Isotopic abundance measurements on solid nuclear-type samples by glow discharge mass spectrometry

A double-focusing Glow Discharge Mass Spectrometer (GDMS) installed in a glovebox for nuclear sample screening has been employed for isotopic measurements. Isotopic compositions of zirconium, silicon, lithium, boron, uranium and plutonium which are elements of nuclear concern have been determined. Interferences arising from the matrix sample and the discharge gas (Ar) for each of these elements are discussed. The GDMS results are compared with those from Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS). For boron and lithium at g/g-ng/g levels, the two methods gave results in good agreement. In samples containing uranium the isotopic composition obtained by GDMS was in agreement with those from TIMS independently of the enrichment. Attempts for the determination of plutonium isotopic composition were also made. In this case, due to the interferences of uranium at mass 238 and americium at mass 241, the GDMS raw data are complementary with those values obtained from physical non-destructive techniques.     

Liquid-phase microextraction of protein-bound drugs under non-equilibrium conditions

Recently, we introduced an inexpensive and disposable hollow fiber-based device for liquid-phase microextraction (LPME) where ionic analytes typically were extracted and preconcentrated from 1-4 mL aqueous samples (such as plasma and urine) through an organic solvent immobilized in the pores of a polypropylene hollow fiber and into a 10-25 microL volume of acceptor phase present inside the lumen of the hollow fiber. Subsequently, the acceptor phase was directly subjected to the final analysis by a chromatographic or electrophoretic method. In the present work, attention was focused on LPME of the basic drugs amphetamine, pethidine, promethazine, methadone and haloperidol characterized by substantial differences in the degree of protein binding. Drug-protein interactions in plasma resulted in reduced recoveries and substantially increased extraction times compared with extraction of the drugs from a pure water matrix. However, by addition of 5-50% methanol to the plasma samples, recoveries were comparable with LPME from water samples and ranged between 75 and 100%. The addition of methanol was found not to speed up the LPME process and extractions from plasma were performed in 45 min to reach equilibrium. Because approximately 55-70% of the final analyte concentrations were achieved within the initial 10 min of the LPME process, validation was accomplished after 10 and 45 min of LPME. In general, the results with 10 and 45 min were almost comparable, with precision data in the range 1.2-11.1% (RSD) and with linearity in the concentration range 20-1000 ng mL(-1) (r = 0.999). In conclusion, excellent LPME results may be achieved in a short time under non-equilibrium conditions with a minor loss of sensitivity. In cases of drug-protein interactions, methanol may be added to ensure a high extraction recovery.     

Thermodynamic evaluation of a partial charge model assumptionfor the dissolved silica system

The Partial Charge Model was developed to predict the hydroxylation, polymerization, and precipitation of ions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Partial Charge Model for describing the polymerization of silica in aqueous solutions. The Partial Charge Model predicts the stability of ions and complexes based on the assumption that the stable species will have the same electronegativity as the mean electronegativity of the solution. The silica system was chosen for model validation because of the rare availability of self-consistent thermodynamic data on many dissolved but polymerized silicate anions, including both linear and cyclical species. The electronegativity of each species was calculated using the Partial Charge Model and the results were plotted against the stability constants for the ions. The silicate anions segregated into groups on the plot based on the number of charges per silicon atom in the polymer. Plots of the log of the stability constant versus the change in electronegativity produced a linear relationship for the silica polymers containing one negative charge per silicon atom, which resulted in an r ² of 0.9978. Thus, the Partial Charge Model successfully describes the thermodynamics of silica polymerization in aqueous solution for species that are sufficiently alike, but was not accurate for all silica species.     

The annihilator of Bergman space

LetD be a bounded plane domain (with some smoothness requirements on its boundary). LetB _p(D), 1≤p<∞, be the Bergmanp-space ofD. In a previous paper we showed that the “natural projection”P, involving the Bergman kernel forD, is a bounded projection fromL _p(D) ontoB _p(D), 1<p<∞. With this we have the decompositionL _p(D)=B _p(D)⊕B _q ^⊥ (D,p ^–1+q ^–=1, 1<p< ∞. Here, we show that the annihilatorB _q ^⊥ (D) is the space of allL _p-complex derivatives of functions belonging to Sobolev space and which vanish on the boundary ofD. This extends a result of Schiffer for the casep=2. We also study certain operators onL _p(D). Especially, we show that , whereI is the identity operator and ? is an operator involving the adjoint of the Bergman kernel. Other relationships relevant toB _q ^⊥ (D) are studied.     

A partial recurrence relation for reduced class coefficients of the symmetric group

An expression for the product of a single-cycle class [(1)^{N - P}(p)]_N and an arbitrary class [(1)^l1(2)^l …? (N)^lN]_N of the symmetric group has recently been conjectured. This expression involves a sum over a relatively small number of reduced class sums, depending on p indices. A further conjecture is formulated and demonstrated, according to which reduced class coefficients (RCCS ) involving cycles whose length is expressed by means of a single index can be related to corresponding coefficients in the product of [(1)^{N - P+1}(p - 1)]_N with an arbitrary class sum. Consequently, the problem of evaluating the general class sum product reduces to that of obtaining a relatively small set of fundamental RCCS containing no single-index cycles. The conjectures mentioned can be used to evaluate the product [(1)^{N - p}(p)]_N · [(1)^{N - q}(q)]_N in terms of fundamental RCCS that can all be obtained from the product [(r)]_r · [(r)]_r, where r = min(p, q). For the latter product, we use a result due to Boccara.     

Experimental and theoretical charge density study of the neurotransmitter taurine

The experimental electron density distribution in taurine, 2-aminoethane sulfonic acid, 1, has been determined from high-resolution X-ray diffraction data collected at a temperature of 100 K. Taurine crystallizes as a zwitterion in the monoclinic space group P2(1)/c. Topological analysis of the experimental electron density and a comparison with high-level theoretical gas-phase calculations show that the crystal environment has a significant influence on the electronic configuration of the sulfonate moiety in 1, which in the crystal is more delocalized than in the gas phase. This crystal effect is mainly due to hydrogen bonding.     

Colloidal forces between bitumen surfaces in aqueous solutions measured with atomic force microscope

Colloidal forces between bitumen surfaces in aqueous solutions were measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). The results showed a significant impact of solution pH, salinity, calcium and montmorillonite clay addition on both long-range (non-contact) and adhesion (pull-off) forces. Weaker long-range repulsive forces were observed under conditions of lower solution pH, higher salinity and higher calcium concentration. Lower solution pH, salinity and calcium concentration resulted in a stronger adhesion forces. The addition of montmorillonite clays increased long-range repulsive forces and decreased adhesion forces, particularly when co-added with calcium ions. The measured force profiles were fitted with extended DLVO theory to show the repulsive electrostatic double layer and attractive hydrophobic forces being the dominant components in the long-range forces between the bitumen surfaces. At a very short separation distance (less than 4–6 nm), a strong repulsion of steric origin was observed. The findings provide a fundamental understanding of bitumen emulsion stability and a mechanism of bitumen “aeration” in bitumen recovery processes from oil sands.     

Vapor pressure and dissociation energy of (In2O)

The vapor pressure of pure liquid indium, and the sum of pressures of (In) and (In₂O) species over the condensed phase mixture {In} + <In₂O₃>, contained in a silica vessel, have been measured by Knudsen effusion and Langmuir free vaporization methods in the temperatue range 600 to 950°C. Mass spectrometric studies reported in the literature show that (In) and (In₂O) are the important species in the vapor phase over the {In} + <In₂O₃ >; mixture. The vapor pressure of (In₂O) corresponding to the reaction,

deduced from the present measurements is given by the equation,

The “apparent evaporation coefficient” for the condensed phase mixture is approximately 0.8. The energy for the dissociation (In₂O) molecule into atoms calculated from the above equation is D°₀ = 180.0 (± 1.0) kcal mol^?1.     

Beiträge zur Chemie der Alkylverbindungen von Übergangsmetallen. 58. Zur Kenntnis von 2-(Dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl-Verbindungen des Vanadiums,Molybdäns,Wolframs, Thoriums und Urans

Contributions to the Chemistry of Transition Metal Alkyl Compounds. 58 On 2-(Dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocenyl Compounds of Vanadium, Molybdenum, Tungsten, Thorium, and Uranium Earlier results according to which dimethylaminomethylferrocenyl groups (FcN) are able to form stable organometallic chelate compounds were confirmed by synthesis of the heterobimetallic chelate compounds (FcN)₂VO · Li(acac) II , (FcN)MoO₂(acac) III , (FcN)WOCl₃ IV , (FcN)Th(acac)₃ V , and (FcN)UO₂(acac) VI from the corresponding metal acetylacetonates or oxidchlorides and (FcN)Li I . The new compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, the i.r., ¹H-n.m.r., and electron spectra and by their effective magnetic moments.     

Critical evaluation of additivity schemes for estimating heats of atomization

Additivity schemes for estimating heats of formation and heats of atomization of alkanes and halo- alkanes are scrutinized. A least squares analysis of the heats of atomization of alkanes leads to a revision of the values of the parameters. The improvement in the estimated heats of atomization over the values obtained with parameters previously suggested amounts to at least 100%. The reasons for the deviations from the experimental values are discussed. These parameters can be transfered to haloalkanes. Additional parameters necessary for estimating heats of atomization of haloalkanes are also obtained through least squares analyses.