Nano-LC: An updated review

Low-flow chromatography has a rich history of innovation but has yet to reach widespread implementation in bioanalytical applications. Improvements in pump technology, microfluidic connections, and nano-electrospray sources for MS have laid the groundwork for broader application, and innovation in this space has accelerated in recent years. This article reviews the instrumentation used for nano-flow LC, the types of columns employed, and strategies for multidimensionality of separations, which are key to the future state of the technique to the high-throughput needs of modern bioanalysis. An update of the current applications where nano-LC is widely used, such as proteomics and metabolomics, is discussed. But the trend toward biopharmaceutical development of increasingly complex, targeted, and potent therapeutics for the safe treatment of disease drives the need for ultimate selectivity and sensitivity of our analytical platforms for targeted quantitation in a regulated space. The selectivity needs are best addressed by mass spectrometric detection, especially at high resolutions, and exquisite sensitivity is provided by nano-electrospray ionization as the technology continues to evolve into an accessible, robust, and easy-to-use platform.     

Amphiphilic block copolymer self‐assemblies of poly(NVP)‐b‐poly(MDO‐co‐vinyl esters): Tunable dimensions and functionalities

Functional, degradable polymers were synthesized via the copolymerization of vinyl acetate (VAc) and 2‐methylene‐1,3‐dioxepane (MDO) using a macro‐xanthate CTA, poly(N‐vinylpyrrolidone), resulting in the formation of amphiphilic block copolymers of poly(NVP)‐b‐poly(MDO‐co‐VAc). The behavior of the block copolymers in water was investigated and resulted in the formation of self‐assembled nanoparticles containing a hydrophobic core and a hydrophilic corona. The size of the resultant nanoparticles was able to be tuned with variation of the hydrophilic and hydrophobic segments of the core and corona by changing the incorporation of the macro‐CTA as well as the monomer composition in the copolymers, as observed by Dynamic Light Scattering, Static Light Scattering, and Transmission Electron Microscopy analyses. The concept was further applied to a VAc derivative monomer, vinyl bromobutanoate, to incorporate further functionalities such as fluorescent dithiomaleimide groups throughout the polymer backbone using azidation and “click” chemistry as postpolymerization tools to create fluorescently labeled nanoparticles. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 2699–2710     

Novel route to 5-position vinyl derivatives of thiolactomycin: Olefination vs. deformylation

Vinyl and diene derivatives of thiolactomycin have been prepared via Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination from protected 5-formyl-3,5-dimethylthiotetronic acid. Several 4-position protecting groups and a variety of phosphonates were evaluated, with MOM protection and β-ketophosphonates yielding the highest ratio of the desired product to deformylated product.     

Zero-sum constrained stochastic games with independent state processes

We consider a zero-sum stochastic game with side constraints for both players with a special structure. There are two independent controlled Markov chains, one for each player. The transition probabilities of the chain associated with a player as well as the related side constraints depend only on the actions of the corresponding player; the side constraints also depend on the player’s controlled chain. The global cost that player 1 wishes to minimize and that player 2 wishes to maximize, depend however on the actions and Markov chains of both players. We obtain a linear programming formulations that allows to compute the value and saddle point policies for this problem. We illustrate the theoretical results through a zero-sum stochastic game in wireless networks in which each player has power constraints     

Dynamic surface tension measurements of surfactant solutions using the maximum bubble pressure method – limits of applicability

One of the essential differences in the design of bubble pressure tensiometers consists in the geometry of the measuring capillaries. To reach extremely short adsorption times of milliseconds and below, the so-called deadtime of the capillaries must be of the order of some 10 ms. In particular, for concentrated surfactant solutions, such as micellar solutions, short deadtimes are needed to minimize the initial surfactant load of the generated bubbles. A theoretical model is derived and confirmed by experiments performed for a wide range of experimental conditions, mainly in respect to variations in deadtime and bubble volume.     

Accredited dose measurements for validation of radiation sterilized products

The activities and services of the accredited Risø High Dose Reference Laboratory are described. The laboratory operates according to the European standard EN 45001 regarding Operation of Testing Laboratories, and it fulfills the requirements of being able to deliver traceable dose measurements for control of radiation sterilization. The accredited services include:

1. 1. Irradiation of dosimeters and test samples with cobalt-60 gamma rays.

2. 2. Irradiation of dosimeters and test samples with 10 MeV electrons.

3. 3. Issue of and measurement with calibrated dosimeters.

4. 4. Measurement of the dosimetric parameters of an irradiation facility.

5. 5. Measurement of absorbed dose distribution in irradiated products.

The paper describes these services and the procedures necessary for their execution.     

Topics in data assimilation: Stochastic processes

Stochastic models with varying degrees of complexity are increasingly widespread in the oceanic and atmospheric sciences. One application is data assimilation, i.e., the combination of model output with observations to form the best picture of the system under study. For any given quantity to be estimated, the relative weights of the model and the data will be adjusted according to estimated model and data error statistics, so implementation of any data assimilation scheme will require some assumption about errors, which are considered to be random. For dynamical models, some assumption about the evolution of errors will be needed. Stochastic models are also applied in studies of predictability.

The formal theory of stochastic processes was well developed in the last half of the twentieth century. One consequence of this theory is that methods of simulation of deterministic processes cannot be applied to random processes without some modification. In some cases the rules of ordinary calculus must be modified.

The formal theory was developed in terms of mathematical formalism that may be unfamiliar to many oceanic and atmospheric scientists. The purpose of this article is to provide an informal introduction to the relevant theory, and to point out those situations in which that theory must be applied in order to model random processes correctly.     

Working group report: Collider Physics

This is summary of the activities of the working group on collider physics in the IXth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-9) held at the Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar, India in January 2006. Some of the work subsequently done on these problems by the subgroups formed during the workshop is included in this report.