The evaluation of comfort in passively heated dwellings

This paper refers to both US experience and to preliminary results from UK field trials in assessing the extent to which the thermal characteristics of different types of passive system meet the design requirements for comfort. The approach put forward is from the point of view of the designer who wishes to minimise the risk of discomfort arising in a dwelling which has a heating load that will be met in part by passive solar heating. The thermal characteristics of the different types of passive system are discussed. Possible localised sources of discomfort are examined, and various design strategies which can be adopted to avoid the risk of discomfort are suggested. Finally, the value of comfort indices is briefly discussed in relation to the evaluation of comfort in passively heated dwellings.     

Microwave freeze drying: An experimental investigation

Microwave freeze-drying experiments have been carried out with $\text{1}\text{4}$–$\text{3}\text{4}$ in. beef cubes, over a range of pressures and at various field strengths. For a $\text{1}\text{2}$ in. cube at a field strength of 100 V/cm, the drying time is approximately 6.67 hr. The maximum applicable field strength is 130 V/cm, giving a drying time of 4.33 hr. Beyond this field strength, melting of the ice-core and/or overheating of the dried layer will occur. Experimental drying curves and temperature profiles (in dried and frozen regions) are found to be in good agreement with the predictions of the previously presented two dimensional freeze-drying model. Total pressure is found to have a significant effect on sample temperature, but little influence on the overall drying time, due to coupling. It is concluded that the lowest possible pressure should be used in microwave freeze-drying, although pressures below a limiting value of 200 μm do not seem necessary.     

Autologous marrow recovery following allogeneic marrow transplantation in a patient with severe aplastic anemia

A 45-year-old woman with severe idiopathic marrow failure was prepared for marrow transplantation by administration of cyclophosphamide (cy) 50 mg/kg on each of four successive days. She then received an intravenous infusion of 20 X 10(9) nucleated marrow cells from an HL-A matched and mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) non-reactive sister. There was evidence for minimal marrow recovery in 1-2 months and a second marrow infusion was carried out 69 days after the first without additional immunosuppression. There was a continued slow recovery of peripheral blood counts with complete reconstitution of erythropoiesis, return of the white blood cell count to between 3 and 4000/mm3, with 50% granulocytes, and platelets to 60--70,000/mm3, 11 months after the initial grafting attempt. Red cell antigens and gamma globulin allotypes were of recipient type. The MLC and the indirect cell mediated lympholysis (CML) test became positive possibly indicating cellular sensitization to non HL-A antigens. This report of a patient with severe marrow failure documents autologous recovery of marrow function after receiving a large dose of cy and allogeneic marrow. The implications of this are discussed.     

Number and function of Sertoli cells, number and yield of spermatogonia, and daily sperm production in three breeds of boar

The objective of this study was to determine the number of Sertoli cells per boar, daily sperm production, and germ cell yield per type A spermatogonium in mature Whitecross, Meishan, and West African boars. The paired parenchymal mass was greatest in the Whitecross boars and greater in Meishan than in West African boars. Daily sperm production per boar (x 10(9)) differed significantly (P < 0.05) among breeds (Whitecross: 12.5 +/- 1.5; Meishan: 6.0 +/- 0.5; West African: 2.9 +/- 0.3). Daily sperm production per boar was positively (P < 0.01) correlated with parenchymal mass (r = 0.97), number of A spermatogonia per testis (r = 0.88), and Sertoli cells per testis (r = 0.87). Daily sperm production per gram of testis was similar among breeds. Number of Sertoli cells and number of type A spermatogonia per boar were greater for the Whitecross but similar in the Meishan and West African boars. The number of Stage VII germ cells per Sertoli cell was greater (P < 0.05) in the Meishan (39.08 +/- 5.07), but similar in the Whitecross (19.91 +/- 1.62) and West African boars (15.81 +/- 2.43). The number of type A spermatogonia per testis was highly and positively (P < 0.01) correlated with number of Sertoli cells per testis (r = 0.95), and parenchymal mass (r = 0.88). There was a trend for the spermatid yield per type A spermatogonium to be greater in the Meishan boars, and this ratio was positively correlated with spermatid:Sertoli cell ratio (r = 0.62) but not with daily sperm production per boar or Sertoli cells per testis. No significant germ cell degeneration occurred during the long meiotic prophase, but the loss of progeny during postprophase of meiosis averaged 32.62% across all breeds. Germ cell degeneration was similar (P > 0.05) across breeds during spermiogenesis, and on average amounted to 8.6%. The increased number of type A spermatogonia and of Sertoli cells associated with larger testes for the Whitecross over West African or Meishan boars is sufficient to explain the higher sperm production in the Whitecross. However, the lower index of degeneration and more efficient Sertoli cell function in Meishan boars results in the daily sperm production being intermediate between that of the Whitecross and West African boars.     

Sex bias in the diagnosis of histrionic and antisocial personality disorders.

The differential prevalence of the histrionic and antisocial personality disorders among men and women has been attributed both to sex biases and to actual variation in disorder base rates. The present study assessed the bias and base rate explanations and examined whether sex biases are minimized by the relatively explicit diagnostic criteria in the DSM-III. Psychologists (N?=?354) either diagnosed 9 DSM-III disorders from case histories that varied in the ambiguity of the antisocial and histrionic personality disorder diagnoses or rated the degree to which specific features extracted from the case histories met 10 histrionic and antisocial diagnostic criteria. The sex of the patient was either male, female, or unspecified. Sex biases were evident for the diagnoses but not for the diagnostic criteria. The results are discussed with respect to base rate effects, sex biases, and the construction of diagnostic criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

GC/MS characterisation of cyclodimers from p-coumaric and ferulic acids by photodimerisation—a possible factor influencing cell wall biodegradability

The cyclodimerisation of trans-p-coumaric (tCA; (E)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl) propenoic acid) and trans-ferulic (tFA; (E)-3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl) propenoic acid) acids to form substituted truxillic and truxinic acids has been investigated since dimers of this type are present in graminaceous cell waits and are likely to be of importance in limiting wall biodegradability. Irradiation of a thin film of a mixture of tCA and tF A, under ‘daylight’ fluorescent tubes and incandescent lamps in a growth cabinet, produced three cyclodimers corresponding to 16 % conversion of monomers. Under the same conditions of irradiation, a thin film of FA alone yielded only 2% of F A-F A. When tF A crystals were irradiated, no dimerisation occurred, whereas tCA crystals were totally dimerised to CA-CA. Lower yields of dimers were obtained using UV irradiation. The dimers were shown, by capillary gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, to be derivatives of truxillic acid (t-2, c-4-diphenyl-r-1, t-3-cyclobutanedicarboxylic acid) composed of CA-CA, CA-FA and FA-FA, and to have gas chromatographic retention times identical to those of dimeric compounds found in grass cell walls. The results are considered in relation to dimerisation of phenolic acids in plant cell walls under the influence of sunlight.     

Simulating price patterns for tradable green certificates to promote electricity generation from wind

This article uses computer simulation to anticipate the price dynamics in a market for Tradable Green Certificates (TGCs). These markets have been used in Europe to promote generation of electricity from renewable resources like wind. Similar markets have been proposed in the United States of America (USA) where the certificates are called Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). The certificates are issued to the generating companies for each megawatt-hour of renewable electricity generation. The companies may sell the certificates in a market, and the revenues from certificate sales provide an extra incentive to invest in new generating capacity. Proponents argue that this market-based incentive can be designed to support government mandates for a growing fraction of electricity generation from renewable sources. In the USA, these mandates are set by the states and are known as Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS).     

Service-learning for graduate students

OBJECTIVES: The European Commission funded EUROTOLD Project sought to examine the legal and ethical implications of living donor organ transplantation within Europe, facilitated by a multi-centre study acquiring data on practices, laws, policies, attitudes and decision-making processes. METHODS: Methods involving primary sources included interviews with clinical staff and past and present organ donors and recipients, and questionnaire surveys of transplant centres, individual clinical staff and legal experts. These strategies were supplemented by an examination of secondary sources such as official reports, transplantation literature, etc. RESULTS: The surveys generated substantial new evidence relating to transplant centre policies and practices, and the attitudes of physicians toward living donation generally and the use of certain specific classes of donor. The latter was facilitated by the use of case scenarios, providing a window upon factors influencing judgments in this sphere. The interview data confirmed earlier findings about donor decision-making. CONCLUSIONS: Responding centres and clinicians displayed a fairly liberal attitude toward living donation but substantial diversity nonetheless exists with regard to living donor transplant volumes between centres and surrounding acceptable waiting times for transplant. Further research is required to identify precisely the reasons underpinning such disparity.     

Oral and parenteral vaccination of mice with protein-ergotamine conjugates and evaluation of protection against fescue toxicosis

Acremonium coenophialum produces ergopeptide alkaloids in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). These ergot alkaloids decrease serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, serum cholesterol and prolactin concentrations, as well as average daily gains (ADG) in cattle. The objective of this study was to evaluate the protection of anti-ergotamine antibodies induced by either oral or parenteral vaccination with protein-ergotamine conjugates or passive vaccination with anti-ergovaline, monoclonal antibodies in a murine model of fescue toxicosis. Ergotamine (EG) was conjugated to bovine serum albumin (BSA) and cholera toxin subunit B (CTB) by the Mannich reaction. Mice were blocked based on weight and randomly allocated into five groups of 10 mice each. Treatment groups were as follows: (1) group vaccinated intraperitoneally (ip) with a BSA-EG conjugate and fed an endophyte-infected (EI) fescue diet (BSA-EG group); (2) group orally vaccinated with a CTB-EG conjugate mixed with free cholera toxin (CT) and fed an EI fescue diet (CTB-EG group); (3) nonvaccinated group fed an EI fescue diet (EI group); (4) group passively vaccinated with anti-ergovaline, monoclonal antibodies and fed an EI fescue diet (MoAB group); and (5) nonvaccinated group fed an endophyte-free (EF) fescue diet (EF group). The EI diet contained 1.5 ppm of Ergovaline (EV), whereas no EV was detected in the EF diet.Respective diets were similar upon nutritional analysis. Unvaccinated mice in the EI group exhibited features of fescue toxicosis as indicated by decreased serum ALP activity and cholesterol, and decreased weight gain as compared to mice in the EF group. Antibodies against EG and EV were present in sera of mice in the BSA-EG and MoAB groups, respectively. Mice orally vaccinated with the CTB-EG conjugate developed secretory IgA (sIgA) antibodies and short-lived, systemic IgG responses against EG. Weight gains were increased in the BSA-EG and CTB-EG groups and tended to be increased in the MoAB group vs. the unvaccinated EI group. Serum ALP activity was decreased in the BSA-EG and MoAB groups as compared to the EF group. Serum ALP activity was further decreased in the BSA-EG vaccinated group as compared to the EI group. Cholesterol concentrations were decreased in the EI, BSA-EG and MoAB groups as compared to the EF group. Prolactin concentrations were similar in all groups.