Simultaneous determination of theophylline and caffeine by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy using partial least squares regression techniques.

A 1H-NMR procedure based on an analysis of its data by a multivariate calibration method was conducted for the simultaneous determination of theophylline and caffeine in synthetic and real samples. Partial least squares regression (PLS) was chosen as the calibration method. The methyl signals of theophilline at 3.36 and 3.54 ppm that overlapped with those of caffeine were significant characteristics which were employed in this study for their analyses. The proposed method was successfully applied to recovery studies of theophylline and caffeine from real tablet samples.     

Cloud-point formation based on mixed micelles for the extraction, preconcentration and spectrophotometric determination of trace amounts of beryllium in water samples.

A cloud-point extraction process using a mixed micelle of the cationic surfactant cetyl pyridinium chloride (CPC) and non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114 to extract beryllium from aqueous solutions was investigated. The method is based on the color reaction of beryllium with Chrome Azurol S (CAS) in acetate buffer and the mixed micelle-mediated extraction of the complex. This complex was concentrated in a surfactant-rich phase after separation. The optimal extraction and reaction conditions (e.g. pH, reagent and surfactant concentrations, temperature, incubation and centrifuge times) were evaluated and optimized. Under the optimized conditions, the analytical characteristics of the method (e.g. limit of detection, linear range and preconcentration factor) were obtained. Linearity was obeyed in the range of 0.30 - 18 ng mL(-1) of beryllium and the detection limit of the method was 0.05 ng mL(-1). The interference effect of some cations and anions was also studied. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of beryllium in real water samples.     

Energy dependence of characteristic and bremsstrahlung cross sections of argon induced by electron bombardment at low energies

The energy dependence of characteristic x-ray and bremsstrahlung cross sections of argon has been investigated by electron impact. The incident electron energy was varied between 2.5 keV and 12 keV. From the data, absolute cross sections for Ar-K ionisation are obtained. The experimental data agree reasonably with available theoretical calculations.     

Spectral interferences from phosphate matrices in the determination of arsenic, antimony, selenium and tellurium by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The spectral interferences of phosphorus species originating from the thermal decomposition of calcium phosphate on Sb, As, Se and Te resonance lines, and the influence of increasing amounts of Ce, Ni, W, Pd, Pt, Zr and other elements on non-correctable signals generated by calcium phosphate and on selenium and phosphorus sensitivity have been studied. The results indicate that spectral interference is caused by P₂ absorption and that the extent of interference depends on the wavelength and the spectral band width. The generation of P₂ is masked by large amounts of all the tested reagents. There is a significant reduction in selenium sensitivity in the presence of high concentrations of Ce, Pd and Pt while no decrease in sensitivity is caused by the presence of even 1% nickel and tungsten solutions. All the reagents tested provided enhanced phosphorus sensitivity, thorium being the best.     

Approaches to open fullerenes: a 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexaadduct of C60

Complete saturation of a single six-membered ring on fullerene C60 has been achieved. The critical step in this first synthesis of a fully characterized 1,2,3,4,5,6-hexaadduct consisted of a remarkable double 5-exo-trig addition of alkoxyl radicals promoted by lead tetraacetate. Two possible opening pathways ([2 + 2 + 2] retrocycloadditions) for the newly synthesized compound were explored using quantum mechanical calculations. We found that the oxa bridges in the hexaadduct prevent ring opening through the retro[2 + 2 + 2] mechanism due to the high activation barrier and endothermicity of the reaction.     

Structure of Irreducible Homomorphisms to/from Free Modules

The primary goal of this paper is to investigate the structure of irreducible monomorphisms to and irreducible epimorphisms from finitely generated free modules over a noetherian local ring. Then we show that over such a ring, self-vanishing of Ext and Tor for a finitely generated module admitting such an irreducible homomorphism forces the ring to be regular.     

An application of cooperative game among container terminals of one port

In this paper a two-stage game that involves three container terminals located in Karachi Port in Pakistan is discussed. In the first stage, the three terminals have to decide on whether to act as a singleton or to enter into a coalition with one or both of the other terminals. The decision at this stage should presumably be based on the predicted outcome for the second stage. The second stage is here modelled as a Bertrand game with one outside competitor, the coalition and the terminal in Karachi Port (if any) that has not joined the coalition. Furthermore, three partial and one grand coalition among the three terminals at Karachi Port are investigated. The concepts of “characteristic function” and “core” are used to analyse the stability of these coalitions and this revealed that one combination does not satisfy the superadditivity property of the characteristic function and can therefore be ruled out. The resulting payoffs (profits) of these coalitions are analysed on the basis of “core”. The best payoff for all players is in the case of a “grand coalition”. However, the real winner is the outsider (the terminal at the second port) which earns a better payoff without joining the coalition, and hence will play the role of the “orthogonal free-rider”.     

Switch of electronic reactivity in fullerene C60: activation of three trans-4 positions via temporary saturation of the cis-1 positions

[Structure: see text] The regioselective functionalization of C60 with a trans-4,trans-4,trans-4 trisaddition pattern is not feasible directly. We have found an indirect approach taking advantage of the modified electronic reactivity of cis-1 bisadducts. The cis-1 addition pattern electronically activates three trans-4 C=C bonds on the opposite hemisphere of C60, allowing further highly regioselective additions at these positions. Thermal removal of the cis-1 blocking unit results in a trans-4,trans-4,trans-4 trisadduct with C3v symmetry.