Detailed Emotional Profile of Secondary Education Students Toward Learning Physics and Chemistry

The present research arises from the need to identify the emotions that K-7 to K-10 students experience toward the learning of Physics and Chemistry, since it is a fact that there is a decrease in the number of students choosing itineraries related to Science. Different blocks of contents have been considered in each subject in order to identify emotions toward each one of them. The considered sample consisted of 149 K-8 students, 152 K-9 students and 130 K-10 students from several middle and high schools in Badajoz (Spain) during the 2014–2015 school year. Students experienced more positive emotions toward the content of Chemistry than toward those of Physics. A decrease was detected in the mean frequency of positive emotions such as joy, fun, and tranquility from K-8 to K-10, as well as an increase in negative emotions such as boredom, anxiety, disgust, fear, nervousness, worry, and sadness. It has also been found that positive emotions toward Chemistry contents are mainly related to teachers’ methods and attitudes, while negative emotions toward Physics contents are related to the exclusive use of the textbook, solving Physics problems, or giving oral presentations of the topics in class.

Determination of marker pteridins and biopterin reduced forms, tetrahydrobiopterin and dihydrobiopterin, in human urine, using a post-column photoinduced fluorescence liquid chromatographic derivatization method

A liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous analysis of marker pteridins and biopterin reduced forms, in urine samples is proposed. A Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 column was used for the chromatographic separation, using a 98/2 (v/v), citrate buffer (pH 5.5)-acetonitrile mobile phase, in isocratic mode. A post-column photoderivatization was carried out with an on-line photoreactor, located between a diode array detector (DAD) and a fast scanning fluorescence detector (FSFD). Neopterin (NEO), biopterin (BIO), pterin (PT) and dihydrobiopterin (BH2) were determined by measuring native fluorescence, using the photoreactor in OFF-mode, and tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) was determined by measuring of the induced fluorescence of the generated photoproducts, using the photoreactor in ON-mode. In addition, Creatinine (CREA), as a reference of metabolites excrection in urine, was simultaneously determined using the DAD detector. Detection limits were 0.2, 13.0, 0.3, 0.3 and 3.5 ng mL(-1), for NEO, BH2, BIO, PT and BH4, respectively, and 0.4 microg mL(-1) for CREA. Ratio values for NEO/CREA, PT/CREA, BH4/CREA, BH2/CREA, NEO/BIO and BIO(total)/CREA, in urine samples, of healthy children and adults, phenylketonuric children and infected mononucleosis children, are reported. A comparative study, about the mean values obtained for each of the compounds, by the present procedure and by the classical iodine oxidation method (Fukushimas method), has been performed, in urine samples belonging to healthy volunteers. The values obtained were BH4/CREA: 0.41, BH2/CREA: 0.31 and BIO(total)/CREA: 0.73, by the proposed method, and BH4/CREA: 0.35, BH2/CREA: 0.20 and BIO(total)/CREA: 0.48, by iodine oxidation method.

Nonlinear four-way kinetic-excitation-emission fluorescence data processed by a variant of parallel factor analysis and by a neural network model achieving the second-order advantage: malonaldehyde determination in olive oil samples

Four-way data were obtained by recording the kinetic evolution of excitation-emission fluorescence matrices for the product of the Hantzsch reaction between the analyte malonaldehyde and methylamine. The reaction product, 1,4-disubstituted-1,4-dihydropyridine-3,5-dicarbaldehyde, is a highly fluorescent compound. The nonlinear nature of the kinetic fluorescence data has been demonstrated, and therefore the four-way data were processed with parallel factor analysis combined with a nonlinear pseudounivariate regression, based on a quadratic polynomial fit, and also with a recently introduced neural network methodology, based on the combination of unfolded principal component analysis, residual trilinearization, and radial basis functions. The applied chemometric strategies are not only able to adequately model the nonlinear data but also to successfully determine malonaldehyde in olive oil samples. This is possible since the experimentally recorded four-way data, modeled with the above-mentioned advanced chemometric approaches, permit the achievement of the second-order advantage. This allows us to predict the analyte concentration in a complex background, in spite of the nonlinear behavior and in the presence of uncalibrated interferences. The present work is a new example of the use of higher-order data for the resolution of a complex nonlinear system, successfully employed in the context of food chemical analysis.

Separation of fifteen quinolones by high performance liquid chromatography: Application to pharmaceuticals and ofloxacin determination in urine

A simple chromatographic method is described for assaying 15 quinolones and fluoroquinolones (pipemidic acid, marbofloxacin, enoxacin, ofloxacin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, danofloxacin, lomefloxacin, enrofloxacin, sarafloxacin, difloxacin, oxolinic acid, nalidixic acid, flumequine and piromidic acid), in urine and pharmaceutical samples. The determination was achieved by LC using an RP C18 analytical column. A mobile phase composed of mixtures of methanol-ACN-10 mM citrate buffer at pH 3.5 and 10 mM citrate buffer at pH 4.5, delivered under an optimum gradient program, at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min, allows to accomplish the chromatographic separation in 26 min. For detection, diode-array UV-Vis at 280 nm and fluorescence detection set at excitation wavelength/emission wavelength: 280/450, 280/ 495, 280/405 and 320/360 nm were used. Detection and quantification limits were between 0.3-18 and 0.8-61 ng/mL, respectively. The method was validated in terms of interday (n = 6) and intraday (n = 6) precision and accuracy. The procedure was successfully applied to the analysis of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals. Also, ofloxacin was determined in human urine samples belonging to a patient undergoing treatment with this active principle, among others.

A chemometric sensor for determining sulphaguanidine residues in honey samples

The inclusion complex of sulphaguanidine (SGN) in beta-cyclodextrin has been investigated. To avoid the problem of the low solubility of beta-cyclodextrin in water, solutions of beta-cyclodextrin in urea have been used. A 1:1 stoichiometry and an association constant of 450M(-1) have been established for the complex. A new spectrofluorimetric method has been developed for the determination of SGN residues in honey samples. This sulphonamide is widely employed for honey treatment. The method for the determination is based on second-order multivariate calibration, applying parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). No previous separation or samples pre-treatment were required. The calibration solutions were prepared in water, with concentrations in the range from 0.02 to 0.20mugmL(-1) for SGN. The use of the second-order calibration method in the standard addition mode, using the excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) as analytical signal, allowed its determination in honey samples, even in the presence of interferences, with satisfactory results. The proposed procedure was validated by comparing the obtained results with a HPLC method, with satisfactory results for the assayed method.

Fluorimetric Determination of Sulphaguanidine and Sulphamethoxazole by Host-Guest Complexation in β-Cyclodextrin and Partial Least Squares Calibration

The host-guest inclusion complexes of sulphamethoxazole (SMTX) and sulphaguanidine (SGN) with beta-cyclodextrin, in aqueous solutions, have been investigated. A 1:1 stoichiometry of the complexes was established, the association constants were calculated by different methods, and the influence of several chemical variables on the complexation processes were established. According to the results obtained, a spectrofluorimetric method for the determination of these sulphonamides has been proposed. The individual and binary mixtures of both sulphonamides have been determined in human urine samples, at representative therapeutic ranges, by application of a first-order multivariate calibration partial least squares (PLS-1) model. The calibration set was designed with 9 samples, containing different concentrations of the two sulphonamides, and 8 blank urine samples, with the aim of modelling the variability of the background. The concentration ranges for the sulphonamides were up to 0.5 microg mL(-1) for SMTX and 1.0 microg mL(-1) for SGN. Figures of merit as selectivity, analytical sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD) were also calculated. The proposed procedure was validated by comparing the obtained results with a HPLC method, with satisfactory results for the assayed method.

Spectrofluorimetric Determination of 3-hidroxy-2-naphthoic Acid by Use of Its Ternary Complex with Zirconium (IV) and Beta-Cyclodextrin: Application to Determination in River Water

A spectrofluorimetric method has been developed for the determination of 3-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (3H2NA) by formation of a ternary complex with zirconium (IV) and beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD). It has been observed that the fluorescence intensity of 3H2NA is greatly enhanced when the ternary complex is formed and is accompanied with shifts in the excitation and emission wavelengths. The conditions for the formation of the ternary complex have been optimized and the stoichiometry has been calculated, resulting a 1:2:1 complex (3H2NA:Zr: beta-CD). The linear range was 20-2000 ng mL(-1) and the detection and quantification limits calculated were 17 and 58 ng mL(-1), respectively. The proposed method was applied to the determination of 3H2NA in river water. To eliminate interferences an off-line solid phase extraction (SPE) procedure using C18 cartridges was used. The extraction procedure was optimized and good recoveries were obtained (around 100%) with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of less than 5%.

HPLC determination of ciprofloxacin, cloxacillin, and ibuprofen drugs in human urine samples

This paper reports, for the first time, a liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of three frequently co-administered active principles, two antibiotics, ciprofloxacin (CIPRO) and cloxacillin (CLOXA) belonging to the fluoroquinolones and beta-lactam families, respectively, and ibuprofen (IBU), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. The chromatographic separation was performed on a C-18 analytical column, using isocratic elution with methanol-acetonitrile-pH 3 formate buffer (CT = 0.1 M) (15:12:73, v/v/v) for 3 min and, after that, a linear gradient with methanol-acetonitrile (88:12, v/v) for 8 min. Several absorption spectra were obtained for each peak using a DAD detector. Chromatograms at the maximum absorption wavelength for each analyte, 220 nm for both IBU and CLOXA, and 280 nm for CIPRO were selected as the most suitable. The proposed chromatographic method requires about 15 min per sample. The presence of a urine background was tested and no interference was found. The method was satisfactorily applied to the determination of CIPRO, CLOXA, and IBU, in fortified urine, and in urine samples from a patient undergoing treatment with these three active principles, among others. Limits of quantification in urine were 1.00, 1.70, and 2.87 microg/mL for CIPRO, CLOXA, and IBU, respectively.

Determinations of fluoroquinolones and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in urine by extractive spectrophotometry and photoinduced spectrofluorimetry using multivariate calibration

Multivariate calibration methods are chemometric tools that may be applied to the analysis of spectroscopic data with multichannel detection. Two procedures, based on spectrophotometric and fluorimetric signals, are reported for the simultaneous determination of two fluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin) and two nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (diclofenac and mefenamic acid) using first- and second-order multivariate calibration methods. In the spectrophotometric method, an extractive procedure into chloroform using trioctylmethylammonium chloride-adogen as counter ion was optimized, with the object of extracting the analytes from urine samples and eliminating matrix interferences. After separation, the absorption spectrum of the organic phase was used as the analytical signal in a partial least squares method. A photoinduced spectrofluorimetric (PIF) method using excitation-emission fluorescence matrices, is proposed, to apply three-way chemometric calibration, with the aim of analyzing ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and diclofenac in urine samples without the previous extractive sample-cleaning step. For both procedures, recoveries around 100% were found for all the analytes. However, the PIF three-way chemometric method provides the most sensitive and selective procedure as the urine interferences are modulated using the three-way chemometric technique.

Numerical simulation of the chromatographic process for direct ligand-macromolecule binding studies

A numerical simulation of the direct zonal liquid chromatographic method is described for studying the binding of a ligand to a macromolecule by quantification of the interacting species present in a sample at equilibrium. The algorithm accounts for both the kinetic exchanges in solution and the dispersion effects depicted by the Fick law. Dimensionless variables are used for the concentrations which are expressed as a function of the equilibrium constant, KD. The free ligand concentration was varied in the injected samples from 0.1 to 20 KD, while that of the macromolecule was kept constant. An apparent binding isotherm was obtained from the total ligand chromatogram generated by the simulation run, when the amount emerging at almost column dead volume is plotted against that eluting at the free ligand retention time. As a continuous dissociation of the complex may occur during its migration, the apparent binding curve and the theoretical binding isotherm coincide at extremely low dissociating rates. At larger dissociation rates (0.001 s(-1) < kd <0.1 s(-1), for a first peak eluting in 1 min) the simulations were used to test various chromatographic conditions. The flow rate (or column volume) is the major effect which influences the on-column dissociation process as an exponential decay was found when the apparently bound fraction is plotted against the analysis time. The apparent equilibrium coefficient is close to the theoretical one for a binding curve generated with an initial solution containing a relatively low total concentration of binding sites (< or = KD). The apparent stoichiometric term is largely underestimated as its value decreases exponentially at increasing dissociation rates. An extrapolation at extremely short analysis times could be used to determine the stoichiometric coefficient characterizing the binding interaction.

Simple sensitive and simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatography method of glucoconjugated and non-glucoconjugated porphyrins and chlorins using near infra-red fluorescence detection

This paper reports, for the first time, a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous determination of seven glucoconjugated and non-glucoconjugated porphyrins and chlorins, using near infra-red fluorescence detection. Chromatographic separation was performed on nucleosil-CN analytical column using an isocratic acetonitrile-0.1% (w/v) TFA at pH 1.8 (55:45, v/v) as mobile phase. Wavelength gradient was employed for sensitive detection, porphyrins derivates were monitored at lambda(exc) = 440 nm and lambda(emi) = 680 nm; and chlorins derivates at lambda(exc) = 420 nm, lambda(emi) = 650 nm. The method was validated and applied to monitor the biodegradation of a tri glucoconjugated chlorin derivative, TPC(glu)3, in spiked samples of human serum.

Enhanced detection of seven glucoconjugated and hydroxylated porphyrins and chlorins by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis combined with stacking

The nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis mode which includes a preconcentration step based on a transient pseudo-isotachophoresis to the simultaneous separation of seven glucoconjugated and hydroxylated porphyrins and chlorins, exhibiting very close structures, is reported. A high methanol content, of the buffer solution, was necessary in order to prevent self-assembly of the compounds and to enhance their solubility during separation. With the addition of 66% (v/v) methanol and 1% (w/v) NaCl in the aqueous sample solution, large volumes could be injected (44% capillary volume) without a loss in resolution. Sensitivity of detection was therefore improved by a 100-fold factor with regard to the method employing normal injection (2% capillary volume). Optimum electrophoretic conditions, in terms of sensitivity and performance, were obtained by using 20 mM phosphoric acid buffer, pH 2.2 and 50% methanol. The method was validated and applied to qualitative analysis of glucoconjugates in serum samples.

Determination of antitubercular drugs by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC)

A method for the determination of isoniazid (ISO), pyrazinamide (PYR) and rifampicin (RIF) in pharmaceutical products, by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) with ultraviolet detection is described. The influence of pH, concentration of surfactants, buffer and organic solvents, over the separation were studied as experimental variables. The optimal separation was carried out at 30 degrees C and 20 kV, using a 40 mM borate buffer and 100 mM sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) adjusted to pH 8.5. Under these conditions, the analysis is accomplished in about 8 min. The method was applied to the determination of these compounds in different pharmaceuticals with good results when compared with a reference liquid chromatographic (LC) method.