Uneven gridding of thermal nodal networks in floor heating simulations

In this paper, the use of an uneven nodal network in floor heating simulation with finite difference heat balance method is examined. Two floor heating test cases, homogenous and multilayer floor, are presented. Temperature distributions on the floor surface and heat flows through the floor surface are simulated with even and uneven gridding approaches. It is shown that the total number of nodes can be reduced by placing the densest gridding in sections where the curvature of the temperature gradient is steepest.     

Significance of Wood Terpenoids in the Resistance of Scots Pine Provenances Against the Old House Borer, Hylotrupes bajulus, and Brown-Rot Fungus, Coniophora puteana

We tested how terpenoid (i.e., monoterpenes and resin acids) composition and concentration in wood affects resistance against wood-borers and decaying fungi. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) wood from nine provenances having variable terpenoid profiles was studied against the old house borer, Hylotrupes bajulus, and the decay fungus, Coniophora puteana. Provenances represented a 1200-km N-S transect from Estonia to northern Finland, but they were all cultivated for 7 years in the same nursery field, in central Finland. Mean relative growth rate (MRGR) of small H. hajulus larvae positively correlated with the total monoterpene concentration of wood, and feeding was associated with high proportion of levopimaric+palustric acid in wood. Provenance did not affect the MRGR of small or big larvae, but big larvae consumed more wood and produced more frass on the northern Ylitornio trees than on the southern Rakvere and Ruokolahti trees. Low beta-pinene and total monoterpene concentration and low beta: alpha-pinene ratio in wood were all associated with a high number of eggs. The most northern Muonio provenance was the most favored as an oviposition site, differing significantly from Saaremaa, Tenhola, and Suomussalmi. Wood from Saaremaa, Tenhola, Ruokolahti, and Suomussalmi provenance was most resistant against decay fungus, differing significantly from that of Kinnula provenance. However, decay resistance was not clearly associated with the concentrations of wood terpenoids. These results suggest that monoterpene composition of wood affects resistance against wood-boring Cerambycid beetles, but resistance against wood-decaying fungi is not as clearly associated with wood terpenoids.     

Increasing profit by improving gas handling systems

The availability of a smelter’s gas handling systems is crucial to the profitability of the plant. In new projects, the best technical and economic result is achieved if the gas handling systems are integrated into the process. This integration requires close cooperation between the smelter process designer and the gas handling designer. In modernization projects, environmentally, economically, and technically feasible solutions can be found, and smelter productivity can be increased when imagination and new technology are applied.     

Efficacy of 5-day parenteral versus intramammary benzylpenicillin for treatment of clinical mastitis caused by gram-positive bacteria susceptible to penicillin in vitro

The efficacy of parenteral (intramuscular) or intramammary (IMM) benzylpenicillin treatment for clinical mastitis caused by gram-positive bacteria susceptible to penicillin in vitro was investigated. Cows with clinical mastitis in 1 udder quarter were randomly placed into 2 treatment groups. The preliminary bacteriological diagnosis of intramammary infection (IMI) was based on on-farm culturing, and the bacteriological diagnoses were later confirmed by a quantitative PCR assay. Clinical mastitis caused by gram-positive bacteria susceptible to benzylpenicillin was treated with penicillin via either the parenteral route (20 mg/kg) or IMM route (600 mg) once per day for 5 d. The outcome of the treatment was evaluated 3 to 4 wk after the onset of the treatment. The affected quarter was examined to assess the clinical cure, and milk samples were collected from the affected quarter to determine the bacteriological cure and milk N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase activity. The survival and the composite milk somatic cell counts of the treated cows were followed up for 6 and 3 mo after treatment, respectively. A total of 140 cows with clinical mastitis were included in the study, 61 being treated with benzylpenicillin parenterally and 79 via the IMM route. From all quarters treated, 108 of 140 (77.1%) were cured clinically and 77 of 140 (55.0%) were cured bacteriologically. The route of treatment did not significantly affect the outcome of the treatment; 80.3% of the quarters with parenteral treatment and 74.7% of the quarters with IMM treatment showed a clinical cure, and 54.1 and 55.7% a bacteriological cure, respectively. The milk N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase activity was significantly lower in the quarters with a clinical or bacteriological cure than in the quarters with no cure. The 6-mo survival and the proportion of cows with composite milk somatic cell counts <200,000/mL among the treated cows during the 3-mo follow-up period did not significantly differ between the treatment groups. In conclusion, the outcome of either parenteral or IMM benzylpenicillin treatment of clinical mastitis caused by penicillin-susceptible bacteria was similar.     

A Microprocessor Controlled System For Photoelectrochemical Measurements

ABSTRACT

An automatic system for measuring photocurrent of electrodes as a function of excitation wavelength and electrode potential is described. Applications to a chemically modified transparent Sn0₂ electrode and an oxide-covered tantalum electrode are shown.     

Ozone effects on Sphagnum mosses,carbon dioxide exchange and methane emission in boreal peatland microcosms

Microcosms of a boreal peatland originating from an oligotrophic fen in Eastern Finland were fumigated under four ozone concentrations (0, 50, 100 and 150 ppb O3) in laboratory growth chambers during two separate experiments (autumn and summer) for 4 and 6 weeks, respectively. Ozone effects on Sphagnum mosses and the fluxes of carbon dioxide and methane were evaluated. In both experiments, the three Sphagnum species studied showed only a few significant responses to ozone. In the autumn experiment, membrane permeability of S. angustifolium, measured as conductivity and magnesium leakage, was significantly higher under ozone fumigation (P = 0.005 and < 0.001, respectively), and there was a distinct dose-dependence. S. magellanicum showed no clear responses, either for membrane leakage or pigment content. There were no substantial ozone responses in the gross photosynthesis or net CO2 exchange during the 6-week-long summer experiment, but dark ecosystem respiration was transiently increased by ozone concentration of 100 ppb after 14 days of exposure (P < 0.05). Fumigation with 100 ppb of ozone, however, more than doubled (P < 0.05) methane emission from the peatland monoliths. Our results suggest that increasing tropospheric ozone concentration may cause substantial changes in the carbon gas cycling of boreal peatlands, even though these changes are not closely associated with the changes in Sphagnum vegetation.     

A new table for work with a microscope, a solution to ergonomic problems

Microscope workers are exposed to continuous static muscular work and an increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders in the neck, shoulder and upper extremities. In a Finnish research centre, microscope workers reported pain in the shoulder, neck, lower back and upper back. As a consequence, a programme to solve the ergonomic problems of microscope work was initiated and led to the construction of a new table for microscopes. Ten experienced male microscope workers were chosen as subjects to carry out an experimental study in which the new table and an old one, an ordinary non-adjustable laboratory table, were compared in a standardized microscope task. The dependent variable was the electromyographic activity measured from muscles in the neck–shoulder region. The new table allowed the microscope to be used with the head in an upright position, the forearms supported and with less flexion of the upper arm. Surface electromyographic measurements also confirmed that the changes were ergonomic improvements.     

A dissociation between simple and complex span impairment in alcoholics

We investigated whether the surprisingly good memory performance of alcoholics may result from simple memory performance being spared while performance in complex memory tasks is impaired. Simple word span was contrasted with a complex word span task involving concurrent monitoring and re-organisation of items for recall. To control for disruption of rehearsal in the complex word span task, performance on two additional tasks with disrupted rehearsal but no additional processing components was studied. As hypothesised, the alcoholics showed a deficit in the complex but not the simple word span task. They were also impaired, compared to controls, on both tasks with disrupted rehearsal. The difference between groups remained in the complex span task when scores in simple span and either of the two other tasks were used as covariates. Thus, both executive processes necessary for coping with disrupted rehearsal and additional processes scheduling processing and storage in a complex task may play a role in accounting for working memory deficits found in alcoholics.