Analysis of trace elements in medicinal plants with energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence

Mankind still depend on traditional herbal medicine for the treatment of various diseases and ailments. This paper discusses the elemental composition and concentration of medicinal plants investigated by energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence. The elements present in medicinal plants are P, Cl, K, Ca, S, Al, Ti, V, Rb, Sr, Zr, Nb, Mo, In, Sn, I and Ce. The physical basis of the used analytical method, the experimental set up and the procedure of sample preparation are presented. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of polyfunctional monomers on properties of radiation crosslinked EPDM/waste tire dust blend

In this study, waste tire dust is recycled as filler and blended with ethylene-propylene diene monomer (EPDM) rubber. Three different polyfuntional monomers (PFMs) are incorporated into the standard formulation and irradiated under electron beam at different doses up to maximum of 100 kGy. The combined effects of PFMs and absorbed dose on the physical properties of EPDM/WTD blend are measured and compared with sulfur crosslinked formulation. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that radiation developed better crosslinked network with higher thermal stability than sulfur crosslinked structure. The physical properties of radiation crosslinked blend are similar to the sulfur crosslinked blend. The absence of toxic chemicals/additives in radiation crosslinked blends made them an ideal candidate for many applications such as roof sealing sheets, water retention pond, playground mat, sealing profile for windows etc.     

Biosorption of Au (III) and Cu (II) from aqueous solution by a non-living Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach

Biosorption of Au(III) and Cu(II) from dilute aqueous solutions was investigated by biomass of the non-living Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach. The removal and recovery of gold and copper were studied by applying batch technique. The experimental parameters such as the pH of the solution, contact time, the amount of Cetraria islandica (L.) Ach. (dried lichen), the concentration of metals on retention and eluents kind and amount have been investigated. Au(III) and Cu(II) were adsorbed on the dried lichen at pH 3 and pH 8, respectively. Quantitative retention (> or = 90%) was obtained within 60 minutes for metals. Maximum capacity of 1.0 g of dried lichen for biosorption of Au(III) and Cu(II) were found as 7.4 mg of Au(III) and 19.2 mg of Cu(II). It was seen that the adsorption equilibrium data conformed well to the Langmuir model and Freundlich equation for Au(III) and only Freundlich equation for Cu(II). The method proposed in this study was applied to spiked mineral water analysis and metals adsorbed on the lichens were quantitatively (> or = 90%) recovered from mineral water samples by using 0.5 mol L(-1) HCl.     

Rotational transitions and diffraction in D2 scattering from the LiF(001) surface: theory and experiment

High probabilities of energy transfer from translation to molecular rotations are observed in the scattering of n-D(2) from LiF(001) at an incident beam energy of 85.3 meV. For the 100 incidence direction, close-coupling calculations yield ratios of the rotationally inelastic (j=0-->2) and (j=1-->3) peaks to the rotationally elastic specular peaks (G=0) that are in reasonable agreement with experiment, as are the ratios of the rotationally elastic diffraction peak intensities to the specular peak intensities. The agreement between theory and experiment is also quite good for the rotationally inelastic diffractive (-1-1) transitions for (j=1-->3), but rather poor for (j=0-->2). The calculations show that the interaction between the electrostatic field of the surface ions and the quadrupole moment of the D(2) molecule efficiently promotes the (j=0-->2) and (j=1-->3) transitions. If this electrostatic interaction is excluded from the potential model, the ratios of the (j=0-->2) and (j=1-->3) rotationally inelastic peaks to the corresponding specular peaks show a large discrepancy with experiment, underlining the importance of this interaction. The close-coupling calculations show a somewhat worse agreement with experiment for the 110 incidence direction. In particular, the sharp peaks observed experimentally in the ratios of the peak intensities of the rotationally inelastic G=0 (j=0-->2) and (j=1-->3) to the rotationally elastic G=0 transitions as a function of incident angle are not reproduced by the calculations. The theoretical ratios of the peak intensities of the rotationally elastic diffraction to G=0 transitions are shifted to lower incidence angles with respect to experiment. The rotationally inelastic diffractive (-10) transitions present an interesting resonance phenomenon for the (j=0-->2) rotational transition. This resonance is predicted by both theory and experiment, although at rather different incident angles.     

The photolysis of ortho-nitrophenols: a new gas phase source of HONO

Formation of nitrous acid (HONO) in the gas phase has been observed for the first time in a flow tube photoreactor upon irradiation (lambda = 300-500 nm) of 2-nitrophenol and methyl substituted derivatives using a selective and sensitive instrument (LOPAP) for the detection of HONO. Formation of HONO by heterogeneous NO2 photochemistry has been excluded, since production of NO2 under the experimental conditions is negligible. Variation of the surface to volume ratio and the nitrophenol concentration showed that the photolysis occurred in the gas phase indicating that HONO formation is initiated by intramolecular hydrogen transfer from the phenolic OH group to the nitro group. From the measured linear dependence of the HONO formation rate on the reactant's concentration and photolysis light intensity, a non-negligible new HONO source is proposed for the urban atmosphere during the day. Unexpectedly high HONO mixing ratios have been observed recently in several field campaigns during the day. It is proposed that the photolysis of aromatic compounds containing the ortho-nitrophenol entity could help to explain, at least in part, this high contribution of HONO to the oxidation capacity of the urban atmosphere.     

Conformational preference in aromatic amides bearing chiral ortho substituents: its origin and application to relayed stereocontrol

Tertiary aromatic amides bearing stereogenic centres ortho to the amide group may adopt two diastereoisomeric conformations which interconvert slowly on the NMR timescale at ambient temperature, and are therefore detectable by NMR. Certain classes of stereogenic centre--particularly sulfoxides, ephedrine-derived oxazolidines, and proline-derived imidazolidines--strongly bias the population of the two conformers. We propose a model, supported by molecular mechanics calculations, which rationalises the sense and magnitude of the conformational selectivity attained in terms of the steric and electronic properties of the controlling centre. The control over conformation may be exploited either by trapping the favoured conformer as an atropisomer, or by using it to relay information about the stereochemistry of the controlling centre.     

Synthesis, spectroscopic and redox properties of the copper(II) complexes of N-(di-methylphenyl)-3,5-Bu2t-salicylaldimines

A series of copper(II) complexes (CuL2x) with new N-di-methylphenyl-3,5-Bu2t-salicylaldimines (L(x)H) were prepared and characterized by IR, UV/vis, 1H NMR, ESR, cyclic voltammetry techniques and chemical oxidation. L(x)H ligands have been found selectively bind to a Cu(II), rather than to Ni(II), Co(II), Mn(II), VO(IV), Zn(II) and Cd(II). ESR examinations of the CuL2x complexes demonstrate that they exist in magnetically diluted mononuclear or coupled triplet-state structures in the solid. The temperature dependent (113-283 K) intensity of the powder ESR spectra for some CuL2x is characteristic of ferromagnetic coupling (J > 0). The reduction potentials of CuL2x in DMSO are sensitive to aniline moieties. Chemical oxidation of CuL2x with (NH4)2[Ce(NO3)6] in CHCl3 and MeCN solutions at 300 K affords gradually disappearance of their ESR signals and dramatic changes in the electronic spectra as well as the appearance of new maximum bands at 530-672 (CHCl3) and 670-700 nm (MeCN), suggesting generation of Cu(II)-phenoxyl radical species.     

Estimation of metal surface roughness using fiber optic displacement sensor

A fiber optic displacement sensor is proposed to estimate the roughness of metal surface using the intensity modulation technique. A light beam is launched onto the metal surface via a bundled fiber. The reflected light from the surface is collected and then routed to a silicon detector. The level of roughness for aluminum, stainless steel and copper samples are estimated to be approximately 27, 26, and 20% respectively by fixing the object within the linear range of the sensor. The output voltages are measured as a function of lateral distance to estimate the roughness of the surface.     

Simple design of optical fiber displacement sensor using a multimode fiber coupler

A simple design sensor is demonstrated using a fabricated multimode plastic fiber coupler in conjunction with reflective intensity modulation technique. The performances of this sensor are investigated for different light sources. This sensor uses only one fiber for sending and receiving the light and therefore only the back slope exists. The sensor shows the highest performance with the use of yellow light source, which has the highest intensity and the smallest beam divergence. The sensitivity, linear range, resolution and dynamic range of the sensor are obtained at 0.0001 mV/μm, 1500 μm, 70 μm, and 5.0 mm, respectively. The simplicity of the design, high degree of sensitivity, dynamic range and the low cost of the fabrication make it suitable for real field applications.     

Are middle school mathematics teachers able to solve word problems without using variable?

Many people consider problem solving as a complex process in which variables such as x,?y are used. Problems may not be solved by only using ‘variable.’ Problem solving can be rationalized and made easier using practical strategies. When especially the development of children at younger ages is considered, it is obvious that mathematics teachers should solve problems through concrete processes. In this context, middle school mathematics teachers' skills to solve word problems without using variables were examined in the current study. Through the case study method, this study was conducted with 60 middle school mathematics teachers who have different professional experiences in five provinces in Turkey. A test consisting of five open-ended word problems was used as the data collection tool. The content analysis technique was used to analyze the data. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that the most of the teachers used trial-and-error strategy or area model as the solution strategy. On the other hand, the teachers who solved the problems using variables such as x, a, n or symbols such as Δ, □, ○, * and who also felt into error by considering these solutions as without variable were also seen in the study.