Alleviation of ion suppression effect in sonic spray ionization with induced alternating current voltage

In this study, alleviation of ion suppression effect in sonic spray ionization mass spectrometry (SSI‐MS) was investigated. Ion suppression effect was firstly compared between electrospray ionization (ESI) and conventional SSI, and more severe ion suppression effect was observed with SSI. Ion suppression effect of SSI was also found difficult to be alleviated by simply optimizing major parameters. Alternatively, we found that with the assistance of an alternating current (AC) voltage with low amplitude, the ion suppression effect was greatly alleviated (comparable with conventional ESI). That AC voltage was applied outside the SSI spray tip, and no direct contact between the electrode and spray solution was necessary. Besides the alleviation of the ion suppression effect, this newly‐developed method, termed as induced electrosonic spray ionization (IESSI), appeared to preserve similar charge state distribution with SSI for protonated cytochrome c, hemoglobin, and bradykinin. IESSI could also obtain significantly improved ion intensities (~1000‐fold over conventional SSI). In addition, tolerance of concentrated salts for IESSI‐MS was investigated through the analysis of cytochrome c in the presence of concentrated sodium chloride (NaCl) or ammonium acetate (NH₄OAc). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Gradient‐based solvent suppression methods on a benchtop spectrometer

Benchtop NMR emerges as an appealing alternative to widely extend the scope of NMR spectroscopy in harsh environments and for on‐line monitoring. Obviously, the use of low‐field magnets induces a dramatic reduction of the spectral resolution leading to frequent peak overlaps. This issue is even more serious because applications such as chemical process monitoring involve the use of non‐deuterated solvents, leading to intense and broad peaks overlapping with the signals of interest. In this article, we highlight the need for efficient suppression methods compatible with flowing samples, which is not the case of the common pre‐saturation approaches. Thanks to a gradient coil included in our benchtop spectrometer, we were able to implement modern and efficient solvent suppression blocks such as WET or excitation sculpting to deliver quantitative spectra in the conditions of the on‐line monitoring. While these methods are commonly used at high field, this is the first time that they are investigated on a benchtop setting. Their analytical performance is evaluated and compared under static and on‐flow conditions. The results demonstrate the superiority of gradient‐based methods, thus highlighting the relevance of implementing this device on benchtop spectrometers. The comparison of major solvent suppression methods reveals an optimum performance for the WET‐180‐NOESY experiment, both under static and on‐flow conditions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Wavelength selection of bidirectional laser transmission based on Monte Carlo method

The laser detection technology in uncertain and dynamic environments is of utmost importance in many fields. A model of transient radiative transfer of bidirectional path laser based on Monte Carlo method is developed to investigate the optimum wavelength of active detector at complex atmospheric conditions. The radiative parameters of atmosphere are calculated by HITRAN database and Mie theory at several typical atmospheric conditions including the standard atmosphere, urban aerosol, and radiation fog. Transmission characteristics for five spectral bands at the above atmospheric conditions are calculated by this model. The optimal transmission ability occurred in bands 0.2–0.5, 1.4–1.6, and 0.75–1.25 μm on the condition of standard atmosphere, urban aerosol, and radiation fog, respectively. All results provide effective reference and basic support for choosing the optimal spectral band for active detection.     

Towards understanding the critical heat flux for industrial applications

Understanding CHF is of an upmost importance in many industries, especially in the design and operation of boilers, nuclear power plants, cryogenic systems, etc. Due to safety issues related to the nuclear power plants, and the adaptation of CHF as the limiting criterion of power generation, it is important to understand the mechanisms of CHF relevant to nuclear systems operation. Moreover, CHF is expected to occur during transients than steady-state conditions. Therefore, knowledge of transient CHF is of great importance for the safety evaluation of nuclear reactors under transient condition. In this paper, the existing CHF experimental and modeling studies are discussed in order to understand the phenomena leading to CHF. Also, the effect of transient conditions on CHF for nuclear fuels has been evaluated.     

Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium in Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy: Beyond the McWhirter criterion

In the Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technique, the existence of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE) is the essential requisite for meaningful application of theoretical Boltzmann–Maxwell and Saha–Eggert expressions that relate fundamental plasma parameters and concentration of analyte species. The most popular criterion reported in the literature dealing with plasma diagnostics, and usually invoked as a proof of the existence of LTE in the plasma, is the McWhirter criterion [R.W.P. McWhirter, in: Eds. R.H. Huddlestone, S.L. Leonard, Plasma Diagnostic Techniques, Academic Press, New York, 1965, pp. 201–264]. However, as pointed out in several papers, this criterion is known to be a necessary but not a sufficient condition to insure LTE. The considerations reported here are meant to briefly review the theoretical analysis underlying the concept of thermodynamic equilibrium and the derivation of the McWhirter criterion, and to critically discuss its application to a transient and non-homogeneous plasma, like that created by a laser pulse on solid targets. Specific examples are given of theoretical expressions involving relaxation times and diffusion coefficients, as well as a discussion of different experimental approaches involving space and time-resolved measurements that could be used to complement a positive result of the calculation of the minimum electron number density required for LTE using the McWhirter formula. It is argued that these approaches will allow a more complete assessment of the existence of LTE and therefore permit a better quantitative result. It is suggested that the mere use of the McWhirter criterion to assess the existence of LTE in laser-induced plasmas should be discontinued.     

A paired queueing system arising in multimedia synchronization

One of the most important and distinguishing features of multimedia applications is the integration of multiple media streams that have to be presented in a synchronized fashion. In this paper, a queueing system with a special service mechanism arising in multimedia synchronization is considered. The system is characterized by arrival of two types of customers (media streams), and servicing of customers (processing of packets) in pairs with one customer from each type for a pair. The exact transient system size probabilities are obtained as the stationary solutions do not exist for this system and these are illustrated numerically. The density function of the first return to the origin for the queueing system is also obtained.     

电极界面浓差极化对锂金属沉积的影响

锂金属作为下一代高能量密度电池的理想负极材料受到研究人员广泛关注。然而,锂枝晶生长引起的安全隐患和循环寿命短等问题严重影响了锂金属电池的实用化进程。本文以电化学现象和理论为依据,从浓差极化角度详细分析锂金属电沉积过程中枝晶生长、死锂形成和全电池失效机制,并对目前研究较多的多孔宿主电极中的浓差极化及枝晶抑制进行分析,提出锂金属界面浓差电池现象。本文得到的结论为研究人员更深入地探究锂金属保护策略提供了理论依据。     

Mechanism of interaction of pressure waves at a discrete partial blockage

This paper analyses the mechanism of interaction between an incident pressure wave and blockages of different geometrical characteristics (i.e., a butterfly and a ball valves, two short stretches of pipe with a reduced diameter, and a device simulating a longitudinal body blockage) by means of laboratory and numerical tests. Experiments have shown that the mechanism of interaction with pressure waves is influenced by their path through the device: sinuous because of the device body for partially closed in-line valves (type I mechanism), and straight for the small bore pipe devices (type II mechanism). Type I mechanism is characterized by a rise followed by an almost constant value whereas in type II one a drop occurs after the rise. To complete the investigation the effect of the pre-transient condition is discussed.     

Efficient removal of unwanted signals in NMR spectra using the filter diagonalization method

It is often desirable to selectively remove corrupting or uninteresting signals from complex NMR spectra without disturbing overlapping or nearby signals. For biofluids in particular, removal of solvent and urea signals is important for retaining quantitative accuracy in NMR‐based metabonomics. This article presents a novel algorithm for efficient filtering of unwanted signals using the filter diagonalization method (FDM). Unwanted signals are modeled in the time domain using FDM. This modeled signal is subtracted from the original free induction decay. The resulting corrected signal is then processed using established workflow. The algorithm is found to be reliable and fast. By eliminating large, broad, uninteresting signals, many spectra can be subjected to fully automated absolute value processing, allowing objective preparation of spectra for pattern recognition analysis. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.