Abstract: An apparatus for continuously metering seeds onto a seedbed and simultaneously pressing the seeds into the soil. The seed planting apparatus includes a drum adapted to be moved in rolling contact across the seedbed, and which transports seeds on its peripheral wall from a hopper to the seedbed. The seeds are retained against apertures in the peripheral wall by means of a vacuum transmitted to the apertures through manifolds within the drum that are interconnected with a vacuum pump by means of individual hoses. A cam interrupts the vacuum by compressing the hoses when the seed-bearing apertures contact the seedbed, thereby releasing the seeds and pressing them into the soil. The seeds are preferably placed on the seedbed in a uniformly spaced array predetermined by the uniform alignment and spacing of the apertures on the wall of the drum.

Abstract: A device and a method for either the continuous or the batchwise removal (blanching) of skins from peanuts and other nut products are provided. The nut blanching device includes a rotatable cylinder containing a structure for introducing at least one jet of air along the inside of the cylinder. By placing nuts in this cylinder, nuts are carried along by the rotation of the cylinder into a head-on collision with air from the air jet. The nuts are thus, blanched within the cylinder by a combination of abrasive forces and the force of air.

Abstract: A method for the reversible immobilization of proteins through covalent attachment to inorganic oxide surfaces, such as glass or silica, via thioester containing coupling chains. Resulting succinamidopropyl-surfaces are converted into the acyl derivative using anhydrous thionyl chloride, and then treated with either 3-mercaptopropionic acid or mercaptoacetic acid. Thus derivatized, the material is dried, and can be stored for extended periods of time without detectable loss of reactivity with proteins. Immobilization of proteins can be readily achieved simply by suspending the derivatized material in buffer (pH=5 to 8) and recycling the protein solution through the material. Following immobilization, protein molecules can be released from the surface by cleavage of the coupling chains at the thioester linkage through treatment with hydroxylamine.

Abstract: In abstract a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a pollutant monitoring system designed to continuously monitor and record the concentration level of a particular pollutant in a stack. The present invention incorporates an in-stack interface to condition gas samples and a microprocessor to automatically and continuously compute the pollutant level found within a stack by using input variables supplied by probes and meters located throughout the pollutant monitoring system. The microprocessor then outputs the computed pollutant levels to a strip chart recorder which in turn graphs a time versus concentration readout.