Gas-phase behaviour of negative ions produced from thiazidic diuretics under electrospray conditions

A systematic mass spectrometric study of 10 thiazidic diuretics and related compounds was undertaken by mass spectrometry (MS) with electrospray ionization in the negative ion mode. Collisional dissociation 'in-source' (CID-MS) and in a low-pressure collision cell (CID-MS/MS) were compared in both excitation regions. Spectra obtained by CID-MS and by CID-MS/MS were matched. Using the two methods, loss of HCl and consecutive dissociations from 2HCl losses were exhibited from compounds such as methyclothiazide and trichlormethiazide but not from other thiazidic diuretics that contain chlorine substituents in the aromatic moiety. However, deprotonated dichlorphenamide gave rise to loss of HCl by CID-MS and CID-MS/MS. For other diuretics such as hydroflumethiazide and hydrochlorothiazide, the loss of HCN and [HCN + SO(2)] was relevant. Reaction mechanisms were checked by means of deuterium-hydrogen exchange, which showed that deprotonation took place regioselectively on the heterocyclic moiety. The cleavage pathways require molecular isomerization forming ion-dipole complexes prior to decompositions, allowing long-distance proton transfer for neutral elimination. Identifications of the most specific fragmentations presented in this paper were applied to the screening and unambiguous identification of diuretics for horse doping control.     

Three-dimensional microfabrication by two-photon-initiated polymerization with a low-cost microlaser

Fabrication of submicrometer structures by two-photon-initiated polymerization is performed with an inexpensive and low-power microlaser. This is made possible by the design of photoinitiators with strong two-photon absorption cross sections. We analyze the influence of both material properties and irradiation conditions on the two-photon polymerization rate and show that resins based on our highly sensitive two-photon photoinitiator can be solidified with microlaser excitation, whereas commercial UV photoresins require ultrashort and intense laser pulses.     

Géométrie diophantienne et variétés toriques

We present some results on projective toric varieties which are relevant in diophantine geometry. We interpret and study several invariants attached to these varieties by geometrical and combinatorial terms. We also give a Bézout theorem for Chow weights of projective varieties and an application to the theorem of successive algebraic minima. These results are extracted from the two texts of Philippon and Sombra mentioned in the references at the end of this Note (both downloadable from http://fr.arxiv.org). To cite this article: P. Philippon, M. Sombra, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 340 (2005).     

Ensembles invariants non enlacés des difféomorphismes du tore et de l’anneau

We introduce the notion of unlinked invariant set for a diffeomorphism of the 2-torus or the closed annulus and we look at the properties of these sets which generalize the Aubry-Mather sets. We prove that for any irrational number in the rotation set of an area-preserving diffeomorphism of the annulus, there exists an unliked invariant set whose rotation set is reduced to . In the same way we prove that any minimal diffeomorphism of the 2-torus homotopic to the identity may be approximated in the C⁰-topology by a periodic diffeomorphism.

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Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 37E30, 37E45, 37J10     

Practical guide for improving performance

Research has established that health care is not error free. The question facing perioperative units, as well as all health care services, is how to minimize the human factors that impact quality and safety. This two-part series on performance improvement in perioperative services was intended to help answer this question. Achieving performance excellence starts with a supportive work culture. The human issues of teamwork, communication, and leadership are crucial to achieving performance excellence. Next, perioperative caregivers must accept that all people make mistakes so systems and processes can be designed to be more "forgiving" of errors. Last, a planned and systematic approach must be used to measure, analyze, and improve performance. Successful implementation of performance improvement calls for strong partnerships between physicians, managers, and staff members. Performance excellence requires that everyone work together to ensure that perioperative care is safe, effective, appropriate, customer focused, and efficient.     

Mode dependent vibrational autoionization of Rydberg states of NO2. II. Comparing the symmetric stretching and bending vibrations

Triple-resonance excitation and high-resolution photoelectron spectroscopy are combined to characterize the mode selectivity of vibrational autoionization of the high Rydberg states of NO2. Photoelectron spectra and vibrational branching fractions are reported for autoionizing Rydberg states converging to the NO2+ X 1Sigmag +(110) state, that is, with one quantum in the symmetric stretch, nu1, and one quantum in the bending vibration, nu2. These results indicate that autoionization proceeds most efficiently through the loss of one quantum from the symmetric stretch rather than from the bending vibration. The implications of this result are discussed in terms of the autoionization mechanism.     

Theoretical and experimental study of differential group delay and polarization dependent loss of Bragg gratings written in birefringent fiber

In this paper, we completely study the wavelength dependency of differential group delay (DGD) and polarization dependent loss (PDL) for Bragg gratings written in birefringent fibers. Based on the coupled mode theory, we present analytical expressions for the evolution with wavelength of the transmission coefficient, the DGD and the PDL. The wavelength dependencies of these evolutions on the birefringence are then discussed. Experimental results are finally presented for an apodized FBG written in a bow-tie fiber. A very good agreement between theory and experience is reported, confirming the validity of the theoretical analysis.     

Diversity-orientated synthesis of 3,5-bis(arylamino)pyrazoles

The synthesis of differentially-substituted 3,5-bis(arylamino)pyrazoles has not yet been documented. During our investigation, we managed to develop a novel, entirely combinatorial synthesis of 3,5-bis(arylamino)pyrazoles relying on a simple one-pot two-step operation.