m/z 919-921 and m/z 920-922, respectively, gave symmetrical peaks and good separation of both amanitin peaks. Using an external calibration method, linearity, detection limits, recovery rates, and precision were tested; they were all satisfactory. To our knowledge, the present method gives the simplest LC-MS analysis for amanitins among those so far reported. We recommend the method for use in actual forensic and clinical toxicological analysis of amanitins in biological samples.

The effects of adding minute quantities of Sb2O3 when sintering ZnO and ZnO+Bi2O3 (0.5 mol%) were studied. To prevent non-uniform distribution of the additive, dilute solutions of Sb-salts were used instead of solid Sb2O3. Very small quantity additions of Sb2O3 retarded sintering of both ZnO and ZnO+Bi2O3 (0.5 mol%). The sintering retarding effect, however, is lost when a powder mixture composed of Bi2O3+Sb2O3 is heat-treated to have these additives reacted with each other before they are added to the ZnO matrix.

Grain growth of ZnO in liquid phase sintering of ZnO–0.5 mol%Bi2O3 ceramics has been studied by increasing the doping amount of Al2O3 from 25 ppm to 200 ppm. Al2O3 was doped using an aluminum nitrate aqueous solution. When 50 ppm of Al2O3 was doped to ZnO ceramics, abnormal grain growth was observed, while 75 ppm Al2O3 retarded grain growth. Doping of Al2O3 to pure ZnO ceramics did not cause abnormal grain growth,but simply retarded grain growth . The ratio of diameters of these grain sizes sintered at 900° C: d (abnormal grain growth)/d(retarded grain growth) is 20–100. Mechanisms of abnormal grain growth and retardation are proposed as follows. When the doped amount of Al2O3 was 50 ppm, aluminum compound thin films which were formed around ZnO grains at a low temperature and retarded grain growth disappeared suddenly by diffusion into the ZnO grain and ZnO grains grew suddenly. When the doped amount of Al2O3 was 75 ppm and the aluminum compound film was thick enough, part of the film remained unchanged even when a considerable proportion of the aluminum diffused mainly into the ZnO to reach solubility, retarding grain growth.

Capacitive deionization technique having higher efficiency and lower operation cost in comparison with the reverse osmosis technique for regeneration of rinse water used for dechlorination of incineration ashes is investigated. Activated charcoal-based electrodes were developed and characterized for their capacity to remove the chlorine ions dissolved in rinse water for incineration ashes. The mass ratio of rinse water to incineration ashes was also investigated to realize the most efficient removal of chloride from rinse water and minimize the regeneration load of the rinse water. The electrochemical properties of the developed electrode were characterized using a three-electrode cyclic voltammetry system, which showed that chemically modified carbon electrodes demonstrated an increase in capacitance. An asymmetrical distribution of capacities of both electrodes was found to be ideal wherein no electrochemical reactions took place at the electrode surface. The electrode capacities were defined based on the difference between the rest potential of the electrodes and the oxidation-reduction potential of the solution. Furthermore, the ion removal capacity of the electrode was evaluated using NaCl solution with a conductivity of 11 mS/cm. The electrode with a thickness ratio of 2.5:1 (anode:cathode) exhibited high ion removal capacity up to 0.034 mol/m 2 .