Simplified method for the determination of chlorinated fungicides and insecticides in fruits by gas chromatography

A fast, reliable method for the determination of more than twenty chlorinated fungicides and insecticides in a variety of fruit samples is presented. The pesticides are extracted from chopped samples with magnetic stirring, after adding 13 ml of acetone-phosphate buffer-brine solution (12:1, v/v) with 5 ml of n-hexane. The continuous module employed allows sequential decolourization of the organic phase, solvent changeover and solid-phase extraction for clean-up and preconcentration purposes. A 1-microl aliquot of the pesticides in ethyl acetate (eluent) is finally injected into the gas chromatograph for separation and identification. The method provides excellent clean-up despite the complexity of the matrices involved. Fruit samples (5-20 g) containing 0.1-1250 ng/g pesticides were analysed with a high precision (4-6%). After contamination of the fruit samples for 12 h, average recoveries >90% at fortification levels of 5-25 ng/g were obtained for most of the pesticides. Positive findings of these pesticides in fruits purchased at local markets were confirmed by GC-MS.     

Bounding families of ruled surfaces

In this paper we provide a sharp bound for the dimension of a family of ruled surfaces of degree in . We also find the families with maximal dimension: the family of ruled surfaces containing two unisecant skew lines, when and the family of rational ruled surfaces, when .

The first tool we use is a Castelnuovo-type bound for the irregularity of ruled surfaces in . The second tool is an exact sequence involving the normal sheaf of a curve in the grassmannian. This sequence is analogous to the one constructed by Eisenbud and Harris in 1992, where they deal with the problem of bounding families of curves in projective space. However, our construction is more general since we obtain the mentioned sequence by purely algebraic means, studying the geometry of ruled surfaces and of the grassmannian.

     

Analytical applications of picolinealdehyde salicyloylhydrazone: II. Extraction and spectrophotometric determination of vanadium(V)

Picolinealdehyde salicyloylhydrazone reacts with vanadium(V) to produce a yellow 1:1 complex (λ_max = 400 nm, ? = 2.17 × 10⁴ liters · mol^?1 cm^?1) in aqueous ethanolic solution. The yellow complex can be extracted into chlorobenzene (λ_max = 425 nm, ? = 2.16 × 10⁴ liters · mol^?1 cm^?1) and used for the spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of vanadium. Interferences have been investigated. The method has been applied to the determination of vanadium in steel and in lead concentrates.     

Continuous flow autoanalyzer for the sequential determination of total sugars, colorant and caffeine contents in soft drinks

A novel autoanalyzer for sequential determination of total sugars, class IV caramel and caffeine contents in soft drinks is described for the first time. The multiparametric autoanalyzer is based on the on-line coupling of a continuous solid-phase extraction unit with two detectors in series: UV–vis and evaporative light scattering (ELSD) detectors. Caffeine is selectively retained on the sorbent column and the other components are sequentially determined in the effluent. Caffeine was further eluted with an acetonitrile stream and the signal registered in the ELSD. The proposed autoanalyzer is a useful tool for the determination of these macrocomponents in the selected matrices on account of the high level of capital, basic and productivity-related analytical properties it provides. The method was validated through the use of spiked samples and applied to the analysis of more than 20 different soft drink samples (regular, diet, caffeine-free, energy drinks) with satisfactory results.     

Indirect atomic absorption spectrometric determination of mixtures of chloride and iodide by precipitation in an unsegmented flow system

Chloride and iodide are injected into a carrier silver nitrate and the precipitates formed are retained on a stainless-steel filter, so that total chloride and iodide can be determined by the decrease in the atomic absorption signal for silver. The silver chloride precipitate is subsequently dissolved with ammonia and chloride only is determined. Iodide is determined by difference. Mixtures of these anions at μg ml^?1 levels can be determined for chloride/iodide ratios from 7.5:1 to 1:60, with a sampling frequency of ca. 10 h^?1. Applications to the determination of chloride in foodstuffs and wines are described. Up to 10 samples per hour can be handled and 50–100 samples can be run before the filter must be cleaned.     

Interaction between water and polymer chains in poly(hydroxyethyl acrylate) hydrogels

Polymer networks of different cross-linking densities were prepared by copolymerisation of hydroxyethyl acrylate and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. The average molecular weight between cross-links as well as the polymer chain mobility were characterised by means of dynamic–mechanical spectroscopy. Equilibrium sorption isotherms and the water uptake in immersion in liquid water allowed the determination of the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter between water molecules and polymer chain segments, which decreased with the water activity in the hydrogel and increased with the cross-linking density as a consequence of the hydrophobic character of the cross-linking agent. Dynamic sorption and desorption experiments were used to determine the diffusion coefficient. Received: 11 November 1999 Accepted: 28 July 2000     

Width of convex bodies in spaces of constant curvature

We consider the measure of points, the measure of lines and the measure of planes intersecting a given convex body K in a space form. We obtain some integral formulas involving the width of K and the curvature of its boundary ∂K. Also we study the special case of constant width. Moreover we obtain a generalisation of the Heintze–Karcher inequality to space forms. Work partially supported by grant number ACI2003-44 Joint action Catalonia–Baden-Württemberg and by FEDER/MEC grant number MTM2006-04353. The third author was also supported by the program Ramón y Cajal, MEC.     

Microcanonical equations obtained from the Tsallis entropy

Microcanonical equations for some of the most usual thermodynamic properties of a system, suitable for molecular dynamics simulations, are derived from the Tsallis entropy functional using both the usual definition of temperature as a derivative of entropy and a modified physical one introduced by Abe. The practical consequences of each choice are then discussed.     

Probing secondary carbohydrate-protein interactions with highly dense cyclodextrin-centered heteroglycoclusters: the heterocluster effect

Comparison of the lectin-binding properties for highly dense beta-cyclodextrin-centered homo- and heteroglycoclusters with defined architecture provides evidence for the existence of strong synergic effects (heterocluster effect) on carbohydrate-protein recognition events.