Studies of gas-phase clusters: the solvation of HNO3 in microscopic aqueous clusters

The formation and stability of aqueous clusters of nitric acid were studied utilizing a free-jet expansion technique, coupled with electron impact ionization mass spectrometry. Evidence for the onset of solvation at very small cluster sizes is presented.     

Chronology and origin of Au-Cu deposits related to Paleozoic intracontinental rifting in West Tianshan Mountains, NW China

Located between the Tarim platform and Junggar massif, the West Tianshan intraconti-nental rift abuts against the China-Kazakhstan boundary in the west part, borders on the Yilianha-bierga late Paleozoic relic ocean basin and the South Tianshan late Paleozoic ocean basin re-spectively in the northeast separated by the Aibi Lake fault and in the southeast by the fault alongthe southern margin of the Yili massif. During the development and after the close of the WestTianshan intracontinental rifting in the Carboniferous-Permian period, a series of nonferrous andprecious metal mineralizations occurred with the Au-Cu deposits being the most important. Isotopicchronologic study of representative deposits of different types shows that gold-copper mineraliza-tion in the West Tianshan intracontinental rift zone mainly happened during the middle-late Her-cynian Period, among which the Axi volcanic hydrothermal type gold deposit was formed duringthe Carboniferous with a fluid inclusion Rb-Sr isochron age of (339 ± 28) Ma; the Qiabukanzhuotaquartzolite type gold deposit has a Rb-Sr isochron age of (312 ± 46) Ma; the Tawuerbieke por-phyry type gold deposit has a Rb-Sr isochron age of (295 ± 16) Ma; the Jingbulak magmatic liqua-tion Cu-Ni deposit and the Musizaote porphyry type Cu deposit have the forming ages of 300 Ma ±and 250 Ma±, respectively. Analyses of crustal evolution and metallogenetic geological back-grounds of Au-Cu mineralizations in the studied area shows a close correlation with the rifting.     

Butyltin compounds in severn sound,lake huron,canada

Severn Sound is a heavily used recreational and beating area in the southeast corner of Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, Canada. Because of the concern over the possible release of tributyltin species (TBT) from antifouling paints on boat hulls and marinas, surveys were carried out in 1989 and 1992 to determine the presence of this species and its degradation products dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT) in this area. Many fish (pike and young–of–the–year spottail shiners) and sediment samples collected in 1989 contained detectable levels of TBT. A maximum concentration of TBT was recorded in northern pike in the spring to be 240 ng Sn g^?1. Maximum levels occurred in marinas during the beginning of the boating season and significantly reduced during the summer and early autumn, although the maximum value of TBT in sediment (392 ng Sn g^?1) was observed in the summer of 1989. The seasonal variation of TBT levels was further substantiated in the subsequent 1992 study, in which sediments from three areas in a marina were sampled at monthly intervals from May to October. TBT levels were much higher in May and then generally decreased with time. Mussels (Elliptio complanta) caged in the marina for three months also contained TBT. DBT was frequently detected in the sediments but less frequently in fish and mussels. MBT was generally below detection limits. Plants (macrophytes and cladophora) contained very small amounts of butyltin compounds.     

Trace analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in suspended particulate matter by accelerated solvent extraction followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

An analytical procedure based on extraction by accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis has been developed for the determination of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from large-volume water samples (20 L). The effect of temperature and number of cycles on the efficiency of ASE was investigated: the best results were obtained by using a temperature of 100°C and one static cycle. A mixture of hexane/acetone 1:1 (v/v) was used as extraction solvent. Mean total method recovery under optimized conditions was 85%. The developed methodology was applied to the analysis of suspended particulate matter from Lake Maggiore waters (north of Italy). Mean PAH concentrations in suspended particulate matter from Lake Maggiore ranged from 0.2 ng L⁻¹ for anthracene to 18.7 ng L⁻¹ for naphthalene.     

Origin of Aldehydes in Sediments of Qinghai Lake

This paper has analysed the aldehyde fractions in sediments and living organisms of Qinghai Lake using GC-MS and discussed their origin, n-Aldehydes detected in the sediments ranged from C_(16) to C_(32) with a maximum at C_(22) C_(24) or C_(26) and showed a strong even over odd predominance. n-Aldehydes in the living organisms analysed ranged from C_(16) to C_(32) with a maximum at C_(26) or C_(28). The authors believed that aldehydes in modern sediments may directly derive from biosynthesis.     

The geometric and electronic structures of I3− and I5− from effective-potential calculations

The (ab initio) effective-potential theory developed by Ewig et al. is applied to the structures of the polyiodide ions, I₃^? and I₅^?. The bare ions I₃^? and I₅^? are found by optimization of the geometry to be symmetric and linear. The counterion environment, however, greatly influences the equilibrium structure. A symmetric, flexible counterion environment produces only a slightly altered symmetric, linear equilibrium structure for the I₃^? anion ; whereas an asymmetric, rigid counterion frame leads to unequal bond lengths and bending of the anion. For the I₅^? anion, the potential energy calculated for bending of the central I—I—I angle, α, is very small so that a slight interaction with the lattice will readily lead to the experimental bent structure with α = 94°. At this value of α, the two outer angles are found to be equal and close to the experimental value. The electronic structures of the I₃^? and I₅^? ions are also discussed.     

Theoretical studies of some nonbenzenoid hydrocarbons—IV : Pleiadiene and related compounds

Pleiadiene and other similar compounds have been studied by the semi-empirical SCFMO method of Pariser, Parr and Pople using the core resonance integral value developed by Lo and Whitehead, Dewar et al. and Yamaguchi et al. It has been found that π^*←π transitions predicted by the methods of Lo and Whiteheadand Dewar et al. suitable for the prediction of ground state properties are also in good agreement with experimental results where available and comparable to those predicted by the method of Yamaguchi et al. developed for the prediction of spectral transitions. The resonance stabilization of the molecules 3,4.5,7,8 and 9 have also been studied. It is found that ethylinic linkage across the naphthalene moity in pleiadiene increases the resonance energy of the final compound, in contrast to our previous observation, i.e. ethylinic linkage across the naphthalene moiety reduces the resonance energy of the final compound.     

The status of pesticide pollution in Tanzania

The paper summarises the findings of recent studies carried out to assess the levels of pesticide residues in water, sediment, soil and some biota collected from different parts of Tanzania. Although the intention is to cover the whole country, so far the studies have focused on areas with known large-scale pesticide use (Southern Lake Victoria and its basin, TPC sugar Plantations in Kilimanjaro region, Dar es Salaam coast, Mahonda-Makoba basin in Zanzibar) and a former pesticide storage area at Vikuge Farm in Coast region). Analysis of the cleaned extracts in GC-ECD/NPD revealed the dominance of organochlorines in all samples. Generally, low levels of residues were found in areas associated with agricultural pesticide use but the levels in the former storage areas were substantially high. DDT and HCH were dominant in all the studied areas. In the former areas, levels of ∑DDT in water, sediments and soil were up to 2 μg L⁻¹, 700 μg kg⁻¹ and 500 μg kg⁻¹, respectively, while those of ∑HCH were up to 0.2 μg L⁻¹, 132 μg kg⁻¹ and 60 μg kg⁻¹, respectively. The levels in aquatic biota were much higher than those in the water most likely due to bioaccumulation. In the former storage area at Vikuge the levels of pesticides in the topsoil were alarmingly high. Their concentrations were up to 282,000 mg kg⁻¹ dry weight for ∑DDT and up to 63,000 mg kg⁻¹ for ∑HCH. A herbicide, pendimethalin [N-(1-ethylpropyl)-2,6-dinitro-3,4-xylidine], was also found at concentrations up to 41,000 mg kg⁻¹ dry weight. Thus the total pesticide content in the soil was almost 40%. Following these findings the area is now earmarked to be a demonstration site for a proposed GEF project ‘Bioremediation of POPs impacted soils in East Africa’.     

Tricyclic diterpenoids of the dolastane ring system from the marine alga dictyota divaricata

Four new oxygenated tricyclic diterpenoids have been isolated from the Caribbean brown alga Dictyota divaricata. The structures of these new compounds were secured by an X-ray analysis of a convenient diol derivative, followed by interconversion where possible. The new diterpenoids belong to the dolastane group first isolated from the herbivorous mollusc Dolabella auricularia and their isolation here indicates that the sea hare most likely derived these compounds from brown seaweeds of the family Dictyotaceae.