Angular correlations within coiled polymer molecules

Monte Carlo techniques were used to investigate angular correlations between the principal axes of inertia and the end-to-end vector as well as the first two normal coordinates. On the average, the first normal coordinate is nearly parallel to the longest principal axis. The parallelism is less distinct in the case of the end-to-end vector and the longest principal axis. The assumption made by some authors that the second normal coordinate is coplanar with the two longest principal axes could not be confirmed.     

The Meaning and Use of the Arrhenius Activation Energy

The nature of the Arrhenius activation energy and frequency factor is reexamined in terms of information now becoming available on the microscopic aspects of collisional reactions. It is pointed out that the activation energy is not generally equal to the threshold for reaction, and its correct conceptual meaning is discussed. The temperature dependence of this quantity and its relation to the threshold energy is developed for a number of representative forms of the energy dependence of the reaction cross-section (excitation function). The uses and limitations of the activation energy as a means of evaluating thresholds, excitation functions, and the presence of tunneling processes are discussed.     

Current approaches to trace analysis of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment

A large number of xenobiotics including pharmaceuticals and personal care products are continuously released into the environment. Effluents from sewage treatment plants are well known to be the major source for introduction of pharmaceuticals and personal care products into the aquatic system. In recent years, reliable methods have been established for residue analysis of these pollutants down to low ng/L levels. In this review, the different approaches to their trace determination are reviewed with special attention being paid to sample preparation procedures, state-of-the-art high-performance separation methods hyphenated with mass spectrometry, and immunochemical methods.