A simple test for differentiation between E. coli and A. aerogenes

An important problem in water quality control is the ability to differentiate between E. coli (faecal) and A. aerogenes (non-faecal) coliforms. To perform this differentiation, a simple test, based on a modification of the selective mFC medium and optimal incubation temperature (37°C) is proposed. Under these specific conditions E. coli bacteria develop into dark blue colonies, whereas A. aerogenes into pink ones. The intermediate coliform bacteria appear greenish-blue or pink, depending on their relation (closeness) to E. coli or A. aerogenes.     

Data management for an interactive graphics system oriented to planning applications

INTRANS is a man-computer interactive graphics system, intended for analysis of urban and transportation planning problems. It is designed to operate primarily under time sharing on IBM 360/370 computers. The paper describes the functional design and the structure of the data management of INTRANS.

The data management is designed to answer the specific needs of planning applications: large data-sets, comparative analysis of several alternatives, and interface with batch processing computer programs. At the same time, the system is designed to operate within an environment of extremely limited resources of core and computing time.     

Absorption of a multicomponenet gaseous mixtures in the presence of instantaneous surface reaction

The rate of absorption from a multicomponent gaseous mixture into a flowing stream in the presence of instantaneous surface reaction is investigated. This is effected by using the generalized Fick's Law for multicomponent diffusion and also by applying the approximate approach based on the assumption that the concentrations of the reactive species are small. Constant properties are assumed for the mixture which are taken at a reference state. As an example, the absorption of C0₂-H₂S and C0₂-H₂ from air are considered. The results show that when the binary diffusion coefficients of the species in the inert gas are greatly different, the error introduced in calculations based on the “Low Concentration” approach is quite appreciable.     

Introduction of Formal Reliability Engineering in Israel

During my sabbatical leave in Israel, I approached reliability engineering in a number of ways. The papers I delivered in conferences, lectures, workshops, short courses, in-plant training, and indoctrination in reliability engineering appreciably increased interest in the reliability discipline. Engineers in Israel for the first time took the 1981 American Society for Quality Control (ASQC) examination for ASQC certification as reliability engineers. The results of the 1981 April examination were gratifying: 11 passed the examination and were awarded the CRE (ASQCCertified Reliability Engineer).     

Skin smoothing effects of Dead Sea minerals: comparative profilometric evaluation of skin surface

The skin smoothing effects of three different liquid gels were compared on 20 mature women. Treatment applications were performed twice a day over a period of 4 weeks, and the skin roughness parameter (Rz) of all test participants was determined at the beginning and at the end of the study using a computer-aided laser profilometry, in accordance with DIN 4768 ff. At the end of the application period, the liquid gel with 1% of a Dead Sea mineral solution had an average skin roughness parameter reduction of 40.7%. The liquid gel without mineral additives showed an average reduction in skin roughness of 27.8%. The control gel without anti-wrinkle agents or the additives showed an average reduction of only 10.4%.     

Shaped Charge Jet Tail Velocity

The impact of a shaped charge jet, created by a stationary charge onto a moving target, creates an elongated cut on the target face. The length of the cut, together with additional data about the charge and target configuration, enables the calculation of the jet tail velocity. It was found that this velocity increases with the stand-off distance between the charge and the target. A possible cause for this acceleration is that the jet material is under tension due to the velocity gradient along it and the stress throughout it equals the dynamic flow stress of the material. This stress pulls on the jet material towards the center of gravity and tends to reduce the velocity gradient, i.e. decelerate the tip and accelerate the tail. 1D simulations show that this mechanism results in a constant acceleration of the tail, and that the acceleration depends on the flow stress of the jet material, hence on its temperature. Based on the experimental evidence and on the simulations, it is postulated that in addition to the velocity gradient along the jet, there are temperature and strength gradients along it, as well.