Gelatin‐Alginate Gels and Their Enzymatic Modifications: Controlling the Delivery of Small Molecules

The release of molecules entrapped within biogels is dictated by diffusion laws. Innovative biogel architectures are conceived and tested to control small molecule delivery from gelatin gels. The ionic interactions modulate the release of small molecules. Alginate is then added to gelatin gels and further hydrolyzed; the influence of viscosity is discussed. Next, various mixed gels are compared, such as a gelatin‐alginate IPN and the original architecture of an alginate gel entrapped in a gelatin gel with or without a polysaccharidase. The relative influence of ionic interactions and diffusional constraints on the delivery of small charged molecules is explored, and a solution for controlling diffusion is proposed for any situation.

     

Heat-treatment studies of molybdenum oxide-monohydrate

The dehydration of molybdic acid, MoO₃---H₂O, was studied by thermal analysis, X-ray diffractometry and FTIR spectroscopy. The results show that an intermediate phase, MoO₃-2/3H₂O is formed at 216 °C and the monoclinic form of MoO₃ is grown above 350 °C. The mechanism of dehydration and structural rearrangement were confirmed by the features of the infrared spectra showing formation of corner-shared MoO₆ octahedra.     

On the Second Cohomology of K?hler Groups

Carlson and Toledo conjectured that if an infinite group Γ is the fundamental group of a compact K?hler manifold, then virtually H²(G, \mathbb R) 1 0{H^{2}(\Gamma, {\mathbb R}) \ne 0} . We assume that Γ admits an unbounded reductive rigid linear representation. This representation necessarily comes from a complex variation of Hodge structure ( \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} -VHS) on the K?hler manifold. We prove the conjecture under some assumption on the \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} -VHS. We also study some related geometric/topological properties of period domains associated to such a \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} -VHS.     

High-field magnetic phases of a two-leg spin ladder: Cu2(C5H12N2)2Cl4

CHCupCl is a two-leg spin-ladder where the Cu⁺⁺ ions are coupled by superexchange. Its magnetic properties change dramatically as a function of a magnetic field. Below the critical field H_c1, there is a singlet ground state separated from the triplet excited state by an energy gap. Between H_c1 and H_c2, several magnetic phases have been observed. Above 1 K, dynamical studies reveal a disordered quantum critical phase. At lower temperatures, a 3-D ordered phase has been observed in specific heat and NMR studies. New NMR results on the 3D-ordered and quantum critical phases are presented in this short report.     

Simultaneous Analysis of the nu(2) Raman and nu(2) + nu(6) Infrared Spectra of the SF(6) Molecule

High-resolution Raman spectra of the nu(2) band of SF(6) have been recorded at a temperature of 195 K (dry ice) and a pressure of 39 mbar. These spectra were analyzed using a new set of programs specially written for XY(6) molecules. These programs, called HTDS (highly spherical top data system) in reference to the set of programs called STDS (spherical top data system written for XY(4) molecules) can be freely accessible through ftp (user anonymous) at jupiter.u-bourgogne.fr or on the web at the URL http://www.u-bourgogne.fr/LPUB/shTDS.html. The study of nu(2) was made using a Hamiltonian developed through the third order. Four parameters were determined. The standard deviation obtained using about 559 data up to J < 61 is 0.0021 cm(-1). This result is used to refine by simultaneous analysis the nu(2) and nu(2) + nu(6) bands of SF(6). This new fit allows the determination for the first time of some nu(6) parameters. The values obtained for this band (forbidden in Raman and in infrared) will be used to study the infrared hot bands in the nu(3) and nu(4) regions. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

High-Resolution Spectroscopy and Analysis of the nu(3) and nu(4) Fundamentals of Monoisotopic (70)GeF(4)

The first high-resolution study on germanium tetrafluoride is reported. We used a monoisotopic sample of (70)GeF(4). The FTIR spectra of the two infrared active fundamentals, namely the nu(4) (bending) and nu(3) (stretching) modes, were recorded at a temperature of ca. 210 K and a resolution (1/maximum optical path difference) of 0.0031 and 0.0023 cm(-1), respectively. These spectra were analyzed using the STDS software developed in Dijon. In both cases, we obtained a fit with a root mean square better than 1x10(-3) cm(-1). Both bands show very regular structures with no detectable perturbation. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Characterization Theorem for Best Polynomial Spline Approximation with Free Knots,Variable Degree and Fixed Tails

In this paper, we derive a necessary condition for a best approximation by piecewise polynomial functions of varying degree from one interval to another. Based on these results, we obtain a characterization theorem for the polynomial splines with fixed tails, that is the value of the spline is fixed in one or more knots (external or internal). We apply nonsmooth nonconvex analysis to obtain this result, which is also a necessary and sufficient condition for inf-stationarity in the sense of Demyanov–Rubinov. This paper is an extension of a paper where similar conditions were obtained for free tails splines. The main results of this paper are essential for the development of a Remez-type algorithm for free knot spline approximation.     

Nonsmooth nonconvex optimization approach to clusterwise linear regression problems

Clusterwise regression consists of finding a number of regression functions each approximating a subset of the data. In this paper, a new approach for solving the clusterwise linear regression problems is proposed based on a nonsmooth nonconvex formulation. We present an algorithm for minimizing this nonsmooth nonconvex function. This algorithm incrementally divides the whole data set into groups which can be easily approximated by one linear regression function. A special procedure is introduced to generate a good starting point for solving global optimization problems at each iteration of the incremental algorithm. Such an approach allows one to find global or near global solution to the problem when the data sets are sufficiently dense. The algorithm is compared with the multistart Späth algorithm on several publicly available data sets for regression analysis.     

Adaptive instant record signals applied to detection with time reversal operator decomposition

Time reversal arrays are becoming common tools whether for detection or tomography. These applications require the measurement of the response from the array to one or several receivers. The most natural way to record the impulse responses for several sources is to generate pulses successively from each emitting point and record simultaneously the signals from the receivers. However, this method is very time consuming or inefficient in terms of signal-to-noise ratio. To overcome this limitation quasi-orthogonal pseudonoise signals like Kasami sequences can be used. For guided wave propagation, a very high degree of orthogonality between the signal is necessary to allow an accurate measure of the whole multipath structure of the transfer function. Hence, in this work, we propose a new family of pseudo-orthogonal signals that is adapted to the environment and more specifically, to highly dispersive media. These adaptive instant records signals are used experimentally to detect targets using the time reversal operator decomposition method. The accuracy of the 15 x 15 transfer functions acquired simultaneously, and therefore the detection capability, are demonstrated in an experimental ultrasonic waveguide as a small-scale model of shallow water propagation including bottom absorption and reverberation.