Can control banding be useful for the safe handling of nanomaterials? A systematic review

Control banding (CB) is a risk management strategy that has been used to identify and recommend exposure control measures to potentially hazardous substances for which toxicological information is limited. The application of CB and level of expertise required for implementation and management can differ depending on knowledge of the hazard potential, the likelihood of exposure, and the ability to verify the effectiveness of exposure control measures. A number of different strategies have been proposed for using CB in workplaces where exposure to engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) can occur. However, it is unclear if the use of CB can effectively reduce worker exposure to nanomaterials. A systematic review of studies was conducted to answer the question “can control banding be useful to ensure adequate controls for the safe handling of nanomaterials.” A variety of databases were searched to identify relevant studies pertaining to CB. Database search terms included ‘control,’ ‘hazard,’ ‘exposure,’ and ‘risk’ banding as well as the use of these terms in the context of nanotechnology or nanomaterials. Other potentially relevant studies were identified during the review of articles obtained in the systematic review process. Identification of studies and the extraction of data were independently conducted by the reviewers. Quality of the studies was assessed using the methodological index for nonrandomized studies. The quality of the evidence was evaluated using grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation (GRADE). A total of 235 records were identified in the database search in which 70 records were determined to be eligible for full-text review. Only two studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. These studies evaluated the application of the CB Nanotool in workplaces where ENMs were being handled. A total of 32 different nanomaterial handling activities were evaluated in these studies by comparing the recommended exposure controls using CB to existing exposure controls previously recommended by an industrial hygienist. It was determined that the selection of exposure controls using CB were consistent with those recommended by an industrial hygienist for 19 out of 32 (59.4 %) job activities. A higher level of exposure control was recommended for nine out of 32 (28.1 %) job activities using CB, while four out of 32 (12.5 %) job activities had in-place exposure controls that were more stringent than those recommended using CB. After evaluation using GRADE, evidence indicated that the use of CB Nanotool can recommend exposure controls for many ENM job activities that would be consistent with those recommended by an experienced industrial hygienist. The use of CB for reducing exposures to ENMs has the potential to be an effective risk management strategy when information is limited on the health risk to the nanomaterial and/or there is an absence of an occupational exposure limit. However, there remains a lack of evidence to conclude that the use of CB can provide adequate exposure control in all work environments. Additional validation work is needed to provide more data to support the use of CB for the safe handling of ENMs.     

Can the nuclear matrix elements of neutrinoless double beta decay be measured?

A proposal which allows one in principle to measure the neutrinoless double beta decay Fermi matrix element is briefly described. By making use of the isospin conservation by strong interaction, the Fermi 0νββ nuclear matrix element can be transformed to acquire the form of an energy-weighted double Fermi transition matrix element. This allows one to reconstruct the total provided that a small isospin-breaking Fermi matrix element between the isobaric analog state in the intermediate nucleus and the ground state of the daughter nucleus could be measured, for example by charge-exchange reactions. Such a measurement could help to discriminate between the different nuclear structure models in which the calculated may differ by as much as a factor of 5.     

Can the states of the W-class be suitable for teleportation?

Entangled states of the W-class are considered as a quantum channel for teleportation of an entangled state and as well the state to be teleported via a multiparticle quantum channel. Using an introduced unitary transformation in the teleportation schemes based on the multiparticle Greenberger–Horne–Zeilinger channel it is found a set of protocols main feature of which is a collection of non-local recovering operators.     

Can Spacetime be a Condensate?

We explore further the proposal [Hu, B. L. (1996). General relativity as geometro-hydrodynamics. (Invited talk at the Second Sakharov Conference, Moscow, May 1996); gr-qc/9607070.] that general relativity is the hydrodynamic limit of some fundamental theories of the microscopic structure of spacetime and matter, i.e., spacetime described by a differentiable manifold is an emergent entity and the metric or connection forms are collective variables valid only at the low-energy, long-wavelength limit of such micro-theories. In this view it is more relevant to find ways to deduce the microscopic ingredients of spacetime and matter from their macroscopic attributes than to find ways to quantize general relativity because it would only give us the equivalent of phonon physics, not the equivalents of atoms or quantum electrodynamics.It may turn out that spacetime is merely a representation of certain collective state of matter in some limiting regime of interactions, which is the view expressed by Sakharov [Sakharov, A. D. (1968). Soviet Physics-Doklady 12, 1040–1041; Sakharov, A. D. (1967). Vacuum quantum fluctuations in curved space and the theory of gravitation. Doklady Akad. Nauk S.S.R. 177, 70; Adler, S. L. (1982). Reviews of Modern Physics 54, 729]. In this talk, working within the conceptual framework of geometro-hydrodynamics, we suggest a new way to look at the nature of spacetime inspired by Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) physics. We ask the question whether spacetime could be a condensate, even without the knowledge of what the‘atom of spacetime’ is. We begin with a summary of the main themes for this new interpretation of cosmology and spacetime physics, and the ‘bottom-up’ approach to quantum gravity. We then describe the ‘Bosenova’ experiment of controlled collapse of a BEC and our cosmology-inspired interpretation of its results. We discuss the meaning of a condensate in different context. We explore how far this idea can sustain, its advantages and pitfalls, and its implications on the basic tenets of physics and existing programs of quantum gravity.     

Can Hawking temperatures be negative?

It has been widely believed that the Hawking temperature for a black hole is uniquely determined by its metric and positive. But, I argue that this might not be true in the recently discovered black holes which include the exotic black holes and the black holes in the three-dimensional higher curvature gravities. I argue that the Hawking temperatures, which are measured by the quantum fields in thermal equilibrium with the black holes, might not be the usual Hawking temperature but the new temperatures that have been proposed recently and can be negative. The associated new entropy formulae, which are defined by the first and second laws of thermodynamics, versus the black hole masses show some genuine effects of the black holes which do not occur in the spin systems. Some cosmological implications and physical origin of the discrepancy with the standard analysis are noted also.     

Is the nuclear spin-orbit interaction changing with neutron excess?

The difference in the energies of the lowest states corresponding to the two nodeless single-particle orbitals outside the Z=50 closed proton shell, h(11/2) and g(7/2), increases with neutron excess. We have measured the Sn(alpha,t) reaction for all seven stable even Sn isotopes and found that the spectroscopic factors are constant for these two states, confirming their characterization as single-particle states. The trend in energies is consistent with a decrease in the nuclear spin-orbit interaction. A similar trend, also suggesting a decreasing spin-orbit splitting, is seen in the energies of the neutron single-particle states outside the N=82 core, i(13/2) and h(9/2).     

Should the coupling constants be mass dependent in the relativistic mean-field models?

Mass-dependent coupling constants are proposed for baryonic resonances in the relativistic mean-field model, according to the mass splitting of the SU (6) multiplet. With this choice the negative effective masses are avoided and the system remains nucleon dominated with moderate antidelta abundance.     

Can aerosols be trapped in open flows?

The fate of aerosols in open flows is relevant in a variety of physical contexts. Previous results are consistent with the assumption that such finite-size particles always escape in open chaotic advection. Here we show that a different behavior is possible. We analyze the dynamics of aerosols both in the absence and presence of gravitational effects, and both when the dynamics of the fluid particles is hyperbolic and nonhyperbolic. Permanent trapping of aerosols much heavier than the advecting fluid is shown to occur in all these cases. This phenomenon is determined by the occurrence of multiple vortices in the flow and is predicted to happen for realistic particle-fluid density ratios.     

Can sterile neutrinos be the dark matter?

We use the Ly-alpha forest power spectrum measured by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and high-resolution spectroscopy observations in combination with cosmic microwave background and galaxy clustering constraints to place limits on a sterile neutrino as a dark matter candidate in the warm dark matter scenario. Such a neutrino would be created in the early Universe through mixing with an active neutrino and would suppress structure on scales smaller than its free-streaming scale. We ran a series of high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations with varying neutrino masses to describe the effect of a sterile neutrino on the Ly-alpha forest power spectrum. We find that the mass limit is m(s) >13 keV at 95% C.L. (9 keV at 99.9%), which is above the upper limit allowed by x-ray constraints, excluding this candidate from being all of the dark matter in this model.     

Can the Pruned-Enriched Method be Used for the Simulation of Fluids?

The flat histogram version of pruned and enriched Rosenbluth method (FLATPERM) is an effective Monte Carlo method for calculating densities of states of polymers on a lattice. In this paper we generalize this method to calculate the densities of states of off-lattice systems. To demonstrate the feasibility of the approach, we perform sample calculations for the Lennard-Jones fluids. The densities of states of Lennard-Jones fluids simulated by Pruned-enriched method, i.e., the generalization of FLATPERM, agree with the densities simulated by Wang-Landau method in the range of high potential energy. However the direct extension of FLATPERM fails at low energy and a useful extension still needs to be found.     

Can gravitational spin-spin interaction really balance two Curzon masses?

Curzon's bipolar solution as written in Weyl coordinates by Dietz and Hoenselaers (more specifically, the expression of γ₀) for the seed metric is shown to be incompatible with the axis specifications and eventually invalidates the conclusion that two spinning Curzon masses do balance. The genesis of the subtle error of Dietz and Hoenselaers will also be evident from our analysis.     

Can the point source method be used for design of sub-wavelength surface plasmon devices?

Integrating optical components into electronic chips needs compressing the dimensions of optical components, which are now nearly thousand times larger than those of electronic components. Surface plasmon-based devices may offer a solution to this size-compatibility problem. Shi et al. introduced a new method, called point source method, to design sub-wavelength surface plasmon devices. To test the validity of this method, we calculated the light transmission through sub-wavelength structures by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method and point source method. Comparing the two results, we found that the correct light distribution through slits can be obtained by the point source method only in the comparatively far zone and the slit widths have to be selected carefully. Phase distributions obtained by the two methods are not the same and the phase difference is not constant for slits with different widths.     

Can we extract lambda-lambda interaction from two-particle momentum correlation?

We analyze the invariant mass spectrum of Λ-Λ in ¹²C(K⁻, K⁺ ΛΛ) reaction at P_K⁻ = 1.65 GeV/c by using a combined framework of IntraNuclear Cascade (INC) model and the correlation function technique. The observed enhancement at low-invariant masses can be well reproduced with attractive Λ-Λ interactions with the scattering length either in the range a = −6 −4 fm (no bound state) or a = 7 12 fm (with bound state). We also discuss Λ-Λ correlation functions in central relativistic heavy-ion collisions as a possible way to eliminate this discrete ambiguity.