Uranium concentration measurements in human blood for some governorates in Iraq using CR-39 track detector

The sensitive and simple technique of fission track etch has been applied to determine trace concentration of uranium in blood samples for occupational and non-occupational workers, male and female, using CR-39 track detector that is employed for registration of induced fission tracks. The results show that the highest recorded uranium concentration in human blood of workers in the ministry of Science and Technology were 1.90 ppb (male, 36 years old, 12 years' work experience, and living in Basrah governorate) and minimum concentration 0.26 ppb (female, 40 years old, 10 years' work experience, and living in Baghdad), while for non-occupational worker, the maximum uranium concentration was 1.76 ppb (female, 63 years old, and living in Al-Muthana) and minimum concentration was 0.28 ppb (female, 20 years old, and living in Baghdad). It has also been found that the uranium concentration in human blood samples of workers in the ministry of Science and Technology are higher than those of non-occupational workers, and the uranium concentrations for female workers and for non-occupational workers were higher than those for male workers and non-occupational workers.     

Supramolecular separation mechanism of pentafluorophenyl column using ibuprofen and omeprazole as markers: LC‐MS and simulation study

The pentafluorophenyl (PFP) column is emerging as a new advancement in separation science to analyze a wide range of analytes and, thus, its separation mechanism at supramolecular level is significant. We developed a mechanism for the separation of ibuprofen and omeprazole using different combinations (ranging from 50:50 to 60:40) of water–acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid as the mobile phase. The column used was Waters Acquity UPLC HSS PFP (75 × 2.1 mm, 1.8 μm). The reverse order of elution was observed in different combinations of the mobile phases. The docking study indicated hydrogen bonding between ibuprofen and PFP stationary phase (binding energy was −11.30 kJ/mol). Separation at PFP stationary phase is controlled by hydrogen bonding along with π–π interactions. This stationary phase may be used to analyze both aromatic and aliphatic analytes. The developed mechanism will be useful to separate various analytes by considering the possible interactions, leading to saving of energy, time and money. In addition, this work will be highly useful in preparative chromatography where separation is the major problem at a large scale. Moreover, the developed LC‐MS‐QTOF method may be used to analyze ibuprofen and omeprazole in an unknown sample owing to the low value of detection limits.     

Double Heck Cross‐Coupling Reactions of Dibrominated Pyridines

Double Heck cross‐coupling reactions of 2,3‐ and 3,5‐dibromopyridine with various alkenes afforded the corresponding novel di(alkenyl)pyridines. The Heck reaction of 2,5‐dibromopyridine unexpectedly afforded 5,5′‐di(alkenyl)‐2,2′‐bipyridines by palladium‐catalyzed dimerization to give 5,5′‐dibromo‐2,2′‐bipyridine and subsequent twofold Heck reaction.     

Influence of slip condition on the peristaltic transport in an asymmetric channel with heat transfer: An exact solution

The mechanism of peristaltic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow based on slip and heat transfer effects is studied in an asymmetric channel. An incompressible viscous fluid fills the porous space inside the channel. Long wavelength and zero Reynolds number approximation are used in the flow modeling. Expressions of stream function, longitudinal pressure gradient, and temperature are developed. Various interesting phenomena associated with peristalsis, such as pumping and trapping, are discussed in detail. Further the effects of various pertinent parameters on temperature field and heat transfer coefficient are explained with the help of graphs and tables. It is found that pressure rise over one wavelength decreases in pumping region for large values of slip parameter. Similar behavior is observed for temperature field by increasing the slip parameter. However, the volume of trapped bolus decreases by increasing the slip parameter. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Electrical resistivity of the alkaline earth metals Ca,Sr and Ba in the 50–300K temperature region

The computed values of the temperature dependent electrical resistivity is presented for the alkaline earth metals Ca, Sr and Ba. Numerical values of the mean free paths obtained using a finite mean free path approach is also reported. The structure factor has been evaluated using experimental values for the phonon spectra while local model potentials were used for the form factors. Our numerical results compare favourably with experiments.     

Thermal degradation of iron polymethacrylate

Iron polymethacrylate was synthesized by free radical solution polymerization of methacrylic acid, followed by replacement of the carboxylic proton with iron. Thermal volatilization analysis and thermogravimetry were used to study its thermal stability from ambient temperature up to 500oC. The results reveal that ferric oxide is left as residue at the end of the thermal degradation experiments.The authors dedicate this paper to the memory of the late Dr. Mohammad Zulfiqar of Quaid i Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.     

Structure, dsingle-particle and many-particle coefficients of Lennard—Jones liquid Al

We investigate the effects of temperature and density on the single-particle and many-particle coefficients as well as on the structures of homogenous systems in which the particles are assumed to interact via a continuous soft sphere potential in the microcanonical ensemble. The pair distribution function and therefore the structures of the systems studied are affected by temperature close to and above the melting point through migrations of atoms from the first shell in the pair distribution function. The dynamics of atomic pairs in the short-time regime in liquid aluminium may be said to be governed by the potential of mean force, which depends on the static structure of liquid Al at all investigated temperatures. A polynomial dependence ofD on density and temperature was observed in contradiction to Arrhenius law. The shear viscosities of the systems studied are largely nonlinear. It was observed that the soft sphere potential used in our calculations overestimates the Stoke-Einstein relation.     

Growth and characteristics of reactive pulsed laser deposited molybdenum trioxide thin films

Molybdenum trioxide thin films were prepared by reactive pulsed laser deposition on Corning 7059 glass substrates. The influence of oxygen partial pressure and deposition temperature on the structure, surface morphology and optical properties of these films was studied to understand the growth mechanism of MoO₃ thin films. The films formed at 473 K in an oxygen partial pressure of 100 mTorr exhibited predominantly a (0k0) orientation, corresponding to an orthorhombic layered structure of α-MoO₃. The evaluated optical band gap of the films was 3.24 eV. The crystallite size increased with increase of deposition temperature. The films formed at an oxygen partial pressure of pO₂=100 mTorr and at a deposition temperature greater than 700 K exhibited both (0k0) and (0kl) orientations, representing α-β mixed phases of MoO₃. The films formed at an oxygen partial pressure less than 100 mTorr were found to be sub-stoichiometric with α-β mixed phases. The investigation revealed the growth of polycrystalline and single-phase orthorhombic-layered-structure α-MoO₃ thin films with composition nearly approaching the nominal stoichiometry at moderate substrate temperatures in an oxygen partial pressure of 100 mTorr. Received: 9 April 2001 / Accepted: 6 August 2001 / Published online: 17 October 2001