NAA as viewed from the perspective of international atomic energy agency intercomparison tests

Results of several IAEA intercomparison runs organized over the last 8 years are analyzed from the point of view of contribution and performance of NAA as compared to other techniques. It is shown that NAA is the method of good accuracy and precision providing on average greater share of results than any other single analytical technique. The prominent position of NAA among other methods used in trace analyses seems to be firmly established and there are no signs that there might be any change of the trend in the nearest future.     

Facile synthesis of acyclic azanucleosides from N-pivaloyloxymethyl amides and sulfonamides: synthesis of aza-analogues of Ganciclovir

N-Pivaloyloxymethyl amides and sulfonamides, readily available from N-alkylation of both amides and sulfonamides with commercial chloromethyl pivaloate, were converted into acyclic azanucleosides via a one-pot base silylation/nucleoside coupling procedure.     

Synthesis, structure and properties of N-acetylated derivatives of methyl 5-amino-1H-[1,2,4]triazole-3-carboxylate

Methyl 5-amino-1H-[1,2,4]triazole-3-carboxylate hydrochloride (1). and free ester (2). were obtained and 2 was reacted with Ac(2)O to give the acetylated products 3-6. Compounds 1-6 were studied using HPLC, GC-MS, FTIR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, including the cross-polarisation magic angle spinning (CPMAS) technique. The results of the acetylation of 2 were compared to those of the acetylation of 5-amino-1H-[1,2,4]triazole, and for 2 a significant decrease in the susceptibility to acetylation was found. The reaction of 2 with Ac(2)O at 20 degrees C, regardless of the amount and the concentration of the latter, including neat Ac(2)O, proceeds fully regioselectively and leads to one product: methyl 1-acetyl-5-amino-1H-[1,2,4]triazole-3-carboxylate (3). In sharp contrast to 5-amino-1H-[1,2,4]triazole, neither an additional monoacetylated isomer, whether annular or exocyclic, nor any diacetylated derivative could be detected. The diacetylation of 2 requires the process to be carried out in neat boiling Ac(2)O and, as in the case of 5-amino-1H-[1,2,4]triazole, gives two diacetylated isomers. These are methyl 1-acetyl-3-(acetylamino)-1H-[1,2,4]triazole-5-carboxylate (4) and 1-acetyl-5-(acetylamino)-1H-[1,2,4]triazole-3-carboxylate (5). Hypothetical pathways of their formation have been suggested. A mixture of 4 and 5 upon hydrolysis of the ring acetyl group gives the monoacetylated derivative methyl 5-(acetylamino)-1H-[1,2,4]triazole-3-carboxylate (6). The spectroscopic, structural and conformational characteristics of compounds 1-6 have been given and methods for their preparation have been provided.     

Spectrophotometric determination of Fe(II) in milligram solid samples

The analytical procedure of determination of Fe(II) in the presence of Fe(III) in milligram samples is proposed. A solid sample is dissolved in hydrochloric acid in argon atmosphere. Subsequently, the pH-value of the solution is fixed and Fe(III) complexed by phosphoric buffer. At the next step Fe(II) is oxidized by -molybdosilicic acid. Finally, the intensity of colouring caused by the reduced form of the acid is measured at the wavelength 770 nm. The proper treatment of the sample during oxidation, and immediately before, is decisive for the accuracy of the analysis. The method was verified by means of the analysis of synthetic magnetite. The theoretical content of Fe(II) was 24.12%, the determined one was 24.02 ± 0.10%. The method was applied to the determination of the homogeneity of an iron catalyst for ammonia synthesis.     

Hilbert functions and Betti numbers in a flat family

Summary This paper is dedicated to the study of Hilbert functions and Betti numbers of the projective varieties in a flat family. We prove that the Hilbert function H(X _y ,n),y Y-a parameter scheme-is lower semicontinuous for any fixed n. In case Y is integral and noetherian we obtain the well-known fact that the set V Y where H(X _y ,n)is maximal for all n's is open and nonempty. We show also that b_i(X _y )-the i- th Betti number of X_y—is upper semicontinuous for y V. The paper contains also a number of results concerning the relations among the various Betti numbers.Member of G.N.S.A.G.A.-C.N.R. Supported in part by M.P.I. (Italian Minstry of Education).     

On distributions of antibaryons in\bar p-Nucleus inelastic collisions

In the framework of the dual parton model we calculate the spectra of secondary antibaryons in \(\bar p\) -nucleus non-annihilation inelastic interactions. We find that the number of antibaryons in the backward hemisphere in the \(\bar p\) -nucleon centre-of-mass frame can grow with the atomic number of the nucleus.     

The thermoelastic behaviour of the orientationally disordered ionic crystals in two dimensions

The anomalous temperature dependence of the elastic constantsc ₁₁ andc ₆₆ and the elastic instability temperatureT _c are obtained in the two-dimensional microscopic model of the alkali cyanides crystals. It has been found, by means of the Michel and Naudts' theory of the translation rotation coupling, that the orientational disorder in the high-temperature phase leads to the critical softening of the shear elastic constantc ₆₆.     

Is planarity of pyridin-2-yl- and pyrazin-2-yl-formamide thiosemicarbazones related to their tuberculostatic activity? X-ray structures of two pyrazine-2-carboxamide-N′-carbonothioyl-hydrazones

Crystal structures of two title compounds and several their relatives known earlier reveal conservative and characteristic features, which may be related to their tuberculostatic activity. The molecules are predominantly planar due to conjugation through five successive bonds in the zwitterionic fragment S⁻–C(sp²)–N–NH⁺–C(sp²)–NH₂ and intramolecular hydrogen bonds, which prevent rotation of the adjacent pyrazine (or pyridine) ring. It has been suggested that in spatial sense such planar molecules resemble acridines intercalating with nucleic acids and that similar process may be responsible for tuberculostatic activity of the title pyrazine-2-carboxamide-N′-carbonothioyl-hydrazones.     

Comparison of Different Sorbents for Solid-Phase Extraction of Phenoxyalkanoic Acid Herbicides

An HPLC procedure for determination of phenoxyalkanoic acid herbicides in water samples is proposed. The analytical column Phenomenex C18(2) Luna 5 µm and UV detection at 225 nm were applied. Baseline resolution was achieved in isocratic mode with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile/acetic acid (40/60, v/v), adjusted to pH 2.5. SPE sorbents – C₁₈ BondElut, phenyl-silica, LiChrolut SAX and polymeric sorbents – were compared for isolation and preconcentration of 6 phenoxyalkanoic acid herbicides. Higher (above 95%) and more reproducible recoveries were obtained with polymeric and phenyl-silica sorbents using pure methanol for elution. The method was tested for river water samples with the limit of detection in the range of 2–3 µg L⁻¹ (for 50 mL sample) and a reproducibility of 5% RSD.     

Cadmium speciation in Arabidopsis thaliana as a strategy to study metal accumulation system in plants

The strategy to identify cadmium deactivation mechanism in Arabidopsis thaliana has been developed using selective and sensitive hyphenated techniques. Cadmium concentrations, in main parts of the plant, were determined by ICP-MS and total amount was found as 0.43-0.44 μg g⁻¹ in leaves and 3.3-3.4 μg g⁻¹ in roots. Speciation of the metal complexes in cells was investigated by SEC-ICP-MS in order to estimate the accumulation process. Phytochelatins, desglycyl-phytochelatins and phytochelatins homologues lacking the N-terminal γ-linked glutamic acid were extracted from plant and were identified by RPLC-ESI-MS. Two-dimensional chromatography allowed to link the metal complexes separated by SEC with isoforms of phytochelatins analyzed by high resolution RPLC and confirm their significant responsibility for metal accumulation. The potential of the cadmium complexes speciation indicates that obtained results could be reliable source of knowledge to confirm the information coming from the well-known genomic sequence of Arabidopsis and to estimate the role of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase in metabolism of glutathione.