A simple and sensitive method for the determination of hydroxylamine in fresh-water samples using hypochlorite followed by gas chromatography.

A new and simple method for the determination of hydroxylamine in environmental water, such as fresh rivers and lakes using hypochlorite, followed by its gas choromatographic detection, has been developed. A glass vial filled with sample water was sealed by a butyl-rubber stopper and aluminum cap without head-space, and then sodium hypochlorite solution was injected into the vial through a syringe to convert hydroxylamine to nitrous oxide. The head-space in the glass vial was prepared with 99.9% grade N2 using a gas-tight syringe. After the glass vial was shaken for a few minutes, nitrous oxide in the gas-phase was measured by a gas chromatograph with an electron-capture detector. The dissolved nitrous oxide in the liquid-phase was calculated according to the solubility formula. The proposed method was applied to the analysis of fresh-water samples taken from Iu river and Hii river, flowing into brackish Lakes Nakaumi and Shinji, respectively.     

Direct determination of benzamides in serum by column-switching high-performance liquid chromatography.

A column-switching high-performance liquid chromatographic method with fluorescence detection was developed for the simultaneous determination of four benzamide-type anti-psychotic drugs: sulpiride, tiapride, sultopride and metoclopramide in human serum. In this method, a TSKgel Super-ODS column was used as an analytical column, and a TSKgel G 2000SW was prepared as a pretreatment column. Under the optimized analytical conditions, four benzamide-type anti-psychotic drugs were eluted within 18 min. The detection limits (S/N = 3) for sulpiride, tiapride, sultopride and metoclopramide are 1 ng/ml, 4 ng/ml, 2 ng/ml and 0.5 ng/ml, respectively. Finally, the method was applied to the determination of sulpiride in human serum samples obtained after a single oral dose of sulpiride.     

Near-infrared photorefractivity in Cr-doped potassium sodium strontium barium niobate single crystal

We report on the photorefractive properties of a Cr-doped (K_1–x Na _x )_2A–2 (Sr _y Ba_1–y )_2–A Nb₁₀O₃₀ (x=0.586, y=0.659, A=1.12) single crystal in the near-infrared spectrum. The sample exhibits photorefractivity for wavelengths up to at least 840 nm where the steady-state two-beam coupling gain is found to be larger than 2 cm^–1. Photorefractive gain and decay rate are measured as a function of wavelength, grating spacing and intensity. The wavelength dependence of gain fluctuations in two-beam coupling are also measured.     

Studies on the formation of aliphatic aldehydes in the plasma and liver of vitamin E-deficient rats

The effects of vitamin E (E) deficiency on the formation of aliphatic aldehydes in rat plasma and liver were studied. Three-week-old Wistar male rats were fed either an E supplemented diet (2-ambo-alpha-tocopheryl acetate 20 mg/kg diet, designated as E supplemented diet group) or an E deficient diet (E deficient diet group). After 8 weeks, n-hexanal and (E)-4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4-HN) in the plasma of the E deficient diet group were found to be 2.0 and 2.5-fold greater than those of the E supplemented diet group, respectively. The contents of aldehydes such as n-pentanal, n-hexanal, 4-HN in the liver were also significantly higher in the E deficient diet group than in the E supplemented diet group. These results indicate that some aldehydes, arising possibly from lipid peroxides, are produced and detected in the plasma and liver of rats under the condition like E deficiency. In this study we further found that the activity of the liver aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH, EC 1.2.1.3) was significantly changed; 5 and 8 weeks after the start it was lower in the E deficient diet group when compared to that in the E supplemented diet group. The decrease of enzyme activity was related to the increase of aldehydes such as n-hexanal in the liver. the aldehyde increase in the plasma of the E deficient diet group was thought to raise the injury of cells, namely, a strong hemolysis on erythrocytes prepared from the blood of rats fed the E deficient diet.     

Development of dynamic compartment model for prediction of behavior of radioiodine in rice paddy field

For the assessment of a public impact caused by radionuclides released from nuclear facilities, a dynamic compartment model was developed for prediction of behavior of radioiodine in air, paddy field and rice plant system. The transfer coefficients among compartments were determined by some experimental data and assumptions for each chemical form of iodine. A verification of the model was carried out by some case studies.