Verifying the attenuation of earplugs in situ: method validation using artificial head and numerical simulations

The use of in situ measurements of hearing protectors' (HPD's) attenuation following the microphone in real ear (MIRE) protocol is increasing. The attenuation is hereby calculated from the difference in sound levels outside the ear and inside the ear canal behind the HPD. Custom-made earplugs have been designed with an inner bore that allows inserting a miniature microphone. A thorough understanding of the difference, henceforth called transfer function, between the sound pressure of interest at the eardrum and the one measured at the inner bore of the HPD is indispensable for optimizing the MIRE technique and extending its field of application. This issue was addressed by measurements on a head-and-torso-simulator and finite difference time domain numerical simulations of the outer ear canal occluded by an earplug. Both approaches are in good agreement and reveal a clear distinction between the sound pressure at the MIRE microphone and at eardrum, but the measured transfer functions appear to be stable and reproducible. Moreover, the most striking features of the transfer functions can be traced down to the geometrical and morphological characteristics of the earplug and ear canal.     

The η−η' mixing angle from duality and quark model

From simple quark model and duality arguments the η?η' mixing angle is predicted to be $\text{θ =}\text{arctan}\text{(}\text{?1}\text{2}\text{√2) ≈ ?19.5°}$. The available experimental data seem to support such a result.     

Cyclisation de dinitrodiarylamines en nitro-3 carbazoles inhibition sterique de la substitution nucleophile SNAr par effet ortho d'un groupement methyle

As a first step in the total synthesis of pyrido [4, 3-b] carbazoles, the S_NAr reaction of p.aminophenol is very easy with chlorodinitrobenzene but is hindered when a methyl group is adjacent to the nitro groups.     

On-Line Simulation as a Methodology to Recover Size Distributions from dynamic light scattering experiments

It is generally recognized that fundamental limitations make data analysis for dynamic light scattering (DLS) not straightforward. In addition to experimental problems such as multiple scattering, number fluctuation and noise, there are intrinsic problems. Data analysis is a so-called reverse problem which, owing to the mathematical equations, becomes “allergic” to noise (an ill-posed inverted problem). In an attempt to overcome at least some of these limitations, a software solution was developed. This mainly aimed to implement a tool that makes it easy to evaluate physically plausible solutions, rather than to determine many (less accurate) parameters related to the size distribution. One of the major goals was to create a “white-box” program. The software is in essence an easy-to-use graphical interface between user and computer. The most important motivation to apply the concept of on-line simulation is the limited information content of DLS autocorrelation functions. In the present approach, the user, rather than the software, has to evaluate the physically plausible solutions and select the most appropriate one. The computer becomes a mirror that calculates but leaves the decision making to the user. Using this software environment, the resolving power of the technique in ideal and noisy conditions was investigated. Results were obtained for monomodal samples where the mean diameter seems to be far more reliable than the polydispersity. For bimodal samples, the convergence of the solution to a monomodal distribution was observed when the noise level increased. The goal is to put into perspective the results as obtained in most “black-box” software without having to use heavy mathematical approaches. One of the major applications is the use of the program as an interactive introductory tool to become acquainted with the power and, above all, with the limitations of DLS.     

On the growth of components with non-fixed excesses

Denote by an l-component a connected graph with l edges more than vertices. We prove that the expected number of creations of (l+1)-component, by means of adding a new edge to an l-component in a randomly growing graph with n vertices, tends to 1 as l,n tends to ∞ but with l=o(n^1/4). We also show, under the same conditions on l and n, that the expected number of vertices that ever belong to an l-component is (12l)^1/3n^2/3.     

Chemical,physicochemical and crystallographical studies in the 1,2,4-triazole series

The structure of the condensation product of 1,2,4-lriuzole and morpholinochloroethane was determined by comparison of its chemical, physicoehemieal and erystallographical characteristics with those of two isomeric compounds prepared by an univocal synthesis.     

Easy and efficient anion alkylations in solid-liquid PTC conditions

Alkylation of anionic nucleophiles such as potassium acetate or potassium indole can be achieved in good yields without solvent either in the presence of NBu₄Br and small amounts of TiO₂ or in the presence of Aliquat 336 (Oct₃MeN⁺Cl^?).     

Cellular photodestruction induced by hypericin in AY-27 rat bladder carcinoma cells

In a recent clinical study we showed that hypericin accumulates selectively in urothelial lesions following intravesical administration of the compound to patients. In the present study the efficacy of hypericin as a photochemotherapeutic tool against urinary bladder carcinoma was investigated using the AY-27 cells (chemically induced rat bladder carcinoma cells). The uptake of hypericin by the cells increased by prolonging the incubation time and increasing the extracellular hypericin concentration. Photodynamic treatment of the cells incubated with 0.8 and 1.6 microM hypericin concentrations resulted in remarkable cytotoxic effects the extent of which depended on the fluence rates. Photoactivation of 1.6 microM hypericin by 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0 mW/cm2 for 15 min resulted in 3, 30 and 95% of the antiproliferative effect, respectively. Increasing the photoactivating light dose from 0.45 to 3.6 J/cm2 resulted in a five-fold increase in hypericin photodynamic activity. Irrespective of the fluence rates and irradiation times incubation of the cells with 10 microM hypericin induced rapid and extensive cell death in all conditions. The type of cell death (apoptosis or necrosis) induced by photoactivated hypericin depended largely on the hypericin concentration and the postirradiation time. At lower hypericin concentrations and shorter postirradiation times apoptosis was the prominent mode of cell death; increasing the hypericin concentration and/or prolonging the postirradiation time resulted in increased necrotic cell death. Cell pretreatment with the singlet oxygen quencher histidine, but not with the free-radical quenchers, significantly protected the cells from photoactivated hypericin-induced apoptosis, at least when a relatively low concentration (1.25 microM) was used. This result suggests the involvement of a Type-II photosensitization process. However, cells treated with higher hypericin concentrations (2.5-5 microM) were inadequately protected by histidine. Since hypericin is thus shown to be a potent and efficient photosensitizer, and since the conditions used were the same as when hypericin is used clinically to locate early-stage urothelial carcinoma lesions, hypericin may well become very important for the photodynamic treatment of superficial bladder carcinoma.