Routine analysis by high precision gas chromatography/mass selective detector/isotope ratio mass spectrometry to 0.1 parts per mil

Stable isotope methods are potentially quite useful for validating natural or enhanced mineral degradation of contaminants. For this reason, a continuous flow gas chromatograph (GC), isotope ratio mass spectrometer (IRMS) has been coupled with a quadrupole mass selective detector (MSD) to allow simultaneous mass spectral and stable carbon isotope ratio data to be obtained from a single chromatographic analysis. This allows the target contaminant and any extra-cellular degradation intermediates to be both qualified and quantified. Previously acceptable limits of precision (0.3 parts per mil) are undesirable given the small fractionation observed during aerobic degradation. To further understand the fate of organic contaminants and to gain information about the metabolic degradative pathway employed by a microorganism, routine isotopic analyses on a range of analytes have been performed. Quantities of sample producing mass-44 ion beam signal (I(44)) of 2 x 10(-10) to 1 x 10(-8) A were analysed. When the IRMS was tuned for high sensitivity, ion source nonlinearities were overcome by peak height correction from an algorithm that was produced using known isotopic standards of varying concentrations. This led to sample accuracy of <0.01 per thousand and sample precision of 0.1 per thousand. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Frequency scan for the analysis of high mass ions generated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization in a paul trap

An ion trap has been modified for the analysis of high mass ions generated by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization. Samples are deposited on a probe tip and introduced directly onto the hyperbolically shaped surface of one endcap. All three electrodes - both the endcaps and the ring electrode - are insulated so that the radio frequency (Rf) voltage may be applied to the center ring electrode and the inverted Rf voltage to the endcaps. By using low frequencies (below 100 kHz) and low amplitudes (below 200 V), high mass singly charged ions may be trapped and analyzed by a frequency sweep at constant amplitude. In the high mass range (60-160 kDa), this instrument showed good sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratios, and mass resolution. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microwave absorption studies of MgB2 superconductor

Microwave absorption studies have been carried out on MgB₂ superconductor using a standard X-band EPR spectrometer. The modulated low-field microwave absorption signals recorded for polycrystalline (grain size ∼ 10 μm) samples suggested the absence of weak-link character. The field dependent direct microwave absorption has been found to obey a ✓H dependence with two different slopes, which indicated a transition from strongly pinned lattice to flux flow regime.     

An extended formulation of calculus of variations for incommensurate fractional derivatives with fractional performance index

In this paper, we consider the main problem of variational calculus when the derivatives are Riemann?CLiouville-type fractional with incommensurate orders in general. As the most general form of the performance index, we consider a fractional integral form for the functional that is to be extremized. In the light of fractional calculus and fractional integration by parts, we express a generalized problem of the calculus of variations, in which the classical problem is a special case. Considering five cases of the problem (fixed, free, and dependent final time and states), we derive a necessary condition which is an extended version of the classical Euler?CLagrange equation. As another important result, we derive the necessary conditions for an optimization problem with piecewise smooth extremals where the fractional derivatives are not necessarily continuous. The latter result is valid only for the integer order for performance index. Finally, we provide some examples to clarify the effectiveness of the proposed theorems.     

The FT-IR study of the brain tissue of Labeo rohita due to arsenic intoxication

The brain is believed to be particularly vulnerable to arsenic due to its high oxygen consumption rate and high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids and relatively high rate of oxygen free radical generate without commensurable level of arsenic. Hence, in the present work an attempt is made to study the changes in the biochemical contents in the brain tissues of edible fish Labeo rohita due to arsenic intoxication using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. FT-IR spectra reveal significant differences in absorbance intensities between the control and arsenic intoxicated brain tissues, reflecting an alteration on the major biochemical constituents, such as lipids, proteins and nucleic acids of the brain tissues of L. rohita due to arsenic intoxication. Further, the administration of antidote DMSA improves the protein and lipid contents significantly in the brain tissues when compared to arsenic intoxicated tissues. The decrease in α-helix structure due to arsenic intoxication might be responsible for the increase in β-sheet secondary structures, which is consistent with the mechanism of β-sheet formation.     

Leveraging Full-Field Measurement from 3D Digital Image Correlation for Structural Identification

Within the domain of structural health monitoring (SHM) measurement techniques have primarily relied on discrete sensing strategies using sensors physically attached to the structural system of interest. These sensors have proven effective in describing both global and local phenomena, but are limited to providing discrete response measurements of these systems. With the introduction of novel imaging tools and image analysis techniques, such as digital image correlation (DIC), the ability to measure the full-field response of these systems provides a novel approach to refining structural identification (St-ID) approaches used in SHM. This paper explores this proposed concept through a case study on a series of structural test specimens analyzed using 3D digital image correlation (3D-DIC) for St-ID. Finite element model updating (FEMU) was used as the technique for the structural identification. For the identification process, ABAQUS was interfaced with MATLAB to converge on the optimal unknown/uncertain system parameters of the experimental setup. 3D-DIC results provided a rich full-field dataset for the identification process, which was compared against measurements derived from traditional physical in-place sensors typically used in SHM. In this work a Hybrid Genetic Algorithm (HGA), which combines the genetic algorithm as a global optimization and a gradient-based method as a local optimization, was used for the FEMU based on 3D-DIC results of structural specimen subjected to variable loading. To minimize the error between the full field 3D-DIC measurements and FEA model updating results, an objective function was introduced that included the full-field contributions of strains and deformation response. The evolution of this objective function illustrated satisfactory convergence of the identified parameters and the excellent agreement of the experimental and numerical strain and displacement responses after the model updating process confirmed the success of the proposed approach. The results of this study highlight the advantage of this hybrid approach and provide the foundation for effective deployment of the proposed strategy for large-scale structural systems.     

FT-IR study of the effect of zinc exposure on the biochemical contents of the muscle of Labeo rohita

Heavy metal pollution is a major environmental problem in the modern world due to increasing human activities. Zinc is an essential element involved in a wide variety of cellular processes. However, it becomes toxic when elevated concentrations are introduced into the environment. The goal of the present study is to investigate the effect of zinc exposure on the biochemical contents of the muscle tissues of freshwater species Labeo rohita using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Since the muscle constitutes the greatest mass of the fish that is consumed, the present study has paid particular attention to muscle component. The result reveals that the zinc exposure causes significant changes in the biochemical contents of the L. rohita muscle tissues. In addition, it causes an alteration in the protein secondary structures by decreasing the α-helix and increasing the β-sheet contents of muscle tissues. Further, it has been observed that the administration of chelating agent D-penicillamine improves the protein and lipid contents in the muscle tissues compared to zinc exposed tissues. This result shows that D-penicillamine is the effective chelator of zinc in reducing the body burden of L. rohita fingerlings.