No abstract

The research into turning a vegetable oil into an alternative fuel has been underway for some time [1±5]. Although some countries have begun to use some biomass as a fuel for the automobile, the wide use of an alternative fuel has been dicult without substantial subsidies owing to the cost of the biomass which is 3±5 times higher than that of fossil fuel.However, the cost of waste vegetable oil is competitive with that of fossil fuel and, in the collection of waste vegetable oil, there is an additional advantage of being able to prevent its illegal dumping. Furthermore, the reuse of the oil will improve the pro®tability of its collection.This research focused on the engine performance and emission characteristics of methyl-esteri®ed vegetable oil when it is used in a diesel engine of an automobile. The research conducted with direct injection (DI) and indirect injection (IDI) diesel engines revealed that, for engine performance, the alternative fuel was on a par with light oil. For the emission of particulates, with the IDI diesel engine there was no signi®cant dierence between the light oil; however, the DI engine proved to emit a much larger quantity of particulates in the low to middle load range. The research also revealed the necessity for countermeasures against solidi®cation of the fuel during the winter months, the generation and emission of aldehyde and benzene, which are typical of oxygenated fuel, and the tempuralike smell caused by propionaldehyde.

No abstract

Arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin in various portions of rat brain were determined by radioimmunoassays. The hormones were extracted from tissue samples into 0.1 N HCl and then purified partially with acetone-petroleum ether extraction. The non-equilibration method was used for the assays. In this method recovery rates of arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin were 73.0 +/- 4.4% and 75.0 +/- 3.8%, respectively. Sensitivities of the assays were 1 pg of arginine-vasopressin and 0.75 pg (0.3 microU) of oxytocin per assay tube. The higher concentrations of arginine-vasopressin and oxytocin were confirmed in the hypothalamo-neurohypophyseal system, where these hormones are synthesized, transported and stored. Relatively high concentrations of these hormones, especially oxytocin, were detected in spinal cord. Amygdala, hippocampus, limbic forebrain and pineal body contained a certain amount of arginine-vasopressin (2-20 pg/mg protein). Oxytocin (1-7 pg/mg protein) was also detected in amygdala, pons and medulla oblongata, pineal body and midbrain. The low concentrations of these hormones were also found in cerebral cortex and cerebellum.

Urinary metabolites of polyamines in rats were studied systematically by the intraperitoneal injection of radioactive polyamines. Urinary metabolites were fractionated into 4 fractions containing non-polar and acidic compounds, acidic and neutral ampholytes, basic ampholytes and polyamines. A large amount of radioactivity was detected in the fractions containing non-polar and acidic compounds and polyamines of urine of rats injected with radioactive putrescine, while in the case of the injection of radioactive spermidine or spermine a relatively large amount of radioactivity was found in the basic ampholyte fraction as well as in the polyamine fraction. Analysis of these fractions indicated that gamma-aminobutyric acid, N-monoacetylputrescine, 2(3)-hydroxyputrescine, putreanine, N-(3-aminopropyl)-4-aminobutyric acid (isoputreanine), spermic acid, N-(3-aminopropyl), N'-(2-carboxyethyl)-1,4-diaminobutane, and N-monoacetylspermidine A and B were excreted as urinary metabolites of the polyamines in addition to putrescine, spermidine and spermine.