Obstructions to nonnegative curvature and rational homotopy theory

We establish a link between rational homotopy theory and the problem which vector bundles admit a complete Riemannian metric of nonnegative sectional curvature. As an application, we show for a large class of simply-connected nonnegatively curved manifolds that, if lies in the class and is a torus of positive dimension, then ``most' vector bundles over admit no complete nonnegatively curved metrics.

     

Local measurement of hot-electron phase-coherence at metal surfaces

We use scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study the energy dependence of hot-electron scattering processes on metal surfaces via the determination of the energy-dependent phase-coherence length. From this an electron lifetime can be determined, which in the case of electrons in the surface state of Ag(111) and in the case of the n=1 image-potential state on Cu(100) shows good agreement with theoretical modeling and other experimental data. The method is based on the quantitative analysis of electron interference patterns. A theoretical analysis shows that the phase-coherence length can be determined in confining nanostructures of a characteristic length scale smaller than the phase-coherence length. PACS 73.20.At; 73.50.Gr; 72.10.Fk; 68.37.Ef     

Synthesis, antimicrobial and antiproliferative activity of novel silver(I) tris(pyrazolyl)methanesulfonate and 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphadamantane complexes

Five new silver(I) complexes of formulas [Ag(Tpms)] (1), [Ag(Tpms)(PPh(3))] (2), [Ag(Tpms)(PCy(3))] (3), [Ag(PTA)][BF(4)] (4), and [Ag(Tpms)(PTA)] (5) {Tpms = tris(pyrazol-1-yl)methanesulfonate, PPh(3) = triphenylphosphane, PCy(3) = tricyclohexylphosphane, PTA = 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane} have been synthesized and fully characterized by elemental analyses, (1)H, (13)C, and (31)P NMR, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS), and IR spectroscopic techniques. The single crystal X-ray diffraction study of 3 shows the Tpms ligand acting in the N(3)-facially coordinating mode, while in 2 and 5 a N(2)O-coordination is found, with the SO(3) group bonded to silver and a pendant free pyrazolyl ring. Features of the tilting in the coordinated pyrazolyl rings in these cases suggest that this inequivalence is related with the cone angles of the phosphanes. A detailed study of antimycobacterial and antiproliferative properties of all compounds has been carried out. They were screened for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against the standard strains Enterococcus faecalis (ATCC 29922), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923), Streptococcus pneumoniae (ATCC 49619), Streptococcus pyogenes (SF37), Streptococcus sanguinis (SK36), Streptococcus mutans (UA159), Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922), and the fungus Candida albicans (ATCC 24443). Complexes 1-5 have been found to display effective antimicrobial activity against the series of bacteria and fungi, and some of them are potential candidates for antiseptic or disinfectant drugs. Interaction of Ag complexes with deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) has been studied by fluorescence spectroscopic techniques, using ethidium bromide (EB) as a fluorescence probe of DNA. The decrease in the fluorescence of DNA-EB system on addition of Ag complexes shows that the fluorescence quenching of DNA-EB complex occurs and compound 3 is particularly active. Complexes 1-5 exhibit pronounced antiproliferative activity against human malignant melanoma (A375) with an activity often higher than that of AgNO(3), which has been used as a control, following the same order of activity inhibition on DNA, i.e., 3 > 2 > 1 > 5 > AgNO(3)? 4.     

More on the duality conjecture for entropy numbers

We verify, up to a logarithmic factor, the duality conjecture for entropy numbers in the case where one of the bodies is an ellipsoid. To cite this article: S. Artstein et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 336 (2003).     

Phase transitions of the first kind as radiation processes

Crystallization and vapor condensation are considered as the processes of sequential penetration of single atoms/molecules into condensate. In the course of these transitions the transitive radiation must be generated, which would carry away the liberated latent heat by photons of characteristic frequencies. The transient radiation is examined by the general Ginzburg-Frank theory. The emission of defined frequencies determined by the values of liberated latent heat is confirmed by analyses of several experiments of authors and other researchers.     

Singular solutions for second-order non-divergence type elliptic inequalities in punctured balls

We study the existence and non-existence of positive singular solutions of second-order non-divergence type elliptic inequalities of the form $\sum\limits_{i,j = 1}^N {a_{ij} (x)\frac{{\partial ^2 u}} {{\partial x_i \partial x_j }}} + \sum\limits_{i = 1}^N {b_i (x)\frac{{\partial u}} {{\partial x_i }} \geqslant K(x)u^p ,} - \infty < p - \infty , $ with measurable coefficients in a punctured ball B _R \{0} of ? ^N , N ≥ 1. We prove the existence of a critical value p* which separates the existence region from the non-existence region. We show that in the critical case p = p*, the existence of a singular solution depends on the rate at which the coefficients (a _{i j} ) and (b _i ) stabilize at zero, and we provide some optimal conditions in this setting.     

Synthesis, structure and redox properties of new cobalt(II) and nickel(II) complexes with 6-ferrocenyl-2,2′-bipyridyl

New ionic complexes [ML₂(MeCN)₂]?2Otf (M = Co or Ni; L = 6-ferrocenyl-2,2′-bipyridyl) were synthesized and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Cyclic voltammograms of the compounds [ML₂(MeCN)₂]?2Otf in CH₂Cl₂ show good cycle stability over 100 cycles in the quasi-reversible oxidation potential range (from −0.25 to 0.5 V).     

Dissipative effects on internal gravity waves in geophysical fluids

Summary In the present paper we develop a systematic analysis of the dispersion and dissipation effects on internal gravity waves in fluids of geophysical interest. Dissipation induces a cut-off in the short wavelengths, leading to an admissible range of waves. Defining a suitable criterion for detection of waves, an observable wave range results, in which the frequency dispersion is nearly the same as for the inviscid case, whereas the amplitude is damped. The peculiar behaviour displayed by the dispersion relationship for Prandtl number equal to one is discussed.