Paper spray mass spectrometry and PLS-DA improved by variable selection for the forensic discrimination of beers

Paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) combined with partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) was applied for the first time in a forensic context to a fast and effective differentiation of beers. Eight different brands of American standard lager beers produced by four different breweries (141 samples from 55 batches) were studied with the aim at performing a differentiation according to their market prices. The three leader brands in the Brazilian beer market, which have been subject to fraud, were modeled as the higher-price class, while the five brands most used for counterfeiting were modeled as the lower-price class. Parameters affecting the paper spray ionization were examined and optimized. The best MS signal stability and intensity was obtained while using the positive ion mode, with PS(+) mass spectra characterized by intense pairs of signals corresponding to sodium and potassium adducts of malto-oligosaccharides. Discrimination was not apparent neither by using visual inspection nor principal component analysis (PCA). However, supervised classification models provided high rates of sensitivity and specificity. A PLS-DA model using full scan mass spectra were improved by variable selection with ordered predictors selection (OPS), providing 100% of reliability rate and reducing the number of variables from 1701 to 60. This model was interpreted by detecting fifteen variables as the most significant VIP (variable importance in projection) scores, which were therefore considered diagnostic ions for this type of beer counterfeit.     

Direct identification of prohibited substances in cosmetics and foodstuffs using ambient ionization on a miniature mass spectrometry system

Significantly simplified work flows were developed for rapid analysis of various types of cosmetic and foodstuff samples by employing a miniature mass spectrometry system and ambient ionization methods. A desktop Mini 12 ion trap mass spectrometer was coupled with paper spray ionization, extraction spray ionization and slug-flow microextraction for direct analysis of Sudan Reds, parabens, antibiotics, steroids, bisphenol and plasticizer from raw samples with complex matrices. Limits of detection as low as 5 μg/kg were obtained for target analytes. On-line derivatization was also implemented for analysis of steroid in cosmetics. The developed methods provide potential analytical possibility for outside-the-lab screening of cosmetics and foodstuff products for the presence of illegal substances.     

噪声对大型横流式冷却塔动力特性的影响

本文采用随机数值方法模拟噪声,并用有限元法分析噪声对大型冷动塔动力特性的影响。研究发现,无论是迭加噪声还是调频噪声,都将使冷却塔振动响应超过规定允许值。通过改变冷却塔体横加结构,改善了塔体的动力特性,噪声影响明显减少。     

New Developments in Crystallization Processing

The intention of this work presented is to introduce new processing principles for the crystallization of watery or fatty phases in food systems, and in particular to quantify the process — microstructure — product quality relationships for such food systems. The crystallization processes demonstrated in detail are high shear crystallization (i), spray crystallization (ii) and spray powder based seed crystallization (iii). Crystalline, semi-crystalline and/or amorphous structures were analysed by calorimetric, mechanical/rheological and microscopical methods. Quality aspects of the final food products, which are related to the structure of the crystalline and/or amorphous components, were investigated additionally.This revised version was published online in November 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Plasma sprayed alumina coatings for radiation detector development

Conventional design of radiation detectors uses sintered ceramic insulating modules. The major drawback of these ceramic components is their inherent brittleness. Ion chambers, in which these ceramic spacers are replaced by metallic components with plasma spray coated alumina, have been developed in our Research Centre. These components act as thin spacers that have good mechanical strength as well as high electrical insulation and replace alumina insulators with the same dimensions. As a result, the design of the beam loss monitor ion chamber for CAT could be simplified by coating the outer surface of the HT electrode with alumina. One of the chambers developed for isotope calibrator for brachytherapy gamma sources has its outer aluminium electrode (60 mm dia × 220 mm long) coated with 250 μ thick alumina (97%) + titania (3%). In view of potential applications in neutron-sensitive ion chambers used in reactor control instrumentation, studies were carried out on alumina 100 μ to 500 μ thick coatings on copper, aluminium and SS components. The electrical insulation varied from 10⁸ ohms to 10¹² ohms for coating thicknesses above 200 μ. The porosity in the coating resulted in some fall in electrical insulation due to moisture absorption. An improvement could be achieved by providing the ceramic surface with moisture-repellent silicone oil coating. Irradiation at Apsara reactor core location showed that the coating on aluminium was found to be unaffected after exposure to 10¹⁷ nvt fluence.     

基于整体易损性的猫头型输电塔抗倒塌能力分析

作为输电线路的主要组成部分,输电塔结构对地震作用非常敏感。本文以中国输电线路中常采用的猫头型输电塔结构为例,开展了输电塔结构整体抗地震倒塌能力分析。以某一实际单回路3个不同高度的直线塔为研究对象,基于OpenSees平台建立输电塔结构三维有限元模型,定义4个倒塌极限状态依据,选取20条远场地震动记录,采用增量动力分析(IDA)方法,得到4个倒塌极限状态依据下输电塔结构的倒塌点,进一步获得输电塔结构的倒塌易损性曲线及其潜在失效杆件,并评估其在不同水平设计地震作用下的倒塌裕度比。研究结果表明,猫头型输电塔的地震损伤主要集中在塔头位置;随着塔体高度的增高,猫头型输电塔抗地震倒塌能力减弱;猫头型输电塔在巨震作用下存在一定的倒塌风险。     

Polycrystalline Lead Tin Chalcogenide Thin Film Grown by Spray Pyrolysis

PbSnS₂ thin film has been prepared for the first time by spray pyrolysis technique on FTO substrate at 570K. The preliminary optical and structural characteristics of the film have been reported. The optical studies showed that the value of the fundamental absorption edge lies at 1.47eV and a low energy absorption band tail has been observed. The prepared film is p‐ type electrical conductivity, polycrystalline in nature and has an orthorhombic crystal structure. The value of an average grain size of the film is 350Å.     

The Effect of Wall Material Type on the Encapsulation Efficiency and Oxidative Stability of Fish Oils

Fish oil is the primary source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, which are important nutrients that assist in the prevention and treatment of heart disease and have many health benefits. It also contains vitamins that are lipid-soluble, such as vitamins A and D. This work aimed to determine how the wall material composition influenced the encapsulation efficiency and oxidative stability of omega fish oils in spray-dried microcapsules. In this study, mackerel, sardine waste oil, and sand smelt fish oil were encapsulated in three different wall materials (whey protein, gum Arabic (AG), and maltodextrin) by conventional spray-drying. The effect of the different wall materials on the encapsulation efficiency (EE), flowability, and oxidative stability of encapsulated oils during storage at 4 °C was investigated. All three encapsulating agents provided a highly protective effect against the oxidative deterioration of the encapsulated oils. Whey protein was found to be the most effective encapsulated agent comparing to gum Arabic and maltodextrin. The results indicated that whey protein recorded the highest encapsulation efficiency compared to the gum Arabic and maltodextrin in all encapsulated samples with EE of 71.71%, 68.61%, and 64.71% for sand smelt, mackerel, and sardine oil, respectively. Unencapsulated fish oil samples (control) recorded peroxide values (PV) of 33.19, 40.64, and 47.76 meq/kg oil for sand smelt, mackerel, and sardine oils after 35 days of storage, while all the encapsulated samples showed PV less than 10 in the same storage period. It could be concluded that all the encapsulating agents provided a protective effect to the encapsulated fish oil and elongated the shelf life of it comparing to the untreated oil sample (control). The results suggest that encapsulation of fish oil is beneficial for its oxidative stability and its uses in the production of functional foods.     

Investigations on the Optical Properties of Undoped,Fluorine Doped and Antimony Doped Tin Oxide Films

Undoped, fluorine doped and antimony doped tin oxide films are prepared on quartz plates by Spray pyrolysis technique. The films grown at the optimum substrate temperature with different doping levels have been chosen for this study. Optical properties of these films are investigated in the entire UV-Visible -IR region (0.2 - 10 mikrom). The observed absorption edge lies at 3.65 eV for undoped tin oxide and on doping it shifts towards higher energies, which is due to the Moss - Burstein effect. For fluorine doping depending upon the fluorine concentration, the absorption edge lies in the range 3.9 - 4.14 eV and for antimony doping it lies in the range 3.82 - 4.1 eV. In the undoped tin oxide films the direct allowed transition occurs at 4.02 eV and indirect allowed transition occurs at 2.43 eV, whereas for fluorine doped tin oxide and antimony doped tin oxide films, the direct allowed transitions occur in the range 4.18 - 4.28 and 4.13 - 4.22 eV respectively and the indirect allowed transitions occur in the range 2.63 - 2.73 and 2.54 - 2.65 eV respectively. Optical properties near the plasma edge have been analyzed using Drude's theory. The dependence of effective mass on carrier concentration has been explained on the basis of nonparabolicity of the conduction band. The shift in the fermi energy, calculated on the basis of energy dependent effective mass, is consistent with the measured shift in the absorption edge.     

高活性氧化亚铜薄膜材料的绿色合成研究

本文采用一步脉冲雾化化学气相沉积法在250℃下制备了氧化亚铜薄膜催化剂.实验研究了前驱体中掺杂水对氧化铜薄膜表面形貌、拓扑结构、表面成分和光学特性的影响规律.结果表明所制得的催化剂为纯相的氧化亚铜.前驱体溶液中掺杂水会导致氧化亚铜的晶粒变小,从而使得共光学能隙从2.16 eV降至2.04 eV.原子力显微镜结果表明随着水的加入,氧化亚铜的表面粗糙度降低,表面更加均匀.此外,利用密度泛函理论计算得到了水和乙醇在氧化亚铜薄膜表面的吸附和反应特性,并提出了氧化亚铜的形成机理.本文开发了一种低成本且实际可行的薄膜制造方法,该方法在太阳能电池和半导体等领域具有潜在应用.