Automated injection of slurry samples in flow-injection analysis

Two types of injectors are described for introducing solid samples as slurries in flow analysis systems. A time-based and a volume-based injector based on multitube solenoid pinch valves were built, both can be characterized as hydrodynamic injectors. Reproducibility of the injections of dispersed solids ( 150 ¿m) was tested with several concentrations of slurry samples up to 30 mg/ml; the injected volume was 1 ml. For both injectors dye and slurry samples could be injected with good precision (relative standard deviation for the peak area less than 2%). Peak detection was performed turbidimetrically. Data analysis and operation of the injectors were automated. The usual peristaltic pumps in flow analysis are normally not capable of handling slurries of the type investigated, therefore a valveless piston pump was used instead

Hollow-fibre membrane for sample introduction in a flow-injection system : Determination of carbon disulphide in air

A hollow-membrane fibre is used for the introduction of gaseous compounds into a flow-injection system. The sampling system consists of a certain length of asymmetric hollow-fibre membrane in which an acceptor stream is stopped for a fixed period of time. The analyte permeates from the surrounding environment through the membrane and is accumulated in the acceptor solution, then pumping is resumed. The method is tested for the determination of carbon disulphide in ambient air. The detection range of the method is from 3 to at least 30 mg l−1

Impulse/response functions of individual components of flow-injection manifolds

The dispersion behaviour of the various individual parts making up a flow-injection manifold is often difficult to establish because it is virtually impossible to obtainthe required very small injection and detection volumes. It is shown that it is possible, under suitable experimental conditions, to find the impulse/response functionof each component by means of a deconvolution process of the response functions have been established, the response function of any arrangement can be predicted by convoluting the impulse/response functions of all the individuaol parts involved. Convolution and deconvolution were done in the Fourier domain, by using a fast FT algorithm

Use of the hunt filter to optimize the determination of impulse-response functions of individual component parts of flow-injection manifolds

The dispersion behaviour of the various individual parts making up a flow-injection manifold can be expressed by means of impulse-response functions. These functions can be determined by deconvolution of the response curves obtained with and without the part concerned. Special attention is paid to a procedure to decrease the influence of noise. It is shown that good results can be obtained with a Hunt filter which operates in the Fourier domain

Normal mere exposure effect with impaired recognition in Alzheimer’s disease.

We investigated the mere exposure effect and the explicit memory in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and elderly control subjects, using unfamiliar faces. During the exposure phase, the subjects estimated the age of briefly flashed faces. The mere exposure effect was examined by presenting pairs of faces (old and new) and asking participants to select the face they liked. The participants were then presented with a forced-choice explicit recognition task. Controls subjects exhibited above-chance preference and recognition scores for old faces. The AD patients also showed the mere exposure effect but no explicit recognition. These results suggest that the processes involved in the mere exposure effect are preserved in AD patients despite their impaired explicit recognition. The results are discussed in terms of Seamon et al.’s proposal (1995) that processes involved in the mere exposure effect are equivalent to those subserving perceptual priming. These processes would depend on extrastriate areas which are relatively preserved in AD patients

A generalized approach for the calculation and automation of potentiometric titrations Part 2. Redox Titrations

The very fast calculation procedure described earlier is applied to calculate the titration curves of complicated redox systems. The theory is extended slightly to cover inhomogeneous redox systems. Titrations of iodine or 2,6-dichloroindophenol with ascorbic acid are described. It is shown that correspondence between theory and practice is good as long as the relevant stability constants and redox potentials are known with sufficient accuracy

A generalized approach for the calculation and automation of potentiometric titrations Part 1. Acid-Base Titrations

Fast and accurate calculation procedures for pH and redox potentials are required for optimum control of automatic titrations. The procedure suggested is based on a three-dimensional titration curve V = f(pH, redox potential). All possible interactions between species in the solution, e.g., changes in activity coefficients and influences of redox potential on pH variations, are taken into account. The number of titrant additions can be reduced considerably without loss of precision, by using the fact that the pH of a protolyte or mixture of protolytes at some fraction titrated does not depend strongly on the actual concentration