Validation of a digestion system using a digester block/cold finger system for the determination of lead in vegetable foods by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

This paper presents the validation of a system for sample digestion using a digester block/cold finger to determine the lead content in vegetables by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). After mineralization, lead contents were determined by ETAAS using a calibration curve based on aqueous standards prepared in 2.60 M nitric acid solutions containing 5 microg ammonium phosphate as chemical modifier. A pyrolysis temperature of 900 degrees C and atomization temperature of 2000 degrees C were used. This method allowed the determination of lead with a characteristic mass of 35 pg; LOD and LOQ of 0.6 and 2 nglg, respectively, were found. The precision was investigated in terms of reproducibility and repeatability. Reproducibility was estimated by analysis of nine different portions of a certified reference material (CRM) of spinach leaves, and the repeatability was determined through the analysis of nine aliquots of the same solution. The reproducibility and repeatability were found to be 4.27 and 2.94% RSD, respectively. The accuracy was confirmed by analysis of whole meal flour, spinach leaves, and orchard leaves CRMs, all furnished by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Lead contents were measured using the newly developed technique in 11 different potato samples. The lead contents ranged from 12.80 to 69.27 ng/g, with an average value of 28.59 ng/g. These values were in agreement with data reported in the literature.     

Cotype and absolutely summing linear operators

New applications of cotype to the theory of absolutely summing linear operators between Banach spaces are proved in this paper. Among other consequences we extend/complement some classical results of Bennett (Duke Math J 44:603?C639, 1977) on the existence of non-absolutely summing operators between ? _p spaces and of Davis and Johnson (Stud Math 51:81?C85, 1974) on the existence of compact non-absolutely summing linear operators. We also point out that some of our results are sharp.     

Influence of the incorporated metal on template removal from MCM-41 type mesoporous materials

Al-modified MCM-41, La-modified MCM-41, and Ce-modified MCM-41 mesoporous materials were prepared with different molar ratios (Si/M = 10; 25; 50; 100 and 200) at room temperature. The materials were characterized using XRD, BET–BJH, and TG–DTA. The XRD showed four peaks, due to the ordered hexagonal array of parallel silica tubes, which could be indexed as (100), (110), (200), and (210), assuming a hexagonal unit cell. The surface area decreased as the concentration of the metal incorporated in the material increased. The thermal stability of the materials was around 650 °C. The CeO₂ phase made the mass transfer process more difficult, hindering Hofmann degradation and favoring oxidation.     

MS-Xα study of the KCl: Cu− spectrum

We have interpreted the KCl:Cu^? spectrum in the context of the MS-X_α method. The results, considering only allowed electric-dipole transitions, are in good agreement with the experimental data. Four new absorption bands, peaking at 573, 390, ～324 and ～310nm, at room temperature, are reported.     

Scalar-valued dominated polynomials on Banach spaces

It is well known that 2-homogeneous polynomials on -spaces are 2-dominated. Motivated by the fact that related coincidence results are possible only for polynomials defined on symmetrically regular spaces, we investigate the situation in several classes of symmetrically regular spaces. We prove a number of non-coincidence results which makes us suspect that there is no infinite dimensional Banach space such that every scalar-valued homogeneous polynomial on is -dominated for every .

     

Long-term integrated surgery room optimization and recovery ward planning,with a case study in the Brazilian National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics (INTO)

This paper proposes an integrated approach for the long-term planning and surgery allocation problem with downstream constraints. It is motivated by a case study in the Brazilian National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, which provides elective high complexity surgeries for patients from the Brazilian public health system. We introduce an optimization problem that designs a periodic surgery allocation schedule as well as a recovery ward utilization plan, with a view at balancing patient arrivals and releases in the long term, in such a way that all surgeries are performed in a timely manner.     

A unified Pietsch domination theorem

In this paper we prove an abstract version of Pietsch's domination theorem which unify a number of known Pietsch-type domination theorems for classes of mappings that generalize the ideal of absolutely p-summing linear operators. A final result shows that Pietsch-type dominations are totally free from algebraic conditions, such as linearity, multilinearity, etc.     

Evolution of bank efficiency in Brazil: A DEA approach

This paper investigates cost, technical and allocative efficiencies for Brazilian banks in the recent period (2000–2007). We use Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to compute efficiency scores. Brazilian banks were found to have low levels of economic (cost) efficiency compared to banks in Europe and in the US. For the period with high macroeconomic volatility (2000–2002) the economic inefficiency in Brazilian banks can be attributed mainly to technical inefficiency rather than allocative inefficiency. State-owned banks are significantly more cost efficient than foreign, private domestic and private with foreign participation. There is no evidence of differences in economic efficiency due to type of activity and bank size. These results may provide some useful guidance for financial regulators and bank managers.     

The use of dilatometry aiming to evaluate the metallurgical aspect of coil slump in a hot-rolled medium carbon steel

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The hot coil slump is a recurrent problem in the manufacturing process of medium and high equivalent carbon steel plates. Even with the success of the...