Detection and quantitation of aflatoxin B1 in orange juice by SOS-Chromotest

A new method for the detection and quantitation of aflatoxin B1 in liquids is described. The method is based on the SOS Chromotest, in which damage caused by aflatoxin B1 to the DNA of suitably engineered E. coli induces beta-galactosidase. Aflatoxin B1 developing in orange juice inoculated with spores of Aspergillus parasiticus is detectable equally well by TLC as by the SOS-Chromotest.     

A study of the phase composition of iron-ore briquets to assess their behavior in a blast furnace

We study a mechanism for maintaining the strength of cement-bonded iron-oxide-bearing briquets when heated under reducing conditions. These briquets retain their strength when heated in a reducing atmosphere: up to 700–750°C, strength retention is due to the cement stone; strength retention under further heating is due to the continuous metal shell formed on the surface of the briquet as the iron oxide in the surface layer of the briquet is reduced to iron. Fabrication and usage of briquets of iron-ore concentrate can be recommended as a wash material for blast furnaces. Disperse materials containing SiO₂ and MgO should be added to the charge during fabrication of the briquets in order to improve the washing properties of briquet slag.     

Two theorems in catoptrics.

Two general theorems in the theory of mirrors are presented. The first one asserts that a mirror that reflects a parallel beam into a beam with zero mean curvature must be harmonic. The second one provides a universal characterization of the spot diagram of rays from a reflected parallel beam as they intersect a plane orthogonal to their direction of propagation.     

Parameters and Technology for Fabricating PIK Reactor Fuel Elements

The construction of the fuel elements of a high-flux PIK research reactor is described. The technological tolerances in the process of fuel-element fabrication are presented. The basic geometric and mass parameters of several standard batches of fabricated fuel elements are determined experimentally. Statistical analysis of the experimental data shows that the deviations in the main parameters fall within the limits of the indicated technological tolerances and are described by a Gaussian distribution to a high degree of accuracy.     

Discrete geometry methods in processing complicated graphical information

The development of efficient techniques for converting information obtained from complicated graphical documents into a digital form is considered. It is shown that the use of discrete geometry methods make it possible to improve the efficiency of many technological stages. The work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 00-15-96018 and by the Integration Foundation, project no. K-03392.     

Monitoring, removal and risk assessment of cytostatic drugs in hospital wastewater.

Cytostatic agents are applied in cancer therapy and subsequently excreted into hospital wastewater. As these substances are known to be carcinogenic, mutagenic and toxic for reproduction, they should be removed from wastewater at their source of origin.In this study the fate and effects of the cancerostatic platinum compounds (CPC) cisplatin, carboplatin, oxaliplatin, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and the anthracyclines doxorubicin, daunorubicin and epirubicin were investigated in hospital wastewater. Wastewater from the in-patient treatment ward of a hospital in Vienna was collected and monitored for the occurrence of the selected drugs. A calculation model was established to spot the correlation between administered dosage and measured concentrations. To investigate the fate of the selected substances during wastewater treatment, the oncologic wastewater was treated in a pilot membrane bioreactor system (MBR) and in downstream advanced wastewater treatment processes (adsorption to activated carbon and UV-treatment). Genotoxic effects of the oncologic wastewater were assessed before and after wastewater treatment followed by a risk assessment.Monitoring concentrations of the selected cytostatics in the oncologic wastewater were in line with calculated concentrations. Due to different mechanisms (adsorption, biodegradation) in the MBR-system 5 - FU and the anthracyclines were removed < LOD, whereas CPC were removed by 60%. In parallel, genotoxic effects could be reduced significantly by the MBR-system. The risk for humans, the aquatic and terrestrial environment by hospital wastewater containing cytostatic drugs was classified as small in a preliminary risk assessment.