Showing papers by "University of Melbourne published in 1985"

Regression diagnostics and robust regression in geothermometer/geobarometer calibration: the garnet-clinopyroxene geothermometer revisited

Abstract: The calibration of geothermometers and geobarometers should involve not only the determination of the parameters in the equation used, but also the uncertainties on, and the correlations between, these parameters. This necessitates the use of a technique such as least squares. Given the poor performance of least squares in the presence of outliers in the data, techniques for identifying outliers for exclusion—regression diagnostics, and techniques for handling data which include outliers—robust regression and jackknifing, are essential. These techniques are summarized and their importance is emphasized, and they are applied to the calibration of the garnet-clinopyroxene Fe-Mg exchange geothermometer. The experimental data of Raheim & Green (1974) and Ellis & Green (1979) are explored using regression diagnostics to discover outliers in the data. After exclusion of the two influential outliers found, a new geothermometer equation for garnet-clinopyroxene Fe-Mg exchange is derived using robust regression and based on all the data: thus, T(K) = 2790 + 10P+ 3140xca,g/1.735 + In KD where T is in Kelvin and P is in kbar. This equation, as might be hoped, is essentially identical to that of Ellis & Green (1979). Equations for calculating the uncertainty in a calculated temperature, contributed by uncertainties in the calibration, are also derived.

Mouse prepro-epidermal growth factor synthesis by the kidney and other tissues

Abstract: Epidermal growth factor (EGF), a protein comprising 53 amino acids, is derived from a precursor of 1,217 amino acids that includes at least seven EGF-like sequences. EGF has diverse biological activities: it is a potent mitogen for many tissue culture cells, inhibits gastric acid secretion from the intestinal mucosa and promotes healing of the corneal epithelium. EGF given to fetal animals accelerates several developmental processes including palate formation, incisor eruption, eyelid opening and lung maturation. However, the physiological roles of EGF in vivo are unknown. The presence of high-affinity receptors in many fetal and adult tissues suggests that EGF is involved in normal cellular functions. Immunocytochemical studies have revealed the presence of EGF in mouse and human submaxillary glands, rat brain and human intestine. The low levels of EGF in extracts from many tissues may reflect sequestration rather than synthesis of the polypeptide. We show here that several mouse tissues contain preproEGF mRNA and that it is synthesized mainly in the distal tubules of the kidney. PreproEGF does not seem to be processed to EGF or other peptides in this tissue.

Nonlinear instability at the interface between two viscous fluids

Abstract: Co‐current flow of two viscous fluids in a channel is linearly unstable to long wavelength disturbances. The weakly nonlinear evolution of this instability is examined. It is shown that, because of surface tension and nonlinear effects, the interface can either return to its original undisturbed state or evolve to some finite amplitude steady state.

Comparison of zeta calibration baselines for fission-track dating of apatite, zircon and sphene

Abstract: A.J. Hurford and P.F. Green gave a description of the “zeta” method of calibrating fission-track dating against other radiometric dating techniques. In the study reported here, the work is extended to a large number of zircon samples, and applied for the first time to apatite and sphene. Values of ζ for the three minerals are determined with respect to three different uranium glass dosimeters, and reduced to a common scale using precisely determined conversion factors for the relative fission-track response of each glass dosimeter. All determinations show a high level of consistency. On a scale appropriate to SRM612, overall weighted mean zeta (OWMZ) values of 381.8 ± 10.3 for zircon, 353.5 ± 7.8 for apatite and 320.0 ±12.4 for sphene are determined, showing unexpected differences between the three minerals. Some factors which might introduce such differences are considered but none seems to produce effects of the observed magnitude, and they remain unexplained. An equivalent range of values are in common use by different workers. Further work is necessary to resolve these differences. The results are discussed in terms of the suitability of fission-track dating for placing numerical constraints on the geologic time scale. The study illustrates the need for all fission-track age determinations to be derived from a calibration scale based on the use of age standards. Some recommendations are made for newcomers to the technique. Consistent fission-track counting must be achieved in controlled experiments before reliable ages may be determined on unknown samples.

An internally consistent thermodynamic dataset with uncertainties and correlations: 1. Methods and a worked example

Abstract: This, the first two papers, sets out the philosophy and methods of determining an internally consistent thermodynamic dataset for minerals using the least squares method. The applicability of the least squares method is discussed, and it is applied to a small set of experimental equilibria in the system Na2O–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O. The importance is stressed of defining not only the enthalpies of formation of minerals, but also the uncertainties and the correlations among them. The system which has been used as an illustration for this paper serves as a visual guide to the method, as it is small enough to represent graphically in two dimensions. In the paper which follows, we extend the method to a system of 60 equations (experimentally determined equilibria) involving 34 unknowns (enthalpies of formation of mineral end-members).

Surface antigens, SBU-T4 and SBU-T8, of sheep T lymphocyte subsets defined by monoclonal antibodies.

Abstract: Monoclonal antibodies have been used to characterize molecules found on the surfaces of T cells of sheep. SBU-T4 and STU-T8 are present on 80-85% of thymocytes, absent from B lymphocytes, and present on two-thirds and one-third of lymph node T lymphocytes, respectively. Double-labelling of T lymphocytes shows that the populations recognized are mutually exclusive. Immunoprecipitation of the SBU-T4 antigen from thymocytes and T lymphocytes reveals a molecule which migrates on SDS-PAGE as a single band of 56,000 MW under both reducing and non-reducing conditions. Under reducing conditions, the SBU-T8 molecule migrates as two bands of 33,000 and 36,000 MW when immunoprecipitated from thymocytes, but only the higher MW band is present following immunoprecipitation from peripheral lymphocytes. Under non-reducing conditions, SBU-T8 migrates as dimers and other multiples. Based on immunofluorescent, immunochemical and immunohistological data, these molecules are considered to be the structural analogues of the marker molecules used to delineate T-helper and T-cytotoxic/suppressor lymphocyte subsets of other species.

Release and properties of endothelium-derived relaxing factor (EDRF) from endothelial cells in culture.

Abstract: Cultured bovine endothelial cells were seeded onto the intimal surface of endothelium-denuded rings of canine coronary artery. These rings did not previously relax to acetylcholine, substance P, bradykinin, and A23187. After seeding, the same rings relaxed to bradykinin and A23187, but not to acetycholine or substance P. Indomethacin pretreatment did not affect these responses. Cells from the same source were then grown to confluence on microcarrier beads, poured into small columns, and perfused with Krebs' solution. The perfusate from the columns was bioassayed on endothelium-denuded rings of coronary artery from either the dog or pig. Challenge of the column in the presence of indomethacin with either bradykinin or A23187 as well as acetylcholine or substance P caused release of a substance that relaxed both types of artery. Its activity half-life was 6.4 +/- 0.4 sec at 37 degrees C and it was hydrophilic and negatively charged. Prostacyclin (PGI2) as a candidate for EDRF was ruled out because 1) indomethacin failed to block its release and 2) the pig coronary artery, although insensitive to PGI2, relaxed to the endothelium-derived substance. These results show that, in response to a number of dilator drugs, cultured endothelial cells release a vascular relaxing substance (EDRF) that has characteristics similar to the EDRF of normal endothelium. The chemical nature of EDRF awaits clarification.

An internally consistent thermodynamic dataset with uncertainties and correlations: 2. Data and results

Abstract: This, the second of two papers, represents the application of a least squares approach, discussed in the previous paper, to the generation of an internally consistent thermodynamic dataset involving 60 reactions among 43 phases, in the system K2O–Na2O–CaO–MgO–Al2O3–SiO2–H2O–CO2. We make the assumption that all the thermodynamic data, with the exception of enthalpies of formation of the phases, are well known, and solve for an internally consistent set of enthalpies which reproduces the 60, experimentally determined, phase equilibrium reactions. An important difference between our dataset and that of previous alternatives in the literature is that we are able to determine the uncertainties on, and correlations between, the enthalpies of formation for all phases in the set, and hence are able to apply simple error propagation techniques to determine the uncertainties in any phase equilibrium calculations performed using this dataset. Selection of reactions, for geothermometry and geobarometry, may be more readily made by choosing equilibria with small uncertainties in their thermodynamics. Our data are in reasonably close agreement with the high temperature molten oxide calorimetry results on silicate minerals where available, a fact which lends a degree of confidence to the results.

Open-loop control of drug infusion

Abstract: A method of determining a generalised infusion rate profile for the delivery of drugs into the circulation comprising the steps of: (a) infusing a drug at arbitrary but known rates into a group of patients for each of whom the Lean Body Mass has been determined; (b) determining the plasma arterial concentration of the drug in each patient at a number of specific time intervals throughout each infusion period; (c) for each patient, estimating the rates of loss of drug from the circulation at a number of specific time instants by dividing the known infusion rates per Lean Body Mass of these instants by the plasma arterial concentrations of the drug at each of these instants; (d) calculating the average of the estimated rates of loss of drug from the circulation per Lean Body Mass unit at each specific time interval for the group of patients; (e) interpolating the successive average points between the specific time intervals to produce an infusion profile; (f) infusing said drug in accordance with said infusion profile determined from said interpolations into a group of patients for each of whom the Lean Body Mass has been determined, said infusion rate being scaled according to said Lean Body Mass of each patient, and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) until a desired steady plasma arterial content of the drug is substantially maintained throughout the infusion period.

The digestion of fibre by pigs. 1. The effects of amount and type of fibre on apparent digestibility, nitrogen balance and rate of passage.

Abstract: 1. The effects of the amount and the type of dietary fibre on the apparent digestibility (AD) by growing pigs of neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) and NDF components, on nitrogen balance and on the rate of passage of digesta were studied using a semi-purified basal diet and fibre in the forms of soya-bean hulls, lupin (Lupinus sp.) hulls, pea (Pisum sativum) hulls, wheat bran, maize hulls, maize cobs, oat hulls and lucerne (Medicago sativa) stems.2. Both the amount and the type of dietary fibre significantly influenced the AD of dietary dry matter, N and energy. The AD of NDF and of NDF components was markedly affected by the type and the amount of fibre in the diet. The proportion of NDF digested ranged from 0.016 to 0.905, of cellulose from 0.026 to 0.931 and of hemicellulose from 0.010 to 0.999.3. N retention by the pigs ranged from 12.9 to 25.8 g/d and with some fibres there was a tendency towards increased N retention with increasing intakes of NDF.4. Rate of passage of digesta, expressed as the 50 and 95% excretion times of stained feed particles, ranged from 22.2 to 85.1 h and 40.0 to 117.1 h respectively. Large individual variations in rate of passage occurred but, in general, the rate of passage tended to increase with increasing intakes of NDF. No strong associations between the rate of passage of digesta and apparent digestibility of NDF components were observed.5. The results suggest that the extent of fibre digestibility depends predominantly on the origin of the fibre and to a lesser extent on the amount of fibre in the diet.

Invex functions and duality

Abstract: For both differentiable and nondifferentiable functions defined in abstract spaces we characterize the generalized convex property, here called cone-invexity, in terms of Lagrange multipliers. Several classes of such functions are given. In addition an extended Kuhn-Tucker type optimality condition and a duality result are obtained for quasidifferentiable programming problems.

Characterization of two sheep lymphocyte differentiation antigens, SBU-T1 and SBU-T6

Abstract: The monoclonal antibodies 25.91 and 20.27 define two lymphocyte cell surface antigens of sheep. 25.91 is reactive with 60-80% of lymphocytes and 98% of thymocytes, and only stains surface immunoglobulin-negative peripheral lymphocytes. 25.91 immuno-precipitates a 67,000 MW protein from lymphocyte lysates under both reducing and non-reducing conditions, whereas immunoprecipitation of thymocyte lysates reveals a 67,000, 62,000 MW complex. The tissue distribution and molecular weight analysis reported here for the antigen recognized by 25.91 indicate that this antigen is the sheep homologue of the human T1 and mouse Ly 1 antigens. The monoclonal antibody 20.27 is reactive with 80% of thymocytes and the majority of cell surface immunoglobulin-positive peripheral blood lymphocytes (B cells), but is unreactive with peripheral blood T cells. 20-27 also stains Langerhans cells in skin tissue sections and large dendritic-like cells in the paracortex sections and large dendritic-like cells in the paracortex of lymph node tissue sections. Immunoperoxidase staining of thymus tissue sections with 20.27 shows intense staining of cortical thymocytes and an absence of staining within the medulla. Molecular weight analysis of the 20.27 antigen reveals two major bands of 46,000 and 12,000 MW under both reducing and non-reducing conditions. The 20.27 antigen has properties resembling MHC class I-like antigens such as T6 in the human and TL in the mouse.

Uptake of circulating hyaluronic acid by the rat liver. Cellular localization in situ.

Abstract: The uptake of [3H]acetyl-labelled hyaluronic acid (HA) intravenous was examined in the liver, spleen and kidney of the rat after i.v. injection. 3H-activity was located by light- and electron-microscopic autoradiography after measurement by scintillation counting of tissue digests. In the liver, approximately 90% of the radioactivity was located in the sinusoidal endothelial cells, with autoradiographic grains distributed throughout the cytoplasm; 50% of the grains overlay vacuoles 0.3 to 1.2 μm in diameter. A few grains (4%) were located in Disse's space or nearby in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. No grains were found in Kupffer cells. The remainder were randomly scattered across the sections in a pattern indicating nonspecific background activity. These observations are in accordance with the selective uptake of HA exhibited by dissociated liver cells in vitro. HA concentrations in the spleen and kidney were too low for detection by autoradiography. Splenic concentrations were much lower than in rabbits or mice; in this respect the uptake of circulating HA in the rat resembles that reported for chondroitin 4-sulphate.

The historical bases of the concept of allelopathy

Abstract: In the light of contemporary allelopathic research, the intuitively based statements of the early botanists stand up surprisingly well. The walnut tree is now understood to affect the growth of neighboring plants via juglone leached from the leaves, roots, and fruits.118 The replant or soil sickness problem of peach orchards has been related to the toxigenic breakdown of amygdalin, a constituent of peach roots.119 The declining yield of many crop species grown under continuous monoculture has been linked to the accumulation of allelopathic substances in the soil, especially through the mediation of microorganisms.120 Numerous plants cited by de Candolle as being injurious, such as Erigeron,121 thistle (Cirsium),122 flax (Linum),123 and various crucifers (such as Brassica nigra),124 have been found to posses marked allelopathic activity. Over fifty years before the discovery of rhizobia, de Candolle considered the excretory material of legumes to be beneficial to cereals.125 Modern reviews of allelopathy commonly credit de Candolle with an insight that was not equaled by the technology of his era.126 In fairness to his detractors, his toxin theory of plant interactions was largely the by-product of an outdated and misconstrued notion of plant nutrition. His critics and most earlier botanists had similarly erred in seeking a single factor responsible for plant growth, much as had the alchemists sought the legendary philosopher's stone. Taking all this into account and considering the forceful personality of Liebig, one can readily appreciate how, 130 years ago, Liebig's theories preempted and stifled those of de Candolle. Today, with modern techniques of plant physiology and soil biochemistry, allelopathy has been shown to be a real but subtle factor in the dynamics of natural and agricultural plant communities. It is unfortunate that the single-mindedness characteristic of previous centuries still persists. The dichotomy between allelopathy and competition is exacerbated by the inherited bias toward the nutritional model of plant interaction fostered by Liebig, and is accentuated in the fact that in modern nutritional studies it is still basically unnecessary to consider plant-plant chemical interactions and their concomitant effects, whereas in allelopathic investigations the converse is regarded as axiomatic. In summary, de Candolle should not be seen as “a prophet crying in the wilderness,” as Fisher would have it.127 The bases of de Candolle's concept of allelopathy were the dubious experiments of Macaire and his own obsolete theory of plant nutrition. Despite this, modern experimental work indicates that allelopathy is important in many plant interactions. De Candolle seems to have been right, at least in part—but for the wrong reasons.