Mesoscopic resonating valence bond system on a triple dot

We theoretically introduce a mesoscopic pendulum from a triple dot. The pendulum is fastened through a singly occupied dot (spin qubit). Two other strongly capacitively coupled islands form a double-dot charge qubit with one electron in excess oscillating between the two low-energy charge states (1,0) and (0,1). The triple dot is placed between two superconducting leads. Under realistic conditions, the main proximity effect stems from the injection of resonating singlet (valence) bonds on the triple dot. This gives rise to a Josephson current that is charge- and spin-dependent and, as a consequence, exhibits a distinct resonance as a function of the superconducting phase difference.     

Suppression of parasitic lasing in high energy, high repetition rate Ti:sapphire laser amplifiers

Transverse parasitic lasing is well known for limiting the signal gain and the pulse energy that can be extracted from Ti:sapphire petawatt amplifiers. We have developed a technique for suppressing these parasitic lasing modes based on perfect refractive index-matching liquid doped with a broad-bandwidth absorber to suppress the transverse lasing while ensuring proper heat removal from the Ti:sapphire crystal. The 800 nm laser output with a bandwidth of 41 nm (FWHM) and peak energy of 22.7 J at a repetition rate of 1 Hz is demonstrated.     

Transient adaptivity applied to two-phase incompressible flows

An anisotropic adaptation process is applied to a three-dimensional incompressible two-phase flow solver. The solver uses a level set/finite element method on unstructured tetrahedral meshes. We show how the level set function can be used to build an anisotropic mesh with good properties. Some computations with a strong transient character and large densities ratios (1/1000) are presented. We show that the efficiency of the computations can be deeply enhanced by mesh adaptations.     

Sample Entropy as a Tool to Assess Lumbo-Pelvic Movements in a Clinical Test for Low-Back-Pain Patients

Low back pain (LBP) obviously reduces the quality of life but is also the world’s leading cause of years lived with disability. Alterations in motor response and changes in movement patterns are expected in LBP patients when compared to healthy people. Such changes in dynamics may be assessed by the nonlinear analysis of kinematical time series recorded from one patient’s motion. Since sample entropy (SampEn) has emerged as a relevant index measuring the complexity of a given time series, we propose the development of a clinical test based on SampEn of a time series recorded by a wearable inertial measurement unit for repeated bending and returns (b and r) of the trunk. Twenty-three healthy participants were asked to perform, in random order, 50 repetitions of this movement by touching a stool and another 50 repetitions by touching a box on the floor. The angular amplitude of the b and r movement and the sample entropy of the three components of the angular velocity and acceleration were computed. We showed that the repetitive b and r “touch the stool” test could indeed be the basis of a clinical test for the evaluation of low-back-pain patients, with an optimal duration of 70 s, acceptable in daily clinical practice.     

Design of Oligourea-Based Foldamers with Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities

There is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic strategies to fight the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria. Many antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been identified and characterized, but clinical translation has been limited partly due to their structural instability and degradability in physiological environments. The use of unnatural backbones leading to foldamers can generate peptidomimetics with improved properties and conformational stability. We recently reported the successful design of urea-based eukaryotic cell-penetrating foldamers (CPFs). Since cell-penetrating peptides and AMPs generally share many common features, we prepared new sequences derived from CPFs by varying the distribution of histidine- and arginine-type residues at the surface of the oligourea helix, and evaluated their activity on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as on fungi. In addition, we prepared and tested new amphiphilic block cofoldamers consisting of an oligourea and a peptide segment whereby polar and charged residues are located in the peptide segment and more hydrophobic residues in the oligourea segment. Several foldamer sequences were found to display potent antibacterial activities even in the presence of 50% serum. Importantly, we show that these urea-based foldamers also possess promising antifungal properties.     

Simultaneous estimation of attenuation and structure parameters of aggregated red blood cells from backscatter measurements

The analysis of the ultrasonic frequency-dependent backscatter coefficient of aggregating red blood cells reveals information about blood structural properties. The difficulty in applying this technique in vivo is due to the frequency-dependent attenuation caused by intervening tissue layers that distorts the spectral content of backscattering properties from blood microstructures. An optimization method is proposed to simultaneously estimate tissue attenuation and blood structure factor. With in vitro experiments, the method gave satisfactory estimates with relative errors below 22% for attenuations between 0.101 and 0.317 dBcmMHz, signal-to-noise ratios>28 dB and kR<2.7 (k being the wave number and R the aggregate radius).     

Reactions of Doubly Ionized Benzene with Nitrogen and Water: A Nitrogen‐Mediated Entry into Superacid Chemistry

Even in the highly diluted gas phase, rather than electron transfer the benzene dication C₆H₆²⁺ undergoes association with dinitrogen to form a transient C₆H₆N₂²⁺ dication which is best described as a ring‐protonated phenyl diazonium ion. Isotopic labeling studies, photoionization experiments using synchrotron radiation, and quantum chemical computations fully support the formation of protonated diazonium, which is in turn a prototype species of superacidic chemistry in solution. Additionally, reactions of C₆H₆²⁺ with background water involve the transient formation of diprotonated phenol and, among other things, afford a long‐lived C₆H₆OH₂²⁺ dication, which is attributed to the hydration product of Hogeveen’s elusive pyramidal structure of C₆H₆²⁺, as the global minimum of doubly ionized benzene. Nitrogen is essential for the formation of the C₆H₆OH₂²⁺ dication in that it mediates the formation of the water adduct, while the bimolecular encounter of the C₆H₆²⁺ dication with water only leads to (dissociative) electron transfer.     

Irradiated UAmO2 transmutation discs analyses: from dissolution to isotopic analyses

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - This paper details the different steps for the isotopic determination of UAmO2 discs from analytical irradiation. MARIOS and DIAMINO irradiations...     

Re-Analysis of Abdominal Gland Volatilome Secretions of the African Weaver Ant,Oecophylla longinoda (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The African weaver ant, Oecophylla longinoda, is used as a biological control agent for the management of pests. The ant has several exocrine glands in the abdomen, including Dufour’s, poison, rectal, and sternal glands, which are associated with pheromone secretions for intra-specific communication. Previous studies have analyzed the gland secretions of Dufour’s and poison glands. The chemistry of the rectal and sternal glands is unknown. We re-analyzed the secretions from Dufour’s and poison glands plus the rectal and sternal glands to compare their chemistries and identify additional components. We used the solid-phase microextraction (SPME) technique to collect gland headspace volatiles and solvent extraction for the secretions. Coupled gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis detected a total of 78 components, of which 62 were being reported for the first time. These additional components included 32 hydrocarbons, 12 carboxylic acids, 5 aldehydes, 3 alcohols, 2 ketones, 4 terpenes, 3 sterols, and 1 benzenoid. The chemistry of Dufour’s and poison glands showed a strong overlap and was distinct from that of the rectal and sternal glands. The different gland mixtures may contribute to the different physiological and behavioral functions in this ant species.     

Chiral Chromium Salen@rGO as Multipurpose and Recyclable Heterogeneous Catalyst

The first immobilization of a pyrene-tagged chromium salen complex through π-π noncovalent interactions on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) is described. A very robust supported catalytic system is obtained to promote asymmetric catalysis in repeated cycles, without loss of activity or enantioselectivity. This specific behavior was demonstrated in two different catalytic reactions (up to ten reuses) promoted by chromium salen complexes, the cyclohexene oxide ring-opening reaction and the hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition between various aldehydes and Danishefsky's diene. Furthermore, the chiral chromium salen@rGO has been found to be compatible with a multi-substrate type use, in which the structure of the substrate involved is modified each time the catalyst is reused.