present on the surface of the reinforcing steel. The ingress of chloride ions and/or carbon dioxide into the concrete destabilizes the passive film leading to a higher rate of metal dissolution through the appearance of localized forms of corrosion. This study investigates pitting inhibition with ascorbic acid (AA), by analyzing the polarization curves in the presence and absence of the inhibitor. Inhibition action was evaluated from its ability to suppress the cathodic reaction of oxygen reduction as well as from its ability to suppress the onset of pitting. The mechanism of the inhibitor action was deduced by comparative interpretation of the inhibitor’s molecular properties and the data obtained from electrochemical experiments

Exculpatory Patent Opinions and Special Problems Regarding Waiver of Privilege, 6 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 313 (2007)

When a patent owner alleges another infringed the patent, the owner inevitably also alleges that such infringement is willful. An accused infringer often defends a claim of willful infringement by asserting evidence that the accused infringer reasonably relied on the opinion of counsel. This article discusses the concept of willful infringement and the criteria necessary for an opinion of counsel to be deemed competent. Moreover, this article analyzes issues that arise as a consequence of using such patent opinions, with a special focus on attorney-client privilege and work-product immunity waiver. Finally the practical ways to minimize the problematic aspects of such patent opinions are addressed, with a focus on post KnorrBremse Systeme Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH v. Dana Cp. and In re Echostar Communications Corp. considerations

Highly Charged Ion Production Using an Electrode in Biased and Floating Modes

One of the most popular ways to obtain higher beam intensities in ECR ion sources is to install an electrode (usually disc) into the plasma chamber. Examined this method in detail we found that majority of the groups observed the beam intensity improvement by supplying a suitable biased voltage to the electrode and an electron current was injected into the plasma. A few groups observed the enhancement, however, when the electrode operated at floating potential - without being an electron donor. Only a few (and sometimes contradictionary) information was found on the optimised properties of the electrodes, i.e. position, dimension, shape, material. In spite of the great success of the "biased-disc" method, the mechanism is still not completely clear. In this contribution, as one step of understanding, we examine what condition we observed the above mentioned two modes. The experiments were performed at the 18 GHz RIKEN and at the 14.5 GHz ATOMKI ECR ion sources. It was found that effect of the electrode is strongly depends on the local plasma parameters and on the position of the electrode. At certain mirror ratios and electrode positions we needed to negatively bias the electrode and inject electrons into the plasma. The electrode operated as an electron source (Electron Donor ED mode). At higher mirror ratios and other axial positions the electrode works by directly changing the plasma potential dip (Potential Tuner PT mode). These two modes were checked and successfully found both in continuos and in pulsed mode operation. In both (ED and PT) modes we generated higher highly charged ion currents in the RIKEN-ECRIS than without the electrode

Prevention of Neural-Tube Defects with Periconceptional Folic Acid, Methylfolate, or Multivitamins?

Background/Aims: To review the main results of intervention trials which showed the efficacy of periconceptional folic acid-containing multivitamin and folic acid supplementation in the prevention of neural-tube defects (NTD). Methods and Results: The main findings of 5 intervention trials are known: (i) the efficacy of a multivitamin containing 0.36 mg folic acid in a UK nonrandomized controlled trial resulted in an 83-91% reduction in NTD recurrence, while the results of the Hungarian (ii) randomized controlled trial and (iii) cohort-controlled trial using a multivitamin containing 0.8 mg folic acid showed 93 and 89% reductions in the first occurrence of NTD, respectively. On the other hand, (iv) another multicenter randomized controlled trial proved a 71% efficacy of 4 mg folic acid in the reduction of recurrent NTD, while (v) a public health-oriented Chinese-US trial showed a 41-79% reduction in the first occurrence of NTD depending on the incidence of NTD. Conclusions: Translational application of these findings could result in a breakthrough in the primary prevention of NTD, but so far this is not widely applied in practice. The benefits and drawbacks of 4 main possible uses of periconceptional folic acid/multivitamin supplementation, i.e. (i) dietary intake, (ii) periconceptional supplementation, (iii) flour fortification, and (iv) the recent attempt for the use of combination of oral contraceptives with 6S-5-methytetrahydrofolate (methylfolate), are discussed. Obviously, prevention of NTD is much better than the frequent elective termination of pregnancies after prenatal diagnosis of NTD fetuses

Correlation between the phenolic content and DPPH radical scavenging activity of selected Croatian wines

The Folin-Ciocalteu (FC) test and cyclic voltammetry (CV) at a glassy carbon electrode were used to quantify phenolic antioxidants in a set of 17 Croatian wines and express them in gallic acid (GAE) and catechin equivalents (CE). The total phenolic index (TPI) values for red wines expressed in GAE ranged from 18.851 to 26.905 mM, while TPI for white wines ranged from 1.722 to 2.869 mM. The levels of phenolics derived from CV measurements were markedly lower than those of TPI, since these values include only those phenolic compounds that get oxidised up to 500 mV and contain ortho -diphenol and triphenol groups.The free radical scavenging ability of the same set of wines was evaluated according to the Brand-Williams assay and expressed in equivalents of catechin, gallic acid, vitamin C and Trolox. Ivan Dolac barrique 2002 exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. The DPPH radical scavenging ability of the wines was also evaluated and correlated to the TPI values. Better correlation was observed between the TPI and the antioxidant activity for red wines (r2 =0.826) as opposed to white wines (r2 =0.686). The highest correlation (r2 =0.970) was found between the TPI and the antioxidant activity measured when the whole set of samples was considered

A novel approach to correcting attribution of Clostridioides difficile in a healthcare setting

Abstract Objective: To describe a novel attribution metric estimating the causal source location of healthcare-associated Clostridioides difficile and compare it with the current US National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) surveillance reporting standard. Design: Quality improvement study. Setting: Two acute care facilities. Methods: A novel attribution metric assigned days of attribution to locations where patients were located for 14 days before and the day of their C. difficile diagnosis. We correlated the NHSN-assigned unit attribution with the novel attribution measure and compared the proportion of attribution assigned to inpatient units. Results: During a 30-month period, there were 727 NHSN C. difficile healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and 409 non-HAIs; the novel metric attributed 17,034 days. The correlation coefficients for NHSN and novel attributions among non-ICU units were 0.79 (95% CI, 0.76–0.82) and 0.74 (95% CI, 0.70–0.78) and among ICU units were 0.70 (95% CI, 0.63–0.76) and 0.69 (95% CI, 0.60–0.77) at facilities A and B, respectively. The distribution of difference in percent attribution showed higher inpatient unit attribution using NHSN measure than the novel attribution metric: 38% of ICU units and 15% of non-ICU units in facility A, and 20% of ICU units and 25% of non-ICU units in facility B had a median difference >0; no inpatient units showed a greater attribution using the novel attribution metric. Conclusion: The novel attribution metric shifts attribution from inpatient units to other settings and correlates modestly with NHSN methodology of attribution. If validated, the attribution metric may more accurately target C. difficile reduction efforts

Frontal EEG asymmetry is positively altered by very brief meditation training

Color poster with text, image and graphsUniversity of Wisconsin--Stout Research Service