Beam-foil spectra for 15–160 MeV Zr at wavelengths from 6–60 nm

Beam-foil spectra have been measured for zirconium beams at 15, 22, 50, 78, 140, and 160 MeV corresponding to calculated mean charge states of 11, 13, 18, 21, 25, and 26, respectively. The spectra for XUV radiation (6–60 nm) are compared with similar results obtained from other experiments.     

Heuristics for the capacitated plant location model

The paper generalizes heuristics for the uncapacitated plant location model to the capacitated case. The heuristics are ADD, DROP, SHIFT, ALA (Alternate Location Allocation) and VSM (Vertex Substitution Method). The generalizations take place within an unifying framework based on elementary ADD and DROP operations.Heuristics from the literature are discussed and compared to the procedures developed in this paper.     

High conversion efficiency Hg0.77Cd0.23Te spin-flip Raman laser

Peak external conversion efficiencies of several percent have been measured in the 10 μm region when a CO₂ laser is used to pump a Hg_0.77Cd_0.23Te spin-flip Raman laser. Strong pump depletion is observed in the experiments. Quantum oscillations from the n = 0, 1 and 2 Landau levels are observed in the tuning characteristics. At 710 G the spontaneous linewidth is measured to be 8 G. Large effects due to conduction band nonparabolicity are observed.     

The swelling and dissolution of cellulose crystallites in subcritical and supercritical water

The swelling and dissolution phenomena of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) were investigated in subcritical and supercritical water. Commercial MCC was treated in water at temperatures of 250–380 °C and a pressure of 250 bar for 0.25–0.75 s. As reaction products, undissolved but depolymerised cellulose residue, short-chain cellulose precipitate, water-soluble cello-oligosaccharides and monosaccharides, as well as their degradation products, were detected. The highest yield of the cellulose II precipitate was obtained after a reaction time of 0.25 s at 360 °C. Our hypothesis was that if the crystallites were swollen, the depolymerization pattern would be that of homogeneous reaction and the cellulose Iβ to cellulose II transformation would be observed. The changes in the structure of the undissolved cellulose residue were characterised by size exclusion chromatography, wide-angle X-ray scattering and ¹³C solid-state NMR techniques. In many cases, the cellulose residue samples contained cellulose II; however, due to experimental limitations, it remains unclear whether it was formed through the swelling of crystallites or the partial readsorption of the dissolved cellulose fraction. The molar mass distributions of untreated MCC and after low intensity treatments showed a bimodal shape. After high intensity treatments the high molar mass chains disappeared which indicated a complete swelling or dissolution of the crystallites.     

Wasserstein convergence rates for random bit approximations of continuous Markov processes

We determine the convergence speed of a numerical scheme for approximating one-dimensional continuous strong Markov processes. The scheme is based on the construction of certain Markov chains whose laws can be embedded into the process with a sequence of stopping times. Under a mild condition on the process' speed measure we prove that the approximating Markov chains converge at fixed times at the rate of 1/4 with respect to every p-th Wasserstein distance. For the convergence of paths, we prove any rate strictly smaller than 1/4. Our results apply, in particular, to processes with irregular behavior such as solutions of SDEs with irregular coefficients and processes with sticky points.     

Far field emission of micropillar and planar microcavities lattice-matched to ZnTe

We investigate light emission from ZnTe-based microcavities containing CdTe quantum dots (QDs), with 2D (planar cavity) and 0D (pillar cavities) photonic confinement. The angular distribution from the planar cavity is presented as well as 2D cross-sections of the far field distribution of radiation from the micropillars. The efficient and desirable modification of the isotropic radiation of the QDs is shown for such structures. The diffraction observed is found to be inherent for such experiments with large numerical aperture of the lens and small diameters of the investigated pillars. This diffraction is successfully modeled.     

Quantitative mass spectrometry in clinical chemistry

As has been demonstrated, mass spectrometry provides a powerful analytical tool for the accurate measurement of small amounts of substances in a complex biological matrix. In our laboratory this technique is used as a reference method for measuring the routine clinical chemical parameters creatinine, uric acid, cholesterol, total glycerol and the hormones cortisol, testosterone, oestradiol-17β, oestriol, progesterone, aldosterone and thyroxine in human serum. In general, the analytical procedure for measuring a substance by isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) consists of the following steps:

1. Addition of a certain amount of the isotopically labeled analyte to the serum sample.
2. Isolation and purification of the labeled and the non-labeled endogenous analyte from the biological matrix.
3. Derivative formation of the isolated and purified labeled and non-labeled compound.
4. Selected ion recording of characteristicm/z values of the labeled and non-labeled analyte using combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS).
5. Calculation of the concentration of the analyte from the isotope ratio measured by GCMS.

The methods described here are now routinely in use for the quality control scheme of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Klinische Chemie for assessing target values in external quality control sera. The reference method values obtained by IDMS provide a reliable basis for evaluating and comparing the results of collaborative surveys.     

Reproducibility of serum protein profiling by systematic assessment using solid-phase extraction and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

Protein profiling of human serum by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI MS) is potentially a new diagnostic tool for early detection of human diseases, including cancer. Sample preparation is a key issue in MALDI MS and the analysis of complex samples such as serum requires optimized, reproducible methods for handling and deposition of protein samples. Data acquisition in MALDI MS is also a critical issue, since heterogeneity of sample deposits leads to attenuation of ion signals in MALDI MS. In order to improve the robustness and reproducibility of MALDI MS for serum protein profiling we investigated a range of sample preparation techniques and developed a statistical method based on repeated analyses for evaluation of protein-profiling performance of MALDI MS. Two different solid-phase extraction (SPE) methods were investigated, namely custom-made microcolumns and commercially available magnetic beads. Using these two methods, nineteen different sample preparation methods for serum profiling by MALDI MS were systematically tested with regard to matrix selection, stationary phase, selectivity, and reproducibility. Microcolumns were tested with regard to chromatographic properties; reversed phase (C8, C18, SDB-XC), ion-exchange (anion, weak cation, mixed-phase (SDB-RPS)) and magnetic beads were tested with regard to chromatographic properties; reversed phase (C8) or affinity chromatography (Cu-IMAC). The reproducibility of each sample preparation method was determined by enumeration and analysis of protein signals that were detected in at least six out of nine spectra obtained by three triplicate analyses of one serum sample.A candidate for best overall performance as evaluated by the number of peaks generated and the reproducibility of mass spectra was found among the tested methods. Up to 418 reproducible peaks were detected in one cancer serum sample. These protein peaks can be part of a possible diagnostic profile, suggesting that this sample preparation method and data acquisition approach is suitable for large-scale analysis of serum samples for protein profiling.