A homogeneous assay principle for universal substrate quantification via hydrogen peroxide producing enzymes

H₂O₂ is a widely occurring molecule which is also a byproduct of a number of enzymatic reactions. It can therefore be used to quantify the corresponding enzymatic substrates. In this study, the time-resolved fluorescence emission of a previously described complex consisting of phthalic acid and terbium (III) ions (PATb) is used for H₂O₂ detection. In detail, glucose oxidase and choline oxidase convert glucose and choline, respectively, to generate H₂O₂ which acts as a quencher for the PATb complex. The response time of the PATb complex toward H₂O₂ is immediate and the assay time only depends on the conversion rate of the enzymes involved. The PATb assay quantifies glucose in a linear range of 0.02–10 mmol L⁻¹, and choline from 1.56 to 100 μmol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 20 μmol L⁻¹ for glucose and 1.56 μmol L⁻¹ for choline. Both biomolecules glucose and choline could be detected without pretreatment with good precision and reproducibility in human serum samples and infant formula, respectively. Furthermore, it is shown that the detected glucose concentrations by the PATb system agree with the results of a commercially available assay. In principle, the PATb system is a universal and versatile tool for the quantification of any substrate and enzyme reaction where H₂O₂ is involved.     

Generating high freestream turbulence levels

This paper presents a method of generating a highly turbulent freestream flow, up to levels of 20% with a relatively uniform mean velocity field. This method was developed as a result of a combined water channel and wind tunnel study. The method for generating these high turbulence levels includes using high-velocity jets issuing into a mainstream cross-flow. A range of turbulence levels can be generated, using this same flow geometry, by adjusting the jet-to-mainstream velocity ratio or the Reynolds number of the flow.List of symbols b Grid bar width - D Turbulence generator jet hole diameter - Eu (f) Spectral energy for streamwise velocity fluctuations - f Frequency - H Channel height - L _u Dissipation length scale, - m Exponent for length scale growth - M Grid mesh size - n Exponent for turbulence decay - Re _D Reynolds number based on jet hole diameter - Re _T Turbulent Reynolds numbers,u _g /V - S Lateral spacing between the jet holes - T Integral time scale of turbulence - Tu Streamwise turbulence intensity,u/U - u RMS velocity in streamwise direction - U Mean local velocity in streamwise direction - U Freestream velocity in streamwise direction - v RMS velocity in normal direction - x Streamwise distance measured from the turbulence generator jets - y Vertical distance from the wall - z Spanwise distance - Boundary layer thickness (U = 0.99U ) - _x Longitudinal integral length scale of turbulence This project was supported by Wright Laboratory and Allied-Signal. The authors would also like to thank Mr. David Dotson for his help in constructing the turbulence generator and Mr. Don Schmidt for his help in procuring the blower. The first author would also like to thank Professor Sigmar Wittig and the Institut für Thermische Strömungsmaschinen for support while writing this paper     

Entry region of louvered fin heat exchangers

The dominant thermal resistance for most compact heat exchangers occurs on the gas side and as such an understanding of the gas side flowfield is needed before improving current designs. Louvered fins are commonly used in many compact heat exchangers to increase the surface area and initiate new boundary layer growth. For this study, detailed flowfield measurements were made in the entry region of several louvered fin geometries whereby the louver angle, ratio of fin pitch to louver pitch, and Reynolds number were all varied. In addition to mean velocity measurements, time-resolved velocity measurements were made to quantify unsteady effects.

The results indicated larger fin pitches resulted in lower average flow angles in the louver passages and longer development lengths. Larger louver angles with a constant ratio of fin pitch to louver pitch resulted in higher average flow angles and shorter development lengths. As the Reynolds number increased, longer development lengths were required and higher average flow angles occurred as compared with a lower Reynolds number case. Time-resolved velocity measurements indicated some flow periodicity behind the fully developed louver for a range of Reynolds numbers. The Strouhal number of these fluctuations was constant for a given louver geometry, but the value increased with increasing fin pitch.     

On the suitability of minimum and product operators for the intersection of fuzzy sets

In many papers concerning fuzzy set theory it is assumed that the membership or an element in the intersection of two or more fuzzy sets is given by the minimum of product of the corresponding membership values. To use these operators in modelling aspects of the real world, such as decision making, however, it is necessary to prove their appropriateness empirically. The main question of this study is whether people rating the membership of objects in the intersection of two fuzzy sets behave in accordance with one of these models. An important problem in answering this question is how to measure membership which seems to have the characteristics of an absolute scale. No measurement structure is available at present, but a practical method for scaling is suggested. The results of our experiments indicate that neither the product nor the minimum fit the data sufficiently well, but the latter seems to be preferable.