Multivariate analysis of non-homogeneous peaks in liquid chromatography

Summary The effects of concentration, separation and spectral similarity as factors influencing the accuracy of iterative target testing factor analysis (ITT-FA) are investigated for three component systems by the application of analysis of variance (ANOVAR). ANOVAR is applied over a range of peak separations to map the changing effects of the three factors with increasing overlap. Two error responses were measured and analysed, (a) Relative cluster error (RCE) a measure of the error over all peaks in a cluster and (b) Relative peak error (RPE) the error of an individual peak. Multicomponent analysis (MCA) a method requiringa priori spectral information, is used as a referee method for ITT-FA.     

芳香环状低聚物组分分布与单体结构关系的研究

根据Jacoson-Stockmayer(J-S)环化理论,应用基质辅助激光解吸离子化飞行时间质谱(MAIDL-TOFMS),对一系列芳香环状低聚物组分分布进行分析,研究了芳香环状低聚物的组分分布与单体结构的关系,结果表明,在芳香聚酯、聚膦酸酯及芳香聚醚环状低聚物系列中,Incn与Inn呈良好的线性关系,符合J-S理论分布,在环状聚酯及聚膦酸酯系列中,低聚物的组分分布受双酚单体的中心键角影响,单体的中心键角在100°～120°之间,其中心键角愈小,γ值愈大,而在聚醚系列中,在固定一种单体的前提下,环化物的组分分布受另一单体键角的影响与环状聚酯和聚膦酸酯相一致.     

Analysis of critical points on the potential energy surface

A simple classification scheme is proposed for critical points, based only on rankr and signatures of the (n,n)-matrixG of harmonic force constants. The determination ofr ands, e.g. by the well-known factorizationG=L ^T gL (L: triangular matrix,g: diagonal matrix), has several theoretical as well as practical (computational) advantages over the inspection of eigenvalues ofG, so far used in quantum chemistry. The eigenvalues are sufficient butnot necessary for a classification whereas rank and signature are the only necessary and sufficient prerequisites for solving the task. For the purpose of presenting a working example, by calculating only a 2×2 torque constant matrix, it is shown that the coplanar ethylbenzene is unstable in the CNDO/2 picture.     

GC–MS analysis of phenolic compounds in fuels after conversion to trifluoroacetate esters

The GC–MS characteristics of trifluoroacetate esters of phenolic compounds are discussed. Linear temperature programmed retention indices and total ion current MS response factors of over 120 phenolic esters are reported. The main GC advantages from analysis of trifluoroacetate esters as compared to plain phenols are enhanced volatility and improved resolution. For example, the elution temperature of a given phenol is typically 50 °C greater than that of the corresponding trifluoroacetate ester. Also, while retention of compounds with two trifluoroacetate groups is only moderately greater than mono esters, underivatized dihydroxy compounds are very difficult to elute from any GC column. Complete resolution of isomeric C₀-, C₁- and C₂-alkylphenol esters is readily achieved on conventional fused silica GC columns; resolution of the corresponding underivatized compounds requires specialized GC columns with low temperature limits. In general, mass spectra of trifluoroacetate esters are more characteristic of a given structure than those of the corresponding phenols and may be more rigorously interpreted towards structural elucidation. A table in the report summarizes some of the more important spectral features used in compound identification. Example applications in analysis of coal-, shale- and petroleum-derived materials are presented. Selected ion monitoring is used to determine individual phenolic components in whole distillates; reconstructed ion chromatograms are used to illustrate distributions of selected species as a function of fuel storage and thermal stress.     

Structure-activity relationship of Ca2+ channel blockers: A study using conformational analysis and chemometric methods

Summary A structure-activity relationship study has been done on 8 compounds with the activity known as Ca²⁺ channel blockers. Conformational analysis was carried out using a molecular mechanics method. The 3D-QSAR approach was used and the most polar functional groups present in all the molecules were considered. Eight interatomic distances are necessary to define the relative spatial disposition of these relevant molecular fragments. The structure-activity relationship between interatomic distances and biological activity was performed using statistic and chemometric methods. In particular, with Principal Component Analysis, it was possible to reduce the number of interatomic distances: only six of the eight distances are sufficient to describe the system in a useful way. A classification method was iteratively used to select the most probable conformations linked to the biological activity and to build a model able to classify conformations according to their biological behaviour. Cluster analysis on the active selected conformations subsequently allowed the identification of two different geometrical patterns for the active compounds. Finally the validity of the model was verified by correctly predicting the activity of other molecules not used in the construction of the model but possessing known activity.     

Bias in modal parameters due to aliasing in the time domain

This paper deals with some aliasing effects in the time domain that can lead to unacceptable misestimations of modal parameters. When a frequency response function of a vibrating system is sampled and inverse Fourier transformed, the resulting impulse response is given by an infinite geometric series, the single term of which is the impulse response itself shifted in time. For this reason, some modal parameters, if estimated in the time domain, are biased; in particular, while the damping factor and the natural frequency are not influenced by the aliasing phenomenon, the magnitude and phase of the residue can be highly biased. Corrective terms are theoretically evaluated and their efficiency is shown in numerical simulations.

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Sommario In questo articolo e' presentato un metodo per correggere gli errori che si compiono nella stima di alcuni parametri modali, quando essi vengono ricavati nel dominio del tempo. Infatti se la funzione di risposta in frequenza e' ottenuta con eccitazioni particolari—quali ad esempio lo pseudo-random, lo stepped-sine a passo costante o lo sweep in frequenza-la risposta impulsiva, ottenuta per mezzo dell'antitrasformata discreta di Fourier, risulta periodica, con periodo pari all'inverso della spaziatura tra le righe spettrali. Cio' comporta un errore nella stima dell'ampiezza e della fase del residuo, mentre nessuna conseguenza si ha sulla frequenza naturale e sul fattore di smorzamento. L'errore sulle stime risulta tanto piu' grande, quanto meno smorzata e' la risposta impulsiva all'interno dell'intervallo di osservazione.Partendo dall'inviluppo e dalla fase istantanea dei segnali complessi, ottenibili per mezzo della trasformata di Hilbert, si sono ricavati i termini correttivi sia per il modulo, che per la fase del residuo. La validita' delle correzioni e' mostrata con esempi numerici.

     

Determination of amino acids by gas chromatography using a wide bore capillary column

A procedure is described in which a wide bore capillary column is used as an alternative to the more traditional packed column for the quantitative analysis of amino acids as their N-heptafluorobutyryl isobutyl ester (HBB) derivatives. The column, installed in a gas chromatograph previously configured for use with a packed column, is shown to give good reproducibility by repeated determination of amino acid response factors (RSD values for all amino acids are below 3%). A number of problems, encountered during the use of this column, are discussed and suitable techniques to overcome them are reported.     

Evaluation of the surface tension measurement of axisymmetric drop shape analysis (ADSA) using a shape parameter

A quantitative criterion called “shape parameter” to evaluate the quality of surface tension measurement of Axisymmetric Drop Shape Analysis (ADSA) is presented. ADSA is a powerful technique for the measurement of interfacial tensions and contact angles of pendant drops, sessile drops, and bubbles. Despite the general success of ADSA, deficient results may be obtained for drops close to spherical shape. Therefore, the “shape parameter” was used to determine the range of drop shapes in which ADSA succeeds or fails. The “shape parameter” is a dimensionless parameter that expresses quantitatively the difference in shape between a given experimental profile and an inscribed circle. The surface tension measurements of ADSA were evaluated for both pendant drop and constrained sessile drop configurations using the shape parameter. Different shapes of the pendant drop were studied using different sizes and materials of holders. For each drop configuration, a “critical shape parameter” was defined based on the minimum value of the shape parameter that guarantees an error of less than ±0.1 mJ/m². Furthermore, the effects of the type of liquid and constellation on the “critical shape parameter” were studied.     

Discriminant Analysis of Volatile Organic Compounds data related to a new location method of entrapped people in collapsed buildings of an earthquake

Discriminant Analysis is used as a part of a research, which aims at using expired air analysis for the early location of entrapped people under the ruins of collapsed buildings in an earthquake. This work focuses on the possibility of distinguishing Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the entrapment area which originate from different sources. Five categories of samples were analyzed by Thermal Desorption-Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Expired air samples from healthy humans (Category 1) and fasting people (Category 2) were analyzed for studying the VOCs attributed to entrapped people. Headspace air of urban waste disposal bins (Category 3), headspace air of bags with decaying human bodies (Category 4) and urban air samples (Category 5) were analyzed for studying the VOCs attributed to background sources. Discriminant Rotation, a specific type of Discriminant Analysis was applied on the VOCs concentration matrix of the five categories. Combinations of VOCs that best discriminated each category were determined. Cluster Analysis was used to validate the results of Discriminant Analysis. The advantages and limitations of the method are presented and discussed.