Analysis of "total toxaphene" and selected single congeners in biota by ion trap HRGC-EI-MS/MS using congener-optimized parent ion dissociations

A method for the quantification of selected toxaphene congeners as well as "total toxaphene" was developed based on electron ionization (EI) tandem (MS/MS) ion trap mass spectrometry (MS) and a combination of fragment ion dissociations. Congeners were separated by high-resolution gas chromatography. Compared to conventional EI low-resolution MS, a 5-20-fold gain in sensitivity could be obtained for octa- or nonachlorinated compounds such as toxaphene #26 and #62 (according to Parlar nomenclature), allowing for their detection in the low picogram range in biota. In addition, response factors for important congeners such as #26, #32, #40/41, #42, #44, #50, and #62 deviated not more than a factor of 2, which is much less as compared to negative ion chemical ionization. This reduces the risk for systematic errors when determining total toxaphene on the basis of a limited number of reference compounds or the technical mixture. Furthermore, chlordanes and polychlorinated biphenyls did not interfere when applying the proposed MS/MS technique. The applicability of the method was tested by determining both total toxaphene and levels of selected congeners in six Arctic wildlife samples collected from Nunavut, Canada, as well as by repetitive analyses of the SRM 1588 certified reference material.     

Comparison of alginate and pectin based beads for production of poultry probiotic cells

A comparative study on the stability and potential of alginate and pectin based beads for production of poultry probiotic cells using MRS medium in repeated batch fermentation was conducted. The bead cores, made of three types of materials, i.e., ca-alginate, ca-pectinate and ca-alginate/pectinate, were compared. The effect of single and double layer coatings using chitosan and core material, respectively, on the bead stability and cell production were also studied. The pectin based beads were found to be more stable than that of the alginate beads and their stability was further improved by coating with chitosan. The cell concentration in pectin based beads was comparable to that in the alginate beads. On the other hand, pectin based beads gave significantly lower cell concentration in the growth medium for the initial fermentation cycles when compared to the alginate beads. In conclusion, pectin was found to be potential encapsulation material for probiotic cell production owing to its stability and favourable microenvironment for cell growth.     

Reaction Delay of Aluminum in Condensed Explosives

A universal empirical relation is derived to predict the reaction delay times of aluminum particles as a function of particle diameter and gas temperature in explosives. The predicted delay times are shown to be in reasonable agreement with experimental data obtained in both low temperature and high temperature explosives. A convective heat transfer model is used to estimate the surface temperature of the solid aluminum particles. The reaction delay time of aluminum is shown to be close to the time when the particle surface reaches the pressure dependent melting point of aluminum.     

Survey of ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol in stored grains from the 1999 harvest in the UK

Three hundred and twenty samples from the 1999 UK harvest comprising wheat (201 samples), barley (106) and oats (13) were analysed for ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol. A small number of organic samples was also obtained. Samples were collected from farms, central stores, mills, maltings and ports from across the UK from February to April 2000. Ochratoxin A and deoxynivalenol analysis was by affinity column clean up and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence and ultraviolet light detection, respectively, with limits of detection of 0.2 and 20 μg kg^-1. The survey found ochratoxin A at below 5 μg kg^-1 in 97% of the samples indicating satisfactory storage conditions. The remaining 3% of the samples contained ochratoxin A at levels between 5.2 and 231 μg kg^-1, but none of these samples was intended for human consumption. Deoxynivalenol was detected in 88% of all samples, with 83% below 100 μg kg^-1; the maximum level was 600 μg kg^-1. Twenty samples containing deoxynivalenol at or above 150 μg kg^-1 by high-performance liquid chromatography were all confirmed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Nivalenol was also detected by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry at levels of 50 μg kg^-1 or higher in 18 of 20 samples where deoxynivalenol was confirmed.     

数控喷涂机伺服进给系统的设计与研究

介绍一种适合高速轻载的直线进给系统的结构形式。通过对数控喷涂机横向进给系统的设计研究，并对同步带直接驱动单元的结构形式和特点的分析，得出一种适于高速轻载的直线进给系统的驱动方式。     

X65钢焊接接头在模拟浅表海水和深海环境中的腐蚀行为对比

在实验室模拟条件下,采用失重法及电化学等方法并结合腐蚀形貌显微观察,研究了X65钢焊接接头在浅表海水和深海(1000 m)环境中的短期腐蚀行为及其机理。结果表明,X65钢焊接接头在浅表海水环境下的腐蚀速率大于深海环境下的腐蚀速率,浅表海水环境以点蚀为主,深海环境只在熔合线附近腐蚀相对较快,焊缝区腐蚀不明显;在模拟浅表海水和深海环境下,热影响区(HAZ)的腐蚀电位均低于焊缝和母材区,导致焊缝区域存在电偶效应,加速了HAZ的腐蚀,形成较厚的腐蚀产物膜。     

The Effect of CeO2 Antireflection Layer on the Optical Properties of Thermochromic VO2 Film for Smart Window System

CeO₂-VO₂ bilayer structure was fabricated to investigate the effect of depositing CeO₂ film on the optical properties of VO₂ film for smart window application. CeO₂ was employed as an antireflection (AR) layer material of VO₂ film because of its advantages which include high transparency in the visible-near infrared range and high refractive index. All the films were deposited on soda-lime glass substrate by pulsed laser deposition method. Optical calculations were carried out using transfer-matrix method for the purpose of designing CeO₂-VO₂ bilayer structure with enhanced integrated luminous transmittance (T _lum) and switching efficiency (ΔT _sol). The optical constants of VO₂ and CeO₂ films needed for the optical calculation were measured by spectroscopic ellipsometer. The curve of T _lum the shape of which depends on the thickness of CeO₂ layer, was calculated in each VO₂ sample, which showed two maxima. The samples were divided into two groups; one for the highest enhancement of T _lum and the other for balanced enhancement between T _lum and ΔT _sol. The sample with the structure of ~60 nm CeO₂ AR layer on 39-nm thick VO₂ film showed large increase of T _lum (~27%) with ΔT _sol of ~5%, which is the largest increase in T _lum reported so far. Two samples in the other group showed the balanced enhancement in T _lum (~57, ~50%) and ΔT _sol (~9, ~10.5%). The effect of CeO₂ AR layer on the optical properties of VO₂ film was confirmed with the optical calculation and the experimental results. CeO₂-VO₂ bilayer structure showed notable improvement of optical properties compared to the single VO₂ film, indicating that CeO₂ layer can be effectively used as the antireflection layer while working as a protective layer that can prevent the oxidation of VO₂ layer as well.     

Integrated constitutive model for flow behavior of pure Titanium considering interstitial solute concentration

The aim of this work is to develop a constitutive model that can predict the flow behavior of pure Ti with different interstitial concentrations and grain sizes. To build a database required for identifying material constants, three different grades of Ti were subjected to tensile tests at temperatures of 223, 300, 473, 673 or 773 K and at a fixed strain rate of 10^?3 s^?1. In the modeling procedure, the mechanical threshold stress model was further modified to capture both the hardening effects attributed to the changes in equivalent oxygen concentration (O _eq ) and the softening effect caused by deformation heating at high strain rates. The developed model can reasonably predict the flow behavior of pure Ti having different O _eq (0.14–0.32 wt%), and grain size (14.5–90 μm) over a temperature range of 135 to 673 K, and a strain rate range of 2×10^?4 to 1400 s^?1.     

Differential Domain Distribution of gnomAD- and Disease-Linked Connexin Missense Variants

Twenty-one human genes encode connexins, a family of homologous proteins making gap junction (GJ) channels, which mediate direct intercellular communication to synchronize tissue/organ activities. Genetic variants in more than half of the connexin genes are associated with dozens of different Mendelian inherited diseases. With rapid advances in DNA sequencing technology, more variants are being identified not only in families and individuals with diseases but also in people in the general population without any apparent linkage to Mendelian inherited diseases. Nevertheless, it remains challenging to classify the pathogenicity of a newly identified connexin variant. Here, we analyzed the disease- and Genome Aggregation Database (gnomAD, as a proxy of the general population)-linked variants in the coding region of the four disease-linked α connexin genes. We found that the most abundant and position-sensitive missense variants showed distinct domain distribution preference between disease- and gnomAD-linked variants. Plotting missense variants on topological and structural models revealed that disease-linked missense variants are highly enriched on the structurally stable/resolved domains, especially the pore-lining domains, while the gnomAD-linked missense variants are highly enriched in the structurally unstable/unresolved domains, especially the carboxyl terminus. In addition, disease-linked variants tend to be on highly conserved residues and those positions show evolutionary co-variation, while the gnomAD-linked missense variants are likely on less conserved residue positions and on positions without co-variation. Collectively, the revealed distribution patterns of disease- and gnomAD-linked missense variants further our understanding of the GJ structure–biological function relationship, which is valuable for classifying the pathogenicity of newly identified connexin variants.