Isotopomers 12CO2 and 13CO2 absorbed into polystyrene films provide narrow, sharp, and well-resolved IR absorption bands for the nu3 antisymmetric stretching mode. This is exploited to set up an inexpensive FT-IR-based method for the measurement of the carbon isotope ratio. Accuracy of 2.5 per thousand delta13C units is readily achieved already at a low resolution of 2 cm(-1).

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Human bones recovered from the archaeological site of Pontecagnano (Salerno, Italy) have been studied to reconstruct the diet of an Etrurian population. Two different areas were investigated, named Library and Sant' Antonio, with a total of 44 tombs containing human skeletal remains, ranging in age from the 8th to the 3rd century B.C. This time span was confirmed by 14C dating obtained using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) on one bone sample from each site. Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) was used to extract information about the concentration of Sr, Zn, Ca elements in the bone inorganic fraction, whilst stable isotope ratio measurements (IRMS) were carried out on bone collagen to obtain the delta13C and delta15N. A reliable technique has been used to extract and separate the inorganic and organic fractions of the bone remains. Both IRMS and AAS results suggest a mixed diet including C3 plant food and herbivore animals, consistent with archaeological indications.

The reaction of nitrosobenzene with meta-and para-substituted anilines has been studied in 94% (v/v) ethanol buffered with acetic acid and sodium acetate solutions. A linear Yukawa-Tsuno correlation was obtained (p -2.1 4; correlation coefficient 0.990; r 0-741 ). AAGp Values for p-nitroaniline and ethyl p-aminobenzoate were obtained. It is suggested that two mechanisms can explain the data gathered. The kinetic behaviour of the reaction as a function of acetic acid and sodium acetate concentration in the buffer solution was also studied.IN spite of their importance in chemical and biochemical processes, reaction mechanisms involving the nitrosogroup have not received much attention.1-3Ueno and Akiyoshi4 studied the kinetics of the reaction of aniline with substituted nitrosobenzenes in glacial acetic acid. They suggested a reaction mechanism in which the attack of aniline on the nitrosobenzene 1

Summary -The discovery of a Byzantine church under the floor of one of the oldest churches of Salerno (Italy) has given us the opportunity to investigate the fine composition of the plaster through chemical and spectroscopic methods. In particular, considering that plasters are generally formed by a carbonate phase (carbonates) and an inert phase (silicates), the characterization, performed on the carbonate phase by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), has revealed the presence of dolomite minerals. This information indicates that, during the building process, some accessory minerals of marble were added in the mortar to be used like fillers. The carbonate phase makes too difficult the spectroscopic characterization of the inert phase. Only by acid attack of the plaster the inert phase has been isolated and its characterization, by XRD and optical microscopy, has indicated the presence of olivine minerals and other typical silicates of river sands.