Kinetic studies of urban solid residues and leachate from sanitary landfill

Urban solid residues are constituted of food remaining, grass leaves, fruit peelings, paper, cardboard, rubber, plastic, etc. The organic fraction formed represents about 50% during the decomposition yields biogas and leachate, which are sources of pollution. Residue samples were collected from the landfill in different and cells from several ages and the corresponding leachate, both after treatments, were submitted to thermal analysis. Kinetic parameters were determined using Flynn–Wall–Ozawa method. The linear relation between the two kinetic parameters (ln A and E) was verified for organic residue urban’s samples, but not for leachate’s sample. The occurred difference can be attributed to the constituents present in leachate.     

Excess thermodynamics properties of propyl propanoate+hexane+cyclohexane at 298.15 K

Summary In this paper we present excess molar volumes and excess molar enthalpies of binary and ternary mixtures containing propyl propanoate, hexane and cyclohexane as components at 298.15 K. Excess molar volumes were calculated from the density of the pure liquids and mixtures. The density was measured using an Anton Paar DMA 60/602 vibrating-tube densimeter. Excess molar enthalpies were obtained using a Calvet microcalorimeter     

Role of Alginate Composition on Copper Ion Uptake in the Presence of Histidine or Beta-Amyloid

The anomalous interaction between metal ions and the peptide beta-amyloid is one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Metal-binding biopolymers, including polysaccharides, can elucidate the fundamental aspects of metal ions’ interactions with biological tissue and their interplay in Alzheimer’s disease. This work focuses on the role of the alginate composition on Cu(II) adsorption in the presence of histidine or β-amyloid, the peptide associated with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Alginate samples with different mannuronic/guluronic (M/G) ratios led to similar Cu(II) adsorption capacities, following the Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order adsorption kinetic models. Although the presence of histidine produced up to a 20% reduction in the copper adsorption capacity in guluronic-rich alginate samples (M/G~0.61), they presented stable bidentate chelation of the metallic ion. Chemical analyses (FTIR and XPS) demonstrated the role of hydroxyl and carboxyl groups in copper ion chelation, whereas both crystallinity and morphology analyses indicated the prevalence of histidine interaction with guluronic-rich alginate. Similar results were observed for Cu(II) adsorption in alginate beads in the presence of beta-amyloid and histidine, suggesting that the alginate/histidine system is a simple yet representative model to probe the application of biopolymers to metal ion uptake in the presence of biological competitors.     

The modified complex Busemann-Petty problem on sections of convex bodies

The complex Busemann-Petty problem asks whether origin symmetric convex bodies in with smaller central hyperplane sections necessarily have smaller volume. The answer is affirmative if n ≤ 3 and negative if n ≥ 4. Since the answer is negative in most dimensions, it is natural to ask what conditions on the (n − 1)-dimensional volumes of the central sections of complex convex bodies with complex hyperplanes allow to compare the n-dimensional volumes. In this article we give necessary conditions on the section function in order to obtain an affirmative answer in all dimensions. The result is the complex analogue of [16].      

Adhesion and bonding of Pt/Ni and Pt/Co overlayers: Density functional calculations

The electronic and energetic properties of bimetallic surfaces Pt/Ni(111) and Pt/Co(111) are examined using the FP-LAPW (Full-PotentialLinearized Augmented Plane Wave) method by means of spin-polarized and non-polarized calculations. We present both the results of the shifts in the d-band centers when one metal (Pt) is pseudomorfically deposited on another with smaller lattice constant (Ni, Co) and those corresponding to the surface and adhesion energies. The surface is modeled by a seven layer slab separated in z direction by a vacuum region of six substrate layers. The results obtained for pure Ni, Co and Pt surfaces are presented in order to compare with experimental and theoretical data reported in the literature     

Development of an LC–DAD Method for Analysis of Dexketoprofen, Tramadol, and Haloperidol. Study of the Stability of Mixtures Used for Patient-Controlled Analgesia

A novel LC method was applied to enhance the peak resolution of two ecdysteroids: 20-hydroxyecdysone and its 3-epimer. An isocratic solvent system of methanol–water (6:4, v/v) was used on a C18 column, and 100 μL of water was injected during the development in such a manner that the eluted solvent peak appeared exactly between the two overlapping peaks. This resulted in the increased retardation of the later-eluted peak, and in a good separation of the two compounds within 4.5 min.