Accumulation and depuration of tetramethyllead by rainbow trout

Tetramethyllead was found very toxic especially to juvenile rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). It was accumulated rapidly from the water by the fish and the highest concentration was found in the lipid layer of the intestine. Depuration of Me₄Pb from the fish organs was initially quite rapid, followed by a slower decrease and eventually reaching residual levels. Environmental concentrations of Me₄Pb detected in the fishery products thus represent a balance between uptake and depuration of this compound in fish.In conjunction with this study, a dosing system for exposing rainbow trout to Me₄Pb was developed.     

Analysis of oxygen content in steel by means of 14 MeV neutrons

A sealed-tube type 14 MeV neutron generator with maximum neutron output of 10¹¹ n/sec, incorporating a pneumatic sample transfer system of single-tube type and with a single rotation of the sample during neutron irradiation, is used to develop a method for determining oxygen content in steel in the ppm range with the best precision, and at the same time, to make the process suitable for routine work in industrial applications. The pneumatic sample transfer system is made to incline at an angle of about 20° towards the horizontal at the irradiation station. Together with a constant pressure gas reservoir for providing a constant optimum gas pressure in the transfer tube, the system gives a result of nearly perfect reproducibility in the operation.A pulse shape analyser system incorporating an organic scintillation detector is used for monitoring neutron flux level during the neutron irradiation of the sample. The percentage standard deviation of the neutron counts by the present monitoring system ranges from 0.9 to 2.7% with 0.5% as the percentage statistical deviation alone.Polyethylene, of oxygen content 163 ppm determined by comparison with lucite, is used as the steel sample carrier. A 3 × 3 in. NaI(Tl) crystal is used with a single channel analyser to count the 6.1 and 7.1 MeV gamma rays emitted from ¹⁶N as a result of the reaction ¹⁶O(n, p)¹⁶N. An optimum combination for the time of irradiation, delay and counting of the induced activity; of 30, 0.1 and 30 sec, respectively, is chosen in the present experiment. Thus, for a 100 g steel sample with an oxygen concentration of 170 ppm, the percentage standard deviation is about 4.4% which is, in fact, the counting statistic itself, resulting from a neutron flux level of 1.3 × 10⁸ n/sec cm² at the sample. As the present activation analysis makes use of the comparison method, a steel-mylar standard made of layered steel and mylar discs is prepared and a calibration curve constructed. A method of correcting the oxygen contribution in the polyethylene sample carrier is devised and the content of oxygen in the steel standard is determined.A survey of neutron flux distribution is also attempted and it is found that nearly symmetrical distribution of the flux, about the centre of the sample carrier which is placed with its axis in parallel to the plane of the disc-shaped target of the neutron-generating tube, is far from being flat.     

Massive extranglandular aromatization of plasma androstenedione resulting in feminization of a prepubertal boy

This report describes the mechanism of origin and the quantity of estrogen produced in a prepubertal boy who developed severe feminization at 8 yr of age as the result of a heretofore undescribed metabolic abnormality. The clinical findings were gynecomastia and accelerated linear growth and bone maturation. At the time feminization developed, there were no signs of growth or development of the otherwise normal prepubertal male external genitalia or any increase of muscle mass that normally accompanies male puberty. The hyperestrogenism was found to be the consequence of massive extraglandular conversion of plasma androstenedione to estrone. During a 6-mo period of study, the plasma production rate of androstenedione ranged from 1.2 to 1.6 mg/day. More than 55% of plasma androstenedione was metabolized by aromatization to estrone which, in turn, was extensively sulfurylated in the tissue sites of aromatization before its entry into the blood. Thus, estrone sulfate was the final product in the aromatizing sites, and the plasma production rate of estrone sulfate derived from plasma androstenedione was 782 mug/24 h. The extent of extraglandular conversion of plasma androstenedione to estrone measured in this boy was 50 times that observed in two normal prepubertal boys. Moreover, 94% of the extraglandular aromatization occurred in extrahepatic sites. The metabolic clearance rate of plasma androstenedione, 2,380 liters/day per m(2), was markedly increased in this boy. Approximately 1,500 liters of plasma androstenedione clearance was accounted for by extrahepatic, extraglandular aromatization. The fractional conversion of testosterone to estradiol, 0.16, was 50 times greater in this boy than that observed in normal young adult men. The total extent of aromatization of plasma prehormones was even greater in this boy inasmuch as evidence was obtained that aromatization of 16-hydroxysteroids, e.g. 16alpha-hydroxy androstenedione and 16alpha-hydroxy dehydroisoandrosterone (sulfate), resulted in estriol formation independent of estrone formation. Thus, extensive extrahepatic, extraglandular aromatization resulted in advanced feminization in this prepubertal boy by a previously undescribed metabolic abnormality.     

Time Diversity with Adaptive Error Detection to Combat Rayleigh Fading in Digital Mobile Radio

A new diversity technique is proposed to combat Rayleigh fading in digital mobile radio systems transmitting speech signals. The speech signals are μ-law PCM encoded (mu = 255, 8 kHz sampling, 8 bits/code word, 64 kbit/s data rate), and alternate data words are used to form two streams called "odd" and "even." The even stream is delayed by τ seconds and the streams are interleaved prior to radio transmission using two-level PSK modulation. At the receiver the odd data stream is delayed by τ and interleaved with the even stream. Consequently, if an error burst occurs, the effect of the reshuffling of the data stream is, in general, to place words with bit errors in juxtaposition to those correctly received. After μ-law PCM decoding of the words, a statistical error detection strategy is evoked to identify the erroneous samples. These samples are replaced by adjacent sample interpolation to give the recovered speech sequence. No recourse to channel protection coding is made. In our experiments a Rayleigh fading envelope was generated from a hardware simulator and stored in a computer, along with four sentences of speech. The system was then simulated and the recovered speech perceived. The objective performance measures were segmental SNR for the audio signal, and BER. Different error detection strategies were examined and restrictions on τ investigated. For a mobile speed of 30 mph, SNR values of 32, 21, and 16 dB were obtained for BER values of 0.1, 1, and 2 percent, corresponding to SNR gains over an uncorrected system of 3, 9, and 11 dB, respectively.     

Thermodynamic systems analysis—I. A graph-theoretic approach

An analysis of thermodynamic systems using the porcess graph model is presented in this paper. The process graph model is a linear-graph representation of systems undergoing thermodynamic processes. It provides a concise model of the interconnections and interaction interfaces of a thermodynamic system with respect to all types of flows. The analysis procedure accounts for all types of work, heat flow, and their interactions in a unified manner. The modelling and analysis procedures are illustrated by examples.The relation between the postulates of system theory and the laws of thermodynamics are stated as theorems. The first and second law analyses in thermodynamics are shown to be direct applications of network postulates from system theory. Appropriate system variables, namely, energy flow and exergy factors are introduced, which are shown to correspond to through and across variables, respectively.