A calibration curve at 2000 meters (A.S.L.): alpine valleys as field laboratories for teaching environmental monitoring to undergraduate students

High-altitude alpine valleys may be considered as ideal field laboratories for the interdisciplinary teaching of Environmental Sciences to undergraduate students in a Laurea degree, since different typologies of sampling sites (rivers, lakes, glaciers) may be found within walking distance, and students are encouraged to develop cooperative learning activities. Scientific data have been collected by 1st year students at the University of Insubria in Como during a teaching program in Ventina Valley and Caronno Valley near Sondrio (Italy). Analytical and geochemical results will be presented and discussed on the basis of organic deposition and water-rock interactions.     

Headspace gas chromatographic determination of 2-alkyl-5,5-dimethyl-1,3-dioxane derivatives in wastewaters of a polyester resin plant

The static headspace gas chromatographic technique can be conveniently employed to check the presence and amount of the odorous side-products, 2-R-1,3-dioxanes (R = H, CH3, C2H5, i-C3H7, n-C3H7), directly from the wastewaters flowing from the reactors during the synthesis of polyester resins. By the optimisation of a simple and direct analytical method, the amounts of these compounds may be continuously monitored and controlled. This method is characterized by good repeatability (3-4%) and does not seem to suffer from matrix effects. The detection limits for the determination of the five dioxanes fall in the range 400-700 micrograms dm-3 (alpha = beta = 0.05).     

Effect of Free Trimethylaluminum Content in Methylaluminoxane on Performances of Bis(salicylaldiminate)nickel(II)‐Based Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization

Summary: The performances of ethylene polymerization catalysts based on III and commercial methylaluminoxane were investigated by reducing the content of free trimethylaluminum in methylaluminoxane by its reaction with 2,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenol. This allowed optimization of the formulation of the catalyst, affording a high‐molecular‐weight linear polyethylene (PE) with a productivity [(1 900 kg of PE/(mol of Ni × h)], ten‐fold higher than that previously achieved for the same system adopting commercial methylaluminoxane not pre‐treated with the above phenol derivative.

     

On the averaging principle for one-frequency systems. An application to satellite motions

This paper is related to our previous works (Morosi and Pizzocchero in J. Phys. A, Math. Gen. 39:3673–3702, 2006; Nonlinear Dyn., 2008), on the error estimate of the averaging technique for systems with one fast angular variable. In the cited references, a general method (of mixed analytical and numerical type) has been introduced to obtain precise, fully quantitative estimates on the averaging error. Here, this procedure is applied to the motion of a satellite in a polar orbit around an oblate planet, retaining only the J ₂ term in the multipole expansion of the gravitational potential. To exemplify the method, the averaging errors are estimated for the data corresponding to two Earth satellites; for a very large number of orbits, computation of our estimators is much less expensive than the direct numerical solution of the equations of motion.     

Ammonium N‐acetyl‐l‐threoninate and methyl­ammonium N‐acetyl‐l‐threoninate

Ammonium N‐acetyl‐l ‐threoninate, NH₄⁺·C₆H₁₀NO₄^?, and methyl­ammonium N‐acetyl‐l ‐threoninate, CH₆N⁺·­C₆H₁₀NO₄^?, crystallize in the orthorhombic P2₁2₁2₁ and monoclinic P2₁ space groups, respectively. The two crystals present the same packing features consisting of infinite ribbons of screw‐related N‐acetyl‐l ‐threoninate anions linked together through pairs of hydrogen bonds. The cations interconnect neighbouring ribbons of anions involving all the nitrogen‐H atoms in three‐dimensional networks of hydrogen bonds. The hydrogen‐bond patterns include asymmetric `three‐centred' systems. In both structures, the Thr side chain is in the favoured (g^?g⁺) conformation.     

A de Vries (SmC*) Phase in a Novel Series of Chiral Fluorinated Organosiloxane Liquid Crystals

The synthesis and characterization of a series of five chiral fluorinated low molar mass (bifurcated tail) organosiloxane materials is presented. The mesogenic moiety is similar to that in the TSiKN65F mesogen reported by Naciri et al., which displays a de Vries-type SmA* phase. The one parameter varied across the series reported herein is the length of the alkyl chain linking the mesogen's core to the bifurcated siloxane tail. One of the five materials displays a de Vries SmC* phase upon cooling from SmA*.