Quantitative separation of small amounts of rare earths from thorium, uranium, and zirconium by ion exchange

A successful method has been developed for the determination of certain rare earths in thorium in the fractional ppm range. The procedure is based on the ion-exchange chromatographic separation of the rare earths plus added yttrium carrier from the thorium, followed by emission spectrometric determination of the rare-earth impurities in the yttrium carrier. A simultaneous separation from the rare earths of the common element impurities present in the thorium has been accomplished. A high degree of compensation for procedural errors is achieved by the use of a pure rare earth as both the carrier in the separation and purification procedure and the matrix material in the spectrographic determination

Studies on the preparation, properties and analysis of high purity yttrium oxide and yttrium metal at the Ames Laboratory

The research and development work carried out at the Ames Laboratory on the chemistry and metallurgy of yttrium is described in detail in this report or companion reports to which references are herein made. Discussions of the separation of yttrium from the rare-earth elements by ion exchange, of comprehensive investigations of the preparation of yttrium fluoride, and of various ways of reducing the fluoride to the metallic state are presented. Chemical and spectrographic methods of analyzing yttrium and its compounds for oxygen and other impurities are described and comparisons made between the different methods. A pilot plant process for producing tonnage quantities of yttrium metal is presented with detailed descriptions of the equipment and operating procedures employed. The complete process entails the extraction of an yttrium and rare earth mixture from xenotime sand, separation of the yttrium from this mixture in thirty-inch-diameter columns, hydrofluorination of the resulting oxide and its subsequent reduction to the metal. The basic metal process consists of the reduction of yttrium fluoride with calcium, forming a low melting yttrium-magnesium alloy. The magnesium is subsequently removed by vacuum sublimation, producing a porous yttrium product. This is consolidated by vacuum arc melting into a six-inch-diameter ingot. Quantities of high purity yttrium metal were prepared by vacuum distillation and by-a sa,lt extraction refining process. Yttrium metal containing 100 to 300 ppm oxygen is soft, ductile and easily fabricated at room temperature

Automated on-line determination of PPB levels of sodium and potassium in low-Btu coal gas and fluidized bed combustor exhaust by atomic emission spectrometry

The Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC), US Department of Energy, is involved in the development of processes and equipment for production of low-Btu gas from coal and for fluidized bed combustion of coal. The ultimate objective is large scale production of electricity using high temperature gas turbines. Such turbines, however, are susceptible to accelerated corrosion and self-destruction when relatively low concentrations of sodium and potassium are present in the driving gas streams. Knowledge and control of the concentrations of those elements, at part per billion levels, are critical to the success of both the gas cleanup procedures that are being investigated and the overall energy conversion processes. This presentation describes instrumentation and procedures developed at the Ames Laboratory for application to the problems outlined above and results that have been obtained so far at METC. The first Ames instruments, which feature an automated, dual channel flame atomic emission spectrometer, perform the sodium and potassium determinations simultaneously, repetitively, and automatically every two to three minutes by atomizing and exciting a fraction of the subject gas sample stream in either an oxyhydrogen flame or a nitrous oxide-acetylene flame. The analytical results are printed and can be transmitted simultaneously to a process control center

Specifications for an inductively coupled plasma simultaneous multielement analysis system

Specifications are presented for those items of hardware, software, and overall system performance which are of known importance in atomic emission spectroscopy--simultaneous multielement analyses (ICP-SMA) instrument systems. Particular attention is directed to the specified data reporting and quality assurance features which are required for improving the validity and interpretability of the analytical results, and the specified background correction procedures which are necessary for accurate quantitative determinations near the limit of detection. The specification package was prepared to specify and purchase an ICP-SMA system which will provide maximum value and utility for the simultaneous determination of major, minor and trace quantities of the elements in a wide variety of sample materials. Modifications of the analytical line array specified here may be appropriate for other, more specific, analytical tasks. Budgetary realities may necessitate additional, appropriate modifications. It is anticipated, however, that the specification package presented here will have general utility as a guide in the preparation of ICP-SMA procurement packages for other laboratories and other analytical applications

Safety and efficacy of tenecteplase in patients with wake-up stroke assessed by non-contrast CT (TWIST): a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial

Background: Current evidence supports the use of intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase in patients with wake-up stroke selected with MRI or perfusion imaging and is recommended in clinical guidelines. However, access to advanced imaging techniques is often scarce. We aimed to determine whether thrombolytic treatment with intravenous tenecteplase given within 4·5 h of awakening improves functional outcome in patients with ischaemic wake-up stroke selected using non-contrast CT. Methods: TWIST was an investigator-initiated, multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial with blinded endpoint assessment, conducted at 77 hospitals in ten countries. We included patients aged 18 years or older with acute ischaemic stroke symptoms upon awakening, limb weakness, a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score of 3 or higher or aphasia, a non-contrast CT examination of the head, and the ability to receive tenecteplase within 4·5 h of awakening. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to either a single intravenous bolus of tenecteplase 0·25 mg per kg of bodyweight (maximum 25 mg) or control (no thrombolysis) using a central, web-based, computer-generated randomisation schedule. Trained research personnel, who conducted telephone interviews at 90 days (follow-up), were masked to treatment allocation. Clinical assessments were performed on day 1 (at baseline) and day 7 of hospital admission (or at discharge, whichever occurred first). The primary outcome was functional outcome assessed by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 90 days and analysed using ordinal logistic regression in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with EudraCT (2014–000096–80), ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03181360), and ISRCTN (10601890). Findings: From June 12, 2017, to Sept 30, 2021, 578 of the required 600 patients were enrolled (288 randomly assigned to the tenecteplase group and 290 to the control group [intention-to-treat population]). The median age of participants was 73·7 years (IQR 65·9–81·1). 332 (57%) of 578 participants were male and 246 (43%) were female. Treatment with tenecteplase was not associated with better functional outcome, according to mRS score at 90 days (adjusted OR 1·18, 95% CI 0·88–1·58; p=0·27). Mortality at 90 days did not significantly differ between treatment groups (28 [10%] patients in the tenecteplase group and 23 [8%] in the control group; adjusted HR 1·29, 95% CI 0·74–2·26; p=0·37). Symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage occurred in six (2%) patients in the tenecteplase group versus three (1%) in the control group (adjusted OR 2·17, 95% CI 0·53–8·87; p=0·28), whereas any intracranial haemorrhage occurred in 33 (11%) versus 30 (10%) patients (adjusted OR 1·14, 0·67–1·94; p=0·64). Interpretation: In patients with wake-up stroke selected with non-contrast CT, treatment with tenecteplase was not associated with better functional outcome at 90 days. The number of symptomatic haemorrhages and any intracranial haemorrhages in both treatment groups was similar to findings from previous trials of wake-up stroke patients selected using advanced imaging. Current evidence does not support treatment with tenecteplase in patients selected with non-contrast CT. Funding: Norwegian Clinical Research Therapy in the Specialist Health Services Programme, the Swiss Heart Foundation, the British Heart Foundation, and the Norwegian National Association for Public Health

Office of Health and Environmental Research. Quarterly report, April 1, 1979-June 30, 1979. [Ames Municipal Solid Waste Recovery System]

Progress in the following areas of research reported: characterization of organic pollutants emitted by fossil fuel processing and energy generating plants; environmental effects of using municipal solid wastes as a supplementary fuel; microbiological air quality at the Ames Municipal Solid Waste Recovery System; solid waste to methane environmental study; x-ray and ultraviolet excited optical luminescence (SEOL, UVEOL) of carcinogens - analytical possibilities; laser pumped luminescence (LPL) spectroscopy; and multielement characterization of air particulates. New laser-based methods for the determination of organic pollutants via fluorescence are discussed. (JGB