Early growth and adult respiratory function in men and women followed from the fetal period to adulthood

While some studies suggest that poor fetal growth rate, as indicated by lower birth weight, is associated with poor respiratory function in childhood, findings among adults remain inconsistent. A study was undertaken to determine the association between early growth and adult respiratory function.

Elemental analysis of soil samples for forensic purposes by inductively coupled plasma spectrometry - precision considerations

Major and trace elemental composition provides a powerful basis for forensic comparison of soils, sediments and rocks. However, it is important that the potential 'errors' associated with the procedures are fully understood and quantified, and that standard protocols are applied for sample preparation and analysis. This paper describes such a standard procedure and reports results both for instrumental measurement precision (repeatability) and overall 'method' precision (reproducibility). Results obtained both for certified reference materials and example soils show that the instrumental measurement precision (defined by the coefficient of variation, CV) for most elements is better than 2-3%. When different solutions were prepared from the same sample powder, and from different sub-sample powders prepared from the same parent sample, the CV increased to c. 5-6% for many elements. The largest variation was found in results for certified reference materials generated from 23 instrument runs over an 18 month period (mean CV=c. 11%). Some elements were more variable than others. W was found to be the most variable and the elements V, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni and Pb also showed higher than average variability. SiO2, CaO, Al2O3 and Fe2O3, Rb, Sr, La, Ce, Nd and Sm generally showed lower than average variability, and therefore provided the most reliable basis for inter-sample comparison. It is recommended that, whenever possible, samples relating to the same investigation should be analysed in the same sample run, or at least sequential runs.

Aerobic Metabolism Octopine Production And Phosphoarginine As Sources Of Energy In The Phasic And Catch Adductor Muscles Of The Giant Scallop Placopecten-Magellanicus During Swimming And The Subsequent Recovery Period

1. The energy contributions of aerobic metabolism, phosphoarginine, ATP and octopine in the adductor muscles of P. magellanicus were examined during swimming and recovery. 2. A linear relationship was observed between the size of the phosphoarginine pool and the number of valve snaps. A linear increase in arginine occurred during the same period. 3. 3. Octopine was formed during the first few hours of recovery, particularly in the phasic muscle. 4. The restoration of the phosphoarginine pool appeared to be by aerobic metabolism. 5. It is concluded that the role of octopine formation is to supply energy when the tissues are anoxic and to operate at such a rate as to maintain the basal rate of energy production.

Zooplankton Of The Bristol Channel And Severn Estuary - The Distribution Of 4 Copepods In Relation To Salinity

The seasonal variations in distribution and abundance of the common zooplankton species in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary were related to the salinity regimes observed over the period November 1973 to February 1975. The dominant constituents in all regions were the calanoid copepods, which reached maximum densities in July: approximately 100 times their winter levels. Four zooplankton assemblages were recognised using an objective classification program which computed similarity coefficients and used group-average sorting. The assemblages existed along the salinity gradient observed from the Severn Estuary to the Celtic Sea. The assemblages were classified as true estuarine, estuarine and marine, euryhaline marine and stenohaline marine and were characterized by the copepods Eurytemora affinis (Poppe) (<30‰S), Acartia bifilosa var. inermis (rose) (27 to 33.5‰S), Centropages hamatus (Lilljeborg) (31 to 35‰S) and Calanus helgolandicus (Claus) (>33‰S), respectively.