Clinical quality vs analytical performance: what are the right targets and target values?

For optimal performance of laboratory tests, testing processes should be designed to provide clinically useful quality and QC procedures should be selected to assure that the necessary clinical quality is achieved in routine production. One important issue is how to define clinical quality. Today’s practice guidelines, quality regulations, and quality standards provide some targets for analytical quality, but they fail to adequately address clinical quality. Target values for precision and accuracy are not the same as clinical quality, though analytical performance certainly contributes to the clinical quality of test results. How can we proceed in our quest to improve quality when there are inconsistencies and inadequacies in the specifications found in practice guidelines, regulations, and standards? Today target values are often being set for the wrong targets. A better approach is possible if we focus on test interpretation guidelines to define clinical quality, then derive specifications for the accuracy and precision that are appropriate for the method, as well the QC rules and numbers of control measurements that are necessary to guarantee the desired quality will be achieved in routine operation of the testing process.     

Fermentation characteristics and the dynamic trend of chemical components during fermentation of Massa Medicata Fermentata

As a representative of traditionally fermented Chinese medicine, Massa Medicata Fermentata (MMF) shows the functions of invigorating the spleen and stomach and promoting digestion, which plays an important role in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. The fermentation mechanism and the key factors that affect the quality of MMF have not been revealed yet, which has become an urgent issue that limits its clinical application. This article aims to systematically and comprehensively reveal the transformation of physical properties and the dynamic trend of chemical components including substrate components, volatile components, and lactic acid as anaerobic fermentation product during MMF fermentation. Along with obvious hyphae growth observed for MMF, the weight of MMF decreased, and the moisture and temperature increased. Through the quantified 14 components from substrate, ferulic acid increased from 45.53 ± 6.94 to 141.89 ± 78.40 μg/g, while glycosides and phenolic acids declined except caffeic acid. Also, within the 66 volatile components analyzed, alcohols and acids increased, while aldehydes and ketones decreased. Lactic acid was not detected in the fermentation substrate, but an apparent increase in lactic acid content was observed along with the increased fermentation days, resulting in 2.54 ± 0.15 mg/g on day 8. Based on the tested components, the fermentation process of MMF was discriminated into three distinct stages by principal component analysis, and an optimal fermentation time of four days was proposed. The results of this study will be of great significance to clarify the characteristics of fermentation and conduce to improving quality standards of MMF.     

Fast simultaneous determination of 23 veterinary drug residues in fish,poultry, and red meat by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

The misuses of veterinary drugs can result in the accumulation of residues in food of animal origin that can make its way to the final consumer. Herein we describe a simple method for the accurate determination of beta-lactams, quinolones, sulphonamides, and tetracyclines in fish, poultry, and red meat. No extraction cartridges were used; instead, the extraction process consisted of the addition of an organic solvents, shaking, centrifugation, and dilution. An extensive validation process demonstrated an excellent linearity (R² ≥ 0.99) for 23-drug residues. The recovery of drugs in different matrices at two concentration levels (n = 6) was in the range of 82–119%. The method was proved to be repeatable and reproducible with intra/inter-day measurements (RSDs lower than 20%). The quantification limits of drug residues were in the range of 0.8 to 45.3 ug/kg, which is well below the maximum residue limits set by most regulatory authorities. This method was successfully applied to the routine analysis of 20 fish, poultry, and red meat samples (n = 60).     

Forensic classification of ballpoint pen inks using high performance liquid chromatography and infrared spectroscopy with principal components analysis and linear discriminant analysis

Several varieties of blue ballpoint pen inks were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The chromatographic data extracted at four wavelengths (254, 279, 370 and 400 nm) was analyzed individually and at a combination of these wavelengths by the soft independent modeling of class analogies (SIMCA) technique using principal components analysis (PCA) to estimate the separation between the pen samples. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) measured the probability with which an observation could be assigned to a pen class. The best resolution was obtained by HPLC using data from all four wavelengths together, differentiating 96.4% pen pairs successfully using PCA and 97.9% pen samples by LDA. PCA separated 60.7% of the pen pairs and LDA provided a correct classification of 62.5% of the pens analyzed by IR. The results of this study indicate that HPLC coupled with chemometrics provided a better discrimination of ballpoint pen inks compared to IR. The need to develop a suitable IR method for analysing blue ballpoint pen inks has been emphasized and it is hoped that the development of such a method would indeed provide a valuable tool for the non-destructive analysis of blue ballpoint pen ink samples for forensic purposes.     

交替三线性分解算法与反相高效液相-二极管阵列检测方法相结合同时测定苯二酚的位置异构体

 利用交替三线性分解算法与反相高效液相 二极管阵列检测 (RP HPLC DAD)相结合 ,在洗脱时间为1 0 86min～ 1 399min(间隔 1 / 1 50min)、紫外吸收波长为 2 68nm～ 2 98nm(间隔 1nm)时对苯二酚位置异构体的重叠及光谱体系进行了分辨研究。分辨结果与实际结果一致。同时测定了水溶液中共存的邻苯二酚、间苯二酚和对苯二酚的含量 ,回收率分别为 (1 0 0 1± 1 0 ) % ,(99 4± 1 4) % ,(1 0 0 5± 1 7) %。研究结果表明 :该方法定量快速准确 ,实验操作步骤简单 ,解决了在干扰物存在条件下三者很难同时分辨的问题。     

The effects of polymer chain rigidification, zeolite pore size and pore blockage on polyethersulfone (PES)-zeolite A mixed matrix membranes

The polyethersulfone (PES)-zeolite 3A, 4A and 5A mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated with a modified solution-casting procedure at high temperatures close to the glass transition temperatures (T_g) of polymer materials. The effects of membrane preparation methodology, zeolite loading and pore size of zeolite on the gas separation performance of these mixed matrix membranes were studied. SEM results show the interface between polymer and zeolite in MMMs experiencing natural cooling is better (i.e., less defective) than that in MMMs experiencing immediate quenching. The increment of glass transition temperature (T_g) of MMMs with zeolite loading confirms the polymer chain rigidification induced by zeolite. The experimental results indicate that a higher zeolite loading results in a decrease in gas permeability and an increase in gas pair selectivity. The unmodified Maxwell model fails to correctly predict the permeability decrease induced by polymer chain rigidification near the zeolite surface and the partial pore blockage of zeolites by the polymer chains. A new modified Maxwell model is therefore proposed. It takes the combined effects of chain rigidification and partial pore blockage of zeolites into calculation. The new model shows much consistent permeability and selectivity predication with experimental data. Surprisingly, an increase in zeolite pore size from 3 to 5 Å generally not only increase gas permeability, but also gas pair selectivity. The O₂/N₂ selectivity of PES-zeolite 3A and PES-zeolite 4A membranes is very similar, while the O₂/N₂ selectivity of PES-zeolite 5A membranes is much higher. This implies the blockage may narrow a part of zeolite 5A pores to approximately 4 Å, which can discriminate the gas pair of O₂ and N₂, and narrow a part of zeolites 3A and 4A pores to smaller sizes. It is concluded that the partial pore blockage of zeolites by the polymer chains has equivalent or more influence on the separation properties of mixed matrix membranes compared with that of the polymer chain rigidification.     

组合桥面板疲劳荷载后剩余承载力试验研究

为了研究高性能混凝土组合桥面板经历疲劳荷载后的剩余承载力,设计制作了两个足尺的正交异性高性能混凝土组合桥面板,通过疲劳和静力加载试验测试了正交异性组合桥面板的静力承载能力、破坏形态与疲劳后剩余极限承载力。试验结果表明：正交异性高性能混凝土组合桥面板经历疲劳荷载后的静力破坏形态为受弯破坏,试件达到极限状态时中支点截面U肋屈曲,受拉钢筋屈服,负弯矩区混凝土板开裂严重,组合桥面板的受力性能发生退化。经过疲劳加载后的桥面板的剩余极限承载力较没有经过疲劳加载的桥面板承载力下降了约11.6%。基于钢筋混凝土黏结滑移理论推导了适用于疲劳荷载作用后的高性能混凝土组合桥面板平均裂缝间距计算公式。对比试验结果,所提出的平均裂缝间距计算公式具有良好的精度,可为实际工程应用提供理论参考。     

C波段低剖面双圆极化微带阵列天线小型化设计

设计了一种工作在C波段的5×5小型化低剖面双圆极化微带阵列天线.与传统的阵列相比,通过相邻2×2子阵列的贴片交错,可以缩小单元间距,实现小型化;采用两个T型功分器馈电网络,同层分布,可以拓展带宽.测试结果表明,左右旋圆极化的阻抗带宽（VSWR<2）和轴比带宽（AR<3dB）分别达到20%和16%,在频段5.3-6.36 GHz内,左右旋增益最大值为15.2dBi.天线阵列尺寸为3.05λ0×2.74λ0×0.037λ0.     

油松容器苗和裸根苗生长与造林效果对秋季施肥的响应

【目的】探究不同秋季施肥处理条件下油松容器苗和裸根苗苗期生长、养分积累和造林效果的差异,为生产上培育油松良种壮苗提供理论基础和技术支持。【方法】以大田培育的当年生油松播种容器苗和裸根苗为研究对象,设置0(对照)、12、24、36 mg/株4种秋季施肥水平,于90%以上苗木形成顶芽后进行施肥处理,并于翌年进行雨季造林试验。测定造林前的苗高、地径、生物量、根冠比、养分含量及造林后苗木成活率和苗高、地径相对生长量等指标,分析出圃苗木性状与造林效果之间的相关性。【结果】秋季施肥24 mg/株处理下的油松容器苗苗高、地径、生物量、氮、磷、钾含量均表现最佳,该处理下容器苗整株生物量、氮、磷、钾含量较对照分别增加了41.8%、31.4%、65.6%和48.8%;油松裸根苗受秋季施肥影响较小。容器苗氮含量在各器官中的分布从大到小表现为根>叶>茎,裸根苗氮含量在各器官中的分布从大到小表现为叶>根>茎;磷、钾含量在容器苗和裸根苗各器官中的分布从大到小均表现为叶>根>茎。雨季造林试验结果显示,油松造林效果受苗木类型影响显著,容器苗造林当年和第2年春季的苗高、地径相对生长量...     

雀替型阻尼器加固箍头榫木框架结构的抗震性能

为研究广府古建筑木结构的抗震性能及加固方法,采用菠萝格木材,设计并制作了两榀不同结构形式的典型广府木祠堂箍头榫框架,提出并制作了用于木结构榫卯节点加固的雀替型阻尼器,对雀替型阻尼器加固前后的木框架进行低周往复荷载试验,研究结构的抗震性能及阻尼器的加固效果。研究结果表明：阻尼器可以弥补初次加载产生的损伤,在转角不大时给残损的榫卯节点提供较高的初始刚度,并在榫卯节点自身开始闭合时与之协同受力,提高节点刚度、极限承载能力和耗能能力,使得加固试件的极限承载能力高于未加固试件;未加固试件经过加载,出现了榫卯脱离、榫卯局部压屈现象,加固试件的破坏形式主要为榫卯脱离、榫卯局部压屈和竖向顺纹劈裂裂缝;各节点的滞回曲线呈现明显的“捏缩”现象,榫卯节点强度退化系数均大于0.83,在循环荷载作用下表现出稳定的承载性能,随节点转角的增大,各节点的环线刚度、等效粘滞阻尼系数呈现逐渐减小并趋于稳定的趋势;边跨框架试件节点的等效粘滞阻尼系数逐渐稳定于0.1～0.2,而中跨框架试件节点的等效粘滞阻尼系数逐渐稳定于0.05～0.1,且经过阻尼器加固,边跨框架与中跨框架试件的总滞回耗能分别提高了67%和19%。