Determination of total N-nitroso compounds by chemical denitrosation using CuCl

A method for the determination of total N-nitroso compounds (NOC) by chemical denitrosation and subsequent chemiluminescence detection of evolved NO is described. Denitrosation was accomplished with CuCl in HCl at 70 degrees C. The detection limit for N-nitrosoproline (NPRO) was 1 pmol. NO formation from NPRO was linear (R(2) = 0.999) from 4 pmol to 2 nmol. Among the possible interfering compounds tested, only S-nitroso compounds contribute any significant interference. This method had several advantages over other similar methods: (1) A commercially available one-piece reaction vessel and a NO analyzer with software were used. (2) NO release occurred rapidly and was easily measured and quantified. (3) Compared to HBr or HI, CuCl was more convenient to work with and safe. (4) CuCl was suitable for samples in aqueous and most organic solvents. The application of this method to food, personal care products, and human body fluids demonstrates its utility.     

A quality assurance program and quality assessment of the acidic precipitation in Ontario study (APIOS) deposition monitoring networks

Kinetics of H+ consumption by mineral dissolution in a surface soil and a subsoil of an acid woodland soil were studied by means of batch type experiments and stationary pH titrations. Mineral dissolution in the subsoil could effectively be described by congruent dissolution of illite (K_0.6Mg_0.25A1_2.3S1₃0₁₀(OH)₂) followed by an incongruent dissolution stage. In the incongruent stage the concentration of Al decreased while concentrations of K and Mg continued to increase. Congruent dissolution rates of illite could be predicted with power type relationships from transition state theory. In the incongruent dissolution stage the activities of H and Al appeared to be controlled by precipitation of A1(OH)₃. Results of this kind of experiments could be helpful to understand the behavior of Al and base cations in acid soils and soils with high atmospheric loadings of acid. Comparison of the results of batch experiments for a surface soil and a subsoil showed that initially proton consumption in the surface soil is faster and more effective due to the presence of a relatively high cation exchange capacity and base saturation value. However with progressive proton consumption and increasing reaction times proton consumption in the subsoil becomes faster than in the surface soil, presumably due to higher rates of mineral dissolution in the subsoil. Lower dissolution rates in the surface soil may result from lower contents of easily weatherable minerals, due to excessive leaching in the past which is reflected in a 17% lower acid neutralizing capacity than in the subsoil.     

Simple automated wet digestion of animal tissues for determination of seven elements by atomic absorption spectroscopy

A simple, automated wet digestion procedure was developed for the quantitative determination by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) of arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, selenium, and zinc in animal tissue. A commercial digestion block system with automated temperature programming was used. Recoveries of all elements from spiked bovine liver and kidney samples exceed 95%. The analytical results obtained for samples of NBS Bovine Liver (No. 1577a) agree well with certified values. The procedure is safe and requires minimum analyst time.     

Concentration and deposition of trace metals in Ontario-1982

Results of trace metal concentrations in air and precipitation and the corresponding wet and dry deposition in Ontario in 1982 arc reported. In terms of the spatial patterns, in general, there was a decreasing gradient from south-to-north in both concentration and deposition. Patterns differed with each parameter although certain groups of metals (e.g., Fe and Al; Pb, Zn, and Mn) displayed similar patterns. In general, wet deposition was greater than dry deposition at all sites. Geographically, the variability in the wet to dry deposition ratio for coarse particles (MMD > 2.5 μm) was small. However, it increased from the south to the north for fine particles (MMD < 2.5 μm), being higher away from the source areas. Scavenging ratios (W) have been derived from the precipitation and air concentrations of trace metals. The scatter in W is quite large for all trace metals, up to 2 orders of magnitude. There was little seasonal variability in W for fine particles (Pb, Mn, Zn, and Cd). However, coarse particles (Fe, Al, and Cu) were more efficiently scavenged by snow than by rain.     

A unified approach for estimating population size in capture-recapture studies with arbitrary removals

A unified approach is suggested to estimate the population size for a closed population in discrete time. Individuals can be removed after capture at any time during the experiment. The usual recapture and removal experimentsare shown to be particular cases of the general formulation. The capture probability is assumed to have a logistic function that depends on individual covariates and can be time dependent. The unified approach involves a two-step procedure. A conditional likelihood function is used to estimate the covariates coefficients and a Horvitz-Thompson type estimator to estimate the population size. The asymptotic and small-sample properties of the resulting estimators are in vestigated. A real example is given.     

贵州罗甸水稻霜霉病的发生特点与防治建议

水稻霜霉病又名黄化萎缩病,1890年首次在澳大利亚发现,其后在日本、意大利、美国、印度等国家以及我国的东北、台湾、江苏、广东、山东等省、市相继报道此病发生。2002年以来,在贵州省罗甸县的不同乡镇陆续发现该病,其发生特点是来势猛,传播快,发病面积大,危害重,对当地水稻生产造成极大损失。罗甸县位于贵州省南部,地形结构类似小盆地,终年气候温和,雨量充沛,年平均气温19．6℃,年平均降雨量1100—1300mm,全年无霜期300多天,属于南亚热带季风湿润气候,素有“天然温室”的美称,是西南地区重要的早熟蔬菜基地,也是贵州省重要的水稻种植区之一,种植面积7200hm^2。     

抚仙湖北部农田区不同施肥对水稻产量、氮素吸收及利用率的影响

针对抚仙湖北部农田区的蔬菜施肥过量导致土壤养分残余量大,会对后作水稻施肥造成影响的问题,采用田间小区开展不同施肥试验研究。结果表明,砂壤土和粘壤土在施氮量为150~360 kg/hm²范围内,水稻植株氮素积累量随着施氮量的增加而提高,而增加的氮素积累量主要表现在茎叶部位;穗肥施用氮肥可提高籽粒氮素积累量。水稻氮肥吸收利用率和产量,砂壤土以施氮255 kg/hm2时最高,分别为45.1%和10594 kg/hm²;而粘壤土施氮150~360 kg/hm²之间,氮肥吸收利用率为20.9%~22.4%之间,产量为10486~10596 kg/hm2之间;当对砂壤土和粘壤土的水稻穗肥施用氮肥时,水稻氮肥吸收利用率（分别为42.8%、23.5%）和产量（分别为10445 kg/hm²、10564 kg/hm²）最高。水稻的氮素收获指数、氮肥农学利用率、氮肥生理利用率及氮肥偏生产力,均以砂壤土明显高于粘壤土,且随着施氮量的增加而显著下降。蔬菜后作水稻施氮量以150~255 kg/hm²范围为宜,氮肥分基肥50%+分蘖肥30%+穗肥20%施用