Une méthode de calcul des coefficients de réflexion et de transmission d'une houle bidimensionnelle en milieu confinéA new method for the calculation of transmission and reflection coefficients for water waves in a small basin

This paper presents a method to estimate reflected and transmitted wave amplitude spectra in a bounded domain such as a wave tank, when available data signals must be shortened due to interferences and wall effects. This paper extends the well known Goda and Suzuki two-probe method to three probes. The paper also suggests solutions to compute reliable transmission and reflection coefficients in spite of problems linked to higher harmonics and to the interference between different wave trains propagating in the tank. To cite this article: G. Duclos, A.H. Clément, C. R. Mecanique 331 (2003).     

Lieb–Thirring Inequalities for Schrödinger Operators with Complex-valued Potentials

Inequalities are derived for power sums of the real part and the modulus of the eigenvalues of a Schrödinger operator with a complex-valued potential.     

New access to H-phosphonates via metal-catalyzed phosphorus-oxygen bond formation

A novel approach to H-phosphonates from hypophosphorous acid using a transfer hydrogenation process was developed. This method is atom-economical, environmentally friendly, catalytic, and efficient, leading easily to H-phosphonate monoesters or ammonium salt in moderate to good yields.     

Indoloquinolizidine synthesis : Stereochemistry and mechanism of cyclisation

A stereocontrolled cyclisation of suitably substituted indole derivatives can be explained by the revised Pictet-Spengler reaction mechanism.     

Photophysical properties of borondipyrromethene analogues in solution

The photophysical properties of seven new 8-(p-substituted)phenyl analogues of 4,4-difluoro-3,5-dimethyl-8-(aryl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene (derivatives of the well-known fluorophore BODIPY) in several solvents have been studied by means of absorption and steady-state and time-resolved fluorimetry. For each compound, the fluorescence quantum yield and lifetime are lower in solvents with higher polarity owing to an increase in the rate of nonradiative deactivation. Increasing the electron withdrawing strength of the p-substituent on the phenyl group in position 8 also leads to lower fluorescence quantum yields and lifetimes. When the p-substituent on the phenyl group in position 8 is a tertiary amine [8-(4-piperidinophenyl), 8-(4-N,N-dimethylaminophenyl), and 8-(4-morpholinophenyl)], the low quantum yields of these compounds in more polar solvents can be rationalized by the inversion of the energy levels of an apolar, highly fluorescent and a polar, nonfluorescent excited state, where charge transfer from the tertiary amine to the BODIPY unit occurs. These amine analogues can be protonated at low pH in aqueous solution. Fluorescence titrations yielded pK(a) values of their conjugate ammonium salts which are in agreement with the electron donating tendency of the amine group: piperidino (4.15) > dimethylamino (2.37) > morpholino (1.47), with the pK(a) values in parentheses. The rate constant of radiative deactivation (k(f)) is the same for all compounds in all solvents studied (k(f) = 1.4 x 10(8) s(-1)).     

Lamellar Organo-Bridged Silicones

The acid-hydrolysis of an organo-bridged bisdiethoxysilylated molecular precursor bearing urea groups, (EtO)₂MeSi(CH₂)₃NHCONH(CH₂)₁₂NHCONH(CH₂)₃SiMe(OEt)₂, has been performed in pure aqueous medium. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the resulting insoluble solid revealed plate-like forms with a lamellar structure as determined by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) studies with a sharp peak at 28.5 Å. The solid state ²⁹Si MAS-NMR spectrum of this bridged siloxane hybrid is consistent with a moderately condensed material with complete preservation of the Si–C bonds throughout the hybrid network. In comparison, the classical sol–gel hydrolysis-condensation of the molecular precursor in ethanol with stoichiometric amount of water and fluoride anion as catalyst produced an amorphous featureless solid.     

Kinetic studies of some substituted hexarhodium carbonyl clusters

Reactions of the halides X- (X- = chloride, bromide or iodide) with the substituted cluster Rh6(CO)15(PPh3) in oxygen-free chloroform lead to [Rh5(CO)14(PPh3)]-, Rh(CO)2(PPh3)2X and [Rh(CO)2X2]- in the molar ratios 2:1: approximately 13. Oxidation by the solvent is assumed to lead to most of the Rh(I) product, and the stoichiometry for reactions with I- can be defined as 4Rh6(CO)15(PPh3) + 27I- + 12CHCl3 --> 2[Rh5(CO)14(PPh3)]- + Rh(CO)2(PPh3)2I + 13[Rh(CO)2I2]- + 6C2H2Cl4 + 4CO + 12Cl-. This can be rationalized quite simply with the aid of a few generally justifiable assumptions. Rate constants for reactions with bromide increase to a limiting value with increasing [Br-] in a way that shows that breaking of one Rh-Rh bond, with an unusual closo to nido structural change, is rate determining. This opening of the cluster might be spontaneous or solvent induced. To complete the reaction, the bromide has to compete with the reverse nido to closo change. The same closo to nido change is also a major rate determining step for reactions with P(OPh)3 in oxygen-free solutions, and for reactions with bromide in oxygenated solutions in the presence of trifluoroacetic and some other acids. The limiting rates increase slightly with increasing basicity of the ligands P(p-XC6H4)3 along the series X = F3C, Cl, F, H and MeO. Activation parameters for these reactions are reported.     

Can a single oxidant with two spin states masquerade as two different oxidants? A study of the sulfoxidation mechanism by cytochrome p450

Density functional calculations were performed on the sulfoxidation reaction by a model compound I (Cpd I) of cytochrome P450. By contrast to previous alkane hydroxylation studies, which exhibit a dominant low-spin (LS) pathway, the sulfoxidation follows a dominant high-spin (HS) reaction. Thus, competing hydroxylation and sulfoxidation processes as observed for instance by Jones et al. (Volz, T. J.; Rock, D. A.; Jones, J. P. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 9724) are the result of a two-state reactivity scenario, whereby the hydroxylation originates from the LS pathway and the sulfoxidation from the HS pathway. In this manner, two spin states of a single oxidant (Cpd I) can be disguised as two different oxidants. The calculations rule out the possibility that a second oxidant (the ferric peroxide, Cpd 0 species) interferes in the observed results of Jones et al.     

Modelling and mutation studies on the histamine H1-receptor agonist binding site reveal different binding modes for H1-agonists: Asp116 (TM3) has a constitutive role in receptor stimulation

Summary A modelling study has been carried out, investigating the binding of histamine (Hist), 2-methylhistamine (2-MeHist) and 2-phenylhistamine (2-PhHist) at two postulated agonistic binding sites on transmembrane domain 5 (TM5) of the histamine H₁-receptor. For this purpose a conformational analysis study was performed on three particular residues of TM5, i.e., Lys²⁰⁰, Thr²⁰³ and Asn²⁰⁷, for which a functional role in binding has been proposed. The most favourable results were obtained for the interaction between Hist and the Lys²⁰⁰/Asn²⁰⁷ pair. Therefore, Lys²⁰⁰ was subsequently mutated and converted to an alanine, resulting in a 50-fold decrease of H₁-receptor stimulation by histamine. Altogether, the data suggest that the Lys²⁰⁰/Asn²⁰⁷ pair is important for activation of the H₁-receptor by histamine. In contrast, analogues of 2-PhHist seem to belong to a distinct subclass of histamine agonists and an alternative mode of binding is proposed in which the 2-phenyl ring binds to the same receptor location as one of the aromatic rings of classical histamine H₁-antagonists. Subsequently, the binding modes of the agonists Hist, 2-MeHist and 2-PhHist and the H₁-antagonist cyproheptadine were evaluated in three different seven--helical models of the H₁-receptor built in homology with bacteriorhodopsin, but using three different alignments. Our findings suggest that the position of the carboxylate group of Asp¹¹⁶ (TM3) within the receptor pocket depends on whether an agonist or an antagonist binds to the protein; a conformational change of this aspartate residue upon agonist binding is expected to play an essential role in receptor stimulation.Abbreviations 2-MeHist 2-methylhistamine - 2-PEA 2-pyridyl-ethylamine - 2-PhHist 2-phenylhistamine - CHO Chinese hamster ovary - E_int interaction energy - E_str strain energy - GES global energy structure - gpH₁R guinea pig H₁-receptor - GPCR G-protein coupled receptor - Hist histamine - N proximal nitrogen - N tele nitrogen - TM transmembrane domain - WT wild type