Fast CEC-MS using poly(dimethylsiloxane) microinjector, short packed column, and low-sheath-flow interface

A fast CEC-MS approach based on a microinjector and a short CEC column was developed. Poly(dimethylsiloxane) was used as the substrate for microinjector fabrication. A short capillary column (～5 cm) packed with 5 μm octadecyl silica particles was inserted into the microinjector. The microinjector CEC device was interfaced to ESI-MS using a low-flow sheath liquid interface. The device delivers the advantages of sample introduction, pre-concentration, elution, and fast analysis as in chip-CEC yet avoids the difficulty of packing stationary material into the chip. The online pre-concentration and CEC-MS analysis capabilities of this device were demonstrated by analysis of a six-triazine mixture. A signal enhancement of 20-99-fold was achieved with a sample loading time of 180 s.     

The sharp threshold and limiting profile of blow-up solutions for a Davey-Stewartson system

The blow-up solutions of the Cauchy problem for the Davey-Stewartson system, which is a model equation in the theory of shallow water waves, are investigated. Firstly, the existence of the ground state for the system derives the best constant of a Gagliardo-Nirenberg type inequality and the variational character of the ground state. Secondly, the blow-up threshold of the Davey-Stewartson system is developed in R³. Thirdly, the mass concentration is established for all the blow-up solutions of the system in R². Finally, the existence of the minimal blow-up solutions in R² is constructed by using the pseudo-conformal invariance. The profile of the minimal blow-up solutions as t→T (blow-up time) is in detail investigated in terms of the ground state.     

Energy decay rates of elastic waves in unbounded domain with potential type of damping

In this paper we first show that the total energy of solutions for a semilinear system of elastic waves in Rn with a potential type of damping decays in an algebraic rate to zero. We study the critical potential case and we assume that the initial data have a compact support. An application for the Euler-Poisson-Darboux type dissipation V(t,x) is obtained and in this case the compactness of the support on the initial data is not necessary. Finally, we shall discuss the energy concentration region for the linear system of elastic waves in an exterior domain.     

Efficiency measurement using independent component analysis and data envelopment analysis

Efficiency measurement is an important issue for any firm or organization. Efficiency measurement allows organizations to compare their performance with their competitors’ and then develop corresponding plans to improve performance. Various efficiency measurement tools, such as conventional statistical methods and non-parametric methods, have been successfully developed in the literature. Among these tools, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach is one of the most widely discussed. However, problems of discrimination between efficient and inefficient decision-making units also exist in the DEA context (Adler and Yazhemsky, 2010). In this paper, a two-stage approach of integrating independent component analysis (ICA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) is proposed to overcome this issue. We suggest using ICA first to extract the input variables for generating independent components, then selecting the ICs representing the independent sources of input variables, and finally, inputting the selected ICs as new variables in the DEA model. A simulated dataset and a hospital dataset provided by the Office of Statistics in Taiwan’s Department of Health are used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed two-stage approach. The results show that the proposed method can not only separate performance differences between the DMUs but also improve the discriminatory capability of the DEA’s efficiency measurement.     

Effects of coating amount and particle concentration on the impact toughness of polypropylene/CaCO3 nanocomposites

The effects of the coating amount of surfactant and the particle concentration on the impact strength of polypropylene (PP)/CaCO₃ nanocomposites were investigated. Nanocomposites prepared with monolayer-coated CaCO₃ nanoparticles had the best mechanical properties, including Young’s modulus, tensile yield stress and impact strength because of the good dispersion of the nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. In addition, the good dispersibility of the monolayer-coated nanoparticles allowed us to study the effects of particle concentration on the impact strength of the nanocomposites. H-PP and E-PP, which were the low and high molecular weight PPs, respectively, were used as polymer matrices. Critical particle concentrations of 10 and 25 wt% corresponding to an abrupt increase in the impact toughness were determined for the E-PP and H-PP nanocomposites, respectively. Good particle dispersion in a polymer matrix is the prerequisite for the calculation of the critical ligament thickness using the critical particle concentration. We propose that the observed critical ligament thickness actually corresponds to the critical thickness at which the plane-strain to plane-stress transition occurs. In addition, the critical ligament thickness of a nanocomposite depends on the properties of the polymer matrix, such as molecular weight, even for a given type of polymer.     

Micellar nucleation differential microemulsion polymerization

Polymer nanoparticles within the range of 2–5 nm with a solid content of more than 13 wt.% and a narrow molecular weight polydispersity (Mw/Mn ∼ 1.1) were for the first time prepared using a micellar nucleation differential microemulsion polymerization system emulsified by sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), with SDS/monomer (methyl methacrylate) and SDS/H₂O weight ratios of up to 1:16 and 1:100, respectively. It was found that for benzoyl peroxide (BPO), micellar nucleation is more favorable for the synthesis of smaller polymer nanoparticles than ammonium persulfate (APS) which gives rise to homogeneous nucleation and 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) which involves partially heterogeneous nucleation. In the polymerization process, there exists a critical stability concentration (CSC) of SDS, above which the size of the nanoparticles is to be minimized and stabilized. With an increase in the monomer addition rate, the polymerization system changes from a microemulsion system to an emulsion system. A mechanism was proposed to describe the micellar nucleation process of differential microemulsion polymerization. This study may contribute to the development of fine polymer nanoparticles for drug delivery systems.     

Retention and selectivity of stationary phases for hydrophilic interaction chromatography

More and more polar stationary phases have become available for the separation of small polar compounds in the past decade as hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) continues to find applications in new fields (e.g., metabolomics and proteomics). Bare silica phases remain popular, especially in the bio-analytical area. A wide range of functional groups (e.g., amino, amide, diol, sulfobetaine, and triazole) have been employed as polar stationary phases for HILIC separation. This review provides a survey of the popular stationary phases commercially available and discusses the retention and selectivity characteristics of the polar stationary phases in HILIC. The purpose of the review is not to provide a comprehensive overview of literature reports, but rather focuses on findings that demonstrate retention and selectivity of the polar stationary phases in HILIC.     

甲醇浓度对被动式自呼吸直接甲醇燃料电池性能的影响

依据单电池测试结果和甲醇传质理论考察了甲醇溶液的浓度对被动式自呼吸直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFC）性能的影响.研究结果表明,电池的法拉第效率和能量转化效率会随着浓度的增大而降低,采用4mol/L的甲醇溶液实现了最大的放电功率13.9mW/cm^2,并能在60mA下稳定放电长达20h.这取决于电池运行过程中电极内部的甲醇传质和甲醇透过的共同作用.     

Aerodynamics of indirect thrust measurement by the impulse method

The aerodynamic aspects of indirect thrust measurement by the impulse method have been studied both experimentally and numerically. The underlying basic aerodynamic principle is outlined, the phenomena in subsonic, supersonic and arc-heated jets are explored, and factors affecting the accuracy of the method are studied and discussed. Results show that the impulse method is reliable for indirect thrust measurement if certain basic requirements are met, and a simple guideline for its proper application is given.     

微小型航姿测量系统及其数据融合方法

以小型无人机航姿测量系统的微小型化为背景,利用MEMS惯性测量元件研制了一种低成本微型航姿测量系统.针对MEMS器件用于载体航姿测量时精度低、易发散的问题,提出一种计算量小、实时性强的加速度信息、磁场强度信息、陀螺信息的融合方法.采用卡尔曼滤波器对系统的俯仰角、滚转角和航向角的误差进行最优估计;设计数据融合的判别准则,并根据判据的判断结果调整卡尔曼滤波器中的量测信息,使系统可用于小型无人机的定高自主飞行.实验结果表明,系统输出航姿的更新频率可达100Hz,航姿测量误差小于0.6°,航姿标准差小于0.09°;将其应用于某小型固定翼飞行器的飞行控制系统中进行自主飞行实验,完成了预定的飞行任务.