Utilisation of bubble resonance phenomena to improve gas–liquid contact

 In several branches of science and technology a gaseous phase is dispersed into a liquid in the form of bubbles, a gaseous component then dissolves into the liquid and subsequently undergoes chemical reaction. The overall process performance can be improved substantially when the area of gas–liquid contact is increased. By subjecting the liquid phase to low frequency vibrations, the bubbles are shown to suffer significant breakage, induced by resonance. When the vibration is properly tuned, the interfacial area is found to increase by a factor of 1.8–2.4, depending on the properties of the liquid. Resonance-induced bubble breakage phenomena have a great potential for improving the rates of chemical processes involving fast reactions, with minimal energy input. Received: 7 July 2000 / Accepted in revised form: 28 August 2000     

Results of a questionnaire investigation on the management of environmental issues during conceptual design. A case study of two large made-to-order companies

This paper investigates the current treatment of environmental issues by two companies within the large made-to-order sector. Fifty questionnaires were issued to the design team of each company to assess current practice in the integration of environmental issues with design activities, awareness of environmental issues, awareness of existing environmental design tools and the preferred format for a potential clean design tool.     

Latest precambrian (Cadomian) zircon ages, Nd isotopic systematics and P-T evolution of granitoid orthogneisses of the Erzgebirge, Saxony and Czech Republic

Single zircons from two orthogneiss complexes, the Grey Gneiss and Red Gneiss, the lowermost tectonic units in the Erzgebirge, were dated. The grey Freiberg Gneiss is of igneous origin and has a ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb emplacement age of 550±7 Ma. A quartz monzonite from Lauenstein contains idiomorphic zircons with a mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 555±7 Ma as well as xenocrysts ranging in age between 850 and 1910 Ma. Red gneisses from the central Erzgebirge contain complex zircon populations, including numerous xenocrysts up to 2464 Ma in age. The youngest, idiomorphic, zircons in all samples yielded uniform ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages between 550±9 and 554±10 Ma. Nd isotopic data support the interpretation of crustal anatexis for the origin of both units. _Nd(t) values for the grey gneisses are –7.5 and –6.0 respectively, (mean crustal residence ages of 1.7–1.8 Ga). The red gneisses have a wider range in _Nd(t) values from –7.7 to –2.8 (T _DM ages of 1.4–1.8 Ga). The zircon ages document a distinct late Proterozoic phase of granitoid magmatism, similar in age to granitoids in the Lusatian block farther north-east. However, Palaeozoic deformation as well as medium pressure metamorphism ( 8 kbar/600–650° C) are identical in both gneiss units and distinguish these rocks from the Lusatian granitoids. The grey and red gneisses were overthrust by units with abundant high-pressure relicts and a contrasting P-T evolution. Zircon xenocryst and Nd model ages in the range 1000–1700 Ma are similar to those in granitoid rocks of Lusatia and the West-Sudetes, and document a pre-Cadomian basement in parts of east-central Europe that, chronologically, has similarities with the Sveconorwegian domain in the Baltic Shield.     

Attitudes to prenatal screening,diagnosis and research among pregnant women who accept or decline an alpha-fetoprotein test

The aim of the study was to describe the opinion of pregnant women who had accepted or declined an alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) test, not only on AFP screening in general, but also on whether every pregnant woman should be offered amniocentesis (AC)/chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and an ultrasound scan for fetal malformations. An additional aim was to describe pregnant women's attitudes concerning continued research in the prenatal field. The study was performed as a questionnaire study in two regions over a 1-year period from 1 October 1988 to 30 September 1989. Results are based on answers from 3331 women who had taken an AFP test and 336 women who had declined the offer of a test. A total of 79 per cent of the women thought that an AFP test, 70 per cent that an ultrasound scan for fetal malformations, and 26 per cent that AC or CVS should be offered to all pregnant women. Fifty-nine per cent of the women were positive towards continued research in the prenatal field. Women who had had an AFP test were generally much more positive towards screening and research than women who had declined, who were generally against. Women who had left school without a high school degree were on average more positive towards the screening issues than women who had this degree. In conclusion, the results obtained in this study strongly suggest that women's attitudes are very dependent on how the prenatal screening programme is already organized in their local area.     

Flow sorting of fetal erythroblasts using intracytoplasmic anti-fetal haemoglobin: Preliminary observations on maternal samples

Monoclonal antibody to fetal haemoglobin (a₂γy₂) has been proposed as a fetal-specific reagent. We developed an intracellular staining protocol that combines fluorescein isothiocyanate or phycoerythrin conjugated anti-γ with the DNA binding dye Hoechst 33342 to identify and flow sort fetal erythroblasts from maternal blood. Our preliminary observations on anti-γ-positive cells sorted from four different pregnant women are described here, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with chromosome-specific probes to identify fetal cells. Our data demonstrate that far fewer candidate fetal cells are sorted with this protocol than by current cell surface staining methods that employ the monoclonal antibody CD71. This results in increased fetal cell sorting purities. With this protocol, standard FISH techniques require modification due to the rigorous fixation with 4 per cent paraformaldehyde. Our initial data indicate the promise of this approach.     

Enhanced twin pregnancy detection within an open neural tube defect and down syndrome screening protocol using free-beta hCG and AFP

We have applied our multimarker approach of maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and free-beta human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) for Down syndrome screening to multiple gestations to assess its efficacy for improved detection of twin and triplet pregnancies. This study matched 225 cases of twin pregnancy and 39 cases of triplet pregnancy each with ten singleton pregnancies based on gestational week, race, time to receive sample, time of year of sample, and geographical area. The ratios of the MOM for each group at the tenth, 50th, and 90th percentiles were compared by the Wilcoxon test. Risks for twins were calculated using Bayes' rule, the age-related incidence of twins, and the levels of AFP and free-beta hCG. The tenth, 50th, and 90th percentiles of free-beta hCG MOMs in twin and triplet cases were 0.85, 1.99, and 4.51, and 1.38, 2.78, and 4.07, respectively. For AFP, the MOMs at these percentiles were 1.26, 1.91, and 2.99, and 2.02, 2.68, and 5.30, respectively. The twin and triplet distributions for each marker were statistically significantly different from the singleton distributions (P<0.0001) and from each other (P=0.0012). At a twin risk cut-off of 1 in 50, 77.4 per cent of all twin gestations can be detected in a second-trimester AFP and free-beta hCG screening protocol with 5.1 per cent of singleton pregnancies falsely identified as at risk for twins. Our dual marker protocol for mid-trimester pregnancy screening combining AFP and free-beta hCG can identify over 77 per cent of twin pregnancies in women less than 35 years of age. This benefit may contribute to an improved outcome of pregnancy by early detection of multiple gestation.