Time-series analysis of traffic updates in loss systems

The paper deals with time-series analysis of one-line traffic measurements in loss systems. Discrete-time stochastic models are derived for finite-capacity trunk groups with non-exponential distributions of interarrival and service times. The modelling accuracy is characterized by a prediction error. Simulation results are used to assert situations when the application of the proposed modelling technique is practical. Finally the adaptive Kalman filter is used to deal with cases when the statistics of observed processes are not known a priori.     

Formation of cation–radical anion pairs derived from carboxybenzophenone–tetrabutylammonium salts. Pulse radiolysis studies

Pulse radiolysis of acetonitrile solutions of tetra-n-butyl ammonium salts of 2- and 4-carboxybenzophenones [BP-COO⁻···N⁺(C₄H₉)₄] were performed in order to generate directly the reduced forms of the benzophenone moieties within pre-formed ion pairs. In earlier studies on photochemical electron transfer reactions, ion pairs containing a tetraalkyl ammonium cation and a benzophenone radical anion were formed in an electron transfer to the triplet BP from a quencher consisting of a tetraalkyl ammonium salt of (phenylthio)acetic acid. In the current work, the [BP^•−COO⁻···N⁺(C₄H₉)₄] ion pairs were formed by direct reduction of the salts without the complication of a third moiety, i.e., the (phenylthio)acetic anion. The spectra and kinetic parameters of the radiolytically-reduced salts were compared to the behavior of reduced forms of the 2- and 4-COOH substituted benzophenones. The results from the pulse radiolysis and photochemistry were compared and explained in terms of the different structures of the ion pairs.     

Head-to-tail interactions in tyrosine/benzophenone dyads in the ground and the excited state: NMR and laser flash photolysis studies

The formation of head-to-tail contacts in de novo synthesized benzophenone/tyrosine dyads, bp logical sum Tyr, was probed in the ground and excited triplet state by NMR techniques and laser flash photolysis, respectively. The high affinity of triplet-excited ketones towards phenols was used to trace the geometric demands for high reactivity in the excited state. A retardation effect on the rates with increasing hydrogen-bond-acceptor ability of the solvent is correlated with ground-state masking of the phenol. In a given solvent the efficiencies of the intramolecular hydrogen-atom-transfer reaction depend strongly on the properties of the linker: rate constants for the intramolecular quenching of the triplet state cover the range of 10(5) to 10(8) s(-1). The observed order of reactivity correlates to a) the probability of close contacts (from molecular-dynamics simulations) and b) the extent of the electronic overlap between the pi systems of the donor and acceptor moieties (from NMR). A broad survey of the NMR spectra in nine different solvents showed that head-to-tail interactions between the aromatic moieties of the bp logical sum Tyr dyads already exist in the ground state. Favourable aromatic-aromatic interactions in the ground state appear to correspond to high excited-state reactivity.     

Quantitative Determination of Unbound Piperacillin and Imipenem in Biological Material from Critically Ill Using Thin-Film Microextraction-Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

β-Lactam antibiotics are most commonly used in the critically ill, but their effective dosing is challenging and may result in sub-therapeutic concentrations that can lead to therapy failure and even promote antimicrobial resistance. In this study, we present the analytical tool enabling specific and sensitive determination of the sole biologically active fraction of piperacillin and imipenem in biological material from the critically ill. Thin-film microextraction sampling technique, followed by rapid liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, was optimized and validated for the quantitative determination of antibiotics in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens collected from intensive care unit (ICU) patients suffering from ventilation-associated pneumonia (n = 18 and n = 9, respectively). The method was optimized and proved to meet the criteria of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines for bioanalytical method validation. Highly selective, sensitive, accurate and precise analysis by means of thin-film microextraction–LC-MS/MS, which is not affected by matrix-related factors, was successfully applied in clinical settings, revealing poor penetration of piperacillin and imipenem from blood into BAL fluid (reflecting the site of bacterial infection), nonlinearity in antibiotic binding to plasma-proteins and drug-specific dependence on creatinine clearance. This work demonstrates that only a small fraction of biologically active antibiotics reach the site of infection, providing clinicians with a high-throughput analytical tool for future studies on personalized therapeutic drug monitoring when tailoring the dosing strategy to an individual patient.     

Polyaniline biosensor for choline determination

Choline oxidase has been immobilized inside nanostructured polyaniline layers of a controlled porosity and a micrometer or nanometer thickness to form a choline sensor: polyaniline-choline oxidase (PChO) biosensor. Electrochemical techniques were used either, to prepare polyaniline films of a controlled thickness and to immobilize the enzyme molecules. The electrical response of a PChO sensor depends on choline concentration and its sensitivity reaches a value of 5 μA/mM in the amperometric mode and of 10 mV/mM in the potentiometric mode of measurements. The current response measured at a constant potential of +0.4 V is linear vs. choline concentration. No interference with ascorbic acid has been found. The storage stability is very satisfied: the sensors examined did not change essentially their electrical response even after a month of storage.     

Isolation, purification and determination of 4-n-nonylphenol and 4-tert-octylphenol in aqueous and biological samples

The aim of the present study was to attempt to describe the procedure of isolation, purification, enrichment and determination of 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP) and 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) in water and biological samples (fish tissue). There were five procedures of solid phase extraction (SPE) tested using different sorbents for the isolation of analytes from water samples. Moreover, we isolated these chemicals from biological matrices with the aid of various extraction methods. The purpose of it was to perform an optimisation of ultrasonic bath, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and solid phase extraction process of alkylphenols from biological samples, through the choice of selective sorbents (octadecyl, octadecyl end-capped and amine) and search solvents (methylene chloride, methanol, hexane). Reversed-phase HPLC with diode array detection was used for the determination of 4-n-NP and 4-t-OP in water and fish tissue samples. Sensitivity was evaluated by determining the limit of detection (LOD=0.06 and 0.04ng microL(-1)) and limit of quantification (LOQ=0.18 and 0.16ng microL(-1)) of 4-NP and 4-t-OP, respectively. A series of standard solutions for 4-n-NP and 4-t-OP provided the basis for plotting an analytical curve and obtaining a linear dependence in the range of approximately 1-25ng microL(-1). The best efficiencies obtained for 4-n-NP and 4-t-OP in water samples were 76.65% (+/-1.49) and 83.08% (+/-3.73), respectively. In the case of fish tissue, different situation was observed because the obtained values were considerably lower, being 68.32% for 4-t-OP using hexane (program 1) as solvent and 72.35% (program 2) for 4-n-NP using acetonitrile.     

Detection of bar gene encoding phosphinothricin herbicide resistance in plants by electrochemical biosensor

An electrochemical biosensor for the detection of bar gene coding phosphinothricin herbicide resistance is presented. The detection was based on hybridization reaction between the specific to bar gene 19-mer probe immobilized on the electrode surface and complementary DNA in a sample. Single-stranded DNA probe specific to bar gene was covalently attached by 5'-phosphate end to the surface of carbon paste electrode. Outer layer of a conventional CPE was provided with carboxyl groups of stearic acid. ssDNA was coupled to the electrode through ethylenediamine with the use of water-soluble 1-ethyl-3(3'-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide and N-hydroxy-sulfosuccinimide as activating reagents. Hybridization reaction at the electrode surface was detected via Co(bpy)(3)(3+), which possess a much higher affinity to the resulting DNA duplex compared to ssDNA probe. Detection limit of the sensor was 0.1 microM of target DNA fragments and its response was linear from 5 to 20 microM. Hybridization event was also detected by measuring guanine peak but this approach presented distinctly higher detection limit (1 muM) and lower reproducibility. Complete time of one measurement with the use of the biosensor including covalent attachment of ethylenediamine (linker) and ssDNA probe to the electrode, hybridization with target and interaction with electroactive indicator was about 70 min.