Response of portable gamma monitors for dose rate measurements under various radiation conditions

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Responses of the hand-held gamma monitors available for the ambient dose equivalent rate measurements in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...     

Mathematical studies of Kekulé structures

The perfect matching vector and forcing and the Kekulé-vector of cata-benzenoids are defined. Two theorems are given which set the sufficient and necessary conditions for HKZ-vector (Harary et al. J Math Chem 6:295, 1991) and Kekulé-vector in cata-benzenoids. Additional two theorems are obtained which give sharp bounds for the modules of HKZ- and Kekulé vectors. Dedicated to Professor Tadeusz Marek Krygowski on the happy occasion of his 70th birthday.     

Impedance laser spectroscopy in a small RF-excited neon discharge

Laser impedance spectroscopy in a miniature neon RF-discharge operating at 0.27 bar was performed. The dominant role of the metastable atoms to the size and the sign of the RF-signal was investigated. Excellent linearity of the RF-signal but poor detection sensitivity of excited metastable neon atoms were found at low laser powers.     

Evaluation of the antioxidant activity by flow injection analysis method with electrochemically generated ABTS radical cation

A Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) decolourisation assay was adapted to a flow injection analysis (FIA) system and a simple and rapid method for antioxidant activity evaluation was developed. To avoid the time consuming step of 2,2'-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)(ABTS) radical cation preparation by chemical oxidation of ABTS, as in the original TAEC assay, and hence, to shorten the analysis time, the ABTS radical cation was generated on-line by electrochemical oxidation of ABTS in the flow-through electrolysis cell forming a part of the FIA system. The proposed method was optimised with respect to a flow rate, injection volume and ABTS radical cation/carrier ratio. Under the optimised conditions linear calibration graphs for Trolox were obtained over the range 10-100 microM, with a limit of detection 1.6 microM. Good reproducibility (relative standard deviation 1.95%) and sample throughput (32 samples per hour) were achieved. The developed method was applied to the evaluation of the antioxidant activity of pure compounds and samples of some common beverages. In both cases a good correlation between the results obtained by the proposed method and TEAC values evaluated by the classic TAEC decolourisation assay was obtained (r(2)= 0.996 for pure compounds and r(2)= 0.957 for beverage samples).     

Characterization of distribution of pi-electrons amongst benzenoid rings for Randić’s “algebraic” Kekulé structures

For benzenoid hydrocarbons the distribution of pi-electrons amongst rings is characterized in the context of Randis mode of assignment attending to the different Kekulé structures. In particular the mean and mean deviation from the mean are considered, and the benzenoids which achieve maximum deviation are identified.     

Algebraic Kekulé structures of benzenoid hydrocarbons

An algebraic Kekulé structure of a benzenoid hydrocarbon is obtained from an ordinary Kekulé structure by inscribing into each hexagon the number of pi-electrons which (according to this Kekulé structure) belong to this hexagon. We show that in the case of catafusenes, there is a one-to-one correspondence between ordinary and algebraic Kekulé structures. On the other hand, in the case of perifusenes, one algebraic Kekulé structure may correspond to several ordinary Kekulé structures.     

An implementation of structural change detection procedure based on experimental and numerical model correlation

A correlation of the experimental and the numerical model is implemented in order to detect structural change. The implementation of the method involves two steps: in the first the respective location is detected, and in the second the structural change is quantified. The method can detect changes in mass, stiffness or both. The numerical simulations demonstrate that the method is accurate and reliable. The method is implemented analytically and experimentally in parallel with laboratory test-cases. Improvements of the procedure are suggested and implemented in order to study the applicability to real-world cases. This study shows that model update significantly contributes to the successful structural change detection. The influence of the model reduction and model update on the detection accuracy is studied.     

Complexes of N-Phosphorylated Thioureas RNHC(S)NHP(O)(OiPr)2 (R = 2-MeC6H4, 2,6-Me2C6H3, 2,4,6-Me3C6H2) With Nickel(II)

The reaction of O,O′-diisopropylphosphoric acid isothiocyanate (iPrO)₂P(O)NCS with 2-methylaniline 2-MeC₆H₄NH₂, 2,6-dimethylaniline 2,6-Me₂C₆H₃NH₂, or 2,4,6-trimethylaniline 2,4,6-Me₃C₆H₂NH₂ leads to the N-phosphorylated thioureas RNHC(S)NHP(O)(OiPr)₂ (R = 2-MeC₆H₄?, HL^I ; 2,6-Me₂C₆H₃?, HL^II ; 2,4,6-Me₃C₆H₂?, HL^III ). Reaction of the potassium salts of HL^{I –III} with Ni(II) in aqueous EtOH leads to [Ni(L^I–III-N,S)₂] ([NiL^I–III ₂ ]) chelate complexes. The compounds obtained were investigated by ¹H, ³¹P{¹H} NMR spectroscopy and microanalysis. The molecular structure of the thiourea HL^III was elucidated by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies showed that HL^III forms both intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds, which in turn leads to the formation of polymeric chains. One of the intermolecular hydrogen bonds is of the type N?H…S. Moreover, the formation of intermolecular C?H…η⁶-phenyl interactions was established.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the free supplemental file.     

Simple and efficient one-pot solvent-free synthesis of N-methyl imines of aromatic aldehydes

A one-pot solvent-free synthesis of N-methyl imines in good to excellent yields was performed by grinding together aromatic aldehydes and methylamine hydrochloride in the presence of a base. The best yields were achieved when an excess of methylamine hydrochloride and inexpensive sodium hydrogen carbonate was used (usually in a molar ratio ArCHO/CH₃NH₂·HCl/NaHCO₃ = 1:5:5), allowing the reaction to proceed for 1 h (in the case of aromatic aldehydes containing electron-withdrawing substituents) or overnight (in the case of electron-rich aldehydes). After a simple work-up (extraction with diethyl ether) the obtained products were mostly pure enough for spectral characterization. In this way, 31 N-methyl imines were prepared, among which eight were synthesized for the first time. Their structures were elucidated by spectral means (¹H- and ¹³C-NMR, IR, MS) whenever it was possible. In the case of salicylaldehyde and 4-chlorobenzaldehyde, the synthesis of the corresponding imines was also conducted on a gram-scale with a 72% and 84% isolated yield, respectively. The present approach not only provides good to high yields, but also eliminates the disadvantages of the traditional synthesis of N-methyl imines, such as the use of hazardous solvents and more or less expensive catalysts and the necessity of work/handling with an anhydrous gas in pressurized containers.     

Characterization of Food Packaging Films with Blackcurrant Fruit Waste as a Source of Antioxidant and Color Sensing Intelligent Material

Chitosan and pectin films were enriched with blackcurrant pomace powder (10 and 20% (w/w)), as bio-based material, to minimize food production losses and to increase the functional properties of produced films aimed at food coatings and wrappers. Water vapor permeability of active films increased up to 25%, moisture content for 27% in pectin-based ones, but water solubility was not significantly modified. Mechanical properties (tensile strength, elongation at break and Young’s modulus) were mainly decreased due to the residual insoluble particles present in blackcurrant waste. FTIR analysis showed no significant changes between the film samples. The degradation temperatures, determined by DSC, were reduced by 18 °C for chitosan-based samples and of 32 °C lower for the pectin-based samples with blackcurrant powder, indicating a disturbance in polymer stability. The antioxidant activity of active films was increased up to 30-fold. Lightness and redness of dry films significantly changed depending on the polymer type. Significant color changes, especially in chitosan film formulations, were observed after exposure to different pH buffers. This effect is further explored in formulations that were used as color change indicators for intelligent biopackaging.