A new look at Jarvis' distribution formula

Starting from the well-known transformation law for the Klein functions, we give a proof of a fairly general multiplicative distribution formula for the Siegel functions associated to isogenous complex lattices. This formula has as an immediate consequence the remarkable distribution formula proved by Jarvis in 2000 on the occasion of Rolshausen's thesis on the second K-group of an elliptic curve.     

About the SDS inclusion in PDMS/TEOS ORMOSIL: a vibrational spectroscopy and confocal Raman scattering study

Organically modified silicates (ORMOSILs) are attractive materials due to their vast applicability and easy synthesis. The doping of these materials with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) is interesting in the search for good protonic conductors. The inclusion of different concentrations of SDS in ORMOSIL membranes is investigated in the present work using Raman and infrared spectroscopy, confocal Raman microscopy and confocal imaging microscopy. The spectroscopic measurements allow us to assign the vibrational modes to the chemical groups of the structures of SDS and ORMOSIL. Furthermore, these measurements show that these materials are composites, as no interactions are observed between the SDS and the ORMOSIL matrix. The confocal Raman and confocal imaging techniques are useful to study qualitatively the SDS insertion on the surface of ORMOSIL. It was observed that the SDS sizes are very nonuniform. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phase transitions in Pb8O5(XO4)2 (X = As and V) compounds

Raman spectroscopy, polarized microscopy and thermal measurements were used to investigate the sequence of phase transition in the lead oxide salts Pb₈O₅(XO₄)₂ (where X = As and V). For Pb₈O₅(AsO₄)₂, a second‐order phase transition is observed at 500 K. For Pb₈O₅(VO₄)₂, a second‐order and a first‐order structural phase transitions are observed at 425 and 525 K, respectively. The ferroelastic character of Pb₈O₅(VO₄)₂ is also discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phenolic enriched extract of Baccharis trimera presents anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities

Baccharis trimera is a plant popularly used as a tea and to treat gastrointestinal diseases and inflammatory processes as well. The total phenolic content was determined and the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of six extracts (dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, butanol, aqueous, saponin and phenolic) from B. trimera were evaluated. Using carrageenan-induced pleurisy as a model of acute inflammation, the phenolic extract at 15 mg/kg decreased significantly the analyzed parameters when compared to the carrageenan group ( p < 0.05), thus showing potential anti-inflammatory activity. The total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were evaluated by the Folin-Ciocalteau and DPPH methods, respectively. Phenolic and ethyl acetate extracts presented higher antioxidant activity ( p < 0.05) than ascorbic acid. The phenolic extract also showed the highest antioxidant potential in relation to the other extracts, thus suggesting that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities were due to the presence of phenolic compounds.     

Conformational polymorphism of the antidiabetic drug chlorpropamide

In this paper, the main features of Raman spectroscopy, one of the first choice methods in the study of polymorphism in pharmaceuticals, are presented taking chlorpropamide as a case of study. The antidiabetic drug chlorpropamide (1‐[4‐chlorobenzenesulphonyl]‐3‐propyl urea), which belongs to the sulfonylurea class, is known to exhibit, at least, six polymorphic phases. These forms are characterized not only by variations in their molecular packing but also in their molecular conformation. In this study, the polymorphism of chlorpropamide is discussed on the basis of Raman scattering measurements and quantum mechanical calculations. The main spectroscopic features that fingerprint the crystalline forms are correlated with the corresponding crystalline structures. Using a theoretical approach on the energy dependence of the conformers, simulated molecular torsion angles are plotted versus the formation energy, which provides a satisfactory agreement between the torsion angles at the energy minima and the experimental values observed in the different solid forms of chlorpropamide. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Normal modes of redox-active tyrosine: conformation dependence and comparison to experiment

Redox-active tyrosine residues play important roles in long-distance electron reactions in enzymes such as prostaglandin H synthase, ribonucleotide reductase, and photosystem II (PSII). Spectroscopic characterization of tyrosyl radicals in these systems provides a powerful experimental probe into the role of the enzyme in mediation of long-range electron transfer processes. Interpretation of such data, however, relies critically on first establishing a spectroscopic fingerprint of isotopically labeled tyrosinate and tyrosyl radicals in nonenzymatic environments. In this report, FT-IR results obtained from tyrosinate, tyrosyl radical (produced by ultraviolet photolysis of polycrystalline tyrosinate), and their isotopologues at 77 K are presented. Assignment of peaks and isotope shifts is aided by density-functional B3LYP/6-311++G(3df,2p)//B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) calculations of tyrosine and tyrosyl radical in several different charge and protonation states. In addition, characterization of the potential energy surfaces of tyrosinate and tyrosyl radical as a function of the backbone and ring torsion angles provides detailed insight into the sensitivity of the vibrational frequencies to conformational changes. These results provide a detailed spectroscopic interpretation, which will elucidate the structures of redox-active tyrosine residues in complex protein environments. Specific application of these data is made to enzymatic systems.     

Using phonon resonances as a route to all-angle negative refraction in the far-infrared region: the case of crystal quartz

We consider how all-angle negative refraction may be induced in anisotropic crystals by making use of the phonon response. We investigate the example of crystal quartz at far-infrared wavelengths. Reflection and transmission measurements confirm the expected behavior, and show relatively high transmission efficiency at frequencies at which negative refraction occurs.     

A unifying formulation of the discrete and continuum approximations for embedded discontinuities

A methodology for the numerical implementation of embedded discontinuities into the finite element method is developed. This is applicable for the discrete and continuum approximations of discontinuities. The variational formulation of the problem of a solid with discontinuities is established for both approximations, yielding the equations used in this methodology. Three sets of equations are obtained by applying this methodology; all are suitable to be numerically implemented. To show the application potential of this method, the numerical simulation of the formation and propagation of a discontinuity in a concrete specimen is carried out and the results are compared with those from the physical experiment, demonstrating the adequacy of the methodology and its corresponding implementations to model discontinuities. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2006     

Synthesis,characterization, and water sorption properties of new aromatic polyamides containing benzimidazole and ethylene oxide moieties

New polyamides, containing a benzimidazole side group and ethylene oxide moieties in the structural repeat unit, were synthesized by low‐temperature polycondensation. The aim of this design was to obtain polyamides that were more soluble in common organic solvents and hence had better processability than benzimidazole polyamides while maintaining the water sorption properties characteristic of the latter. The results showed that the number of ether linkages of the repeat unit played an important role in the glass‐transition temperature and in the water sorption properties, the polyamides with one or two ethylene oxide units being more hydrophilic than benzimidazole polyamides. However, the length of the ethylene oxide chain played a minor role in the solubility because the second member of the series, with two ether linkages (i.e., one ethylene oxide unit), reached the same level of solubility as those polyamides with more ethylene oxide moieties. No crystallinity was observed by X‐ray and calorimetric measurements for the new polymers. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 112–121, 2005     

The improved nuclear parton distributions

In this paper we propose an improvement of the EKS nuclear parton distributions for the small x region of high energy processes, where the perturbative high parton density effects cannot be disregarded. We analyze the behavior of the ratios and and verify that at small x they are strongly modified when compared to the EKS predictions. The implications of our results for heavy ion collisions in RHIC and LHC are discussed. Received: 18 January 2001 / Revised version: 6 March 2001 / Published online: 3 May 2001