Deciphering aromatic oligoamide foldamer-DNA interactions

Finest selection: Side-chain selective, end-group selective, diastereoselective, and RNA- vs. DNA-selective interactions have been revealed between multiturn helical aromatic amide foldamers having cationic side chains and G-quadruplex aptamers.     

Sodium-iron fluorophosphate glasses: Part 2: EPR and mössbauer resonance study

EPR and Mössbauer measurements have been performed on sodium-iron fluorophosphate glasses. Mössbauer spectra show the presence of Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺ both in octahedral coordination sites. However, for low iron concentration, EPR suggests a small number of Fe³⁺ tetrahedra coexisting with Fe³⁺ octahedra. On the basis of these results, Fe³⁺ tetrahedrally and/or octahedrally coordinated, connected with P(O, F)₄ tetrahedra would behave as a network-former cation, whereas Fe²⁺ would substitute for Na⁺ as a netweork-modifier. Long range magnetic order previously observed by magnetic measurements has been confirmed for iron-rich compositions.     

Characterization of a new epoxy-hydroxycarvotanacetone derivative from the leaf essential oil of Laggera pterodonta from Côte d’Ivoire

The leaf essential oil of Laggera pterodonta (DC.) Sch. Bip. ex Oliv. (Asteraceae) collected in the Eastern Côte d’Ivoire was investigated using a combination of chromatographic (GC-RI, CC, pc-GC) and spectroscopic (GC-MS, ¹³C NMR) techniques. Eighty-three components accounting for 98.0% of the whole composition were identified with 2,5-dimethoxy-p-cymene (43.3%), sabinene (14.1%), α-humulene (9.8%), (E)-β-caryophyllene (7.2%) and germacrene D (5.2%) as major compounds. This study led to the structural elucidation of a new natural compound, (3αH,4βH,6αH,1αMe)-1,6-epoxy-3-hydroxycarvotanacetone, angelic acid ester from the leaf oil by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy.     

From the dilute solution to the pure compound: Extraction strategy based on a multi-stage process of phase separation

It is very rare that a one-step process of extraction leads to the pure compound with a high degree of purity specified by an industrial application. The various stages of a synthesis process and possible secondary reactions may lead to the synthesis of more or less complex and highly diluted solutions. In this work, the rationale and strategy for extraction and purification of a high added value compound are discussed. All the thinking is based on the knowledge and the exploitation of phase diagrams and then developed for different unit operations of the process. The most significant research tools are the experimental data and the modelling of phase equilibrium to estimate the yield of each step of extraction. The significant example chosen involves all the basic methods of phase separation, starting with liquid-vapour equilibrium: stripping of high volatility components and then more or less complex distillation are classically employed. The theoretical plateau number can be deduced from the equilibrium equation curves. The second step is based on the study of the liquid-liquid equilibrium and is an intermediate step for enrichment of the solution when distillation is not possible. A final step based on solid-liquid equilibrium consists of the selective crystallization of the pure product at low temperature, in order to satisfy the requirements of purity and safety imposed by industrial use. The conclusion includes all isolation operations in the form of a general extraction and purification scheme.

     

How to Choose Secret Parameters for RSA-Type Cryptosystems over Elliptic Curves

Recently, and contrary to the common belief, Rivest and Silverman argued that the use of strong primes is unnecessary in the RSA cryptosystem. This paper analyzes how valid this assertion is for RSA-type cryptosystems over elliptic curves. The analysis is more difficult because the underlying groups are not always cyclic. Previous papers suggested the use of strong primes in order to prevent factoring attacks and cycling attacks. In this paper, we only focus on cycling attacks because for both RSA and its elliptic curve-based analogues, the length of the RSA-modulus n is typically the same. Therefore, a factoring attack will succeed with equal probability against all RSA-type cryptosystems. We also prove that cycling attacks reduce to find fixed points, and derive a factorization algorithm which (most probably) completely breaks RSA-type systems over elliptic curves if a fixed point is found.     

A damage mechanics approach to stress softening and its application to rubber

We analyze stress softening phenomena within the framework of the ‘generalized standard material’ based on the notion of a ‘normal dissipative mechanism’. We prove that the monotonicity properties of the ‘yield function’ governing such mechanism lead to local and global uniqueness of the response. Applications to oscillators with a single degree of freedom, whose anharmonic spring exhibits stress softening, are also presented.     

High-resolution correlation OTDR for distributed fiber-optic sensors and mobile cabling

Distributed fiber-optic sensing systems require a spatial resolution of less than 1 meter, which cannot easily be reached by conventional optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) because of present electronics response times limited to about 10 ns corresponding to a few meter resolution. Correlation optical time domain reflectometry (COTDR) is a powerful technique for high-resolution test of distributed single-mode fiber sensors in the long wavelength range 1.3-1.6 μm.

This article describes the realization of a 1.3-μm COTDR using a 200-Mb/s pseudorandom sequence that allows a spatial resolution of 50 cm and gives results obtained on a short single-mode fiber length with localized defects simulating a distributed line of sensors.     

Density functional calculations for predicting structures and vibrational frequencies of aluminum chloride-fluoride complexes

Quantum chemical calculations are used to study AlCl_y−xF_x^3−y (y = 5 or 6, x = 0,…,y) species that can occur in aluminum electrorefining melts. These theoretical studies are included in a wider research program concerning the chemical instabilities in the bulk of molten salts during the refinement process. Stabilization energies, equilibrium geometries and vibrational frequencies of the complexes are calculated using the Delley functional methodology described in Ref. [1] (B. Delley, J. Chem. Phys., 92 (1990) 508). These computational simulations, discussed and compared with the experimental results demonstrate that density functional calculations can be reliably used in the study of complexes existing in molten salts. Quantum chemical calculations are accurate tools for theoretically predicting structures, physical and chemical properties and vibrational frequencies of known entities as well as unknown compounds.