Antimony

Evidence materials in a presumed suicide case were studied by a firearm examiner and a forensic chemist. The victim's body with double gunshot wounding in his forehead, a machine gun in the sustained fire mode with a silencer, and four cartridge cases were found. Examinations of the evidence, the case file studies, and experiments dedicated to the case were carried out. Relationships between the placement of cartridge cases and the gun were established using a fast camera. The distributions of gunshot residues on the evidence materials and within the comparative gunshot patterns were studied by means of optical and electron microscopy, X-ray microanalysis, and infrared spectroscopy. The shooting distance was assessed to be 30 cm or more, whereas the greatest distance that could have been achieved by the victim himself was about 11-13 cm. The obtained results supported the version of homicide rather than suicide.

Heavy metal contaminants in environment, especially in drinking water, are always of great concern due to their health impact. Due to the use of heavy metals as catalysts during plastic syntheses, particularly antimony, human exposure to metal release from plastic bottles has been a serious concern in recent years. The aim and scope of this study were to assess metal contaminations leaching out from a series of recycling plastic bottles upon treatments. In this study, leaching concentrations of 16 metal elements were determined in 21 different types of plastic bottles from five commercial brands, which were made of recycling materials ranging from no. 1 to no. 7. Several sets of experiments were conducted to study the factors that could potentially affect the metal elements leaching from plastic bottles, which include cooling with frozen water, heating with boiling water, microwave, incubating with low-pH water, outdoor sunlight irradiation, and in-car storage. Heating and microwave can lead to a noticeable increase of antimony leaching relative to the controls in bottle samples A to G, and some even reached to a higher level than the maximum contamination level (MCL) of the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) regulations. Incubation with low-pH water, outdoor sunlight irradiation, and in-car storage had no significant effect on antimony leaching relative to controls in bottle samples A to G, and the levels of antimony leaching detected were below 6 ppb which is the MCL of USEPA regulations. Cooling had almost no effect on antimony leaching based on our results. For the other interested 15 metal elements (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, As, Se, Mo, Ag, Cd, Ba, Tl, Pb), no significant leaching was detected or the level was far below the MCL of USEPA regulations in all bottle samples in this study. In addition, washing procedure did contribute to the antimony leaching concentration for polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles. The difference of antimony leaching concentration between washing procedure involved and no washing procedure involved (AC) was larger than zero for samples A to G. This interesting result showed that higher antimony concentration was detected in experiments with no washing procedures compared with those experiments with washing procedures. Our study results indicate that partial antimony leaching from PET bottles comes from contaminations on the surface of plastic during manufacturing process, while major antimony leaching comes from conditional changes. The results revealed that heating and microwaving enhance antimony leaching significantly in PET plastic bottles. Plastic bottle manufacturers should consider the contaminations during manufacturing process and washing bottles before first use was strongly recommended to remove those contaminants.

Prosperity in Qatar and the consequent stresses on water resources resulted in a sustainable increase in the bottled drinking water market. Reports on health concerns and possible migration of chemicals from the plastic material into the water have driven the current investigation. This study aims to address the extent of antimony (Sb) leaching from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) water bottles subject to temperature variations (24-50°C) due to Qatar's hot climate and improper storage conditions. A representative basket including 66 different imported and locally produced water bottles was considered. The concentrations of Sb in bottled water ranged from 0.168 to 2.263 μg/L at 24°C and from 0.240 to 6.110 μg/L at 50°C. Antimony concentrations in PET bottles at 24°C was significantly lower than those at 50°C (p = 0.0142), indicating that the temperature was a principal factor affecting the release of Sb from the plastic into the water. Although the detected Sb amounts were below the guidelines endorsed by WHO and Qatar (standard 5 μg/L) at 24°C, the concentration measured at 50°C was higher than the recommended WHO values (6.11 μg/L).

Cette thèse d’histoire, soutenue par Pierre-Christian Guiollard le 11 décembre 2009, fut réalisée sous la direction conjointe des professeurs Pierre Fluck et Nicolas Stoskopf à l’Université de Haute-Alsace. L’auteur se propose d’analyser et d’interpréter les facteurs et les événements qui contribuèrent à l’émergence, à la prospérité et au déclin des mines d’antimoine et de tungstène françaises au cours des XIXe et XXe siècles, ceci afin de démontrer que cette branche de l’activité minière occupa, au delà des apparences, une place belle et bien entière dans l’industrie minière française.

A total of 1496 investigated colourless glass analyses have been collected with the aim of achieving a clear geographical, typological, chronological and compositional overview on this particular type of glass. Based on manganese and antimony contents, four main groups were characterised: naturally colourless, Mn-decoloured, Sb-decoloured and Mn/Sb-decoloured. Main achievements relates to the chronological distribution of manganese and antimony technologies, the former being associated to a long lasting technology which culminated during the Late Antique period while the latter being practically absent after the 8 th century AD, being at its acme during the Roman imperial period. Except for naturally colourless glass, glass-making technology mostly implied the use of impure sands and na-tron, relegating the other components to a virtually irrelevant presence, except during the Late Antique and Medieval periods.

Because noncentrosymmetric [Sb7S8Br2](AlCl4)3 single crystals possess a wide optical transparency region, it is a promising material for nonlinear optical applications. We have calculated the dispersion of linear and nonlinear optical susceptibilities including optical second harmonic generation (SHG) using a relaxed geometry. We find that the fundamental optical absorption edge situated at about 2.03 eV is in excellent agreement with the experimental data. Calculations of ε(2)(xx)(ω), ε(2)(yy)(ω), and ε(2)(zz)(ω) tensor components of the frequency-dependent dielectric function are presented. The single crystal possesses a considerable anisotropy of linear optical susceptibilities, which usually favors an enhanced phase matching conditions necessary to observe SHG and optical parametric oscillator (OPO) effects. Our calculations show that, in [Sb7S8Br2](AlCl4)3, |χ123(2)(ω)| is the principal tensor component having the highest value of SHG at zero frequency limit as well as at 1.165 eV (λ = 1064 nm) laser wavelength generation. The microscopic second-order hyperpolarizability, β123, of the dominant SHG component is calculated at the static limit and at λ = 1064 nm.

Explorations of the Nilsen Theories on the Axiomatic Platform of the Formal System in relation to its Meta-systemic Environment and how they Degenerate into Nihilistic Collapse and then how to Bootstrap out of that Deadend State again via Special Systems

-- Abstract:  Attempt to demonstrate a model of the Inside and Outside Nilsen Theorems that relates to all the properties of the Formal System’s Axiomatic Platform. We look at Brunelleschi’s optical device and see it elaborated by Velazquez painting Las Meninas. We consider Set Theory, the table of Sexuation and the Antimonies in relation to the state of Nihilistic Collapse which we attribute to Zizek as a kind of base zero state that he sees in everything.

-- Key Words:  Lacan, Sexuation, Kant, Antimonies, Brunelleschi’s optical device, Verlasquez painting Las Meninas.


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Food safety is a global concern. Meat represents the most important protein source for humans. Thus, contamination of meat products by nonessential elements is a ready source of human exposure. In addition, knowledge of the concentration of essential elements is also relevant with respect to human nutrition. The aim of the present study was to determine the concentration of 17 elements in pork, beef, and chicken produced in Brazil. Meat samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The estimated daily intake for nonessential elements including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and antimony (Sb) through meat consumption is below the toxicological reference values. However, high levels were detected for the nonessential element cesium (Cs), mainly in beef samples, an observation that deserves future studies to identify the source of contamination and potential adverse consequences.

Water samples from Xikuangshan (China), the world largest antimony (Sb) mine with a Sb mining and smelting history of more than 200 years, were analyzed. These water samples ranged from stream water in the vicinity of the mining and smelting area that received seepage from ore residues to the underground mine-pit drainage. The concentrations of total Sb, Sb (III) and Sb (V) of the samples were determined by HPLC-ICP-MS. In addition, water pH and concentrations of major cations and anions were analyzed. All 18 samples demonstrated total Sb concentrations with ppm levels from 0.33 ppm to 11.4 ppm, which is two to three orders of magnitude higher compared to the typical concentration of dissolved Sb in unpolluted rivers (less than 1 ppb). This is probably the first time that such high Sb contents have been documented with complete environmental information. Distribution of total Sb and Sb species was investigated, taking into account the respective local environment (in the mining area or close to the smelter, etc.). Sb (V) was the predominant valence in all 18 samples. Only trace levels of Sb (III) were detected in 4 of the 18 samples. Geochemical speciation modeling showed the dominant species was Sb(OH) 6 − . It is also probably the first time that such high Sb contents have been documented in the natural environment with Sb speciation distribution information. Several potential oxidation pathways are also discussed that might have facilitated the oxidation of Sb (III) in the natural environment. Signs of intoxication were observed among local mine workers with extensive exposure to different forms of Sb for a long period of time.

This work presents a novel collection method for gunshot residues (GSR) using a sampling procedure based on ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) solution as a complexing agent on moistened swabs. Detection was via a sector-field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HRICP-MS). The proposed collection and analytical method allowed detection of antimony (Sb), barium (Ba) and lead (Pb) after .38 shot tests. at detection limits of less than 1 microg L(-1) in four different areas of the hands of volunteers. This paper includes a discussion concerning hand areas near the thumb and forefinger as being more suitable for GSR collection as well as a comparison between differences observed using 2% diluted EDTA. 2% nitric acid solution, and simple deionized water as collecting solutions, proving the superior efficiency of EDTA in GSR recoveries.

Abstract:  Very little literature exists on gunshot wounds on decomposed material. In this study, seven pig heads underwent a shooting test. Entrance wounds from the first head underwent neutron activation analysis (NAA) and histological testing immediately after the firing test; the other six heads were exposed to two different environments (open air and soil) and analyzed by radiochemical and histological tests every 15 days. Gunshot wounds in air maintained their morphological characteristics, and those in soil showed severe alteration after 5 weeks. Microscopic testing verified positive results for lead in all gunshot wounds in open air, whereas in most of those in soil lead could not be detected. Radiochemical analysis performed by NAA yielded for all gunshot wounds but one antimony quantities in the range of 0.07–13.89 μg. In conclusion, it may be possible to detect residues of antimony even in degraded tissues.

Abstract:  Very little literature exists on gunshot wounds on decomposed material. In this study, seven pig heads underwent a shooting test. Entrance wounds from the first head underwent neutron activation analysis (NAA) and histological testing immediately after the firing test; the other six heads were exposed to two different environments (open air and soil) and analyzed by radiochemical and histological tests every 15 days. Gunshot wounds in air maintained their morphological characteristics, and those in soil showed severe alteration after 5 weeks. Microscopic testing verified positive results for lead in all gunshot wounds in open air, whereas in most of those in soil lead could not be detected. Radiochemical analysis performed by NAA yielded for all gunshot wounds but one antimony quantities in the range of 0.07–13.89 μg. In conclusion, it may be possible to detect residues of antimony even in degraded tissues.

In this work, we prepared for the first time triphenylantimony(V) catecholate complexes containing gallic acid derivatives and assessed their radical-scavenging activity in reaction with 2,2-diphenyl-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and in the non-enzymatic peroxidation of oleic (cis-9-octadecenoic) acid. The compounds were shown to display antiradical activity in the test with DPPH radical. Taking into account the EC50 value, we believe that the activity of complex (CH3O(O)C–Cat)SbPh3 (1) compares well with that of the known antioxidant L-ascorbyl palmitate. Compounds 1–3 are not only efficient inhibitors of oleic acid autooxidation but also behave as hydroperoxide destructors. Compounds of such a kind can be considered as potential antioxidants containing an organo
metallic fragment.