A microcomputer-controlled titrator for automated individual analysis

A titration unit for automatic analysis systems is described. The titrator performs different titrations specified by strings of digital parameters. It has 4 independent titration stations with individual electrode systems. A multiburette with 20 cylinders provides all stations with the necessary reagents. End-point titrations, and incremental and equilibrium titrations are controlled by a microcomputer. In combination with a sample transport and a desk calculator, the titrator can be used to process automatically samples of different natures which require different treatment.     

Design of 5.9 ghz dsrc-based vehicular safety communication

The automotive industry is moving aggressively in the direction of advanced active safety. Dedicated short-range communication (DSRC) is a key enabling technology for the next generation of communication-based safety applications. One aspect of vehicular safety communication is the routine broadcast of messages among all equipped vehicles. Therefore, channel congestion control and broadcast performance improvement are of particular concern and need to be addressed in the overall protocol design. Furthermore, the explicit multichannel nature of DSRC necessitates a concurrent multichannel operational scheme for safety and non-safety applications. This article provides an overview of DSRC based vehicular safety communications and proposes a coherent set of protocols to address these requirements     

A detector telescope with charge coupled devices for particle dosimetry in space

A telescopic device with charge coupled devices (CCDs) for particle dosimetry in space has been developed. Data on ionization events of energetic particles passing the CCDs are processed in an image analyzing system of a PC. As ‘Charged Particle Telescope’ (CHAPAT), the equipment was flown on the russian space station MIR during the EUROMIR mission in 1995. The response of the CCDs to various charged particles and methods for the discrimination of heavy particles in CCDs are discussed. First results of a correlation of temporal particles fluxes to the actual orbital parameters of MIR clearly identify passages through the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA).     

Proof complexity of propositional default logic

Default logic is one of the most popular and successful formalisms for non-monotonic reasoning. In 2002, Bonatti and Olivetti introduced several sequent calculi for credulous and skeptical reasoning in propositional default logic. In this paper we examine these calculi from a proof-complexity perspective. In particular, we show that the calculus for credulous reasoning obeys almost the same bounds on the proof size as Gentzen??s system LK. Hence proving lower bounds for credulous reasoning will be as hard as proving lower bounds for LK. On the other hand, we show an exponential lower bound to the proof size in Bonatti and Olivetti??s enhanced calculus for skeptical default reasoning.     

Biocompatible functionalization of polymersome surfaces: a new approach to surface immobilization and cell targeting using polymersomes

Vesicles assembled from amphiphilic block copolymers represent promising nanomaterials for applications that include drug delivery and surface functionalization. One essential requirement to guide such polymersomes to a desired site in vivo is conjugation of active, targeting ligands to the surface of preformed self-assemblies. Such conjugation chemistry must fulfill criteria of efficiency and selectivity, stability of the resulting bond, and biocompatibility. We have here developed a new system that achieves these criteria by simple conjugation of 4-formylbenzoate (4FB) functionalized polymersomes with 6-hydrazinonicotinate acetone hydrazone (HyNic) functionalized antibodies in aqueous buffer. The number of available amino groups on the surface of polymersomes composed of poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block-poly(2-methyloxazoline) diblock copolymers was investigated by reacting hydrophilic succinimidyl-activated fluorescent dye with polymersomes and evaluating the resulting emission intensity. To prove attachment of biomolecules to polymersomes, HyNic functionalized enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP) was attached to 4FB functionalized polymersomes, resulting in an average number of 5 eYFP molecules per polymersome. Two different polymersome-antibody conjugates were produced using either antibiotin IgG or trastuzumab. They showed specific targeting toward biotin-patterned surfaces and breast cancer cells. Overall, the polymersome-ligand platform appears promising for therapeutic and diagnostic use.     

Plug‐Based Microfluidics with Defined Surface Chemistry to Miniaturize and Control Aggregation of Amyloidogenic Peptides

Small with control : For miniaturization of protein aggregation experiments the interfacial chemistry must be controlled to avoid protein aggregation caused by interfacial adsorption. Plug‐based microfluidics with defined surface chemistry (see schematic picture) can then be used to perform hundreds of aggregation experiments with volume‐limited samples, such as cerebrospinal fluid from mice.

     

Partially concurrent eluent evaporation with an early vapor exit; detection of food irradiation through coupled LC-GC analysis of the fat

This paper reports two subjects. It describes LC-GC transfer by partially concurrent eluent evaporation at a greatly accelerated rate, as required for optimal compatibility with 2–3 mm i.d. LC columns and LC flow rates up to some 500 μl/min. Evaporation rates around 200 μl/min were obtained using a 0.53 mm. i.d. uncoated pre-column and an early vapor exit. A stationary-phasecoated “retaining” pre-column was used for preventing escape of volatile solutes through the vapor exit. The technique was used for the detection of food irradiation by analyzing selected radiolysis products of triglycerides, namely alkanes/alkanes and aldehydes. Extracted fat of chicken, hazel-nuts, and soup mixes was injected in LO and the relevant fractions were transferred on-line to GC. For chicken and nuts, detection of irradiation was possible down to doses below 0.5 kGy. Detection limits were higher for soup mixes due to interfering peaks.     

Fractional revivals in the rovibrational motion of I2

Motivated by pump-probe experiments of I(2) in a room-temperature sample, the detection of fractional revivals is investigated using full-dimensional quantum wave packet calculations. It is shown that the structures observed in the pump-probe signal depend sensitively on the probe parameters employed and that the observed signal reflects a particular phase effect between fractional revivals.