B lood tests are one of the core processes in the clinical laboratory test field. In hospitals, an automated process called total laboratory automation (TLA), which relies on a set of sophisticated equipment, is normally adopted for the tests. Noting that the TLA system typically has a large footprint and requires a significant amount of power, slim, and easy-to-move blood test equipment is necessary for some specific demands such as emergency rooms or small-size local clinics. Although various portable blood test systems are introduced and popularly used in many labs, the test processes of these systems are not usually flexible. In the present work, a new scheduling algorithm called reduced idle time (RIT) is developed for a small-scale portable Bio Robot platform. The RIT can successfully handle a series of components of the Bio Robot such as a liquid handler, six incubators, a newly developed spectrophotometer, and a robot arm. It also shows an enhanced effectiveness in terms of the testing time reduction when it is tested with the developed robot platform. Additionally, the RIT shows a fairly flexible capability to accommodate new incoming samples that might interrupt an on-going process and requires an immediate rescheduling. ( JALA 2010;15:15-24)

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IV; retrospective.

Tetramethylammonium-based molten salts bearing a β-amino acid anion (TMAAs) are synthesized through Michael addition reactions of amines with methyl acrylate followed by hydrolysis and subsequent neutralization by using aqueous tetramethylammonium hydroxide. The CO(2) capture performances of the TMAAs are evaluated and are shown to interact with CO(2) in a 1:1 mode in both water and alcohol. FTIR and (13)C NMR spectroscopic studies on the interactions of TMAAs with CO(2) indicate that the type of CO(2) adduct varies with the solvent used. When water is used as the solvent, a bicarbonate species is produced, whereas hydroxyethylcarbonate and methylcarbonate species are generated in ethylene glycol and methanol, respectively. Computational calculations show that the carboxylate groups of TMAAs contribute towards the formation and stabilization of 1:1 CO(2) adducts through hydrogen bonding interactions with the hydrogen atoms of the amino groups.