Determination of 11 low-molecular-weight carbonyl compounds in marine algae by high-performance liquid chromatography

A new analytical method is reported for the determination of 11 volatile carbonyl compounds isolated at room temperature from the headspace of marine algae. This method is based on the conversion of the carbonyl compounds to their 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazone derivatives followed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Using this method, 11 carbonyl compounds are detected and identified from the dynamic headspace sampling of 10 species of marine algae. Eight compounds are quantitated and the three remaining are only identified. Under optimized conditions, all carbonyl compounds are separated in 32 min. The detection and quantitation limits of the high-performance liquid chromatography method are, respectively, in the range of 0.26-0.85 ng/g of algae (formaldehyde) to 13.77-45.90 ng/g of algae (E)-2-hexenal. The calibration curves are linear in the concentration range of 2.0-1000 microg/L of solution, corresponding to 0.34-170.00 ng/g of algae. Acetaldehyde and propanal are the most abundant carbonyl compounds identified, with concentrations as high as 980 and 790 ng/g, respectively. The present work, as far as we know, is the first analytical methodology that has been developed to determine low-molecular-weight carbonyl compounds in marine algae. Because many species of marine algae are used as human food, the reported method should be useful to investigators studying the nutritional value as well as oxidative spoilage of fresh and preserved marine algae that is destined for human consumption.     

Adenine Determination in the Presence of Copper in Diluted Alkaline Electrolyte by Adsorptive Stripping Voltammetry at the Mercury Film Electrode

Highly sensitive, simple and inexpensive techniques of adenine determination are particularly interesting in relation to the present development of ATP and DNA sensors. A nanomolar concentration of adenine can be determined in the presence of copper. For an accumulation time of 30 minutes, the detection limit found was 0.22 ppb (1.63×10^?9 M). The method is based on controlled adsorptive accumulation of adenine‐copper at thin‐film mercury electrode followed by linear scan voltammetric measurement of the surface species. By applying a condition time of 60 s at ?0.9 V, the same thin‐film can be used over several measurements. Optimum experimental conditions were found to be the use of a 5.0×10^?3 M NaOH solution, an accumulation potential over the ?0.20 to ?0.40 V range, and a scan rate of 100 mV s^?1. The response of adenine‐copper is linear over the concentration range 20–100 ppb. The more convenient ways to measuring adenine in the presence of metals and other nitrogenated bases were also investigated. The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) are first treated with acid (e.g., 0.1 M perchloric acid), and the acid‐released adenine (without separation from others products of the degradation) is directly determined by adsorptive stripping voltammetry.     

Total sulfur determination in gasoline,kerosene and diesel fuel using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry after direct sample introduction as detergent emulsions

Herein, we present the development of a procedure for the determination of total sulfur in petroleum-derived products (gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel) employing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). For this procedure, samples were prepared as emulsions that were made using concentrated nitric acid, Triton X-100, sample, and ultra pure water in proportions of 5/10/7/78% (v/v), respectively. Sample volumes were weighed because of the density differences, and oxygen was added to the sheat gas entrance of the ICP OES in order to decrease carbon deposition in the torch and to minimize background effects. A Doehlert design was applied as an experimental matrix to investigate the flow ratios of argon (sheat and plasma gas) and oxygen in relation to the signal-to-background ratio. A comparative study among the slopes of the analytical curves built in aqueous media, surfactant/HNO₃, and by spike addition for several sample emulsions indicates that a unique solution of surfactant in acidic media can be employed to perform the external calibration for analysis of the emulsions. The developed procedure allows for the determination of the total sulfur content in petroleum derivatives with a limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.72 and 2.4 μg g^− 1, respectively. Precision values, expressed as the relative standard deviations (% RSD, n = 10) for 12 and 400 μg g^− 1, were 2.2% and 1.3%, respectively. The proposed procedure was applied toward the determination of total sulfur in samples of gasoline, kerosene, and diesel fuel commercialized in the city of Niterói/RJ, Brazil. The accuracy of the proposed method was evaluated by the determination of the total sulfur in three different standard reference materials (SRM): NIST 2723a (sulfur in diesel fuel oil), NIST 1616b (sulfur in kerosene), and NIST 2298 (sulfur in gasoline). The data indicate that the methodology can be successfully applied to these types of samples. Spiking tests, conducted with the analyzed samples, indicate that recoveries are between 97 and 103%.     

Combined procedure using radiochemical separation of plutonium,americium and uranium radionuclides for alpha-spectrometry

Radiochemical separation of Pu, Am and U was tested from synthetic solutions and evaporator concentrate samples from nuclear power plants for isolation of each of them for alpha-spectrometry analysis. The separation was performed by anion-exchange chromatography, extraction chromatography, using TRU resin, and precipitation techniques. The aim of the study was to develop a sensitive analytical procedure for the sequential determination of ²⁴²Pu^{, 238}Pu, ^239+240Pu, ²⁴¹Am and ^{235, 238}U in radioactive wastes. ²³⁸Pu, ²⁴²Pu, ²⁴³Am and ²³²U were used as tracers. The measurements of α emitting radionuclides were performed by semiconductor detector that is used especially when spectrometric information is needed. For synthetic solutions the chemical recovery was based on associated iron concentration and was about 93%.     

Polyamide 11/poly(hydroxy amino ether) blends: Influence of the blend composition and morphology on the barrier and mechanical properties

A series of PA11/PHAE blends was prepared by melt mixing across the full composition range. Films were obtained for each composition by an extrusion-cast process keeping the same processing conditions. The blends exhibited a two phase morphology. PHAE-rich nodules surrounded by the PA11-rich matrix were observed for PA11 contents higher than 50 wt% in the blends. For lower PA11 weight amounts, PA11 became the dispersed phase and appeared as long fibrillar domains lying in the plane of the film. PA11/PHAE interactions were discussed from DSC and DMA analyses. The effects of the blend composition and morphology on mechanical properties in the linear range and on hydrogen barrier properties were investigated. Hydrogen permeability decreased with increasing amount of PHAE in the blends. A confrontation between the experimental permeability values and the theoretical ones calculated by taking account of the specific properties and morphology of the PA11- and PHAE-rich phases was carried out. In the films series under study, the improvement of hydrogen barrier properties was mainly related to the blend composition whereas a significant effect of the blend morphology was observed on mechanical properties in the rubbery state.     

ULTRAVIOLET-INDUCED CELL DEATH IS INDEPENDENT OF DNA REPLICATION IN RAT KANGAROO CELLS

Rat kangaroo (Potorous tridactylus) cells have an efficient repair system for photoreactivation of lethal lesions induced by 254 nm UV. However, this ability is lost with increasing time after UV, being completely ineffective after 24 h. Critical events leading to UV-induced cell death must occur within this period of time. DNA synthesis was inhibited by the DNA polymerase inhibitor aphidicolin and the loss of the capability to photorepair lethal lesions was maintained as for replicating cells. Similar data were obtained in synchronized cells UV irradiated immediately before S phase. Under the same conditions, the ability to remove cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers by photoreactivation in these cells remained unchanged 24 h after irradiation. These data indicate that the critical events responsible for UV-induced cell death occur in the absence of DNA replication.     

Prompt and Slow Electron‐Detachment‐Dissociation/Electron‐Photodetachment‐Dissociation of a 21‐Mer Peptide

Electron detachment dissociation (EDD) and electron photodetachment dissociation (EPD) are relatively new dissociation methods that involve electron detachment followed by radical‐driven dissociation from multiply deprotonated species. EDD yields prompt dissociation whereas only electron detachment is obtained by EPD; subsequent vibrational activation of the charge‐reduced radical anion is required to obtain the product ions. Herein, the fragmentation patterns that were obtained by EDD and by vibrational activation of the charge‐reduced radical anions that were produced through EDD or EPD (activated‐EDD and activated‐EPD) were compared. The observed differences were related to the dissociation kinetics and/or the contribution of electron‐induced dissociation (EID). Time‐resolved double‐resonance experiments were performed to measure the dissociation rate constants of the EDD product ions. Differences in the formation kinetics were revealed between the classical EDD/EPD ′a^._i/′′x_j complementary ions and some ′a^._i/c_i/′′′z^._j product ions, which were produced with slower dissociation rate constants, owing to the presence of specific neighbouring side chains. A new fragmentation pathway is proposed for the formation of the slow‐kinetics ′a^._i ions.     

Effect of a post‐annealing process on microstructure and mechanical properties of high‐density polyethylene/silica nanocomposites

High‐density polyethylene (HDPE) and nanosilica nanocomposites were prepared for SiO₂ content up to 15 wt%. Microstructural characterization evidenced a homogenous distribution of silica aggregates with a mean size increasing with the filler content finally resulting in a rheological percolation between 7.5 and 10 wt%. Nanoparticles did not induce any significant impact on the matrix crystallinity but led to a real improvement on elastic properties accompanied with a large embrittlement above the percolation threshold. The effect of annealing near HDPE melting temperature was studied. Differential scanning calorimetry, X‐ray diffraction, and small‐angle X‐ray scattering analyses showed a significant change in the HDPE microstructure after annealing at 125°C. A large increase in the crystallinity (from 68 to 76%) and a clear improvement of Young's modulus (by 55%) were observed prior to polymer degradation. A valuable impact of silica particles on thermal stability was also obvious regarding the evolution of elastic properties for extended exposure times (850–1,200 h). © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 535–546     

3D Mass diffusion in ordered nanocomposite systems: Finite element simulation and phenomenological modeling

The optimization of polymer barrier properties is currently of crucial importance for a wide range of applications from packaging to building or even energy applications. To meet the requirements of these applications, polymer matrices are often combined with impermeable (nano) fillers. Different nanofiller natures, shapes, and contents have been experimentally used and a large range of barrier materials has been obtained^. In the meantime, several numerical approaches have been developed to model gas diffusion properties of nanocomposite materials. However, these approaches often considered bidimensional systems. The aim of this work is to develop 3D Finite Element Model which would be used to predict gas barrier properties of nanocomposites for disk‐shaped nanofillers. The model thus obtained is valid in a wide range of fillers volume fraction values as well as aspect ratios, which makes it possible to go from diluted regimes to semidiluted or even concentrated ones. Furthermore, an analytical equation which describes gas diffusion through nanocomposites films has been built and validated with our finite element modeling model. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 51–61     

An active set method for solving linearly constrained nonsmooth optimization problems

An algorithm for solving linearly constrained optimization problems is proposed. The search direction is computed by a bundle principle and the constraints are treated through an active set strategy. Difficulties that arise when the objective function is nonsmooth, require a clever choice of a constraint to relax. A certain nondegeneracy assumption is necessary to obtain convergence. Most of this research was performed when the author was with I.N.R.I.A. (Domaine de Voluceau-Rocquencourt, B.P. 105, 78153 Le Chesnay Cédex, France). This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, Grants No. DMC-84-51515 and OIR-85-00108.