On-line determination of organophosphorus pesticides in water by solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography with thermionic-selective detection

This paper describes the extraction of 49 organophosphorus pesti-cides (OPPs) from water samples using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Three fibers, including a 15-μm XAD-coated fiber, a 85-μm polyacrylate-coated fiber, and a 30-μm polydimethylsilox-ane-coated fiber (PDMS), were evaluated here. The effects of stirring and the addition of NaCl to the sample were examined for the polyacrylate-coated fiber. The precision of the technique was examined for all three fibers and the extraction kinetics were investigated using the XAD- and polyacrylate-coated fibers. With some exceptions, the XAD- and polyacrylate-coated fibers performed better than the PDMS-coated fiber. The superiority of the XAD-nd polyacrylate-coated fiber. The superiority of the XAD- and polyacrylate-coated fibers over the PDMS-coated fibers can be attribuibuted to the aromatic functionalities of the XAD and the polar functionalities in the polyacrylate. The relatively high percent RSDs indicate that the SPME technique needs to be further refined before it can be used for anything other than screening. A more effective form of agitation than mechanical stirring may be neccessary to reduce variability and achieve a faster equilibrium between the sample and the SPME fiber.     

Caracterisation Thermodinamique de Quelques Derives Acyles de la 3-Indazolone

The following acetylated derivatives of indazole: 3-indazolone, l-acetyl-3-indazolone, 2-acetyl-3-indazolone, l,2-diacetyl-3-indazolone and 3-acetoxy-l-acetyl-indazole were studied by combustion calorimetry. The enthalpies of formation were calculated from enthalpies of combustion. The isomeri-sation enthalpies were also calculated. The phase transition temperatures as well as caloric capacities of the studied compound in the crystalline phase were determined by DSC.     

The effect of the hydration degree on the hydrothermal and thermo-oxidative stability of some collageneous matrices

The methods of the thermal analysis (TG, DTG and DTA) were used in order to investigate the effect of the hydration degree on the thermal behaviour of some collageneous matrices. It was pointed out that the degradation of hydrated collagen in the temperature range 20-400°C occurs through two successive processes accompanied by mass losses. The first process, consisting in the collagen dehydration, is endothermic and takes place in the temperature range ≈25 - ≈125°C. The second process is exothermic and consists in the decomposition and/or thermo-oxidation of dry collagen. The thermal parameters of both processes depend on the hydration degree of collagen. The observed dependencies show that the hydrothermal and thermo-oxidative stability of collagen are strongly correlated with its water content. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Analysis of compounds of environmental concern: II. Diphenyl ethers

Nineteen halogenated and/or nitrated diphenyl ethers (currently listed in EPA Method 8111) have been separated on a DB-5/ DB-1701 column pair connected to an inlet splitter and separate electron capture detectors. Retention times are included for 10 additional compounds evaluated for their suitability as internal standards or surrogate compounds for incorporation into Method 8111. Method reproducibility and linearity are discussed, and results are presented for extracts of two real samples spiked with the 19 diphenyl ethers and analyzed using the dual-column dual-detector arrangement.     

PTIME Parametric Verification of Safety Properties for Reasonable Linear Hybrid Automata

This paper identifies an industrially relevant class of linear hybrid automata (LHA) called reasonable LHA for which parametric verification of convex safety properties with exhaustive entry states can be verified in polynomial time and time-bounded reachability can be decided in nondeterministic polynomial time for non-parametric verification and in exponential time for parametric verification. Properties with exhaustive entry states are restricted to runs originating in a (specified) inner envelope of some mode-invariant. Deciding whether an LHA is reasonable is shown to be decidable in polynomial time.     

Thermal analysis of some phytotherapeutic products irradiated with electron beam

The purpose of the present work deals with the evaluation of the electron beam irradiation effects on some natural products based on thermal analysis. Some natural products with therapeutic contributions (artichoke, sea buckthorn, common sage, stonebreaker and cloves) were irradiated with doses up to 9 kGy using accelerated electron beam. The thermal profiles lead to identify three phenomena: dehydration — volatilization, irreversible degradation — molecular reorganization and residue decomposition. The radio-induced degradations determine slight shifts of the temperatures where these phenomena occur. The energetic value of the studied products is affected by e-beam treatment depending on irradiation dose.