Essential (Mg,Fe, Zn and Cu) and Non-Essential (Cd and Pb) Elements in Predatory Insects (Vespa crabro and Vespa velutina): A Molecular Perspective

The recent introduction of the Asian yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina, into Europe has raised concern regarding the threat to honeybees and the competition with the European hornet, Vespa crabro. The aim of this study was to investigated essential (Mg, Fe, Zn, Cu) and non-essential (Cd and Pb) elements in these two species. Element concentrations were determined in the whole body and separately in the head, thorax and abdomen using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The changes in essential element concentration and speciation during metamorphosis were also studied using size exclusion chromatography followed by AAS and proteomic analysis. In both species, the essential elements were more concentrated in the abdomen due to the presence of fat bodies. Magnesium, Fe and Zn concentrations were significantly higher in V. crabro than in V. velutina and could have been related to the higher aerobic energy demand of the former species required to sustain foraging flight. Low concentrations of Cd and Pb were indicative of low environmental exposure. The concentration and speciation of essential elements, particularly Fe, varied among the developmental stages, indicating a modification of ligand preferences during metamorphosis. Overall, the results in the present study provide a better understanding of the hornet metal metabolism and a foundation for additional studies.     

Temperature adaptability of the soluble lead flow battery using different solutions of fluoborate,perchlorate, methanesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate

The evaluation of cell's weatherability is of practical interest. To further improve the soluble lead flow battery's weatherability, physiochemical properties of electrolytes containing fluoborate, perchlorate, methanesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate are investigated from ?60 to 50 °C. Activities of CF₃SO₃H and HClO₄ are poor in trifluoromethanesulfonate and perchlorate solutions due to common anion effect. The solubility of lead salt can be improved by increasing temperature, but worsened by increasing acid's content. With the temperature increasing, the conductivity is enhanced, and the viscosity is lowered for four solutions. The same results have been found by increasing acid's content except for CF₃SO₃H. The high energy efficiency can be achieved for cells over ?40–0 °C using fluoborate and perchlorate solutions, 73.2% at ?40 °C and 78.1% at ?30 °C respectively. Over the temperature range of 20–50 °C, the cells with methanesulfonate and trifluoromethanesulfonate solutions have good performance, 77.4% and 73.7% at 50 °C respectively.     

Activity-Directed Synthesis: A Flexible Approach for Lead Generation

Activity-directed synthesis (ADS) is a structure-blind, functional-driven molecular discovery approach. In this Concept, four case studies highlight the general applicability of ADS and showcase its flexibility to support different medicinal chemistry strategies. ADS deliberately harnesses reactions with multiple possible outcomes, and allows many chemotypes to be evaluated in parallel. Resources are focused on bioactive molecules, which emerge in tandem with associated synthetic routes. Some of the future challenges for ADS are highlighted, including the realisation of an autonomous molecular discovery platform. The prospects for ADS to become a mainstream lead generation approach are discussed.     

氢化物原子荧光光谱法测定酱油中微量铅的方法研究

建立了一种快速、高效的QuEChERS-高效液相色谱-质谱联用法（QuEChERS-HPLC-MS/MS）测定谷类杂粮制品中脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（DON）、3-乙酰脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（3-ADON）、15-乙酰脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇（15-ADON）和玉米赤霉烯酮（ZON）共4种真菌毒素。样品前处理采用乙腈-水溶剂提取，经Florisil+C18+无水硫酸镁净化后检测。以0.10%甲酸-乙腈作为流动相，在质谱检测器的多反应监测模式下进行分析。结果表明，4种真菌毒素在各自的线性范围内线性关系良好，相关系数R2均大于0.999，回收率在85.1%～102.0%，相对标准偏差（RSD）为2.11%～6.22%。该方法具有前处理简单、净化效果好、灵敏度高和检测速度快的优点，适用于谷类杂粮制品中DON、3-ADON、15-ADON 和ZON的分析和定量检测。     

Scale Up from Small Oven-Drying Tests of Mineral Concentrate to Pilot-Scale Drying with a Heated Pad

While Fickian diffusion models are commonly used in other applications, there are few reports of them being applied to the batch drying of a mineral concentrate. Diffusion coefficients estimated from small-scale oven-drying tests were used to predict the drying behavior of a concentrate sample 1 m × 1 m in area and 50 cm deep, with a heated bottom pad. These pilot-scale tests included both daily turning of the sample and turning every three days. The excellent quantitative agreement between the predicted and observed pilot-scale behavior gives a high level of confidence in the model predictions and suggests that a Fickian diffusion model is adequate to predict the behavior of mineral concentrates at the low moisture contents used here.     

Ca掺杂钨镁酸铅陶瓷材料的制备及其介电性能

研究了Ca掺杂钨镁酸铅(PMW)陶瓷材料的合成、结构、烧结以及介电性能。结果发现：在Ca^2 摩尔分数小于15％时，能形成单相的PCMW钙铁矿相，结构由原来的斜方相向立方相转变。用二步合成法制备的样品容易致密烧结，气孔率比一步法制备的样品小。Ca的加入降低了材料的介电损耗，在频率为1MHz时，介质损耗达到了10^-4。当Ca^2 摩尔分数大于10％时，材料的Curie峰宽化显著，介电常数温度系数降低。     

碱式苦味酸铅针刺药的应用研究

提出了以碱式苦味酸铅为主体的针刺药在组合点火管中的应用，并对其针刺药的点火性能及能量传递进行了讨论，阐明了此类针刺药良好性能和应用价值。     

用硫酸铁铵容量法测定钛精矿中二氧化钛含量

样品在过氧化钠熔融、水浸取及盐酸酸化后，在盐酸和硫酸介质中，隔绝空气，用金属铝将钛(Ⅳ)还原至钛(Ⅲ)，以硫氰酸盐为指示剂，用硫酸铁铵标准溶液滴定。     

Spare parts inventory management with demand lead times and rationing

We study an inventory system that consists of two demand classes. The orders in the first class need to be satisfied immediately, whereas the orders in the second class are to be filled in a given demand lead time. The two classes are also of different criticality. For this system, we propose a policy that rations the non-critical orders. Under a one-for-one replenishment policy with backordering and for Poisson demand arrivals for both classes, we first derive expressions for the service levels of both classes. The service level for the critical class is an approximation, whereas the service level for the non-critical class is exact. We then conduct a computational study to show that our approximation works reasonably, the benefits of rationing can be substantial, and the incorporation of demand lead time provides more value when the demand class with demand lead time is the critical class. The research is motivated by the spare parts service system of a major capital equipment manufacturer that faces two types of demand. For this company, the critical down orders need to be satisfied immediately, while the less critical maintenance orders can be satisfied after a fixed demand lead time. We conduct a case study with 64 representative parts and show that significant savings (as much as 14% on inventory on hand) are possible through incorporation of demand lead times and rationing.