Xe-135 production from Cf-252

The presence of ¹³⁵Xe is often used as an indicator that fission has occurred, and is used to help enforce the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. There are no known commercial suppliers, though it can be acquired. Readily available standards of this isotope are very useful. ¹³⁵Xe can be produced through fission, or by neutron capture on ¹³⁴Xe. At the INL, scientists have previously transported fission products from an electroplated ²⁵²Cf thin source for the measurement of nuclear data of short-lived fission products using a technique called He-Jet collection. A similar system has been applied to the collection of gaseous ¹³⁵Xe, and ¹³³Xe, in order to produce standards of these isotopes.     

Surface-driven instability and enhanced relaxation in the dynamics of a nonequilibrium interface

We determine the stability of a nonequilibrium interface between two coexisting solid phases in the presence of a weak external field. Starting at the coarsegrained (Cahn-Hilliard) level, we use the method of matched asymptotics to derive the macroscopic interfacial dynamics. We then show that the external field leads to an instability due to flux along the interface, in contrast with the more common Mullins-Sekerka type instability, which involves fluxes normal to the interface. We also find that the external field produces an important modification of the Gibbs-Thomson relation. With these results, we perform the linear stability analysis for an approximately flat interface. If the field is tangent to the interface, the modification of the Gibbs-Thomson relation is important and the interface is stabilized. If the field is normal to the interface, the surface flux is important, and the effect can be stabilizing or destabilizing, but the orientational dependence is opposite what would be obtained if the Mullins-Sekerka instability dominates. Numerical simulations are performed to study the effect of the surface current and are in agreement with our analytical results.     

Determination of metal ion content of beverages and estimation of target hazard quotients: a comparative study

Background  

Considerable research has been directed towards the roles of metal ions in nutrition with metal ion toxicity attracting particular attention. The aim of this study is to measure the levels of metal ions found in selected beverages (red wine, stout and apple juice) and to determine their potential detrimental effects via calculation of the Target Hazard Quotients (THQ) for 250 mL daily consumption.     

Direct sampling and analysis from solid-phase extraction cards using an automated liquid extraction surface analysis nanoelectrospray mass spectrometry system

Direct liquid extraction based surface sampling, a technique previously demonstrated with continuous flow and autonomous pipette liquid microjunction surface sampling probes, has recently been implemented as a liquid extraction surface analysis (LESA) mode on a commercially available chip‐based infusion nanoelectrospray ionization (nanoESI) system. In the present paper, the LESA mode was applied to the analysis of 96‐well format custom‐made solid‐phase extraction (SPE) cards, with each well consisting of either a 1 or a 2 mm diameter monolithic hydrophobic stationary phase. These substrate wells were conditioned, loaded with either single or multi‐component aqueous mixtures, and read out using the commercial nanoESI system coupled to a hybrid triple quadrupole/linear ion trap mass spectrometer or a linear ion trap mass spectrometer. The extraction conditions, including extraction/nanoESI solvent composition, volume, and dwell times, were optimized in the analysis of targeted compounds. Limit of detection and quantitation as well as analysis reproducibility figures of merit were measured. Calibration data was obtained for propranolol using a deuterated internal standard which demonstrated linearity and reproducibility. A 10× increase in signal and cleanup of micromolar angiotensin II from a concentrated salt solution was demonstrated. In addition, a multicomponent herbicide mixture at ppb concentration levels was analyzed using MS³ spectra for compound identification in the presence of isobaric interferences. Published in 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

BaVS3 probed by V L edge x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Polarization dependent vanadium L edge x-ray absorption spectra of BaVS(3) single crystals are measured in the four phases of the compound. The difference between signals with the polarizations E perpendicular to c and E is parallel to c (linear dichroism) changes with temperature. Besides increasing the intensity of one of the maxima, a new structure appears in the pre-edge region below the metal-insulator transition. More careful examination brings to light that the changes start already with pretransitional charge density wave fluctuations. Simple symmetry analysis suggests that the effect is related to rearrangements in the E(g) and A(1g) states, and is compatible with the formation of four inequivalent V-sites along the V-S chain.     

Three ginkgolide hydrates from Ginkgo biloba L.: ginkgolide A monohydrate,ginkgolide C sesquihydrate and ginkgolide J dihydrate,all determined at 120 K

A low‐temperature structure of ginkgolide A monohydrate, (1R,3S,3aS,4R,6aR,7aR,7bR,8S,10aS,11aS)‐3‐(1,1‐dimethylethyl)‐hexa­hydro‐4,7b‐di­hydroxy‐8‐methyl‐9H‐1,7a‐epoxymethano‐1H,6aH‐cyclo­penta­[c]­furo­[2,3‐b]­furo­[3′,2′:3,4]­cyclopenta­[1,2‐d]­furan‐5,9,12(4H)‐trione monohydrate, C₂₀H₂₄O₉·H₂O, obtained from Mo Kα data, is a factor of three more precise than the previous room‐temperature determination. A refinement of the ginkgolide A monohydrate structure with Cu Kα data has allowed the assignment of the absolute configuration of the series of compounds. Ginkgolide C sesquihydrate, (1S,2R,3S,3aS,4R,6aR,7aR,7bR,8S,10aS,11S,11aR)‐3‐(1,1‐di­methyl­ethyl)‐hexa­hydro‐2,4,7b,11‐tetrahydroxy‐8‐methyl‐9H‐1,7a‐epoxy­methano‐1H,6aH‐cyclopenta­[c]­furo­[2,3‐b]­furo­[3′,2′:3,4]­cyclo­penta­[1,2‐d]­furan‐5,9,12(4H)‐trione sesquihydrate, C₂₀H₂₄O₁₁·1.5H₂O, has two independent diterpene mol­ecules, both of which exhibit intramolecular hydrogen bonding between OH groups. Ginkgolide J dihydrate, (1S,2R,3S,3aS,4R,6aR,7aR,7bR,8S,10aS,11aS)‐3‐(1,1‐di­methyl­ethyl)‐hexa­hydro‐2,4,7b‐tri­hydroxy‐8‐methyl‐9H‐1,7a‐epoxy­methano‐1H,6aH‐cyclo­penta­[c]­furo­[2,3‐b]furo[3′,2′:3,4]­cyclo­penta­[1,2‐d]­furan‐5,9,12(4H)‐trione dihydrate, C₂₀H₂₄O₁₀·2H₂O, has the same basic skeleton as the other ginkgolides, with its three OH groups having the same configurations as those in ginkgolide C. The conformations of the six five‐membered rings are quite similar across ­ginkgolides A–C and J, except for the A and F rings of ginkgolide A.     

Determination of total fumonisins in corn by competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: collaborative study

Fumonisins-mycotoxins produced by some Fusarium species-have been shown to be the causative agent of diseases in horses and other domesticated animals as well as possible carcinogens in humans. A collaborative study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CD-ELISA) for the determination of total fumonisins (B1, B2, and B3) in corn. The test portion was extracted with methanol-water (7 + 3), filtered, diluted, and tested on the CD-ELISA. Naturally and artificially contaminated corn test portions were sent to 13 collaborators in the United States. Naturally contaminated field test portions were prepared at 3 different levels. Artificially contaminated test portions were spiked at 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 mg/kg total fumonisins (B1, B2, and B3). Average recoveries of total fumonisins were 120, 100, and 90%, respectively. The relative standard deviations for repeatability ranged from 13.3 to 23.3% and the relative standard deviations for reproducibility ranged from 15.8 to 30.3% across all levels tested. HORRAT values, calculated for each individual sample, ranged from 1.24 to 1.94. This method demonstrated acceptable intra- and interlaboratory precision at the levels tested.