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The requirements of ITER neutral beam injectors (1 MeV, 40 A negative deuterium ion current for 1 h) have never been simultaneously attained; therefore, a dedicated Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) was set up at Consorzio RFX (Padova, Italy). The NBTF includes two experiments: SPIDER (Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma), the full-scale prototype of the source of ITER injectors, with a 100 keV accelerator, to investigate and optimize the properties of the ion source; and MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the entire injector, devoted to the issues related to the accelerator, including voltage holding at low gas pressure. The present paper gives an account of the status of the procurements, of the timeline, and of the voltage holding tests and experiments for MITICA. As for SPIDER, the first year of operation is described, regarding the solution of some issues connected with the radiofrequency power, the source operation, and the characterization of the first negative ion beam.

Maintaining a high standard of quality of dialysis fluid has been shown to be difficult. For this reason, an evaluation of the microbiological quality (total bacterial count at 22 degrees C and 37 degrees C, pyrogenic Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter and Enterobacteriaceae) and contamination by disinfection byproducts, of dialysis fluids was carried out in a hospital dialysis service in Arezzo (Italy). The analysis was carried out in different points of the water treatment system used for the preparation of dialysis fluids. Results show diffuse microbiological contamination especially at the point of entry of the dialyzer monitor; Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas were found to be the most frequent contaminants due to the presence of biofilms in the water system, while pyrogenic bacteria were found to be within regulatory limits. Trichloroethane and trichloroethylene were absent but traces of carbon tetrachloride, percloroethylene and bromoform were found; these were outnumbered by trialomethanes (chloroform at point of entry decalcifier: mean 90.14 microg/L). Contamination by trialomethanes decreased at the end of the distribution system (mean chloroform 8.55 microg/L). The yearly level of exposure of a dialysis patient to low molecular weight volatile halogenated organics (VHOs) that are able to pass the dialyser membrane, was therefore estimated to be approximately 100 mg.

The gas-chromatographic method is confronted with the amply used colorimetric method in the determination of the urinary oestriol. The two methods give practically the some results, even so the gas-chromatographic is to be preferred for its specificity, for salvaging accuracy, and for the possibility to receive hormonal profiles with only one determination.

We carried the values of the oestrioluria received examining n o 755 samples of urine of women with normal pregnancies using the gas-chromatographic method. The gas-chromatographic method makes possible a "fascia" of normal values superimposable to those received from others AA. with the colorimetric method in the first months of pregnancy, where we have a major tendency to the dispersion of the values in the last months of pregnancy.