Characterisation of the neutral oil from a low-temperature coal tar

Tar resulting from fluidised-bed, low-temperature carbonisation of coal was treated to yield a neutral oil from which a series of six other samples was extracted. These were examined by proton magnetic resonance (p.m.r.) spectroscopy, low-ionising-voltage (11 eV) mass spectroscopy (m.s.), gel chromatography followed by fluorescent indicator analysis, and cryoscopy. Aliphatic fractions separated chromatographically were also examined by infra-red spectroscopy. Distributions of hydrogen between chemical types were found for the several fractions from 60 MHz p.m.r. spectra and presented in terms of average structural parameters. M.s. analysis indicated negligible cracking of paraffin components, and the average molecular weight of 197 agreed well with cryoscopic determinations. For the carbon ratio, f_a, between aromatic and total, agreement between m.s. and p.m.r. depends on the p.m.r. structural analysis scheme adopted. P.m.r. and m.s. structural analyses of the aromatics emphasise the predominance of di- and tri-nuclears, with about 40% of available sites substituted, and the importance of acenes in lowtemperature carbonisation material. Gas and gel chromatography showed urea-adductable paraffins to be largely straight-chain C₁₀-C₂₆, much as for tars from carbonisation at higher temperature.     

Retarding effects of DNA on the autoxidation of liposomal suspensions

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is associated with the cell membrane of prokaryotes and the inner nuclear membrane of eukaryotes. The unsaturated fatty acids of phospholipids, which constitute the bilaminar structure of membranes, undergo autoxidation in the presence of O₂. Calf thymus DNA was incubated with methyl archidonate-enriched phosphatidyl choline liposomes in order to study the effect of DNA upon the oxidation of phospholipids while present in their natural in vivo bilayer configuration. DNA retarded the rate of lipid oxidation and the TBA test, but it did not alter the induction period. These results suggest that DNA is scavenging free radicals produced within the phospholipid bilayer.     

Root growth and phosphorus and potassium uptake by two corn genotypes in the field

In a field study P and K uptake by two corn (Zea mays L.) genotypes which differed in root growth was investigated. The effect of differences in root growth on P and K uptake was assessed using a mechanistic-mathematical model which describes nutrient uptake by growing plant roots in soil. Nitrogen was applied at 0 and 227 kg ha^–1 to Pioneer 3732 and B73xMo17 corn grown on Raub silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, mesic Aquic Argiudoll) and at 227 kg N ha^–1 to these two genotypes on Chalmers silt loam (finesilty, mixed, mesic, Typic Haplaquoll). Root growth and P and K uptake by the two corn genotypes was measured 31, 47, 75 and 91 d after planting on the Raub and 31, 47, 61 and 75 d after planting on the Chalmers soil.Root growth and P and K uptake by B73xMo17 was greater than that of Pioneer 3732 on N-fertilized Raub soil. On Chalmers soil the difference in root growth between the two genotypes resulted in an increase in K but not P uptake. The higher soil P level of the Chalmers appears to have offset possible differences in P uptake due to root size. There were no differences between the two genotypes in either the percentage of roots with root hairs, or the density or length of root hairs. Phosphorus and K uptake calculated with the simulation models for both corn genotypes on both soils over each of three growth periods agreed with observed P (Y = 0.68X + 1.71; r = 0.944^**) and K (Y = 0.88X + 15.52; r = 0.928^**) uptake. Differences in P and K uptake between B73xMo17 and Pioneer 3732 resulted primarily from the difference in root growth in the topsoil. A high correlation was found between root surface area and P (r = 0.893^**) and K (r = 0.928^**) uptake by both corn genotypes on both the soils.Journal paper No. 10,316 Purdue Univ. Agric. Exp. Stn., W. Lafayette, In 47906. Contribution from the Dep. of Agron. This paper was supported in part by a grant from the Tennessee Valley Authority.     

Assessment of response function in two PET scanners with and without interplane septa

The authors have assessed the response function both experimentally and theoretically for two commercial tomographs: CTI 931/08-12 and CTI 953B with and without interplane septa. Monte Carlo simulations were undertaken using the GEANT package from CERN. Spatial resolution (tomographic and axial) was calculated for line sources at various positions in the field of view. Sensitivity and scatter fraction (SF) were calculated for various source geometries as a function of energy discrimination. A very realistic response function in positron emission tomography (PET) is obtained by Monte Carlo methods, using global parameters to account for unsimulated phenomena such as scintillation light transport inside a detector block and its sharing among the various phototubes. Minor discrepancies remain for sensitivity and SF at high energy thresholds and may probably be explained by introducing the observed dispersion in the energy response for the various crystals within a detector block.     

Noise equivalent count measurements in a neuro-PET scanner with retractable septa

The noise-equivalent count-rate (NEC) performance of a neuro-positron emission tomography (PET) scanner has been determined with and without interplane septa on uniform cylindrical phantoms of differing radii and in human studies to assess the optimum count rate conditions that realize the maximum gain. In the brain, the effective gain in NEC performance for three-dimensions (3-D) ranges from >5 at low count rates to approximately 3.3 at 200 kcps (equivalent to 37 kcps in 2-D). The gains of the 3-D method assessed by this analysis are significant, and are shown to be highly dependent on count rate and object dimensions.     

DB2 Universal Database: A Case Study of a Successful User-Centered Design Program

This case study describes the application of user-centered design (UCD) principles to the development of a complex middleware software product-IBM's DB2(r) Universal Database. Motivated by trade press reviews highlighting ease-of-use problems, a multisite development team utilized IBM UCD to transform ease of use into a featured product attribute. This case study describes the initial application of UCD to DB21 and the positive business results that followed: critical acclaim, increased marketshare and user satisfaction, and increased support and adoption of UCD across the IBM database product family. Although ease-of-use objectives, target markets, and human factors practitioners' roles have evolved over 6 years and multiple versions of the product, DB2 continues to achieve positive results with UCD. In addition to the flexibility of the UCD methodology, other factors that influenced DB2's success included management support, resource commitment, cross-site communication and collaboration, detailed product specifications, and a focus on supporting user tasks.     

Tribological assessment of a flexible carbon-fibre-reinforced poly(ether-ether-ketone) acetabular cup articulating against an alumina femoral head

New material combinations have been introduced as the bearing surfaces of hip prostheses in an attempt to prolong their life by overcoming the problems of failure due to wear-particle-induced osteolysis. This will hopefully reduce the need for revision surgery. The study detailed here used a hip simulator to assess the volumetric wear rates of large-diameter carbon-fibre-reinforced pitch-based poly(ether-ether-ketone) (CFR-PEEK) acetabular cups articulating against alumina femoral heads. The joints were tested for 25 x 10(6) cycles. Friction tests were also performed on these joints to determine the lubrication regime under which they operate. The average volumetric wear rate of the CFR-PEEK acetabular component of 54 mm diameter was 1.16 mm(3)/10(6) cycles, compared with 38.6 mm(3)/10(6) cycles for an ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene acetabular component of 28 mm diameter worn against a ceramic head. This extremely low wear rate was sustained over 25 x 10(6) cycles (the equivalent of up to approximately 25 years in vivo). The frictional studies showed that the joints worked under the mixed-boundary lubrication regime. The low wear produced by these joints showed that this novel joint couple offers low wear rates and therefore may be an alternative material choice for the reduction of osteolysis.     

Role of intimin and bundle-forming pili in enteropathogenic Escherichia coli adhesion to pediatric intestinal tissue in vitro

Attaching and effacing (A/E) lesion formation is central to enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) pathogenesis. In vitro experiments with human epithelial cell lines have implicated virulence plasmid-encoded bundle-forming pili (BFP) in initial binding and intimin in intimate attachment and A/E lesion formation. This study investigated the role of BFP and intimin in EPEC interactions with pediatric small intestinal biopsy tissue in in vitro organ culture. Organ culture infections (2 to 8 h) were performed with E2348/69 (a wild-type EPEC O127:H6 clinical isolate) and E2348/69 derivatives including CVD206 (eae deficient), CVD206(pCVD438) (eae-complemented CVD206), CVD206(pCVD438/01) (expressing intimin, which is nonfunctional due to a single amino acid substitution), JPN15 (spontaneous EPEC adherence factor virulence plasmid-cured E2348/69), and 31-6-1(1) (E2348/69 with a TnphoA insertion inactivation mutation in the virulence plasmid-encoded bfpA gene). Scanning and transmission electron microscopy revealed that after 8 h E2348/69 and CVD206 (pCVD438) (both Int+ BFP+) adhered to all specimens, causing A/E lesions with surrounding microvillous elongation. JPN15 and 31-6-1(1) (both Int+ BFP-) adhered and caused A/E lesions although bacteria adhered in "flat," two-dimensional groups. CVD206 and CVD206(pCVD438/01) (both Int- BFP+) did not adhere to any sample, and no pathological tissue changes were seen. Thus, in human intestinal organ culture, BFP do not appear to be involved in the initial stages of EPEC nonintimate adhesion but are implicated in the formation of complex, three-dimensional colonies via bacterium-bacterium interactions. Intimin appears to play an essential role in establishing colonization of EPEC on pediatric small intestinal tissue.