Chemometric approaches in environmental problems concerning PCDD and PCDF. Data interpretation and source correlation. Mechanisms of formation and destruction in MSW combustion process

Summary The role of multivariate analysis methods in evaluating, rationalizing, and working out complex environmental problems is discussed. The discussion is organized in two sections; a literature analysis of the application of chemometric methods to PCDD/PCDF data interpretation and source correlation and a review of the role of chemometric methods in analysing the results obtained by the Authors studying PCDD/PCDF formation and destruction mechanisms in MSW combustion processes.     

Use of solid-phase microextraction-capillary-gas chromatography (SPME-CGC) for the varietal characterization of wines by means of chemometrical methods

The extraction of wine aroma compounds was studied by direct-SPME (DI/SPME), headspace-SPME (HS/SPME) and multiple-headspace-extraction-SPME (MHE/SPME). The aromagrams obtained by HS/SPME-CGC were evaluated with chemometrical methods for the varietal classification of wines. Received: 25 July 1997 / Revised: 24 September 1997 / Accepted: 7 October 1997     

Conformation of bicyclo [n.1.0] Derivatives: Part 3. Dioxa- and trioxa-bicyclo[5.1.0] octanes

The conformational geometries and possible interconversion paths for some oxa derivatives of bicyclo[5.1.0] octane have been studied by the molecular mechanics method. The theoretical results are compared with the experimental data for the molecular geometry of bicyclo[5.1.0] octane and 3,5,8-trioxabicyclo[5.1.0] octane, the free energy of activation for cycloheptene epoxide and 3,5-dioxabicyclo[5.1.0] octane, the dipole moments and molar Kerr constants in solution for cycloheptene epoxide, 3,5-dioxa- and 3,5,8-trioxabicyclo[5.1.0] octane.     

Additivity Factors in the Binding of the Diethyltin(IV) Cation by Ligands Containing Amino and Carboxylic Groups at Different Ionic Strengths

Complex formation constants were determined potentiometrically (by a ISE-H⁺, glass electrode) in the systems, M²⁺ – L^z – H⁺ [M²⁺ = (C₂H₅)₂Sn²⁺, L^z = malonate, glycinate and ethylenediamine] at t = 25 ^∘C and 0.1 mol-L⁻¹≤ I/ ≤ 1 mol-L⁻¹ in NaCl_aq (0.1 mol-L⁻¹ ≤ I ≤ 0.75 mol-L⁻¹ for the ethylenediamine system). Thermodynamic values of formation constants, at infinite dilution, are [± 95% confidence interval, ^Tβ_pqr refer to the equilibrium, pM²⁺ + qL^z + rH⁺ = M_pL_qH_r^(2+z+r)]: for malonate, log₁₀ ^Tβ₁₁₀ = (5.47 ± 0.10); for glycinate, log₁₀ ^Tβ₁₁₀ = (9.54 ± 0.08), log₁₀ ^Tβ₁₁₁ = (12.97 ± 0.10); and for ethylenediamine, log₁₀ ^Tβ₁₁₀ = (10.47 ± 0.10), log₁₀ ^Tβ₁₂₀ = (16.17 ± 0.12) and log₁₀ ^Tβ₁₁₁ = (15.46 ± 0.10). The dependence on ionic strength of the formation constants was modeled by a simple Debye–Hückel type equation and by the SIT approach. By analyzing the stability of the species in the three different systems we found a simple additivity rule that can be expressed by the relationship: log₁₀ K = 6.46 n_N + 3.96 n_O − 0.60 (n_N²+ n_O²), with a mean deviation, ε(log₁₀ K) = 0.15 (K = equilibrium constant for the interaction of the organometal cation with the unprotonated or protonated ligand, n_N = number of amino groups and n_O = number of carboxylic groups of the ligand(s) involved in the formation reaction of complex species).     

Analytical characterization of municipal solid waste incinerator fly ash. Part II

The synergy of the micro FT-IR (Fourier Transform-Infrared) and SEM-EDX (Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray) techniques has been shown to be particularly helpful and effective for the characterization of inorganic compounds in fly ashes. The experimental data obtained by these techniques have been interpreted in comparison with those of other techniques. The presence of calcium carbonate, some sulfates, ammonium nitrate, calcium hydrogen phosphate, some chlorides, some oxides and aluminium silicates have been verified.     

Reactivity of Aliphatic and Phenolic Hydroxyl Groups in Kraft Lignin towards 4,4′ MDI

Several efforts have been dedicated to the development of lignin-based polyurethanes (PU) in recent years. The low and heterogeneous reactivity of lignin hydroxyl groups towards diisocyanates, arising from their highly complex chemical structure, limits the application of this biopolymer in PU synthesis. Besides the well-known differences in the reactivity of aliphatic and aromatic hydroxyl groups, experimental work in which the reactivity of both types of hydroxyl, especially the aromatic ones present in syringyl (S-unit), guaiacyl (G-unit), and p-hydroxyphenyl (H-unit) building units are considered and compared, is still lacking in the literature. In this work, the hydroxyl reactivity of two kraft lignin grades towards 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) was investigated. ³¹P NMR allowed the monitoring of the reactivity of each hydroxyl group in the lignin structure. FTIR spectra revealed the evolution of peaks related to hydroxyl consumption and urethane formation. These results might support new PU developments, including the use of unmodified lignin and the synthesis of MDI-functionalized biopolymers or prepolymers.     

Duality in reconstruction systems

We consider reconstruction systems (RS’s), which are G-frames in a finite dimensional setting, and that includes the fusion frames as projective RS’s. We describe the spectral picture of the set of RS operators for the projective systems with fixed weights. We also introduce a functional defined on dual pairs of RS’s, called the joint potential, and study the structure of the minimizers of this functional. In the case of irreducible RS’s the minimizers are characterize as the tight systems. In the general case we give spectral and geometric characterizations of the minimizers of the joint potential. At the end of the paper we show several examples that illustrate our results.     

A unified characterization of reproducing systems generated by a finite family

This article presents a general result from the study of shift-invariant spaces that characterizes tight frame and dual frame generators for shift-invariant subspaces of L²(ℝⁿ). A number of applications of this general result are then obtained, among which are the characterization of tight frames and dual frames for Gabor and wavelet systems.     

A zebrafish scale assay to monitor dioxin-like activity in surface water samples

New regulations on water quality require a close control of the possible biological activities known or unexpected pollutants may bring about. We present here a protocol based on the direct exposure of zebrafish to river water and the analysis of expression of specific genes in their scales to determine the presence of compounds with dioxin-like biological activity. The method does not require the killing of animals and allows detection of the biological activity after a single day of exposure. When tested, the method with real samples from the Llobregat River, clear temporal and spatial variations were observed, demonstrating its suitability for monitoring natural variations in water quality linked to specific discharges. High biological activities were unrelated to the currently checked water quality parameters (macropollutants, turbidity, TOC, etc.), but they did correlate with the presence of micropollutants (estrogens, detergents, etc.) related to domestic and/or industrial runoffs. The scale assay therefore provides a new tool to evaluate water quality changes that cannot be easily derived from the existing standard analytical procedures. It ranks among the very few described protocols able to detect biological effects from natural water samples, without a pre-concentration step, and after only 24 h of exposure.