Interspecies comparison of chemical composition and anxiolytic-like effects of lavender oils upon inhalation

Essential oils have traditionally been used for decades to alleviate the symptoms of various mental problems. In terms of anxiolytic-like properties, lavender oil is probably the most commonly used and best-studied essential oil. Although there is compositional variance among the oils extracted from different origins, there have been few studies performed to date to investigate how these differences affect the expression of anxiolytic-like activity. This paper discusses the interspecies differences and contributions of the main constituents in the expression of anxiolytic-like effects upon inhalation, as assessed in mice by the elevated-plus maze test, by comparing the essential oils from six different species of Lavandula. The results showed qualitative and quantitative variations in the tested oils, which results in significant differences in their anxiolytic-like activities. Our findings also suggest that linalyl acetate (LA) works synergistically with linalool (LO) and that the presence of both LA and LO is essential for the whole oil to work as an inhaled anti-anxiety agent.     

On a multistage discrete stochastic optimization problem with stochastic constraints and nested sampling

Mathematical Programming -     

三嗪类化合物溶解度参数及毒性构—效关系

测定了１２种三嗪类化合物的水溶解度，辛醇水分配系数和对发光菌的毒性，并用分子连结性指数建立了预测三嗪类化合物的溶解度，辛醇水分配系数及对发光菌毒性的定量结构活性相关方程，其中１０种化合物献中未见报道。e     

Exact inversion of a compound conical Radon transform and a novel nuclear imaging principleInversion exacte d'une transformation conique de Radon composée et nouveau principe d'imagerie nucléaire

A new integral transform arising from a theory of imaging based on Compton scattering is introduced and the explicit expression for its inverse is established. Its properties serve as foundation to a new nuclear emission imaging principle. To cite this article: M.K. Nguyen, T.T. Truong, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 335 (2002) 213–217.     

体积相位全息光栅的设计与制备

本文指出全息干版薄膜在曝光后处理过程中的收缩性和折射率变化对制备全息光栅的周期、倾斜度、布喇格入射角及衍射角的影响问题,并根据实验数据对光栅设计进行修正,再结合Kogelnik衍射方程及折射率调制度和曝光量的线性关系,在实验中基本上能准确设计出指定周期、倾斜度和衍射效率的全息光栅。     

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) — an advanced state for technical applications

The conventional thin-film deposition equipment of pulsed laser deposition (PLD) has been modified for the preparation of individual thin solid films and nanometer-layer stacks of uniform thickness across 100-mm substrates. The planar target configuration was replaced by a cylindrical one and the target motion regime has been improved to provide precise spatial control of the plasma plume orientation. During thin-film deposition, substrate translation is preferred instead of the usual rotation technique. With this arrangement the emission characteristic of the plasma source can be computer controlled and the desired coating can be tailored via a stepper-motor-driven manipulator for the desired layer thickness profile across an extended substrate. Thus, for example, a homogeneous film thickness is obtained even for lower target/substrate distances, and an appropriate deposition rate can be maintained. In a second version, this cylinder geometry principle of plasma plume control by target surface morphology is extended to a spatial solution. The hemispherical target surface becomes the basic element for inside-wall coating of tubes or even of more complex hollow bodies. First applications of the equipment are explained and compared with typical results of the conventional technique.     

A bifurcation-based decohesion model for simulating the transition from localization to decohesion with the MPM

Based on recent experimental observations on the formation of localization before delamination, a bifurcation-based decohesion approach is proposed in this paper to simulate the transition from localization to decohesion involved in the delamination process of compressed films. The onset and orientation of discontinuous failure are identified from the discontinuous bifurcation analysis. A discrete constitutive model is then formulated based on the bifurcation analysis to predict the evolution of material failure as decohesion or separation of continuum. The Material Point Method, that does not employ fixed mesh-connectivity, is developed as a robust spatial discretization method to accommodate the multi-scale discontinuities involved in the film delamination. To demonstrate the potential of the proposed approach, a parametric study is conducted to explore the effects of aspect ratio and failure mode on the evolution of failure patterns under different boundary conditions, which provides a better understanding on the physics behind the film delamination process.Received: January 16, 2003; revised: August 11, 2003     

Multiple melting and crystallization of nylon‐66/montmorillonite nanocomposites

Nylon‐66 nanocomposites were prepared by melt‐compounding nylon‐66 with organically modified montmorillonite (MMT). The organic MMT layers were exfoliated in a nylon‐66 matrix as confirmed by wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) and transmission electron microscopy. The presence of MMT layers increased the crystallization temperature of nylon‐66 because of the heterogeneous nucleation of MMT. Multiple melting behavior was observed in the nylon‐66/MMT nanocomposites, and the MMT layers induced the formation of form II spherulites of nylon‐66. The crystallite sizes L₁₀₀ and L₀₁₀ of nylon‐66, determined by WAXD, decreased with an increasing MMT content. High‐temperature WAXD was performed to determine the Brill transition in the nylon‐66/MMT nanocomposites. Polarized optical microscopy demonstrated that the dimension of nylon‐66 spherulites decreased because of the effect of the MMT layers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2861–2869, 2003     

Synthesis and supramolecular self‐assembly of thermosensitive amphiphilic star copolymers based on a hyperbranched polyether core

A novel amphiphilic thermosensitive star copolymer with a hydrophobic hyperbranched poly (3‐ethyl‐3‐(hydroxymethyl)oxetane) (HBPO) core and many hydrophilic poly(2‐(dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) arms was synthesized and used as the precursor for the aqueous solution self‐assembly. All the copolymers directly aggregated into core–shell unimolecular micelles (around 10 nm) and size‐controllable large multimolecular micelles (around 100 nm) in water at room temperature, according to pyrene probe fluorescence spectrometry and ¹H NMR, TEM, and DLS measurements. The star copolymers also underwent sharp, thermosensitive phase transitions at a lower critical solution temperature (LCST), which were proved to be originated from the secondary aggregation of the large micelles driven by increasing hydrophobic interaction due to the dehydration of PDMAEMA shells on heating. A quantitative variable temperature NMR analysis method was designed by using potassium hydrogen phthalate as an external standard and displayed great potential to evaluate the LCST transition at the molecular level. The drug loading and temperature‐dependent release properties of HBPO‐star‐PDMAEMA micelles were also investigated by using indomethacin as a model drug. The indomethacin‐loaded micelles displayed a rapid drug release at a temperature around LCST. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 668–681, 2008     

Significant improvements to the Ford-Johnson algorithm for sorting

For almost twenty years, the Ford-Johnson algorithm for sortingt items using comparisons was believed to be optimal. Recently, Manacher was able to show that the Ford-Johnson algorithm is not optimal for certain ranges of values oft. In this paper, we present some new algorithms which achieve much stronger results compared to Manacher's algorithms.