A simplified Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe approach for the determination of trihalomethanes and benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes in soil matrices by fast gas chromatography with mass spectrometry detection

A method based on simplified QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) extraction followed by large-injection volume-fast gas chromatography and mass spectrometry detection has been developed for the determination of trihalomethanes (chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform) and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylenes) in soil samples.The simplified version of QuEChERS used meets the requirements of the “green chemistry” and provides reliable results with high sample throughput, low solvent consumption, little labour and the use of materials commonly employed in laboratories. The GC device used is equipped with a programmable temperature vaporizer (PTV), with a liner packed with Tenax-TA^®. Using the solvent-vent mode, the PTV allows the injection of large volumes of sample, affording an improvement in the sensitivity of the method. The chromatographic conditions used here allowed the separation of the compounds in less than 5.50 min. Good linearity was obtained for all the target compounds, with highly satisfactory repeatability and reproducibility values. The limits of detection were in the 0.2 to 15 μg kg⁻¹ range. The method was validated by the analysis of two certified reference materials.     

Enzyme based assays in a sequential injection format: a review

Sequential injection analysis systems have been extensively exploited in the last decades for the implementation of enzyme based assays aiming the evaluation of enzyme activity or the determination of specific analytes. The most prominent aspects of the automation of enzymatic assays in these systems are discussed in this review. Special attention is devoted to the mode of enzyme manipulation in homogeneous or heterogeneous media and to the comparison with batch and flow injection enzyme methodologies. The possibility of implementing strategies for the enhancement of selectivity in specific determinations is also addressed. The more recent trends in this field are discussed focusing mainly on the miniaturization resorting to the lab-on valve platform as well as on the bead injection concept.     

Intriguing Differences in the Gas-Phase Dissociation Behavior of Protonated and Deprotonated Gonyautoxin Epimers

The aim of this study was to investigate the unusual gas-phase dissociation behavior of two epimer pairs of protonated gonyautoxins (GTX) following electrospray ionization in comparison to their deprotonated counterparts. The chemical structures of the investigated GTX1-4 variants vary in their substitution pattern at N-1 and the stereochemical orientation of the hydroxysulfate group at C-11 (11α for GTX1/2 versus 11β for GTX3/4). The direct comparison of mass spectra in positive and negative ion modes illustrated two distinct features: first, an intriguing difference between protonated 11α and 11β species, where 11α conformations exhibited almost complete dissociation of [M + H]⁺ ions via facile SO₃ elimination, while 11β species remained mostly intact as [M + H]⁺; and second, the lack of such differences for the deprotonated counterparts. In this study, we propose an acid-catalyzed elimination mechanism from density functional theory calculations, initiated by a proton transfer of a guanidinium proton to the hydroxysulfate group with simultaneous SO₃ release, which is only possible for the 11α conformation based on intramolecular distances. The same mechanism explains the lack of a comparable SO₃ loss in the negative ion mode. CID experiments supported this proposed mechanism for GTX1 and GTX2. Computational modeling of product ions seen in the CID spectra of GTX3 and GTX4 established that the lowest energy dissociation pathway for the 11β epimers is elimination of water with the possibility for further SO₃ release from the intermediate product. Experimental data for structurally analogous decarbamoyl gonyautoxins confirmed the evidence for the GTX compounds as well as the proposed elimination mechanisms.     

A class of primal affine scaling algorithms

We obtain a class of primal affine scaling algorithms which generalize some known algorithms. This class, depending on a r-parameter, is constructed through a family of metrics generated by −r power, r ? 1, of the diagonal iterate vector matrix. We prove the so-called weak convergence of the primal class for nondegenerate linearly constrained convex programming. We observe the computational performance of the class of primal affine scaling algorithms, accomplishing tests with linear programs from the NETLIB library and with some quadratic programming problems described in the Maros and Mészáros repository.     

Design of experiments on 135 cloned poplar trees to map environmental influence in greenhouse

To find and ascertain phenotypic differences, minimal variation between biological replicates is always desired. Variation between the replicates can originate from genetic transformation but also from environmental effects in the greenhouse. Design of experiments (DoE) has been used in field trials for many years and proven its value but is underused within functional genomics including greenhouse experiments. We propose a strategy to estimate the effect of environmental factors with the ultimate goal of minimizing variation between biological replicates, based on DoE. DoE can be analyzed in many ways. We present a graphical solution together with solutions based on classical statistics as well as the newly developed OPLS methodology.In this study, we used DoE to evaluate the influence of plant specific factors (plant size, shoot type, plant quality, and amount of fertilizer) and rotation of plant positions on height and section area of 135 cloned wild type poplar trees grown in the greenhouse. Statistical analysis revealed that plant position was the main contributor to variability among biological replicates and applying a plant rotation scheme could reduce this variation.     

Drug resistance modulation in Staphylococcus aureus, a new biological activity for mesoionic hydrochloride compounds

Two salts of the mesoionic compounds 1,4-diphenyl-5-(5-nitro-2-furanyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazolium-2-thiol chloride (MC-1) and 4-phenyl-5-(5-nitro-2-furanyl)-1,3,4-thiadiazolium-2-phenylamine chloride (MC-2) were synthesized utilizing 1,4-diphenyl-thiosemicarbazide and 5-nitro-2-furoyl chloride as starting materials. Their structures were characterized by IR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and elemental analysis. These compounds were analyzed for their influence on the effectiveness of norfloxacin, tetracycline, and erythromycin (standard antibiotics) against resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus. MC-1 and MC-2, at sub-inhibitory concentrations of 16 μg/mL, favourably modulated the antibiotic activity of tetracycline by 16- and 32-fold, respectively (MIC), and that of erythromycin by 4-fold.     

Modeling the Dynamics of the Xylene Soluble Fraction (XS) in a Bulk Propylene Polymerization Process

A model is built to describe the dynamic trajectories of the xylene soluble fraction (XS) in an industrial bulk propylene polymerization process. Emphasis is given to the coupling between the XS dynamics and the reactor liquid bleed policy. It is shown that cocatalyst recirculation can affect the dynamics of the cocatalyst/donor ratio and consequently the dynamics of XS during polymerization. Simulation results indicate that the effect of the reactor liquid bleed operation and of the cocatalyst/donor ratio upon the XS trajectories can be minimized if PI controllers are designed to control the propane concentration and to increase the speed of the cocatalyst/donor transitions. Finally, it is shown that the model is able to reproduce the dynamic XS profile obtained during a large XS transition at plant site.

     

Fatty acids as chemotaxonomic markers of marine macrophytes from Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil

The distribution of fatty acids in 13 species of macroalgae (Chlorophyta, Ochrophyta and Rhodophyta) and 1 seagrass (Spartina sp), collected on the Rio de Janeiro state coast was determined. The results were evaluated in search of correlations between the taxonomic and phylogenetic position of these macrophytes. Statistical analyses showed the effectiveness as taxonomic and phylogenetic markers of the distribution of the methyl fatty acid esters in these macrophytes.     

Thermochemistry of diphenic anhydride. A combined experimental and theoretical study

The standard (p°?=?0.1?MPa) molar enthalpy of formation for solid and gaseous diphenic anhydride (2,2′-biphenyldicarboxylic anhydride, dibenz[c,e]oxepin-5,7-dione) was derived from the standard molar enthalpy of combustion, in oxygen, at T?=?298.15?K, measured by static bomb combustion calorimetry, and the standard molar enthalpy of sublimation, at T?=?298.15?K, measured by Calvet microcalorimetry: ?(258.4?±?4.9) kJ?mol^?1. In addition, ab initio and density functional theory calculations have been performed at a variety of levels. The degree of aromaticity of diphenic anhydride is discussed in the context of other oxygen-containing (ring and keto) heterocycles and related carbocycles: this species is surprisingly destabilized.     

Industriall Control of the Filtration in the Beer Manufacturing Process

In the aim to improve the filtration process in the beer ma nufacture, a study on the beer turbidity have been made using two different techniques: nephelometry and V-UV spectrometry. Even though the former is the most commonly used, we propose the use of V-UV spectrometry since it is possible to follow the performace - of all the filtration line, not only in a punctual way but in a - wide range of wavelenghts. From the results of this work we deduce that V-UV spectrometry offers a better quality of results than nephelometry, being more useful in rutin periodic controls.