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Byline: Gregory Powers Disruptive technologies change performance standards A Vol. 234 No. 4EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINT GREGORY POWERS, VICE PRESIDENT OF TECHNOLOGY, HALLIBURTON Disruptive technologies change performance standards Disruptions force us to [...]

The plasma concentration-time profile of indocyanine green (1) in the rabbit was determined by spectrophotometric and highperformance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) analysis following doses of 5 or 25mg/kg. Spectrophotometric analysis yielded plasma concentration estimates that were higher than those obtained by an HPLC method and this difference was particularly large at time points ≥30min postdose. Chromatograms of plasma samples from each rabbit exhibited two peaks, both of which were maximal in the first postdose sample, suggesting an impurity in the commercial preparation. HPLC analysis of five different lots of 1 suggested a variable abundance of this impurity (1.7–4.0%). When stored in a variety of aqueous solutions, 1 degraded to a compound with a retention time identical to that of the impurity. The time for 50% degradation of 1 in deionized, distilled, and sterile water was 19, 92, and 99 h, respectively, and the rate of decay in these solvents exhibited significant interday variability. Dilute acetic acid (∼20mM; pH=3.2) was found to substantially accelerate this degradation (50% degradation in <1 h). Interestingly, this acid-catalyzed rate of conversion of 1 to the degradation product fit about equally well assuming a zero-order or first-order process. In an effort to elucidate the structure of this degradation product (impurity), UV-visible spectra of appropriate column eluates were obtained. The spectra of these compounds differed from that of 1 in only minor details. Specifically, the impurity and degradation product exhibit a shoulder in the 720–730nm range, while 1 does not; the impurity and degradation product exhibit an absorbance at 414nm which is ∼8% of the intensity of that observed at their λmax(1 does not appear to absorb at this wavelength); and the ratio of molar extinction coefficients measured at λmaxin the UV and visible ranges was substantially lower for 1. The data suggest that this impurity is responsible for much of the discrepancy between spectrophotometric and HPLC estimates of the concentration of 1 in the rabbit and that the impurity and degradation product are the same compound.

The article discusses the backplane connectors of the company VPX which is the latest generation of the computer systems. It informs that VPX's system has been designed for high-speed protocols such as 10G Ethernet. It also discusses the two initiatives that allow VPX to be available in wider ranges including connectivity modules for optics and small-form-factor system for the smallest applications.

The article reports on the move of packaging engineers to continue developing elegant and user-friendly designs of line replaceable units (LRUs) and line replaceable modules (LRMs). SMPM contacts are interconnects that have proliferated into both the standard and application-specific architectures. Information on the industry standard initiative that involved SMPM-based multiposition radio frequency (RF) modules are offered.

The author discusses the significance of disruptive technologies to help the oil and gas industry create new planes of competition. He states that while disruptive technologies change performance standards, they launch new paradigms to meet the requirements for safety, efficiency and sustainability. The author also suggests to recruit personnel who spent their professional lives in other industries to disrupt the evolution of technologies.