Prototype of immunochromatographic assay strips using colloidal CdTe nanocrystals as biological luminescent label

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals have attracted considerable attention as a novel biological luminescent label. The bioinorganic conjugates of luminescent CdTe nanocrystals and protein, including CdTe/BSA (bovine serum albumin) and CdTe/MAB (mouse monoclonal antibody against hepatities B surface antigen), were formed via electrostatic/coordination self-assembly. Pure CdTe nanocrystals, CdTe/BSA and CdTe/MAB were used in the immunochromatographic assay experiments, respectively. And the results indicated that CdTe nanocrystals could be used and developed as a novel label with good stability, high sensitivity and facile determination of several analytes in immunochromatographic assay strips.     

Comparison of EI and metastable atom bombardment ionization for the identification of polyurethane thermal degradation products

Polyurethanes are widely used in the manufacture of commercial products such as foams and paints. During combustion, these polymers can generate isocyanates, which induce adverse health effects. Polymer pyrolysis (Py) hyphenated with mass spectrometry (MS) allows the investigation of polymer thermal degradation over time/temperature. A diphenylmethanediisocyanate (MDI) polyurethane foam was analyzed with electron ionization (EI) and metastable atom bombardment (MAB) ionization at a pyrolysis temperature of 400 °C. The recently introduced MAB ionization source uses discrete energy stored in metastable atoms of gases to ionize the analytes. This characteristic allows modulation of the ionization energy by simply changing the ionization gas. The extensive fragmentation of molecular ions observed using EI 70 eV is not totally eliminated with EI 10 eV. However, only molecular ions are observed with MAB using N₂ as the ionization gas. Temperature gradients were used to separate the products generated during the thermal degradation of a 1,6-hexamethylenediisocyanate (HDI) polyurethane paint. The analysis of mass spectra was facilitated owing to a selective desorption of pyrolysis products. Furthermore, changing the MAB ionization gas allows elucidation of the structure of the pyrolysis products by controlling the extent of their fragmentation. During these experiments, isocyanic acid, methyleneisocyanate, ethyleneisocyanate, propylisocyanate and butylisocyanate were detected.     

Optimal selection of obsolescence mitigation strategies using a restless bandit model

Obsolescence of embedded parts is a serious concern for managers of complex systems where the design life of the system typically exceeds 20 years. Capital asset management teams have been exploring several strategies to mitigate risks associated with Diminishing Manufacturing Sources (DMS) and repeated life extensions of complex systems. Asset management cost and the performance of a system depend heavily on the obsolescence mitigation strategy chosen by the decision maker. We have developed mathematical models that can be used to calculate the impact of various obsolescence mitigation strategies on the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a system. We have used classical multi-arm bandit (MAB) and restless bandit models to identify the best strategy for managing obsolescence in such instances wherein organizations have to deal with continuous technological evolution under uncertainty. The results of dynamic programming and greedy heuristic are compared with Gittins index solution.