Accurate measurement of uranium isotope ratios in soil samples using thermal ionization mass spectrometry equipped with a warp energy filter

A chemical and mass-spectrometric procedure for uranium isotopic analysis using a thermal ionisation mass spectrometer equipped with a Wide Aperture Retardation Potential energy filter has been developed and applied to uranium isotopic measurements for various soil samples. Soil samples were digested using a microwave digestor. Uranium was isolated from soil samples by the chemical separation procedure based on the use of anion-exchange resin and UTEVA extraction chromatography column. The isotope ratios were measured for two certified reference materials by using a VG Sector 54-30 thermal ionisation mass spectrometer in dynamic mode with Faraday cup and Daly ion counting system. Replicates of standard reference materials showed excellent analytical agreement with established values supporting the reliability and accuracy of the method. Precision of the ²³⁵U/²³⁸U ratio was achieved by a correction factor of 0.22% amu as a function of ion-beam intensity with sample loads of around 250?ng of U. The resulting reproducibility for standards and soil samples was better than 0.2% at two standard deviations (SD). Uranium isotopic compositions have been determined in several reference soil samples such as Buffalo river sediment, NIST 2704, river sediment SRM 4350b and ocean sediment NIST-4357 and a Chernobyl soil sample. There was a significant deviation from the natural uranium in comparison with Chernobyl soil samples.     

Distribution patterns of gamma radiation dose rate in the high background radiation area of Odisha,India

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Absorbed dose rates in air for 20 residential areas in Odisha were measured using a vehicle-mounted NaI(Tl) scintillation spectrometer. The...     

A Refined Schwarz Lemma for the Spectral Nevanlinna-Pick Problem

The spectral Nevanlinna–Pick problem asks for necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a holomorphic map from the unit disc to the set of $n\times n$ complex matrices with spectral radius less than 1, that interpolates given data. Some versions of the Schwarz lemma, obtained by Ransford and Nokrane, and by Bharali, provide necessary conditions. We prove a refined version of their results, which makes it possible to treat problems with more than two interpolation points.     

Two new promelacacinidin dimers,including a novel flavanone-flavanol dimer characterized by a unique C(3)-C(4) linkage,from the heartwood of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia nigrescens</Emphasis>

Two new promelacacinidin biflavonoids, mesquitol-(4α,5)-epimesquitol-4β-ol and a 3′,4′,7,8-tetrahydroxyflavanone(3,4)-ent-epimesquitol, were isolated among others from the heartwood of Acacia nigrescens. The flavanone derived dimer, characterized by a unique C(3) to C(4) bridge, which links the monomers via two stereogenic and sp³ hybridized C-atoms, is the prototype of a new subgroup of the flavonoid family. Assessment of the absolute configuration of all five stereogenic centers of this novel flavanone-derived biflavonoid was achieved by correlating the chiroptical properties of the benzoyl chromophore to the absolute configuration of C(2) of the flavanone moiety and hence the absolute stereochemistry of the other four chiral centers. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 437–441, September–October, 2007. Dedicated to Prof. E. Malan, who initiated and supervised this research project, for a noteworthy contribution in the flavonoid field, and who has since retired.     

Nichtdistributive,modulare Polaritätsverbände

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Orientation of deoxyhemoglobin at high magnetic fields: structural insights from RDCs in solution

Human normal adult hemoglobin (Hb A) is a tetrameric protein molecule of ~64 kDa consisting of two identical -chains and two identical -chains of 141 and 146 amino acid residues each and four bound heme moieties. In the oxygen-free form of Hb A, also known as deoxyhemoglobin A (deoxy-Hb A), the hemes are paramagnetic with S = 2. We have measured the one-bond spin-spin couplings (1JNH + 1DNH) on (15N,2H)-labeled deoxy-Hb A in solution as a function of magnetic field strengths from 11.7 to 21.1 T and found that these couplings are linearly proportional to the square of the magnetic field. This field dependence provides an opportunity to extract the residual dipolar couplings (RDCs, 1DNH) and, thus, to compare predictions about the solution structure of deoxy-Hb A to crystal structures for this molecule. Such comparison is essential for our understanding of the structure, dynamics, and function of this allosteric protein under conditions close to the physiological state. This report illustrates the usefulness of using the magnetic-field dependent RDCs to determine the solution structure of a large paramagnetic protein. This method is especially valuable for those proteins whose structures must be determined in an oxygen-free environment.     

Assessment of the natural radioactivity using two techniques for the measurement of radionuclide concentration in building materials used in Japan

The specific activities of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th, and ⁴⁰K in selected building materials used in Japan were measured using a high-purity germanium detector. The uranium and thorium concentrations were determined from same samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. There was a good agreement between the measurement of uranium and thorium with both methods (R ² = 0.94, and 0.97, respectively). Based on the specific activities, we have estimated some hazard indexes such as radium equivalent activities (Ra _eq), external hazard index (H _ex), internal hazard index (H _in), annual gonadal equivalent dose (AGED), internal alpha dose, mass exhalation rate and emanation coefficient of radon.