Admissible Galois Structures and Coverings in Regular Mal’cev Categories

Given a regular Gumm category such that any regular epimorphism is effective for descent, we prove that any Birkhoff subcategory in gives rise to an admissible Galois structure. This result allows one to consider some new applications of the categorical Galois theory in the context of topological algebras. Given a regular Mal’cev category , we first characterize the coverings of the Galois structure induced by the subcategory of the abelian objects in . Then we consider as a subcategory of the category of the equivalence relations in , and we characterize the coverings of the corresponding Galois structure . By composing the Galois structures and we obtain the Galois structure induced by as a subcategory of . We give the characterization of the -coverings in terms of the coverings of and .     

13C and 2H NMR study of structure and dynamics in banana B2 phase of a bent-core mesogen

In this paper, the difficulty in orienting the B(2) phase of the banana mesogen 1,3-Phenylene-bis 4-[4-(10-undecenyloxy)-benzoyloxy] benzoate (Pbis11BB) in a relatively high magnetic field is reported based on some observations using both (13)C and (2)H NMR. (2)H NMR spectra recorded for the two labeled isotopomers of Pbis11BB in the isotropic and B(2) phases are shown here. Preliminary results on the deuteron spin-spin relaxation (T(2)) data are reported at 61 MHz in order to underline the peculiar slow dynamics of banana-shaped liquid crystals (BLC), and these results are discussed in the framework of recent studies on similar BLC. The molecular structure and dynamics in the B(2) and crystalline phases are also studied by (13)C solid-state NMR techniques. The results also point to the slow dynamics in the B(2) phase of Pbis11BB. In particular, two-dimensional MAS exchange experiment has been performed to shed light on the molecular conformation structure of the five-ring banana core in the crystalline phase of Pbis11BB, and to compare with that of quantum mechanical calculations reported in the literature.     

Convenient synthesis of electron-donating substituted benzonitriles by photolysis of phenyl halides and esters

Irradiation of electron-donating substituted phenyl halides (fluorides and chlorides) or esters (mesylates, triflates and phosphates) in aqueous MeCN in the presence of KCN gives the corresponding benzonitriles in 48 to 100% yield through an ArSN1 reaction with the intermediacy of a triplet phenyl cation.     

Groups in which every subgroup of infinite rank is almost permutable

In this paper, the structure of locally finite groups of infinite rank whose subgroups of infinite rank are permutable in a subgroup of finite index is investigated.     

On the norms of quaternionic harmonic projection operators

As a consequence of integral bounds for three classes of quaternionic spherical harmonics, we prove some bounds from below for the $(L^p,L^2)$ norm of quaternionic harmonic projectors, for $p\in [1,2]$.     

Eulogy for Professor Mirka Miller (1949–2016)

The CIMPA Research School on Mathematical Models for Security Applications was dedicated to the memory of Emeritus Professor Mirka Miller, who suggested that it be held in Havana. Mirka Miller, member of the editorial board of Mathematics in Computer Science, devoted her research to Graph Theory and Data Security, fields where she made important and beautiful contributions.     

Investigation of the influence of spacer arm on the structural evolution of affinity ligands supported on agarose

The influence of the spacer arm on the interaction between agarose and a supported ligand was investigated through molecular dynamics for a combination of several spacers. The spacers differ for degree of hydrophobicity, length, and chemical composition, which was varied through insertion of thio, ether, and CH(2) groups. Agarose was modeled through a modified Glycam force field, whose parameters were determined through ab initio calculations. The structural model of agarose used for the calculations was obtained through MD studies of the conformational evolution of several agarose single and double helixes. The simulations showed that a modification of the spacer properties could determine a change of the stable structure of the ligand with respect to the support. In particular, if the spacer is hydrophilic and rigid, the favored structure is with extended spacer and solvated ligand. Either increasing the spacer length, and thus its flexibility, or decreasing its solvation free energy, which corresponds to diminishing its affinity for water, rapidly leads to a conformational change in which the ligand adsorbs on agarose. Interestingly, we found that if the spacer is long and hydrophilic, a third metastable structure, in which the spacer is sandwiched between the ligand and agarose, is possible. Simulations of several ligands adsorbed on neighboring sites on agarose showed that if the support is not held fixed through restraints, the interaction force between vicinal ligands is sufficient to determine a major conformational change of the system.     

Multielement Analytical Spectroscopy in Plant Ionomics Research

Abstract: The study of the ionome (ionomics) is defined as quantitative and simultaneous measurement of the element composition of living organisms and changes in this composition in response to physiological stimuli, development stage, and genetic modifications (Salt et al., Ann. Rev. Plant Biol., Vol. 59, 2008). The necessity of understanding the regulation processes of elements in the organisms demands determination of many elements in the organism, tissue, and cell (Baxter, Plant Biol., Vol. 12, 2009). A prospect for ionomics is environmental pollution where great variety of conditions and pollutants exist resulting in concentration and interelemental changes in the plant ionome. The capabilities of and problems with several multielement analytical techniques, including instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), X-ray fluorescence, inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), which are adequate and most promising in ionomic and environmental studies of plants, are reviewed. References are confined mainly to the last 10–15 years. Information about concentrations, roles, binding forms, and pollution sources of the elements and comparison between methods with respect to limits of detection, determined elements, interferences, and economic considerations are tabulated. Some combinations of instrumental techniques supplementing each other are highly valued, namely, ICP-MS and ICP-AES and INAA and AAS or ICP-AES.     

Recent Advances in Recovery of Lycopene from Tomato Waste: A Potent Antioxidant with Endless Benefits

Growing attention to environmental protection leads food industries to adopt a model of “circular economy” applying safe and sustainable technologies to recover, recycle and valorize by-products. Therefore, by-products become raw material for other industries. Tomato processing industry produces significant amounts of by-products, consisting of skins and seeds. Tomato skin is very rich in lycopene, and from its seeds, high nutritional oil can be extracted. Alternative use of the two fractions not only could cut disposal costs but also allow one to extract bioactive compounds and an oil with a high nutritional value. This review focused on the recent advance in extraction of lycopene, whose beneficial effects on health are widely recognized.