Certification of trace element contents (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Hg, Na, Pb and Zn) in a fly ash obtained from the combustion of pulverised coal

Summary The element contents of As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Hg, Na, Pb und Zn of a fly ash from pulverised coal are certified. The procedures and their results for the homogenisation, the contamination and homogeneity checks and the analytical campaign are reported. The certified mass fractions and indicative values for Cr, Ni, Th, V and water soluble sulphate are given. The work was carried out within the framework of the activities of the Community Bureau of Reference (BCR) of the Commission of the European Communities.

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Zertifizierung von Spurengehalten (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Hg, Na, Pb und Zn) in einer Flugasche aus Pulverkohle

Zusammenfassung In einer Flugasche aus Pulverkohle wurden die Elementgehalte an As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Hg, Na, Pb und Zn zertifiziert. Über die Homogenisierung, die Kontrolle der Kontaminierung und Homogenität und die analytischen Ringversuche wird berichtet. Die zertifizierten Gehalte sowie der Gehalt von Cr, Ni, Th, V und wasserlöslichem Sulfat werden gegeben. Die Arbeit wurde ausgeführt im Rahmen des Programms des Referenzbüros der Kommission der Europäischen Gemeinschaften (BCR).

     

Deza graphs with parameters and

A Deza graph with parameters is a ‐regular graph with vertices, in which any two vertices have or () common neighbours. A Deza graph is strictly Deza if it has diameter , and is not strongly regular. In an earlier paper, the two last authors et al characterised the strictly Deza graphs with and , where is the number of vertices with common neighbours with a given vertex. Here, we start with a characterisation of Deza graphs (not necessarily strictly Deza graphs) with parameters . Then, we deal with the case and , and thus complete the characterisation of Deza graphs with . It follows that all Deza graphs with , and can be made from special strongly regular graphs, and in fact are strictly Deza except for . We present several examples of such strongly regular graphs. A divisible design graph (DDG) is a special Deza graph, and a Deza graph with is a DDG. The present characterisation reveals an error in a paper on DDGs by the second author et al. We discuss the cause and the consequences of this mistake and give the required errata.     

On the sum of Laplacian eigenvalues of graphs

Let k be a natural number and let G be a graph with at least k vertices. Brouwer conjectured that the sum of the k largest Laplacian eigenvalues of G is at most , where e(G) is the number of edges of G. We prove this conjecture for k=2. We also show that if G is a tree, then the sum of the k largest Laplacian eigenvalues of G is at most e(G)+2k-1.     

Charge-remote and charge-proximate fragmentation processes in alkali-cationized fatty acid esters upon high-energy collisional activation. A new mechanistic proposal

The effect of the metal ion on the high-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) of alkali metal-cationized n-butyl and methyl ester derivatives of palmitic and oleic acid was examined. The results show that the alkali metal ion has a pronounced effect and does not act as a mere ‘spectator’ ion with respect to the fragmentation process. While C–H cleavage is a dominant process for [M+Li]⁺ as well as [M+Na]⁺ precursor ions, C–C cleavage is also significant for the [M+Na]⁺ ions. Homolytic mechanisms involving the formation of a transient biradical cation are proposed which enable us to rationalize in a straightforward manner all product ions formed by both charge-remote and charge-proximate fragmentations. The mechanistic proposal is discussed in view of available knowledge on electron impact, CID and related processes. In order to predict how the alkali metal ion could affect the reactivity of the postulated biradical state formed following electronic excitation of the alkali metal-cationized molecules, quantum chemical calculations were performed on methyl and n-butyl acetate as model substances. The decreased spin density at the carbonyl oxygen atom in the biradical state may provide an explanation for the greater tendency towards C–C cleavage reactions of the sodium-cationized fatty acid esters relative to the corresponding lithium complexes. © 1988 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Graph switching, 2-ranks,and graphical Hadamard matrices

We study the behavior of the 2-rank of the adjacency matrix of a graph under Seidel and Godsil–McKay switching, and apply the result to graphs coming from graphical Hadamard matrices of order $4^m$. Starting with graphs from known Hadamard matrices of order 64, we find (by computer) many Godsil–McKay switching sets that increase the 2-rank. Thus we find strongly regular graphs with parameters $(63,32,16,16)$, $(64,36,20,20)$, and $(64,28,12,12)$ for almost all feasible 2-ranks. In addition we work out the behavior of the 2-rank for a graph product related to the Kronecker product for Hadamard matrices, which enables us to find many graphical Hadamard matrices of order $4^m$ for which the number of related strongly regular graphs with different 2-ranks is unbounded as a function of $m$. The paper extends results from the article ‘Switched symplectic graphs and their 2-ranks’ by the first and the last author.     

Walk-regular divisible design graphs

A divisible design graph (DDG for short) is a graph whose adjacency matrix is the incidence matrix of a divisible design. DDGs were introduced by Kharaghani, Meulenberg and the second author as a generalization of $(v,k,\lambda )$ -graphs. It turns out that most (but not all) of the known examples of DDGs are walk-regular. In this paper we present an easy criterion for this to happen. In several cases walk-regularity is forced by the parameters of the DDG; then known conditions for walk-regularity lead to nonexistence results for DDGs. In addition, we construct some new DDGs, and check old and new constructions for walk-regularity. In doing so, we present and use special properties in case the classes have size two. All feasible parameter sets for DDGs on at most $27$ vertices are examined. Existence is established in all but one case, and existence of a walk-regular DDG in all cases.     

β-Fluorinated proline derivatives: potential transition state inhibitors for proline selective serine dipeptidases

Three new types of β-fluorinated proline derivatives were synthesized as potential transition state inhibitors for proline selective serine dipeptidases. The fluorophosponate derived from protected proline was tested as a Wadsworth-Horner-Emmons reagent for the synthesis of fluoro-olefin-containing pseudodipeptides.     

Self-dual, not self-polar

The smallest number of points of an incidence structure which is self-dual but not self-polar is 7. For non-binary structures (where a “point” may occur more than once in a “block”) the number is 6.