Dredged Material Ownership: Rights and Reuse

This research paper explores ownership rights at sites with material from completed dredging projects, supplying a general overview of this issue. This paper also explores the question of whether quality dredged material stored on a publicly-owned upland site can be used later for other applications. This abstract has been taken from Section I of the report

Koordinations- und Kupplungs-Reaktionen von Aziridinen mit Übergangsmetallen

Übergangsmetall-Komplexe bzw. -Salze von Mangan, Rhodium, Iridium, Palladium und Kupfer wurden mit verschiedenen Aziridinderivaten umgesetzt. Dabei gelang es neutrale und kationische Mono-, Bis-, Tris- und Tetrakis-Aziridin-Komplexe darzustellen. Auch eine übergangsmetallvermittelte Aziridin-Dimerisierung konnte desöfteren beobachtet werden. Dabei entstanden N-(2-Aminoalkyl)aziridin-Komplexe. Durch die gelungene Freisetzung des formal dimerisierten Aziridinliganden, konnte eine übergangsmetallvermittelte Synthese von N-(2-Aminoalkyl)aziridinen beschrieben werden

Einfluss der Hämodynamik auf die Kinetik volatiler Anästhetika

Die Benutzung volatiler Anästhetika zur Durchführung von Allgemeinanästhesien ist heute Standard. Das Wiedererlangen des Bewusstseins ist nicht gleichzusetzen mit einer vollständigen Abflutung des Wirkstoffs aus dem Körper des Patienten. Hierbei spielt der Sicherheitsaspekt eine große Rolle, da Restkonzentrationen weiterhin Wirkung auf den Körper haben. Die Herzfunktion bestimmt das Abflutungsverhalten der volatilen Anästhetika nach Vollnarkose. Bei fortgeschrittener Herzinsuffizienz mit reduzierter Ejektionsfraktion steht neben einem verminderten HZV die eingeschränkte Fähigkeit des Herz-Kreislauf-Systems auf den Stress der Narkose-Ausleitung mittels erhöhtem HZV zu reagieren im Vordergrund. Diese Krankheit besitzt aufgrund ihrer epidemiologischen Wichtigkeit eine große Relevanz für den Klinikalltag und muss in der Patientenversorgung berücksichtigt werden. Der Prozess der Abflutung wird multifaktoriell determiniert. Entscheidend hierbei ist auf der einen Seite die Auswahl des verwendeten volatilen Anästhetikums mit spezifischen pharmakokinetischen Einflussgrößen und auf der anderen Seite Patienten-bezogenen physiologische Parameter wie Atmung und Herz-Kreislauf-Funktion sowie anatomisch-biologische Einflussgrößen wie Körperzusammensetzung und Volumenverteilung des Blutflusses auf die untersuchten Kompartimente. Zur Wahl des Narkosemittels wurde festgestellt, dass Desfluran stets vor Sevofluran und Sevofluran stets vor Isofluran verglichene Schwellenwerte erreichte. Bei Vergleich von Desfluran und Sevofluran blieb der Unterschied im Erreichen der 90%-Dekrementen stets unter einer Stunde, bei den 95%-Dekrementen bei 2-stündigen Narkosen ebenfalls. Je länger die Narkosedauer, desto gravierender waren die Differenzen in den Dekrementen, wählte man ein anderes Narkosegas außer Desfluran. Die Schlussfolgerung dieser Arbeit hierhingehend lautet, dass aufgrund deutlich späteren Erreichens der 95%-Dekrement-Konzentrationen spätestens ab Narkoselängen von 2 Stunden Desfluran verwendet werden sollte. Die Schnelligkeit der Elimination des Wirkstoffes aus dem Körper des Patienten und damit der Dauer bis zum Erreichen gewisser Dekremente wird durch die Clearance und die Distribution bestimmt. Diese beiden Prozesse verhalten sich in Bezug auf die Schnelligkeit der Abflutung teilweise synergistisch und teilweise konkurrierend zueinander. Eine Erniedrigung des HZV erhöht die Clearance. Die Elimination des Narkosemittels aus dem Körper wird bei langsamerem HZV 68 im Verlauf der Abflutung zunehmend durch die eingeschränkte Distribution limitiert. Eine neue Erkenntnis dieser Arbeit ist, dass es einen Umschlagspunkt gibt, an dem eine Erhöhung des HZV ein schnelleres Abfluten nach initial langsameren Abfluten bewirkt. Dieser Umschlagspunkt lag für alle untersuchten Narkosegase oberhalb der 90%-Dekremente. Je länger die Narkose dauerte, desto relevanter wurden die gespeicherten Substanzmengen für die Abflutung. Aufgrund der Erkenntnisse dieser Arbeit ist eine Steigerung des HZV bei Ausleitung zum Zwecke eines schnelleren Unterschreitens von bestimmten klinisch relevanten Wirkstoffspiegeln im ZNS aus pharmakokinetischer Sicht nicht indiziert. Der Anästhesist muss sich auf ein anfänglich schnelleres Abfluten bei Patienten mit Herzinsuffizienz einstellen

A Measure of the Amount of Vitamin K Leached Out from Cooked Greens in Potlicker

Vitamin K, a fat-soluble vitamin synthesized by plants, is found in large quantities within green leafy vegetables, such as collard, mustard, turnip and spinach. These greens are commonly cooked with fat to enhance flavor. The vitamin K in these greens can leach out during cooking into the liquid portion of the pot, which is referred to as potlicker. Vitamin K activates clotting factors (II, VII, IX, and X,), which can lead to the formation of a thromboembolism (blood clot). People at a higher risk of forming blood clots are often prescribed warfarin, an anti-coagulant that acts as a competitive inhibitor of vitamin K. Due to its content of vitamin K, the consumption of potlicker can potentially cause interactions on the anti-coagulant drug warfarin, and thereby counteract the drug’s effect. This study seeks to determine if the amount of vitamin K leached from cooked greens into potlicker is dependent upon the amount of fat in the cooking solution and if the amount of vitamin K leached depends upon the type of green being cooked. For this study, there will be four experimental groups along with a control group. Each group will include a type of green (collard, mustard, spinach, or turnip) with varying amounts of animal fat. Five grams of each of the respective greens will be prepared in four predefined categories describing fat content (no fat; low fat, 1g; medium fat, 2g; and high fat, 4g). Each sample will be prepared in one liter of water with the respective amount of olive oil. The samples will be prepared by cooking at a constant temperature for set time intervals. Samples will be collected, where High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) will determine the vitamin K content in each of the prepared samples. Data will be analyzed primarily via SPSS, with a priori alpha set at 0.05. Sigma Plot will be implemented to display simple linear regressions and thereby aid in identifying correlations between variables. ANCOVA tests will also be used to compare and contrast the four types of greens. All data will be stored in Excel spreadsheets for further use. The finding of this study will provide valuable information for individuals taking warfarin and for health care professionals involved in the care of those patients. As a result, it patient education on warfarin and its interactions with vitamin K will be better understood

Synthesis, structural characterization, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of aziridine, 2-aminoethylaziridine and azirine complexes of copper(II) and palladium(II).

The synthesis, spectroscopic and X-ray structural characterization of copper(II) and palladium(II) complexes with aziridine ligands as 2-dimethylaziridine HNCH2CMe2 (a), the bidentate N-(2-aminoethyl)aziridines C2H4NC2H4NH2 (b) or CH2CMe2NCH2CMe2NH2 (c) as well as the unsaturated azirine NCH2CPh (d) are reported. Cleavage of the cyclometallated Pd(II) dimer [μ-Cl(C6H4CHMeNMe2-C,N)Pd]2 with ligand a yielded compound [Cl(NHCH2CMe2)(C6H4CHMe2NMe2-C,N)Pd] (1a). The reaction of the aziridine complex trans-[Cl2Pd(HNC2H4)2] with an excess of aziridine in the presence of AgOTf gave the ionic chelate complex trans-[(C2H4NC2H4NH2-N,N′)2Pd](OTf)2 (2b) which contains the new ligand b formed by an unexpected insertion and ring opening reaction of two aziridines (“aziridine dimerization”). CuCl2 reacted in pure HNC2H4 or HNCH2CMe2 (b) again by “dimerization” to give the tris-chelated ionic complex [Cu(C2H4NC2H4NH2-N,N′)3]Cl2 (3b) or the bis-chelated complex [CuCl(C2H2Me2NC2H2Me2NH2-N,N′)2]Cl (4c). By addition of 2H-3-phenylazirine (d) to PdCl2, trans-[Cl2Pd(NCH2CPh)2] (5d) was formed. All new compounds were characterized by NMR, IR and mass spectra and also by X-ray structure analyses (except 3b). Additionally the cytotoxic effects of these complexes were examined on HL-60 and NALM-6 human leukemia cells and melanoma WM-115 cells. The antimicrobial activity was also determined. The growth of Gram-positive bacterial strains (S. aureus, S. epidermidis, E. faecalis) was inhibited by almost all tested complexes at the concentrations of 37.5–300.0 μg mL−1. However, MIC values of complexes obtained for Gram-negative E. coli and P. aeruginosa, as well as for C. albicans yeast, mostly exceeded 300 μg mL−1. The highest antibacterial activity was achieved by complexes 1a and 2b. Complex 2b also inhibited the growth of Gram-negative bacteria. Graphical abstract: Synthesis, structural characterization, antimicrobial and cytotoxic effects of aziridine, 2-aminoethylaziridine and azirine complexes of copper(ii) and palladium(ii

Is Early Complement Activation in Renal Transplantation Associated with Later Graft Outcome?

Background/Aims: Complement activation is important in post-transplantation renal injury, but data on its role as predictor of transplant outcome/complications when assessed in donor kidneys are lacking. Methods: In human renal transplant biopsies with delayed graft function (DGF, n=12), antibody mediated rejection (ABMR, n=8), T-cell mediated rejection (TCMR, n=11), 1 year protocol biopsies (control, n=10) and corresponding zero-biopsies we performed immunohistochemical analyses of 6 complement factors using FFPE sections and correlated the findings with kidney function, as assessed by serum creatinine, and morphological changes including interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy (IF/TA). Results: In DGF, TCMR and ABMR significant complement deposition was observed, which was less pronounced in corresponding zero-biopsies. Zero-biopsies with subsequent ABMR showed glomerular complement factor D and C3c expression. Moreover, glomerular C3c and C9 and tubular MASP-2 and Collectin-11 expression in zero-biopsies significantly correlated with serum creatinine at diagnosis of DGF, TCMR or ABMR. Glomerular C1q was significantly increased in ABMR, but not in DGF and TCMR. In contrast, peritubular C1q was significantly enhanced in DGF and TCMR compared to zero-biopsies. Using C3d as a surrogate marker for complement activity we could confirm that stained complement factors are frequently associated with complement activity. Conclusion: Complement deposition strongly correlated with histopathological changes observed in renal transplants. All 3 complement pathways were operational in biopsies with DGF, TCMR and ABMR albeit with differential abundance and localization. Since complement deposition in zero-biopsies correlated with graft function and morphological changes, early specific complement inhibition in renal transplantation may be a new therapeutic option to prevent graft loss

Effects of Terrestrial Buffer Zones on Amphibians on Golf Courses

A major cause of amphibian declines worldwide is habitat destruction or alteration. Public green spaces, such as golf courses and parks, could serve as safe havens to curb the effects of habitat loss if managed in ways to bolster local amphibian communities. We reared larval Blanchard's cricket frogs (Acris blanchardi) and green frogs (Rana clamitans) in golf course ponds with and without 1 m terrestrial buffer zones, and released marked cricket frog metamorphs at the golf course ponds they were reared in. Larval survival of both species was affected by the presence of a buffer zone, with increased survival for cricket frogs and decreased survival for green frogs when reared in ponds with buffer zones. No marked cricket frog juveniles were recovered at any golf course pond in the following year, suggesting that most animals died or migrated. In a separate study, we released cricket frogs in a terrestrial pen and allowed them to choose between mown and unmown grass. Cricket frogs had a greater probability of using unmown versus mown grass. Our results suggest that incorporating buffer zones around ponds can offer suitable habitat for some amphibian species and can improve the quality of the aquatic environment for some sensitive local amphibians

Feliks Topolski’s Graphics in Poets’ and Painters’ Press' Publications

Praca magisterska „Grafiki Feliksa Topolskiego w publikacjach Oficyny Poetów i Malarzy” jest katalogiem prac Feliksa Topolskiego użytych przez Krystynę i Czesława Bednarczyków w wydawanych przez nich książkach i kwartalniku „Oficyna Poetów”. Są one omówione w drugim rozdziale. Pierwszy rozdział to wprowadzenie do twórczości artysty i jego wcześniejszych projektów.Thesis ‘Feliks Topolski’s Graphics in Poets’ and Painters’ Press' Publications’ is a catalogue of Feliks Topolski’s artworks used by Krystyna and Czesław Bednarczyk in their books and quarterly ‘Oficyna Poetów’. In the introduction the reader can find a description of the graphics as well as some informations about artist’s background and his previous projects