Image encryption based on fractional chaotic pseudo-random number generator and DNA encryption method

Nonlinear Dynamics - Nonlinear dynamic systems and chaotic systems have been quite exhaustively researched in the domain of cryptography. However, the possibility of using fractional chaotic...     

Front-End Electron Transfer Dissociation Coupled to a 21 Tesla FT-ICR Mass Spectrometer for Intact Protein Sequence Analysis

High resolution mass spectrometry is a key technology for in-depth protein characterization. High-field Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) enables high-level interrogation of intact proteins in the most detail to date. However, an appropriate complement of fragmentation technologies must be paired with FTMS to provide comprehensive sequence coverage, as well as characterization of sequence variants, and post-translational modifications. Here we describe the integration of front-end electron transfer dissociation (FETD) with a custom-built 21 tesla FT-ICR mass spectrometer, which yields unprecedented sequence coverage for proteins ranging from 2.8 to 29 kDa, without the need for extensive spectral averaging (e.g., ~60% sequence coverage for apo-myoglobin with four averaged acquisitions). The system is equipped with a multipole storage device separate from the ETD reaction device, which allows accumulation of multiple ETD fragment ion fills. Consequently, an optimally large product ion population is accumulated prior to transfer to the ICR cell for mass analysis, which improves mass spectral signal-to-noise ratio, dynamic range, and scan rate. We find a linear relationship between protein molecular weight and minimum number of ETD reaction fills to achieve optimum sequence coverage, thereby enabling more efficient use of instrument data acquisition time. Finally, real-time scaling of the number of ETD reactions fills during method-based acquisition is shown, and the implications for LC-MS/MS top-down analysis are discussed.

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Synthesis of 3′-deoxy-3′-iminodiacetic acid and 3′-deoxy-3′-aminodiethanol thymidine analogues and NMR study of their complexation with boronic acids

The iminodiacetic acid and aminodiethanol moieties are known for their ability to generate with boronic acids bicyclic structures having a strong intramolecular NB coordination. We describe here the convergent synthesis of 3′-deoxy-3′-iminodiacetic acid and 3′-deoxy-3′-aminodiethanol thymidine analogues. The abilities of these compounds to form boronate complexes with aliphatic or aromatic boronic acids were established by 1D and 2D ¹H and ¹³C NMR. Moreover, conformational analysis of the newly synthesized compounds revealed a marked preference for an N-type sugar puckering.     

Fracture and debonding of a thin film on a stiff substrate: analytical and numerical solutions of a one-dimensional variational model

We study multi-fissuration and debonding phenomena of a thin film bonded to a stiff substrate using the variational approach to fracture mechanics. We consider a reduced one-dimensional membrane model where the loading is introduced through uniform inelastic (e.g., thermal) strains in the film or imposed displacements of the substrate. Fracture phenomena are accounted for by adopting a Griffith model for debonding and transverse fracture. On the basis of energy minimization arguments, we recover the key qualitative properties of the experimental evidences, like the periodicity of transverse cracks and the peripheral debonding of each regular segment. Phase diagrams relate the maximum number of transverse cracks that may be created before debonding takes place, as a function of the material properties and the sample’s geometry. The theoretical results are illustrated with numerical simulations obtained through a finite element discretization and a regularized variational formulation of the Ambrosio–Tortorelli type, which is suited to further extensions in two-dimensional settings.     

Improved and isotropic resolution in tomographic diffractive microscopy combining sample and illumination rotation

Tomographic Diffractive Microscopy is a technique, which permits to image transparent living specimens in three dimensions without staining. It is commonly implemented in two configurations, by either rotating the sample illumination keeping the specimen fixed, or by rotating the sample using a fixed illumination. Under the first-order Born approximation, the volume of the frequency domain that can be mapped with the rotating illumination method has the shape of a “doughnut”, which exhibits a so-called “missing cone” of non-captured frequencies, responsible for the strong resolution anisotropy characteristic of transmission microscopes. When rotating the sample, the resolution is almost isotropic, but the set of captured frequencies still exhibits a missing part, the shape of which resembles that of an apple core. Furthermore, its maximal extension is reduced compared to tomography with rotating illumination. We propose various configurations for tomographic diffractive microscopy, which combine both approaches, and aim at obtaining a high and isotropic resolution. We illustrate with simulations the expected imaging performances of these configurations.     

The issues of the uniqueness and the stability of the homogeneous response in uniaxial tests with gradient damage models

We consider a wide class of gradient damage models which are characterized by two constitutive functions after a normalization of the scalar damage parameter. The evolution problem is formulated following a variational approach based on the principles of irreversibility, stability and energy balance. Applied to a monotonically increasing traction test of a one-dimensional bar, we consider the homogeneous response where both the strain and the damage fields are uniform in space. In the case of a softening behavior, we show that the homogeneous state of the bar at a given time is stable provided that the length of the bar is less than a state dependent critical value and unstable otherwise. However, we also show that bifurcations can appear even if the homogeneous state is stable. All these results are obtained in a closed form. Finally, we propose a practical method to identify the two constitutive functions. This method is based on the measure of the homogeneous response in a situation where this response is stable without possibility of bifurcation, and on a procedure which gives the opportunity to detect its loss of stability. All the theoretical analyses are illustrated by examples.     

Convex and exact games with non-transferable utility

We generalize exactness to games with non-transferable utility (NTU). A game is exact if for each coalition there is a core allocation on the boundary of its payoff set.     

Balancedness conditions for exact games

We provide two new characterizations of exact games. First, a game is exact if and only if it is exactly balanced; and second, a game is exact if and only if it is totally balanced and overbalanced. The condition of exact balancedness is identical to the one of balancedness, except that one of the balancing weights may be negative, while for overbalancedness one of the balancing weights is required to be non-positive and no weight is put on the grand coalition. Exact balancedness and overbalancedness are both easy to formulate conditions with a natural game-theoretic interpretation and are shown to be useful in applications. Using exact balancedness we show that exact games are convex for the grand coalition and we provide an alternative proof that the classes of convex and totally exact games coincide. We provide an example of a game that is totally balanced and convex for the grand coalition, but not exact. Finally we relate classes of balanced, totally balanced, convex for the grand coalition, exact, totally exact, and convex games to one another.