An analytical method for shipboard extraction of the odour compounds, 2-methylisoborneol and geosmin.

Extractions for the analysis of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) were carried out on board a research vessel by extracting water samples in the collection bottles with dichloromethane. The extracts are stable and can be stored for up to two months with no apparent loss of analytes. Workup and analysis could be done at the rate 15-20 samples per week. Approximately 150 samples from Lake Ontario were analyzed in 2000 and 120 samples in 2001. Concentrations as low as 1 ng/L could be detected, but reliable determination was only attained above 5 ng/L (> 80% qualifier ion match within +/- 50%). Reproducibility between duplicates was generally better than 10%, and recovery of surrogate standards from reagent water averaged ca. 80% and from lake water ca. 60%. In early September, 2000, geosmin concentrations in Lake Ontario ranged from 1-13 ng/L and MIB from 1-31 ng/L. In 2001, the ranges were 1-47 and 1-56 ng/L for geosmin and MIB, respectively. Lowest concentrations occurred in the western and central regions and highest concentrations in the eastern region and St Lawrence River.     

Interlaboratory comparison of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in municipal tap water.

An interlaboratory comparison ("round-robin") for geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) was carried out between six laboratories of the Ontario Water Works Research Consortium (OWWRC). Municipal tap water was found to be a suitable medium for distribution of samples. To test stability, geosmin and MIB were added to tap water and stored at 2-4 degrees C. Under these conditions, geosmin concentrations declined by approximately 5% per month for the first 2 months. MIB concentrations were stable over a 158-day period. Three round-robins were carried out individually in 2001, 2003 and 2004. Two levels of geosmin and MIB were used: nominally 10 and 100 ng/l. In 2003 the relative standard deviation for all six participating laboratories were 34, 21, 21 and 22% for low and high level MIB, and low and high level geosmin, respectively. For all but MIB at the low level, there was a marked improvement in agreement between laboratories from 2001 to 2004. However, we recommend use of common analytical standards in order to potentially further reduce interlaboratory variability.     

可提供短路保护的浪涌限幅器

对于包含有大电容量的装置而言，控制浪涌电流成为一大难题。最简单的方法就是将浪涌限幅电阻器与电容器组串联，但电阻器会浪费功率并增加压降。图1所示电路解决了这一难题并能提供其它优势。在启动时，双极型PNP晶体管Q2使N沟道功率MOSFET晶体管Q1保持关断，直到电容器C1两端的电压高到足以关断Q2的电平为止。在此时间间隔内，电阻器R1为C1及电路其它元件提供启动电流。当Q2关断时，Q1导通并在R1两端提供一条低阻通道。当关闭外部电源时，电路随C1放电而复位。     

Long-term expression of human clotting factor IX from retrovirally transduced primary human keratinocytes in vivo

A persistent obstacle that has hampered gene transfer experiments is the short-term nature of transgene expression in vivo. In this article we present evidence for sustained expression from primary human keratinocytes, using the retroviral vector MFG. Primary keratinocytes were transduced in culture with the MFG retroviral vector containing the coding region from factor IX cDNA. Transduced keratinocytes, which secreted on average 830 ng of factor IX/10(6) cells/24 hr in tissue culture, were used to form a bilayered skin equivalent and grafted onto nude mice under a silicone transplantation chamber. Between 0.1 and 2.75 ng of human factor IX per milliliter was found in mouse plasma for more than 1 year, suggesting that keratinocyte stem cells were both transduced and grafted. The results show, for the first time, that long-term expression is obtainable in retrovirally transduced keratinocytes after transplantation.     

Understanding Internet traffic streams: dragonflies and tortoises

We present the concept of network traffic streams and the ways they aggregate into flows through Internet links. We describe a method of measuring the size and lifetime of Internet streams, and use this method to characterize traffic distributions at two different sites. We find that although most streams (about 45 percent of them) are dragonflies, lasting less than 2 seconds, a significant number of streams have lifetimes of hours to days, and can carry a high proportion (50-60 percent) of the total bytes on a given link. We define tortoises as streams that last longer than 15 minutes. We point out that streams can be classified not only by lifetime (dragonflies and tortoises) but also by size (mice and elephants), and note that stream size and lifetime are independent dimensions. We submit that ISPs need to be aware of the distribution of Internet stream sizes, and the impact of the difference in behavior between short and long streams. In particular, any forwarding cache mechanisms in Internet routers must be able to cope with a high volume of short streams. In addition ISPs should realize that long-running streams can contribute a significant fraction of their packet and byte volumes-something they may not have allowed for when using traditional "flat rate user bandwidth consumption" approaches to provisioning and engineering.     

A routine method for the simultaneous measurement of retinol, alpha-tocopherol and five carotenoids in human plasma by reverse phase HPLC

We describe a simple isocratic HPLC method for the accurate and precise measurement of retinol, alpha-tocopherol and the major carotenoids in plasma using UV detection. Reference ranges for retinol, alpha-tocopherol and five carotenoids are determined in a healthy population group. The most abundant carotenoids found in plasma were beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and cryptoxanthin. Retinol, alpha-tocopherol and carotenoids were determined simultaneously using two internal standards, retinol acetate for retinol and tocopherol acetate for alpha-tocopherol and carotenoids. The use of echinenone as an internal standard for carotenoids was investigated. The protective effect of an antioxidant (ascorbic acid) on the stability of samples and extracted material is documented. The method is useful for the routine measurement of plasma retinol, alpha-tocopherol and carotenoids and could also be used in large scale epidemiological studies.