Conservative methods for the Toda lattice equations

We are concerned with the numerical integration of the Todalattice equations by using different conservative methods. Numericalexperiments suggest that the global error for isospectral schemesdecreases exponentially with time but it is almost constantfor either symplectic or more general integrators. We providea theoretical explanation for these experimental findings.     

Determination of lasalocid with sensitized terbium(III) luminescence detection

The luminescence of the lasalocid-terbium(III) system in the presence of Triton X-100 and trioctylphosphine oxide has been studied by obtaining kinetic and equilibrium measurements and using the stopped-flow mixing technique. The initial rate and luminescence signal of this system are directly proportional to the lasalocid concentration, which allows one to develop very simple, fast, automatic methods for the determination of this analyte. Kinetic and equilibrium data can be obtained in only 0.1 and 10 s, respectively. The calibration graphs were linear over the range 0.004-5.0 mug ml(-1) (kinetic method) and 0.01-5.0 mug ml(-1) (equilibrium method) and the detection limits achieved were 1 and 3 ng ml(-1), respectively, equivalent to 2 and 6 ng g(-1) lasalocid in a chicken liver sample, which are similar to those afforded by the chromatographic methods described for this determination. The relative standard deviation of both methods was close to 2%. The analytical recoveries obtained by applying the kinetic and equilibrium methods to drinking water, poultry feed and chicken liver samples ranged from 95.6 to 102.1% and from 95.9 to 104.9%, respectively.     

Simultaneous determination of benzoic acid and saccharin in soft drinks by using lanthanide-sensitized luminescence

A simple and fast approach is used for the first time to develop a time resolved lanthanide-sensitized luminescence method for the simultaneous determination of a preservative and a sweetener, namely benzoic acid (BZ) and saccharin (SC), respectively, in food samples. The method involves the formation of the corresponding ternary chelates with terbium(III) and trioctylphosphine oxide (TOPO) in the presence of Triton X-100, and the measurement of the initial rate and equilibrium signal of this system, which were obtained in 0.1 and 5 s, respectively. The dynamic ranges of the calibration graphs, obtained by using kinetic and equilibrium measurements, were 0.2-36 micrograms ml-1 and 0.15-30 micrograms ml-1, respectively, for BZ, and 3.3-24 micrograms ml-1 and 4-36 micrograms ml-1 for SC and the detection limits were 0.07 and 0.04 microgram ml-1, respectively, for BZ, and 1.1 and 1.2 micrograms ml-1, respectively, for sodium SC. The relative standard deviation ranged between 2.3 and 3.0%. Both compounds were determined simultaneously by using a system of two equations which were resolved by using the calibration data obtained individually for each analyte and by multiple linear regression. Mixtures of BZ and SC in ratios between 3:1 and 1:9 were satisfactorily resolved by using both approaches. The method was applied to the direct analysis of several soft drinks. Analytical recoveries ranged between 89.3 and 108.5%.