Layer-by-Layer Deposition: A Promising Environmentally Benign Flame-Retardant Treatment for Cotton,Polyester, Polyamide and Blended Textiles

A detailed review of recent developments of layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition as a promising approach to reduce flammability of the most widely used fibers (cotton, polyester, polyamide and their blends) is presented. LbL deposition is an emerging green technology, showing numerous advantages over current commercially available finishing processes due to the use of water as a solvent for a variety of active substances. For flame-retardant (FR) purposes, different ingredients are able to build oppositely charged layers at very low concentrations in water (e.g., small organic molecules and macromolecules from renewable sources, inorganic compounds, metallic or oxide colloids, etc.). Since the layers on a textile substrate are bonded with pH and ion-sensitive electrostatic forces, the greatest technological drawback of LbL deposition for FR finishing is its non-resistance to washing cycles. Several possibilities of laundering durability improvements by different pre-treatments, as well as post-treatments to form covalent bonds between the layers, are presented in this review.     

两种包装医疗器械的灭菌及防污染效果比较

将装针头灭菌的铝制自动启闭消毒盒改装后．用于盛装医疗器械进行脉动真空压力蒸汽灭菌。对其灭菌效果与灭菌后无菌存放期进行了检测,并与双层棉布包装者比较。结果,２种包装医疗器械灭菌合格率均为 １００％。用改装铝盒装的器械,无菌存放期达２１ｄ,双层棉布包装者 １４ｄ。     

The cotton thread test—time for return to baseline

Cotton theread tests (CTT) were perfomed on a group of chinese living in Hong Kong (HK-Chinese) and a group of Caucasians living in the United Kingdom (UK-Caucasian). The Cotton thread was inserted into the lower conjuctival sac and the amount of wetting recorded after one minute to eye closure. The CTT was repeated for each subject at Intervals of five, 10 and 15 minutes between successive measurements on the same day to investigate the required recovery time after one CTT before the next CTT can be performed. CTT obtained five minutes after the first CTT were significantly different from the baseline value. In a second experiment, two CTT measurements were performed, 10 minutes apart, on another group of HK-Chinese. The result of both experiments show that for both HK-Chinese and UK-Caucassian, 10 minutes is a sufficient time interval for tear recovery after the CTT.     

Ophthalmic involvement in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Forty patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were examined for ocular abnormalities. Twenty of these patients died and the eyes were obtained for culture and histopathologic examination. These patients have multiple opportunistic infections and neoplasms as the result of a severe depression of cellular immunity. Fifty percent of all patients with AIDS and 75% of the autopsy group have ocular signs attributable to AIDS. Ocular findings were confined to four major categories: cytomegalovirus retinitis (10 patients), retinal cotton wool spots (11 patients), conjunctival Kaposi's sarcoma (2 patients) and neuro-ophthalmic motility abnormalities (3 patients). Cytomegalovirus retinitis was a significant cause of visual loss. Seven of 40 autopsy eyes had hand motion or worse visual acuity prior to the patients' death because of CMV retinitis. This necrotic retinitis showed minimal inflammation and progressed to involve the entire retina in three to six months, resulting in a gliotic retinal membrane. Therapy with antiviral agents was not effective. Recognizing the ocular signs of AIDS may facilitate the diagnosis. The ophthalmologist also has a major role in the observation of progression or regression of these ocular manifestations, and can assist in the evaluation of therapy in patients with AIDS.     

粗制生棉油对猴的慢性中毒的实验研究——热调节障碍及生殖器官损害

本文报道长期以粗制生棉油喂猴,可使之在日晒下皮温显著升高,汗液分泌明显减少;睾丸生精细胞极度减少,甚至完全消失。我们成功地复制了烧热病主要症状的动物模型,从而确认粗制生棉油是烧热病的病因,并对其发病机制作了初步的讨论。     

An environmental and medical study of byssinosis and other respiratory conditions in the cotton textile industry in Egypt

This study was conducted in a typical Egyptian textile plant located in Alexandria. Male workers from all operations (N = 506) were examined and their dust exposures were assessed. Results showed that airborne dust concentrations were very high and that the plant fraction is mostly concentrated in respirable dust. Byssinosis prevailed in 21% of workers in opening and cleaning sections and in 13% in carding and combing rooms, but was found in none of the workers in drawing, twisting, and spinning operations, in only 1.1% in weaving, and in 3.1% of workers in other “auxiliary” occupations. The rare prevalence of byssinosis among the latter workers' groups was attributed to the workers' continuous exposure without fixed weekend interruption, the personal and family history of exposure to cotton, the low proportion of plant materials in dust evolved in related operations, the fine quality of Egyptian cotton, and/or the population characteristics of Egyptian workers. Reduction in FEV_1.0 at the end of the first work shift after absence from work occured more often than byssinosis, which indicates the importance of this test for the early detection of effects of cotton dust exposure. It is suggested that a nationwide study in the cotton textile industry is indicated.     

Immunoprophylaxis and immunotherapy of respiratory syncytial virus infection in the cotton rat

Human convalescent antiserum to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) administered intraperitoneally to cotton rats prior to RSV challenge provided near-complete protection from pulmonary infection. Antiserum given subsequent to viral challenge reduced pulmonary viral titers 100-fold or greater within 24 h. Sandoglobulin, a preparation of purified human IgG with high titer of anti-RSV neutralizing activity, produced the same effects as convalescent antiserum. Sandoglobulin was absorbed rapidly and produced a significant therapeutic reduction in virus titer within 3 h. The level of virus reduction in pulmonary and nasal tissues was directly proportional to the neutralizing antibody titer in the cotton rat serum, and was always greater in the lungs than the nose. Animals treated therapeutically with Sandoglobulin had a depressed primary antibody response to infection, but were completely resistant to reinfection with RSV. Histologic examination of pulmonary tissues from Sandoglobulin-treated animals showed no pathologic changes.     

Molecular Cloning of Coat Protein Gene of an Indian Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCuV-HS2) Isolate and its Phylogenetic Relationship with others Members of Geminiviridae

Cotton leaf curl geminivirus is a whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Genn.) transmitted Begomovirus (Family Geminiviridae) causing a serious disease of cotton in northern India. The very typical symptoms of present isolate (CLCuV-HS2) showed thickened veins, dark green discoloration of the leaves with upward curling and leaf like structure known as enation (one in number), which develops into cup-shaped on the reverse side of leaves. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based technique can detect the viral DNA in samples stored upto 3 days after the collection and have wide application for the field diagnosis. The complete nucleotide sequence of the Indian isolate of cotton leaf curl geminivirus (CLCuV-HS2) coat protein (CP) gene component was determined using CP specific primers through PCR amplification from field infected cotton plants growing in Haryana, India. Comparison of the amino acid sequence of the putative CP with some other mono and bipartite geminiviruses revealed a maximum of 97.3% identity with Pakistan cotton leaf curl virus (CLCuV-62). A nuclear localization signal located close to the N-terminal of CP gene was determined.     

退休棉工肺部X线表现Logistic回归分析

本文用Logistic回归方法分析了50名工龄20年以上的退休棉工肺部X线表现,并与性别、年龄、吸烟史配对的50名对照工比较。X线胸片按国际尘肺分类法(1980)读片,以间质纤维改变的密集度在1/0及以上者为表现异常。结果两组各有9和11例表现异常。Logistic回归分析结果表明,吸烟能显著地影响胸部X线表现异常的发生概率(P=0.000001),性别、年龄和接尘工龄则依次在运算过程中被剔除。     

From the Cover: Asymmetrical cross-resistance between Bacillus thuringiensis toxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab in pink bollworm

Transgenic crops producing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins kill some key insect pests and can reduce reliance on insecticide sprays. Sustainable use of such crops requires methods for delaying evolution of resistance by pests. To thwart pest resistance, some transgenic crops produce 2 different Bt toxins targeting the same pest. This “pyramid” strategy is expected to work best when selection for resistance to 1 toxin does not cause cross-resistance to the other toxin. The most widely used pyramid is transgenic cotton producing Bt toxins Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab. Cross-resistance between these toxins was presumed unlikely because they bind to different larval midgut target sites. Previous results showed that laboratory selection with Cry1Ac caused little or no cross-resistance to Cry2A toxins in pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), a major cotton pest. We show here, however, that laboratory selection of pink bollworm with Cry2Ab caused up to 420-fold cross-resistance to Cry1Ac as well as 240-fold resistance to Cry2Ab. Inheritance of resistance to high concentrations of Cry2Ab was recessive. Larvae from a laboratory strain resistant to Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab in diet bioassays survived on cotton bolls producing only Cry1Ac, but not on cotton bolls producing both toxins. Thus, the asymmetrical cross-resistance seen here does not threaten the efficacy of pyramided Bt cotton against pink bollworm. Nonetheless, the results here and previous evidence indicate that cross-resistance occurs between Cry1Ac and Cry2Ab in some key cotton pests. Incorporating the potential effects of such cross-resistance in resistance management plans may help to sustain the efficacy of pyramided Bt crops.