Calibration and numerical simulation of Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor (TSI Model 3550 NSAM)

TSI Nanoparticle Surface Area Monitor (NSAM) Model 3550 has been developed to measure the nanoparticle surface area deposited in different regions of the human lung. It makes use of an adjustable ion trap voltage to match the total surface area of particles, which are below 100 nm, deposited in tracheobronchial (TB) or alveolar (A) regions of the human lung. In this paper, calibration factors of NSAM were experimentally determined for particles of different materials. Tests were performed using monodisperse (Ag agglomerates and NaCl, 7–100 nm) and polydisperse particles (Ag agglomerates, number count mean diameter below 50 nm). Experimental data show that the currents in NSAM have a linear relation with a function of the total deposited nanoparticle surface area for the different compartments of the lung. No significant dependency of the calibration factors on particle materials and morphology was observed. Monodisperse nanoparticles in the size range where the response function is in the desirable range can be used for calibration. Calibration factors of monodisperse and polydisperse Ag particle agglomerates are in good agreement with each other, which indicates that polydisperse nanoparticles can be used to determine calibration factors. Using a CFD computer code (Fluent) numerical simulations of fluid flow and particle trajectories inside NSAM were performed to estimate response function of NSAM for different ion trap voltages. The numerical simulation results agreed well with experimental results.     

记钙先生参加的一次元素颁奖盛典

钙及其化合物在生产和生活中有着重要的应用。自钙第一次被化学家发现并在实验室合成至今,钙一直伴随在人类左右。而本文将钙拟人化,以"元素世界盛典故事"的形式,回顾了钙的发现史和应用。     

高效液相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱法快速筛查保健食品中10种雄性激素类非法添加物

建立了快速筛查保健食品中10种雄性激素类非法添加物的高效液相色谱-四极杆-飞行时间质谱(HPLC-Q-TOF MS)法。样品经直接超声或液液萃取,C_(18)色谱柱(3.0 mm×150 mm,1.8μm)分离,以0.1%甲酸溶液(含10 mmol/L乙酸铵)-0.1%甲酸乙腈溶液梯度洗脱,采用HPLC-Q-TOF MS检测。构建10种雄性激素的一级精确质量数据库和二级谱库,通过化合物的精确质量数、保留时间、同位素比值、二级谱图等信息对检测结果进行自动检索,实现对实际样品快速准确的定性分析。结果表明,10种雄性激素在2～500 ng/mL范围内线性关系良好,相关系数(r~2)均大于0.999,在固体基质、液体基质和油性基质中的检出限为0.01～0.06 mg/kg,定量下限为0.03～0.2 mg/kg,平均回收率为74.3%～113%,相对标准偏差(RSD)为1.2%～7.7%。该方法利用自建标准谱库检索实现快速筛查,样品前处理方法简单,具有专属性好、快速、灵敏、高效等优点,适用于缓解体力疲劳类保健食品中非法添加物的快速筛查和识别。     

分散固相萃取-高效液相色谱-串联质谱法同时测定保健品片剂中5种黄芩素类化合物

基于分散固相萃取-高效液相色谱-串联质谱技术（DSPE-HPLC-MS/MS）,建立了同时测定保健品片剂中野黄芩素、4'-羟基汉黄芩素、去甲汉黄芩素、黄芩素和汉黄芩素的分析方法。以10 mL丙酮提取保健品片剂中的目标成分,75 mg C₁₈吸附剂进行净化。通过优化提取溶剂、吸附剂的种类和用量,达到了提取和净化的目的。结果表明,5种目标物在各自的线性范围内具有良好的线性关系,相关系数（r）均大于0.99,检出限为0.5~40 μg/kg,定量限为2.0~120 μg/kg。使用3种保健品片剂基质进行定量限的1倍、5倍、10倍3个添加水平的加标回收试验,5个目标物的平均回收率为83.1%~106.5%,精密度为0.97%~4.52%。该方法操作简单、灵敏度高、重现性好,适用于保健品片剂中黄芩素类化合物的同时测定。     

Optimal two-phase vaccine allocation to geographically different regions under uncertainty

In this article, we consider a decision process in which vaccination is performed in two phases to contain the outbreak of an infectious disease in a set of geographic regions. In the first phase, a limited number of vaccine doses are allocated to each region; in the second phase, additional doses may be allocated to regions in which the epidemic has not been contained. We develop a simulation model to capture the epidemic dynamics in each region for different vaccination levels. We formulate the vaccine allocation problem as a two-stage stochastic linear program (2-SLP) and use the special problem structure to reduce it to a linear program with a similar size to that of the first stage problem. We also present a Newsvendor model formulation of the problem which provides a closed form solution for the optimal allocation. We construct test cases motivated by vaccine planning for seasonal influenza in the state of North Carolina. Using the 2-SLP formulation, we estimate the value of the stochastic solution and the expected value of perfect information. We also propose and test an easy to implement heuristic for vaccine allocation. We show that our proposed two-phase vaccination policy potentially results in a lower attack rate and a considerable saving in vaccine production and administration cost.     

Combining discrete-event simulation and system dynamics in a healthcare setting: A composite model for Chlamydia infection

This paper presents a composite model in which two simulation approaches, discrete-event simulation (DES) and system dynamics (SD), are used together to address a major healthcare problem, the sexually transmitted infection Chlamydia. The paper continues an on-going discussion in the literature about the potential benefits of linking DES and SD. Previous researchers have argued that DES and SD are complementary approaches and many real-world problems would benefit from combining both methods. In this paper, a DES model of the hospital outpatient clinic which treats Chlamydia patients is combined with an SD model of the infection process in the community. These two models were developed in commercial software and linked in an automated fashion via an Excel interface. To our knowledge this is the first time such a composite model has been used in a healthcare setting. The model shows how the prevalence of Chlamydia at a community level affects (and is affected by) operational level decisions made in the hospital outpatient department. We discuss the additional benefits provided by the composite model over and above the benefits gained from the two individual models.     

A robust-CVaR optimization approach with application to breast cancer therapy

We present a framework to optimize the conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) of a loss distribution under uncertainty. Our model assumes that the loss distribution is dependent on the state of some system and the fraction of time spent in each state is uncertain. We develop and compare two robust-CVaR formulations that take into account this type of uncertainty. We motivate and demonstrate our approach using radiation therapy treatment planning of breast cancer, where the uncertainty is in the patient’s breathing motion and the states of the system are the phases of the patient’s breathing cycle. We use a CVaR representation of the tails of the dose distribution to the points in the body and account for uncertainty in the patient’s breathing pattern that affects the overall dose distribution.     

Master surgery scheduling with consideration of multiple downstream units

We consider a master surgery scheduling (MSS) problem in which block operating room (OR) time is assigned to different surgical specialties. While many MSS approaches in the literature consider only the impact of the MSS on operating theater and operating staff, we enlarge the scope to downstream resources, such as the intensive care unit (ICU) and the general wards required by the patients once they leave the OR. We first propose a stochastic analytical approach, which calculates for a given MSS the exact demand distribution for the downstream resources. We then discuss measures to define downstream costs resulting from the MSS and propose exact and heuristic algorithms to minimize these costs.     

A branch and bound based heuristic for makespan minimization of washing operations in hospital sterilization services

In this paper, we address the problem of parallel batching of jobs on identical machines to minimize makespan. The problem is motivated from the washing step of hospital sterilization services where jobs have different sizes, different release dates and equal processing times. Machines can process more than one job at the same time as long as the total size of jobs in a batch does not exceed the machine capacity. We present a branch and bound based heuristic method and compare it to a linear model and two other heuristics from the literature. Computational experiments show that our method can find high quality solutions within short computation time.     

Fatigue crack growth model for assessing reliability of box-girders for cable-stayed bridge combining SHMS with strain data

Enhancement of the computer algorithm developed for the Runyang cable-stayed bridge (RYCB) in China is made by incorporating the fatigue crack growth analysis in contrast to the SN curve approach. Strain data obtained from the structural health monitoring system (SHMS) and finite element calculations are used. This provides the application of a deterministic method in addition to the probabilistic approach with the added feature of crack growth. The choice of selecting the two-parameter fatigue crack growth criterion was based on the definition of reliability index β such that the new results can be compared with those using the SN curves. A gradual drop of the reliability index β with time with an upper limit was obtained for the crack growth model in contrast to the linear time relation for the SN curve model that had no upper limit. This difference is significant and reveals the importance for selecting the fatigue failure criterion. Deterministic and probabilistic crack growth models are used to assess the differences. The results are based on the box-girder component strain history data of the Runyang Cable-stayed Bridge (RYCB) in China, stress history recorded by structural health monitoring system (SHMS) is analyzed using the monitored stress amplitude, mean stress and stress ratio. Finite element calculations are used to supplement data at locations not accessible for measurements. Additional improvement with reference to damage accumulation and the physical meaning of the reliability index will be studies in relation to the fatigue damage of box-girder of long cable-stayed bridges.