Applications of bulk queues to group testing models with incomplete identification

A population of items is said to be “group-testable”, (i) if the items can be classified as “good” and “bad”, and (ii) if it is possible to carry out a simultaneous test on a batch of items with two possible outcomes: “Success” (indicating that all items in the batch are good) or “failure” (indicating a contaminated batch). In this paper, we assume that the items to be tested arrive at the group-testing centre according to a Poisson process and are served (i.e., group-tested) in batches by one server. The service time distribution is general but it depends on the batch size being tested. These assumptions give rise to the bulk queueing model M/G^(m,M)/1, where m and M(>m) are the decision variables where each batch size can be between m and M. We develop the generating function for the steady-state probabilities of the embedded Markov chain. We then consider a more realistic finite state version of the problem where the testing centre has a finite capacity and present an expected profit objective function. We compute the optimal values of the decision variables (m, M) that maximize the expected profit. For a special case of the problem, we determine the optimal decision explicitly in terms of the Lambert function.     

Analysis of intact tetraether lipids in archaeal cell material and sediments by high performance liquid chromatography/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry

A method combining normal phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) was developed for the analysis of intact glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in archaeal cell material and sediments. All GDGTs previously reported to occur in the thermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus could be identified based on their mass spectra and retention time. Positive ion mass spectra consisted of abundant protonated molecules and fragment ions corresponding to loss of water and the glycerol moiety. In addition, two novel GDGTs representing alternative combinations of biphytanyl moieties were observed. Using this method, the tetraethers present in the thermophilic archaeon Metallosphaera sedula and two sediment samples were characterized. This rapid method will greatly contribute to the establishment of the sedimentary record of these compounds and increase our understanding of archaea and their occurrence in widely different environments.     

Correlation of charm particles from gluon-gluon fusion in hadronic collisions

In the framework of fusion process, ≈90% of which isg+g→c+ c, we have calculated rapidity correlation andp _T ^/2 of charm particles produced in hadronic collisions. The experimental observation of rapidity correlation by the LEBC-EHS Collaboration is in good agreement with the calculation. From the ratio of double to single charm production an estimate of fusion cross section is made.     

Synthesis and crystal structure of ammonium (picrate) (dibenzo-18-crown-6)

NH₄(Pic)(DB18C6) (Pic=picrate and DB18C6=dibenzo-18-crown-6), (C₂₆H₃₀N₄O₁₃) FW 606.56, arthorhombic,Pmn2₁,a=26.045(5),b=12.055(3),c=8.982(3) Å,V=2820(1) ų,Z=4,D _c =1.429 g/cm³, CuK, =1.54184 Å, (CuK)=9.5 cm^–1,F(000)=1272,T=298 K. The structure has been refined toR=0.0475 for 2617 unique observed reflections. In the lattice the 1:1 complex exists as a 2:2 dimer in which the crown are coupled through the Pic anions and NH₄ ⁺ cations. The asymmetric unit consists of two independent half crown ethers of which two opposite O atoms are on the mirror plane, two half ammonium cations of which the N and two H atoms are also on the mirror plane while the Pic anion is in a general position. Relative to each other, the corwn ethers are shifted by about 7.3 Å alongb and 1 Å alongc. The 1:1 sandwich of NH₄ with DB18C6 and Pic on dimerisation becomes a club pseudo-sandwich with three phenyl rings on either side of the mirror plane, thus forming a nearly parallel stack with a 3.6 Å inter-ring distance. The NH₄ ions hold the structure; two H atoms on the mirror plane are hydrogen-bonded to the opposite oxygens of the crown located on the purely aliphatic part of the ring (2.10(1), 2.06(3) and 2.26(3), 2.05(1) Å) for the two independent crowns, respectively, while the other two H atoms form mirror-related bifurcated hydrogen bonds with the phenoxide oxygen (1.99(1) and 2.01(1) Å) and theo-nitrogen oxygen (2.44(2) and 2.34(1) Å) of the picrates. Supplementary Data relating to this article are deposited with the British Library as Supplementary Publication No. SUP 82037 (29 pages)     

PHOTOCHEMICAL DAMAGE TO DNA TREATED WITH CHLORPROMAZINE AND NEAR UV RADIATION UNDER AEROBIC AND ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS

Double stranded salmon sperm DNA in a chlorpromazine (CPZ) solution is damaged when irradiated with near UV light. The damage of irradiated DNA can be estimated by measuring the increase in extinction at 260 nm following incubation at 60°C of the DNA with formaldehyde. Moreover, DNA irradiated in the presence of CPZ or kept in the dark separate quite differently in an aqueous polymer two-phase system. DNA irradiated in the presence of CPZ seemed to be susceptible to digestion by endonuclease S1, while the endonuclease of Neurospora crassa could not digest this DNA. Irradiation under aerobic conditions seemed to be less disastrous for DNA than under anaerobic conditions.     

Determination of preservatives in cosmetic products. I. Thin-layer chromatographic procedure for the identification of preservatives in cosmetic products

A thin-layer chromatographic procedure is presented for the separation and identification of preservatives that are listed in the current EEC Council Directive on cosmetic products or have been permitted in the past. The method consists of an extraction of acidified cosmetics with methanol, separation of the extracts by thin-layer chromatography on aluminium oxide and silica gel-coated plates using one developing solvent, and visualization of the preservatives on the plates using short-wavelength UV light and six detection reagents. The retention behaviour and the detectability of 88 preservatives were investigated, of which 74 were characterized by this method. The preservatives in fourteen commercial cosmetic products were tentatively identified by the procedure described. In general this method will permit the routine detection of preservatives in cosmetics in an approximate concentration of 0.1% (w/w).