Organocatalytic Control over a Fuel-Driven Transient-Esterification Network**

Signal transduction in living systems is the conversion of information into a chemical change, and is the principal process by which cells communicate. In nature, these functions are encoded in non-equilibrium (bio)chemical reaction networks (CRNs) controlled by enzymes. However, man-made catalytically controlled networks are rare. We incorporated catalysis into an artificial fuel-driven out-of-equilibrium CRN, where the forward (ester formation) and backward (ester hydrolysis) reactions are controlled by varying the ratio of two organocatalysts: pyridine and imidazole. This catalytic regulation enables full control over ester yield and lifetime. This fuel-driven strategy was expanded to a responsive polymer system, where transient polymer conformation and aggregation are controlled through fuel and catalyst levels. Altogether, we show that organocatalysis can be used to control a man-made fuel-driven system and induce a change in a macromolecular superstructure, as in natural non-equilibrium systems.     

Numerical approximation of elliptic control problems with finitely many pointwise constraints

We study the numerical approximation of elliptic control problems with finitely many pointwise state constraints and control bounds. Results for the continuous problem are collected and a complete study of the discrete problems is carried out, including, existence of solutions, optimality conditions, convergence to solutions of the continuous problem and error estimates. A numerical example is provided.     

Duality in reconstruction systems

We consider reconstruction systems (RS’s), which are G-frames in a finite dimensional setting, and that includes the fusion frames as projective RS’s. We describe the spectral picture of the set of RS operators for the projective systems with fixed weights. We also introduce a functional defined on dual pairs of RS’s, called the joint potential, and study the structure of the minimizers of this functional. In the case of irreducible RS’s the minimizers are characterize as the tight systems. In the general case we give spectral and geometric characterizations of the minimizers of the joint potential. At the end of the paper we show several examples that illustrate our results.     

Photodegradation of butyl acrylate in the troposphere by OH radicals: kinetics and fate of 1,2‐hydroxyalcoxy radicals

The rate constant of the reaction of OH radicals with butyl acrylate was studied for the first time using an atmospheric simulation chamber at 298 K and ～750 Torr of air or nitrogen. The decay of the organics was followed using a gas chromatograph with a flame ionization detector (GC‐FID), and the rate constant was determined using a relative rate method with different references. The obtained average value of (1.80 ± 0.26) × 10^?11 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1 is in agreement with previous determinations of the rate constants of OH radicals with acrylates and methacrylates in the literature. Additionally, product identification under atmospheric conditions was performed for the first time by the GC‐MS technique. Butyl glyoxalate was observed as the degradation product in accordance with the addition of OH to the less substituted carbon atom of the double bond, followed by decomposition of the 1,2‐hydroxyalkoxy radicals formed. Room temperature rate coefficient was used to estimate the atmospheric lifetime of the ester studied. Reactivity trends are discussed in terms of the substituent effects and the length of the hydrogenated chain of the ester. The atmospheric persistence of BUAC was calculated taking into account the experimental rate constant obtained. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cryopreservation of embryogenic cultures from mature Quercus suber trees using vitrification

Recent progress in somatic embryogenesis from selected mature trees of Quercus suber, has led to a demand for maintenance of a large number of selected embryogenic lines. To facilitate the management of this material a protocol for the long-term storage of this germplasm should be defined. This study reports on the use of a simple vitrification procedure for the successful cryopreservation of three cork oak embryogenic lines. High embryo recovery levels (88-93 percent) were obtained by first preculturing 2-4 mg clumps of two or three globular embryos on semisolid medium containing 0.3 M sucrose for three days, followed by incubation in PVS2 vitrification solution at 0 degree C for 60 min before direct immersion in liquid nitrogen. The mean number of embryos produced per explant was significantly greater for cryostored embryos than for untreated stock cultures, but the productivity of the latter was recovered in subsequent subcultures of the material produced by cryostored embryos. The germination and plant regeneration rates achieved by cultures derived from cryostored embryos, around 60 percent, were similar to those of non-cryopreserved stock cultures.     

Half-quadratic cost functions for phase unwrapping

We present a generic regularized formulation, based on robust half-quadratic regularization, for unwrapping noisy and discontinuous wrapped phase maps. Two cases are presented: the convex case and the nonconvex case. The unwrapped phase with the convex formulation is unique and robust to noise; however, the convex function solution deteriorates as a result of real discontinuities in phase maps. Therefore we also present a nonconvex formulation that, with a parameter continuation strategy, shows superior performance.     

Unstable Particles, Gauge Invariance and the Δ++ Resonance Parameters

The elastic and radiative ⁺ p scattering are studied in the framework of an effective Lagrangian model for the ⁺⁺ resonance and its interactions. The finite width effects of this spin-3/2 resonance are introduced in the scattering amplitudes through a complex mass scheme to respect electromagnetic gauge invariance. The resonant pole ( ⁺⁺) and background contributions ( ⁰, , , and neutron states) are separated according to the principles of the analytic S-matrix theory. The mass and width parameters of the ⁺⁺ obtained from a fit to experimental data on the total cross section are in agreement with the results of a model-independent analysis based on the analytic S-matrix approach. The magnetic dipole moment determined from the radiative ⁺ p scattering is nuclear magnetons.