1. Apparatus for reducing oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the exhaust of an internal combustion engine which has a source of fuel and generates exhaust in an exhaust pipe, comprising:
first and second NOx traps which reduce NOx in exhaust that passes therethrough;
a single exhaust valve having two outlets and at least one inlet, said exhaust pipe connected to said one inlet, said valve having at least a first position in which substantially all of the exhaust flowing in said exhaust pipe is directed through a first one of said outlets to said first one of said NOx traps and a second position in which substantially all of the exhaust flowing in said exhaust pipe is directed through a second one of said outlets to a second one of said NOx traps;
a respective hydrocarbon fuel reformer disposed between each of said outlets and each of said NOx traps, each reformer receiving fuel from said source; and
a pair of oxidation catalysts, each disposed in serial flow relationship between a respective one of said reformers and a related one of said outlets;
said valve alternatively directing said exhaust to one or the other of said NOx traps through a corresponding one of said reformers.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of detecting the presence of a bacterium in a sample, the method comprising: contacting a sample with an isolated monoclonal antibody that binds to a substantially-pure coagulase-negative Staphylococcus epidermidis capsular polyssocharide adhesin antigen that binds to polymeric material, wherein said adhesin antigen inhibits, at a concentration of about 0.1 mgml, binding to said polymeric material of at least about 50% of cells of Staphylococcus epidermidis RP-62A, RP-62NA or F-3284, and detecting the presence or absence of binding of the antibody to the sample, wherein the binding of the antibody to the sample indicates the presence of a bacterium in the sample.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein said adhesin antigen is obtained from a Staphylococcus epidermidis RP-62A culture using an isolation procedure comprising the following steps:
(a) extracting adhesin from a culture of bacterial stain RP-62A;
(b) digesting the adhesin;
(c) chromatographically separating said adhesin extract of (a) on an ion-exchange column;
(d) eluting a capsular polysaceharide from the column of(c) which binds to silastic materials and inhibits binding of Staphylococcus epidermidis RIP-62A, RP-62-NA, and F-3284 to said polymeric materials;
(e) chromatographically separating a capsular polysaccharide adhesin-containing fraction from (d) on an affinity column; and
(f) further purifying the capsular polysaccharide adhesin by chromatographing an adhesin-containing fraction from (e) on a molecular sieve column, and collecting material eluting between Kav of 0.0 to about 0.2.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the coagulase-negative Staphylococcus epidermidis capsular polysaccharide adhesin antigen inhibits, at a concentration of about 0.1 mgml, binding of at least about 50% of cells of Staphylococcus hominus.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the coagulase-negative Staphylococcus epidermidis capsular polysaccharide adhesin antigen inhibits, at a concentration of about 0.1 mgml, binding of at least about 50% of cells of a Staphylococcus epidermidis RP-12 bacterial swain.
5. The method of claim 3, wherein the Staphylococcus hominus is an RP-14 bacterial strain.