Preparation of candidate certified reference materials for the quality control of EDTA-and acetic acid-extractable trace metal determinations in sewage sludge-amended soil and terra rossa soil

The determination of extractable trace metal contents in soil using single extraction procedures is currently performed in many laboratories to assess the bioavailable metal fraction (and related phytotoxic effects) and the accessability to the environment (e.g. contamination of ground waters). Owing to the need for validation of the extraction schemes used and of the analytical techniques, the EC Measurements and Testing Programme (formerly BCR) has organized a project for improving the quality of determination of extractable trace metal contents in soil, the first step being an interlaboratory study to adopt common extraction procedures and the second being a certification campaign to certify two soils for their extractable trace element contents following these procedures. This paper gives a brief overview of the project organisation and describes the preparation, homogeneity and stability studies of two soil candidate reference materials (sewage sludge-amended and terra rossa soils).     

Lewis-Base Adducts of Group 11 Metal(I) Compounds. LXXVI Structural Studies in the Copper(I) Halide : Norbornadiene System

The structural characterizations of some copper(I) halide (CuX) adducts with norbornadiene (nbd) are recorded. CuCl : nbd (1:1)₄ (a redetermination), (2:1)_2(|), are systems both based around Cu₄Cl₄ cubane-type cluster arrays. CuBr : nbd (7:3)_(|)( 0.5 MeOH), a complex polymer with 3-symmetry, is believed to be the complex previously described as an adduct of 2:1 stoichiometry. Attempts to obtain an iodide counterpart have resulted in the definition of an ephemeral adduct CuI : MeCN (3:2)_(|). 0.5 C₇H₈ in which, remarkably, the nbd is uncoordinated; the complex is a polymer, related to the [AgX(quinoline)]_(|) (X = Cl, Br) saddle polymer.     

A novel approach to Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) lactones via the Lewis acid-promoted couplings of α,β-unsaturated lactone with aldehydes

The Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH)-type reaction of α,β unsaturated δ-lactone with various aldehydes has been achieved without the direct use of a Lewis base. The new MBH process can be conveniently carried out by the slow addition of the diethylaluminum iodide into the solution of lactone and aldehyde in dichloromethane at 0°C. Modest to good yields were obtained (50-65%) for eight examples.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance spin label titration: a novel method to investigate random and site-specific immobilization of enzymes onto polymeric membranes with different properties

The immobilization of biological molecules onto polymeric membranes to produce biofunctional membranes is used for selective catalysis, separation, analysis, and artificial organs. Normally, random immobilization of enzymes onto polymeric membranes leads to dramatic reduction in activity due to chemical reactions involved in enzyme immobilization, multiple-point binding, etc., and the extent of activity reduction is a function of membrane hydrophilicity (e.g. activity in cellulosic membrane?polysulfone membrane). We have used molecular biology to effect site-specific immobilization of enzymes in a manner that orients the active site away from the polymeric membrane surface, thus resulting in higher enzyme activity that approaches that in solution and in increased stability of the enzyme relative to the enzyme in solution. A prediction of this site-specific method of enzyme immobilization, which in this study with subtilisin and organophosphorus hydrolase consists of a fusion tag genetically added to these enzymes and subsequent immobilization via the anti-tag antibody and membrane-bound protein A, is that the active site conformation will more closely resemble that of the enzyme in solution than is the case for random immobilization. This hypothesis was confirmed using a new electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spin label active site titration method that determines the amount of spin label bound to the active site of the immobilized enzyme. This value nearly perfectly matched the enzyme activity, and the results suggested: (a) a spectroscopic method for measuring activity and thus the extent of active enzyme immobilization in membrane, which may have advantages in cases where optical methods can not be used due to light scattering interference; (b) higher spin label incorporation (and hence activity) in enzymes that had been site-specifically immobilized versus random immobilization; (c) higher spin label incorporation in enzymes immobilized onto hydrophilic bacterial cellulose membranes versus hydrophobic modified poly(ether)sulfone membranes. These results are discussed with reference to analysis and utilization of biofunctional membranes.     

Synthesis and characterization of organic-inorganic hybrid compounds with a pillared layer structure: Ga2(4,4′-bpy)(XO4)2 (X=P, As)

Two organic-inorganic hybrid compounds, Ga₂(4,4′-bpy)(PO₄)₂, 1, and Ga₂(4,4′-bpy)(AsO₄)₂, 2, have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The two compounds are isostructural and crystallize in the triclinic space group (No. 2) with a=4.9723(9) Å, b=5.770(1) Å, c=11.812(2) Å, α=78.268(3)°, β=89.159(3)° γ=88.344(3)°, V=331.7(2) Å³, Z=1, and R1=0.0377 for 1, and a=5.1111(7) Å, b=5.9327(8) Å, c=11.788(2) Å, α=79.497(2)°, β=88.870(2)°, γ=88.784(2)°, V=351.3(2) Å³, and R1=0.0264 for 2. The structure consists of neutral sheets of GaXO₄ (X=P or As) which are pillared through 4,4′-bipyridine ligands. Each oxide layer, which is formed only by four-membered rings, is constructed from corner-sharing GaO₄N trigonal bipyramids and XO₄ tetrahedra. The title compounds are two of the few examples in which the gallium atoms are exclusively five-coordinate.     

Addition of HCl to a Cluster-Bound Vinylidene Ligand: Preparation and Structure of Ru5(μ3-SMe)(μ3-CMe)(μ-Cl)(μ-SMe)(μ-PPh2)2(CO)9·PhMe

Addition of aqueous HCl to Ru₅( ₃-C=CH₂)(-SMe)₂(-PPh₂)₂(CO)₁₀ afforded the structurally characterized carbyne complex Ru₅( ₃-SMe)( ₃-CMe)(-Cl)(-SMe)(-PPh₂)₂(CO)₉, formed by addition of H to the vinylidene ligand; a Cl atom bridges an Ru–Ru bond.     

Backward error analysis for totally positive linear systems

Summary Gauss elimination applied to ann×n matrixA in floating point arithmetic produces (if successful) a factorization which differs fromA by no more than , for some of ordern times the unit roundoff. IfA is totally positive, then both computed factors and are nonnegative for sufficiently small unit roundoff and one obtains pleasantly small bounds for the perturbation inA which would account for the rounding errors committed in solvingAx=b forx by Gauss eliminationwithout pivoting. It follows that the banded linear system for the B-spline coefficients of an interpolating spline function can be solved safely by Gauss elimination without pivoting.Sponsored by the United States Army under Contract No. DAAG29-75-C-0024 and the National Science Foundation under Grant No. MPS72-00381 A01.