Development of a trace gas stable isotope capture system in a mobile laboratory for temporal and spatial sampling of field and laboratory experiments

We describe the development of a novel mobile field laboratory, purposely designed for the automated capture and subsequent stable isotopic analyses of multiple gas samples. The multiple capture system is integrated into a mobile laboratory that is fully capable of measuring the concentration of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trace gases in a flow-through system connected to a gas chromatograph fitted with both electron capture and flame ionisation detectors. The capture of gases is achieved by routing samples through a series of 135 mL gas flasks that are sealed by micro-solenoid valves triggered by a timing system. Trace gas light stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry can then be carried out on gas samples collected by the system (NERC (15)N Stable Isotope Facility). The excitingly unique potential of the system to the ecological research field is that it will allow the collection of cyclical data for three different trace gases both in real-time and in situ. We present data arising from the validation of this mobile system as well as a preliminary experimental assessment of this technique. This technique was used to measure delta(13)C in CO(2) and CH(4) in soil gases released from waterlogged cores and delta(13)C-CH(4) values were significantly depleted in wet cores compared with dry ones (p < 0.001).     

X-ray diffraction and (1)H NMR in solution: structural determination of lanthanide complexes of a Py(2)N(6)Ac(4) ligand

Complexes between the Py(2)N(6)Ac(4) (H(4)L) ligand containing four carboxylate pendant arms and trivalent lanthanide ions have been synthesized, and structural studies have been made both in the solid state and aqueous solution. The crystal structures of the La, Ce, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Lu complexes, with chemical formulas [LaH(2)L](NO(3)).3H(2)O (1), [Ce(4)L(2)](NO(3))(4).30H(2)O (2), [SmHL].EtOH.3H(2)O (5), [TbHL].EtOH.3H(2)O (8), [DyHL].2EtOH.2H(2)O (9), [HoHL].3H(2)O (10), [ErHL].EtOH.3H(2)O (11) [TmHL].EtOH.3H(2)O (12), and [LuHL].3H(2)O (14), have been determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. In the solid state, the complexes of the lighter lanthanide ions La(3+)-Dy(3+) show a 10-coordinated geometry close to a distorted bicapped antiprism, where the carboxylate pendants are situated alternatively above and below the best plane that contains the nitrogen donor atoms. The complexes of the heavier ions, Ho(3+)-Lu(3+), have a 9-coordinated geometry close to distorted tricapped trigonal prism, with one of the pendant carboxylate groups uncoordinated. The ligand is in a "twist-fold" conformation, where the twisting of the pyridine units is accompanied by an overall folding of the major ring of the macrocycle so that the pyridine nitrogen atoms and the metal are far from linear. The aqueous solution structures of the complexes were thoroughly characterized, the diamagnetic ones (La(3+) and Lu(3+)) by their COSY NMR spectra, and the paramagnetic complexes using a linear least-squares fitting of the (1)H LIS (lanthanide-induced shift) and LIR (lanthanide-induced relaxation) data with rhombic magnetic susceptibility tensors. The solution structures obtained for the La(3+)-Dy(3+) complexes (10-coordinate) and for the Tm(3+)-Lu(3+) complexes (9-coordinate) are in very good agreement with the corresponding crystal structures. However, the 10-coordinate structure is still exclusive in solution for the Ho(3+) complex and predominant for the Er(3+) complex.     

Sol-Gel Synthesis of Transparent Alumina Gel and Pure Gamma Alumina by Urea Hydrolysis of Aluminum Nitrate

-Alumina was synthesized by a sol-gel method with the aluminum ion hydrolysis control performed by urea. The initial saturated Al³⁺/urea solution presented urea coordinated with the aluminum ion, as shown in the ¹³C NMR and ²⁷Al NMR spectra and longitudinal relaxation times, T ₁, from the latter. The substitution of water molecules in the Al³⁺ coordination shell by urea controlled the hydrolysis process and provided an extensive nucleation during the initial steps of the aluminum hydroxide formation due to urea thermolysis at 90°C. The resulting sol, composed of Al(OH)₃ nanoparticles, coalesced and became a transparent gel permeated by a solution of urea and the polycation ion [Al₁₃O₄(OH)₂₄(H₂O)₁₂]⁷⁺. The freshly prepared gel was transformed, under heating at 300°C, directly to -alumina, characterized by FTIR, ²⁷Al-MAS-NMR and S_BET techniques, without - or -phases, as a consequence of the high degree of homogeneity of the -alumina precursor.     

Quantum Hall Quantized Cyclotron Entrance Channels

Quantum Hall plateaus are entered via quantized cyclotron (QC) cloud-chamber orbits that have Landau-level (LL) energies and uniquely-defined angular momenta. The conservation of angular momentum in the quantum Hall system requires both canonical and magnetic angular momentum components, which add together to form the invariant kinematic angular momentum. The only LL radial eigenfunctions that satisfy the conservation-law requirements of the QC to LL transition are the u _n,l eigenstates u _n,2n+1, where n = 0, 1, 2, .... These same eigenstates uniquely have the correct scaled sizes to tile the observed families of = 1/(2n + 1) Hall plateaus. Quantum Hall plateau formation is a direct consequence of this tiling.     

A UNIFIED QUANTUM HALL CLOSE-PACKED COMPOSITE BOSON (CPCB) MODEL

Single-wavelength Landau cyclotron orbitals (SWOs) have been used as quantum Hall basis states to reproduce integer quantum Hall plateaus in a two-dimensional (2D) close-packing representation. But at the high magnetic fields B that correspond to fractional Hall plateaus, these SWOs are too small to give close packing. It is conventionally assumed that the fractional quantum Hall states are formed from collective electron excitations (CEEs). However, by invoking the use of multiple-wavelength Landau orbitals (MWOs), we can close-pack the fractional Hall plateaus in the same manner as the integer plateaus. Quantum Hall plateaus are characterized by the filling fractions n _e/n =k/m, where k=1, 2,... (all integers) and m=1, 3,... (all odd integers), and where n _e and n are the 2D electron e and magnetic flux =h/e densities, respectively. A composite particle (CP) is a bound state of an electron and m flux quanta . If m is even or odd, the CP is a composite fermion (CF) or composite boson (CB). In the CEE models, both CF and CB formalisms have been used. In the alternative MWO approach introduced here, the close-packed MWOs on a =k/m plateau each contain m de Broglie wavelengths . Each MWO traps m external flux quanta, produces m diamagnetic induced flux quanta, and carries the filling fraction , which accounts for the extreme accuracy (one part in 10⁸) of the Hall plateau conductance, _H= e ²/h. Since m is odd, these MWOs are CB states, and they form a boson condensate of close-packed composite boson (CPCB) states. The m=1 (m<1) CPCBs tile the integer (fractional) Hall plateaus. The filling fraction index k corresponds to k layers of CPCB orbitals. Plateau formation itself is due to the linear B dependence of the density of CPCB states. The CPCBs are decoupled from the semiconductor substrate, and hence may have large m* effective mass values. THE MWOs near the =1/2 non-plateau region are m=2 CF states.     

Global existence of time-dependent Yang-Mills-Higgs monopoles

We study the Cauchy problem for non-abelian Yang-Mills-Higgs theory in (3+1)-dimensional Minkowski spacetime. With suitable conditions on the background fields and a suitable choice of a Sobolev space for the subtracted gauge potentials and the Higgs field, we establish local existence. We then prove global existence by showing that an appropriate norm of the solutions cannot blow up in a finite time.     

Digitization Projects in Spain

We present the current status of the Spanish projects for the digitization of the mathematical literature, as well as some related topics.     

Quality management systems in radiochemistry and radiopharmacy — applications in academy and industry

Except the nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear materials safeguards, at present there are two areas of an increased responsibility of nuclear scientists for their results: radioecology and human medicaments. At both of them, quality and trustfulness of results is of great importance for their end-users and may have serious economical and legal consequences. The trends of implementation of good laboratory and manufacturing practices under umbrella of international quality management standards like ISO 17025:2005 and ISO 9001:2000 in radiochemical and radiopharmaceutical laboratories are discussed as expanding to “good scientific practice”. The case studies of the Comenius University laboratory LARCHA authorized for radiochemical analysis, and the company BIONT producing medical radionuclides and PET radiopharmaceuticals are used as the examples.     

Isotope dilution analysis in column-coupling isotachophoresis

The use of isotope dilution technique to eliminate problems associated with demands for a high load capacity in column-coupling capillary isotachophoresis was studied. Determinations of phosphate present in a model mixture and in white wine served for the evaluation of this approach to quantitative analysis in isotachophoresis. A high selectivity of the analysis with acceptable accuracy and precision of the determination also in complex ionic mixtures in a short time are obvious advantages of this approach.