Determination of trace elements in the Lavender inflorescence (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) — Lavender oil system

Bulgaria is a famous world producer of essential oils. Quality control of the lavender oils produced is an important analytical task in view of their wide use in perfumery and cosmetics, the food industry and aromatherapy. The present paper studies the relationship between the trace elements content in lavender inflorescence (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.) and in lavender oil derived from this inflorescence. Three model regions were investigated: two of them are situated far from industrial areas — the village of Zelenikovo and the town of Pavel Banya, and one region is located near the Plovdiv Non-Ferrous Metallurgical Plant. The content of the elements Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn and Pb in plants was determined after acid digestion by flame and electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Lavender oils were analyzed directly by ETAAS. The results undoubtedly show that there is no strong correlation between the trace elements content in inflorescence and in essential oils. It might be assumed that the trace elements present and accumulated in the inflorescence do not pass in lavender oil during the production by steam distillation.     

慢阻肺与微量元素

从慢阻肺疾病的临床观察与动物实验，通过分子生物学、组织形态学以及超微结构的变化进行探讨，观测到治疗前后毛发中微量元素的分布、合成和转化。及其维持机体健康的物质基础作用。     

曲率流的参数化有限元逼近

许多物理现象可以在数学上描述为受曲率驱动的自由界面运动,例如薄膜和泡沫的演变、晶体生长,等等.这些薄膜和界面的运动常依赖于其表面曲率,从而可以用相应的曲率流来描述,其相关自由界面问题的数值计算和误差分析一直是计算数学领域中的难点.参数化有限元法是曲率流的一类有效计算方法,已经能够成功模拟一些曲面在几类基本的曲率流下的演化过程.本文重点讨论曲率流的参数化有限元逼近,它的产生、发展和当前的一些挑战.     

Structure-based identification and clustering of protein families and superfamilies

Summary We describe an approach to protein structure comparison designed to detect distantly related proteins of similar fold, where the procedure must be sufficiently flexible to take into account the elasticity of protein folds without losing specificity. Protein structures are represented as a series of secondary structure elements, where for each element a local environment describes its relations with the elements that surround it. Secondary structures are then aligned by comparing their features and local environments. The procedure is illustrated with searches of a database of 468 protein structures in order to identify proteins of similar topology to porcine pepsin, porphobilinogen deaminase and serum amyloid P-component. In all cases the searches correctly identify protein structures of similar fold as the search proteins. Multiple cross-comparisons of protein structures allow the clustering of proteins of similar fold. This is exemplified with a clustering of /- and -class protein structures. We discuss applications of the comparison and clustering of three-dimensional protein structures to comparative modelling and structure-based protein design.     

新疆产12种中草药中微量金属元素的测定

本文测定了新疆产新疆党参,新疆元胡等１２种中草药中十种微量金属元素的含量．结果表明这些中草药中具有显著生理活性的Ｚｎ、Ｆｅ、Ｃｕ、Ｍｎ等元素．它们的含量除了个别样品外均大于或接近于国内其它地区所产的同种中草药、根据冠心病病因的Ｚｎ／Ｃｕ值假说和微量金属元素的含量关系,新疆产１２种中草药也可用于防治冠心病．     

广山药中16种元素的分析比较

用原子吸收法和分光光度法测定了5个产地的广山药及怀山药中16种元素的含量，并进行了比较。发现广山药及怀山药中均含有Mn,Fe,Zn,Ca,Cu,Mg,P,Se等元素，5个产地的广山药中的Cu/Zn值均低于正常人血清的Cu/Zn，这些元素可能是怀山药，广山药具有补脾养胃，生津益肺，补肾涩精，治疗糖尿病等功效的物质基础之一；广山药长期作为山药的一个品种同等入药，食用是有科学根据的；广山药，怀山药中含有一定量的As,Hg。     

Determination of trace elements in human serum by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry with flow injection

An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of some trace elements (Au, Fe, Mg, Li, Sr, Zn) in human serum by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) with flow injection is described. Physical interference caused by the change of sample viscosity is discussed. When 100 μl of serum was injected, the relevant recoveries of > 99% for Li, > 98% for Cu and Mg, > 95% for Fe were obtained for an NIST SRM with R.S.D. > 1.3% using optimized flow injection parameters. The prepared lyophilized control serum for routine analysis in clinical laboratories was analyzed and verified for the validity of the technique employed in this experiment using NIST SRM 909 as a primary reference material.     

Determination of rare earth elements in seawater by on-line column preconcentration inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A home made column of commercially available iminodiacetate resin, Muromac A-1 (50–100 mesh) was used to concentrate rare earth elements (REEs) (15 elements: Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Lu) in seawater. An automated low pressure flow analysis method with on-line column preconcentration/inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is described for the determination of REEs in seawater. Sample solutions (adjusted to pH of 3.0) passed through the column. After washing the column with water, the adsorbed elements were subsequently eluted into the plasma with 0.7 M nitric acid. Calibration curves were accomplished by means of purified artificial seawater with a sample loading time of 120 s. Detection limits (DLs) of the on-line column preconcentration/ICP-MS by eight replicate operations were between 0.040 and 0.251 pg ml⁻¹ for REEs in the artificial seawater. The precision was less than 8.9% for REEs and one sample can be processed in 7 min using a 7 ml of sample. The proposed method was applied to determine REEs in coastal seawater of Hiroshima Bay, Japan.     

Size-based analysis of incinerator fly ash using gravitational SPLITT fractionation, sedimentation field-flow fractionation, and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy

Fly ash has been regarded as hazardous because of its high adsorption of toxic organic and/or inorganic pollutants. Fly ash is also known to have broad distributions of different chemical and physical properties, such as size and density. In this study, fly ash emitted from a solid waste incinerator was pre-fractionated into six sub-populations by use of gravitational SPLITT fractionation (GSF). The GSF fractions were then analyzed by sedimentation field-flow fractionation (SdFFF) and ICP–AES. SdFFF analysis showed the fly ash has a broad size distribution ranging from a few nanometers up to about 50 µm. SdFFF results were confirmed by electron microscopy. Inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES) analysis of the GSF fractions showed the fly-ash particles contain a variety of inorganic elements including Ca, Si, Mg, Fe, and Pb. The most abundant in fly ash was Ca, followed by Si then Mg. No correlations were found between trace element concentration and particle size.     

计算机模式识别法对甲状腺机能亢进症微量元素谱的研究

据Mahlanobis距离判别法，利用计算机多元统计判别程序，对14例甲亢思者和21例健康人的血清中锌、铁、铜、锰、镁和锶等元素浓度差异进行分类判别研究。选择锌、铁、钙、锶作判别特征参量时，患者和健康人的分类准确率为100％，服碘前与服碘后的甲亢患者分类准确率为92.7％，分类研究指出，甲亢患者血清中的铁和锶浓度高于健康人，经服碘治疗后，患者血清中上述元素浓度降低与健康人相近。