Contact line extraction and length measurements in model sediments and sedimentary rocks

The mechanisms that govern the transport of colloids in the unsaturated zone of soils are still poorly understood, because of the complexity of processes that occur at pore scale. These mechanisms are of specific interest in quantifying water quality with respect to pathogen transport (e.g. Escherichia coli, Cryptosporidium) between the source (e.g. farms) and human users. Besides straining in pore throats and constrictions of smaller or equivalent size, the colloids can be retained at the interfaces between air, water, and grains. Theories competing to explain this mechanism claim that retention can be caused by adhesion at the air-water-interface (AWI) between sediment grains or by straining at the air-water-solid (AWS) contact line. Currently, there are no established methods for the estimation of pathogen retention in unsaturated media because of the intricate influence of AWI and AWS on transport and retention. What is known is that the geometric configuration and connectivity of the aqueous phase is an important factor in unsaturated transport. In this work we develop a computational method based on level set functions to identify and quantify the AWS contact line (in general the non-wetting-wetting-solid contact line) in any porous material. This is the first comprehensive report on contact line measurement for fluid configurations from both level-set method based fluid displacement simulation and imaged experiments. The method is applicable to any type of porous system, as long as the detailed pore scale geometry is available. We calculated the contact line length in model sediments (packs of spheres) as well as in real porous media, whose geometry is taken from high-resolution images of glass bead packs and sedimentary rocks. We observed a strong dependence of contact line length on the geometry of the sediment grains and the arrangement of the air and water phases. These measurements can help determine the relative contribution of the AWS line to pathogen retention.     

Highly regioselective heterocyclization reactions of 1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiols with chloroacetylenephosphonates

1-Chloroacetylene-2-phosphonates react with 1H-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiols in anhydrous acetonitrile with high regioselectivity to form the fused heterocycles, 6-(dialkoxyphosphoryl)-3H-thiazolo[3,2-b][1,2,4]triazol-7-ylium chlorides 1-5. A significant difference from the previously known reactions of binucleophiles with haloacetylenes is the involvement of both acetylenic carbon atoms in the heterocycle formation. A reaction mechanism is hypothesized that assumes the formation of a sulfenium cation at the acetylene C-1 atom followed by attack of the C-2 atom by the ring N-2 atom. Compounds 1-5 easily lose one alkyl group from the dialkoxyphosphoryl fragment to form zwitterions (e.g., 6-8) which further can be transformed into inner salts 9 and 10 when heated with concentrated hydrochloric acid.     

Determination of quinolones in milk samples using a combination of magnetic solid-phase extraction and capillary electrophoresis

A magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE) method combined with capillary electrophoresis for the simultaneous determination of seven quinolones (QNs) (danofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, marbofloxacin, enrofloxacin, difloxacin, oxolinic acid, and flumequine), using (S)-(+)-6-methoxy-α-methyl-2-naphthaleneacetic acid as internal standard, in milk samples was developed. The variables involved in the preconcentration magnetic procedure were: the composition of the magnetic support composition, the sample pH, and the weight of magnetic adsorbent used. The variables were optimized using a simplex-lattice design. Different magnetite covered with octyl-phenyl silica adsorbents were synthesized by varying the molar ratio of phenyltrimethylsilane and octyltrimethoxysilane; the solids were evaluated for QN preconcentration. Under optimal conditions, a linear range was obtained from 27 to 1000 μg L(-1) with limits of detection ranging from 9 to 12 μg L(-1) for the seven QNs. The absolute recoveries of the seven QNs at three different spiked levels (40, 150, and 400 μg L(-1) ) ranged from 74% to 98% with a relative standard deviation less than 10% in all cases. The proposed method was applied to analyze 20 whole milk samples of different brands. All samples were positive for the presence of QN residues; in some cases, extract dilution was required. The concentrations found are in the range from 31.1 to 5047.3 μg L(-1) . Marbofloxacin was the most frequently found. The method proposed offers advantages in terms of simplicity, sensitivity, efficiency, cost, and analysis time making it an alternative for the analysis of QNs in whole milk samples.     

Electrospray Ionization-Induced Protein Unfolding

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) measurements were performed under a variety of solution conditions on a highly acidic sub-fragment (B3C) of the C-terminal carbohydrate-binding repeat region of Clostridium difficile toxin B, and two mutants (B4A and B4B) containing fewer acidic residues. ESI-MS measurements performed in negative ion mode on aqueous ammonium acetate solutions of B3C at low ionic strength (I?<?80?mM) revealed evidence, based on the measured charge state distribution, of protein unfolding. In contrast, no evidence of unfolding was detected from ESI-MS measurements made in positive ion mode at low I or in either mode at higher I. The results of proton nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism spectroscopy measurements and gel filtration chromatography performed on solutions of B3C under low and high I conditions suggest that the protein exists predominantly in a folded state in neutral aqueous solutions with I?>?10?mM. The results of ESI-MS measurements performed on B3C in a series of solutions with high I at pH 5 to 9 rule out the possibility that the structural changes are related to ESI-induced changes in pH. It is proposed that unfolding of B3C, observed in negative mode for solutions with low I, occurs during the ESI process and arises due to Coulombic repulsion between the negatively charged residues and liquid/droplet surface charge. ESI-MS measurements performed in negative ion mode on B4A and B4B also reveal a shift to higher charge states at low I but the magnitude of the changes are smaller than observed for B3C.     

Development of a headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography method to determine organohalogen contamination in drinking water

The formation of organohalogen compounds in waters treated by chlorination has drawn increasing scientific attention due to the potentially hazardous health effects of this class of substances. Today, chlorination is the most widely used technology for civil water disinfection. In this study, headspace-solid phase microextraction coupled with GC-electron capture detector was used to determine organohalogen compounds in drinking water sampled from aqueducts and artesian wells in Italy. Experimental parameters, such as sample volume, stirring, salting out, extraction temperature, and extraction time, were evaluated and optimized. The LODs ranged from 1 to 10 ng/L and LOQs from 5 to 50 ng/L. A linear response was confirmed by correlation coefficients ranging from 0.9443 to 0.9999. Quantifiable organohalogen residues were found in 11 water samples, with concentration up to 11.3 +/- 0.5 microg/L for the sum of all trihalomethanes and 0.66 +/- 0.03 microg/L for the sum of trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene. These concentrations are lower than the current regulatory limits in Italy.     

Dimerization mechanism of bis(triphenylphosphine)copper(I) tetrahydroborate: proton transfer via a dihydrogen bond

The mechanism of transition-metal tetrahydroborate dimerization was established for the first time on the example of (Ph(3)P)(2)Cu(η(2)-BH(4)) interaction with different proton donors [MeOH, CH(2)FCH(2)OH, CF(3)CH(2)OH, (CF(3))(2)CHOH, (CF(3))(3)CHOH, p-NO(2)C(6)H(4)OH, p-NO(2)C(6)H(4)N═NC(6)H(4)OH, p-NO(2)C(6)H(4)NH(2)] using the combination of experimental (IR, 190-300 K) and quantum-chemical (DFT/M06) methods. The formation of dihydrogen-bonded complexes as the first reaction step was established experimentally. Their structural, electronic, energetic, and spectroscopic features were thoroughly analyzed by means of quantum-chemical calculations. Bifurcate complexes involving both bridging and terminal hydride hydrogen atoms become thermodynamically preferred for strong proton donors. Their formation was found to be a prerequisite for the subsequent proton transfer and dimerization to occur. Reaction kinetics was studied at variable temperature, showing that proton transfer is the rate-determining step. This result is in agreement with the computed potential energy profile of (Ph(3)P)(2)Cu(η(2)-BH(4)) dimerization, yielding [{(Ph(3)P)(2)Cu}(2)(μ,η(4)-BH(4))](+).     

Photochemistry of tetrasulfur tetranitride: laser flash photolysis and quantum chemical study

The photochemistry of tetrasulfur tetranitride (1) was studied in hexane solution by the laser flash photolysis technique (LFP). The experimental findings were interpreted using the results of previous matrix isolation studies (Pritchina, E.A.; Gritsan, N.P.; Bally, T.; Zibarev, A.V. Inorg. Chem. 2009, 48, 4075) and high-level quantum chemical calculations. LFP produces two primary intermediates, one of which is the boat-shaped 8-membered cyclic compound (2) and the other is the 6-membered S(3)N(3) cyclic compound carrying an exocyclic (S)-N═S group (3). The primary products 2 and 3 absorb a second photon and undergo transformation to the 6-membered S(3)N(3) cycle carrying an exocyclic (N)-S≡N group (4), which is very unstable and converts back to intermediate 3. The quantum yield of the primary product formation is close to unity even though the quantum yield of photodegradation of 1 is low (~0.01). Thus, 1 is a photochromic compound undergoing in solution the thermally reversible photochemical isomerization. The mechanism of the photochromic process was established, and the rate constants of the elementary reactions were measured.     

Lithium storage mechanisms and effect of partial cobalt substitution in manganese carbonate electrodes

A promising group of inorganic salts recently emerged for the negative electrode of advanced lithium-ion batteries. Manganese carbonate combines low weight and significant lithium storage properties. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and magnetic measurements are used to study the environment of manganese ions during cycling in lithium test cells. To observe reversible lithium storage into manganese carbonate, preparation by a reverse micelles method is used. The resulting nanostructuration favors a capacitive lithium storage mechanism in manganese carbonate with good rate performance. Partial substitution of cobalt by manganese improves cycling efficiency at high rates.     

Inversive congruential generator over a Galois ring of dimension <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">l</Emphasis></Superscript>

We consider the construction of of an inversive congruential generator over a Galois ring of odd dimension p ^l , whichwas proposed by Solé and Zinoviev for p = 2. Using the estimates of trigonometric sums on the sequences of pseudorandom numbers, we obtain the estimates of a discrepant function, a generated sequence of pseudorandom numbers, and the associated sequence of two-dimensional “overlapping” points.     

Cluster Expansion in the Canonical Ensemble

We consider a system of particles confined in a box ${\Lambda \subset \mathbb{R}^d}$ interacting via a tempered and stable pair potential. We prove the validity of the cluster expansion for the canonical partition function in the high temperature - low density regime. The convergence is uniform in the volume and in the thermodynamic limit it reproduces Mayer??s virial expansion providing an alternative and more direct derivation which avoids the deep combinatorial issues present in the original proof.