Application of a multivariate approach for analyte focusing by micelle collapse‐micellar electrokinetic chromatography for analyzing sunscreen agents in cosmetics

The operating parameters that affect the performance of the online preconcentration technique “analyte focusing by micelle collapse‐MEKC (AFMC‐MEKC)” were examined using a multivariate approach involving experimental design to determine the sunscreen agents in cosmetics. Compared to the single‐variable approach, the advantage of the multivariate approach was that many factors could be investigated simultaneously to obtain the best separation condition. A fractional factorial design was used to identify the fewest significant factors in the central composite design (cCD). The cCD was adopted for evaluating the location of the minimum or maximum response in this study. The influences of the experimental variables on the response were investigated by applying a chromatographic exponential function. The optimized condition and the relationship between the experimental variables were acquired using the JMP software. The ANOVA analysis indicated that the Tris pH value, SDS concentration, and ethanol percentage influenced the separation quality and significantly contributed to the model. The optimized condition of the running buffer was 10 mM Tris buffer (pH 9.5) containing 60 mM SDS, 7 mM γ‐CD, and 20% v/v ethanol. The sample was prepared in 100 mM Tris buffer (pH 9.0) containing 7.5 mM SDS and 20% v/v ethanol. The SDS concentration in the sample matrix was slightly greater than the CMC value that makes the micelle be easily collapsed and the analytes be accumulated in the capillary. In addition, sunscreen agents in cosmetics after 1000‐fold dilution were successfully determined by AFMC‐MEKC.     

Direct Synthesis of Chiral 3‐Arylsuccinimides by Rhodium‐Catalyzed Enantioselective Conjugate Addition of Arylboronic Acids to Maleimides

Chiral rhodium catalysts comprising 2,5‐diaryl‐ substituted bicyclo[2.2.1]diene ligands L1 – L10 were utilized in the enantioselective 1,4‐addition reaction of arylboronic acids to N‐substituted maleimides. In the presence of 2.5 mol % of Rh^I/ L2 , enantioenriched conjugate addition adducts were isolated in 72–99 % yields with 86–98 % ee. This protocol offers a convenient method to access a variety of 3‐arylsuccinimides in a highly enantioselective manner. Maleimides with readily cleavable N‐protecting groups were tolerated enabling the synthesis of useful synthetic intermediates. Pyrrolidine 4 , a biologically active compound, and pyrrolidine 5 , an ent‐precursor to an HSD‐1 inhibitor, were synthesized to demonstrate the utility of this method.     

Geometry‐Related Children's Literature Improves the Geometry Achievement and Attitudes of Second‐Grade Students

Use of mathematics‐related literature can engage students' interest and increase their understanding of mathematical concepts. A quasi‐experimental study of two second‐grade classrooms assessed whether daily inclusion of geometry‐related literature in the classroom improved attitudes toward geometry and achievement in geometry. Consistent with the hypothesis, only the students in the classroom with a strong emphasis on geometry‐related children's literature showed a significant improvement in their attitudes about geometry over time. While both classes improved their geometry performance over the 4 weeks of the study, the class with a strong emphasis on geometry‐related literature improved significantly more (51.2%) than the control class (33.47%). Children's literature can provide a useful and interesting context in which students can develop their understanding of geometry.     

Lot‐sizing policies for deterioration items under two‐level trade credit with partial trade credit to credit‐risk retailer and limited storage capacity

The main purpose of this article is to investigate the optimal wholesaler's replenishment decisions for deterioration items under two levels of the trade credit policy and two storage facilities in order to reflect the supply chain management situation within the economic order quantity framework. In this study, each of the following assumptions have been made: (1) The own warehouse with limited capacity always is not sufficient to store the order quantity, so that a rented warehouse is needed to store the excess units over the capacity of the own warehouse; (2) The wholesaler always obtains the partial trade credit, which is independent of the order quantity offered by the supplier, but the wholesaler offers the full trade credit to the retailer; (3) The wholesaler must take a loan to pay his or her supplier the partial payment immediately when the order is received and then pay off the loan with the entire revenue. Under these three conditions, the wholesaler can obtain the least costs. Furthermore, this study models the wholesaler's optimal replenishment decisions under the aforementioned conditions in the supply chain management. Two theorems are developed to efficiently determine the optimal replenishment decisions for the wholesaler. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the theorems that are proven in this study, and the sensitivity analysis with respect to the major parameters in this study is performed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fatigue damage in centrally notched GR/EP laminates

The fatigue properties of graphite/epoxy (Gr/Ep) T300/5208 composite laminates of 16 plies with a central circular hole subjected to tension-tension (T-T) constant-stress amplitudes at room temperature and low humidity have been fully investigated. Studied are four types of notched laminates which are classified as unidirectional, off-axis, orthotropic shear and quasi-isotropic. Some of them were precracked to initiate and guide the crack growth transversely. Our work is experimental and the analysis is based on a semiempirical approach. We have experimentally measured S-N curves, failure surfaces, crack lengths and their corresponding growth directions, delamination areas and transverse delamination lengths for the above series of composites. The fatigue failure mechanism was observed and expressed schematically. To analyze the experimental results, we have categorized the S-N curves by three common equations. The effective transverse crack length of quasi-isotropic laminates was found to be independent of the applied stress. For simplicity, it was modeled by a power law of applied cycles. It was also found that the delamination area could be expressed by a power law of applied cycles. Hence, the so-called modified Paris law, i.e., the power law of cycles, proposed here has been verified as satisfactorily acceptable.     

Speciation of metal(loid)s in environmental samples by X-ray absorption spectroscopy: A critical review

Element specificity is one of the key factors underlying the widespread use and acceptance of X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) as a research tool in the environmental and geo-sciences. Independent of physical state (solid, liquid, gas), XAS analyses of metal(loid)s in complex environmental matrices over the past two decades have provided important information about speciation at environmentally relevant interfaces (e.g. solid–liquid) as well as in different media: plant tissues, rhizosphere, soils, sediments, ores, mineral process tailings, etc. Limited sample preparation requirements, the concomitant ability to preserve original physical and chemical states, and independence from crystallinity add to the advantages of using XAS in environmental investigations. Interpretations of XAS data are founded on sound physical and statistical models that can be applied to spectra of reference materials and mixed phases, respectively. For spectra collected directly from environmental matrices, abstract factor analysis and linear combination fitting provide the means to ascertain chemical, bonding, and crystalline states, and to extract quantitative information about their distribution within the data set. Through advances in optics, detectors, and data processing, X-ray fluorescence microprobes capable of focusing X-rays to micro- and nano-meter size have become competitive research venues for resolving the complexity of environmental samples at their inherent scale. The application of μ-XANES imaging, a new combinatorial approach of X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and XANES spectroscopy at the micron scale, is one of the latest technological advances allowing for lateral resolution of chemical states over wide areas due to vastly improved data processing and detector technology.     

Robust UHPLC Separation Method Development for Multi-API Product Containing Amlodipine and Bisoprolol: The Impact of Column Selection

This paper describes a new and fast ultra-high pressure liquid chromatographic separation of amlodipine and bisoprolol and all their closely related compounds, for impurity profiling purposes. Computer-assisted method development was applied and the impact of several state-of-the-art stationary phase column chemistries (50 × 2.1 mm, sub-2 μm, and core–shell type materials) on the achievable selectivity and resolution was investigated. The work was performed according to quality by design principles using design of experiment with three experimental factors; namely the gradient time (t _G), temperature (T), and mobile phase pH. Thanks to modeling software, it was proved that the separation of all compounds was feasible on numerous column chemistries within <10 min, by proper adjustments of variables. It was also demonstrated that the reliability of predictions was good, as the predicted retention times and resolutions were in good agreement with the experimental ones. The final, optimized method separates 16 peaks related to amlodipine and bisoprolol within 7 min, ensuring baseline resolution between all peak-pairs.     

Profile monitoring of reflow process using approximations of mixture second‐order polynomials

Lately, profile monitoring has received considerable attention in the statistical process control research field. This paper proposes a novel monitoring framework for the reflow process data, which uses two goodness‐of‐fit criteria to select the change points in the mixture polynomial model. Among change points, the mixture second‐order polynomials are utilized to piecewisely approximate the nonlinear profile data of the reflow process. The well‐known Hotelling T² and proposed EWMA₄ control charts are then employed to monitor the parameter estimates. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed monitoring framework presents better performances in detecting outlying profiles than the conventional methods in phase I. In phase II, the performance of the proposed framework is assessed in terms of the out‐of‐control average run length. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Removal of C3F8 Via the Combination of Non-Thermal Plasma, Adsorption and Catalysis

The feasibility of C₃F₈ abatement via combining nonthermal plasma with adsorption and/or catalysis is investigated in this study. In terms of the simultaneous combination of plasma, adsorption and catalysis (CPAC), three different configurations including A/C layer (adsorbent layer prior to catalyst layer), C/A layer (catalyst layer prior to adsorbent layer) and A/C mixture (adsorbent and catalyst are mechanically mixed) are adopted. For all the experimental tests conducted in this study, the gas stream consists of 500 ppm C₃F₈, 2% O₂, and balanced N₂. The experimental results indicate that C₃F₈ removal efficiencies depend on what kind of packing material is adopted (adsorbent, catalyst or both) and how the material is packed within the plasma reactor. The removal efficiencies obtained with different reactors are in the order as: CPAC (A/C layer; AC mixture) > CPA (plasma with adsorbent alone) > CPC (plasma with catalyst alone) > CPAC (C/A layer). The indentified products after treatment include CO₂, CO, N₂O and CF₄. The formation of C₂F₆ is not observed in this study, which is encouraging since the global warming potential of C₂F₆ is actually higher than that of C₃F₈.