Problem of hidden variables

The problem of hidden variables in quantum mechanics is formalized as follows. A general or contextual (noncontextual) hidden-variables theory is defined as a mappingf: Q×M C (f: QC) whereQ is the set of projection operators in the appropriate (quantum) Hilbert space,M is the set of maximal Boolean subalgebras ofQ andC is a (classical) Boolean algebra. It is shown that contextual (noncontextual) hidden-variables always exist (do not exist).     

Sensitive spectrophotometric determination of ascorbic acid in fruit juices and pharmaceutical formulations using 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (Br-PADAP)

A simple and very sensitive method has been developed for the determination of ascorbic acid based on the oxidation of ascorbic acid to dehydroascorbic acid by iron(III), followed by a complexation of iron(II) with 2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol(Br-PADAP). The iron(II) complex is formed immediately, with absorption maxima at 560 and 748 nm and a molar absorptivity of 1.31 × 10⁵ l mole^–1cm^–1 and 5.69 × 10⁴ l mole^–1cm^–1, respectively. The ascorbic acid determination is possible with a linear range up to 2.4 μg ml^–1, a calibration sensitivity of 0.744 ml μg^–1 at 560 nm and 0.323 ml μg^–1 at 748 nm, and a detection limit of 15 ng ml^–1 and 44 ng ml^–1, respectively. The procedure was used for the ascorbic acid determination in several fruit juices and pharmaceutical formulations. The results demonstrated a good precision (R.S.D. < 1%) and are in agreement with those obtained with others methods. The Br-PADAP method proposed is six times more sensitive than the method using the iron(II)-1,10-phenanthroline system. Received: 7 May 1996 / Revised: 1 July 1996 / Accepted: 8 August 1996     

A new bis(3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone)-IDA derivative as a potential therapeutic chelating agent. Synthesis, metal-complexation and biological assays

A new bis(3-hydroxy-4-pyridinone) derivative of iminodiacetic acid, imino-bis(acetyl(1-(3'-aminopropyl)-3-hydroxy-2-methyl-4-pyridinone)), IDAPr(3,4-HP)(2), has been prepared and studied in its interaction with a set of hard metal ions. This tetradentate ligand presents a much higher chelating efficiency for trivalent hard metal ions (Fe, Ga, Al) than the monodentate derivative Deferriprone, namely at the diluted conditions prevailing in physiological conditions and at low clinical doses. A similar behaviour was also observed for the complexation with Zn(II) but at a significantly lower extent. This compound presents a moderate hydrophilic character at physiological pH (logD=-1.72). In vivo assays showed much more rapid clearance of (67)Ga from most tissues of metal-loaded mice than the drug Deferriprone and the radioactivity excretion occurs mostly through the kidneys. Therefore, results from in vitro and in vivo studies indicated good perspectives for this compound to be a potential decorporating agent for hard metal ions in overload situations without depletion of essential metal ions such as zinc.     

Use of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as surfactant for the determination of copper and chromium in gasoline emulsions by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

In this work, the use of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide as surfactant for the preparation of oil-in-water emulsions for the determination of Cu and Cr in gasoline by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET AAS) was evaluated. The surfactant amount was tested in the range of 25 to 300 mg, added to 2 ml of gasoline, and completed to 10 mL with 0.1% (v/v) nitric acid solution. 150 mg of surfactant was found optimum, and a sonication time of 10 min sufficient to form an oil-in-water emulsion that was stable for several hours. The ET AAS temperature program was established based on pyrolysis and atomization curves. The pyrolysis temperatures were set at 700 and 1300 °C for Cu and Cr, respectively and the selected atomization temperatures were 2400 and 2500 °C. The time and temperature of the drying stage and the atomization time were experimentally tested to provide optimum conditions. The limits of detection were found to be 5 μg L^− 1 and 1.5 μg L^− 1 for Cu and Cr, respectively in the original gasoline samples. The relative standard deviation (RSD) ranged from 4 to 9% in oil-in-water emulsions spiked with 5 μg L^− 1 and 15 μg L^− 1 of each metal, respectively. Recoveries varied from 90 to 98%. The accuracy of the proposed method was tested by an alternate procedure using complete evaporation of the gasoline sample. The method was adequate for the determination of Cu and Cr in gasoline samples collected from different gas stations in Salvador, BA, Brazil.