Integration of Acoustic Liquid Handling into Quantitative Analysis of Biological Matrix Samples

Acoustic liquid handlers deliver small volumes (nL-µL) of multiple fluid types with accuracy and dynamic viscosity profiling. They are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry with applications extending from high-throughput screening in compound management to gene expression sequencing, genomic and epigenetic assays, and cell-based assays. The capability of the Echo to transfer small volumes of multiple types of fluids could benefit bioanalysis assays by minimization of sample volume and by simplifying dilution procedures by direct dilution. In this study, we evaluated the Labcyte Echo 525 liquid handler for its ability to deliver small volumes of sample preparations in biological matrix (plasma and serum) and to assess the feasibility of integration of the Echo with three types of bioanalytical assay platforms: microplate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, Gyrolab immunoassay, and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. The results demonstrated acceptable consistency of dispensed plasma samples from multiple lots and species by the Echo. Equivalent assay performance demonstrated between the Echo and manual liquid procedures indicated great potential for the integration of the Echo with the bioanalytical assay, which allows the successful implementation of microsampling strategies in drug discovery and development.

Nutritional Quality and Shelf Life Extension of Capsicum (Capsicum annum) in Expanded Polyethylene Biopolymer

Freshly harvested capsicum has limited shelf life (5-6 days) under ambient storage conditions. The functional quality of capsicum has been assessed in two sizes (300g±10%) and (900g±10%) of 30µ flex freshTM expanded polyethylene biopolymer pouches at 3 and 10oC and 90-95% RH under modified atmospheric storage. In both small and big size pouches, composition of oxygen and carbon dioxide varied from 18.8-19.9% and 18.8-19.4% and from 2.2-0.7% and 2.0-1.4%, respectively during 28 days of storage at 3oC. Positive and significant correlation was observed between overall acceptability and CO2 composition however, negative correlation was observed with O2 composition. Minimum increase (6.02% and 4.35%) in PLW, minimum decrease in firmness (4.71N-3.50N and 4.71N-2.70N), minimum decrease in chlorophyll (70.3% and 75.5%) and minimum losses (47.6% and 40.3%) of ascorbic acid were obtained after 28 days of storage in small and big size capsicum, respectively at 3oC. The decrease in total phenol and antioxidant activity was 82.4% and 78.6% and 60.1% and 59.4%, respectively after 28 days of the storage at 3oC of small and big size capsicum, respectively. Judges observed most acceptable consistency and OAA score for both sizes of capsicum in pouches up to 21 days of storage at 3oC.

Are Baseball Statistics an Appropriate Tool for Assessing Return to Play in Injured Players: An Analysis of Statistically Variability in Healthy Players Using a Machine Learning Approach

Objectives: Traditional pitching statistics (ERA, WHIP, etc) have been used as surrogates for pitcher performance without being validated. Even amongst healthy pitchers, the normal variability of these parameters has not yet been established. The purpose of this study was to determine the normal variability of basic and advanced pitching statistics in non-injured Major League Baseball (MLB) pitchers. It is our hope that this work will serve as the foundation for the identification and implementation of validated, pitcher dependent statistical measures that can be used to assess return to play performance following injury. Methods: Publicly available data from MLB Statcast and Pitch/Fx databases was used to analyze all non-injured MLB pitchers during 2015 and 2016 seasons who pitcher greater than 100 innings each season without injury. Traditional and advanced baseball pitching statistics were analyzed. The variability of each parameter was assessed by computing coefficient of variation (CV) between individual pitchers and across all pitchers. A CV below 10 is typically indicative of a relatively constant parameter, and parameters with a CV > 10 are generally considered inconsistent and unreliable. Results: A total of 118 pitchers met all inclusion criteria. For each of these healthy pitchers, 38 basic/traditional parameters and 17 advanced parameters were analyzed. Of the traditional pitcher statistics, only 1 (3%) demonstrated a CV value < 10 (average fastball velocity [FBv]; CV 1.5) (Figure 1). In advanced statistics, 9 of 17 (53%) variables demonstrated acceptable consistency as evidenced by a CV value < 10 (Figure 2). Release position from plate (release_pos_y) along with velocity from the plate (vy0) where the two most constant advanced parameters. When separated by pitch type, these two parameters were the most constant (lowest CV) in every pitch type. Conclusion: The validity and variability of baseball statistics as surrogate markers for performance after injury/surgery have not yet been evaluated. It is critical that baseball statistics undergo proper vetting prior to being used to assess recovery. This study reveals average fastball velocity and release position from the plate to be the least variable basic and advanced baseball statistics in MLB pitchers. In total, only 10 of the 55 statistics analyzed demonstrated acceptable consistency and reliability. This study can be further used to determine the minimum time that each of these variables needs to be followed to ensure an appropriate sample size is obtained to detect significant differences in pre- and post- injury performance. [Figure: see text][Figure: see text]

An Algorithm for Modeling the Covalent Triazine-Based Frameworks

An algorithm for generating the representative structures of covalent triazine-based frameworks (CTFs) is proposed, and examined by being applied to the framework synthesized by the trimerization of dicyanobenzene. The algorithm is validated by the comparison between the calculated and experimental results of the structural properties such as surface areas and pore size distributions, which shows acceptable consistency. Moreover, the presented modeling approach can be expected for more extensive use for other CTFs. Thus the simulated atomistic strucutures produced from the modeling method can improve the understanding for amorphous structures of the CTFs which have already been developed, as well as predict the theoretical model of new CTFs, and provide useful design strategies for the future experimental efforts.

A Reliable Method for Consistency Improving of Interval Multiplicative Preference Relations Expressed under Uncertainty

When a diverse group of experts share their knowledge to ascertain and solve a particular multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem, uncertainty arises from several sources. In those cases, the interval multiplicative preference relation (IMPR) approach is a useful technique when verifying consistency. As illustrated in this paper, the validation and the improvement of consistency require robust analysis tools and algorithms. The proposed methodology provides reliable and consistent IMPR, which can be quantified in terms of row geometric mean method (RGMM) or the eigenvalue method (EM). In this manner, decision makers’ choices are implicitly including their uncertainty while maintaining acceptable consistency. The present approach is based on the Hadamard’s dissimilarity operator and through an algorithm, the derivation of a reliable and consistent IMPR is synthesized. In order to illustrate our results and compare them appropriately with other methodologies, a few examples are addressed and solved.

Fatigue Performance of Preloaded Ultra High Strength Threaded Fasteners

This experimental study investigates the high cycle fatigue (HCF) performance of preloaded ultra-high strength (UHS) threaded fasteners. Every sample is subjected to a cyclic uniaxial stress additional to a mean stress, which is arbitrarily set as half of the static tensile strength. Experimental results of UHS fasteners (Classes 14.9 and 15.9) and commercially available (CA) fasteners (Class 10.9) are analyzed: S-N curves are constructed following the ASTM standards and compared after normalization. Results indicate that the normalized fatigue strength of UHS threaded fasteners is lower than that of CA threaded fasteners. For each class, the experimental S-N curves are compared with the estimation obtained using Marin equation adjusted by mean stress criteria. It is concluded that the estimation by Marin equation did not show acceptable consistency to experimental data.