Speciation of mercury,platinum and tin – focus of research and future developments

A discussion about the elements mercury, platinum and tin and their organometallic compounds, with special attention to important aspects like anthropogenic emissions, use in industry, agriculture and medicine, toxicities, biogeochemical cycles, highlights the necessity of speciation analysis. Methods frequently used to speciate mercury, platinum and tin compounds in different matrices are summarized. Future trends are indicated in order to give an impression about the importance of metal speciation and its increasing impact on some key disciplines.     

GC-MIP-PED as an element-specific system for the determination of organomercury compounds

The application of the combination of gas chromatography and a self-developed plasma emission detector for organomercury speciation is presented. The system, basing on interference filter technology, is described briefly. The plasma and the optical system have to be optimized to reach highest sensitivity for mercury detection. Dimethyl-, methyl- and inorganic mercury as selected compounds have been separated on a GC column and calibrated to obtain the analytical performance data of the system used. Finally, the analysis of some real samples has been performed.     

Laser beacon wave-front sensing without focal anisoplanatism

Wave-front sensing from artificial beacons is normally performed by formation of a focused spot in the atmosphere and sensing of the wave-front distortions produced during the beam's return passage. We propose an alternative method that senses the distortions produced during the outgoing path by forming an intensity pattern in the atmosphere that is then viewed from the ground. A key advantage of this method is that a parallel beam is used, and therefore the wave-front measurements will not suffer from the effects of focal anisoplanatism. We also envisage other geometries, all based on the concept of projecting a pupil pattern onto the atmosphere.     

The EC networking on elemental speciation revisited

In Europe, the EC-funded Thematic Network Speciation 21 was instrumental in disseminating the existing knowledge about chemical speciation of trace elements. It created a forum in which analytical chemists working in method development were mixed with potential users from industry and representatives of legislative bodies. This endeavour is continuing in the currently established European Virtual Institute for Speciation Analysis (EVISA). Although there already exists substantial know-how in Europe for the speciation of a number of substances, such as organo-arsenic, organo-tin and organo-mercury compounds, to name just these three groups, there is an urgent need to enforce the analytical potential in speciation analysis on a much wider scope of compounds capable of providing data of a suitable quality. The ensuing need for quality assurance of the analytical procedures requires the analysis of representative reference materials, certified for the relevant species. Last but not least, where applicable, the European-wide legislation should be adapted to focus on toxic species of the elements, rather than the total element.Presented at BERM-9—Ninth International Symposium on Biological and Environmental Reference Materials, June 15–19, 2003, Berlin, Germany. Disclaimer The opinions expressed in the present article are entirely those of the authors. They do not represent the opinion of the European Community.     

Cooperative advertising models in supply chain management: A review

This paper reviews articles on cooperative advertising, a topic which has gained substantial interest in the recent years. Thereby, we first briefly distinguish five different definitions of cooperative advertising which can be found in operations research literature. After that, we concentrate on vertical cooperative advertising, which is the most common object of investigation and is understood as a financial agreement where a manufacturer offers to pay a certain share of his retailer’s advertising expenditures. In total, we identified 58 scientific papers considering mathematical modeling of vertical cooperative advertising. These articles are then analyzed with regard to their general model setting (e.g., the underlying supply chain structure and design of the cooperative advertising program). After that, we explain the different demand and cost functions that are employed, whereupon we distinguish between static and dynamic models. The last dimension of our review is dedicated to the game-theoretic concepts which are mostly used to reflect different forms of distribution of power within the channel.     

On-target fraction collection for the off-line coupling of capillary isoelectric focusing with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry.

In the present work, we describe a collection system for the off-line coupling of capillary isoelectric focusing (CIEF) with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. In this system, the capillary effluent is directly deposited in fractions onto the MALDI target via the use of a sheath liquid. The collected fractions are subsequently supplemented with matrix and further analysed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry for mass assignment. The experimental set-up includes a fiber optic based UV detector operating at 280 nm, which allows the study of the influence of the sheath liquid composition on the CIEF separation. The influence of the carrier ampholyte concentration on the protein MALDI spectra was also evaluated and the feasibility of the collection method was finally demonstrated with a mixture of four standard proteins.     

Meson-production experiments at COSY-Julich

Selected results from experiments at COSY-Jülich are presented： an attempt to measure the mass of the η meson with high precision （ANKE facility）,first steps towards the detection of rare η decays （WASA）,and several measurements of KK-pair production （ANKE,COSY-11,MOMO）.     

Frequency-modulated simultaneous Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FremsAAS): Determination of As,Se and Sb

The evaluation of accuracy and efficiency of the frequency-modulated simultaneous Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (FremsAAS) has been extended to an arrangement with EDL as light sources. Fundamental calibrations have been worked out for As, Se and Sb using a graphite furnace as well as hydride generation in combination with a heated quartz tube as atomization unit. The characteristic data are in good agreement with results obtained by conventional single-channel AAS instruments. Determinations in three standard reference materials with different complex matrices resulted in complete agreement with the certified values.