Neutron activation analysis of asbestos from Canada

Concentrations of Al, Au, Br, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Fe, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Sb, Sc, Sm, Srm and V were determined in 6 samples of asbestos from Canada. They were equal to (in ppm): Al 1660–3430; Au 0.03–0.04; Br 3.1–11.7; Ce 1.7–4.8; Cl 116–331; Co 35–83; Cr 200–2060; Fe 29300–42200; K 125–867; La 0.28–1.03; Mg 24–25.9%; Mn 418–545; Na 364–1610; Sb 0.65–1.46; Sc 3.73–5.57; Sm 0.09–0.3; Sr 26.7–41.4; V 8.4–14.3. Five toxic elements were found in asbestos; Cr, Mn, Ni, Sb and V.     

Importance of bulk properties in the structure and evolution of cleavage surfaces of quasicrystals

The present work reviews the recent achievements in probing bulk properties of quasicrystals by using cleavage surfaces and surface sensitive techniques. In particular, it is shown that the cluster–subcluster-based structure of the cleavage surface of icosahedral Al–Pd–Mn quasicrystals can be related to the presence of stable atom clusters in the bulk, which force the crack front to circumvent them. Furthermore, by subjecting cleavage surfaces of differently pre-annealed Al–Pd–Mn quasicrystals to a post-cleavage heat treatment, we demonstrate that bulk vacancies migrate toward the surface, where they initiate structure and composition changes. These studies allow us to characterize Al–Pd–Mn quasicrystals with respect to their bulk vacancy concentration. As-grown Al–Pd–Mn quasicrystals are found to contain a supersaturation of all chemical species of vacancies in near stoichiometric composition, whereas long term pre-annealed material has a much lower, and predominantly Al, vacancy concentration. Analogous experiments for decagonal Al–Ni–Co quasicrystals show that as-grown Al–Ni–Co has a lower vacancy concentration than as-grown Al–Pd–Mn.     

Microdistributions of Electrolytic Alloys and Their Components

Microdistributions of Cu–Ni and Cu–Co alloys electrodeposited from pyrophosphate; Ni–Cu, from sulfate–chloride and pyrophosphate–ammonium; Cu–Zn, from pyrophosphate and cyanide; Cu–Cd, from sulfate and pyrophosphate; and Ni–Cd, Ni–Co–Cd, and Zn–Cd, from sulfate, sulfate–chloride, pyrophosphate, chloride–ammonium, and acetate electrolytes are studied. The coatings' microprofile depends on the kinetics of reduction of each component and mutual influence of electrochemical processes at the cathode. Copper accelerates and cadmium inhibits the reduction of the second component of alloys, no matter the electrolyte type, reduction kinetics, and metal nature. In antileveling conditions, the diffusion-controlled Cu reduction accelerates the reduction of the second component of alloys and ensures deposition of coatings whose microprofiles are more uniform than expected from diffusion limitations only. Depolarizing action of Cu during the Cu–Zn deposition from a cyanide electrolyte can completely neutralize differences in the rates of supply of reduced metal ions; hence a constant chemical composition of the coating over its microprofile. Inhibiting action of the diffusion-controlled Cd deposition provides for leveling properties of electrolytes from which Ni–Cd, Ni–Co–Cd, and Zn–Cd alloys are deposited; the chemical composition of these deposits is nonuniform over their microprofiles.     

Diffusion coefficients of 2-fluoroanisole, 2-bromoanisole, allylbenzene and 1,3-divinylbenzene at infinite dilution in supercritical carbon dioxide

The Taylor–Aris chromatographic technique was employed for the determination of diffusion coefficients of 2-fluoroanisole, 2-bromoanisole, allylbenzene and 1,3-divinylbenzene at infinite dilution in supercritical carbon dioxide from 313.16 to 333.16 K and pressures between 15 and 35 MPa. As expected, the diffusivities rise when temperature increases and pressure decreases. Numerous predictive equations are compared with experimental data: Lai–Tan, Liu–Ruckenstein cluster formula, Woerlee, Hippler–Schubert–Troe, Catchpole–King, Eaton–Akgerman, He, He–Yu, Liu–Silva–Macedo, Funazukuri and coworkers, Dariva–Coelho–Oliveira, Zhu–Lu–Zhou–Wang–Shi and the Liu–Ruckenstein RHS formula. The equations of He, He–Yu and Catchpole–King are the best of all, but cannot be used in the whole range of temperatures and solvent densities.     

Polarographic and voltammetric determination of trace amounts of 2-nitronaphthalene

The polarographic behaviour of 2-nitronaphthalene was investigated by DC tast polarography (DCTP) and differential pulse polarography (DPP), both at a dropping mercury electrode, and differential pulse voltammetry and adsorptive stripping voltammetry, both at a hanging mercury drop electrode. Optimum conditions have been found for the determination of 2-nitronaphthalene by the given methods in the concentration ranges of 2×10^–6–1×10^–4, 2×10^–7–1×10^–4, 1×10^–8–1×10^–4 and 2×10^–9–1×10^–8 M, respectively. Practical applicability of these techniques was demonstrated by the determination of 2-nitronaphthalene in drinking and river water after its preliminary separation and preconcentration using liquid–liquid and solid-phase extraction with limits of determination of 3×10^–10 M (drinking water) and 3×10^–9 M (river water).     

Nanoaggregates of ABC-type triple hydrophilic block copolymers by binding of cationic surfactant

A triple hydrophilic block copolymer comprised of poly(ethylene oxide), poly(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonate), and poly(methacrylic acid) (PEO–PAMPS–PMAA) does not form a micelle by itself when it is dissolved in water. However, in the previous paper, we fabricated the nanoaggregates of PEO–PAMPS–PMAA and cationic surfactant, such as cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC), by insolubilizing the anionic PAMPS and/or PMAA blocks of the polymer with CTAC only at high pH. In this paper, we fabricated the nanoaggregates of dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC) and PEO–PAMPS–PMAA in a wide range of pH to examine the effect of ionization of the PMAA blocks of the polymer on the aggregates formation of PEO–PAMPS–PMAA. The properties of the nanoaggregates are affected by the ionization of PMAA block of the polymer. DTAC (C12 alkyl chain) was employed instead of CTAC (C16 alkyl chain) to reveal the effect of alkyl chain length of surfactant on the aggregate formation of PEO–PAMPS–PMAA. The properties of PEO–PAMPS–PMAA nanoaggregates also depend on the structure of surfactant. The binding of DTAC to PEO–PAMPS–PMAA was monitored by electrophoresis measurements, while the formation of DTAC/PEO–PAMPS–PMAA nanoaggregates was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering measurements and fluorescence spectroscopy.     

Analysis of High-Purity Volatile Compounds

The current status of the analysis of high-purity volatile substances is considered. Two types of impurities in high-purity volatile substances were distinguished: molecularly dissolved substances and suspended particles. The main factors that restrict the limiting capabilities of analytical techniques were revealed. The attained detection limits were 10^–8–10^–10% for metal impurities, 10^–4–10^–8% for organic substances, 10^–5–10^–9% for water, and 10^–5–10^–7 for permanent gases. Suspended particles of 0.04–0.003 m in size were determined by light scattering.     

Effect of temperature on the selectivity of the extraction of lanthanides with dibutylphosphoric acid from thiocyanate solution

Extraction coefficients and separation factors of all lanthanides were determined in the system: dibutylphosphoric acid /HDBP/ - 3M NH₄NCS, in the temperature range of 15–50 °C. The values for the separation factors for such pairs as: Gd–Tb and Er–Tm, are higher than 4, those for the pair of Tb–Dy are higher than 3, and those for the La–Ce, Pm–Sm, Dy–Ho, Ho–Er and Tm–Yb pairs are higher than 2. The influence of temperature on the separation factors of light /La–Gd/ and heavy /Gd–Lu/ lanthanides is discussed and compared with that observed for the extraction from the nitric acid solutions. The results are also discussed in the light of the double-double effect and outer-, vs. inner-sphere complexation in the lanthanide series.     

Characterization of low-molecular weight peptides in champagne wine by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry

This paper reports the use of an on-line LC–ESI–MS/MS method for the identification and quantification of di- and tripeptides in champagne wine without laborious sample pretreatment. The identification of these compounds, in their underivatised form, is based on identical retention times and ESI–MS spectra to those of reference standards. The presence of nine dipeptides (Arg–Ile, Ile–Arg, Ile–Val, Lys–Phe, Lys–Tyr, Phe–Lys, Tyr–Gln, Tyr–Lys, Val–Ile) and the absence of two tripeptides (Phe–Arg–Arg and Lys–Met–Asn) have been evidenced in the matrix. Calibration curves for each analyte were established using Phe–Arg as internal standard. The calibration curves were linear in the concentration range 0.1–10 mg L⁻¹ with a determination coefficient, r², better than 0.992. The accuracy for the calibration standard was estimated at between 92 and 102%. This method allows high recovery and satisfies the necessary requirements with respect to accuracy, repeatability and sensitivity. The first application of this analytical method to the measurement of di- and tri-peptides in different vintages of champagne wine is reported. Compositional changes in the peptides occurred depending on the vintage.     

Towards the understanding of the spectroscopic behaviour of the C–H oscillator in C–HO hydrogen bonds: the effect of solvent polarity

The effect of solvent polarity versus specific C–HO contacts on the vibrational νC–H mode is studied using CHCl₃ as a model system. Ab initio SCI–PCM calculations show that the overall shift of the νC–H band, sometimes ascribed to the C–HO hydrogen bonding, can in fact be explained by the electrostatic interaction with a dielectric environment. The presence of a new νC–H band – assigned to the C–HO bonded forms – remains as the most reliable evidence of C–HO hydrogen bonding.     

Crystal Chemistry of Rare-Earth Chalcogenides

Crystal structures of Ln–X, Ln–Ln'–X, Ln–M–X, and Ln–X–Z compounds (Ln and Ln' are rare-earth elements; M is subgroup I–VIIIa or II–Vb cation and Z is subgroup V–VIIb anion; X is S, Se, or Te) were systematized and analyzed using data obtained by us and data from the literature. The structures of binary Ln–X chalcogenides can be divided into 4 groups: derivatives of NaCl-type structures, structures with one small parameter b 4 Å, structures similar to those of oxides and pniktides, and derivatives of PbFCl-type structures. Triple Ln–Ln'–X chalcogenides have structures similar to those of the binary chalcogenides of the first, second, and third groups. It was shown that the crystal structure of Ln–M–X depends on the size of cation M, its formal charge, electronegativity value, and electronic structure. The crystal structures of the phases in the Ln–M–X and Ln–X–Z compounds were compared with binary chalcogenide structures. Different variants of structure characterization and their potentialities are considered. Special attention is given to the defect-containing and ordered structures and to elucidating the role of the cation and anion vacancies in the phase structures.     

Effect of preparation pH on pore structure of silica gels

Surface characterization of silica gels prepared at different gelation pH from water glass and sulphuric acid were made by argon adsorption at 77 K using continuous volumetric method. While microporous silica gels prepared in the pH range of 1–3 had BET surface areas of 504–571 m² g^–1, total pore volumes of 0.26–0.31 cm³ g^–1 and micropore volumes of 0.16–0.23 cm³ g^–1, mesoporous silica gels prepared in the pH range of 3.36–0.65 had BET surface areas of 374–530 m² g^–1 and pore volumes of 0.61–0.79 cm³ g^–1.     

A study of the chemiluminescence behavior of myoglobin with luminol and its analytical applications

A chemiluminescence signal at 425 nm was observed when ferric state myoglobin was mixed with luminol in alkaline medium. Because the signal was remarkably enhanced in the presence of Fe(CN)₆ ^4–, analytical applications were investigated in a flow-injection system. The increase in chemiluminescence was linearly dependent on myoglobin concentration in the range 0.1 to 100 nmol L^–1, and the limit of detection was 0.04 nmol L^–1 with relative standard deviation 3.2% (3). It was also found that binding of Mb with the ligands CN^–, SCN^–, and F^– significantly inhibited the chemiluminescence reaction. The linear dynamic ranges for the ligands were 1.0–300.0, 0.1–3.0, and 0.5–100.0 nmol L^–1, and the limits of detection (S/N=3) 0.4, 0.04, and 0.2 nmol L^–1, for F^–, CN^–, and SCN^–, respectively. The relative standard deviations were 5.32%, 6.13%, and 3.38% for 0.1 nmol L^–1 CN^–, 0.5 nmol L^–1 SCN^–, and 1.0 nmol L^–1 F^–, respectively. At a flow rate of 2.0 mL min^–1 the assay could be accomplished in 1 min, including sampling and washing. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of myoglobin in human urine and F^– in water samples. A possible mechanism of chemiluminescence production by myoglobin and luminol is presented.     

DFT studies on tautomerism of C5-substituted 1,2,4-triazoles

DFT (B3LYP/6-311++G**, B3PW91/6-311++G**) Gibbs free energy and single point CCSD(T)/6-311++G**//DFT total energy calculations were performed to investigate stability and tautomerism of C5-substituted 1,2,4-triazoles. Three different tautomers are possible for the substituted 1,2,4-triazoles: N1–H, N2–H, and N4–H. Unlike for the 1,2,3-triazoles, where the most stable is the N2–H tautomer regardless of substituent applied, for the 1,2,4-triazoles, the electron donating substituents (–OH, –F, –CN, –NH₂, and –Cl) and the C5-cation stablize the N2–H tautomer, whereas the electron withdrawing substituents (–CONH₂, –COOH, –CHO, –BH₂, and –CFO) and the C5-anion stablize the N1–H tautomer. Except for the C5-anion and C5-cation, the N4–H form is the least stable tautomer. The relative stability of the C5-substituted 1,2,4-triazole tautomers is strongly influenced by attractive and/or repulsive intramolecular interactions between substituent and electron donor or electron acceptor centres of the triazole ring.     

Radioisotope excited EDXRF analysis of sediment core samples from the southern part of the Black Sea +

In all 43 sediment samples were collected as gravity cores in depthfrom 70 to 150 cm, from the 20 sampling sites of the continental slope ofthe southern part of the Black Sea, during 1978. The samples were quantitativelyanalyzed by radioisotope excited energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry(EDXRF) using fundamental parameter technique (FTP). The investigated sedimentsamples were the organic rich-mud components of the core samples, which wereknown as rich in metals. The metal concentration ranges were as follows: Ca(3.1–12.9%), Ti (1000–2000 µg/g), V (40–150 µg/g),Cr (30–200 µg/g), Mn (200–1500 µg/g), Ni (25–100µg/g), Cu (20–70 µg/g), Zn (20–50 µg/g), Br(15–670 µg/g), Rb (5–90 µg/g), Sr (80–700 µg/g),Y (10–20 µg/g), Mo (10–111 µg/g), Zr (20–190µg/g), Cd ( <1–5 µg/g), Sb ( <1–5 µg/g),I (10–430 µg/g), Ba (100–1650 µg/g), La (5–18µg/g), Ce (12–38 µg/g) and Nd (6–17 µg/g). Thesediment cores systematically collected in 1978 by Mineral Research and ExplorationInstitute of Turkey (MTA) are the oldest available sediment samples from theTurkish coastline of the Black Sea. Therefore, the results may be used asreferences for monitoring possible future metal pollution.     

A molecular dynamics study of the pentacyclo-undecane cage amino acid tripeptide

In this paper, we report on the conformational profile of the pentacyclo-undecane (PCU) cage tripeptide carried out by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using water as an explicit solvent. The MD solution phase studies carried on the model peptide analogues (A)=Ac–Ala–Ala–Ala–NHMe; (B)=Ac–Cage–Cage–Cage–NHMe; (C)=Ac–Ala–Cage–Ala–NHMe and (D)=Ac–Ala–Pro–Ala–NHMe, are used as a complimentary technique to the corresponding gas phase simulated annealing (SA) study previously carried out in our laboratory. No significant structural changes were observed over the MD trajectories. However, the results reported here provide further evidence that the (PCU) cage amino acid exhibits C_7eq, C_7aq, _R and _L conformations, and the theoretical results suggest that the PCU cage amino acid is a strong β-turn inducer. These results support the prediction that when the PCU cage residues are in the (i) and (i+2) positions, the β-turn can be extended in either direction to form anti-parallel β-pleated sheets, thereby forming the basis of the mechanism for the folding back of the chain in a cross-β-turn structure.     

Vibrational frequencies and structural determinations of tetraisocyanatogermane

The normal mode frequencies and corresponding vibrational assignments of Ge(NCO)₄ are examined theoretically using the 98 set of quantum chemistry codes. Each of the vibrational modes was assigned to one of six types of motion predicted by a group theoretical analysis (Ge–N stretch, N–C–O symmetric stretch, N–C–O asymmetric stretch, N–C–O bend, Ge–N–C bend, and N–Ge–N bend) utilizing the T_d symmetry of the molecule. Uniform scaling factors were derived for each type of motion. Predicted infrared and Raman intensities are reported.     

Spectroscopic studies of the behaviour of the AgNO3−HNO3 — Tetrabutyl dithiopyrophosphate extraction system

A very efficient extraction of silver with tetrabutyl dithiopyrophosphate (TBDTPP) is followed by dramatic changes in the structure of the extractant molecule. The IR and NMR spectroscopic studies have revealed that in the presence of Ag⁺ and NO ₃ ^– ions the TBDTPP molecule rearranges first into a molecule containing a P–S–P bridge and one P=O group instead of P–O–P and P=S, respectively, and then into a molecule containing two P–S–C and two P=O groups at a P–O–P bridge.     

Preparation of conjugates of peptides imitating part of the antigen-determinant section of protein VP1 of foot-and-mouth disease virus A12 with various supports

The preparation of conjugates of peptides 143–148, 153–159, 149–159, 146–159, and 143–159, imitating a section of a protein of the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) virus of type A₁₂, with bovine serum albumin, with. a copolymer of N-vinylpyrrolidone with acrylic acid, and with a copolymer of N-vinylpyrrolidone with maleic anhydride is described. The dependence of the degree of conjugation on various factors is discussed.V. I. Lenin Tadzhik State University, Dushanbe. Institute of Immunology, Ministry of Public Health of the USSR, Moscow. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 516–519, July–August, 1990.     

Voltammetric Determination of Sulfide Ions

Procedures were proposed for the voltammetric determination of S^2– at a mercury-film electrode. They are based on the oxidation of S^2– at –0.79 to –0.80 V and on the reduction of HgS, the product of the oxidation of S^2–, at –0.76 to –0.96 V in a 1 M NaOH solution. The anodic and cathodic currents are linear functions of S^2– concentration in the ranges from 1 × 10^–5 to 1 × 10^–4 M and from 2 × 10^–6 to 1 × 10^–4 M, respectively.