Voltammetric determination of mesotrione at hanging mercury drop electrode

A study of the electrochemical reduction of the mesotrione pesticide on a hanging mercury drop electrode (HMDE) was performed as a basis for the development of a sensitive analytical method for natural samples. The electrochemical characteristics of herbicide mesotrione dissolved in a phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) have been determined by means of electrochemical techniques such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) over a wide range of pH from 2.0 to 10.0. The experimental parameters, such as electrolyte type and its pH, pulse amplitude, and scan rate were optimized. The method was applied to the determination of the pesticide in a spiked soil samples. Using this method, a linear calibration curve for mesotrione was obtained up to the 0.1 μM range in pH 7 phosphate buffer solution with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 50 nM. The method can be applied successfully to the determination of mesotrione in soils. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Chemical-effect variation of Kβ/Kα X-ray intensity ratios in 3d elements

Chemical effects on Kβ/Kα X-ray intensity ratios for some Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn compounds are studied experimentally. The X-ray spectra were measured by using a Si (Li) solid state detector with high resolution. The vacancies were produced by heavily filtered ²⁴¹Am gamma rays. It is found that the Kβ/Kα X-ray intensity ratios measured with compounds deviated up to 43% from the corresponding values of the pure elements. The values for pure elements are compared with the other experimental and with theoretical values.     

Preconcentration and separation of copper(II), cadmium(II) and chromium(III) in a syringe filled with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane supported on silica gel

In this study, a syringe was filled with silica gel loaded with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane, for the separation and preconcentration of copper, cadmium and chromium prior to their determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) in seawater. For this purpose, a syringe was filled with 0.5 g of modified silica gel and the sample solution was drawn into the syringe and ejected back again. The analyte elements were quantitatively retained at pH 5. Then, the elements sorbed by the silica gel were eluted with 2.0 M of HCl and determined by GFAAS. At optimum conditions, the recovery of Cu, Cd and Cr were 96-98%. Detection limits (3delta) were 6.6, 7.5 and 6.0 micro g L(-1) for Cu, Cd and Cr, respectively. The elements could be concentrated by drawing and discharging several portions of sample successively but eluting only once. Cu, Cd and Cr added to a seawater sample were quantitatively recovered (>95%) in the range of the 95% confidence level. The method proposed in this paper was compared with a column technique. Optimum experimental conditions, reproducibility, precision and recoveries of both techniques are the same, but the syringe technique is much faster, easier and more practical than the column technique. It is a portable system and allows one to make the sorption process in the source of sample. In addition, the risk of contamination is less than in the column technique.     

Die Sechseck-n-Waben in der Ebene,welche von n Kreisbüscheln erzeugt werden

In this paper, the problem of determining the pencils of circles which form a hexagonal n-web in E₂, is completely solved. It is well-known that n pencils of circles orthogonal to a fixed circle form a hexagonal n-web. Therefore, the main problem is the determination of all circle pencils which form a hexagonal n-web and which do not cut a fixed circle orthogonally. In this connection the following results have been obtained: The number of hexagonal 4-webs is six, whereas the number of hexagonal 5-webs is two.Finally, after having proved that the number of hexagonal 6-webs is one, it is shown that, for n7, there exist no circle pencils forming a hexagonal n-web without being orthogonal to a fixed circle.     

Preparation,Characterization and Electromagnetic Shielding Effectiveness of Conductive Polythiophene/Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Composite Fibers

Conductive polythiophene (PTh)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) composite fibers were prepared by polymerization of thiophene in the presence of PET fibers in acetonitrile medium using FeCl₃. The effects of polymerization conditions such as oxidant/monomer mol ratio and polymerization temperature and time on PTh content and surface electrical resistivity of PTh/PET composite fiber were investigated in detail. It was observed that the usage of preswelled PET fibers in dichloromethane increased the PTh content and decreased surface resistivity of composite fiber. Composite fiber having the highest PTh content (5.7%) and the lowest surface resistivity (80 kΩ) was obtained at 20°C with 1.25 M FeCl₃ and 0.42 M thiophene concentrations. The washing effects of laundering detergent and dry cleaning liquid on surface resistivity of composite fibers were investigated. The electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) and relative shielding efficiency by absorption and reflection of composite fibers were measured in the radio and microwave frequency range. The results show that the EMSE values decreased with increasing frequency from radio waves to microwaves with an attenuation of 21 dB to 4 dB.     

Investigation of mass attenuation coefficients of water, concrete and bakelite at different energies using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code

The mass attenuation coefficients of water, bakelite and concrete sample defined in the simulation package were obtained using the FLUKA Monte Carlo code at 59.5, 80.9, 140.5, 356.5, 661.6, 1173.2 and 1332.5 keV photon energies. The results for the mass attenuation coefficients obtained by simulation have been compared with experimental and the theoretical ones and good agreement has been observed. The results indicate that this process can be followed to determine the data on the attenuation of gamma-rays with the several energies in other materials. Also, the deposited energy by 661.6 keV photons at several thicknesses of each media was determined as being an important data for radiation shielding studies.     

Graphene oxide-octadecylsilane incorporated monolithic nano-columns with 50 μm id and 100 μm id for small molecule and protein separation by nano-liquid chromatography

In this study, graphene oxide-octadecylsilane incorporated monolithic nano-columns were developed for protein analysis by nano liquid chromatography (nano LC). The monolithic column with 100 μm id was first prepared by an in situ polymerization using ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropylmethacrylate (HPMA-Cl), and methacryloyl graphene oxide nanoparticles (MGONPs). MGONPs were synthesized by the treatment of 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propylmethacrylate (TMSPM) and GO. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) and dodecanol were used as the porogenic solvent. The resulting column was functionalized by dimethyloctadecylch lorosilane (DODCS) for the enhancement of hydrophobicity. The functionalization greatly improved the baseline separation of hydrophobic compounds such as polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The optimized monolith with respect to total polymerization mixture was characterized by using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) X-ray diffraction (XRD) and chromatographic analyses. The blank monoliths without functionalization exhibited poor separation while a good separation performance of MGONPs functionalized monoliths was achieved. The monolith with 100 μm id was evaluated in protein separation in nano LC using RNase A, Cytochrome C, Lysozyme, Trypsin, and Ca isozyme II as the test proteins. It was shown that protein separation mechanism was based on large π-system of GO and hydrophobicity of the monolithic structure. Theoretical plates number up to 57 600 plates were achieved. The nano-column with 50 μm id was also prepared using the same polymerization mixture under the same chemical conditions. These nano-columns were employed for protein separation by nano LC, and the dependence of both nano-column performance on the internal diameter was also discussed.     

Determination of lead, copper and manganese by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after separation/concentration using a water-soluble polymer

In this study, a water-soluble polymer, polyvinylpyrrolidinone (PVP) having chelating functionalities was used for the preconcentration and separation of traces of Pb, Cu, Ve and Mn prior to their determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. For this purpose, the sample and the PVP solutions were mixed and the metal bound polymer was precipitated by adding the mixture onto acetone. The precipitate was separated by decantation and dissolved with water. By increasing the ratio of the volumes of sample to water used in dissolving the precipitate, the analyte elements were concentrated as needed. The concentration of trace elements was determined using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The analyte elements in matrix free aqueous solutions were quantitatively recovered. The validity of the proposed method was checked with a standard reference material (NIST SRM 1577b bovine liver) and spiked fruit juice, sea water and mineral water samples. The analytical results were found to be in good agreement with certified and added values. Detection limits (3δ) were 1.7, 3.6 and 4.1 μg l⁻¹ for Pb, Cu and Mn, respectively, using 10 μl of sample volume. The method is novel and can be characterized by rapidity, simplicity, quantitative recovery and high reproducibility.