Processing of signals from an ion-elective electrode array by a neural network

Neural network software is described for processing the signals of arrays of ion-selective electrodes. The performance of the software was tested in the simultaneous determination of calcium and copper(II) ions in binary mixtures of copper(II) nitrate and calcium chloride and the simultaneous determination of potassium, calcium, nitrate and chloride in mixtures of potassium and calcium chlorides and ammonium nitrate. The measurements for the Ca²⁺/Cu²⁺ determinations were done with a pH-glass electrode and calcium and copper ion-selective electrodes; results were accurate to ±8%. For the K⁺/Ca²⁺NO^?₃/Cl^? determinations, the measurements were made with the relevant ion-selective electrodes and a glass electrode; the mean relative error was ±6%, and for the worst cases the error did not exceed 20%.     

Application of pulse techniques in a polarographic flow-through detector with potential-controlled drop synchronization

The use of pulse techniques and current sampling available at the dropping mercury electrode (DME) is described for polarographic flow-through detectors. The necessary synchronization between the drop lifetime and the desired measuring technique is achieved by means of a potential pulse supplied to a horizontal DME with a partially-conical glass capillary.     

The determination of hydroxide and carbonate in concentrated sodium chloride solutions

A computer method for the determination of carbonate and hydroxide in concentrated (2.89 M) sodium chloride solutions is described. The method is based on multiparametric curve-fitting and can also be applied to salts of dibasic acids with unknown equilibrium constants. The systematic error is not more than 1%. The titration and calculation takes less than 20 min.     

Methacrylate monolithic columns of 320 microm I.D. for capillary liquid chromatography

Monolithic capillary columns (320 microm I.D.) were prepared for capillary liquid chromatography (CLC) by radical polymerization of butylmethacrylate (BMA) and ethylenedimethacrylate (EDMA) in the presence of a porogen solvent containing propan-1-ol, butane-1,4-diol and water. The influence of the contents of the porogen solvent and EDMA in the polymerization mixture on the monolith porosity and column efficiency was investigated. The composition of the polymerization mixture was optimized to attain a minimum HETP of the order of tens of microm for test compounds with various polarities. The separation performance and selectivity of the most efficient monolithic column prepared was characterized by van Deemter curves, peak asymmetry factors and Walters hydrophobicity and silanol indices. It was demonstrated that the 320-microm I.D. monolithic column exhibited CLC separation performance similar to that observed for 100- and 150-microm I.D. monolithic columns reported in the literature; moreover, the 320-microm I.D. column was easier to operate in CLC and exhibited a higher sample loadability.     

The coulometric titration of acids and bases in m-cresol medium

A method is described for the coulometric titration of acids and bases in the solvent m-cresol. The method is suitable for bases with pK_a values greater than 11 in m-cresol, or for acids with pK_a values below 13 in m-cresol. Amounts of 5–50 μeq of acid or base can be determined with a relative accuracy of ±1%.     

Solar-simulated Ultraviolet Irradiation Induces Selective Influx of CD4+ T Lymphocytes in Normal Human Skin

Abstract— The proportion and composition of the human cutaneous CD3+ T lymphocyte population was determined in situ following a single exposure to physiological, erythema-inducing doses of simulated solar radiation, mainly consisting of UV radiation. Biopsies were taken 1, 2 and 7 days after local irradiation of normal volunteers with 1,2 and 4 MED by a xenonarc lamp and immunohistochemistry was performed on cryostat sections. Ultraviolet radiation caused an initial decrease of intraepidermal CD3+ T-cell numbers or even could lead to T-cell depletion 24 and 48 h postirradiation, and this was followed by an infiltration of T cells in the epidermis as determined 1 week after UV exposure. The number of dermal CD3+ T ceDs was increased 24 h after irradiation, reached a maximum at 48 h and subsequently declined at day 7, though remained significantly higher than the unirradiated control Double staining demonstrated that the CD3+ T cells, which immigrated into the (epi)dermis upon UV exposure, coexpressed CD4 but not CD8. Therefore the CD4/CD8 ratio in skin was markedly increased during the first week upon UV exposure. Our time course study shows that UV radiation affects die T-cell population within human skin by depleting the majority of epidermal T cells and initiating a selective influx of CD4+ T cells.     

Surface energy characteristics of toner particles by automated inverse gas chromatography

This study develops a method for the analysis of biocides Irgarol 1051 and Sea Nine 211 in environmental water samples, using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Their determination was carried out using gas chromatography with flame thermionic (FTD), electron-capture (ECD) and mass spectrometric detection. The main parameters affecting the SPME process such as adsorption-time profile, salt additives and memory effect were studied for five polymeric coatings commercially available for solid-phase microextraction: poly(dimethylsiloxane) (100 and 30 microm), polyacrylate, poly(dimethylsiloxane)-divinylbenzene (PDMS-DVB 65 microm) and Carbowax-divinylbenzene (65 microm). The method was developed using spiked natural waters such as tap, river, sea and lake water in a concentration range of 0.5-50 microg/l. All the tested fiber coatings have been evaluated with regard to sensitivity, linear range, precision and limits of detection. Typical RSD values (triplicate analysis) in the range of 3-10% were obtained depending on the fiber coating and the compound investigated. The recoveries of biocides were in relatively high levels 60-118% and the calibration curves were reproducible and linear (R2>0.990) for both analytes. The SPME partition coefficients (Kf) of both compounds were also calculated experimentally in the proposed conditions for all fibers using direct sampling. Finally the influence of organic matter such as humic acids on extraction efficiency was studied, affecting mostly Sea Nine 211 uptake by the fiber. Optimum analytical SPME performance was achieved using the PDMS-DVB 65 microm fiber coating in ECD and FTD systems for Sea Nine 211 and Irgarol 1051, respectively.     

Microcomputer-controlled polarographic instrumentation and its use in the determination of stability constants of crown ether complexes

A computer-controlled polarographic system is described, based on a commercially available polarograph interfaced to a microcomputer. Experiments are controlled and monitored entirely from software, including automatic evaluation of the Tast polarograms and addition of solutions to the polarographic cell from a motor burette. The program was written in FORTH, a computer language especially apt for laboratory automation. The system is used in the determination of stability constants of crown ether complexes.     

Photolysis of cellulose and related compounds by 253.7 nm light. I. Rates of gas production from hydrocellulose

The initial stages of the photolysis of cellulose under vacuum can be followed by the gas production. A photolysis cell is described which allows a rigorous temperature control and gives a reproducible photolysis surface of the solid carbohydrate sample. A mass spectrometer was used to analyze the gases. To measure accurately the small amounts produced in a small volume requires careful calibration of this instrument, together with a fixed routine for the experimental procedure. Using this apparatus, we have photolyzed hydrocellulose under vacuum with 253.7 nm light. Only H₂, CO, and CO₂ were evolved, the rate of H₂ production increasing to a constant value, that of CO increasing more slowly without becoming constant, and that of CO₂ decreasing rapidly to a constant value. No induction periods were observed. The gas evolution was not caused by residual O₂ or CO₂ adsorbed on the polymer, but the rates were altered by leaving the photolyzed sample under vacuum overnight or heating the unphotolyzed sample under vacuum at 100°C. The rates of gas production increased markedly when the light filter was changed to allow a combined photolysis by 253.7 and 184.9 nm light. The results illustrate that stringent precautions must be taken to filter off the latter line in polymer photolyses with Hg arc light if the results are to be meaningfully interpreted in terms of 253.7 nm light photolysis. On photolyzing hydrocellulose previously boiled in NaOH solution, a larger H₂ production rate and a smaller CO₂ rate (compared with untreated hydrocellulose) were observed. It is suggested that this standard alkali treatment is the reason for the differences between our results and the results of the photolysis of cellulose reported in the literature.     

The separation of overlapping peaks in cyclic voltammetry by means of semi-differential transformation

A method for extracting single peaks from complex linear sweep and cyclic voltamperograms is presented. Voltamperograms are transformed by means of semidifferentiation, then all undesired peaks are removed from the semiderivative curve and replaced by calculated baselines. The resulting curve is semiintegrated back, giving a voltamperogram with one peak only. Baselines in the semiderivative domain are determined by the least-squares curve-fitting of datapoints from peak border regions, using the equation that describes the semiderivative peak of a reversible electrode process. With this procedure peaks can be removed without assumptions about the mechanism of the underlying electrode reaction. Due to its design, the algorithm presented is suitable for the fully automatic processing of cyclic and linear sweep voltamperograms. Performance of the procedure was checked with generated reversible voltamperograms as well as in real experiments with both reversible and irreversible systems. The smallest distance between two peaks of equal height, for which the described method can yield correct results, has been found to be 110 mV for a reversible one-electron process at 298 K. This procedure can also be applied to the elimination of the cathodic current from the cyclic voltamperogram of a single component in order to get a pure anodic current value, free from cathodic contribution, or vice versa.