Unsteady axisymmetric stagnation flow on a circular cylinder

Unsteady, axisymmetric stagnation flow about a circular cylinderis examined when the far-field flow is a periodic function oftime with a fixed time average and an oscillatory part of prescribedamplitude and frequency. Solutions are computed for arbitraryvalues of the Reynolds number, quantifying the effects of surfacecurvature, and a frequency parameter based on the period ofthe far-field flow. It is found that solutions remain regularand periodic provided that the far-field amplitude lies belowa critical value. Above this value, solutions terminate in afinite-time singularity. The blow-up time is delayed by increasingthe curvature of the surface. These results are corroboratedby asymptotic predictions valid in the limits of small and largeamplitude and frequency. For large Reynolds number, the problemreduces to the two-dimensional stagnation-point flow againsta plane wall studied by previous authors.     

Study of excretion of ecdysterone in human urine

A study of excretion in human urine of ecdysterone, which is the active component of several over-the-counter supplements such as "Ecdysten", reportedly used by athletes, is presented. The study was performed after oral administration of 20 mg of ecdysterone. The collected urine samples were prepared using the standard screening extraction procedure for the free and conjugated fraction of anabolic steroids, and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) coupled with quadrupole mass spectrometry (MS) and also with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). Two ecdysterone metabolites were identified and detected along with unchanged ecdysterone. Accurate mass measurements were made for diagnostic ions, including the molecular ion of the main metabolite of ecdysterone, deoxyecdysone, which, to our knowledge, has not previously been reported in the literature. These accurate mass measurements support the proposed fragmentation scheme.     

Enzymatic fluorimetric determination of the individual bile acids in blood serum

An enzymatic fluorimetric method is described for the determination of total bile acids (cholic acid and deoxycholic acid), primary bile acids (cholic and chen acids and individual bile acids in serum without prior separation of the acids. Total and primary bile acids are determined by equilibrium procedures by conver of the 3α- and 7α-hydroxy bile acids to 3-oxo and 7-oxo bile acids by α-NAD⁺, in the presence of 3α- and 7α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD), respectively, and measurement of the generated NADH fluorimetrically. Chenodeoxycholic acid is determined with 7α-HSD in the presence of cholic and deoxycholic acids by a differential kinetic procedure, and cholic and deoxycholic acids are calculated by difference. Interferents are removed by treatment of serum with Sachrom rein. Only 1.00 ml of serum is required. Low cost, simplicity and reliability are the main features of the method. The recovery of bile acids added to serum averaged 103% (range 83–122%). The method is suitable for routine use in small clinical laboratories.     

Low dose measurement with thick gate oxide MOSFETs

The low dose limit and the accuracy of high sensitivity MOS ionizing radiation dosimeters fabricated at LAAS-CNRS are investigated.     

Comparative study of pretreatment methods for the determination of metals in atmospheric aerosol by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

A comparative study of pretreatment methods for the determination of 10 elements (As, Cd, Pb, V, Ni, Mn, Cr, Cu, Fe, Al) in atmospheric aerosols by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) was conducted. For the digestion of the particulates collected in filters, six methods were compared using a mixture of HNO₃ and HF with or without the addition of various oxidative agents (HClO₄ or H₂O₂) or acids (HCl). The comparative study was performed using loaded cellulose filter samples, which were digested in Parr bombs and heated in a conventional oven at 170 °C for 5 h. The extraction efficiency and blanks were compared and it was proved that the digestion method using only HNO₃–HF extracted most of the metals and gave the lowest blanks. The HNO₃–HF mixture was selected for the development of an improved microwave digestion method specific for aerosol-loaded filters. The operating parameters were optimized, so that quantitative recovery of the reference materials NIST 1649a urban dust and NIST 1648 urban particulate matter was achieved. The blank of cellulose and teflon filters were also determined and compared. Teflon filters present the lowest blanks for all the elements. The obtained limits of detection for each type of filters were adequate for environmental monitoring purposes. ETAAS instrumental operation was also optimized for the compensation and the elimination of interferences. The temperature optimization was performed for each metal in every type of filter and optimized parameters are proposed for 10 elements.     

Polyethylene glycol matrix reduces the rates of photochemical and thermal release of nitric oxide from S-nitroso-N-acetylcysteine

S -nitrosothiols have many biological activities and may act as nitric oxide (NO) carriers and donors, prolonging NO half-life in vivo. In spite of their great potential as therapeutic agents, most S -nitrosothiols are too unstable to isolate. We have shown that the S -nitroso adduct of N -acetylcysteine (SNAC) can be synthesized directly in aqueous and polyethylene glycol (PEG) 400 matrix by using a reactive gaseous (NO/O₂) mixture. Spectral monitoring of the S–N bond cleavage showed that SNAC, synthesized by this method, is relatively stable in nonbuf-fered aqueous solution at 25°C in the dark and that its stability is greatly increased in PEG matrix, resulting in a 28-fold decrease in its initial rate of thermal decomposition. Irradiation with UV light (λ= 333 nm) accelerated the rate of decomposition of SNAC to NO in both matrices, indicating that SNAC may find use for the photogeneration of NO. The quantum yield for SNAC decomposition decreased from 0.65 ± 0.15 in aqueous solution to 0.047 ± 0.005 in PEG 400 matrix. This increased stability in PEG matrix was assigned to a cage effect promoted by the PEG microenvironment that increases the rate of geminated radical pair recombination in the homolytic S–N bond cleavage process. This effect allowed for the storage of SNAC in PEG at −20°C in the dark for more than 10 weeks with negligible decomposition. Such stabilization may represent a viable option for the synthesis, storage and handling of S -nitrosothiol solutions for biomedical applications.     

A synergy of multicriteria techniques to assess additive value models

The assessment of additive value functions in Multicriteria Decision Aid (MCDA) has to face issues of legitimacy and technical difficulties when real decision makers are involved. This paper presents a synergy of three complementary techniques to assess additive models on the whole criteria space. The synergy includes a revised MACBETH technique, the standard MAUT trade-off analysis and UTA-based methods for the assessment of both the marginal value functions and the weighting factors. The paper uses a set of original robustness measures and rules associated with revised MACBETH and UTA in order to manage multiple linear programming solutions and to extract robust conclusions from them. Finally, to illustrate the methods’ synergy, an application example is presented, dealing with the planning of metro extension lines.     

MOSFET with a boron-loaded gate as a low-energy neutron dosimeter

A MOSFET-based low-energy neutron dosimeter has been fabricated using a ¹⁰B loaded gate electrode as (n,α) converter. The response to thermal neutrons has been studied.     

Measuring Customer Satisfaction Using a Collective Preference Disaggregation Model

A new model to assess customer satisfaction is developed through this paper. The proposed model is based on the principles of multicriteria analysis, using ordinal regression techniques. The procedure uses survey's data on customer satisfaction criteria and disaggregates simultaneously all the global satisfaction judgments via a linear programming disaggregation formulation. The model provides collective global and partial satisfaction functions as well as average satisfaction indices. These results sufficiently describe customer behavior and they can be used in the strategic planning of an organization. The implementation of the model in three real world applications is used for illustration and for testing the model's reliability. Finally, several extensions and future research in the area of customer satisfaction analysis are discussed.