Practical aspects of the uncertainty and traceability of spectrochemical measurement results by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

The determination of trace elements concentration in water by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS) is a common and well established technique in many chemical testing laboratories. However, the evaluation of measurement uncertainty results is not systematically implemented. The paper presents an easy step-by-step example leading to the evaluation of the combined standard uncertainty of copper determination in water using ETAAS. The major contributors to the overall measurement uncertainty are identified due to amount of copper in water sample that mainly depends on the absorbance measurements, due to certified reference material and due to auto-sampler volume measurements. The practical aspects how the traceability of copper concentration in water can be established and demonstrated are also pointed out.     

IR-spectral investigation of the structure of glasses in the Fe2O3-V2O5 system

The structure of glasses in the Fe₂O₃-V₂O₅ system in the 0–50 mol% Fe₂O₃ range is studied by IR-spectroscopy. It is found that the introduction of Fe₂O₃ favours the transformation of the VO₅-groups into VO₄ ones. This effect may be shown with the aid of IR-spectra, owing to the fact that these glasses are characterized by two high-frequency bands at 1020 and 930 cm^–1. The first is determined by the vibrations of the short V=O nonbridging bonds in the VO₅-groups, while the second is assigned to the vibrations of the V—O-bonds in deformed VO₄-tetrahedra.

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IR-spektroskopische Strukturuntersuchung von Gläsern des Systems Fe₂O₃-V₂O₅

Zusammenfassung Die Struktur von Gläsern des Systems Fe₂O₃-V₂O₅ in dem Bereich von 0–50 Molprozent Fe₂O₃ wurde mit Hilfe der IR-Spektroskopie untersucht. Zusatz von Fe₂O₃ begünstigt die Umwandlung der VO₅- in VO₄-Gruppen. Das kann in den IR-Spektren durch zwei Banden bei 1020 und 930 cm^–1 festgestellt werden. Die erste wird durch Schwingungen der kurzen V=O-Nichtbrücken-bindungen in den VO₅-Gruppen verursacht, die zweite wird auf Schwingungen der V—O-Bindungen in dem deformierten VO₄-Tetraeder zurückgeführt.

     

Establishment of traceability of ammonium nitrogen determination in wastewater

A case study is presented for the establishment of traceability for ammonium nitrogen determination in wastewater in a routine laboratory in order to fulfil the requirements of ISO/IEC standard 17025. The necessary relevant information was obtained from the method validation data, the quality control data and equipment calibration certificates. The method of measurement is described together with the measurement equation, selected traceable reference standards and the associated measurement uncertainty. The major sources of uncertainty of the result of measurement were identified and the combined uncertainty was calculated. Identification of the main uncertainty sources represents the basis for target operations for reducing the measurement uncertainty of this determination.     

How do we know who to include in collaborative research? Toward a method for the identification of experts

Collaborative research, defined as research involving actors participating in the problem situation under study, has an important role in operational research, strategic management and systems thinking. In a recent study, we found that a strong organizational focus incorporated into many soft operational research (OR) approaches is inadequate for studying societal problem situations, which are fragmented and have no clear boundary. Specifically, we failed to find a process of identifying individuals that is capable of representing the perspectives of actors and sufficient for research into societal problem situations. We found no clear terminology accounting for ontological differences between actors, individuals representing them and conceptual representations of acting entities. In response to this gap in the literature, we propose terminology that differentiates among actors (individuals or collective entities in the real world), experts (individuals capable of representing the perspective of an actor) and agents (ideal-typical representations of actors). Based on this terminology, we propose an iterative method to guide the assembly of an expert group to undertake collaborative research into societal problem situations. To demonstrate the application of our method, we present selected insights from our study in an electronic supplement.     

几种纸浆纤维长度的测量方法的比较

对纸浆纤维长度的不同测量方法进行了简单的介绍，并指出了其不足之处。提出纸浆纤维长度的测量应该向更快速，更精确的的方向发展，并能够应用于造纸生产线的时时检测。     

Old Reagent,New Results: Aromatization of Hantzsch 1,4-Dihydropyridines with Supported Bismuth Nitrate under Microwave Irradiation in Solventless System

Hantzsch 1,4-dihydropyriines were rapidly and efficiently oxidized using bismuth nitrate supported onto silica gel under microwave irradiation.     

Solvent Free Synthesis of Coumarins

An efficient synthesis of 3-substituted coumarins under solventless system is described.     

Microwave Thermolysis: A Rapid and Selective Method for the Cleavage of THP Ethers Using CrO 3 Supported onto Zeolite in Solventless System

Oxidative deprotection of tetrahydropyranyl ethers (THP ethers) using chromium trioxide supported onto zeolite under microwave irradiation in solvent free condition is described.     

A comparison of measured room acoustics metrics using a spherical microphone array and conventional methods

The traditional microphone configuration used to measure room impulse responses (IRs) according to ISO 3382:2009 is an omnidirectional and figure-8 microphone pair. IRs measurements were taken in a 2500-seat auditorium to determine how the results from a spherical microphone array (an mh acoustics Eigenmike-em32) compare to those from the traditional microphone setup (a Brüel & Kjær Type-4192 omnidirectional microphone and a Sennheiser MKH30 figure-8 microphone). Measurements were obtained at six receiver locations, with three repetitions each in order to first evaluate repeatability. The metrics considered in this study were: reverberation time (T30), early decay time (EDT), clarity index (C80), strength (G), lateral energy fraction (J_LF) and late lateral energy level (L_J). Before calculating these quantities, the IRs were filtered to equalize the frequency response of the microphones and sound source. For the spherical array measurements, the omnidirectional (monopole) and figure-8 (dipole) patterns were extracted using beamforming. In terms of repeatability, the average standard deviation of the three measurements at each receiver location averaged across all metrics, receivers, and octave bands was found to be 0.01 just noticeable differences (JNDs). The analysis comparing the measurements from the two microphone configurations yielded differences which were less than 1 JND for the majority of metrics, with a few exceptions of EDT and C80 slightly above 1 JND. Based on this case study, these results indicate that spherical microphone arrays can be used to obtain valid room IR measurements, which will allow for the development of new metrics utilizing the higher spatial resolution made possible with spherical arrays.