A simple scheme for calculating the energy levels and the spectra of molecular crystals

A simple matrix method for calculating the vibrational and electron energy levels and spectra in molecular crystals is proposed.     

A Closed-Form Relation for Dimension-Dependent Two-Electron Matrix Elements of the Interelectronic Distance

The evaluation of matrix elements of two electron atoms is fundamental for the study of the electronic properties of those systems. We add to this knowledge by presenting an explicit expression for the matrix elements of the inverse of the interelectronic distance of two-electron atoms in any spatial dimension D. The basis functions used are the D-dependent hydrogenic wavefunctions {1s ²,2p ²,3d ²,4f ²,5g ²,...,21y ²,...}, extending and including, in this way, the results of the previous basis set {1s ²,2p ²,3d ²,4f ²}. The methodology used does not employ Fourier integral transforms as in previous works but hypergeometric transformation formulas.     

Protein secondary structure and stability determined by combining exoproteolysis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

In the post-genomic era, several projects focused on the massive experimental resolution of the three-dimensional structures of all the proteins of different organisms have been initiated. Simultaneously, significant progress has been made in the ab initio prediction of protein three-dimensional structure. One of the keys to the success of such a prediction is the use of local information (i.e. secondary structure). Here we describe a new limited proteolysis methodology, based on the use of unspecific exoproteases coupled with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), to map quickly secondary structure elements of a protein from both ends, the N- and C-termini. We show that the proteolytic patterns (mass spectra series) obtained can be interpreted in the light of the conformation and local stability of the analyzed proteins, a direct correlation being observed between the predicted and the experimentally derived protein secondary structure. Further, this methodology can be easily applied to check rapidly the folding state of a protein and characterize mutational effects on protein conformation and stability. Moreover, given global stability information, this methodology allows one to locate the protein regions of increased or decreased conformational stability. All of this can be done with a small fraction of the amount of protein required by most of the other methods for conformational analysis. Thus limited exoproteolysis, together with MALDI-TOF MS, can be a useful tool to achieve quickly the elucidation of protein structure and stability.     

Advances in two-dimensional GC with glass capillary columns

A versatile two-dimensional gas chromatograph is described, consisting of 2 separate ovens, one intermediate trap, an auxiliary inlet, and the necessary hardware to effect off-line switching according to the principle of Deans. The unit has been designed for use with high resolution glass capillary columns. The performance of individual instrumental components was critically evaluated. Results showed that low dead volume glass to metal connections were required in the manifold and detector lines to minimize extra-column effects. The mass of the intermediate trap must be low to allow rapid heating. Operational parameters are discussed and examples of some applications are shown.     

石墨炉原子吸收光谱无标样分析法的研究：Ⅰ.消除基体干扰

实现石墨炉原子吸收光谱绝对分析必须消除基体干扰，本研究采用有机基体改进剂，管壁原子化、热解涂层石墨管，峰面积积分吸收信号，Ｄ２灯或Ｚｅｅｍａｎ效应扣除背景，有效地控制和消除了海水基体对Ａｓ，Ｃｄ，Ｃｏ，Ｃｒ，Ｃｕ，Ｍｎ，Ｎｉ，Ｐｂ和Ｖ等元素的干扰，实现了无干扰测定。     

钯镁基体改进剂对铅,铋,锗在石墨炉中原子化影响的研究

通过原子吸收和X-射线衍射分析证明,加入钯镁基体改进剂在预热处理后对Pb、Bi和Ge三个元素分别生成金属间化合物PbPd_3、BiPd_3、Ge_9Pd_(23)和其他化合物,从而提高了最高允许灰化温度,改变了原子化机理。在原子化阶段这些金属间化合物直接分解为金属原子,结果提高测定灵敏度。     

Matrix separation of palladium and iridium by the cellulose anion exchanger Cellex T and the subsequent determination of palladium at theμg/g-level

The preconcentration and separation of palladium and iridium from base metals is studied with cellulose (Cellex T) and styrene-divinylbenzene (Varion AT 400) anion exchangers. In spite of lower capacity of Cellex T to chloride complexes of Pd and Ir, it allowed to get a higher preconcentration factor. Yields of 92–99% are achieved for Pd and 96–97% for Ir from the solutions containing great excess of base and heavy metals. Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is used for the final measurements. The procedure has been applied to the determination of palladium in natural samples.     

Chemical separation and inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometric determination of seventeen trace metals in thorium oxide matrix using a novel extractant – Cyanex-923

Comprehensive studies have been carried out on the extraction behaviour of thorium matrix vis-a-vis 17 trace metallic elements using a novel extractant viz. Cyanex-923. The near total extraction of thorium and quantitative separation of these metals has been established using inductively coupled argon plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES). The recovery of few representative elements has been confirmed by radio-active tracer studies. The studies carried out here have enabled determination of μg/l amounts of all analyte elements with a precision of better than 1% RSD with prior chemical separation from as low as 1 g thorium sample in just five chemical extractions.     

The effects of polymer chain rigidification, zeolite pore size and pore blockage on polyethersulfone (PES)-zeolite A mixed matrix membranes

The polyethersulfone (PES)-zeolite 3A, 4A and 5A mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) were fabricated with a modified solution-casting procedure at high temperatures close to the glass transition temperatures (T_g) of polymer materials. The effects of membrane preparation methodology, zeolite loading and pore size of zeolite on the gas separation performance of these mixed matrix membranes were studied. SEM results show the interface between polymer and zeolite in MMMs experiencing natural cooling is better (i.e., less defective) than that in MMMs experiencing immediate quenching. The increment of glass transition temperature (T_g) of MMMs with zeolite loading confirms the polymer chain rigidification induced by zeolite. The experimental results indicate that a higher zeolite loading results in a decrease in gas permeability and an increase in gas pair selectivity. The unmodified Maxwell model fails to correctly predict the permeability decrease induced by polymer chain rigidification near the zeolite surface and the partial pore blockage of zeolites by the polymer chains. A new modified Maxwell model is therefore proposed. It takes the combined effects of chain rigidification and partial pore blockage of zeolites into calculation. The new model shows much consistent permeability and selectivity predication with experimental data. Surprisingly, an increase in zeolite pore size from 3 to 5 Å generally not only increase gas permeability, but also gas pair selectivity. The O₂/N₂ selectivity of PES-zeolite 3A and PES-zeolite 4A membranes is very similar, while the O₂/N₂ selectivity of PES-zeolite 5A membranes is much higher. This implies the blockage may narrow a part of zeolite 5A pores to approximately 4 Å, which can discriminate the gas pair of O₂ and N₂, and narrow a part of zeolites 3A and 4A pores to smaller sizes. It is concluded that the partial pore blockage of zeolites by the polymer chains has equivalent or more influence on the separation properties of mixed matrix membranes compared with that of the polymer chain rigidification.     

几乎各向同性的高维空间分数阶扩散方程的分块快速正则Hermite分裂预处理方法

一类空间分数阶扩散方程经过有限差分离散后所得到的离散线性方程组的系数矩阵是两个对角矩阵与Toeplitz型矩阵的乘积之和.在本文中,对于几乎各向同性的二维或三维空间分数阶扩散方程的离散线性方程组,采用预处理Krylov子空间迭代方法,我们利用其系数矩阵的特殊结构和具体性质构造了一类分块快速正则Hermite分裂预处理子.通过理论分析,我们证明了所对应的预处理矩阵的特征值大部分都聚集于1的附近.数值实验也表明,这类分块快速正则Hermite分裂预处理子可以明显地加快广义极小残量(GMRES)方法和稳定化的双共轭梯度(BiCGSTAB)方法等Krylov子空间迭代方法的收敛速度.