Human-computer interface evaluation: not user-friendliness but design for operation.

This paper considers human-computer interface evaluation in the context of design and development. It is argued that it is not helpful to view evaluation as a method for achieving user-friendliness, rather it should be seen as a participating activity within design and development. The centre of concern is the operation of the system when employed in practice.

Postural consistency in skilled archers.

The consistency of an archer's postural set at the moment of loose (arrow release) is commonly perceived to be an important determinant of success. The coach seeks, among other things, to provide the archer with information about postural consistency, details of which he acquires by eye or occasionally by video-recordings. The gains that might be achieved from more precise information are examined here.

In vitro studies of haemolysis by some staphylococci grown in chemically defined media.

Staphylococcus aureus (five strains) and Staph. epidermidis (one strain) have been evaluated for comparative growth and haemolysin titre in both brain heart infusion (BHI) and in developed, nutritionally adequate, chemically defined media (CDMs) varying only in amino acid composition. The ability to show a particular haemolytic profile was strain-dependent and the haemolytic titre (HU50/ml) was both strain- and medium-dependent.

Structure of (20R)-20,21-epoxy-19-norpregna-1,3,5(10)-triene-3,17 beta-diol.

C20H26O3, Mr = 314.4, orthorhombic, P2(1)2(1)2(1), a = 10.25 (1), b = 25.

The effect of endurance running training on asthmatic adults.

Nine mild to moderate asthmatic adults (three males, six females) and six non-asthmatics (one male, five females) underwent endurance running training three times per week for five weeks, at self selected running speeds on a motorized treadmill. After training, the asthmatic group had a significantly higher maximum oxygen uptake, significantly lower blood lactate and heart rate in submaximal running, and significantly reduced time to complete a two mile treadmill run, partly attributable to the ability to exercise at a higher % VO2 max after training. These training induced changes of the asthmatic group were generally of a greater magnitude than those shown by the non-asthmatic group.

Tissue noradrenaline and the polyol pathway in experimentally diabetic rats.

1. The effects of a six week period of streptozotocin-induced diabetes on tissue catecholamines and on in vivo noradrenaline turnover were assessed in rats. 2.

Solubility of freon-22 in blood and lung tissue.

Despite the frequent use of freon-22 (e.g. to measure pulmonary blood flow), there is no agreement on its solubility in water or body fluids.

Separation of basic drugs by high-performance liquid chromatography on a silica column using a methanol-ethylenediamine buffer.

The application of methanol-aqueous ethylenediamine-ammonium nitrate eluents has been investigated for the high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of basic drugs on silica stationary phases. These eluents were shown to be more reproducible than previously studied systems based on methanol-aqueous ammonia-ammonium nitrate eluents. The effects of different eluent pH and buffer concentrations have been examined.

Retention reproducibility of basic drugs in high-performance liquid chromatography on a silica column with a methanol-ammonium nitrate eluent. Batch-to-batch reproducibility of the stationary phase.

The effect of changing the brand and batches of the silica stationary phase used with a methanol-aqueous ammonium nitrate eluent for the high-performance liquid chromatographic separation of basic drugs has been studied. Considerable care had to be taken to obtain a reproducible eluent and the effect of small changes in the concentration of the ammonia solution were examined closely. Large differences in both the capacity factor and relative capacity factors were found for separations on columns packed with four different brands of silica.

Erythrocyte acid phosphatase polymorphism: relationship with birth weight, duration of gestation, and congenital abnormalities.

No statistically significant relationships were observed between the red blood cell acid phosphatase polymorphism (ACP-1) and birth weight, duration of gestation and proportion of preterm infants in a large series of newborn infants (greater than 8000) in Cardiff. These results are contrasted with those of a similar, but smaller, series studied by Bottini's group in Rome, where some apparently significant effects were detected. The Cardiff survey did show a significant relationship between ACP-1 genotypes and the presence or absence of congenital abnormalities, but since this was largely attributable to an excess of ACP-1 CA individuals with abnormalities, a category with a small expected value, further data are required to confirm the validity of this observation.

Future AMT and ergonomics: Knowledge, organisational issues and human roles.

The paper begins by outlining the growing market for Advanced Manufacturing Technology, providing a sample scenario and some instances of the human factors issues underlying this scenario. The importance of knowledge is emphasised. Two classes of 'knowledge-manipulating' knowledge and 'data-manipulating' knowledge are discussed, and the problems of error propagation are mentioned.

The influence of pyrithione on the growth of micro-organisms.

Pyrithione was active against a range of micro-organisms, the most resistant being Gram-negative bacteria. The growth curves for Klebsiella pneumoniae and Bacillus licheniformis showed a drug-dependent lag phase. Candida albicans grew with a drug-dependent growth rate.

Determination of pH with acid-base indicators: Implications for optical fibre probes.

Results are presented which clearly illustrate the possibilities and limitations of the use of indicators immobilized on optical fibres, in the determination of pH.

Application of packed column supercritical fluid chromatography to the analysis of barbiturates.

The analysis of barbiturates using packed column supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has been investigated. The separations were carried out on either an ODS bonded silica or polystyrene-divinylbenzene polymer column with carbon dioxide as the mobile phase and flame ionisation detection. All the barbiturates were strongly adsorbed on the ODS-silica column, but reasonable separations were obtained by using the polymer column.

The influence of high carbohydrate diets on endurance running performance.

The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of high carbohydrate (CHO) diets on recovery of endurance capacity following a treadmill run to exhaustion. Two high CHO diets were used, one in which the normal diet was supplemented with complex carbohydrates and the other in which supplementation was achieved with simple carbohydrates. The thirty recreational runners who took part in this study (fifteen men and fifteen women) completed weighed food intake diaries two to three weeks before the start of the study.

A comparison between atria from control and streptozotocin-diabetic rats: the effects of dietary myoinositol.

1. Atria, isolated from control rats, six-week streptozotocin-diabetic rats and from similarly diabetic rats treated with myo-inositol (MI) were compared. The MI treatment was shown to reverse the depressed sciatic nerve MI which was observed in the untreated diabetic group.

Muscarinic receptor density is reduced in diabetic rat atria, an effect prevented by the aldose reductase inhibitor, Statil.

Binding assays using [3H]quinuclidinyl benzilate (QNB) as a muscarinic receptor ligand were carried out on atrial tissue from 6 control and 11 six-week streptozocin-diabetic rats. Five of the latter had received the aldose reductase inhibitor, Statil (25 mg kg-1 day-1 orally). Dissociation constants for specific (atropine displaceable QNB) binding were not changed either by diabetes or Statil treatment.

Aspects of the effect of bile salts on Candida albicans.

Cholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, deoxycholic acid, glycocholic acid, glycodeoxycholic acid, hyodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid as their sodium salts, were fungistatic to the growth of Candida albicans. Of the compounds tested, cholic acid, deoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid were the most active. In combination with other antifungal agents only cholic acid exhibited synergism with amphotericin B, whilst the imidazole antifungal agents inhibited the action of the bile salts.

Treadmill performance and selected physiological characteristics of wheelchair athletes.

The purpose of this study was to examine selected physiological characteristics and pushing performance over a distance of five kilometres (5 km) in twelve wheelchair athletes (10 paraplegics and 2 tetraplegics). The physiological tests and 5 km wheelchair time trials were performed on a motorised treadmill adapted for use by wheelchairs. The maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and %VO2 max utilised at a fixed speed equivalent to a blood lactate concentration of 4 mmol.