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The Determination Of Copper In Sea Water Using Flow Injection With Chemiluminescence Detection, Richard Charles Sandford Jan 2002

The Determination Of Copper In Sea Water Using Flow Injection With Chemiluminescence Detection, Richard Charles Sandford

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This thesis describes the design, optimisation and shipboard deployment of a flow injection - chemiluminescence (FI-CL) technique for the determination of labile Cu(II) and total copper (by UV irradiation) in seawater. The operational parameters of the FI manifold in a UHP water sample matrix and the 1,10-phenanthroline CL reaction were rigorously optimised. Interferences to the CL reaction were investigated and the good analytical figures of merit obtained presented. The FI-CL method was modified for the determination of ultra trace levels of Cu(II) in seawater by the incorporation of a new design of micro-column containing 8-hydroxyquinoline (8HQ) resin for in-line matrix …

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A Critical Analysis Of Gardens As A Resource For Tourism And Recreation In The Uk, Joanne Jane Connell Jan 2002

A Critical Analysis Of Gardens As A Resource For Tourism And Recreation In The Uk, Joanne Jane Connell

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Garden visiting has become a popular leisure pursuit in recent years. Within a tourism and recreation context, scant research exists on the subject of gardens as recreational resources and the manner in which they are presented to and consumed by the public. This thesis explores the scope and nature of gardens as tourism and recreation resources in the UK. The thesis examines the conceptual foundations of the garden, in order to establish what reasons explain predisposition towards garden visiting, and why gardens provide a desirable environment in which people want to spend leisure time. The activity of garden visiting is …

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Sources And Structures Of Commonly Occurring Highly Branched Isoprenoid Alkenes, William Guy Allard Jan 2002

Sources And Structures Of Commonly Occurring Highly Branched Isoprenoid Alkenes, William Guy Allard

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Highly branched isoprenoid (HBI) alkenes are ubiquitous lipids which have been identified in numerous geochemical samples, ranging from recent sediments to ancient oils. At the outset of the current investigation, the diatomaceous algae Haslea ostrearia (C25 alkenes) and Rhizosolenia setigera (C25 or C30 alkenes) were the only reported biological sources of these compounds. However, there remained a poor correlation between isomers found in diatoms and those commonly reported in sediments and water column particles. In the present study, the structures of fourteen novel C25 HBI trienes, tetraenes and pentaenes, and four C30 HBI pentaenes and hexaenes have been rigorously characterised …

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The Development Of A Methodology For The Identification Of Potential Wet Grassland Restoration Sites In South West England, Francien Van Soest Jan 2002

The Development Of A Methodology For The Identification Of Potential Wet Grassland Restoration Sites In South West England, Francien Van Soest

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Large scale drainage and pasture improvement in the past and present-day neglect of the floristically diverse wet grasslands in south west England have caused a significant decrease, approximately 92% since 1900. in the total area of this ecologically valuable semi-natural plant community. The plant community, which is locally called Culm grassland, consists of acid purple moor grassland, soft rush meadows and wet heaths. Conservation and restoration of these grasslands requires careful planning and efficient use of resources. This study was aimed at developing strategies for regional planning authorities and nature conservation agencies and developed a management tool for the selection …

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Postive Consequences Of Illness, Samantha Claire Sodergren Jan 2002

Postive Consequences Of Illness, Samantha Claire Sodergren

School of Psychology Theses

This thesis identifies systematically the domains of positive consequences of illness and details the development of a measure of the positive consequences of illness- the Silver Lining Questionnaire (SLQ). Further aims of the thesis include the use of the SLQ as a predictor of health outcome and an investigation of the prevalence and correlates of positivity in illness. The first study questioned 55 people about their positive experiences of illness and uncovered 17 themes. In the second study a pilot questionnaire based on these themes was administered to the participants of the first study and an additional sample of cancer …

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A Study Of Hypoxia Inducible Factor And Related Genes In Disease In Man, Karen Lynn Søndergaard Jan 2002

A Study Of Hypoxia Inducible Factor And Related Genes In Disease In Man, Karen Lynn Søndergaard

Other Faculty of Health Theses

In this study, the mRNA and protein levels of hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1α), and a number of genes regulated by hypoxia (VEGF, GLUT-1, p53), were determined in four breast carcinoma cell lines, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of patients with breast cancer and Type 1 diabetes (TIDM), and in human breast and brain tumour tissue. Breast carcinoma cells and PMBCs from both patients and normal controls were exposed to hypoxia (≤1% 0 2) and/or high glucose. Both up-regulated and down-regulated HIF-1α, GLUT-1 and p53 mRNA expression was observed in the breast carcinoma cell lines exposed to hypoxia and/or high …

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Genetic Analysis Of The Microvascular Complications Of Diabetes Mellitus, Deborah F Cross Jan 2002

Genetic Analysis Of The Microvascular Complications Of Diabetes Mellitus, Deborah F Cross

Other Faculty of Health Theses

There is increasing evidence to suggest that genetic factors are involved in the pathogenesis of microvascular complications in diabetes mellitus. Recent studies have suggested that genetic variations in the aldose reductase (ALR2) gene may contribute to the genetic susceptibility to microvascular complications. Aldose reductase is the first and rate-limiting enzyme of the polyol pathway and is implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic microvascular disease (nephropathy, retinopathy and neuropathy). It has recently been shown that the three polymorphisms of the ALR2 gene are associated with susceptibility to microvascular complications in both TIDM and T2DM. The aim of this study was to …

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The Influence Of Extracts Of Ascophvllum Nodosum On Plant And Soil-Borne Pathogen Interactions, Felisberta Maria Jesus Cunha Jan 2002

The Influence Of Extracts Of Ascophvllum Nodosum On Plant And Soil-Borne Pathogen Interactions, Felisberta Maria Jesus Cunha

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This thesis presents an investigation into the responses to extracts of Ascophyllum nodosum (Maxicrop seaweed extracts - MSE) of two different plants species - wheat and strawberry, and their interactions with two soil-borne pathogens, Gaeumannomyces graminis and Phytophthora fragariae respectively, under various environmental conditions. The responses to MSE using hydroponic, glasshouse and field experiments showed that levels of Take-all infection in wheat were reduced by some of the treatments applied. Repeat experiments showed that consistency of results was poor but a positive trend for disease suppression followed MSE treatments. Studies of strawberry infection by Phytophthora fragariae revealed a significantly reduced …

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Studies Of The Response Of Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer To Radiotherapy, Zakaria Issa Saki Jan 2002

Studies Of The Response Of Muscle Invasive Bladder Cancer To Radiotherapy, Zakaria Issa Saki

Other Faculty of Health Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate several biological markers that may predict the response of muscle invasive transitional cell carcinoma TCC of the bladder to radical radiotherapy. The specific markers chosen were tumour angiogenesis (CD31 &CD34), tumour cell proliferation (Ki-67) and apoptosis (bcl-2), intratumour macrophage infiltration (CD68) and p53. Archival formalin fixed paraffin embedded pre treatment bladder biopsies from 101 patients with muscle invasive TCC were obtained. All patients subsequently received radical radiotherapy as their only treatment for the disease. 4µm sections were graded according to the WHO grading system and staged by the TNM classification. Angiogenesis (CD31&CD34) …

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Quantification Of Marine Megafaunal Distribution Patterns Using A Remotely Operated Vehicle, David Matthew Parry Jan 2002

Quantification Of Marine Megafaunal Distribution Patterns Using A Remotely Operated Vehicle, David Matthew Parry

Other Faculty of Science and Engineering Theses

This thesis documents the development and application of the Automated Benthic Image Scaling System (ABISS), a novel structured lighting array for calculating image scale, accounting for perspective, to allow quantitative non-destructive megafaunal sampling using observations from a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Megafauna are important components of marine soft sediment assemblages that influence the composition of the associated assemblage and the flux of energy across the sediment-water interface, by altering the physical and chemical characteristics of the sediment during bioturbation. However, megafaunal species are not sampled adequately using traditional techniques. Megafaunal abundance estimates derived from ROV observations were validated against those …

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Toward A Women-Centred Approach To Infant Feeding Research, Lynne Callaghan Jan 2002

Toward A Women-Centred Approach To Infant Feeding Research, Lynne Callaghan

School of Psychology Theses

This thesis aimed to provide an integrated model of infant feeding, centred on women's experiences. Two studies were employed in order to meet this aim. Firstly, a questionnaire-based longitudinal study within a Social Cognitive framework was carried out in order to understand the internal and external processes involved in the infant feeding experience. Eighty-five first time mothers participated in this study. Participants were assessed at three stages; once during pregnancy, once at six to eight, and again at four to six moths postpartum. The results of the longitudinal study supported the use of the Social Cognitive framework, and more specifically …

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Copper Toxicity In The Physiology And Early Development Of Fucus Serratus, Hanne Dalsgaard Nielsen Jan 2002

Copper Toxicity In The Physiology And Early Development Of Fucus Serratus, Hanne Dalsgaard Nielsen

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Fucus serratus was used in a series of laboratory experiments to study the effects of Cu2+ exposure on the early development of zygotes and physiological effects on adults collected from Cu2+ polluted and clean habitats. Comparative studies showed that Cu2+ tolerance in Fucus is an inherited character. Zygote development and growth of embryos and adults during Cu2+ exposure indicated that Fucus serratus from a Cu2+ polluted habitat had a higher tolerance limit than material from two clean habitats. Furthermore, there was no difference in the tolerance level of zygotes, embryos and adults from the same habitat. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements showed …

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Abiotic Stress Signalling In The Fucus Embryo, Susana Coelho Jan 2002

Abiotic Stress Signalling In The Fucus Embryo, Susana Coelho

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Fucoid algae live in the intertidal region where they experience daily fluctuations in light and external osmotic environment. High light, especially in combination with ultraviolet (UV) radiation and hyper-osmotic stress affected the cellular physiology of Fucus embryos. Two photoinhibition responses were recognised. Firstly, a rapid decline of the photosystem II (PSII) efficiency, linked with the operation of the xanthophyl cycle, followed by a slower decline correlated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. As a result of enhanced ROS production, a slower repair of the PSII efficiency was observed, particularly with increased UV-B doses. Development of the embryos was transiently affected …

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The Molecular Differentiation Of Renibacterium Salmoninarum Isolates, Sarah Margaret Alexander Jan 2002

The Molecular Differentiation Of Renibacterium Salmoninarum Isolates, Sarah Margaret Alexander

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Studies were undertaken to examine the extent of molecular variation among isolates of the fish pathogen Renibacterium salmoninarum. As many isolates as possible were gathered from diagnostic laboratories within the UK, and checked for viability and contamination. The isolates were derived mainly from infected rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon that were farmed in England, Scotland and Wales, subject to the requirements of statutory legislation. Incomplete histories were available for the sources of the isolates, which spanned a time scale of 36 years, from 1962-1998. Molecular variation between the isolates was examined using two strategies. Firstly, defined regions of the genome …

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Evaluation Of Radionuclide Induced Damage In Marine Invertebrates, Josephine Anne Hagger Jan 2002

Evaluation Of Radionuclide Induced Damage In Marine Invertebrates, Josephine Anne Hagger

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Limited studies have been carried out to assess the potential effects of ionising radiation on marine organisms. Therefore the general aims of this thesis were, (a) to assess the cytotoxic, genotoxic and developmental effects of ionising radiation on the embryo-larvae of two ecologically relevant marine invertebrates Mytilus edulis and Platynereis dumerilii, (2) to assess the effects of an environmentally relevant cocktail of radionuclides (3) to monitor the potential impact of radiation in the natural environment and finally (4) attempt to predict the potential effects of radiation at a population level. Following validation of developmental stages and mammalian based cytotoxic and …

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Suitability Of Selected Raw Materials And By-Products In Formulated Feeds For Nile Tilapia Oreochromis Niloticus And African Catfish Clarias Gariepinus, Abdel-Wahab A. Abdel-Warith Jan 2002

Suitability Of Selected Raw Materials And By-Products In Formulated Feeds For Nile Tilapia Oreochromis Niloticus And African Catfish Clarias Gariepinus, Abdel-Wahab A. Abdel-Warith

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The current status of global aquaculture production was reviewed with a special emphasis on Africa and in particular Egypt. The main species of interest in this study were tilapia Oreochromis niloticus and African catfish Clarias gariepinus which are gaining popularity and are of considerable importance in the market of farmed fish in this continent and of economic relevance to Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries. Research was principally directed to establishing the suitability of specific feed ingredients and materials that could be included in balanced diets for both species. Various animal and plant by-products were selected to evaluate their nutritional …

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Chromosomal Variation In Nucella Lapillus (L.) And Other Muricid Gastropods, Philip Lionel Pascoe Jan 2002

Chromosomal Variation In Nucella Lapillus (L.) And Other Muricid Gastropods, Philip Lionel Pascoe

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

The Robertsonian polymorphism (numerical change in the chromosome complement by centric fusion or fission) in the dog-whelk (Nucella lapillus, Mollusca: Gastropoda) has been known and studied sporadically for almost 50 years. However, the possible causes, consequences and proposed correlations of this phenomenon remain enigmatic. Nucella lapillus (2n = 26 to 36), has undergone a marked reduction in chromosome number from its ancestral form; most other muricid species have a diploid chromosome number in the range 2n = 60- 70. Correlations have been proposed between chromosome number (or karyotype) and habitat (wave exposure), and also directly or indirectly with allozymes, shell …

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The Adaptive Advantage Of Symbolic Theft Over Sensorimotor Toil: Grounding Language In Perceptual Categories, A Cangelosi, S Harnad Jan 2002

The Adaptive Advantage Of Symbolic Theft Over Sensorimotor Toil: Grounding Language In Perceptual Categories, A Cangelosi, S Harnad

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Using neural nets to simulate learning and the genetic algorithm to simulate evolution in a toy world of mushrooms and mushroom-foragers, we place two ways of acquiring categories into direct competition with one another: In (1) "sensorimotor toil,” new categories are acquired through real-time, feedbackcorrected, trial and error experience in sorting them. In (2) "symbolic theft,” new categories are acquired by hearsay from propositions – boolean combinations of symbols describing them. In competition, symbolic theft always beats sensorimotor toil. We hypothesize that this is the basis of the adaptive advantage of language. Entry-level categories must still be learned by toil, …

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The First Ecological Study Of A Red Sea Maerl Bed., G Brownlie, Jm Hall-Spencer, A Hamid, C Henderson, A Kinchington, R Linklater-Mclennan, H Mokhtar Dec 2001

The First Ecological Study Of A Red Sea Maerl Bed., G Brownlie, Jm Hall-Spencer, A Hamid, C Henderson, A Kinchington, R Linklater-Mclennan, H Mokhtar

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

No abstract provided.

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Identification Of An Mcm4 Homologue Expressed Specifically In The Sexual Stage Of Plasmodium Falciparum, J-L Li, Ls Cox Sep 2001

Identification Of An Mcm4 Homologue Expressed Specifically In The Sexual Stage Of Plasmodium Falciparum, J-L Li, Ls Cox

School of Biomedical Sciences

Mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins play an essential role in DNA replication initiation. We have isolated a novel gene encoding an MCM-like protein from the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum using the vectorette technique. The gene has no introns and comprises an open reading frame encoding 1005 amino acid residues with a predicted Mr of 115 kDa. The encoded protein, termed PfMCM4, contains all conserved sequences in the MCM family and displays the highest homology to the Cdc54 (MCM4) of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. However, PfMCM4 possesses five unique amino acid inserts with sizes ranging from seven to 75 residues. Southern blotting of …

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Role Of The Bloom's Syndrome Helicase In Maintenance Of Genome Stability, Id Hickson, Sl Davies, J-L Li, Nc Levitt, Et Al May 2001

Role Of The Bloom's Syndrome Helicase In Maintenance Of Genome Stability, Id Hickson, Sl Davies, J-L Li, Nc Levitt, Et Al

Peninsula Medical School

The RecQ family of DNA helicases has members in all organisms analysed. In humans, defects in three family members are associated with disease conditions: BLM is defective in Bloom's syndrome, WRN in Werner's syndrome and RTS in Rothmund-Thomson syndrome. In each case, cells from affected individuals show inherent genomic instability. The focus of our work is the Bloom's syndrome gene and its product, BLM. Here, we review the latest information concerning the roles of BLM in the maintenance of genome integrity.

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Primary Structure And Sexual Stage-Specific Expression Of A Lammer Protein Kinase Of Plasmodium Falciparum, J-L Li, Gat Targett, Da Baker Apr 2001

Primary Structure And Sexual Stage-Specific Expression Of A Lammer Protein Kinase Of Plasmodium Falciparum, J-L Li, Gat Targett, Da Baker

School of Biomedical Sciences

We have isolated a LAMMER-like gene from Plasmodium falciparum by vectorette technique. The gene consists of 3316 bp encoding a protein 881 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of approximately 106.7 kDa. The encoded protein, termed PfLAMMER, is composed of two distinct domains. The N-terminal domain is not related to any previously described protein kinases and has several interesting features including multiple consensus phosphorylation sites for a range of protein kinases, a number of RS/SR dipeptides, a large proportion of charged amino acids, two putative nuclear localisation signals and 14 copies of a tetramer DKYD repeats. The C-terminal domain …

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The Ecology Of Poor Fen & Willow Carr On Goss Moor Nnr, Cornwall, Emily Jane Southall Jan 2001

The Ecology Of Poor Fen & Willow Carr On Goss Moor Nnr, Cornwall, Emily Jane Southall

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Goss Moor NNR is a unique, rare and nationally-important wetland habitat in Mid- Cornwall. The majority of the habitats were created as a result of a long history of tin-stream mining, which ceased in the early 1900s. Phytosociological surveys of poor-fen and willow carr communities provide the first formal descriptions of the vegetation at this site. The poor-fen survey revealed twelve poor-fen vegetation types, which were distributed along a primary environmental gradient of organic matter depth, surface water height and bare substrate. Separation of the poor-fen communities by a moisture gradient was considered as spatial evidence for hydroseral succession, which …

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Pharmacokinetic And Pharmcodynamic Studies Of Apomorphine In The Treatment Of Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease, Wendy Ingram Jan 2001

Pharmacokinetic And Pharmcodynamic Studies Of Apomorphine In The Treatment Of Idiopathic Parkinson's Disease, Wendy Ingram

Peninsula Medical School Theses

There were two aspects to the study of apomorphine in the treatment of Parkinson' s disease: (i) a clinical pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) study was designed and implemented in response to the challenges of apomorphine dose-titration in Parkinson's disease, and in view of the scarcity of available literature on the PK-PD relationships of apomorphine in Parkinson's disease, (ii) the PK(and tolerability)of apomorphine dosing using novel delivery/formulation combinations were explored in view of the inherent limitations associated with the conventional (ie. subcutaneous) route of administration of apomorphine (e.g. cutaneous nodule formation, needle-phobia). An HPLC assay was developed for the quantification of apomorphine in …

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Building Dss Using Knowledge Discovery In Database Applied To Admission & Registration Functions, Ahmed Abdel Hameed Hassan El-Ragal Jan 2001

Building Dss Using Knowledge Discovery In Database Applied To Admission & Registration Functions, Ahmed Abdel Hameed Hassan El-Ragal

Plymouth Business School Theses

This research investigates the practical issues surrounding the development and implementation of Decision Support Systems (DSS). The research describes the traditional development approaches analyzing their drawbacks and introduces a new DSS development methodology. The proposed DSS methodology is based upon four modules; needs' analysis, data warehouse (DW), knowledge discovery in database (KDD), and a DSS module. The proposed DSS methodology is applied to and evaluated using the admission and registration functions in Egyptian Universities. The research investigates the organizational requirements that are required to underpin these functions in Egyptian Universities. These requirements have been identified following an in-depth survey of …

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Measurement And Modelling Of Uranium And Thorium In Natural Waters, Ernily Rachel Unsworth Jan 2001

Measurement And Modelling Of Uranium And Thorium In Natural Waters, Ernily Rachel Unsworth

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Uranium and thorium are the only elements in the actinide series which naturally occur in the environment in sufficient amounts for practical extraction. They are both radiotoxic and chemotoxic to humans due to the effects of the ionising radiation produced by their radioactive decay, the decay of their daughter products, and due to the chemical toxicity resulting from absorption into the body. Thus it is important to be able to quantitatively determine the levels of uranium and thorium in the environment. Measurement of low levels of uramum and thorium in the presence of high levels of inorganic and organic matrix …

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Appraisal And Validation Of Rapid, Integrated Chemical And Biological Assays Of Environmental Quality, Gilberto Fillmann Jan 2001

Appraisal And Validation Of Rapid, Integrated Chemical And Biological Assays Of Environmental Quality, Gilberto Fillmann

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

To assess the significance of pollutants released into the environment it is necessary to determine both the extent of contamination and the biological effects they give rise to. This research is based on a tiered system, which commences with conventional analytical chemistry (gas chromatography), followed by the development, evaluation and application of rapid and simple immunochemical techniques and, finally, the integration of chemical and biological markers to assess pollution. GC-ECD/FID/MS have been used to investigate the status of chemical contamination of the Black Sea by organochlorine residues, hydrocarbons and faecal sterols. Useful information is provided and problems with e.g. HCHs …

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Palaeoecology, Palaeoenvironmental Analysis And Their Application To Sequence Stratigraphy: Lower Cretaceous, Lusitanian Basin, Portugal, Gary Stefan Aillud Jan 2001

Palaeoecology, Palaeoenvironmental Analysis And Their Application To Sequence Stratigraphy: Lower Cretaceous, Lusitanian Basin, Portugal, Gary Stefan Aillud

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

Palaeoecological data can provide key information on depositional environments. This may be critical to the interpretation of marine sedimentary cycles and the recognition of ancient cycles and sequences. Although many recent studies have attempted to combine palaeoecology and sequence stratigraphy, the sequence stratigraphic model is commonly used to provide a temporally constrained framework for the evaluation of ecological and evolutionary events. This study shows how palaeoecology can be used as a powerful tool in the development of sequence stratigraphic models. A palaeoecological study of three Lower Cretaceous successions (at Ericeira, Cascais, Cabo Espichel) from the southern part of the Lusitanian …

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Determination Of Co And Mn In Marine Waters Using Flow Injection With Chemiluminescence Detection, Vincenzo Cannizzaro Jan 2001

Determination Of Co And Mn In Marine Waters Using Flow Injection With Chemiluminescence Detection, Vincenzo Cannizzaro

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

This thesis describes the design, optimisation and shipboard deployment of a flow injection - chemiluminescence (FI-CL) technique for the determination of cobalt (Co) and manganese (Mn) in seawater. Chapter One presents an overview of the marine environment and the biogeochemistry of Co and Mn. Current analytical methods for the determination of Co and Mn in natural waters are also reviewed. Chapter Two reports reagent clean-up techniques and the synthesis of an 8- hydroxyquinoline resin used for in-line matrix elimination and preconcentration. The resin is also characterised in terms of its chelating ability for the transition metals and the earth alkaline …

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Molecular Characterisation Of Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Feedstocks Using Ruthenium Tetroxide Oxidation: A Study Of Model Hydrocarbons, Helen Frances Sturt Jan 2001

Molecular Characterisation Of Fluidised Catalytic Cracker Feedstocks Using Ruthenium Tetroxide Oxidation: A Study Of Model Hydrocarbons, Helen Frances Sturt

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences Theses

The world's proven reserves of crude oil will be depleted in 42 years at the current rate of consumption. Oil refiners are under considerable economic and environmental pressure to improve the efficiency of refining and the quality and definition of products. Statistical and fundamental models are extensively used to more accurately model the important refinery processes such as Fluidised Catalytic Cracking (FCC). A major problem with the fundamental approach is that FCC feedstocks are by definition heavy petroleum fractions, and as such constitute highly complex mixtures of aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Gas chromatography (GC) analysis of heavy petroleum fractions reveals …

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