Optimized precursor ion selection for labile ions in a linear ion trap mass spectrometer and its impact on quantification using selected reaction monitoring

The fragmentation of fragile ions during the application of an isolation waveform for precursor ion selection and the resulting loss of isolated ion intensity is well‐known in ion trap mass spectrometry (ITMS). To obtain adequate ion intensity in the selected reaction monitoring (SRM) of fragile precursor ions, a wider ion isolation width is required. However, the increased isolation width significantly diminishes the selectivity of the channels chosen for SRM, which is a serious problem for samples with complex matrices. The sensitive and selective quantification of many lipid molecules, including ceramides from real biological samples, using a linear ion trap mass spectrometer is also hindered by the same problem because of the ease of water loss from protonated ceramide ions. In this study, a method for the reliable quantification of ceramides using SRM with near unity precursor ion isolation has been developed for ITMS by utilizing alternative precursor ions generated by in‐source dissociation. The selected precursor ions allow the isolation of ions with unit mass width and the selective analysis of ceramides using SRM with negligible loss of sensitivity. The quantification of C18:0‐, C24:0‐ and C24:1‐ceramides using the present method shows excellent linearity over the concentration ranges from 6 to 100, 25 to 1000 and 25 to 1000 nM, respectively. The limits of detection of C18:0‐, C24:0‐ and C24:1‐ceramides were 0.25, 0.25 and 5 fmol, respectively. The developed method was successfully applied to quantify ceramides in fetal bovine serum. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

In situ deposition behavior of silica-based layers and its effect on thermal degradation of IN713 turbine blades during operation of a micro-gas turbine

This study examined the in situ deposition behavior of silica-based layers on IN713 turbine blades during the operation of a 13 kgf-class gas turbine at a rotation speed of 20,000/min as well as its effect on the degradation of the metallic substrate. Tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) was mixed with the fuel (liquid petroleum gas, LPG) and burned to generate silica-based coating precursors for deposition from the flame. Two deposition conditions were adopted. For condition 1 (C1), the silicon-to-carbon ratio in the mixed fuel was set at 0.1 mol% for the first 5 min and at zero mol% for the final 95 min in a 100-min operation. For condition 2 (C2), the ratio was set at 0.005 mol% during the entire 100 min operation. The total TEOS feed was the same under both conditions. C1 resulted in a rather uniform and thicker (5-10 μm on the pressure side) porous silica-based coating on the blade than C2. The in situ deposited layer of C1 was well preserved on the blade and protected the underlying metallic substrate from oxidation during the entire 100 min operation. The layer on the C2 blades was ∼5 μm thick at the region near to root, but was too thin in the other areas on the blade to be protective. The early build-up of a porous layer to an effective thickness on the blades produced a thermal barrier toward the substrate as well as a diffusion barrier toward the oxidizing elements during operation.     

Non-nearest-neighbor jumps in 2D diffusion: Pd on W(110)

A variety of jumps has in the past been identified in diffusion of atoms on 1D channeled surfaces. To establish the jump processes important in diffusion on a 2D surface, the movement of individual Pd atoms has been examined on W(110). From the distribution of displacements of Pd at high temperatures, double jumps are found along the close-packed <111>. For the first time, sizable differences are also observed between the mean-square displacements along x and y, which demonstrate unexpected contributions from jumps along <110>, but not along <001>. These jumps proceed over activation barriers higher than for single jumps, under conditions predicted from previous work with Pd on the channeled W(211).     

Neutral Higgs bosons in the MNMSSM with explicit CP violation

Within the framework of the minimal non-minimal supersymmetric standard model (MNMSSM) with tadpole terms, CP violation effects in the Higgs sector are investigated at the one-loop level, where the radiative corrections from the loops of the quark and squarks of the third generation are taken into account. Assuming that the squark masses are not degenerate, the radiative corrections due to the stop and sbottom quarks give rise to CP phases which trigger the CP violation explicitly in the Higgs sector of the MNMSSM. The masses, the branching ratios for dominant decay channels, and the total decay widths of the five neutral Higgs bosons in the MNMSSM are calculated in the presence of explicit CP violation. The dependence of these quantities on the CP phases is quite recognizable, for given parameter values.     

MiniMax: What has been learned thus far

Summary A small experiment, ?MiniMax?, has been set up in the C0 intersection region of the Fermilab Tevatron to seek evidence for disoriented chiral condensates and to study other forward physics phenomena. The experiment consists of a proportional wire chamber telescope accompanied by scintillation (trigger) counters, a lead converter, and followed by an electromagnetic calorimeter. The solid angle accepted is a cone centered at pseudorapidity (η) of 4.1 and of radius (in η-ϕ space) of about 0.6. Over 2.5 million events thus far have demonstrated the successful operation of the apparatus, however to date the analysis has not progressed sufficiently to permit any conclusions concerning disoriented chiral condensates. presented byL. W. Jones Paper presented at the Special Session on very high-energy cosmic-ray interactions (superfamilies) of the XXIV International Cosmic-Ray Conference, Rome, August 28–September 8, 1995.     

Search for the ρρ enhancement near 1700 MeV/c in the reaction at 8.3 GeV/c

Results are presented from a search for a ρ⁰ρ⁰ enhancement in antiproton annihilations. A ρ⁰ρ⁰ resonance was recently observed in radiative ψ decays, and its existence has been supported by the results of an antiproton experiment at 5.7 GeV/c. No indication of this ρ⁰ρ⁰ enhancement is seen is our data, in direct contradiction with the earlier, lower statistics experiment.     

Homomorphisms between JC＊-algebras and Lie C＊-algebras

It is shown that every almost ＊-homomorphism h ： A→B of a unital JC＊-algebra A to a unital JC＊-algebra B is a ＊-homomorphism when h（rx） = rh（x） （r 〉 1） for all x∈A, and that every almost linear mapping h ： A→B is a ＊-homomorphism when h（2^nu o y） - h（2^nu） o h（y）, h（3^nu o y） - h（3^nu） o h（y） or h（q^nu o y） = h（q^nu） o h（y） for all unitaries u ∈A, all y ∈A, and n = 0, 1,.... Here the numbers 2, 3, q depend on the functional equations given in the almost linear mappings. We prove that every almost ＊-homomorphism h ： A→B of a unital Lie C＊-algebra A to a unital Lie C＊-algebra B is a ＊-homomorphism when h（rx） = rh（x） （r 〉 1） for all x ∈A.     

Experimental quantum cloning with prior partial information

When prior partial information about a state to be cloned is available, it can be cloned with a fidelity higher than that of universal quantum cloning. We experimentally verify this intriguing relationship between the cloning fidelity and the prior information by reporting the first experimental optimal quantum state-dependent cloner, using nuclear magnetic resonance techniques. Our experiments may further cast important implications into many quantum information processing protocols.