Results from the monitoring of pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables on the Danish market, 2000-01

To check compliance with the maximum residue levels in foods and to monitor the residue levels to enable an evaluation of the exposure of the Danish population to pesticides, a monitoring programme for pesticides residues in fruit and vegetables was performed. Sampling plans were designed based on previous findings and on consumption data. Samples (n = 4404) of mainly fresh conventionally and organically grown fruit and vegetables were collected at wholesalers and importers and at food processing companies. Of the samples, 3% were frozen products and 5% organically grown. Of the samples, 34% were of Danish origin, with 66% from other countries. Two accredited laboratories performed analyses of the samples using capillary gas chromatography, liquid chromatography and a spectrophotometric method. Reporting levels were set at the lowest calibration level or at the limit of determination. Residues were found in 60% of the samples of fruit but in only 18% of the vegetable samples. Residues above the maximum residue levels were found in 6% of all samples of fruit and in 2% of the vegetable samples.     

An efficient return algorithm for non-associated plasticity with linear yield criteria in principal stress space

An efficient return algorithm for stress update in numerical plasticity computations is presented. The yield criterion must be linear in principal stress space and can be composed of any number of yield planes. Each of these yield planes may have an associated or non-associated flow rule. The stress return and the formation of the constitutive matrix is carried out in principal stress space. Here the manipulations simplify and rely on geometrical arguments. The singularities arising at the intersection of yield planes are dealt with in a straightforward way also based on geometrical considerations. The method is exemplified on non-associated Mohr–Coulomb plasticity throughout the paper.     

An executable subset of VDM-SL in an SA/RT framework

In this article we present the executable specification language IPTES Meta-IV based on the formal specification language VDM-SL. The language has been fitted to work in an SA/RT framework and the article presents how it supports the specification of the data transformation part of SA/RT. Furthermore we present some of the advanced constructs of the language seen as an executable specification language in its own right. Finally we present how an IPTES Meta-IV interpreter is used in combination with a high-level timed Petri net executor to execute SA/RT models.     

Effect of temperature on recombinant protein production using the Bm5/Bm5.NPV expression system

A series of experiments have been conducted using a recombinant baculovirus/insect cell expression system (Bm5/Bm5.NPV.CAT) to establish the optimum temperature for both cell growth and virus infection. Bm5 cell growth was found to be limited at temperatures below 22°C and ceased completely at temperatures above 34°C. In the range between 24 and 28°C, final cell densities always reached 96% of the highest achievable viable cell density. The shortest population doubling time was obtained at 28°C. Overall, a consistent increase in metabolism with increasing temperatures was observed. During the infection/viral replication phase, an increase in the temperature from 25 to 31°C resulted in a faster decrease in viable cell density and an earlier production of chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT). Furthermore, protein yield at temperatures above 28°C was significantly reduced. Overall, the best temperature for the infection phase for the Bm5/Bm5.NPV expression system was found to be 25°C when the cells are cultured in serum free media.     

Antibody- and cell-mediated immune responses of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae-infected and bacterin-vaccinated pigs

The number involved in and the rate of migration of donor leucocytes into the following recipient organs (spleen, thymus, bone marrow, lung and mesenteric lymph nodes) were measured in two rat models of orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) using donor-specific MHC class I antibodies. The first OLT model is one that does not require immunosuppression in order to achieve tolerance and involved the transplantation of DA (MHC haplotype, RT1a) livers into PVG (RT1c) recipients. The second model was one that required a 7-day (10 mg/kg) treatment with cyclosporin A (CsA) to achieve tolerance and used DA donors into Lewis (RT1(1)) recipients. Recipient organs were biopsied on days 3, 20 and 87 following OLT and donor leucocyte migration was quantified by immunohistochemistry and computer densitometry of immunoblots of detergent-solublized tissues in order to resolve both membrane-bound and soluble donor MHC class I antigen. In a separate experiment, spleen biopsies were taken following OLT on days 3 and 15 from the naturally tolerizing OLT model (DA into PVG), treated with and without CsA for 7 days and compared with the (DA into Lewis) model. The initial rate of leucocyte migration between days 3 and 21 following OLT was found to be the most rapid into the spleen, followed by the bone marrow and mesenteric lymph nodes in the naturally tolerant (DA into PVG) model when compared with the (DA into Lewis) model. The number of donor leucocytes in the spleen and mesenteric lymph nodes in both models was, however, approximately the same by 87 days. No real difference in the rate of leucocyte migration was seen in the thymus or the lung for both transplant models over the time course assayed. CsA was found to lower the rate of donor leucocyte migration only over the period it was administered. The rate of donor leucocyte migration into the spleen was still much lower 15 days after OLT in the (DA into Lewis) model compared with the (DA into PVG) model treated with and without CsA. Thus the differences in the rate of donor leucocyte migration into the spleen, bone marrow and mesenteric lymph nodes immediately following OLT may offer an explanation as to why the (DA into PVG) combination is able to accept a transplanted liver without immunosuppressive therapy.     

Controlled prospective longitudinal study of women with cancer: II. Psychological outcomes.

The incidence and etiology of major life difficulties for women with survivable cancer were studied. Women with early stage cancer (n?=?65) were assessed after diagnosis but prior to treatment and reassessed at 4, 8, and 12 mo posttreatment. Two matched comparison groups, women diagnosed and treated for benign disease (n?=?22) and healthy women (n?=?60), were also assessed longitudinally. Results for 4 life areas are reported: (a) Emotional response to the life-threatening diagnosis and anticipation of treatment was characterized by depressed, anxious, and confused moods, whereas the response for women with benign disease was anxious only; these responses were transitory. (b) There was no evidence for a higher incidence of relationship dissolution or poorer marital adjustment; however, 30% of the women treated for disease reported that their partners may have had some sexual difficulty. (c) There was no evidence for impaired social adjustment. (d) Women treated for cancer retained their employment; however, their involvement was significantly reduced during recovery. Data suggest "islands" of significant life disruption following cancer, which do not appear to portend global adjustment vulnerability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)