Studies in nitrogenous bases from Scottish shale oil

#1. Efficient columns have been constructed for the fractional distillation of bases at atmospheric pressure and under precisely controlled vacuum. These include the following - a. 14 -Plate vacuum column (Eyelet Packing) - b. 40 -Plate column (Penske Helices) c. 100 -Plate vacuum column (I.C.I.gauze rings) d. 14- mm. column (I.C.I. gauze rings) Column a. was subsequently converted to 30- Plates by re- packing with I.C.I. gauze rings. Plate efficiency tests were carried out on columns a. and 'o. and estimates made of the efficiency of column c. A simple type of rotary fractional extraction apparatus has also been constructed. #2. A typical sample of "Basic Tar" from Pumpherston Oil Refinery was examined and found to contain so 40 per cent of volatile bases boiling up to 310°C at atmospheric pressure. 210 litres of "Basic Tar" were distilled under vacuum in a 16 -litre pot -still and 25 per cent (53 litres) of bases boiling up to 190°C at 20 mm. Hg. recovered. The bases were found to consist substantial of tertiary heterocyclic nitrogen compounds, the lower boiling ranges were mainly simple homologues of pyridine with methyl side chains. Quinolines are believed to be present in the higher ranges and more complex compounds are also thought to be present. #3. The bases were subjected to a series of systematic fractional distillations and ultimately bases boiling up to 210°C at atmospheric pressure were fractionated in a column of 100-theoretical plates. #4. Three ranges have been examined by chemical methods. These are Range 1, 169.9-171°C /760 mm.Hg Range 2, 186.1-188°C/760mm.Hg. and Range 3, 134.5-134.6°C/100mm.Hg. The following compounds were identified, 3:5-lutidine; 2:3:5-collidine; 2:4:5 -collidine; 2:4:6- collidine and 2:3:4:6- parvoline. Several compounds were isolated as crystalline derivatives, the identities of which have not been established. Two oily picrates were obtained, the bases regenerated from one of which had an unusually high refractive index and gave no crystalline derivatives. #5. Infra red absorption spectrograms have been obtained from several of the compounds isolated and these favour the proposed structures. #6. The dissociation constants of a series of pyridine and quinoline bases have been determined and discussed. #7. A survey has been made of the literature dealing with separation methods and this has been included as an appendix

The Political Processes and Role Of Gatekeepers in Setting Accounting Standards for Agriculture

Many accounting regulations are introduced in response to crises of some kind, arising from a corporate collapse or claims that published financial reports have been misleading. In contrast, the IASC’s IAS 41 Agriculture standard was developed from the mid-1990s and issued in 2000, two years after the Australian AASB 1037 Self-Generating and Regenerating Assets (SGARA) standard, followed in 2004 by New Zealand’s NZ IAS 41 Agriculture. There had been no prior crisis or public expression of concern about shortcomings in existing practice. This study considers the background to the emergence of accounting for agriculture onto the agenda of standard-setting bodies, and the role played by different insiders. Here, they are collectively termed ‘gatekeepers’, the key staff, expert technical advisers and decision-makers who were members of standard-setting boards. Examination of the development of these new standards extends beyond consideration of technical accounting issues. Several case studies identify the regulatory and political processes each standard-setting agency adopted to consider and then progress the topic through all rule-making stages and resulting lobbying activities by significant users. These political processes are examined using the Cobb and Elder (1972, 1983) agenda-building framework and the Cobb, Ross and Ross (1976) analysis of institutional dynamics. The history of accounting for agriculture, in Australia and New Zealand, is traversed to explain the historical background to the new omnibus agricultural standards promulgated in Australasia. Significant events described include the AASB staff recommendation to the IASB in 2003 to split IAS 41 in two before its designated 2005 commencement date – a recommendation which, so far, has been ignored. New research material includes unpublished documents relating to the initial AASB Project Brief and IASC Point Outline background proposals for each standard, the IASC’s Field Test Report prior to adopting its IAS 41 standard and the AASB 1037 standard post implementation review – possibly the first ever to be undertaken. The study found that the activities of key insiders were consistent with what Cobb et al. (1976) described as the inside access model, both in placement of the topic on the agenda and then subsequent incorporation of proposals for fair value accounting for agriculture. A feature of the events described in this study was the interaction between the different standard-setting bodies – a possibility little-described in the accounting literature, and arguably a significant element in the manner in which standards were considered and developed by the IASC, and latterly the IASB. Overall, a combination of intra- and inter-agency lobbying resulted in compromise reflected in the final text of IAS 41. This modified the full fair value accounting proposal. The study found that gatekeepers paid little regard to submissions from experienced industry representatives, accountants, academics and other commentators world-wide. Practical evidence from parties concerning the utility of the proposed new rules was requested too late to influence the content of the final IAS 41 standard. Not surprisingly, the standard is still controversial

The relationships of vegetation and bird communities with landforms and geomorphic processes on the Central Niagara Escarpment (Ontario)

This study has examined the relationships between geomorphic form and process, vegetation composition and dynamics, and avian populations for landscapes in the central Niagara Escarpment, Southern Ontario. This includes an area extending from Speyside Conservation area near Milton to Mono Cliffs Provincial Park north of Orangeville. Data was collected for geomorphic form and process parameters, vegetation species and structural parameters, and avian species. The physical parameters included a combination of landform characteristics including slope angle, aspect, and landscape position and geomorphic processes, such as creep and debris slides, measured as a level of disturbance. Human levels of disturbance were also measured for comparative purposes. Eleven vegetation structural parameters were measured, such as deciduous/coniferous ratio, stem density, snag density and canopy cover. This data was collected for 29 land units, divided between upland, slope and valley segments, at 11 sites along the Escarpment. Sampling for the avian populations took place during the breeding season between 1996-1999. Vegetation and bird associations were classified using cluster analysis (TWINSPAN). An ordination analysis (CANOCO) was also completed to determine the relationships between the biological components and biophysical form and process. The results of these analyses were combined with field observations to create a set of landscape units. These units were presented within a descriptive model to describe the relationships within the Escarpment landscape systems. The results of this study found strong relationships between vegetation associations and landscape position. These patterns were related to disturbance and stress from natural and human processes. Avian populations were strongly related to the vegetation patterns of coniferous and deciduous cover, but there was not as strong a correspondence with landscape position and the levels of disturbance and stress. Natural disturbance created the greatest variation on species in the slope units, while human disturbance was a stronger control on upland sites. Stream gradient and the extent of floodplain were the main controls in the valley units. Overall, Escarpment landscape systems are dynamic and complex. They are composed of a strongly heterogeneic series of landscape units, which is evident in the diversity of forest and avian components. Management strategies need to recognize the role of natural and human processes in creating this heterogeneity and to develop policies that maintain the spatio-temporal pattern of the disturbance regimes

Exercise testing in healthy haemodialysis patients

1. Little work has been done on the response of regular haemodialysis patients to dynamic exercise. A systematic study of exercise capacity and the underlying mechanisms is of particular importance because these patients are encouraged to return to as normal a way of life as possible. Accordingly, a select group of healthy young male patients and a group of older males have been studied during submaximal cycling. The young male patients were compared to a closely matched sedentary control group. The 17 subjects discussed represent the fittest of 40 patients tested. 2. In both groups there was decreased work capacity associated with disproportionate tachycardia, which was not obvious at rest. Blood pressure was measured with a sphygmomanometer. During exercise there was a striking rise in the systolic blood pressure in about half the patients from currently acceptable resting levels. This occurred in the absence of any clinical circulatory overload. Mild hyperventilation and disproportionate lactic acidosis was seen towards peak exercise, probably because, in spite of the decreased work capacity, the patients were much closer to their maximum performance. However, the limiting factors were clearly circulatory and not respiratory. 3. A number of the younger male patients were more intensively studied to determine why some remained relatively 'normotensive' during exercise while others developed systolic hypertension. Total blood volume, total body water and plasma renin activity were measured at rest. It was found that the 'normotensive' patients had normal body volumes and normal to high plasma renin activity, while the hypertensive subgroup had increased volumes and normal to low plasma renin activity. Thus, in these patients the blood pressure responses to exercise were largely volume dependent, albeit at a subclinical level. 4. Cardiac output was measured at rest and during exercise. All patients developed a variable hyperkinetic circulation during exercise which was not apparent at rest. The patients were all anaemic and (xi) their cardiac output response was very like that described in patients with anaemia unassociated with renal disease. However, some patients with striking anaemia developed a less hyperkinetic circulation than others who were not so anaemic. When the body volume and the blood pressure response on exercise were considered, those patients who were normovolaemic and 'normotensive' developed a hyperkinetic circulation on exercise appropriate to their degree of anaemia. Those with subclinical volume overload and a hypertensive response to exercise developed a much less striking hyperkinetic circulation, suggesting that the blood pressure and volume excess was depressing the anticipated cardiac output response to their underlying anaemia. 5. One patient with an arteriovenous shunt was studied twice, initially when hypervolaemic with a haemoglobin of 9,1gm/100 ml and again after ultrafiltration when he was normovolaemic but his haemoglobin had risen to 12,5 gm/100 ml. On the first occasion his cardiac output response was moderately hyperkinetic but he developed increasing hypertension with a high calculated total peripheral resistance. On the second occasion his cardiac output response fell within the normal range, his blood pressure was lower but not normal and his calculated total peripheral resistance was even higher than before. Thus, the blood pressure of these volume dependent patients is due to a high total peripheral resistance, but may not simply be on the basis of 'waterlogging' of the peripheral vasculature. Some other factor, such as structural thickening, must be considered. 6. It is suggested that the combination of tachycardia and hypertension which develop on mild exertion and which may not be obvious at rest, is the most potent cause of the increased cardiovascular mortality seen in dialysis patients. Simple exercise testing will reveal those with subclinical volume overload who are most at risk. It was striking that in the two groups tested those who developed striking hypertension on exercise were usually older, between 35 and 50 years. This accelerated aging of their vascular tree would correspond with recent data showing that dialysis mortality increases with age, and is about a decade earlier than in the general population. It is suggested that a more aggressive policy be adopted towards blood pressure fluctuations and that the resting blood pressure should be kept below 140/90 mm Hg at all times, if necessary by complementing ultrafiltration with drug therapy and/or bilateral nephrectomy at an early stage. 7. Thus simple exercise testing with blood pressure recordings not only serves as a yardstick of physical rehabilitation and long-term follow-up, but may also reveal or magnify abnormalities not obvious at rest

A longitudinal study of ageing persons

This submission is composed of papers based upon a longitudinal study of ageing persons carried on in Edinburgh from 1968 to 1974. The subjects were 215 men and 272 women aged'63 -90 years who formed a simple random sample of the 27, 000 older people living in ten city wards in north Edinburgh in 1968. Examinations, relevant to this submission, were made by a physician, a psychiatrist and a dietician.The first examination was made in 1968 -69 with reviews after one (1969 -70) and five (1973 -74) years. The project was designed to study physical and mental health over this period and to record certain measurements. The year 1967 was spent planning the study, validating the questionnaire and learning to make reproducible measurements.The first examination yielded papers describing cross - sectional data in respect of respiratory symptoms and function, ischaemic heart disease, heart size, peripheral vascular disease, spinal curvature, vision, hearing, haematological variables, plasma urea, bowel habit, feet, urinary signs and symptoms, the ankle jerk, the androgyny score and diet related to health.The review examinations provided papers describing longitudinal aspects of respiratory studies, ischaemic heart disease, heart size, blood pressure and stroke, vision, hearing, bone mass, height, body weight and skinfold thicknessOther papers were concerned with sampling, methods, the fate of the sample, factors related to mortality and the use of medical services.LIST OF PAPERS:A. Methods, Sampling and Use of Services1. MILNE, J.S., HOPE, K. and WILLIAMSON, J. Variability in replies to a questionnaire on symptoms of physical illness. Journal of Chronic Diseases 1970, 22, 805. | 2. MILNE, J.S., MAULE, M.M. and WILLIAMSON, J. Method of sampling in a study of older people with a comparison of respondents and non -respondents. British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine 1971, 25, 37. | 3. MILNE, J.S., MAULE, M.M., CORMACK, S. and WILLIAMSON, J. The design and testing of a questionnaire and examination to assess physical and mental health in older people, using a staff nurse as the observer. Journal of Chronic Diseases 1972, 25, 385. | 4. MILNE, J.S. and CHOPIN, J. Reviews after one and five years in a longitudinal study of ageing persons. Age and Ageing 1975, 4, 152. | 5. MILNE, J.S. and LAUDER, I.J. Factors associated with mortality in older people. Age and Ageing 1978, 7, 129. | 6. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Comparison of teaching machine with an observer in the detection of angina pectoris by questionnaire. British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine 1971, 25, 105. | 7. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. The use of medical services by older people. Health Bulletin 1972, 31, 263.B. Cardiovascular and Respiratory8. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Respiratory function tests in older people. Clinical Science 1972, 42, 371. | 9. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Respiratory symptoms and smoking habits in older people, with age and sex differences. Respiration 1972, 29, 359. | 10 MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. The relationship of respiratory function tests to respiratory symptoms and smoking in older people. Respiration 1972, 29, 206. | 11. MILNE, J.S. Longitudinal respiratory studies in older people. Thorax 1978, 33, 547. | 12. KITCHIN, A.H., LOWTHER, C.P. and MILNE, J.S. Prevalence of clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of ischaemic heart disease in the older population. British Heart Journal 1973, 35, 946. | 13. MILNE, J.S. and LAUDER, I.J. Heart size in older people. British Heart Journal 1974, 36, 352. | 14. KITCHIN, A.H. and MILNE, J.S. Longitudinal survey of ischaemic heart disease in randomly selected sample of older population. British Heart Journal 1977, 39, 889. | 15. LAUDER, I.J. and MILNE, J.S. Longitudinal study of heart size in older people. British Heart Journal 1976, 38, 1286. 16. MILNE, J.S. A longitudinal study of blood pressure and stroke in older people. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Gerontology. 1981 in the press. | 17. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Intermittent claudication and peripheral pulses in older people. Age and Ageing 1972, 1, 146.C. Special Senses18. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Visual acuity in older people. Gerontologia Clinica 1972, 14, 249. | 19. MILNE, J.S. Longitudinal studies of vision in older people. Age and Ageing 1979, 8, 160. | 20. MILNE, J.S. and LAUDER, I.J. Pure tone audiometry in older people. British Journal of Audiology 1975, 9, 50. | 21. MILNE, J.S. Hearing loss related to some signs and symptoms in older people. British Journal of Audiology 1976, 10, 65. | 22. MILNE, J.S. The air -bone gap in older people. British Journal of Audiology 1977, 11, 1. | 23. MILNE, J.S. A longitudinal study of hearing loss in older people. British Journal of Audiology 1977, 11, 7.D. Anthropometry24. MILNE, J.S. Longitudinal studies of body weight and skinfold thickness in older people. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Gerontology 1979, 1, 101. | 25. MILNE, J.S. A longitudinal study of height in older people. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Gerontology. 1981 in the press. | 26. MILNE, J.S. and LAUDER, I.J. Age effects in kyphosis and lordosis in adults. Annals of Human Biology, 1974, 1, 327. | 27. MILNE, J.S. and LAUDER, I.J. The relationship of kyphosis to the shape of vertebral bodies. Annals of Human Biology 1976, 3, 173. | 28. MILNE, J.S. and LONERGAN, M.E. A five -year follow -up study of bone mass in older people. Annals of Human Biology 1977, 4, 243. | 29. LAUDER, I.J. and MILNE, J.S. Bone mass in men with Klinefelter's syndrome and in normal subjects, estimated by the cortical thickness of bone. Clinical Genetics 1975, 8, 48. | 30. MILNE, J.S. Age differences in the Androgyny Score. British Journal of Preventive and Social Medicine 1972, 26, 231. | 31. MILNE, J.S., LAUDER, I.J. and PRICE, W.H. Anthropometry in sex chromosome abnormality. Clinical Genetics 1974, 5, 96.E. Blood Examination32. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. The ESR in older people. Gerontologia Clinica 1972, 14, 36. | 33. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Plasma urea concentration in older people. Gerontologia Clinica 1972, 14, 32. | 34. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Haemoglobin, Haematocrit, leukocyte count and blood grouping in older people. Geriatrics 1972, 27, 118.F. Miscellaneous35. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. Bowel habit in older people. Gerontologia Clinica 1972, 14, 56 | 36. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. The feet of older people. The Chiropodist 1972, 27, 142. | 37. MILNE, J.S., WILLIAMSON, J., MAULE, M.M. and WALLACE, E.T. Urinary symptoms in older people. Modern Geriatrics 1972, 2, 198. | 38. MILNE, J.S. and WILLIAMSON, J. The ankle jerk in older people. Gerontologia Clinica 1972, 14, 86.G. Dietary39. MILNE, J.S., LONERGAN, M.E., WILLIAMSON, J., MOORE, F.M.L., McMASTER, R. and PERCY, N. Leucocyte ascorbic acid levels and vitamin C intake in older people. British Medical Journal 1971, 4, 383. | 40. LONERGAN, M.E., MILNE, J.S., MAULE, M.M. and WILLIAMSON, J. A dietary survey of older people in Edinburgh. British journal of Nutrition 1975, 34, 517.H. Review41. MILNE, J.S. Prevalence of incontinence in the elderly age groups: in Incontinence in the Elderly edited by WILLINGTON, F.L. Academic Press. London. New York. San Francisco. 1976 pp 9 -21. | 42. MILNE, J.S. Mesure de la densité osseuse chez le viellard. Médecine et Hygiene 1973, 31, 35. (The format of the journal differs from that of the reprint and hence page numbers do not correspond)

Growth, body composition and metabolism at neonatal and adolescent life stages in low birth weight offspring

Non peer reviewedPublisher PD

Influence of birth weight, sex, age and adiposity on central leptin and insulin sensitivity in young growing sheep, as indicated by changes in voluntary food intake

Non peer reviewedPublisher PD