Quantum cascade laser-based photoacoustic spectroscopy of volatile chemicals: application to hexamethyldisilazane

The use of photoacoustic spectroscopy and mid-infrared quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) for the detection of hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) is reported. A detection limit of 200 parts in 10(9) is found using a Fabry-Perot QCL operated at 8.4 microm in pulsed mode and a photoacoustic cell equipped with four electret microphones. The laser multimode spectrum matches the range of the N-H bending absorption band of HMDS. Further improvements to reach lower detection limits are discussed.     

Quadratic-Residue Codes and Cyclotomic Fields

We present an exposition of quadratic-residue codes through their embedding in codes over the quadratic subfield of the th cyclotomic field, the algebraic number field of th roots of unity. This representation allows the development of effective syndrome decoding algorithms that can fully exploit the code’s error-correcting capability. This is accomplished via Galois automorphisms of cyclotomic fields. For each fixed , the general results hold for all pairs , with a finite number of exceptions that depends on . A complete discussion of the set of quadratic-residue codes of length and dimension illustrates these results. This set includes the Golay code, the only perfect binary three-error-correcting code.A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the International Conference on Statistics, Combinatorics and Related Areas, October 3–5, 2003, University of Southern Maine, Portland, ME, USA.     

Counterpropagating spatial Kerr soliton in reflection gratings

We analytically predict the existence of both spatial bright and dark counterpropagating solitons in a reflection grating in the presence of the Kerr nonlinearity. The basic trapping mechanism consists of a twofold balance where diffraction is compensated by self-focusing and reflection is altered by the nonlinear-induced interferometric grating. We find that, whenever the spectral soliton profile lies within the grating stop band, bright and dark solitons exist only if the mutual phase of the counterpropagating solitons is pi or 0, respectively.     

Residual variance estimation using a nearest neighbor statistic

In this paper we consider the problem of estimating E[(Y−E[Y∣X])²] based on a finite sample of independent, but not necessarily identically distributed, random variables . We analyze the theoretical properties of a recently developed estimator. It is shown that the estimator has many theoretically interesting properties, while the practical implementation is simple.     

Synthesis of 4-haloserotonin derivatives and synthesis of the toad alkaloid dehydrobufotenine

4-Chloro-, 4-bromo- and 4-iodoserotonin derivatives were synthesized from 4-halo-5-oxyindoles, themselves derived from coumarins. Synthesis of the 4-iodoserotonins involved conjugate addition of an allyl group to a 5-iodocoumarin, followed by conversion of the allyl group into an aminoethyl unit. One of the iodoserotonin derivatives was converted into the toad alkaloid dehydrobufotenine, which was isolated as its hydroiodide.     

Sopra un teorema del calcolo delle variazioni del sig. lindeberg

Rendiconti del Circolo Matematico di Palermo Series 1 -     

Extraction and analysis of cosmetic active ingredients from an anti-cellulitis transdermal delivery system by high-performance liquid chromatography

A new transdermal delivery system that controls cellulitis is evaluated using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array detection. An extraction procedure and the validation of the analytical method to assay the active excipients from the Centella asiatica plant (asiaticoside, madacessic acid, and asiatic acid) are described. Excellent results ae obtained in terms of linearity, accuracy, and specificity of the analytical method.     

On the role of the functional group in determining the strength of hydrophobic interactions in aqueous solutions of α-amino acid derivatives

Calorimetric measurements were carried out at 25°C on binary aqueous solutions containing N-acetyl derivatives of the following -amino acids: glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, norleucine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, phenylalanine, methionine, asparagine, glutamine, cysteine, histidine, serine. The N-acetyl derivative of the -amino acid proline was also studied. The results obtained have been used to calculate the pairwise enthalpic interaction coefficients and these are compared with results reported in the literature concerning free -amino acids, and their acetylamide derivatives. The coefficients largely increase passing from free amino acids to N-acetyl derivatives. The derivatives of -amino acids bearing unsubstituted alkyl chains present an increased cooperativity of hydrophobic interactions.     

Local structure and thermodynamics of a core-softened potential fluid: theory and simulation.

Phase behavior and structural properties of homogeneous and inhomogeneous core-softened (CS) fluid consisting of particles interacting via the potential, which combines the hard-core repulsion and double attractive well interaction, are investigated. The vapour-liquid coexistence curves and critical points for various interaction ranges of the potential are determined by discrete molecular dynamics simulations to provide guidance for the choice of the bulk density and potential parameters for the study of homogeneous and inhomogeneous structures. Spatial correlations in the homogeneous CS system are studied by the Ornstein-Zernike integral equation in combination with the modified hypernetted chain (MHNC) approximation. The local structure of CS fluid subjected to diverse external fields maintaining the equilibrium with the bulk CS fluid are studied on the basis of a recently proposed third order+second order perturbation density functional approximation (DFA). The accuracy of DFA predictions is tested against the results of a grand canonical ensemble Monte Carlo simulation. Reasonable agreement between the results of both methods proves that the DFA theory applied in this work is a convenient theoretical tool for the investigation of the CS fluid, which is practically applicable for modeling numerous real systems.     

Substrate specificity analysis of protein kinase complex Dbf2-Mob1 by peptide library and proteome array screening

Background  

The mitotic exit network (MEN) is a group of proteins that form a signaling cascade that is essential for cells to exit mitosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The MEN has also been implicated in playing a role in cytokinesis. Two components of this signaling pathway are the protein kinase Dbf2 and its binding partner essential for its kinase activity, Mob1. The components of MEN that act upstream of Dbf2-Mob1 have been characterized, but physiological substrates for Dbf2-Mob1 have yet to be identified.