Inferring kinetic dissolution of NaCl in aqueous glycol solution using a low-cost apparatus and population balance model

An experimental methodology for inferring brine dissolution rate in monoethylene glycol (MEG) solutions at different temperatures using a webcam combined with a mathematical model is presented. The measurement system is designed to track the RGB (red, green, and blue) colour variations during the dissolution process. A dynamic model augmented with the population balance equation is applied to describe the dissolution process. Moreover, the dissolution rate is consistently related to the temperature and MEG concentration through the driving force based on the Gibbs energy and chemical affinity. The applied low-cost measurement apparatus proved to be a useful resource for tracking the dissolution dynamics in a wide range of undersaturation.     

Preparation and characterization of chitosan‐based dispersions

Complexation of chitosan in aqueous solutions by low molecular weight electrolytes is one of the simplest methods for the preparation of aqueous chitosan dispersions. In this work, the influence of storage time, sulfate concentration, method of preparation and surfactant content on some properties of the resultant chitosan dispersions (turbidity, viscosity and zeta potential) was analyzed. Turbidimetry was adequate to monitor the formation of particles, while viscometry was suitable to monitor changes in the dispersing phase. An analysis of the properties of these systems, mainly in terms of particle–particle and macromolecule–macromolecule interactions was carried out. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry     

Challenges in the Application of Stochastic Modal Identification Methods to a Cable-Stayed Bridge

This paper presents an analysis of the data collected in the ambient vibration test of the International Guadiana cable-stayed Bridge, which links Portugal and Spain, based on different output-only identification techniques: peak-picking, frequency domain decomposition, covariance-driven stochastic subspace identification, and data-driven stochastic subspace identification. The purpose of the analysis is to compare the performance of the four techniques and evaluate their efficiency in dealing with specific challenges involved in the modal identification of the tested cable-stayed bridge, namely the existence of closely spaced modes, the perturbation produced by the local vibration of stay-cables, and the variation of modal damping coefficients with wind velocity. The identified natural frequencies and mode shapes are compared with the corresponding modal parameters provided by a previously developed numerical model. Additionally, the variability of some modal damping coefficients is related with the variation of the wind characteristics and associated with a component of aerodynamic damping.     

Artefactual cleavage of E coli H-NS by OmpT

In the bacterium Escherichia coli, H-NS-(H1, H1a) is a heat-stable protein with a molecular mass of 15.5 kDa involved in nucleoid organisation and gene regulation linked to certain signal transduction pathways. We have shown that, following addition of preparations of everted inner membrane vesicles, heat-stable cleavage products of approximately 10 kDa of H-NS are formed in vitro from newly synthesised, radio-labelled H-NS and from purified H-NS. The 15.5 kDa protein and its cleavage products were also recovered from a minicell system. These results raised the possibility that cleavage of H-NS is physiologically significant. However, the cleavage of H-NS observed appears to occur during cell breakage and to depend on the method of protein extraction and the presence of the outer membrane protease, OmpT. Nevertheless, the results indicate that H-NS may contain at least two separate domains with cleavage occurring between these domains at a preferred OmpT site. Failure to take account of H-NS cleavage in sample preparation and analysis can lead to serious underestimation of H-NS levels.     

Fungal carriage in lizards

The occurrence of fungi was investigated in the gut of 200 common garden lizards (Agama agama). The most important pathogenic fungus isolated was Basidiobolus haptosporus, an aetiological agent of subcutaneous zygomycosis. It was recovered from the intestinal contents of 112 (56%) lizards. Other important fungi isolated included Aspergillus spp. in 24 (12%) lizards, Candida spp. in 12 (6%), Penicillium spp. in 12 (6%) and Fusarium spp. in 12 (6%). Mucor spp. were isolated from eight (4%) male lizards only. Agamid lizards are plentiful in rural and urban areas of Nigeria. As they live in close vicinity to man, they are likely to play an important role in the spread of disease that may be caused by these fungi and its transmission to man. None of the animals investigated that yielded fungal cultures revealed any external fungal infection.     

Isolation of bacterial endotoxins from Pseudomonas putida 36 and Escherichia coli (vulgaris)

A prospective analysis of 69 patients who had been treated for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) by external radiotherapy was carried out. Biopsies from the posterior nasopharynx were performed and analyzed by in situ hybridization using an antisense Epstein-Barr Early RNA (EBER) radio-labelled riboprobe. None of the patients had evidence of disease in the nasopharynx. One patient was found to have nasopharyngeal carcinoma detected only by in situ hybridization. In the subsequent 18-month follow-up of these clinically- and biopsy-negative patients, only one patient developed relapse in the nasopharynx. In situ hybridization is a valuable tool for the detection of NPC and should be routinely available in histopathology laboratories where NPC is regularly diagnosed.