Estimate of sea loading by pollutants originating from the littoral counties in the Republic of Croatia

The paper reviews the data of 10 yr of following up sewage (waste water) inflows of anthropological origin into the sea from all the coastal settlements in Croatia. In particular, we report the sea loading by biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅), expressed by the inhabitant equivalent (I.E.), for seven littoral counties. We estimated the loading of a coastal sea area for each county separately. The objective was to avoid any over- or underestimation of amounts and significance of sewage inflows into the seawater. For this purpose, a precisely determined sea volume up to the 10 m isobath has been chosen. Because of the inadequate treatment of wastewater, the total loading of that maritime territory expressed in terms of i.e. was found to be 26% higher than expected from the actual number of inhabitants. However, daily input represents only 12‰ of the considered volume of the sea. Recipient spent only 0.7% of the disposable oxygen quantity in the sea.     

过硫酸钾氧化法测总氮的改进方法探讨

对过硫酸钾氧化法测总氮应该注意的问题进行了实验研究,得出结论：为了控制精度最好使用无氨水和蒸馏水,过硫酸钾使用前应该进行2次重结晶,氢氧化钠溶液的浓度应该控制在12g/L左右,测定样品置于灭菌器中必须保证压力达到0.1～0.4MPa,消解温度控制在126℃～127℃为宜,消解时间应该≮50min。     

Comparative study on standardized ignition sources used for explosion testing

For the determination of safety characteristics of gases, vapors and dusts different types of ignition sources are used in international standards and guidelines. The paper presents test results of a comparative calorimetric and visual study between four different types of ignition sources. The ignition procedures were analyzed visually with a high-speed camera and electric recordings. In addition to that, the influence of the electrode-orientation, -distance as well as ignition energy on the reproducibility of the exploding wire igniter was tested.The exploding wire is already in use for standardized determination of safety characteristics of gases, first tests on the suitability of the exploding wire igniter for dust testing have been carried out but are not standardized yet. Using the exploding wire, the ignition energy can be varied from 2 J to 10 000 J (2 x 5000 J) and thus it could be used for gases, vapors, dusts and hybrid mixtures. Moreover it can be used at high initial pressures and it is the only ignition source with an easily measurable ignition energy release. Furthermore, it does not introduce another chemical reaction into the system.Finally, a proposal for a standard ignition source for explosion tests on hybrid mixtures is derived from the test results.     

Catalytic determination of ultratrace chromium based on gallocyanine‐hydrogen peroxide indicator reaction

A highly sensitive catalytic procedure for the determination of ultratrace chromium(VI) was developed based on its catalytic effect on the oxidation of gallocyanine by hydrogen peroxide in hexamine‐hydrochloric acid buffer solution. The reaction was followed spectrophotometrically by measuring the rate of change in the absorbance at 620 nm. The apparent active energy of the catalytic reaction is 6.84 kJ . mol^‐1. The calibration graph is linear for 0–150 ng.ml^‐1, and the detection limit is 0.8 ng.ml^‐1. Most foreign ions have no interfering effect on the determination of chromium(VI) except for Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺and Fe²⁺. The interference of Al³⁺ is eliminated by masking with F^‐, and those of Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ are eliminated by adding appropriate amount of EDTA. The present procedure had been used for the determination of trace chromium(VI) in lake water, mine water and electroplating wastewater, and the results were satisfactory.     

SAFE—The Special Non-invasive Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Evaluation Network: aims and achievements

In this short review, the objectives and work of SAFE—the Special Non-invasive Advances in Fetal and Neonatal Evaluation Network, a European Union Framework VI network of excellence is described. We demonstrate how this network facilitates the implementation of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for single gene disorders, fetal rhesus typing, aneuploidy and pregnancy complications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rapid liquid chromatographic analysis of flurazepam in pharmaceutical preparation

An accurate and reproducible method for the analysis of flurazepam hydrochloride in pharmaceutical preparations has been described. A simple and rapid isocratic HPLC elution method was employed which requires about 15 minutes to be performed. The percentage mean recovery of flurazepam hydrochloride in Dalmane capsules was found to be 100.67% + 1.23% of the declared amount     

A new method of simultaneous determination of atmospheric amines in gaseous and particulate phases by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

As more attention is being paid to the characteristics of atmospheric amines, there is also an increasing demand for reliable detection technologies. Herein, a method was developed for simultaneous detection of atmospheric amines in both gaseous and particulate phases using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The amine samples were collected with and without phosphoric acid filters, followed by derivatization with benzenesulfonyl chloride under alkaline condition prior to GC-MS analysis. Furthermore, the method was optimized and validated for determining 14 standard amines. The detection limits ranged from 0.0408-0.421 µg/mL (for gaseous samples) and 0.163-1.69 µg/mL (for particulate samples), respectively. The obtained recoveries ranged from 68.8%-180% and the relative standard deviation was less than 30%, indicating high precision and good reliability of the method. Seven amines were simultaneously detected in gaseous and particulate samples in an industrial park using the developed method successfully. Methylamine, dimethylamine and diethylamine together accounted for 76.7% and 75.6% of particulate and gaseous samples, respectively. By comparing the measured and predicted values of gas-particle partition fractions, it was found that absorption process of aqueous phase played a more important role in the gas-partition of amines than physical adsorption. Moreover, the reaction between unprotonated amines and acid (aq.) in water phase likely promoted water absorption. Higher measured partition fraction of dibutylamine was likely due to the reaction with gaseous HCl. The developed method would help provide a deeper understanding of gas-particle partitioning as well as atmospheric evolution of amines.     

利用LZF－1DNA指纹探针进行家系的父权鉴定

ＬＺＦ－１ＤＮＡ指纹探针经同位素γ－３２Ｐ－ＡＴＰ标记后，检测了４个家系１３个个体血样的ＤＮＡ指纹．结果表明，父母的遗传物质在子代中的传递符合孟德尔遗传规律，无误地确定了４个家系中的亲子血缘关系．ＬＺＦ－１ＤＮＡ指纹探针在亲权鉴定中的父权概率是０．９９９６４，达到了父权认定的目的     

Genetic influence on caste in the ant Camponotus consobrinus

Genetic influences on polyethism within social insect colonies are well known, suggesting that the determination of caste (soldiers and minor workers) may also be genetically mediated. The Australian sugar ant Camponotus consobrinus is suitable for such a study, having soldiers and minor workers that follow a complex allometry. Further, although most C. consobrinus colonies are monogynous, 13 of 42 surveyed using microsatellites were found to be polygynous. Thus, although a minority of colonies were polygynous, the great majority of queens live in polygynous colonies. From the 29 monogynous colonies studied, we inferred that the queens are monandrous. Ants from four polygynous colonies were assigned to families on the basis of microsatellite genotypes, after measurements had been taken of head width and scape length. These measurements reflect a complex allometry interpretable as soldier and minor worker growth curves with a large changeover zone. Genetic influence on caste determination was examined by testing for differences between families within colonies in the distribution of scape lengths, residuals from the overall colony allometric curve, and proportions of soldiers and minor workers (as determined by head width falling above or below the inflection point of the overall colony allometric curve). Families in all four colonies differed significantly in caste proportions and in head-width distributions, and three of the four colonies showed significant differences between families in residuals from the overall colony growth curve. Nested ANOVAs using head widths and scape-length residuals showed that when the effect of family is removed, intercolony differences in allometry are negligible. This evidence indicates genetic rather than environmental causes for the observed differences between families. We speculate that this variation may reflect some selective advantage to within-colony heterogeneity between families or that selective differences are few between a wide array of family growth patterns. Received: 16 June 1999 / Received after revision: 13 September 1999 / Accepted: 25 September 1999     

土壤中活性铝的流动注射分析

研究了ECR-CTMAB体系测定土壤中活性铝的流动注射分析。结果表明,该方法具有快速、灵敏的特点,进样频率为60个样/时,检出限为0.05μg/ml。用不同提取液提取各地区土壤中活性铝并进行了测定。