Chemical and radiochemical characterization of depleted uranium (DU) in Kosovo soils

As is well known ammunitions containing depleted uranium (DU) were used by NATO during the Balkan war. The paper deals with the determination of uranium alpha emitting radiosotopes in Kosovo soils by chemical separation and alpha spectrometry. The samples were collected by CISAM (Centro Interforze Studi ed Applicazioni Militari, S. Piero a Grado, Livorno) in the period November 1999-April 2000. The DU distribution in soil appeared very disomogeneous; the isotope weight percentages for U-238, U-235 and U-234 resulted 99.76, 0.24 and 7.24.10(-4) respectively; consequently the activity distribution was 86.42%, 1.31%, 11.63% and the isotope ratios were 1.52.10(-2) and 0.134 for U-235/U-238 and U-234/U-238 showing clearly the presence of DU. A small peak at 4.49 MeV (U-236) in the alpha spectrum indicated that the used DU was the by-product of exhausted uranium reprocessing. In order to determine the chemical and physiological solubility of uranium a fractionation study was carried out by using the Tessier method: 55% of uranium showed a fair solubility, but 45% was solubilized only by 8 M HNO3.     

Reductive lithiation of alkoxy-substituted benzyl methyl ethers and connection with cross-coupling reactions

2-and 4-Ethoxymethoxybenzyl methyl ethers were employied as useful starting materials for the synthesis of 1,2- or 1,4-dicarbo-substituted benzenes. The proposed reaction sequence involves connection between the reductive lithiation of benzyl alkyl ethers and the metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction of aromatic triflates.     

Radioanalytical investigation on rhodium extraction behaviour with tri-N-butylphosphate from iodide solutions

Radioanalytical techniques are used in this work to investigate the extraction behaviour with TBP of rhodium (III) chloride solutions to which a large excess of iodide is added. Extraction yields and distribution coefficients are determined as a function of HClO₄ or H₂SO₄ content in the aqueous phase. Rhodium-stripping from the organic phase with ammonia solutions is also tested.     

Fast solid-phase extraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry procedure for oil fingerprinting. Application to the Prestige oil spill

A rapid and simple fractionation procedure using solid-phase extraction (SPE) cartridges was developed for an accurate determination of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in petroleum residues and further application in chemical fingerprinting of oil spills by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Among the adsorbents evaluated, SiO2/C3-CN exhibited the best selectivity, providing, by elution with n-hexane (4 ml) and n-hexane-CH2Cl2 (1:1) (5 ml), two well-resolved aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbon fractions, with recoveries of 97 +/- 7.2 and 99.7 +/- 13.9%, respectively. The SPE fractionation procedure was compared with the conventional silica-alumina adsorption chromatography showing similar results but practical advantages in terms of reproducibility, analysis time, solvent reduction and cost. Moreover, is particularly suitable for routine analysis with a high sample throughput. The developed methodology was tested in the characterization of fuel-oil samples collected along the Spanish north-west coast, after the Prestige oil spill accident.     

Etude calorimetrique de l'absorption de l'hydrogene sulfure dans des solutions aqueuses d'ethanolamines

Résumé La chaleur dégagée par l'absorption du sulfure d'hydrogène dans des solutions aqueuses de monoéthanolamine (MEA), diéthanolamine (DEA) et triéthanolamine (TEA) est mesurée directement par calorimétrie.Les valeurs des enthalpies obtenues sont comparées à celles obtenues par d'autres auteurs par calcul à partir des résultats d'expériences de solubilité ainsi qu'aux enthalpies de protonation par HC1 à 25.

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Absorption heats of hydrogen sulphide in aqueous solutions of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine were determined by calorimetry. The measured enthalpies were compared to those calculated on the basis of solubility measurement and to the enthalpies of protonation of hydrogen chloride at 25.

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Zusammenfassung Die durch Absorption von Schwefelwasserstoff in wÄssrigen Lösungen von MonoÄthanolamin (MEA), DiÄthanolamin (DEA) und TriÄthanolamin (TEA) abgegebene WÄrme wurde unmittelbar durch Kalorimetrie gemessen. Die erhaltenen Enthalpiewerte wurden mit Versuchsergebnissen der Löslichkeit sowie der Protonierung durch HC1 bei 25 anderer Autoren verglichen.

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-, - . 25.

     

Su un legame tra metriche di un dominio fattoriale e del suo campo delle frazioni

We introduce in a U. F. D.,A, and in its quotient fieldK two metricsd and \(\bar d\) connected to the (p)-adic topology onA and its extension toK; we prove that: \(\bar d\left( {\frac{x}{y},\frac{{x'}}{{y'}}} \right) = \inf \left( {\frac{{d(xy',yx')}}{{2d(yy',0)}},1} \right)\) .     

Sulle superficie di uno spazio euclideo an dimensioni aventi un campo tangente concircolare

Letx:M ²→E ⁿ be the immersion of a surfaceM ² in ann-dimensional Euclidean space. Letj and μ be the canonical isomorphism defined by the metricg ofM ² and by the canonical volume element ofM ², respectively. IfM ² carries a concircular tangent vector fieldX. then the following properties are proved:

1. The gaussian curvatureK ofM ² is identically zero.
2. X defines an infinitesimal homothety onM ².
3. The vector field (j ^?1 o μ) (X) is a Killing vector field.

Further ifX is alsoconcurrent (in the sense of K. Yano and B. Y. Chen [3]), then the immersion is degenerate (all the Killing-Lipchitz curvatures associated withx vanish).     

Ereditarietà delle misure di Caratheodory

Let μ be a diffuse Carathéodory measure. The purpose of this paper is to prove that, for every open setU inR, μ(·∩U) is a Carathéodory measure too.     

一种改进的2×2 SOI Mach-Zehnder热光开关

本文设计并制作了基于强限制多模干涉耦合器的2×2 SOI马赫-曾德热光开关.这种光开关采用了深刻蚀结构的多模干涉耦合器和输入/输出波导,较大地提高了干涉耦合器的性能并减少了连接耦合损耗.同时,在调制臂区域采用浅刻蚀结构,保持其单模调制状态.深刻蚀多模干涉耦合器具有优越的特性,在实验中测得不均衡度只有0.03 dB,插入损耗－0.6 dB.基于这种耦合器的新型热光开关,其插入损耗为－6.8 dB,其中包括光纤-波导耦合损耗－4.3 dB,开关时间为6.8 μs.     

Enhancing cell membrane phase separation for inhibiting cancer metastasis with a stimuli-responsive DNA nanodevice

Phase separation in cell membranes promotes the assembly of transmembrane receptors to initiate signal transduction in response to environmental cues. Many cellular behaviors are manipulated by promoting membrane phase separation through binding to multivalent extracellular ligands. However, available extracellular molecule tools that enable manipulating the clustering of transmembrane receptors in a controllable manner are rare. In the present study, we report a DNA nanodevice that enhances membrane phase separation through the clustering of dynamic lipid rafts. This DNA nanodevice is anchored in the lipid raft region of the cell membrane and initiated by ATP. In a tumor microenvironment, this device could be activated to form a long DNA duplex on the cell membrane, which not only enhances membrane phase separation, but also blocks the interaction between the transmembrane surface adhesion receptor and extracellular matrix, leading to reduced migration. We demonstrate that the ATP-activated DNA nanodevice could inhibit cancer cell migration both in vitro and in vivo. The concept of using DNA to regulate membrane phase separation provides new possibilities for manipulating versatile cell functions through rational design of functional DNA structures.

A DNA nanodevice is developed to enhance the cell membrane phase separation in a tumor microenvironment to weaken the formation of focal adhesion. As a result, the migration of cancer cells is inhibited both in vitro and in vivo.