Artifact formation due to ethyl thio-incorporation into silylated steroid structures as determined in doping analysis

Trimethylsilylation of target substances in a mixture of N-methyl-N-trimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide (MSTFA), ammonium iodide and ethanethiol is frequently applied for the application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in steroid analysis. However, artifacts were formed when using this mixture to silylate the steroids androsterone and etiocholanolone obtained from a urine matrix. The artifacts were identified as ethyl thio-containing products of the respective trimethylsilyl derivatives. The conversion of the studied products increased slowly as a function of time, was dependent on the presence of the urine matrix and was significantly accelerated by adding diethyl disulfide to the reagent before incubation. Also ethyl thio-incorporation into testosterone and epitestosterone was established. A mechanism for ethyl thio-incorporation is proposed. The conversion achieved after 120-h sample storage at room temperature was insufficient to significantly influence the analysis of androsterone and etiocholanolone under the studied conditions. However, the results provide fundamental insight into the mechanism of silylation and the occurring side-reactions. Moreover, when investigating the formation of new metabolites, the ethyl thio-incorporation can lead to misinterpretation.     

An acoustic description of the vowels of Northern and Southern Standard Dutch

A database is presented of measurements of the fundamental frequency, the frequencies of the first three formants, and the duration of the 15 vowels of Standard Dutch as spoken in the Netherlands (Northern Standard Dutch) and in Belgium (Southern Standard Dutch). The speech material consisted of read monosyllabic utterances in a neutral consonantal context (i.e., /sVs/). Recordings were made for 20 female talkers and 20 male talkers, who were stratified for the factors age, gender, and region. Of the 40 talkers, 20 spoke Northern Standard Dutch and 20 spoke Southern Standard Dutch. The results indicated that the nine monophthongal Dutch vowels /a [see symbol in text] epsilon i I [see symbol in text] u y Y/ can be separated fairly well given their steady-state characteristics, while the long mid vowels /e o ?/ and three diphthongal vowels /epsilon I [see symbol in text]u oey/ also require information about their dynamic characteristics. The analysis of the formant values indicated that Northern Standard Dutch and Southern Standard Dutch differ little in the formant frequencies at steady-state for the nine monophthongal vowels. Larger differences between these two language varieties were found for the dynamic specifications of the three long mid vowels, and, to a lesser extent, of the three diphthongal vowels.     

Breakdown of wave diffusion in 2D due to loops

The validity of the diffusion approximation for the intensity of multiply scattered waves is tested with numerical simulations in a strongly scattering 2D medium of finite extent. We show that the diffusion equation underestimates the intensity and attribute this to both the neglect of recurrent scattering paths and interference within diffusion theory. We present a theory to quantify this discrepancy based on counting all possible scattering paths between point scatterers. Interference phenomena, due to loop paths, are incorporated in a way similar to coherent backscattering.     

Reentrant surface melting of colloidal hard spheres

Concentrated suspensions of model colloidal hard spheres at a wall were studied in real space by means of time-resolved fluorescence confocal scanning microscopy. Both structure and dynamics of these systems differ dramatically from their bulk analogs (i.e., far away from a wall). In particular, systems that are a glass in the bulk show significant hexagonal order at a wall. Upon increasing the volume fraction of the colloids, a reentrant melting transition involving a hexatic structure is observed. The last observation points to two-dimensional behavior of matter at walls.     

Probing the Lewis Acidity of Boronic Acids through Interactions with Arene Substituents

Boronic acids are Lewis acids that exist in equilibrium with boronate forms in aqueous solution. Here we experimentally and computationally investigated the Lewis acidity of 2,6-diarylphenylboronic acids; specially designed phenylboronic acids that possess two flanking aromatic rings with tunable aromatic character. Hammett analysis of 2,6-diarylphenylboronic acids reveals that their Lewis acidity remains unchanged upon the introduction of EWG/EDG at the distant para position of the flanking aromatic rings. Structural and computational studies demonstrate that polar-π interactions and solvation effects contribute to the stabilization of boronic acids and boronate forms by aromatic rings. Our physical-organic chemistry work highlights that boronic acids and boronates can be stabilized by aromatic systems, leading to an important molecular knowledge for rational design and development of boronic acid-based catalysts and inhibitors of biomedically important proteins.     

Time-resolved in situ XAS study of the preparation of supported gold clusters

Incipient-wetness impregnation of gamma-Al(2)O(3) with HAuCl(4) and subsequent removal of chlorine with NaOH, and deposition-precipitation of HAuCl(4) on TiO(2) at pH 7 resulted in supported Au(3+) species. Time-resolved in situ XAS at the Au L(3) edge showed that the Al(2)O(3)-supported oxidic or hydroxidic species were reduced in hydrogen at 440 K to yield small metallic gold clusters. The Au(3+) precursor decomposed to metallic gold in inert atmosphere at 573 K and in oxidizing atmosphere above 623 K. In all atmospheres, initially small clusters were formed that gradually grew with increasing temperature. The TiO(2)-supported species were considerably less stable. In hydrogen and carbon monoxide, Au(0) clusters of 1 to 1.5 nm were formed at room temperature, which was the lowest temperature studied. In inert and oxidizing atmosphere, the Au(3+) precursor decomposed fully to metallic gold at 530 K, as shown by XAS and temperature-programmed experiments. Large clusters were obtained already in the initial stage of reduction. Residual chlorine inhibited the reduction and led to sintering of the gold clusters. Exposure of the TiO(2)-supported catalyst precursor to light or the X-ray beam led to partial reduction, and STEM showed that storage of the reduced gold clusters under ambient conditions led to agglomeration and bimodal cluster-size distributions.     

Durability prediction of p-urethane clearcoats using infrared p(hoto) a(coustic) s(pectroscopy)

The durability of topcoats is dependent on a large number of factors as polymer composition, stabilization package and the conditions during the weathering process. For obvious reasons prediction of the long-term (5-10 year) durability of coatings is very important. The rate-determining factor for the degradation of PUR coatings is photo-oxidation. The photo-oxidation rate is controlled by the polymer structure but also stabilizers as HALS has a large influence. The prediction of the durability of clearcoats is based on tracing of the photo-oxidation rate and of the HALS longevity during exposure. The photo-oxidation rate is measured using FTIR-PAS. The results show that degradation can be detected much earlier compared with classical methods as gloss loss. Moreover detection of differences between systems after short exposure times as well as prediction of the long-term durability are possible.     

Liquid‐phase polymerization of propylene with a highly active Ziegler–Natta catalyst. Influence of hydrogen,cocatalyst, and electron donor on the reaction kinetics

This paper presents an experimental kinetic study of the polymerization of propylene in liquid monomer with a high activity catalyst. The influences of the concentration of hydrogen and the molar ratios of the catalyst, cocatalyst, and electron donor on the activation period, the maximum activity, the yield, and the decay behavior have been investigated at a temperature of 42°C using a relatively simple kinetic model. On the basis of the experimental data, the reaction rate has been modeled as a function of the hydrogen concentration, the molar ratio of cocatalyst and titanium, and the molar ratio of the electron donor and the cocatalyst. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 219–232, 1999     

Degradation kinetics and solvent effects of various long-chain quaternary ammonium salts

Surfactants such as quaternary ammonium salts (QAS) have been in increasing demand, for emerging new applications. Recent attempts at process intensification of their production have disclosed the need for a better understanding of QAS thermal stability. This work aims to determine the degradation kinetics of various QASs and the associated solvent effects. The degradation kinetics of four methyl carbonate QASs were determined in various polar solvents in stainless steel batch autoclaves. H NMR spectrometry was employed for offline analysis of the reaction mixtures. The kinetic parameters were then used to compare the thermal stability of the four compounds in the polar solvents. Water showed no degradation, and methanol (MeOH) was the solvent that provided the second-best stability. Water–MeOH mixtures may provide an overall optimum. Moreover, and longer long-chain substituents increased the degradation rate. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to obtain the thermal stability in a solid state, that is, solventless environment. Isoconversional analysis showed that no reliable kinetic parameters could be determined. Nevertheless, the data did allow for a comparison of the thermal stability of 14 different QASs. Furthermore, the relative instability of the compounds in the solid state demonstrated the challenges of solventless QAS production.