Global Analysis of the Flows of Fluids with Pressure-Dependent Viscosities

 To describe the flows of fluids over a wide range of pressures, it is necessary to take into account the fact that the viscosity of the fluid depends on the pressure. That the viscosity depends on the pressure has been verified by numerous careful experiments. While the existence of solutions local-in-time to the equations governing the flows of such fluids are available for small, special data and rather unrealistic dependence of the viscosity on the pressure, no global existence results are in place. Our interest here is to establish the existence of weak solutions for spatially periodic three-dimensional flows that are global in time, for a large class of physically meaningful viscosity-pressure relationships. (Accepted May 1, 2002) Published online November 15, 2002 Communicated by S. S. ANTMAN     

Synthesis of poly(vinyl chloride)‐b‐poly(n‐butyl acrylate)‐b‐poly(vinyl chloride) by the competitive single‐electron‐transfer/degenerative‐chain‐transfer‐mediated living radical polymerization in water

The synthesis of a block copolymer poly(vinyl chloride)‐b‐poly(n‐butyl acrylate)‐b‐poly(vinyl chloride) is reported. This new material was synthesized by single‐electron‐transfer/degenerative‐chain‐transfer‐mediated living radical polymerization (SET‐DTLRP) in two steps. First, a bifunctional macroinitiator of α,ω‐di(iodo)poly (butyl acrylate) [α,ω‐di(iodo)PBA] was synthesized by SET‐DTLRP in water at 25 °C. The macroinitiator was further reinitiated by SET‐DTLRP, leading to the formation of the desired product. This ABA block copolymer was synthesized with high initiator efficiency. The kinetics of the copolymerization reaction was studied for two PBA macroinitiators with number–average molecular weight of 10 k and 20 k. The relationship between the conversion and the number–average molecular weight was found to be linear. The dynamic mechanical thermal analysis suggests just one phase, indicating that copolymer behaves as a single material with no phase separation. This methodology provides the access to several block copolymers and other complex architectures that result from combinations of thermoplastics (PVC) and elastomers (PBA). From industrial standpoint, this process is attractive, because of easy experimental setup and the environmental friendly reaction medium. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 3001–3008, 2006     

Single electron transfer–degenerative chain transfer living radical polymerization of N‐butyl acrylate catalyzed by Na2S2O4 in water media

Living radical polymerization of n‐butyl acrylate was achieved by single electron transfer/degenerative‐chain transfer mediated living radical polymerization in water catalyzed by sodium dithionate. The plots of number–average molecular weight versus conversion and ln[M]₀/[M] versus time are linear, indicating a controlled polymerization. This methodology leads to the preparation of α,ω‐di(iodo) poly (butyl acrylate) (α,ω‐di(iodo)PBA) macroinitiators. The influence of polymerization degree ([monomer]/[initiator]), amount of catalyst, concentration of suspending agents and temperature were studied. The molecular weight distributions were determined using a combination of three detectors (TriSEC): right‐angle light scattering (RALLS), a differential viscometer (DV), and refractive index (RI). The methodology studied in this work represents a possible route to prepare well‐tailored macromolecules made of butyl acrylate in an environmental friendly reaction medium. Moreover, such materials can be subsequently functionalized leading to the formation of different block copolymers of composition ABA. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 2809–2825, 2006     

Enzymatic synthesis of medium chain monoglycerides in a solvent-free system

The synthesis of monocaprin, monolaurin, and monomyristin in a solvent-free system was conducted by mixing a commercial immobilized lipase with the organic reactants (glycerol and fatty acids) in a 20-mL batch reactor with constant stirring. The effects of temperature, fatty acid/glycerol molar ratio, and enzyme concentration on the reaction conversion were determined. The addition of molecular sieves in the assays of monomyristin synthesis was also evaluated. The reactions were carried out for 5 to 6 h and the nonpolar phase was analyzed by gas chromatography. The best results in terms of selectivity and conversion (defined as the percentage of fatty acid consumed) were achieved when the stoichiometric amount of reagents (molar ratio=1) and 9% (w/w) commercial enzyme were used and the reaction was performed at 60°C. The addition of molecular sieves did not improve the synthesis of monomyristin. Conversions as high as 80%, with monoglycerides being the major products, were attained. After 5 h of reaction, the concentration of monoglyceride was about twice that of diglyceride, and only trace amounts of triglyceride were found. The results illustrate the technical possibility of producing medium chain monoglycerides in a solvent-free medium using a simple batch reactor.     

Measurement of the forward-backward asymmetry of charm and bottom quarks at theZ pole usingD*± mesons

The forward-backward asymmetries for the processes and at theZ resonance are measured using identifiedD ^*± mesons. In 905,000 selected hadronic events, taken in 1991 and 1992 with the DEL-PHI detector at LEP, 4757D ^*+D ⁰⁺ decays are reconstructed. Thec andb quark forward-backward asymmetries are determined to be:

B* production in Z decays

The decayB ^*B has been observed with the DELPHI detector at LEP, where theB ^* meson is produced inZ boson decays. The combination of inclusively reconstructedB mesons with well-measured converted photons yields a measurement of the flavour-averagedB ^*-B mass difference of 45.5±0.3 (stat.) ±0.8 (syst.) MeV/c². 95% confidence level upper limits at 6 MeV/c² are placed on both the isospin (i.e.B ⁺-B ⁰) and theB _s -B _ud splitting of the mass difference. The production ratio ofB ^* toB mesons inZ decays is measured to be 0.72±0.03 (stat.) ±0.06 (syst.). Limits on the production cross-section of other hypothetical excitedB hadron states decaying radiatively are established. The differentialB ^* cross section has been measured to be in good agreement with the averageb fragmentation, yielding an average fractionalB ^* energy of x _E =0.695±0.009 (stat.) ±0.013 (syst.). From the decay angular distribution the relative contribution of longitudinalB ^* polarisation states is measured to be _L/(_L + _T) = 0.32 ± 0.04 (stat.) ±0.03 (syst.).CICYT_AEN93-0832     

A precision measurement of the average lifetime ofB hadrons

The average lifetime ofB hadrons was measured using data collected with the DELPHI detector at the LEP collider during 1991 and 1992. The measurement was performed using two different anayses. The first method was an improvement on a previous technique, which used charged particle impact parameter distributions. This analysis measured an average lifetime forB hadrons of

Production rate and decay lifetime measurements ofBs0 mesons at LEP usingDs and? mesons

The study of the properties of inclusive production ofD _s mesons and of events in which a and a muon are present in the same jet provides two independent measurements of the probability,f _s ^w , for a heavy quark to hadronize into a strangeB orD meson. The data sample analysed corresponds to 243,000 hadronicZ ⁰ decays. The combined value of these measurements isf _s ^w =0.19±0.06±0.08. From the flight distance distributions ofD _s and of (-lepton) secondary vertices, with the lepton emitted at high transverse momentum relative to the jet axis, two values are obtained for theB _s ⁰ meson lifetime. Combining these measurements with a previous result based on the study ofD _s- events, theB _s ⁰ meson lifetime is measured to be: 0.96±0.37 ps.     

A thieno-2H-chromene alpha-amino acid derivative: synthesis and photochromic properties

[structure: see text] A new photochromic thieno-2H-chromene alpha-amino acid derivative was prepared by C-N palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of a bromothieno-2H-chromene with the aminated aromatic side chain of the methyl ester of a N,N-diprotected amino acid. Its good photochromic properties demonstrated by flash photolysis and continuous irradiation indicate a possible application in ophthalmic lenses. It may also be inserted into peptides to give photoinduced reversible structural changes.     

Hydroxyl Radical Generation and DNA Nuclease Activity: A Mechanistic Study Based on a Surface‐Immobilized Copper Thioether Clip‐Phen Derivative

Coordination compounds of copper have been invoked as major actors in processes involving the reduction of molecular oxygen, mostly with the generation of radical species the assignment for which has, so far, not been fully addressed. In the present work, we have carried out studies in solution and on surfaces to gain insights into the nature of the radical oxygen species (ROS) generated by a copper(II) coordination compound containing a thioether clip‐phen derivative, 1,3‐bis(1,10‐phenanthrolin‐2‐yloxy)‐N‐(4‐(methylthio)benzylidene)propan‐2‐amine (2CP‐Bz‐SMe), enabling its adsorption/immobilization to gold surfaces. Whereas surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and electrochemistry of the adsorbed complex indicated the formation of a dimeric Cu^I intermediate containing molecular oxygen as a bridging ligand, scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and nuclease assays pointed to the generation of a ROS species. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) data reinforced such conclusions, indicating that radical production was dependent on the amount of oxygen and H₂O₂, thus pointing to a mechanism involving a Fenton‐like reaction that results in the production of OH^..