http://www.hindawi.comThe latest articles from Hindawi Publishing Corporation© 2012, Hindawi Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2012/709656/In order to achieve rapid, automatic, and efficient extraction for trace chemicals from samples, a system of gas-purged headspace liquid phase microextraction (GP-HS-LPME) has been researched and developed based on the original HS-LPME technique. In this system, semiconductor condenser and heater, whose refrigerating and heating temperatures were controlled by microcontroller, were designed to cool the extraction solvent and to heat the sample, respectively. Besides, inert gas, whose gas flow rate was adjusted by mass flow controller, was continuously introduced into and discharged from the system. Under optimized parameters, extraction experiments were performed, respectively, using GP-HS-LPME system and original HS-LPME technique for enriching volatile and semivolatile target compounds from the same kind of sample of 15 PAHs standard mixture. GC-MS analysis results for the two experiments indicated that a higher enrichment factor was obtained from GP-HS-LPME. The enrichment results demonstrate that GP-HS-LPME system is potential in determination of volatile and semivolatile analytes from various kinds of samples.Meihua Zhang, Jinhu Bi, Cui Yang, Donghao Li, and Xiangfan PiaoCopyright © 2012 Meihua Zhang et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2012/402081/A preparative gas chromatography (pGC) method was developed for the separation of isomers (cis- and trans-asarone) from essential oil of Acorus tatarinowii. The oil was primarily fractionated by silica gel chromatography using different ratios of petroleum ether and ethyl acetate as gradient elution solvents. And then the fraction that contains mixture of the isomers was further separated by pGC. The compounds were separated on a stainless steel column packed with 10% OV-101 (3 m × 6 mm, i.d.), and then the effluent was split into two gas flows. One percent of the effluent passed to the flame ionization detector (FID) for detection and the remaining 99% was directed to the fraction collector. Two isomers were collected after 90 single injections (5 uL) with the yield of 178 mg and 82 mg, respectively. Furthermore, the structures of the obtained compounds were identified as cis- and trans-asarone by 1H- and 13C-NMR spectra, respectively.H. L. Zuo, F. Q. Yang, X. M. Zhang, and Z. N. XiaCopyright © 2012 H. L. Zuo et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2012/512709/Zinc and iron concentrations were determined after digestion, water, and three-step sequential extractions of contaminated soils. Analyses were carried out using flame absorption spectrometry with two background correctors: a deuterium lamp used as the continuum light source (D2 method) and the high-speed self-reversal method (HSSR method). Regarding the preliminary results obtained with synthetic solutions, the D2 method often emerged as an unsuitable configuration for compensating iron spectral interferences. In contrast, the HSSR method appeared as a convenient and powerful configuration and was tested for the determination of zinc in contaminated soils containing high amounts of iron. Simple, fast, and interference-free method, the HSSR method allows zinc determination at the ppb level in the presence of large amounts of iron with high stability, sensitivity, and reproducibility of results. Therefore, the HSSR method is described here as a promising approach for monitoring zinc concentrations in various iron-containing samples without any pretreatment.Christophe Waterlot, Aurélie Pelfrêne, and Francis DouayCopyright © 2012 Christophe Waterlot et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2012/798043/This work deals with the relation between microstructure and electrochemical behavior of four iron-based FeCoC ternary alloys. First, the arc-melted studied alloys were characterized using differential thermal analyses and scanning electron microscopy. The established solidification sequences of these alloys show the presence of two primary crystallization phases (δ(Fe) and graphite) as well as two univariante lines : peritectic L+δ(Fe)↔γ(Fe) and eutectic L↔γ(Fe)+Cgraphite. The ternary alloys were thereafter studied in nondeaerated solution of 10-3 M NaHCO3 + 10-3 M Na2SO4, at 25°C, by means of the potentiodynamic technique. The results indicate that the corrosion resistance of the FeCoC alloys depends on the carbon amount and the morphology of the phases present in the studied alloys.Farida Benhalla-Haddad, Sif Eddine Amara, Abdelkader Benchettara, Kamel Taibi, and Rafika KesriCopyright © 2012 Farida Benhalla-Haddad et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2012/814983/Flow-through stripping chronopotentiometry with a gold wire electrode was used for the determination of total arsenic and cadmium in cadmium sulphate solutions for cadmium production. The analysis is based on the online separation of arsenic as arsenate anion from cadmium cations by means of a cation exchanger. On measuring arsenate in the effluent, the trapped cadmium is eluted by sodium chloride solution and determined in a small segment of the effluent by making use of the same electrode. The elaborated protocol enables a full automatic measurement of both species in the same sample solution. The accuracy of the results was confirmed by atomic absorption spectrometry. The LOD and LOQ for Arsenic were found to be 0.9 μg dm-3 and 2.7 μg dm-3, respectively. A linear response range was observed in the concentration range of 1 to 300 μg dm-3 for sample volumes of 4 mL. The repeatability and reproducibility were found to be 2.9% and 5.2%, respectively. The linear response range for cadmium was found to be 0.5 to 60 g/L. The method was tested on samples from a cadmium production plant.Frantisek Cacho, Lukas Lauko, Alena Manova, Jan Dzurov, and Ernest BeinrohrCopyright © 2012 Frantisek Cacho et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/457156/We report the design and operation of a Virtual Instrument (VI) system based on LabVIEW 2009 for laser-induced fluorescence experiments. This system achieves synchronous control of equipment and acquisition of real-time fluorescence data communicating with a single computer via GPIB, USB, RS232, and parallel ports. The reported VI system can also accomplish data display, saving, and analysis, and printing the results. The VI system performs sequences of operations automatically, and this system has been successfully applied to obtain the excitation and dispersion spectra of α-methylnaphthalene. The reported VI system opens up new possibilities for researchers and increases the efficiency and precision of experiments. The design and operation of the VI system are described in detail in this paper, and the advantages that this system can provide are highlighted.Qijun Wu, Lufei Wang, and Lily ZuCopyright © 2011 Qijun Wu et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/464102/In this study, a method for the determination of low concentrations of lead in beer samples using solid-phase extraction with a flow injection analysis system and detection by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) was developed. Moringa oleifera seeds were used as a biosorbent material. Chemical and flow variables of the online preconcentration system, such as sample pH, preconcentration flow rate, eluent flow rate, eluent concentration, particle size, and sorbent mass, were studied. The optimum extraction conditions were obtained using a sample pH of 6.0, sample flow rate of 6.0 mL min−1, 63.0 mg of sorbent mass, and 2.0 mol L−1 HNO3 at a flow rate of 2.0 mL min−1 as the eluent. With the optimized conditions, the preconcentration factor, precision, detection limit, consumption index, and sample throughput were estimated as 93, 0.3% (10.0 μg L−1, n=7), 7.5 μg L−1, 0.11 mL, and 23 samples per hour, respectively. The method developed was successfully applied to beer samples and recovery tests, with recovery ranging from 80% to 100%.Vanessa N. Alves, Simone S. O. Borges, Waldomiro B. Neto, and Nívia M. M. CoelhoCopyright © 2011 Vanessa N. Alves et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/957805/One novel electrochemical immunosensor was constructed by immobilizing capture antibody of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP Ab1) on a nafion/nanogold-particle modified glassy carbon electrode. With a sandwich immunoassay, one DNA-derived magnetic nanoprobe, simplified as DNA/(ZMPs—HRP-AFP Ab2)n, was employed for the detection of AFP. The fabricated procedure of the proposed biosensor was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The performance and factors influencing the performance of the biosensor were also evaluated. Under optimal conditions, the developed biosensor exhibited a well-defined electrochemical behavior toward the reduction of AFP ranging from 0.01 to 200 ng/mL with a detection limit of 4 pg/mL (S/N=3). The biosensor was applied to the determination of AFP in serum with satisfactory results. It is important to note that the sandwich nanochainmodified electro-immunosensor provided an alternative substrate for the immobilization of other tumor markers.Ning Gan, Liyong Jia, and Lei ZhengCopyright © 2011 Ning Gan et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/263624/A study was conveyed to produce estolide ester using ricinoleic acid as the backbone. The ricinoleic acid reacted with saturated fatty acid from C8–C18. These reactions were conducted under vacuum at 60°C for 24 h without solvent. The reaction used acid catalyst, sulphuric acid. The new saturate ricinoleic estolide esters show superior low-temperature properties (−52 ± 0.08°C) and high flash point (>300°C). The yield of the neat estolide esters ranged from 52% to 96%. The viscosity range was 51 ± 0.08 to 86 ± 0.01 cp. These new saturated estolide esters were also compared with saturated branched estolide esters.Jumat Salimon, Neeranjini Nallathamby, Nadia Salih, and Bashar Mudhaffar AbdullahCopyright © 2011 Jumat Salimon et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/418910/Moisés Knochen, Alejandro Caamaño, and Heinkel BentosCopyright © 2011 Moisés Knochen et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/148183/A fast and efficient automated method using a sequential injection analysis (SIA) system, based on the Griess, reaction was developed for the determination of nitrate and nitrite in infant formulas and milk powder. The system enables to mix a measured amount of sample (previously constituted in the liquid form and deproteinized) with the chromogenic reagent to produce a colored substance whose absorbance was recorded. For nitrate determination, an on-line prereduction step was added by passing the sample through a Cd minicolumn. The system was controlled from a PC by means of a user-friendly program. Figures of merit include linearity (r2 > 0.999 for both analytes), limits of detection (0.32 mg kg-1 NO3-N, and 0.05 mg kg-1 NO2-N), and precision (sr%) 0.8–3.0. Results were statistically in good agreement with those obtained with the reference ISO-IDF method. The sampling frequency was 30 hour-1 (nitrate) and 80 hour-1 (nitrite) when performed separately.Mariela Pistón, Alicia Mollo, and Moisés KnochenCopyright © 2011 Mariela Pistón et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/323196/This paper presents the automatic discrimination of geographical origins of milks from Western Yunnan Plateau areas and eastern China by excitation-emission fluorescence spectrometry and chemometrics. Genuine plateau milks (n=60) and milks from eastern China (n=89) are scanned in the regions of 180–300 nm for excitation and 200–800 nm for emission. Different options of data analysis are investigated and compared in terms of their performance in discriminating milks of different geographical origins: (1) two-way partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA) based on excitation and emission spectra, respectively; (2) two-way PLSDA based on fusion of excitation and emission spectra; (3) three-way PLSDA based on excitation-emission matrix spectra. The two-way PLSDA methods with excitation spectra, emission spectra, and fusion of excitation and emission spectra correctly classify 91.3%, 88.6%, and 95.3% of the milk samples, respectively; while the total accuracy of three-way PLSDA is 96.0%. The results demonstrate the two-way data combining excitation and emission spectra are sufficient to characterize and identify the plateau milks. Considering both model accuracy and the analytical time required, two-way PLS-DA with fusion of excitation and emission spectra is recommended as a reliable and quick method to discriminate plateau milks from ordinary milks.Lu Xu, De-Hua Deng, Chen-Bo Cai, and Hong-Wei YangCopyright © 2011 Lu Xu et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/942467/A preparative gas chromatography (pGC) method was developed for the separation of volatile components from the methanol extract of Curcuma rhizome. The compounds were separated on a stainless steel column packed with 10% OV-101 (3 m × 6 mm, i.d.), and then, the effluent was split into two gas flows. One percent of the effluent passed to the flame ionization detector (FID) for detection and the remaining 99% were directed to the fraction collector. Five volatile compounds were collected from the methanol extract of Curcuma rhizome (5 g/mL) after 83 single injections (20 uL) with the yield of 5.1–46.2 mg. Furthermore, the structures of the obtained compounds were identified as β-elemene, curzerene, curzerenone, curcumenol, and curcumenone by MS and NMR spectra, respectively.F. Q. Yang, H. K. Wang, H. Chen, J. D. Chen, and Z. N. XiaCopyright © 2011 F. Q. Yang et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/943465/An automated multiparametric water analyser was developed and evaluated. The system was based on Sequential Injection Analysis and featured a photometric detection system comprising a tricolour RGB LED source and a photodiode. A program compiled in Visual Basic was used to control the SIA flow system, the LEDs, and the data acquisition and processing. The program loads and executes methods written in ASCII and stored as text files. The system was capable of handling up to four methods simultaneously. When used to carry out methods based on the APHA standard methods, the figures of merit obtained were considered satisfactory for the purpose. The total cost was under US $4600. It was concluded that the analyser is appropriate for routine use and has potential for an increased number of simultaneous methods and for enhanced capabilities if new versions of the software are developed.Moisés Knochen, Alejandro Caamaño, and Heinkel BentosCopyright © 2011 Moisés Knochen et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/742656/A simple flow injection with flame photometric detection has been developed for determination of sodium, potassium, and total alkalies in portland cement, fly ash, admixtures, and water of concrete. A liquid sample or a digest of solid sample was injected into a water carrier stream which flowed to a flame photometer. A change in emission intensity at a selected wavelength was recorded as a peak. An amplifier circuit was fabricated, which helped improve sensitivity of the flame photometer. Calibration graphs in the range of 0.05–1.0 mg L−1 and 1.0–20.0 mg L−1 were obtained with a detection limit of 0.02 mg L−1, for both potassium and sodium determination. Relative standard deviations for 11 replicates of injecting of 10 mg L−1 potassium and sodium solutions were 1.69 and 1.79%, respectively. Sample throughput of 120 h−1 was achieved. The proposed method was successfully applied to portland cement, fly ash, admixtures, and water samples validated by the ASTM standard method and certified reference materials of portland cement.Jaroon Junsomboon and Jaroon JakmuneeCopyright © 2011 Jaroon Junsomboon and Jaroon Jakmunee. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/805153/Parallel liquid handling systems are widely used in different applications of life sciences. In order to avoid false positive or negative results which lead to higher costs due to the replication of the experiments it is necessary to monitor the process and success of liquid delivery. An easy method for the determination of the liquid levels in microplates has been developed and evaluated. The optical method bases on the measurement of the liquid level using CCD cameras followed by special algorithms for the evaluation and visualization of the measured data. The proposed method was tested in changing environmental lighting for two different liquids. These tests confirm our approach towards optical liquid level determination for smallest volumes in microplates and also show the challenges regarding environmental lighting and different physical properties of fluids.Kerstin Thurow, Norbert Stoll, and Kai RitterbuschCopyright © 2011 Kerstin Thurow et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2011/907317/Acetaldehyde (ethanal) is a genotoxic carcinogen, which may occur naturally or as an added flavour in foods. We have developed an efficient method to analyze the compound in a wide variety of food matrices. The analysis is conducted using headspace (HS) gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detector. Using a robot autosampler, the samples are digested in full automation with simulated gastric fluid (1 h at 37°C) under shaking, which frees acetaldehyde loosely bound to matrix compounds. Afterwards, an aliquot of the HS is injected into the GC system. Standard addition was applied for quantification to compensate for matrix effects. The precision of the method was sufficient (<3% coefficient of variation). The limit of detection was 0.01 mg/L and the limit of quantification was 0.04 mg/L. 140 authentic samples were analyzed. The acetaldehyde content in apples was 0.97±0.80 mg/kg, orange juice contained 3.86±2.88 mg/kg. The highest concentration was determined in a yoghurt (17 mg/kg). A first-exposure estimation resulted in a daily acetaldehyde intake of less than 0.1 mg/kg bodyweight from food, which is considerably lower than the exposures from alcohol consumption or tobacco smoking.Michael Uebelacker and Dirk W. LachenmeierCopyright © 2011 Michael Uebelacker and Dirk W. Lachenmeier. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2010/323509/Magnetic Fe-SBA-15 mesoporous silica molecular sieves were prepared, characterized, and used for magnetic separation. Wet impregnation, drying, and calcination steps led to iron inclusion within the mesopores. Iron oxide was reduced to the metal form with hydrogen, and the magnetic Fe-SBA-15 was obtained. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the preparation process from the oxide to metal forms. The structure of magnetic materials was confirmed by Mössbauer spectra. Powder X-ray diffraction data indicated that the structure of Fe-SBA-15 retained the host SBA-15 structure. Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis revealed a decrease in surface area and pore size, indicating Fe-SBA-15 coating on the inner surfaces. Scanning electron micrographs confirmed the decrease in size for modified SBA-15 particles. From scanning electron micrographs, it was found that the size of the modified SBA-15 particles decreased. Transmission electron micrographs also confirmed that modified SBA-15 retained the structure of the parent SBA-15 silica. Fe-SBA-15 exhibited strong magnetic properties, with a magnetization value of 8.8 emu g-1. The iron content in Fe-SBA-15 was determined by atom adsorption spectroscopy. Fe-SBA-15 was successfully used for the magnetic separation of three aromatic compounds in water. Our results suggest wide applicability of Fe-SBA-15 magnetic materials for the rapid and efficient separation of various compounds.Huayu Huang, Yongsheng Ji, Zhenfeng Qiao, Chuande Zhao, Jianguo He, and Haixia ZhangCopyright © 2010 Huayu Huang et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2010/913207/A new flow procedure based on multicommutation with chemiluminometric detection was developed to quantify gentamicin sulphate in pharmaceutical formulations. This approach is based on gentamicin's ability to inhibit the chemiluminometric reaction between luminol and hypochlorite in alkaline medium, causing a decrease in the analytical signal. The inhibition of the analytical signal is proportional to the concentration of gentamicin sulphate, within a linear range of 1 to 4 μg mL-1 with a coefficient variation <3%. A sample throughput of 55 samples h-1 was obtained. The developed method is sensitive, simple, with low reagent consumption, reproducible, and inexpensive, and when applied to the analysis of pharmaceutical formulations (eye drops and injections) it gave results with RSD between 1.10 and 4.40%.Lúcia H. M. L. M. Santos, A. N. Araújo, Boaventura Reis, and M. C. B. S. M. MontenegroCopyright © 2010 Lúcia H. M. L. M. Santos et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2010/972926/The present research is focused on automation, miniaturization, and system interaction with high throughput for multiple and specific Direct Immersion-Solid Phase Microextraction/Fast Gas Chromatography analysis of the urinary ketones. The specific Mass Spectrometry instrumentation, capable of supporting such the automated changeover from Negative Chemical to Electron Ionization mode, as well as the automation of the preparation procedure by new device called MultiFiber Exchange, through change of the fibers, allowed a friendly use of mass spectrometry apparatus with a number of advantages including reduced analyst time and greater reproducibility (2.01–5.32%). The detection limits for the seven ketones were less than 0.004 mg/L. For an innovative powerful meaning in high-throughput routine, the generality of the structurally informative Mass Spectrometry fragmentation patterns together with the chromatographic separation and software automation are also investigated.Marco Pacenti, Stefano Dugheri, Pietro Traldi, Filippo Degli Esposti, Nicola Perchiazzi, Elena Franchi, Massimo Calamante, Ireneo Kikic, Paolo Alessi, Alice Bonacchi, Edoardo Salvadori, Giulio Arcangeli, and Vincenzo CupelliCopyright © 2010 Marco Pacenti et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2010/920196/A simple, rapid and sensitive method was proposed for online determination of tannic acid in colored tannery wastewater by automatic reference flow injection analysis. Based on the tannic acid reduction phosphotungstic acid to form blue compound in pH 12.38 alkaline solutions, the shade of blue compound is in a linear relation to the content of tannic acid at the point of the maximum absorption peak of 760 nm. The optimal experimental conditions had been obtained. The linear range of the proposed method was between 200 μg L−1 to 80 mg L−1 and the detection limit was 0.58 μg L−1. The relative standard deviation was 3.08% and 2.43% for 500 μg L−1 and 40 mg L−1 of tannic acid standard solution, respectively, (n=10). The method had been successfully applied to determination of tannic acid in colored tannery wastewaters and the analytical results were satisfactory.Liang WeiCopyright © 2010 Liang Wei. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2010/824197/A new method was developed for simultaneous determination of copper, lead, and cadmium, based on their voltammetric response at a carbon paste electrode modified with hexagonal mesoporous silica (HMS) immobilized quercetin (HMS-Qu/CPE). Compared with quercetin modified carbon paste electrode (Qu/CPE) and quercetin ionic liquid modified carbon paste electrode (Qu-IL/CPE), the HMS-Qu/CPE exhibited improved selectivity and high sensitivity toward the detection of copper, lead, and cadmium. The properties of the HMS-Qu/CPE in 0.1 M HCOONa-HCl buffer solution (pH4.7) were investigated by adsorptive stripping voltammetry (ASV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical behavior of copper, lead, and cadmium at the modified electrodes and factors affecting the preconcentration procedures were also investigated. Detection limits of 5.0, 0.8, 1.0 nM for copper, lead, and cadmium were obtained, respectively. The method is simple, fast, sensitive, and selective, and is successfully applied to soil sample.Fangquan Xia, Xin Zhang, Changli Zhou, Danzi Sun, Yanmin Dong, and Zhen LiuCopyright © 2010 Fangquan Xia et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2010/389374/A fully automated and fast pneumatic transport system for short-time activation analysis was recently developed. It is suitable for small nuclear research reactors or laboratories that are using neutron generators and other neutron sources. It is equipped with a programmable logic controller, software package, and 12 devices to facilitate optimal analytical procedures. 550 ms were only necessary to transfer the irradiated capsule (diameter: 15 mm, length: 50 mm, weight: 4 gram) to the counting chamber at a distance of 20 meters using pressurized air (4 bars) as a transport gas.S. S. IsmailCopyright © 2010 S. S. Ismail. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2009/502527/Designing new medical drugs for a specific disease requires extensive analysis of many molecules that have an activity for the disease. The main goal of these extensive analyses is to discover substructures (fragments) that account for the activity of these molecules. Once they are discovered, these fragments are used to understand the structure of new drugs and design new medicines for the disease. In this paper, we propose an interactive approach for visual molecule mining to discover fragments of molecules that are responsible for the desired activity with respect to a specific disease. Our approach visualizes molecular data in a form that can be interpreted by a human expert. Using a pipelining structure, it enables experts to contribute to the solution with their expertise at different levels. In order to derive desired fragments, it combines histogram-based filtering and clustering methods in a novel way. This combination enables a flexible determination of frequent fragments that repeat in molecules exactly or with some variations.Burcu Yılmaz and Mehmet GöktürkCopyright © 2009 Burcu Yılmaz and Mehmet Göktürk. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2009/496281/Highly ordered Pd nanowire arrays (NWAs) prepared by electrodeposition method using the fresh prepared anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as the template have been characterized by X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and electrochemical measurements. SEM results revealed that the brush-shaped Pd NWAs are dispersed uniformly. The diameter and length of the obtained Pd NWAs are about 50 nm and 850 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the electrocatalytic activity of Pd NWAs electrode for propanol oxidation in alkaline media has also been studied. It is found that the obtained nanostructurs exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of propanol, demonstrating the potential application in portable direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs).Zhihong Sun, Faliang Cheng, and Xiangcheng DaiCopyright © 2009 Zhihong Sun et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2009/164568/A decentralized model predictive controller applicable for some systems which exhibit different dynamic characteristics in different channels was presented in this paper. These systems can be regarded as combinations of a fast model and a slow model, the response speeds of which are in two-time scale. Because most practical models used for control are obtained in the form of transfer function matrix by plant tests, a singular perturbation method was firstly used to separate the original transfer function matrix into two models in two-time scale. Then a decentralized model predictive controller was designed based on the two models derived from the original system. And the stability of the control method was proved. Simulations showed that the method was effective.Jian Niu, Jun Zhao, Zuhua Xu, and Jixin QianCopyright © 2009 Jian Niu et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2009/101679/A flow injection method has been developed for the direct determination of free available Pb(II). The method is based on the chemical sorption of Pb(II), from pH7 solutions, on a column packed of chelating resin. The retained complex was afterwards eluted with hydrochloric acid followed by hydride generation with reduction by tetrahydroborate. The preconcentration system proposed in this paper allows the elimination of great part of the saline content in the sample. A thorough scrutiny was made for chemical variables and FI parameters. With a sampling volume of 10.5 mL, quantitative retention of Pb (II) was obtained, along with an enrichment factor of 40 and a sampling frequency of 15 h−1. The detection limit, defined as 3 times the blank standard deviation (3σ), was 0.0031 ngml−1. The precision was characterized by an RSD value of 3.78% (at the 4 ng⋅ml−1 level, n=11). The developed method has been applied to the determination of trace Pb in three standard reference materials. Accuracy was assessed through comparing the results with the accepted values.Chun-Hua Tan and Xu-Guang HuangCopyright © 2009 Chun-Hua Tan and Xu-Guang Huang. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2009/849704/The virtual instrument system based on LabVIEW 8.0 for ion analyzer which can measure and analyze ion concentrations in solution is developed and comprises homemade conditioning circuit, data acquiring board, and computer. It can calibrate slope, temperature, and positioning automatically. When applied to determine the reaction rate constant by pX, it achieved live acquiring, real-time displaying, automatical processing of testing data, generating the report of results; and other functions. This method simplifies the experimental operation greatly, avoids complicated procedures of manual processing data and personal error, and improves veracity and repeatability of the experiment results.Hu Meng, Jiang-Yuan Li, and Yong-Huai TangCopyright © 2009 Hu Meng et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2009/357026/The automated procedure for the monitoring of the adsorption process in the solute-sorbent-solvent system has been elaborated. It uses commercially available instrument CRYSTAF model 200. The application of CRYSTAF enabled monitoring of adsorption of linear polyethylene with weight average molar masses of 2, 14, and 53 kg/mol from 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene onto zeolite SH-300 at temperature as high as 140∘C. It is the authors' understanding that this is the first demonstration of an adsorption isotherms for polyethylene. The measurement with the CRYSTAF instrument reduces manual manipulations with dangerous solvents at high temperature and enables automated long-time monitoring of the concentration of the solute in an adsorption system.Tibor Macko, Robert Brüll, Christoph Brinkmann, and Harald PaschCopyright © 2009 Tibor Macko et al. All rights reserved.http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jamc/2009/291820/In our recent work, Monte Carlo Cross Validation Stacked Regression (MCCVSR) is proposed to achieve automatic optimization of spectral interval selection in multivariate calibration. Though MCCVSR performs well in normal conditions, it is still necessary to improve it for more general applications. According to the well-known principle of “garbage in, garbage out (GIGO)”, as a precise ensemble method, MCCVSR might be influenced by outlying and very bad submodels. In this paper, a statistical test is designed to exclude the ruinous submodels from the ensemble learning process, therefore, the combination process becomes more reliable. Though completely automated, the proposed method is adjustable according to the nature of the data analyzed, including the size of training samples, resolution of spectra and quantitative potentials of the submodels. The effectiveness of the submodel refining is demonstrated by the investigation of a real standard data.Xiao-Ping Yu, Lu Xu, and Ru-Qin YuCopyright © 2009 Xiao-Ping Yu et al. All rights reserved.