Penicillium commune, P. camembertii, the origin of white cheese moulds, and the production of cyclopiazonic acid

The taxonomy of Penicillia producing the mycotoxin cyclopiazonic acid, including isolates classified as Penicillium aurantiogriseum and P. puberulum, is reviewed on the basis of morphology, physiology, mycotoxin production and isoenzyme profiles. It is concluded that P. puberulum, as neotypified by Pitt in his 1979 monograph, is a synonym of P. aurantiogriseum. The correct name for saprophytic Penicillia producing cyclopiazonic acid is P. commune with P. palitans as a synonym. The moulds used in the manufacture of white cheeses, which are all classified in P. camembertii, and which also produce cyclopiazonic acid, are domesticated fungi derived from P. commune.     

The role of isochorismate hydroxymutase genes entC and menF in enterobactin and menaquinone biosynthesis in Escherichia coli

PURPOSE: At a time both when late complications and second malignancies have become a growing concern and when staging laparotomy has been largely abandoned and comparative studies for staging Hodgkin's disease by state of the art computed tomography (CT) vs. lymphangiography have revealed minimal differences in results for these procedures, our purpose for undertaking this study was twofold. Our initial reason was to determine and compare probabilities for negative abdominal findings for patients with Stage I presentations with those for patients with Stage II as determined by lymphangiography and subsequently by laparotomy for those patients who had negative lymphangiograms. Our second reason, being an extension of the first, was to create a resource that can be used in conjunction with other information for arriving at appropriate treatment decisions including giving either more or particularly less than standard institutional therapy and especially with respect to the abdomen. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Data on 714 patients with prelymphangiogram Stage I-II upper torso presentations of Hodgkin's disease were entered prospectively in our database between 1968 and 1987. Twenty-eight with lymphocyte predominant disease, who had both negative lymphangiogram and negative laparotomy findings and 17 with questionable diagnoses of lymphocyte-depleted or unclassified disease were excluded from subsequent analyses of 669 patients with nodular sclerosis (NS) and mixed cellularity (MC) diagnoses. RESULTS: Stage I: in final logistic models, negative lymphangiogram findings were associated strongly with a combination of no constitutional symptoms and nodular sclerosis histology, whereas negative laparotomy findings correlated strongly with a combination of no constitutional symptoms and female sex. Predicted probabilities depended on the ratios of favorable to unfavorable characteristics. Stage II: in final logistic models, negative lymphangiogram findings were associated strongly with a combination of no constitutional symptoms, nodular sclerosis histology, age <40 years, and <4 involved sites, whereas negative laparotomy findings correlated strongly with a combination of <4 involved sites and mediastinal disease. Predicted probabilities again depended on the ratios of favorable to unfavorable characteristics. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that probabilities for negative abdominal findings for patients with supradiaphragmatic presentations of NS and MC Hodgkin's disease depended on: 1) whether the disease presented as Stage I or as Stage II; 2) whether staging was limited to a lymphangiogram or whether it included a laparotomy; and 3) or whether the clinical features associated with the presenting stage and methods of staging were favorable or unfavorable.     

Recycling of solution spaces in multipreconditioned FETI methods applied to structural dynamics

This article presents a new method to recycle the solution space of an adaptive multipreconditioned finite element tearing and interconnecting algorithm in the case where the same operator is solved for multiple right‐hand sides like in linear structural dynamics. It accelerates the computation from the second time step on by applying a coarse space that is generated from Ritz approximations of local eigenproblems, using the solution space of the first time step. These eigenproblems are known to provide very efficient coarse spaces but must usually be solved a priori at high computational cost. Their Ritz approximations are much smaller and less expensive to solve. Recycling methods based on Ritz approximations of global eigenproblems have been published for classical finite element tearing and interconnecting algorithms, but their efficient application to multipreconditioned variants is not possible. This article also presents the application of a simpler recycling procedure, which reuses plain solution spaces, to adaptive multipreconditioned finite element tearing and interconnecting. Numerical results of the application of the presented methods to four test cases are shown. The new Ritz approximation method leads to coarse spaces, which turn out to be as efficient as those obtained from solving the unreduced eigenproblems. It is the most efficient recycling method currently available for multipreconditioned dual domain decomposition techniques.     

FM noise measurement of w-band impatt diodes with a quasi-optical direct detection system

A simple and accurate method for determining the FM noise of negative-resistance regenerative oscillators in the microwave region is the so-called direct detection system, where the FM-AM noise conversion is achieved with a discriminator, usually a high Q-factor cavity. With increasing oscillator frequency (above 30 GHz), however, it becomes increasingly difficult to obtain reliable discriminators with high Q-factors. This difficulty can be overcome by applying high-quality quasi-optical resonators for the FM-AM noise conversion.     

Fabrication and measurement of optics for the laser interferometer gravitational wave observatory

The manufacture and testing of high-precision optical surfaces for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory is described. Through the use of carefully shaped polishing laps made of a nondeformable polymer material coated on a rigid base, surfaces 250 mm in diameter with radii of curvature between 7 and 15 km were polished to an accuracy of several hundred meters in the curvature and with low values of waviness and microroughness. Metrology instrumentation used to measure the optical finish included a large-aperture digital interferometer calibrated to nanometer-level accuracy for measurements of curvature, astigmatism, and waviness and an interference microscope for measurements of microroughness. The power spectra of the data from both instruments were in good agreement.     

Aktuelle Ergebnisse zum Schallschutz von Fassaden und Außenbauteilen

New results on sound insulation of facades and external building components. In spite of the strong annoyance by noise, the acoustic quality of external building components is often regarded as requirement of secondary importance. However, a high standard of noise protection is expected by most of the occupants or owners of buildings as the evaluation of numerous complaints in acoustically inadequate buildings shows. The main problem is the poor sound insulation performance of external walls against low frequencies, e.g. caused by traffic noise. Therefore, acoustic improvements have to focus on that topic. Fortunately, an extended range of data, knowledge and solutions is provided within the state of the art. With regard to the acoustic quality of external thermal insulation systems and of hollow bricks the results of recently completed research projects are presented in the paper.     

Phase separation in a thermotropic copolyester via spinodal decomposition

Summary Novel experimental evidence is presented for the phase heterogeneity of a thermotropic copolyester containing 50 % of p-hydroxybenzdic acid (HB). Characteristic phase morphologies accompanying spinodal decomposition in polymer blends can be detected. Fractionation and a NMR-analysis demonstrate that the copolyester contains two constituents which differ in their HB-contents.