Structure of cokes from coking coal vitrites

The coking process of vitrites and thermobitumens separated from vitrites was examined; structural X-ray and microscopic examinations of the cokes obtained were carried out. A correlation between reflectance distribution of vitrites and microscopic structure of their cokes was found.An increase in the structural ordering of the cokes from vitrites, passing from cokes of gas coal to cokes of orthocoking coals, is observed. It is accompanied by an increase of the optical anisotropy of the resultant cokes; this anisotropy first appears in coke from gas-coaking coal.The cokes from the thermobitumens are lower ordered than the cokes from parent vitrites but all these cokes are partially or entirely optically anisotropic.Total removal of the thermobitumens from coals deprives the cokes from the residues after the extraction of any optical anisotropy.     

Fluorometric method for determination of vitamin B6 in soya bean

Summary The simple fluorometric method for determination of added pyridoxine-HCl in enriched food, based on oxidation of pyridoxine to 4-pyridoxic acid by means of KMnO₄, has been modified for determination of total B₆ in soya bean. In comparison to the other fluorometric procedures, the proposed method is the simplest one, rapid and easy to perform, demanding the least time for oxidation and not using hazardous chemicals (KMnO₄ instead of KCN). Good recovery, low relative standard deviation and low total error allow the proposed procedure to be included into the group of excellent methods.

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Die fluorometrische Methode zur Vitamin B₆-Bestimmung in Soja

Zusammenfassung Die einfache fluorometrische Methode zur Bestimmung von zugegebenem Pyridoxin in angereicherten Lebensmitteln basiert auf der Oxidation des Pyridoxins mit Kaliumpermanganat zur 4-Pyridoxinsäure und wurde für die Bestimmung des gesamten Vitamin B₆ in Soja modifiziert. Im Vergleich mit anderen fluorometrischen Methoden ist die vorgeschlagene, einfach, schnell und leicht durchzuführen. Diese Methode braucht nur wenig Zeit für die Oxidation und verwendet ungiftige Chemikalien (KMnO₄ statt KCN). Die gute Wiederfindung, die geringe relative Standardabweichung und der geringe Gesamtfehler reiht das vorgeschlagene Verfahren in die Gruppe der ausgezeichneten Methoden ein.

     

Utilization of organic phosphates by selected bacteria and algae

Studies showed that synthetic phosphates of a surface active nature may become a source of carbon and energy for the Bacillus licheniformis. Bacillus mycoides, Bacillus cougulans and Azotobacter agilis bacteria in spite of the fact they are hardly oxidizable. In addition, it was found that these compounds may also become a source of phosphorus for the Scenedesmus obliquus alga which proves that these algae contain suitable phosphatases permitting utilization of a specific organic compound.     

Radiation transport calculations for 50 MV photon therapy beam using the Monte Carlo code GEANT4

A new thin transmission target technique for fast dose delivery using narrow scanned photon beams has been developed. High-energy, 50-100 MeV, electron beams of low emittance incident on thin low-Z targets produce narrow and intense high-energy bremsstrahlung beams. However, electrons transmitted through the target are bent from the therapeutic beam by a purging magnet and have to be effectively absorbed in a dedicated electron collector. The electron-photon transport through a treatment head has been studied using the Monte Carlo simulation toolkit Geant4. The Geant4 electromagnetic physics processes have been compared with experimental data of radial dose profiles. The differences between calculated and measured radial dose distributions are approximately 2-10%. Preliminary investigations of the collector design have been carried out in order to minimise secondary electron and photon contamination of the therapeutic beam. The toolkit presented here is promising for further development of narrow photon beam therapy.     

Lebensmittelkontaminationen im Emissionsbereich Chemischer Reinigungen

Zusammenfassung Lebensmittel, die im Emissionsbereich Chemischer Reinigungen gelagert bzw. verkauft werden, können erheblich mit Tetrachlorethen belastet sein. Hohe Tetrachlorethengehalte wurden sowohl in Lebensmittelproben aus über Chemischen Reinigungen gelegenen Wohnungen als auch in Proben aus dem Lebensmitteleinzelhandel festgestellt. Lebensmittel mit hohem Fettgehalt wiesen stets die höchsten Kontaminationen auf.

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Contamination of foodstuffs by emissions from dry cleaning units

Summary Tetrachloroethene (perchloroethylene) from dry-cleaning units may contaminate adjacent flats in the same building. Increased concentrations of tetrachloroethene have been found in foodstuffs in homes situated above dry cleaning units and in foodstuffs from groceries located neat drycleaning units. The concentrations were extremely high in foods rich in fat.

     

Transport of testosterone and estrogen from dairy-farm waste lagoons to groundwater

Although concentrated animal feeding operations constantly generate physiologically active steroidal hormones, little is known of their environmental fate. Estrogen and testosterone concentrations in groundwater and their distribution in sediments below a dairy-farm wastewater lagoon were therefore determined and compared to a reference site located upgradient of the farm. Forward simulations of flow as well as estrogen and testosterone transport were conducted based on data from the sediment profile obtained during drilling of a monitoring well belowthe dairy-farm waste lagoon. Testosterone and estrogen were detected in sediments to depths of 45 and 32 m, respectively. Groundwater samples were directly impacted by the dairy farm, as evidenced by elevated concentrations of nitrate, chloride, testosterone, and estrogen as compared to the reference site. Modeling potential transport of hormones in the vadose zone via advection, dispersion, and sorption could not explain the depths at which estrogen and testosterone were found, suggesting that other transport mechanisms influence hormone transport under field conditions. These mechanisms may involve interactions between hormones and manure as well as preferential flow paths, leading to enhanced transport rates. These types of interactions should be further investigated to understand the processes regulating hormone transport in the subsurface environment and parametrized to forecast long-term fate and transport of steroidal hormones.     

Discovery of New Antiproliferative Imidazopyrazole Acylhydrazones Able To Interact with Microtubule Systems

Even though immunotherapy has radically changed the search for anticancer therapies, there are still many different pathways that are open to intervention with traditional small molecules. To expand our investigation in the anticancer field, we report here a new series of compounds in which our previous pyrazole and imidazopyrazole scaffolds are linked to a differently decorated phenyl ring through an acylhydrazone linker. Preliminary tests on the library were performed at the National Cancer Institute (USA) against the full NCI 60 cell panel. The best compounds among the imidazopyrazole series were then tested by immunofluorescence staining for their inhibition of cell proliferation, apoptosis induction, and their effect on the cell cycle and on microtubules. Two compounds, in particular 4-benzyloxy-3-methoxybenzyliden imidazopyrazole-7-carbohydrazide showed good growth inhibition, with IC₅₀ values in the low-micromolar range, and induced apoptosis. Both compounds altered the cell-cycle phases with the appearance of polyploid cells. Immunofluorescence analysis evidenced microtubules alterations; tubulin polymerization assays and docking studies suggested the tubulin system to be the possible, although not exclusive, target of the new acylhydrazone series reported here.