The influence of sodium chloride on the melting temperature of collagen crystalline region in parchments

In order to observe the influence of sodium chloride on the melting temperature of collagen crystalline region in three new parchments, samples were soaked in water (blanks) and NaCl solutions of different concentrations, then removed, dried in air and measured by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The melting temperature of crystalline region of collagen, T _m, was determined as the minimum of the endothermal peak in the range 200–250 °C and as the inflection point of the decrease of storage modulus, respectively. There was observed a decrease in melting temperature of the salt-treated parchments compared to the samples soaked in water, sometimes significant (~20 °C) at certain concentrations of NaCl. Simultaneous TG/DTG/DSC thermal analysis (STA) was also applied for the determination of the amount of sodium chloride in salt-treated parchments, by calculating the mass loss due to the vaporization of NaCl, which occurs above 800 °C. By plotting T _m determined by DSC and DMA versus the NaCl content of the samples, an apparent minimum is observed. Additional information regarding the structural features was also obtained through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and attenuated total reflection fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). XRD data put in evidence the preservation of collagen crystalline region in all salt-treated samples, while FTIR measurements did not showed significant modification of collagen. By removing the sodium chloride from the salt-treated parchments through washing with water, there is a return of the melting temperatures to the values of blank samples, demonstrating the reversibility of this phenomenon.     

Traces of functions in Hardy and Besov spaces on Lipschitz domains with applications to compensated compactness and the theory of Hardy and Bergman type spaces

In this paper we study conditions guaranteeing that functions defined on a Lipschitz domain Ω have boundary traces in Hardy and Besov spaces on ∂Ω. In turn these results are used to develop a new approach to the theory of compensated compactness and the theory of non-locally convex Hardy and Bergman type spaces.     

On the <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis></Superscript>-Poisson Semigroup Associated with Elliptic Systems

We study the infinitesimal generator of the Poisson semigroup in L ^p associated with homogeneous, second-order, strongly elliptic systems with constant complex coefficients in the upper-half space, which is proved to be the Dirichlet-to-Normal mapping in this setting. Also, its domain is identified as the linear subspace of the L ^p -based Sobolev space of order one on the boundary of the upper-half space consisting of functions for which the Regularity problem is solvable. Moreover, for a class of systems containing the Lamé system, as well as all second-order, scalar elliptic operators, with constant complex coefficients, the action of the infinitesimal generator is explicitly described in terms of singular integral operators whose kernels involve first-order derivatives of the canonical fundamental solution of the given system. Furthermore, arbitrary powers of the infinitesimal generator of the said Poisson semigroup are also described in terms of higher order Sobolev spaces and a higher order Regularity problem for the system in question. Finally, we indicate how our techniques may be adapted to treat the case of higher order systems in graph Lipschitz domains.     

Counterexamples to the well-posedness of transmission boundary value problems for the Laplacian

In this note we show that the well-posedness range for transmission boundary value problems for the Laplacian in the class of Lipschitz domains established by Escauriaza and Mitrea (2004) is sharp. Our approach relies on Mellin transform techniques for singular integrals naturally associated with the transmission problems and on a careful analysis of the spectra of such singular integrals.

     

X‐ray spectromicroscopy with the scanning transmission X‐ray microscope at BESSY II

Using the scanning transmission X‐ray microscope at BESSY II, colloidal structures from a Chernozem soil have been studied with a spatial resolution around 60 nm and a spectral resolution of 1700 at the K‐absorption edge of carbon. Elemental mapping has been used to determine the distribution of organic matter within the colloidal structures. Spectra have been extracted from image stacks to obtain information about the chemical state. For the analysis of the latter, principal component analysis and cluster analysis have been applied. It was possible, for example, to discriminate clay particles against organic components.     

Spectral radius properties for layer potentials associated with the elastostatics and hydrostatics equations in nonsmooth domains

By producing a L² convergent Neumann series, we prove the invertibility of the elastostatics and hydrostatics boundary layer potentials on arbitrary Lipschitz domains with small Lipschitz character and 3D polyhedra with large dihedral angles.     

Asymmetric Modulation of Protein Order–Disorder Transitions by Phosphorylation and Partner Binding

As for many intrinsically disordered proteins, order–disorder transitions in the N‐terminal oligomerization domain of the multifunctional nucleolar protein nucleophosmin (Npm‐N) are central to its function, with phosphorylation and partner binding acting as regulatory switches. However, the mechanism of this transition and its regulation remain poorly understood. In this study, single‐molecule and ensemble experiments revealed pathways with alternative sequences of folding and assembly steps for Npm‐N. Pathways could be switched by altering the ionic strength. Phosphorylation resulted in pathway‐specific effects, and decoupled folding and assembly steps to facilitate disorder. Conversely, binding to a physiological partner locked Npm‐N in ordered pentamers and counteracted the effects of phosphorylation. The mechanistic plasticity found in the Npm‐N order–disorder transition enabled a complex interplay of phosphorylation and partner‐binding steps to modulate its folding landscape.     

Electromagnetic scattering from perturbed surfaces

This paper studies the scattering of electromagnetic waves from a (local) perturbation of a fixed surface, the boundary of a given obstacle in ?³. The goal is to produce an algorithm for solving boundary value problems in the exterior of the perturbed domain solely based on the knowledge of the Green function for the original surface. This is done by solving a boundary integral equation which only involves the perturbed portion of the boundary. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stability results on interpolation scales of quasi-Banach spaces and applications

We investigate the stability of Fredholm properties on interpolation scales of quasi-Banach spaces. This analysis is motivated by problems arising in PDE's and several applications are presented.

     

On the regularity of domains satisfying a uniform hour–glass condition and a sharp version of the Hopf–Oleinik boundary point principle

We prove that an open, proper, nonempty subset of _boxclose^n{\mathbb{R}}^n is a locally Lyapunov domain if and only if it satisfies a uniform hour-glass condition. The limiting cases are as follows: Lipschitz domains may be characterized by a uniform double cone condition, and domains of class may be characterized by a uniform two-sided ball condition. We discuss a sharp generalization of the Hopf–Oleinik boundary point principle for domains satisfying an interior pseudoball condition, for semi-elliptic operators with singular drift and obtain a sharp version of the Hopf strong maximum principle for second order, nondivergence form differential operators with singular drift. Bibliography: 66 titles. Illustrations: 7 figures.