A bounding quantitative cancer risk assessment for occupational exposures to asphalt emissions during road paving operations.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer recently classified straight-run bitumens and associated emissions during road paving as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B), owing to potential exposures to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. We examine existing chemistry, exposure, epidemiology, and animal toxicity data to explore quantitative cancer risk implications for paving workers exposed to asphalt emissions from the data used in identifying this qualitative hazard. Epidemiology studies show no consistent cancer risk elevation.

Improvement of Segmental Lordosis in Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Comparison of Two Techniques.

Study Design Retrospective review. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the radiographic impact of a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) versus a cantilever TLIF technique on segmental lordosis, segmental coronal alignment, and disk height. Methods A retrospective review was done of all patients undergoing TLIF procedures from 2006 to 2011 by three spine surgeons.

Thermodynamic study of (anthracene + phenanthrene) solid state mixtures.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are common components of many materials, such as petroleum and various types of tars. They are generally present in mixtures, occurring both naturally and as byproducts of fuel processing operations. It is important to understand the thermodynamic properties of such mixtures in order to understand better and predict their behavior (, fate and transport) in the environment and in industrial operations.

Fluvial geomorphology on Earth-like planetary surfaces: A review.

Morphological evidence for ancient channelized flows (fluvial and fluvial-like landforms) exists on the surfaces of all of the inner planets and on some of the satellites of the Solar System. In some cases, the relevant fluid flows are related to a planetary evolution that involves the global cycling of a volatile component (water for Earth and Mars; methane for Saturn's moon Titan). In other cases, as on Mercury, Venus, Earth's moon, and Jupiter's moon Io, the flows were of highly fluid lava.

Bridging research and environmental regulatory processes: the role of knowledge brokers.

Federal funding agencies increasingly require research investigators to ensure that federally sponsored research demonstrates broader societal impact. Specifically, the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program (SRP) requires research centers to include research translation and community engagement cores to achieve broader impacts, with special emphasis on improving environmental health policies through better scientific understanding. This paper draws on theoretical insights from the social sciences to show how incorporating knowledge brokers in research centers can facilitate translation of scientific expertise to influence regulatory processes and thus promote public health.

Description of a transosseous approach to the L5-S1 disc and 2 clinical case reports.

Background: The lumbosacral disc with the adjacent iliac crest and its relationships to neurologic, visceral, and vascular structures is difficult to approach with cannula-based retractor systems. Previous, less invasive approaches have been described to access this space. Anterior, presacral, and transforaminal approaches each have approach-related complications that have prevented their widespread adoption.

Thermodynamics of Multicomponent PAH Mixtures and Development of Tar-Like Behavior.

This study explores the solid/liquid phase behavior of mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), exploring the transition from non-ideal solid mixtures to a relatively ideal liquid behavior characteristic of "tars". PAH mixtures have been studied using differential scanning calorimetry, melting point analysis and Knudsen effusion. Mixtures of anthracene, pyrene and fluoranthene show behavior that is consistent with other binary PAH mixtures; that is, the initially solid mixture exhibits a significant melting point depression, relative to the pure components, and in a certain range of composition, solid azeotrope behavior on vaporization.

Anthracene + Pyrene Solid Mixtures: Eutectic and Azeotropic Character.

To better characterize the thermodynamic behavior of a binary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture, thermochemical and vapor pressure experiments were used to examine the phase behavior of the anthracene (1) + pyrene (2) system. A solid-liquid phase diagram was mapped for the mixture. A eutectic point occurs at 404 K at x(1) = 0.

Phase Behavior and Vapor Pressures of the Pyrene + 9,10-Dibromoanthracene System.

The present work concerns the thermochemical and vapor pressure behavior of the pyrene + 9,10-dibromoanthracene system. The phase diagram of the system has been studied using the thaw melt method and the results show the formation of non-eutectic multiphase mixtures. The temperatures of crystallization, and enthalpies of fusion and crystallization of the system were determined by differential scanning calorimetry.

Thermodynamic study of (anthracene + benzo[a]pyrene) solid mixtures.

To characterize better the thermodynamic behavior of a binary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixture, thermochemical and vapor pressure experiments were used to examine the phase behavior of the {anthracene (1) + benzo[a]pyrene (2)} system. A solid-liquid phase diagram was mapped for the mixture. A eutectic point occurs at x(1) = 0.

Morphology and composition of the surface of Mars: Mars Odyssey THEMIS results.

The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on Mars Odyssey has produced infrared to visible wavelength images of the martian surface that show lithologically distinct layers with variable thickness, implying temporal changes in the processes or environments during or after their formation. Kilometer-scale exposures of bedrock are observed; elsewhere airfall dust completely mantles the surface over thousands of square kilometers. Mars has compositional variations at 100-meter scales, for example, an exposure of olivine-rich basalt in the walls of Ganges Chasma.