Vapor phase spectra and the pressure-temperature dependence of long-chain carboxyllic acids studied by a CO laser and the photoacoustic heat-pipe detector.

A resonant photoacoustic heat-pipe (PAHP) cell was constructed and used for spectral studies of four long-chain saturated fatty acids (C10:0 to C16:0) at CO laser wavelengths and temperatures above that of the ambient. Vapor-phase absorption spectra were recorded at temperatures of 383 K for capric acid C10H20O2, 400 K for lauric acid C12H24O2, 438 K for myristic acid C14H28O2, and 445.5 K for palmitic acid C16H32O2, respectively. In addition, the temperature dependence (298 to 393 K) of vapor pressure was determined for C10:0; measurable PA signals were obtained at a temperature only a few degrees above the melting point for this acid. The data observed for C10:0 could be linearly fitted from as low as 323 K, indicating the validity of the Clausius-Clapeyron equation for temperatures lower than the 398 K < T < 541.4 K range anticipated so far

Performance of [(18)F]flutemetamol amyloid imaging against the neuritic plaque component of CERAD and the current (2012) NIA-AA recommendations for the neuropathologic diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease

INTRODUCTION: Performance of the amyloid tracer [(18)F]flutemetamol was evaluated against three pathology standard of truth (SoT) measures including neuritic plaques (CERAD "original" and "modified" and the amyloid component of the 2012 NIA-AA guidelines). METHODS: After [(18)F]flutemetamol imaging, 106 end-of-life patients who died underwent postmortem brain examination for amyloid plaque load. Blinded positron emission tomography scan interpretations by five independent electronically trained readers were compared with pathology measures. RESULTS: By SoT, sensitivity and specificity of majority image interpretations were, respectively, 91.9% and 87.5% with "original CERAD," 90.8% and 90.0% with "modified CERAD," and 85.7% and 100% with the 2012 NIA-AA criteria. DISCUSSION: The high accuracy of either CERAD criteria suggests that [(18)F]flutemetamol predominantly reflects neuritic amyloid plaque density. However, the use of CERAD criteria as the SoT can result in some false-positive results because of the presence of diffuse plaques, which are accounted for when the positron emission tomography read is compared with the 2012 NIA-AA criteria

Level 1 probabilistic risk assessment of low power and shutdown operations at a PWR: Phase 2 results

As a result of the Chernobyl accident and other precursor events (e.g., Diablo Canyon), the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC`s) Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research (RES) initiated an extensive project during 1989 to carefully examine the potential risks during Low Power and Shutdown (LP&S) operations. Shortly after the program began, an event occurred at the Vogtle plant during shutdown, which further intensified the effort of the LP&S program. In the LP&S program, one pressurized water reactor (PWR), Surry, and one boiling water reactor (BWR), Grand Gulf, were selected, mainly because they were previously analyzed in the NUREG-1150 Study. The Level-1 Program is being performed in two phases. Phase 1 was dedicated to performing a coarse screening level-1 analysis including internal fire and flood. A draft report was completed in November, 1991. In the phase 2 study, mid-loop operations at the Surry plant were analyzed in detail. The objective of this paper is to present the approach of the phase 2 study and the preliminary results and insights

A history of post-communist remembrance: from memory politics to the emergence of a field of anticommunism

This article invites the view that the Europeanization of an antitotalitarian “collective memory” of communism reveals the emergence of a field of anticommunism. This transnational field is inextricably tied to the proliferation of state-sponsored and anticommunist memory institutes across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), but cannot be treated as epiphenomenal to their propagation. The diffusion of bodies tasked with establishing the “true” history of communism reflects, first and foremost, a shift in the region’s approach to its past, one driven by the right’s frustration over an allegedly pervasive influence of former communist cliques. Memory institutes spread as the CEE right progressively perceives their emphasis on research and public education as a safer alternative to botched lustration processes. However, the field of anticommunism extends beyond diffusion by seeking to leverage the European Union institutional apparatus to generate previously unavailable forms of symbolic capital for anticommunist narratives. This results in an entirely different challenge, which requires reconciling of disparate ideological and national interests. In this article, I illustrate some of these nationally diverse, but internationally converging, trajectories of communist extrication from the vantage point of its main exponents: the anticommunist memory entrepreneurs, who are invariably found at the helm of memory institutes. Inhabiting the space around the political, historiographic, and Eurocratic fields, anticommunist entrepreneurs weave a complex web of alliances that ultimately help produce an autonomous field of anticommunism

Civil society and global governance : the possibilities for global citizenship

In this article we reassert the role of governance as well as of civil society in the analysis of citizenship. We argue that to analyse global civil society and global citizenship it is necessary to focus on global governance. Just as states may facilitate or obstruct the emergence and development of national civil society, so too global governance institutions may facilitate or obstruct an emerging global civil society. Our key contention is that civil society at the global level thrives through its interaction with strong facilitating institutions of global governance. We start with a discussion of civil society and citizenship within the nation-state, and from there develop a model of global civil society and citizenship. Through analysing the impacts of various modes of global governance, we identify strategically appropriate forms of political and social engagement that best advance the prospects for global citizenship. <br /

Position modulated tangential photopyroelectric (PPE) spectrometry for low absorptions in liquids

A novel tangential photopyroelectric (PPE) cell for liquids is described in which the excitation laser beam is position-modulated. As a result, only the thermal wave is modulated and the background signal due to scattered light is suppressed by more than 50 times. The application for water pollution monitoring shows a detection limit of 1 mmol/m3 ammonium ion in water