Estimation of radon and thoron caused dose at exraction and processing sites of mineral sand mining area in Vietnam (HA TINH province)

Mineral sands are mined in several countries to supply to the titanium and zircon producing industries. Coastal black mineral sands usually contain, besides ilmenite (FeTiO₃) and rutile (TiO₂), radioactive minerals such as zircon (ZrSiO₄) and monazite (RePO₄). Radon and thoron activity concentration originated from natural radioactive contents of the black mineral sand was monitored at the extraction and processing for black minerals in the coastal areas of Ha Tinh Province, one of the around 40 coastal mineral sand deposits in Vietnam. The survey was carried out with the Raduet chambers made by Radosys Ltd—Hungary. The obtained results for 25 investigated points show that the measured values are not high in the residential houses and in case of the sand extraction site as well. At the titanium processing plant the measured values were higher than outside the facility (Radon: 18–55 Bq/m³ with average of 34 Bq/³ and Thoron 33–118 Bq/m³ with average of 58 Bq/m³) but still comparable to the average concentration of the world published by UNSCEAR. The typical outdoor levels of radon and thoron gas are each of the order of 10 Bq/m³. Although the radon concentrations were low in the zircon and titanium processing plants, the thoron concentrations in the houses for separating rutile and zircon were very high. At zircon processing factory, the thoron concentration could reach 2,931 Bq/m³ and the estimated annual effective dose would be 21.4 mSv/a. Intervention has to be taken in order to reduce the thoron level in this factory since the level of thoron and its progenies corresponding to an annual occupational effective dose is beyond the action level of 6 mSv/a.     

Facile Preparation of Mn3O4 Hausmanite Nanoplates from a New Octahedral Manganese (III) Schiff Base Complex

A novel bidentate Schiff base ligand L (L = N-(4-amino-2-chloro-phenyl)-2-hydroxybenzaldehyde) and the subsequent octahedral manganese(III) Schiff base complex MnL ₃ have been synthesized and characterized by, FT-IR spectroscopy and elemental analyses (CHN). Additionally, Schiff base ligand has been characterized by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Thermogravimetric analysis of the ligand and its metal complexes reveals their thermal stability and decomposition pattern. Thus, the MnL ₃ complex has been investigated as a novel precursor for the facile preparation of Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles via solid-state thermal decomposition under aerobic conditions, at a temperature of ca. 450 °C The resulting Mn₃O₄ nanocrystals were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRPD studies reveal the characteristic diffraction peaks indexed to the Mn₃O₄ hausmanite structure, while the absence of additional peaks tends to clearly indicate the high purity of the sample. In addition, the TEM/SEM investigations displayed the nanoplate shape of the rather monodisperse crystalline Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles, with an average diameter of ca. 10 nm. The statistical distribution of the nanoparticles size has to be provided with an histogram graphic.     

Studying variations in the PCDD/PCDF profile across various food products using multivariate statistical analysis

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) are widely recognized by the scientific community as persistent organic pollutants due to their toxicity and adverse effects on wildlife and human health. The actual regulation dedicated to the monitoring of dioxins in food is based on the measurement of 17 congener concentrations. The final result is reported as a toxic equivalent value that takes into account the relative toxicity of each congener. This procedure can minimize the qualitative information available from the abundances of each PCDD/PCDF congener: the characteristic contamination profile of the sample. Multivariate statistical techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA) or linear discriminant analysis (LDA), represent an interesting way to investigate this qualitative information. Nevertheless, they have only been applied to the analysis of contamination data from food products and biological matrices infrequently. The objective of the present study was to analyze a large data set from dioxin analyses performed on various food products of animal origin. The results demonstrate the existence of differences in congener-specific patterns between the analyzed samples. Variability was first demonstrated in terms of the food type (fish, meat, milk, fatty products). Then a variability was observed that was related to the specific animal species for meat and milk samples (bovine, ovine, porcine, caprine and poultry). Some practical applications of these results are discussed. The origin(s) of the observed differences, as well as their significance, now remain to be investigated, both in terms of environmental factors and transfer through living organisms. A better knowledge of the relation between a contamination profile and its specific source and/or food product should be of great interest to scientists working in the fields of contaminant analysis, toxicology and metabolism, as well as to regulatory bodies and risk assessors in charge of final decisions regarding the eventual hazards associated with theses substances.     

Spectroscopic and Structural Study of the 1：2 Aluminium（Ⅲ） Complex of Quercetin

Complex formation between aluminium and quercetin（Q） in methanol was investigated by means of 27^Al solid-state, 13^C and 1^H NMR and MS（ESI）, UV and IR spectra. Formation of the 1：2 complex was favored in methanol relative to all other solvent and the predominant species observed of Al（Ⅲ） has a 1：2 stoichiometry. The fine structure of 1：2 aluminum complex of quercetin was that the aluminum central atom chelated with two quereetin molecules and two methoxyl groups between two five membered rings, its coordination is six, the chelated site was 3-hydroxy-4-carbonyl.     

n-Hexane dehydrocyclization over Pt?Ni supported on alumina catalysts

Pt–Ni/-Al₂O₃ catalysts have been prepared and studied in n-hexane dehydrocyclization. The selectivity for benzene and toluene, a chain lengthening product formation was improved by Ni and correlated with its content.

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Pt–Ni/-Al₂O₃ -. Ni . Ni , .

     

Half-sandwich and mixed-ring uranium complexes

The monocyclooctatetraene uranium complex [U(COT)(I)₂(THF)₂] (COT=η-C₈H₈; THF=tetrahydrofuran), isolated from the reaction of bis(cyclooctatetraene)uranium with iodine, is a precursor for the synthesis of the alkyl derivatives [U(COT)(CH₂Ph)₂i (HMPA) ₂], [U(COT)(CH₂SiMe₃)₂(HMPA)] (HMPA=hexamethyl phosphorous triamide) and [U(COT)CH₂SiMe₃)₃] [Li(THF)₃] and of the mixed-ring compounds [U(COT)(η-C₅R₅)(I)] (R=H or Me). The last were used to prepare the amide and alkyl complexes [U(COT)(η-C₅H₅)(N{SiMe₃}₂)] and [U(COT)(η-C₅Me₅)(CH₂SiMe₃)].     

Characterization and purification of fatty acid methyl esters from the liver oil of the deep sea shark (Centrophorus squamosus) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and countercurrent chromatography

Summary In the course of our studies on the location of marine products, we have directed our attention to the saponifiable fraction of the liver oil from the deep sea shark (Centrophorus squamosus). Different analytical and preparative techniques, such as high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), countercurrent chromatography (CCC), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry [GC-MS, electron impact (EI) and positive-ion chemical ionization (PCI)] were used. These methods allowed us to characterize, after various derivatizations, most of the fatty acids formed after the saponification of the oil, and to purify two of them, namely: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA or 226) and docosamonoenoic acid (DMA or 221).     

The New Phosphates Ln1/3Zr2(PO4)3 (Ln = Rare Earth)

The new phases Ln_1/3 Zr₂(PO₄)₃ (Ln = Rare Earth) crystallize with the Nasicon-type structure. The rare earth is located in the usually labeled M₁ site with rather ionic Ln -O bonds. The ceramics resulting from the decomposition of these phosphates have been characterized in the case of lanthanum and europium. They exhibit a very low thermal expansion between room temperature and 1340°C.     

Mechanism for resonant O electron stimulated desorption from condensed O2. Non-adiabatic transitions and dynamics

Absolute kinetic energy distributions and yields associated with ground state ³P and excited state ¹D oxygen atoms have been obtained for O⁻ anion electron stimulated desorption from condensed O₂ in the electron energy range 6–15 eV. The observed yields are understood as resulting essentially from dissociative electron attachment reactions via the two lowest ²Σ⁺_g O⁻₂ resonance states through adiabatic and non-adiabatic transitions to the limits O⁻(²P) + O(³P) and O⁻(²P) + O(¹D). The kinetic energy distributions show the prominent role of electron multiple collision processes and post-dissociation interactions of the O⁻ anions in the condensed phase.