Correlation between radionuclides associated with zircon and monazite in beach sand of Rosetta,Egypt

The study aims to evaluate the activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs along Rosetta beach, Egypt. Non-destructive assay techniques were carried out using HP-Ge spectrometer and binocular microscope. The results of this study serve as a database for radioactivity levels of the mineral sand deposits of Rosetta area. The activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K ranged from 5.39 to 134.2, 6.6 to 160.8 and 57.6 to 492 Bqkg⁻¹ respectively. The range of activity concentrations of ¹³⁷Cs is between 0.05 and 0.91 Bqkg⁻¹. The total gamma absorbed dose rates varied from 11.59 to 160.01 nGyh⁻¹ with a mean value of 50.53 nGyh⁻¹. These values correspond to an annual effective dose equivalent of 0.01–0.2 mSvy⁻¹ with a mean of 0.07 mSvy⁻¹, which is in agreement with the worldwide average. Also, a correlation between the calculated zircon and monazite radioactive mineral contents with the measured radioactive isotopes was carried out to determine the contribution of each mineral for radioactivity. These correlations predicted that both zircon and monazite minerals are the main contributors for radioactivity in the Egyptian beach black sands. Also the present study ensured that area under investigation is to be safe for public.     

Determination of alkenes in cracking products by normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography–diode array detection

Alkene content determinations in fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) liquid products were performed by means of normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (NP-HPLC) with diode array detection (UV/DAD). Separation of alkenes from aromatic hydrocarbons was performed on amino-modified silica gel column with n-heptane as mobile phase. The column has a little affinity to alkenes and saturated hydrocarbons and a pronounced affinity to aromatic compounds. The problem of alkenes and saturates co-elution on this column type was overcome with the detection system, UV/DAD, sensitive and selective to alkenes, while saturates are inactive in UV field. Total alkene content was determined as a sum of mono- and dialkene groups quantified by external standard method. Validation and verification of the developed method proved their applicability. The following criteria were used to validate the HPLC–DAD method: selectivity, linearity, precision, limits of detection and quantification. Alkene contents were quantified with the external standard method of wide calibration range, so both low and high alkene contents can be determined by the single calibration. Correlation coefficients were higher than 0.99. Precision was evaluated as repeatability and intermediary precision with relative standard deviations less than 5%. Some structural investigation of alkene groups was performed to confirm the assumption. Proposed method was compared with certified NMR method. Six commercial motor gasoline samples were analyzed by these two methods. Obtained results indicate good agreement between alkene content determined by both methods. The developed method was applied to the determination of alkene content in liquid FCC products in the boiling range from 70 °C to 190 °C.     

Effect of metal ions on photoluminescence, charge transport, magnetic and catalytic properties of all-inorganic colloidal nanocrystals and nanocrystal solids

Colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) provide convenient "building blocks" for solution-processed solar cells, light-emitting devices, photocatalytic systems, etc. The use of inorganic ligands for colloidal NCs dramatically improved inter-NC charge transport, enabling fast progress in NC-based devices. Typical inorganic ligands (e.g., Sn(2)S(6)(4-), S(2-)) are represented by negatively charged ions that bind covalently to electrophilic metal surface sites. The binding of inorganic charged species to the NC surface provides electrostatic stabilization of NC colloids in polar solvents without introducing insulating barriers between NCs. In this work we show that cationic species needed for electrostatic balance of NC surface charges can also be employed for engineering almost every property of all-inorganic NCs and NC solids, including photoluminescence efficiency, electron mobility, doping, magnetic susceptibility, and electrocatalytic performance. We used a suite of experimental techniques to elucidate the impact of various metal ions on the characteristics of all-inorganic NCs and developed strategies for engineering and optimizing NC-based materials.     

Effect of different concentrations of sulfuric acid on leaching of radionuclide isotopes in sedimentary rock samples,Sinai, Egypt

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - This research focused on studying the effect of sulfuric acid concentrations on the leaching of different radionuclides (238U and 235U series) in...     

Synthesis of the seco-Limonoid BCD Ring System Identifies a Hsp90 Chaperon Machinery (p23) Inhibitor

D-Ring-seco-limonoids (tetranortriterpenoids), such as gedunin and xylogranin B display anti-cancer activity, acting via inhibition of Hsp90 and/or associated chaperon machinery (e.g., p23). Despite this, these natural products have received relatively little attention, both in terms of an enabling synthetic approach (which would allow access to derivatives), and as a consequence their structure–activity relationship (SAR). Disclosed herein is a generally applicable synthetic route to the BCD ring system of the seco-D-ring double bond containing limonoids. Furthermore, cell based assays revealed the first skeletal fragment that exhibited inhibition of the p23 enzyme at a level which was equipotent to that of gedunin, despite being much less structurally complex.     

Addition of Isocyanides to Tetramesityldigermene: A Comparison of the Reactivity between Surface and Molecular Digermenes

The reaction of benzyl isocyanide, tert‐butyl isocyanide, and 2,6‐dimethylphenyl isocyanide with tetramesityldigermene (Mes₂Ge=GeMes₂) was examined. Whereas the addition of benzyl isocyanide gave the C?NC activation product, Mes₂Ge(CH₂Ph)Ge(CN)Mes₂, tert‐butyl isocyanide, and 2,6‐dimethylphenyl isocyanide did not give stable adducts, rather the rate of conversion of the digermene to the corresponding cyclotrigermane was accelerated. A comparison between the reactivity of the isocyanides with Mes₂Ge=GeMes₂ and the Ge(100)‐2×1 surface was made and some insights into the surface chemistry are offered.     

Reversed-Phase Thin-Layer Chromatographic Behavior of Some s-Triazine Derivatives

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - The chromatographic behavior of four groups of s-triazine derivatives (14 compounds) has been studied by TLC on silica gel...     

Spectrophotometric determination of aniline in aqueous solution by azo-dye formation with diazotized p-nitroaniline

A simple, sensitive, and rapid Spectrophotometric method for the trace determination of aniline in aqueous solution is described. The method is based on coupling aniline with diazotizedp-nitroaniline in the presence of ethanol and sodium hydroxide to form an intense red water-soluble azo-dye which shows maximum absorption at 505 nm and greater stability and sensitivity in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. Beer's law is obeyed over the aniline concentration range 0.2–2.4g/ml in the solution measured; the molar absorptivity is 3.46×10⁴l· mole^–1·cm^–1, and the relative standard deviation 1–2%, depending on the aniline concentration.     

Triterpenic derivatives of Achillea alexandri-regis BORNM. & RUDSKI

Investigation of the aerial parts of Achillea alexandri-regis led to the identification of 19 chemical constituents: twelve 3-O-fatty acid esters of triterpene alcohols arnidiol (1-4), maniladiol (5-8) and 16beta-hydroxylupeol (9-12), alpha-amyrin, beta-amyrin, beta-sitosterol, 3,4-O-dicaffeoyl quinic acid, cinnamic acid, pinoresinol-beta-D-glucoside and rutin. Among them, compounds 3, 4, 8, 11 and 12 are new natural products. The structures of all compounds have been elucidated on the basis of their spectral and chemical data.     

Real time imaging of supramolecular assembly formation via programmed nucleolipid recognition

Supramolecular assembly formation resulting from molecular recognition between complementary nucleolipids has been visualized in real time at the micrometer scale.