Harmonization of VFAs measurement by GC: something more than R2 to evaluate the calibration function

Anaerobic digestion is sensitive to many environmental factors requiring a robust control of this process. One of the analytical measurements considered as key parameter is the volatile fatty acids (VFAs) content. Total amount of volatile acids (TVFA) to control the relative changes over time has been suggested as a useful tool. However, TVFA does not provide sufficient information to reveal the overall reactor performance, and individual components have been considered of particular interest. Although some attempts have been described as on-line measurements for individual VFAs, normally they are determined by off-line chromatographic techniques (GC and HPLC). A previous interlaboratory study showed the lack of harmonization in the analytical methodologies dealing to individual VFAs, and giving an overall analytical performance rather poor. One of the reasons to justify these results was the inappropriate calibration procedures. It is widely used to check the linearity of the calibration curves based on the correlation and determination coefficients. However, these statistical parameters are erroneously interpreted. The objective of this interlaboratory study was to achieve the harmonization of results. By this way, the use of internal standard methodology (ISTD) should be useful to obtain accurate calibration functions. In addition, five different statistical parameters such as lack of fit test, residual standard deviation, relative standard deviation of the slope, relative standard deviation of the sensitivity and relative error were proposed to evaluate the linearity of calibration curves. Of these, lack of fit was unable to detect appropriately the linearity mainly due to its sensitivity to the precision of analytical results. The rest of statistical parameters reported could be considered as starting point for comparative purposes, being useful as acceptance criteria. The principal advantage of the GC/ISTD analytical methodology was the normalization of the slopes obtained by the participating laboratories, being very helpful to the harmonization of results.Peer Reviewe

Evidence of saxitoxin derivatives as causative agents in the 1997 mass mortality of monk seals in the Cape Blanc Peninsula

Monk seals in Cape Blanc (Western Sahara coast) suffered a mass mortality during May–July 1997 which was attributed to a morbillivirus. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis on tissues of seals killed during the outbreak and on related fauna showed peaks with retention times coincident with those of some saxitoxin derivatives but their identity was not proved. Here we present results of further HPLC analyses that unambiguously prove the identity of these toxins by mass spectrometry (MS), supporting the hypothesis that this mortality of monk seals was caused by biotoxins rather than by a morbillivirus.Publicado

The use of FTIR spectroscopy to monitor modifications in plant cell wall architecture caused by cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors

Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy is a powerful and rapid technique for analyzing cell wall components and putative cross-links, which is able to non-destructively recognize polymers and functional groups and provide abundant information about their in muro organization. FTIR spectroscopy has been reported to be a useful tool for monitoring cell wall changes occurring in muro as a result of various factors, such as growth and development processes, mutations or biotic and abiotic stresses. This mini-review examines the use of FTIR spectroscopy in conjunction with multivariate analyses to monitor cell wall changes related to (1) the exposure of diverse plant materials to cellulose biosynthesis inhibitors (CBIs) and (2) the habituation/dehabituation of plant cell cultures to this kind of herbicides. The spectra analyses show differences not only regarding the inhibitor, but also regarding how long cells have been growing in its presence

La literatura popular impresa en España y en la América Colonial. Formas y temas, géneros, funciones, difusión, historia y teoría

El libro, publicado bajo la dirección del prof. Pedro M. Cátedra, contiene más de treinta monografías sobre la literatura popular impresa de los siglos XV al XVIII en España y América, con acercamientos muy variados y desde las perspectivas de la historia de la cultura popular, la historia de la imprenta, la aculturación tipográfica, los generos editoriales, etc., etc