Development of an in-line calibration system for flow-through cells for low electrolytic conductivity values

This paper describes a comparison calibration system applicable to meters for low electrolytic conductivity values. In this system, measurements are performed in a closed circuit with a flowing solution. This circuit contains a flow-through reference cell and a flow-through cell under calibration. Results of calibrations by substitution and by comparison at 3 mS/m (KCl aqueous solution) are compared. The result of a calibration by comparison at 0.3 mS/m is also reported.     

Nonarchimedean Cantor set and string

We construct a nonarchimedean (or p-adic) analogue of the classical ternary Cantor set . In particular, we show that this nonarchimedean Cantor set is self-similar. Furthermore, we characterize as the subset of 3-adic integers whose elements contain only 0’s and 2’s in their 3-adic expansions and prove that is naturally homeomorphic to . Finally, from the point of view of the theory of fractal strings and their complex fractal dimensions [7, 8], the corresponding nonarchimedean Cantor string resembles the standard archimedean (or real) Cantor string perfectly. Dedicated to Vladimir Arnold, on the occasion of his jubilee     

On the regularity of the roots of hyperbolic polynomials

We prove that a hyperbolic monic polynomial whose coefficients are functions of class C ^r of a parameter t admits roots of class C ¹ in t, if r is the maximal multiplicity of the roots as t varies. Moreover, if the coefficients are functions of t of class C ^2r , then the roots may be chosen two times differentiable at every point in t. This improves, among others, previous results of Bronšteĭn, Mandai, Wakabayashi and Kriegl, Losik and Michor.     

A 2DE approach for high-throughput antigen separation applicable to mAb production

A constantly increasing number of mABs are required for the validation of a large proportion of proteomic and protein-protein interaction data. The development of new robotic platforms has greatly enhanced the throughput of monoclonal antibody production; however, the availability of highly purified proteins to use as antigens currently represents the major bottleneck of the process. In this article, we describe a new 2DE approach to purify hundreds of proteins from cellular extracts in a very cost-effective and time-efficient way. The accuracy of the new purification method is shown to be comparable to high-resolution analytical 2DE. The effectiveness and the throughput of the method to purify proteins suitable for the development of mAbs are then assessed. Using this methodology, we were able to separate 447 proteins starting from 50 mg of proteins extracted from HT29 cells. Fractions containing more than 30 μg of protein constantly induced immunization in mice. Using a high-throughput process for monoclonal antibody production, we obtained an average of 3.5 mAbs for each protein. According to pilot experiments, we can predict that starting from an unfractionated cellular extract it is possible to obtain approximately 200 proteins usable for monoclonal antibody development. Our results indicate that the number of antigens available for monoclonal antibody production can be further increased by running parallel separations. The proposed methodology will then facilitate the high-throughput monoclonal antibody process providing a vast array of high quality antigens at very low cost.     

The shape of dilepton spectra in heavy ion collisions as a signature of quark-gluon plasma

The formation of quark-gluon plasma in heavy ion collisions should manifest itself by the increase of the ratio of medium to large mass dileptons, the former being produced predominantly in the QGP and the mixed phase whereas the latter are produced mostly by the Drell-Yan process. The increase of this ratio should be visible either when comparing collisions of lighter with heavier ions, e.g. O+O with Pb+Pb or when comparing low and large transverse energy events in heavy ion e.g. Pb+Pb collisions.     

Silicon oxycarbide glasses from gels

Silicon-oxycarbide glasses can be synthesized from modified silica gels through a pyrolysis process in inert atmosphere. A critical analysis of the literature suggests a close relationship between oxygen content in the gel precursors and the amount of carbon atoms covalently bonded to silicon atoms in the corresponding silicon-oxycarbide phase. The problem of the formation of a free carbon phase will be discussed and related to the amount of carbon in the starting gel. An example of successful synthesis of an almost pure carbon-rich oxycarbide phase will also be presented.