Kinetic study of 2‐furanaldehyde, 3‐furanaldehyde,and 5‐methyl‐2‐furanaldehyde reactions initiated by Cl atoms

Rate coefficients for the gas‐phase reactions of chlorine atoms with a series of furanaldehydes have been determined at 298 ± 2 K and atmospheric pressure (708.5 ± 0.1). The experiments were performed using the relative technique combined with solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) sampling and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC‐FID). Rate constants were determined relative to the reaction of Cl with n‐nonane and 2‐ethylfuran. The absolute rate coefficients k (in units of 10^?10 cm³ molecule^?1 s^?1) obtained were 2.61 ± 0.27 for 2‐furaldehyde, 3.15 ± 0.27 for 3‐furaldehyde, and 4 ± 0.5 for 5‐methyl‐2‐furaldehyde. This study shows that the reactions of furanaldehydes and Cl are very fast with little influence of the position of the aldehyde group or the presence of other substituent on the reactivity. The results seem to indicate a mechanism involving two main reaction channels, addition of chlorine atom to the double bond of the aromatic ring, and the abstraction of the aldehydic hydrogen. Further product studies are necessary to determine the mechanism of these reactions in more detail. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 670–678, 2008     

Polarization dependent loss of arc-induced long-period fibre gratings

We have investigated the polarization properties of long-period fibre gratings fabricated using the electric arc technique. It was found that the choice of the fabrication parameters (electric current, arc duration and pulling tension) affects the polarization dependent loss of the produced gratings. In particular, a non-monotonic dependence on the external pulling tension was obtained.     

Low power laser radiation at 685 nm stimulates stem-cell proliferation rate in Dugesia tigrina during regeneration

Today’s scientific interest in tissue engineering for organ transplantations and regeneration from stem cells, allied with recent observations on biostimulation of tissues and cells by laser radiation, stands as a strong motivation for the present work, in which we examine the effects of the low power laser radiation onto planarians under regenerative process. To investigate those effects, a number of 60 amputated worms were divided in three study groups: a control group and two other groups submitted to daily 1 and 3 min long laser treatment sections at 910 W/m² power density. A 685 nm diode laser with 35 mW optical power was used. Samples were sent to histological analysis at the 4th, the 7th and the 15th days after amputation. A remarkable increase in stem cells counts for the fourth day of regeneration was observed when the regenerating worms was stimulated by the laser radiation. Our findings encourage further research works on the influence of optical radiation onto stem cells and tissue regeneration.     

Strange particle production at RHIC in the dual parton model

We compute the mid-rapidity densities of pions, kaons, baryons and antibaryons in Au-Au collisions at GeV in the dual parton model supplemented with final state interaction (comovers interaction). The ratios ( ) increase between peripheral ( ) and central ( collisions by a factor 2.4 (2.0) for the , 4.8 (4.1) for the and 16.5 (13.5) for the . The ratio increases by a factor 1.3 in the same centrality range. A comparison with the available data is presented.Received: 28 April 2003, Published online: 11 July 2003     

Relating high-energy Lepton-Hadron, proton-nucleus, and nucleus-nucleus collisions through geometric scaling

A characteristic feature of small-x lepton-proton data from HERA is geometric scaling: the fact that in the region of small Bjorken variable x, x less, similar 0.01, all data can be described by a single variable Q(2)/Q(2)(s,p)(x), with all x dependence encoded in the so-called saturation momentum Q(s,p)(x). Here, we observe that the same scaling ansatz accounts for nuclear photoabsorption cross sections and favors the nuclear dependence Q(2)(s,A) proportional, variant A(alpha)Q(2)(s,p), alpha approximately 4/9. We then make the empirical finding that the same A dependence accounts for the centrality evolution of the multiplicities measured in Au+Au collisions at RHIC. It also allows one to parametrize the high-p(t) particle suppression in d+Au collisions at forward rapidities. If these geometric scaling properties have a common dynamical origin, then this A dependence of Q(2)(s,A) should emerge as a consequence of the underlying dynamical model.     

Is the Epistemic View of Quantum Mechanics Incomplete?

One of the most tantalizing questions about the interpretation of Quantum Theory is the objective vs. subjective meaning of quantum states. Here, by focusing on a typical EPR experiment upon which a selection procedure is performed on one side, we will confront the fully epistemic view of quantum states with its results. Our statement is that such a view cannot be considered complete, although the opposite attitude would also pose well-known problems of interpretation.This paper is dedicated to Prof. Franco Selleri on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Variance or spectral density in sampled data filtering?

Most physical systems operate in continuous time. However, to interact with such systems one needs to take samples. This raises the question of the relationship between the sampled response and the response of the underlying continuous-time system. In this paper we review several aspects of the sampling process. In particular, we examine the role played by variance and spectral density in describing discrete random processes. We argue that spectral density has several advantages over variance. We illustrate the ideas by reference to the problem of state estimation using the discrete-time Kalman filter.     

Periodic solutions in an array of coupled FitzHugh–Nagumo cells

We analyse the dynamics of an array of N²$N^2$ identical cells coupled in the shape of a torus. Each cell is a 2-dimensional ordinary differential equation of FitzHugh–Nagumo type and the total system is _ZN×_ZN${\mathbb{Z}}_N\times {\mathbb{Z}}_N$-symmetric. The possible patterns of oscillation, compatible with the symmetry, are described. The types of patterns that effectively arise through Hopf bifurcation are shown to depend on the signs of the coupling constants, under conditions ensuring that the equations have only one equilibrium state.     

Biotechnological Production of Phenyllactic Acid and Biosurfactants from Trimming Vine Shoot Hydrolyzates by Microbial Coculture Fermentation

Coculture fermentations show advantages for producing food additives from agroindustrial wastes, considering that different specified microbial strains are combined to improve the consumption of mixed sugars obtained by hydrolysis. This technology dovetails with both the growing interest of consumers towards the use of natural food additives and with stricter legislations and concern in developed countries towards the management of wastes. The use of this technology allows valorization of both cellulosic and hemicellulosic fractions of trimming vine shoots for the production of lactic acid (LA), phenyllactic acid (PLA), and biosurfactants (BS). This work compares the study of the potential of hemicellulosic and cellulosic fractions of trimming vine shoots as cheaper and renewable carbon sources for PLA and BS production by independent or coculture fermentations. The highest LA and PLA concentrations, 43.0 g/L and 1.58 mM, respectively, were obtained after 144 h during the fermentation of hemicellulosic sugars and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) carried out by cocultures of Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus pentosus. Additionally, cell-bond BS decreased the surface tension (ST) in 17.2 U; meanwhile, cell-free supernatants (CFS) showed antimicrobial activity against Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes with inhibition halos of 12.1?±?0.6 mm and 11.5?±?0.9 mm, respectively.     

Theoretical assessment of antioxidant property of polyproponoid and its derivatives

Structural Chemistry - Derivatives of parent molecules possess similar structural activity which makes them to be the topic of equal interest. In the present work, a naturally occurring acid...