Preliminary evaluation of the cadmium concentration in seawater of the Salvador City, Brazil

A method for preconcentration and determination of trace amounts of cadmium in high saline samples is described. It is based on the adsorption of the metal in the activated carbon as complex cadmium(II)-4-(2-pyridylazo-resorcinol) (PAR). The final determination was carried by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The optimization of extraction parameters such as the pH effect, PAR mass, activated carbon mass and shaking time was carried out using a two-level full factorial design (2⁴) and two Doehlert matrix designs. The results of the factorial design, considering the analysis of variance (ANOVA), demonstrate that all these factors are statistically significant, as well as the interactions (pH×PAR mass), (pH×activated carbon mass) and (activated carbon mass×shaking time). The final optimization was carried out using Doehlert matrix designs considering the results of the factorial design. The recoveries were quantitative (96.0-106.7%) for seawater samples spiked with Cd at concentrations of 0.125 and 0.625 μg l⁻¹. A preconcentration factor of 149 was obtained. The effect of diverse metallic ions on the proposed procedure was investigated too. The procedure was used for cadmium determination in surface seawater samples collected in Salvador City, Brazil. The cadmium content in the analysed samples varies from 0.035 to 0.17 μg l⁻¹. These results are agreement with other data reported in the literature.     

Highly selective solid-phase extraction and large volume injection for the robust gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of TCA and TBA in wines

A reliable solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for the simultaneous determination of 2,4,6-trichloroanisole (TCA) and 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA) in wines has been developed. In the proposed procedure 50 mL of wine are extracted in a 1 mL cartridge filled with 50 mg of LiChrolut EN resins. Most wine volatiles are washed up with 12.5 mL of a water:methanol solution (70%, v/v) containing 1% of NaHCO3. Analytes are further eluted with 0.6 mL of dichloromethane. A 40 microL aliquot of this extract is directly injected into a PTV injector operated in the solvent split mode, and analysed by gas chromatography (GC)-ion trap mass spectrometry using the selected ion storage mode. The solid-phase extraction, including sample volume and rinsing and elution solvents, and the large volume GC injection have been carefully evaluated and optimized. The resulting method is precise (RSD (%) < 6% at 100 ng L(-1)), sensitive (LOD were 0.2 and 0.4 ng/L for TCA and TBA, respectively), robust (the absolute recoveries of both analytes are higher than 80% and consistent wine to wine) and friendly to the GC-MS system (the extract is clean, simple and free from non-volatiles).     

Evaluation of the antiviral and antimicrobial activities of triterpenes isolated from Euphorbia segetalis

A phytochemical reinvestigation of the whole plant of Euphorbia segetalis yielded five tetracyclic triterpenes: 3beta-hydroxy-cycloart-25-en-24-one (1), cycloart-25-ene-3beta,24-diol (2), cycloart-23-ene-3beta,25-diol (3), lanosta-7,9(11),24-trien-3beta-ol (4) and lanosta-7,9(11),24(31)-trien-3beta-ol (5). beta-acetoxy-cycloart-25-en-24-one (1a) and glutinol (6), lupenone (7), dammaranodienol (9), cycloartenol acetate (10), 24-methylenecycloartanol acetate (11) and beta-sitosterol (12), isolated previously, were evaluated for their antiviral activities against Herpes simplex virus (HSV) and African swine fever virus (ASFV). Lupenone exhibited strong viral plaque inhibitory effect against HSV-1 and HSV-2. The in vitro antifungal and antibacterial activities of la, cycloart-23-ene-3beta,25-diol, 3-acetate (3a) and 6-12 were also investigated.     

Gamma radiation effects on physical properties of parchment documents: Assessment of Dmax

Parchments are important documents that give testimony for History; therefore these materials should be respected and preserved. Considering incremental biodeterioration problems that have to be faced daily, the Archive of the University of Coimbra (AUC) is involved in different scientific projects in order to evaluate and determine new methods for document decontamination and preservation.The aim of this study was to evaluate gamma radiation effects on the colour and texture of the AUC parchment documents. The assessment of these effects was used to estimate the maximum gamma radiation dose (D_max) that could guarantee parchment documents′ decontamination treatment, without significant alteration of their physical properties. Parchment samples were exposed to gamma radiation doses ranging from 10 to 30 kGy. The texture and colour of samples were assessed before and after the irradiation procedure, using a texture analyser and an electronic colorimeter. Hardness and springiness were determined based on texture spectra. Lightness (L?), Chroma (C), greenness vs. redness (a*) and yellowness vs. blueness (b*) values were obtained from colorimetric measures. Results indicate no significant effects of gamma radiation on the texture and colour of parchment for the studied doses.     

Prediction of intracellular storage polymers using quantitative image analysis in enhanced biological phosphorus removal systems

The present study focuses on predicting the concentration of intracellular storage polymers in enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) systems. For that purpose, quantitative image analysis techniques were developed for determining the intracellular concentrations of PHA (PHB and PHV) with Nile blue and glycogen with aniline blue staining. Partial least squares (PLS) were used to predict the standard analytical values of these polymers by the proposed methodology. Identification of the aerobic and anaerobic stages proved to be crucial for improving the assessment of PHA, PHB and PHV intracellular concentrations. Current Nile blue based methodology can be seen as a feasible starting point for further enhancement. Glycogen detection based on the developed aniline blue staining methodology combined with the image analysis data proved to be a promising technique, toward the elimination of the need for analytical off-line measurements.     

The use of relative residues in fitting experimental data: an example from fluid mechanics

A curve fitting model is presented which minimizes the sum of squares of relative residues and expressions for the fit coefficients and their respective errors are derived. The new model is compared to the normal least squares model, using as an example the Reynolds number-drag coefficient data for a sphere. The results show that the best fit was obtained with the new model, indicating it may provide a useful tool for data analysis.     

TRANSIENT ANALYSIS OF COMPOSITE PLATES BY A LOCAL RADIAL BASIS FUNCTIONS-FINITE DIFFERENCE TECHIQUE

The use of local numerical schemes,such as finite differences produces much better conditioned matrices than global collocation radial basis functions methods.However,finite difference schemes are limi...     

Kadomtsev–Petviashvili equation in relativistic fluid dynamics

The Kadomtsev–Petviashvili (KP) nonlinear wave equation is the three dimensional generalization of the Korteveg-de Vries (KdV) equation. We show how to obtain the cylindrical KP (cKP) and cartesian KP in relativistic fluid dynamics. The obtained KP equations describe the evolution of perturbations in the baryon density in a strongly interacting quark gluon plasma (sQGP) at zero temperature. We also show the analytical solitary wave solution of the KP equations in both cases.     

Hybrid EuIII Coordination Luminophore Standing on Two Legs on Silica Nanoparticles for Enhanced Luminescence

In this study, we have demonstrated a two-legged, upright molecular design method for monochromatic and bright red luminescent Ln^III-silica nanomaterials. A novel Eu^III-silica hybrid nanoparticle was developed by using a doubly binding TPPO−Si(OEt)₃ (TPPO: triphenyl phosphine oxide) linker. The TPPO−Si(OEt)₃ was confirmed by ¹H, ³¹P, ²⁹Si NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray analysis. Luminescent Eu(hfa)₃ and Eu(tfc)₃ moieties (hfa: hexafluoroacetylacetonate, tfc: 3-(trifluoromethylhydroxymethylene)camphorate) were fixed onto TPPO−Si(OEt)₃-modified silica nanoparticles, producing Eu(hfa)₃(TPPO−Si)₂-SiO₂ and Eu(tfc)₃(TPPO−Si)₂-SiO₂, respectively. Eu(hfa)₃(TPPO−Si)₂−SiO₂ exhibited the higher intrinsic luminescence quantum yield (93 %) and longer emission lifetime (0.98 ms), which is much larger than those of previously reported Eu^III-based hybrid materials. Eu(tfc)₃(TPPO−Si)₂−SiO₂ showed an extra-large intrinsic emission quantum yield (54 %), although the emission quantum yield for the precursor Eu(tfc)₃(TPPO−Si(OEt)₃)₂ was found to be 39 %. These results confirmed that the TPPO−Si(OEt)₃ linker is a promising candidate for development of Eu^III-based luminescent materials.     

Oxidation with DMF/HIO4: A Convenient Preparation of Juglone

As part of an ongoing program directed toward the preparation of antraciclinones¹ and aryl substituted lapachones², which are important anticancer and antibiotic³ agents, we became interested in a efficient synthesis of substituted 1,4-naphthoquinones, such as juglone (3). This compound has received some attention due its activity as an allelophatic compound⁴. An extensive analysis of the literature procedures indicated that several methods are available starting from 1,5-dihydroxynaphthalene (1). All the procedures explored the oxidation of carbon four of the naphthyl ring by several known reagents, such as, chromium trioxide-piridine⁵, thallium trinitrate⁵, chromic acid⁶, peracetic acid⁷, dichromate⁸, iron (III) chloride⁹ and mercuric oxide¹⁰. None of the several known methods for the preparation of (3) proceeded in satisfactory yield (except for the thallium trinitrate method which gave 642 yield) and most of them gave a mixture of 1,2 and 1,4-naphthoquinone.