High-performance liquid chromatography-electrochemical detection of vecuronium and its metabolites in human plasma.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic assay coupled with electrochemical detection has been developed for the determination of vecuronium and its three putative deacetylated metabolites in human plasma. A novel solid-phase extraction procedure allowed good recovery of both vecuronium and its metabolites, together with ease and speed of execution. This method was sensitive, reproducible and accurate over the therapeutic range of concentrations of vecuronium and its metabolites, and was applied successfully to a study of the pharmacokinetics of vecuronium in anaesthetized patients.     

Eine Bemerkung zum Axiomensystem des Morgenstern/Thompson-Außenhandelsmodells

Zusammenfassung Es kann gezeigt werden, daß sich im Außenhandelsmodell vonMorgenstern/ Thompson gewisse Aussagen nicht unbedingt als Resultate aus dem vorgeschlagenen Axiomensystem ergeben. Werden diese Aussagen in das Axiomensystem aufgenommen, so bleibt das System unabhängig.

---

Summary In the Open Expanding Economy Model ofMorgenstern/Thompson it can be shown that some of the statements do not follow from the axioms. Adding these statements to the given system of axioms the new system is still independent.

     

Decentered directional data

Directional data analysis usually assumes that the observations are recorded according to a coordinate system whose origin coincides with the center of their support. However, it may happen that the observer does not sit at this center and record the directions from another point. The object of this paper is to investigate the statistical behavior of such decentered directions. First we derive the family of distributions of these directions and produce statistical procedures that recover some information about the underlying process. An important special case is explored in details and compared with the Langevin model. Finally, an example is given where the introduced family of models makes physical sense and well fits the observations.This research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and by the FCAR and FRSQ funds of Québec.     

Understanding Refractive Index Changes in Homologous Series of Unbranched Organic Compounds Based on Beer's Law

Changes of the refractive index for homologous series of hydrocarbons are usually plotted versus the density. While there is a clear linear dependence for alkanes and alkenes, the linearity deteriorates for homologous series with functional groups involving heteroatoms. The slope can even become negative, e. g., for carboxylic acids. For gaining a deeper understanding and to establish a more general correlation, we reinvestigate the corresponding theories starting with the Newton-Laplace, Gladstone-Dale and the Lorentz-Lorenz rules. We revisit the concept of molar refractivity pioneered by Landolt and Brühl and show that it is closely connected with a twin of Beer's law. We conclude that the refractive index of homologues series should better be plotted versus the molar concentration of the main UV-chromophore, the C−H bond, which actually causes the refractive index changes. This new approach is not limited to alkanes and alkenes but holds for homologous series with functional groups including heteroatoms.     

Oligo(vinylidene fluoride) Langmuir-Blodgett films studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry and the density functional theory

Thin films of amphiphilic vinylidene fluoride oligomers prepared by Langmuir-Blodgett deposition on silicone substrates were investigated by comparing experimental and theoretical mid-infrared (IR) spectra. The experimental spectra were obtained using infrared spectroscopic ellipsometry. Theoretical spectra were calculated using density functional theory. Excellent correspondence of major IR bands in both data sets shows that the molecular backbone is oriented with the long axis normal to the substrate plane. This is in contrast to poly(vinylidene fluoride) LB films, in which the polymer chains are parallel to the substrate.     

Polarization patterning by laser-induced phase change in ferroelectric polymer films

Polarization patterns were written on ferroelectric poly(vinylidene-trifluoroethylene) copolymer Langmuir–Blodgett films by heating into the paraelectric phase by laser illumination using two methods. In the first method, patterns were produced by direct writing by a focused continuous-wave laser beam that was moved across the sample. This method affords the greatest flexibility. In the second method, the patterns were generated simultaneously with a pulsed laser using a beam interference method. This method produces highly regular patterns quickly over large areas and affords higher patterning resolution. The patterns produced by both methods could be erased and rewritten, making this technique useful for producing reconfigurable nonvolatile memories, infrared imaging sensors, or acoustic imaging transducers.