Chemical composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oils of Ferula latisecta and Mozaffariania insignis from Iran

The hydrodistilled oils from the aerial parts of Ferula latisecta and Mozaffariania insignis, which is endemic to Iran, were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. (Z)-Ocimenone (32.4%), (E)-ocimenone (20.3%), and cis-pinocarvone (11.4%) were the main components among the 22 constituents characterized in the oil of F. latisecta, representing 87.7% of the total components detected. Twenty-five compounds were identified in the oil of M. insignis, representing 99.0% of the total oil, with octyl acetate (41.1%), β-pinene (30.3%), and α-pinene (23.9%) as the main constituents. The essential oils were examined for their potential antimicrobial activities. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 6, pp. 561–563, November–December, 2006.     

Novel method for in-situ surfactant-based solid-phase extraction: application to the determination of Co(II) and Ni(II) in aqueous samples

We report on a completely new kind of solid phase extraction which we term in-situ surfactant-based solid-phase extraction (ISS-SPE). It represents a simple and rapid method for extraction from aqueous samples and preconcentration of compounds containing hydrophobic (alkyl) groups. A cationic surfactant containing alkyl chain is dissolved in the aqueous sample. Following the addition of hexafluorophosphate (HFP; an ion-pairing anion), solutions turn cloudy due to the interaction between the surfactant and the HFP ion. This is due to the formation of fine solid particles composed of the HFP salt of the cationic surfactant. The alkyl groups of the surfactant in the solid particles strongly interact with hydrophobic groups of analytes and become bound. The solid particles are centrifuged, and the sedimented particles can be either dissolved in an appropriate organic solvent, or leached with a solvent to recover the absorbed analyte(s). The method presented here has distinct advantages in that the extraction times are short and recoveries are high, probably a result of the formation of very fine particles of large specific surface, and of their good dispersion in the sample solution. The performance of ISS-SPE was demonstrated by extracting chelates of Co(II) and Ni(II) from water samples. Under the optimized conditions, the preconcentration factors are 51 and 45, respectively, and the detection limits are 0.9 and 0.6???g?L^?1. The method was validated by the analysis of a certified reference material and by comparing results with those obtained by electrothermal AAS.

Rapid and Efficient Synthesis of Imidazolines and Bisimidazolines Under Microwave and Ultrasonic Irradiation

Small assemblies of 2-imidazolines and bisimidazolines from appropriate nitriles and ethylenediamine with catalytic amounts of P₂S₅ employing a microwave assisted protocol were prepared. Sonication of this system also led to successful synthesis of 2-imidazolines and bisimidazolines. Another advantage of these systems is the ability to carry out large scale reactions.     

On-line extraction and determination of uranium in aqueous samples using multi-walled carbon nanotubes-coated cellulose acetate membrane

In this work, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-coated cellulose acetate membrane was used for on-line extraction and pre-concentration of uranium from aqueous samples prior to inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) determination. Sample solutions containing the U(VI)-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol (Br-PADAP) complex were passed through the membrane. The adsorbed analyte was subsequently eluted from the membrane with acid, which was directly introduced into the ICP-OES nebuliser. The main variables affecting the pre-concentration and determination steps of uranium were studied and optimised. Under the optimised conditions, the enrichment factor of 150 and the detection limit of 0.16 μg L^–1 were obtained. This method was successfully used for determination of uranium in environmental water samples.     

Reaction parameters influence on the catalytic performance of copper-silica aerogel in the methanol steam reforming

Steam reforming of methanol was carried out on the copper-silica aerogel catalyst.The effects of reaction temperature,feed rate,water to methanol molar ratio and carrier gas flowrate on the H_2 production rate and CO selectivity were investigated.M ethanol conversion was increased considerably in the range of about 240-300,after which it increased at a slightly lower rate.The used feed flowrate,steam to methanol molar ratio and carrier gas flowwere 1.2-9.0 m L/h,1.2-5.0 and 20-80 m L/min,respectively.Reducing the feed flowrate increased the H_2 production rate.It was found that an increase in the water to methanol ratio and decreasing the carrier gas flowrate slightly increases the H2production rate.Increasing the water to methanol ratio causes the lowest temperature in which CO formation was observed to rise,so that for the ratio of 5.0 no CO formation was detected in temperatures lower than 375℃.In all conditions,by approaching the complete conversion,increasing the main product concentration,increasing the temperature and contact time,and decreasing the steam to methanol ratio,the CO selectivity was increased.These results suggested that CO was formed as a secondary product through reverse water-gas shift reaction and did not participate in the methanol steam reforming reaction mechanism.     

Thermal study of an array of inline horizontal cylinders below a nearly adiabatic ceiling

Steady state two-dimensional free convection heat transfer from a horizontal, isothermal cylinder in a horizontal array of cylinders consists of three isothermal cylinders, located underneath a nearly adiabatic ceiling is studied experimentally. A Mach–Zehnder interferometer is used to determine thermal field and smoke test is made to visualize flow field. Effects of the cylinders spacing to its diameter (S/D), and cylinder distance from ceiling to its diameter (L/D) on heat transfer from the centered cylinder are investigated for Rayleigh numbers from 1500 to 6000. Experiments are performed for an inline array configuration of horizontal cylinders of diameters D = 13 mm. Results indicate that due to the nearly adiabatic ceiling and neighboring cylinders, thermal plume resulted from the centered cylinder separates from cylinder surface even for high L/D values and forming recirculation regions. By decreasing the space ratio S/D, the recirculation flow strength increases. Also, by decreasing S/D, boundary layers of neighboring cylinders combine and form a developing flow between cylinders. The strength of developing flow depends on the cylinders Rayleigh number and S/D ratio. Due to the developing flow between cylinders, the vortex flow on the top of the centered cylinder appears for all L/D ratios and this vortex influences the value of local Nusselt number distribution around the cylinder.Variation of average Nusselt number of the centered cylinder depends highly on L/D and the trend with S/D depends on the value of Rayleigh number.     

On the spacel P(β)

Let\(\{ \beta (n)\} _{n = 0}^\infty \) be a sequence of positive numbers and 1 ≤p < ∞. We consider the spacel ^P(β) of all power series\(f(z) = \sum\limits_{n = 0}^\infty {\hat f(n)z^n } \) such that\(\sum\limits_{n = 0}^\infty {|\hat f(n)|^p |\beta (n)|^p } \). We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a polynomial to be cyclic inl ^P(β) and a point to be bounded point evaluation onl ^P(β).