Development of direct ELISA for the determination of 4-nonylphenol and octylphenol

Development of direct competitive enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assays (ELISAs) based on polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies raised against 4-n-alkylphenol hapten mimics is described. A strong tendency to recognize 4-nonylphenol (NP) and 4-octylphenol (OP) as a total analyte amount was indicated by cross-reactivity pattern established for two polyclonal antibodies. These antibodies were employed for development of class-selective assays exhibiting IC(50) values around 40 microg.L(-1) for technical 4-NP. Specificity of the monoclonal antibody 4H6 and additional two polyclonal antibodies allowed sensitive detection of linear long-chain forms of 4-n-alkylphenols (4-n-AP). The assays incorporating these antibodies offer a potential for detecting the minor fraction of NP/OP isomer spectrum having IC(50) = 11.5 microg.L(-1) for 4-n-NP. No cross-reactivity interference was indicated for linear alkylbenzene sulfonates and phenolic compounds. To interpret the measured data in terms of analytical equivalents, a reliable relationship between the assay responses and AP content of contaminated samples should be verified and validated.     

The analysis of condensation products of 2,6-xylenol and formaldehyde in the presence of cresols

Methylenebisphenols, commonly used as antioxidants for polyolefines, are prepared by condensation of suitably alkylated phenols and formaldehyde in the presence of acid catalyst. Usually by-products are produced from the impurities in starting raw materials. In this work the condensation of 2,6-dimethylphenol with formaldehyde and the influence of cresols was studied. By-products, namely bisphenols and trisphenols were separated by means of gel chromatography and analyzed by reversed phase liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance.     

Diagnose von Korrosionsfällen an einer Saturationskolonne für Synthesegas

Diagnosis of case histories from a synthesis gas saturation column The saturation column, made of steel type 1Cr18Ni9Ti (wall thickness: 8 mm), in which the gas is cooled down to 240°C by a water jet and, simultaneously saturated with water vapour, failed after only 3000 hours' operation; the failure was attributable to a damaged footing tube. An analysis of the damaged parts suggested, that the main cause of the failure was not the design of the equidistant shells, i. e. the welding connection between the tubes and the two shells, which had originally been assumed to be faulty, but in a first line the material selection which was wrong in view of possible corrosion. The tensile stresses resulting from the rigid connection of the footing pipes are but one of the factors contributing to the development of stress corrosion cracking. This opinion concerning the reason of the first failure was confirmed when another failure occurred after another 1000 hours' operation of the column: a thorough inspection revealed some spots where stress corrosion cracking bad developed.     

Assessment of the mean-value of 17-hydroxypregnenolone in the umbilical blood of newborns by the exploratory analysis of biochemical data

The main aim of data analysis in biochemical metrology is the extraction of relevant information from biochemical data measurements. A system of extended exploratory data analysis (EDA) based on the concept of graphical tools for sample data summarization and exploration is proposed and the original EDA algorithm in S-Plus is available on the Internet at http://www.trilobyte.cz/EDA. To check basic assumptions about biochemical and medical data is to examine the independence of sample elements, sample normality and homogeneity. The exact assessment of the mean-value and the variance of steroid levels in controls is necessary for the correct assessment of the samples from patients. Data examination procedures are illustrated by a determination of the mean-value of 17-hydroxypregnenolone in the umbilical blood of newborns. For an asymmetric, strongly skewed sample distribution corrupted with outliers the best estimate of location seems to be the median. The Box–Cox transformation improves a sample symmetry. The proposed procedure gives reliable estimates of a mean-value for an asymmetric distribution of 17-hydroxypregnenolone when the arithmetic mean can not be used.     

Energy Dissipation and Apparent Viscosity of Semi-solid Metal during Rheological Processes Part Ⅱ： Apparent Viscosity

This study investigated the rheological properties of semi-solid metal. An analytical model of apparent viscosity was built up based on analysis of energy dissipation during rheological processes such as slurry preparing, delivering and model filling. The rheological properties of SSM （semi-solid metal） slurry was described by an analytical model in terms of microstructural parameters, which consist of effective solid fraction, particle size and shape, and flow parameters such as mean velocity, fluctuant velocity and relative velocity between liquid and solid phase. The model was verified in the experiment of A356 alloys with a coaxial double-bucket rheometer. And the maximum relative error between the theoretical value and measured one is less than 20%. The results of experiment and theoretical calculation also indicate that the microstructural parameters and flow parameters are two major factors that affect the apparent viscosity of semi-solid alloys, and fluctuant velocity and relative velocity between liquid and solid phase are the key factors to distinguish between steady and transient rheological properties.     

Study of the electrical cycling stressed large area Schottky diodes using I–V and noise measurements

Large area commercial Al/n-Si Schottky diodes were subjected to an electrical cycling stress in order to cause degradation of diodes with local contact irregularities. Using the I–V characteristics and noise measurements in the frequency range of 10 Hz to 10 kHz at room temperature and using the corresponding equivalent circuit representation of degraded diodes, it has been shown that the latent leakage paths contribute to the degradation of the Schottky diodes under the test conditions. The results could be used to confirm that the ideality factor cannot be alone used as prediction tool of diode behavior under electrical cycling stress. The conclusion of this paper is that the results show that this kind of the stress test can be used as a screening test for diodes with latent leakage current paths.     

在实时控制系统中通过FlexRay同步多种器件

让我们设想这样一个控制系统:其中多个器件用于对模拟数量进行抽样,一个强大的中心器件用于处理测量值并计算控制操作,还有另外一些器件用于生成控制信号.它的一个实例就是4轮汽车主动减震系统,其传感器和驱动器件置于车轮附近,控制器位于中央位置.所有器件使用同一个通信系统.要实现这些目的,可使用FlexRay等时分多址(TDMA)通信协议(参考文献1).     

Benchmarking distribution centres using Principal Component Analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis: A case study of Serbia

The efficiency of distribution systems is largely affected by the performances of distribution centres. The main objective of this paper is to develop and propose a DEA model for distribution centres efficiency measuring that can help managers in decision making and improving the efficiency. Due to numerous indicators that describe DCs operating, the main problem is indicators selection. In order to improve discriminatory power of classical DEA models PCA–DEA approach is used. This paper analysis the efficiency of distribution centres of one trading company in Serbia. Proposed models integrate operational, quality, energy, utilisation and equipment warehouse and transport indicators. Several hypotheses are tested in this paper. The results showed that small distribution centres are more efficient than large.     

The effect of pressure on GRIN lenses

The changes of the optical power of Gradient Index (GRIN) lenses occurring in hydrostatic pressures of the range of 0-2 GPa are investigated. The measurements of the position of the waist of the semiconductor laser beam revealed the increase of the optical power of the lenses with increasing pressure. The use of the special plano-concave lenses insensitive to the changes of the refractive index of the pressure medium allowed to attribute the changes to the increasing index gradient in GRIN material. The effect has been explained within the frame of Mueller’s theory of photoelasticity. The findings have been then confirmed in experiments with the plano-planar and plano-convex lenses of the same materials.