Analysis of polyamines as carbamoyl derivatives in urine and serum by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

A quantitative analysis of polyamines in urine and serum by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is described. The polyamines were carbamylated with isobutyl chloroformate, extracted with diethyl ether under pH 9.0, and analyzed by LC-MS/MS with single reaction monitoring mode. The limit of quantification was 1 ng/mL based on a signal-to-noise ratio>3, and the correlation coefficient (r2) for the calibration curves was >0.99 for both urine and serum samples. The present method was applied to urine and serum samples from 30 breast cancer patients and 30 normal female controls. There was no significant difference in the urinary polyamine levels between breast cancer patients and controls. However, 1,3-diaminopropane, putrescine, spermine and N-acetylspermidine levels in serum increased in breast cancer patients. These four serum polyamines may be a good index to study both production and metabolism of polyamines, and a useful tool in assessment of the polyamine status of breast cancer patients.     

Optimized mechanical and impact performance of high strength tempo oxidized cellulose nanofibril (TOCNF)—epoxy laminates

Cellulose - In this work, TEMPO cellulose nanofibril (TOCNF) laminates were fabricated using a layup method. Two different TOCNF layers were tested, a neat TOCNF and a TOCNF with polyvinyl alcohol...     

Generalized ray-transfer matrix for an optical element having an arbitrary wavefront aberration

A generalized ray-transfer matrix for describing the action of an optical element having an arbitrary wavefront aberration is obtained. In this generalized ray-transfer matrix, the action of the aberrated optical element is represented by the product of radial ray-transfer matrices and tangential ray-transfer matrices. The refraction angle of an incident ray is calculated from the gradient of the wavefront aberration at the point of incidence, and the radial and tangential ray-transfer matrices directly use the gradient as a matrix component. To show the validity of the generalized ray-transfer matrix, intercept heights from a spot diagram are calculated with the generalized ray-transfer matrix and compared with those calculated with commercial ray-tracing software.     

Air flow and pressure inside a pressure-swirl spray and their effects on spray development

Air flow and pressure inside a pressure-swirl spray for direct injection (DI) gasoline engines and their effects on spray development have been analyzed at different injector operating conditions. A simulation tool was utilized and the static air pressure at the centerline of the spray was measured to investigate the static pressure and flow structure inside the swirl spray. To investigate the effect of static air pressure on swirl spray development, a liquid film model was applied and the Mie-scattered images were captured. The simulation and experiment showed that recirculation vortex and air pressure drop inside the swirl spray were observable and the air pressure drop was greater at high injection pressure. At high fuel temperature, the air pressure at the nozzle exit showed higher value compared to the atmospheric pressure and then continuously decreased up to few millimeters distance from the nozzle exit. The pressure drop at high fuel temperatures was more than that of atmospheric temperature. This reduced air pressure was recovered to the atmospheric pressure at further downstream. The results from the liquid film model and macroscopic spray images showed that the air pressure started to affect the liquid film trajectory about 3 mm from the nozzle exit and this effect was sustained until the air pressure recovered to the atmospheric pressure. However, the entrained air motion and droplet size have more significant influence on the spray development after the most of the liquid sheet is broken-up and the spray loses its initial momentum.     

Experimental reconsideration of spatio‐temporal dynamics observed in fluid‐elastic oscillator arrays from complex system viewpoint: From vibrating pipes in heat exchangers to waving plants in agricultural fields

Transition from local complexity to global spatio‐temporal dynamics in a two‐dimensional array of fluid‐elastic oscillators is examined experimentally with an apparatus comprising 90‐1000 cantilevered rods in a wind tunnel as the Reynolds number (based on rod diameter) is increased from 200 to 900. A cluster‐pattern entropy measure is introduced as a quantitative measure of local complexity. As the intensity of interaction among neighboring elements (in this case, frequency of collisions among rods) increases, a set of the elements (in this case, a rod‐array) achieves globally better‐organized behavior. On the basis of accelerometer data, the rod impact rate versus flow velocity shows a power‐law scaling relation. Video images reveal that, initially, each rod moves individually; then clusters consisting of several rods emerge. Finally, global wave‐like motion occurs at higher flow velocities. Each wave‐like motion has its specific frequency and spatial wavelength, which vary according to wind velocity. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 12: 36–47, 2007     

Variable Frequency Microwave Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles

Synthesis of silver nanoparticles based on a polyol process and variable frequency microwave (VFM) was investigated. Comparing to a thermal method, the reaction by VFM radiation was much faster. The effects of silver nitrate concentration, poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) concentration, reaction time and reaction temperature were studied. It was found that the higher concentration of silver nitrate, longer reaction time and higher temperature increased the particle size while the higher concentration of PVP decreased the particle size.     

New morphological control for thick,porous membranes with a plasma graft‐filling polymerization

Morphological control of membranes with plasma graft‐filling polymerization was proposed for thick, porous membranes. The morphology depended closely on the plasma within the membrane pore, which was determined by the plasma‐discharge power (PDP) and the gas pressure. The membrane morphology was investigated in terms of solvent composition in monomer solution, PDP, Ar pressure, and pore size of a substrate. Morphologies of membranes prepared were evaluated by a microscopic Fourier transform infrared mapping method. This study demonstrates that it is possible to control the membrane morphology by manipulating the plasma power and Ar pressure instead of morphological control by solvent‐dependent monomer activity. Additionally, through indirect methods this study reveals that plasma exists even in sub‐micropores (ca. 0.4 μm in diameter). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1216–1224, 2003     

Preparation of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)/polyester diblock copolymers and examination of the gel‐to‐sol transition

Diblock copolymers consisting of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) (MPEG) and poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL), poly(δ‐valerolactone) (PVL), poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA), or poly(lactic‐co‐glycolic acid) (PLGA) as biodegradable polyesters were prepared to examine the phase transition of diblock copolymer solutions. MPEG–PCL and MPEG–PVL diblock copolymers and MPEG–PLLA and MPEG–PLGA diblock copolymers were synthesized by the ring‐opening polymerization of ?‐caprolactone or δ‐valerolactone in the presence of HCl · Et₂O as a monomer activator at room temperature and by the ring‐opening polymerization of L ‐lactide or a mixture of L ‐lactide and glycolide in the presence of stannous octoate at 130 °C, respectively. The synthesized diblock copolymers were characterized with ¹H NMR, IR, and gel permeation chromatography. The phase transitions for diblock copolymer aqueous solutions of various concentrations were explored according to the temperature variation. The diblock copolymer solutions exhibited the phase transition from gel to sol with increasing temperature. As the polyester block length of the diblock copolymers increased, the gel‐to‐sol transition moved to a lower concentration region. The gel‐to‐sol transition showed a dependence on the length of the polyester block segment. According to X‐ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry thermal studies, the gel‐to‐sol transition of the diblock copolymer solutions depended on their degrees of crystallinity because water could easily diffuse into amorphous polymers in comparison with polymers with a crystalline structure. The crystallinity markedly depended on both the distinct character and composition of the block segment. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5784–5793, 2004