Exponering för aluminium i smältverk Effekter på nervsystemet

The purpose of this investigation was to study nervous system function in workers exposed to aluminium at a foundry and a primary smelter. The aim was to find a level of aluminium in urine and/or blood where no early signs of effects on the nervous system could be observed. A total of 119 men with a minimum of five years of occupational aluminium exposure were studied at two companies. Exposure to aluminium was determined using questionnaires as well as blood and urine samples. The functional status of the central nervous system was assessed using psychological performance tests, neurophysiological tests, and symptom questionnaires. Six performance tests from the SPES battery, measuring attention, motor functions, memory, and intellectual functions, were used. As a complement, three other tests of motor functions were included; a peg-board test, parts of the Luria-Nebraska Motor Scale, and a computerized test of handtremor. The neurophysiological tests were EEG, P300, diadochokinesometri. No effects from the aluminium exposure could be observed on any of the measures. The level of aluminium in blood and urine was, however, very low. Only 10 of the 119 workers had levels in urine exceeding 10 µg/l. Our findings are in accordance with those from previous studies on the neurotoxic effects from low level occupational exposure to aluminium.Syftet med undersökningen var att studera centrala nervsystemets funktion hos industriarbetare sysselsatta med framställning av och gjutning med aluminium. Målsättningen var att försöka finna en nivå avseende aluminiumhalt i blod och/eller i urin där inga tidiga tecken på negativ inverkan på nervsystemet kunde iakttas. Vid två företag undersöktes sammanlagt 119 män med minst fem års anställningstid. Exponering för aluminium kartlades dels via enkäter, dels via blod- och urinprov. Nervsystemets funktion studerades med hjälp av symptomformulär, psykologiska prestationstest och neurofysiologiska undersökningar. Sex olika prestationstest ur SPES-batteriet användes. Testen omfattar prov på uppmärksamhet, motoriska funktioner, minne och intellektuella funktioner. Ytterligare tre test vilka mäter motoriska funktioner användes; Cylinderbrädan, delar ur Luria-Nebraska Motor Scale samt Handtremor. De neurofysiologiska undersökningarna var EEG, P300 och diadokokinesometri. Ingen effekt av aluminium kunde iakttas vare sig på prestation, neurofysiologiska funktion eller rapporterade symptom. Halten av aluminium i blod och urin var emellertid låg. Endast för 10 arbetare låg halterna i urin över 10 µg/l. Resultaten överensstämmer med dem från tidigare studier av grupper med låg aluminiumexponering

Wide-Scale Analysis of Human Functional Transcription Factor Binding Reveals a Strong Bias towards the Transcription Start Site

We introduce a novel method to screen the promoters of a set of genes with shared biological function, against a precompiled library of motifs, and find those motifs which are statistically over-represented in the gene set. The gene sets were obtained from the functional Gene Ontology (GO) classification; for each set and motif we optimized the sequence similarity score threshold, independently for every location window (measured with respect to the TSS), taking into account the location dependent nucleotide heterogeneity along the promoters of the target genes. We performed a high throughput analysis, searching the promoters (from 200bp downstream to 1000bp upstream the TSS), of more than 8000 human and 23,000 mouse genes, for 134 functional Gene Ontology classes and for 412 known DNA motifs. When combined with binding site and location conservation between human and mouse, the method identifies with high probability functional binding sites that regulate groups of biologically related genes. We found many location-sensitive functional binding events and showed that they clustered close to the TSS. Our method and findings were put to several experimental tests. By allowing a "flexible" threshold and combining our functional class and location specific search method with conservation between human and mouse, we are able to identify reliably functional TF binding sites. This is an essential step towards constructing regulatory networks and elucidating the design principles that govern transcriptional regulation of expression. The promoter region proximal to the TSS appears to be of central importance for regulation of transcription in human and mouse, just as it is in bacteria and yeast.Comment: 31 pages, including Supplementary Information and figure

A new bivalve fauna from the Permian-Triassic boundary section of southwestern China

A new marine bivalve fauna from the continuous Upper Permian Longtan Formation to Lower Triassic Yelang Formation of the Zhongzai section in southwestern China is documented. Four bivalve assemblages spanning the Permian–Triassic boundary are recognized and regionally correlated in South China. The bivalve assemblages changed from elements dominated by Palaeozoic types to those dominated by Mesozoic types. Three new species, Claraia zhongzaiensis sp. nov., Claraia sp. nov. 1 and Claraia sp. nov. 2, are described

Thermodynamics of the Eu( iii )–Mg–SO4_4 –H2_2O and Eu( iii )–Na–SO4_4–H2_2O systems. Part II: spectroscopy experiments, complexation and Pitzer/SIT models

A time-resolved laser fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS) study was carried out to investigate the Eu(III)–SO$_4$ complexation at room temperature over a wide range of Na$_2$SO$_4$ concentrations (0–2 mol kg$^{−1}$). Spectroscopic observations confirm the step-wise formation of the aqueous complexes Eu(SO$_4$)$^+$, Eu(SO$_4$)$_2$$^−$ and Eu(SO$_4$)$_3$$^{3−}$ over the investigated Na$_2$SO$_4$ concentrations. Combining TRLFS data obtained in this study and solubility data reported in Part I of this work for the Eu$_2$(SO$_4$)$_3$–Na$_2$SO$_4$–H$_2$O and Eu$_2$(SO$_4$)$_3$–MgSO$_4$–H$_2$O systems, thermodynamic and activity models were derived based on the SIT and Pitzer formalisms. A combination of the geochemical calculation codes PhreeqC (SIT), PhreeSCALE (Pitzer) and the parameter estimation code PEST was used to determine the solubility products $(K^°_{s,0})$ of Eu$_2$(SO$_4$)$_3$·8H$_2$O(cr) and Na$_2$Eu$_2$(SO$_4$)$_4$·2H$_2$O(cr), stability constants of the Eu(III)–SO$_4$ complexes $(β^0\ _i)$, and the specific binary and ternary interaction parameters $(ε_{ij}, β^{(0)}\ _{ij}, β^{(1)}\ _{ij}, C^ϕ\ _{ij}, θ_{ik}, Ψ_{ijk})$ for both activity models. The thermodynamic constants determined in this work are discussed with reference to values available in the literature

Assessing and mitigating the radar–radar interference in the German C-band weather radar network

The national German weather radar network operates in C-band between 5.6 and 5.65 GHz. In a radar network, individual transmit frequencies have to be chosen such that radar–radar-induced interferences are avoided. In a unique experiment the Hohenpeißenberg research radar and five operational systems from the radar network were used to characterize radar–radar-induced interferences as a function of the radar frequency. The results allow assessment of the possibility of adding additional C-band radars with magnetron transmitters into the existing network. Based on the experiment, at least a 15 MHz separation of the nominal radar frequency is needed to avoid a radar–radar interference. The most efficient mitigation of radar–radar interference is achieved by the “Radar Tango”, which refers to the synchronized scanning of all radar systems in the network. Based on those results, additional C-band radar systems can be added to the German weather radar network if a further improvement of the radar coverage is needed.</p

Vibrational analysis of d-PCL(530)/siloxane based hybrids doped with two lithium salts

Published online: 22 May 2013The present study has been focused on environmentally friendly sol-gel derived electrolytes based on a di-urethane cross-linked d-PCL(530)/siloxane network (where d represents di, PCL identifies the poly(ε–caprolactone) biopolymer and 530 is the average molecular weight in g.mol-1) doped with a wide range of concentration of lithium perchlorate (LiClO4) and lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (LiTFSI). Fourier Transform Infrared and Raman (FT-IR and FT-Raman, respectively) spectroscopies have been applied to evaluate the extent of ionic association. Characteristic bands of the PCL(530) segments, of the urethane cross-links and of the anions have been examined to gain insight into the cation/biopolymer, cation/anion and cation/cross-link interactions. In both electrolyte systems “free” ions and contact ions have been identified. The addition of salt modifies the hydrogen-bonded array of the host matrix, causing the destruction/formation of the urethane/urethane aggregates.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

A double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II, randomized study of lovastatin therapy in the treatment of mildly active rheumatoid arthritis

© 2019 The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A (HMG Co-A) reductase inhibitors (statins) are standard treatment for hyperlipidaemia. In addition to lipid-lowering abilities, statins exhibit multiple anti-inflammatory effects. The objectives of this study were to determine whether treatment of patients with RA with lovastatin decreased CRP or reduced disease activity. Methods: We conducted a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled 12 week trial of lovastatin vs placebo in 64 RA patients with mild clinical disease activity but an elevated CRP. The primary efficacy end point was the reduction in mean log CRP. Secondary end points included disease activity, RF and anti-CCP antibody titres. Mechanistic end points included levels of serum cytokines. Safety was assessed; hepatic and muscle toxicities were of particular interest. Results: Baseline features were similar between groups. No significant difference in mean log CRP reduction between the two groups was observed, and disease activity did not change from baseline in either treatment group. Mechanistic analyses did not reveal significant changes in any biomarkers. A post hoc analysis of subjects not using biologic therapy demonstrated a significantly greater proportion achieving ≥20% reduction in CRP from baseline in the lovastatin group compared with placebo (P-value = 0.007). No difference was observed in subjects receiving biologics. Lovastatin was well tolerated with no serious safety concerns. Conclusion: This study showed no anti-inflammatory or clinical effects on RA disease activity after 12 weeks of treatment with lovastatin. Lovastatin had a modest effect on CRP in subjects not using biologics, suggesting statins may be anti-inflammatory in selected patients. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, http://clinicaltrials.gov, NCT00302952

A new gridded offshore wind profile product for US coasts using machine learning and satellite observations

Offshore wind speed data around wind turbine hub heights are fairly limited, available through in situ observations from wind masts, sonic detection and ranging (sodar) instruments, or floating light detection and ranging (lidar) buoys at selected locations or as forecasting-model-based output from reanalysis products. In situ wind profiles have sparse geospatial coverage and are costly to obtain en masse, whereas satellite-derived 10 m wind speeds have vast coverage at high resolution. In this study, we show the benefit of deploying machine learning techniques, in particular random forest regression (RFR), over conventional methods for accurately estimating offshore wind speed profiles on a high-resolution (0.25°) grid at 6-hourly resolution from 1987 to the present using satellite-derived surface wind speeds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Blended Seawinds version 2.0 (NBSv2.0) product. We use wind profiles from five publicly available lidar datasets over the northeastern US and Californian coasts to train and validate an RFR model to extrapolate wind speed profiles up to 200 m. A single extrapolation model applicable to the coastal regions of the contiguous US and Hawai`i is developed instead of site-specific models attempted in previous studies. The model outperforms conventional extrapolation methods at the training locations as well as at two additional lidar and six National Offshore Wind (NOW)-23 stations that are independent of the training locations, especially under conditions of high vertical wind shear and at wind turbine hub heights (∼ 100 m). The final model is applied to the NBSv2.0 data from 1987 to the present to create 6-hourly wind speed profiles over the coastal regions of the contiguous US and Hawai`i on a 0.25° grid, which are shown to outperform NOW-23 and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) at 100 m using a correlated triple-collocation method over 5 years of matchup data (2015–2019). Gridded maps of wind profiles in the marine boundary layer over US coastal waters will enable the development of a suite of wind energy resources and will help stakeholders in their decision-making related to wind-based renewable energy development.</p

CONSORT 2010 statement: extension to randomised pilot and feasibility trials [on behalf of the PAFS consensus group*]

The Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement is a guideline designed to improve the transparency and quality of the reporting of randomised controlled trials (RCTs). In this article we present an extension to that statement for randomised pilot and feasibility trials conducted in advance of a future definitive RCT. The checklist applies to any randomised study in which a future definitive RCT, or part of it, is conducted on a smaller scale, regardless of its design (eg, cluster, factorial, crossover) or the terms used by authors to describe the study (eg, pilot, feasibility, trial, study). The extension does not directly apply to internal pilot studies built into the design of a main trial, non-randomised pilot and feasibility studies, or phase II studies, but these studies all have some similarities to randomised pilot and feasibility studies and so many of the principles might also apply. The development of the extension was motivated by the growing number of studies described as feasibility or pilot studies and by research that has identified weaknesses in their reporting and conduct. We followed recommended good practice to develop the extension, including carrying out a Delphi survey, holding a consensus meeting and research team meetings, and piloting the checklist. The aims and objectives of pilot and feasibility randomised studies differ from those of other randomised trials. Consequently, although much of the information to be reported in these trials is similar to those in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing effectiveness and efficacy, there are some key differences in the type of information and in the appropriate interpretation of standard CONSORT reporting items. We have retained some of the original CONSORT statement items, but most have been adapted, some removed, and new items added. The new items cover how participants were identified and consent obtained; if applicable, the prespecified criteria used to judge whether or how to proceed with a future definitive RCT; if relevant, other important unintended consequences; implications for progression from pilot to future definitive RCT, including any proposed amendments; and ethical approval or approval by a research review committee confirmed with a reference number. This article includes the 26 item checklist, a separate checklist for the abstract, a template for a CONSORT flowchart for these studies, and an explanation of the changes made and supporting examples. We believe that routine use of this proposed extension to the CONSORT statement will result in improvements in the reporting of pilot trials. Editor’s note: In order to encourage its wide dissemination this article is freely accessible on the BMJ and Pilot and Feasibility Studies journal websites