Ozone Decomposition Data for Kinetics Exercises

The goal of this paper is to provide data that can be used in a variety of exercises ranging from kinetics in general chemistry to advanced problems in physical chemistry. The data provided relates to ozone-decay kinetics in various atmospheres (O₂, N₂, Ar) as measured by ultraviolet/visible absorbance spectroscopy (UV/vis) at 254 nm. The absorbance of ozone is monitored over a 75-min time period, and by using Beers law the concentration is calculated. Nine data sets, each repeated three times, of absorbance measurements are provided for student exercises, and prelaboratory and postlaboratory questions are suggested.     

Titrimetric determination of sulfate in mineral waters

The interaction of [PdCl₄]^2-_aqwith ethylene-bis(thioglycolic) acid (EBTGA) and β-ethylthioethylene(thioglycolic) acid (β-ETETGA), has been interpreted and evaluated quantitatively. The successive constants of palladium(II) with EBTGA and/or β-ETETGA in acid medium have been determined spectrophotometrically.     

Mössbauer effect studies of Fe(phen)2(NCBH3)2 - a spin triplet

Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetic moment measurements have been used to study the compound Fe(phen)₂(NCBH₃)₂ in conjunction with other octahedral Fe(II) complexes. The result of both sets of measurements indicate that Fe(phen)₂(NCBH₃)₂ is an intermediate spin (S = 1) complex at room temperature. Intermediate spin Fe(II) complexes are relatively unknown and very few, if any, are conclusively reported in the literature.     

Applying Control Systems to Industrial Relations

A model of industrial relations is developed distinguishing between rule making—the central purpose of collective bargaining—and the subsequent steps of rule implementation, rule maintenance and rule adaptation. A further step is identified as rule breaking or rule avoidance, indicating the incompleteness of the rule-making-application-maintenance process. The reasons for rule breaking are examined focusing on pressures exerted in the production system and the underlying philosophy of negotiation as a satisficing rather than optimising activity. The role that formal control systems can play in making the industrial relations system more effective is examined. A distinction is drawn on the one hand between strategic planning, management control and operational control and on the other hand between three levels of feedback from the control system to the industrial relations system. The object of controls is seen firstly to encourage rule maintenance, secondly to aid rule adaptation and thirdly to assist in the strategic planning and design of the industrial relations system.     

Synthesis and preliminary analytical evaluation of the chemiluminescence from (4-[4-(dichloromethylsilanyl)-butyl]-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) covalently bonded to silica particles

This paper describes, for the first time, a simple and effective synthetic route for covalently bonding the chemiluminescence reagent, (4-[4-(dichloromethylsilanyl)-butyl]-4'-methyl-2,2'-bipyridyl)bis(2,2'-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) onto silica particles. The subsequent preparation of chemically regeneratable detection cells and their preliminary analytical evaluation with both sequential injection analysis and flow injection analysis are also reported. Unoptimised analytical figures of merit were established for standard solutions of codeine and sodium oxalate with detection limits calculated from three times the standard deviation of the blank signal, of 1 x 10(-8) M and 3 x 10(-7) M respectively. The chemically immobilised reagent exhibited some intriguing solvent and kinetic effects, which are also briefly discussed.     

Perceptual and physiological responses to the visual complexity of fractal patterns

Fractals have experienced considerable success in quantifying the complex structure exhibited by many natural patterns and have captured the imagination of scientists and artists alike. With ever widening appeal, they have been referred to both as "fingerprints of nature" and "the new aesthetics." Our research has shown that the drip patterns of the American abstract painter Jackson Pollock are fractal. In this paper, we consider the implications of this discovery. We first present an overview of our research from the past five years to establish a context for our current investigations of human response to fractals. We discuss results showing that fractal images generated by mathematical, natural and human processes possess a shared aesthetic quality based on visual complexity. In particular, participants in visual perception tests display a preference for fractals with mid-range fractal dimensions. We also present recent preliminary work based on skin conductance measurements that indicate that these mid-range fractals also affect the observer's physiological condition and discuss future directions based on these results.     

A host-guest optical sensor for aliphatic amines based on lipophilic cyclodextrin

A host-guest optical sensor for the determination of aliphatic amines as exemplified by octylamine is proposed. It is based on the reversible fluorescence enhancement of heptakis(2,6-di-O-isobutyl)-β-cyclodextrin(DOB-β-CD) hosting tetraphenylporphyrin (TPP) immobilized in poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane by aliphatic amine extracted from aqueous phase into membrane phase. The optimum membrane contained 1.15 wt % TPP, 6.15 wt % DOB-β-CD as sensing reagent and other membrane materials. The fluorescence enhancement of the membrane resulted from the formation of a stable three-component complex among DOB-β-CD, TPP, and aliphatic amines. With the optimum conditions described, the fluorescence response of the sensor to octylamine shows a good correlation with the theoretically derived equation in the range 1.0 × 10^–6 to 8.0 × 10^–4 mol/L. The response characteristics including reversibility, response time, reproducibility and lifetime and selectivity of this optical device are also discussed in detail. This sensor has also been applied for the determination of octylamine in water samples containing interferents with satisfactory recovery.     

Analysis and simulations of a nonlinear elastic dynamic beam

A model for the dynamics of a Gao elastic nonlinear beam, which is subject to a horizontal traction at one end, is studied. In particular, the buckling behavior of the beam is investigated. Existence and uniqueness of the local weak solution is established using truncation, approximations, a priori estimates, and results for evolution problems. An explicit finite differences numerical algorithm for the problem is presented. Results of representative simulations are depicted in the cases when the oscillations are about a buckled state, and when the horizontal traction oscillates between compression and tension. The numerical results exhibit a buckling behavior with a complicated dependence on the amplitude and frequency of oscillating horizontal tractions.     

Cortical responses to the 2f1-f2 combination tone measured indirectly using magnetoencephalography

The simultaneous presentation of two tones with frequencies f(1) and f(2) causes the perception of several combination tones in addition to the original tones. The most prominent of these are at frequencies f(2)-f(1) and 2f(1)-f(2). This study measured human physiological responses to the 2f(1)-f(2) combination tone at 500 Hz caused by tones of 750 and 1000 Hz with intensities of 65 and 55 dB SPL, respectively. Responses were measured from the cochlea using the distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE), and from the auditory cortex using the 40-Hz steady-state magnetoencephalographic (MEG) response. The perceptual response was assessed by having the participant adjust a probe tone to cause maximal beating ("best-beats") with the perceived combination tone. The cortical response to the combination tone was evaluated in two ways: first by presenting a probe tone with a frequency of 460 Hz at the perceptual best-beats level, resulting in a 40-Hz response because of interaction with the combination tone at 500 Hz, and second by simultaneously presenting two f(1) and f(2) pairs that caused combination tones that would themselves beat at 40 Hz. The 2f(1)-f(2) DPOAE in the external auditory canal had a level of 2.6 (s.d. 12.1) dB SPL. The 40-Hz MEG response in the contralateral cortex had a magnitude of 0.39 (s.d. 0.1) nA m. The perceived level of the combination tone was 44.8 (s.d. 11.3) dB SPL. There were no significant correlations between these measurements. These results indicate that physiological responses to the 2f(1)-f(2) combination tone occur in the human auditory system all the way from the cochlea to the primary auditory cortex. The perceived magnitude of the combination tone is not determined by the measured physiological response at either the cochlea or the cortex.     

Investigation of the quantitative properties of the quadrupole orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer with electrospray ionisation using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine

This paper describes the investigation of the potential of a quadrupole orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer (Q-TOF) equipped with an atmospheric pressure ionisation interface for quantitative measurements of small molecules separated by reversed phase liquid chromatography. To this end, the detection limits and linear dynamic range in particular were studied in an LC/MS/MS experiment using 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine standards and 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine for internal standardisation. In a second phase, the experiment was repeated with real biological extracts (whole blood, serum, and vitreous humour). A calibration for 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine was prepared in each of these matrices again using 3,4-methylenedioxyethylamphetamine as internal standard. The resulting quantitative data were compared with those obtained by liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection for the same extracts. The Q-TOF results revealed excellent sensitivity and a linear dynamic range of nearly four decades (2-10 000 pg on-column, r(2) = 0.9998, 1/x weighting). Furthermore, all the calibration curves prepared in biological material were superimposable, LC/MS/MS and LC-fluorescence, and the quantitative results for actual samples compared very favourably. It was concluded that the Q-TOF achieves a linear dynamic range for quantitative LC/MS/MS work exceeding that of fluorescence detection and at much better absolute sensitivity. Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.