Optical properties of in situ doped and undoped titania nanocatalysts and doped titania sol-gel nanofilms

In this paper we present spectroscopic properties of doped and undoped titanium dioxide (TiO₂) as nanofilms prepared by the sol-gel process with rhodamine 6G doping and studied by photoacoustic absorption, excitation and emission spectroscopy. The absorption spectra of TiO₂ thin films doped with rhodamine 6G at very low concentration during their preparation show two absorption bands, one at 2.3 eV attributed to molecular dimmer formation, which is responsible for the fluorescence quenching of the sample and the other at 3.0 eV attributed to TiO₂ absorption, which subsequently yields a strong emission band at 600 nm. The electronic band structure and optical properties of the rutile phase of TiO₂ are calculated employing a fully relativistic, full-potential, linearized, augmented plane-wave (FPLAPW) method within the local density approximation (LDA). Comparison of this calculation with experimental data for TiO₂ films prepared for undoped sol-gels and by sputtering is performed.     

Group-valued measures on coarse-grained quantum logics

In [3] it was shown that a (real) signed measure on a cyclic coarse-grained quantum logic can be extended, as a signed measure, over the entire power algebra. Later ([9]) this result was re-proved (and further improved on) and, moreover, the non-negative measures were shown to allow for extensions as non-negative measures. In both cases the proof technique used was the technique of linear algebra. In this paper we further generalize the results cited by extending group-valued measures on cyclic coarse-grained quantum logics (or non-negative group-valued measures for lattice-ordered groups). Obviously, the proof technique is entirely different from that of the preceding papers. In addition, we provide a new combinatorial argument for describing all atoms of cyclic coarse-grained quantum logics.     

Infima and complements in the lattice of quasi-uniformities

We show that the infimum of any family of proximally symmetric quasi-uniformities is proximally symmetric, while the supremum of two proximally symmetric quasi-uniformities need not be proximally symmetric. On the other hand, the supremum of any family of transitive quasi-uniformities is transitive, while there are transitive quasi-uniformities whose infimum with their conjugate quasi-uniformity is not transitive. Moreover we present two examples that show that neither the supremum topology nor the infimum topology of two transitive topologies need be transitive. Finally, we prove that several operations one can perform on and between quasi-uniformities preserve the property of having a complement.     

On the invariant measure for the quasi‐linear Lasota equation

The problem of the existence of the invariant measure is important considering its connections with chaotic behaviour. In the papers (Zesz. Nauk. Uniw. Jagiellońskiego, Pr. Mat. 1982; 23 :117–123; Ann. Pol. Math. 1983; XLI :129–137; J. Differential Equations 2004; 196 :448–465) the existence of invariant and ergodic measures according to the dynamical system generated by the Lasota equation was proved, i.e. the equation describing the dynamics and becoming different of the population of cells. In this paper, the existence of such measure for the quasi‐linear Lasota equation is proved. This measure is the carriage of the measure described by Dawidowicz (Zesz. Nauk. Uniw. Jagiellońskiego, Pr. Mat. 1982; 23 :117–123). Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bronze roman mirrors: the secret of brightness

The surface microchemical structure of high tin leaded bronze Roman mirrors has been studied by means of scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical microscopy (OM) techniques. The results allowed understanding of the origin of their high chemical stability and silvery-lustrous appearance. Indeed, some areas of the selected Roman mirrors are still characterised by a highly reflective and silver coloured surface even though they have been buried in the soil for about 2000 years. The micro-chemical results obtained from these areas have revealed that the mirror surface was tin enriched via inverse-segregation phenomenon by tailoring the cooling parameters. Furthermore, the presence of tin could be likely enhanced via cycles of oxidation and selective copper corrosion processes, thus resulting in a tin surface enrichment as a semi-transparent amorphous-like tin oxide (SnO₂) film, as well as a copper depletion at the outer surfaces.     

Integral and differential form of the protein folding problem

The availability of the complete genomic sequences of many species, including human, has raised enormous expectations in medicine, pharmacology, ecology, biotechnology and forensic sciences. However, knowledge is only a first step toward understanding, and we are only at the early stage of a scientific process that might lead us to satisfy all the expectations raised by the genomic projects. In this review I will discuss the present status of computational methods that attempt to infer the unique three-dimensional structure of proteins from their amino acid sequences. Although this problem has been defined as the “holy grail” of biology, it represents only one of the many hurdles in our path towards the understanding of life at a molecular level.     

Shape Optimization for Semi-Linear Elliptic Equations Based on an Embedding Domain Method

We study a class of shape optimization problems for semi-linear elliptic equations with Dirichlet boundary conditions in smooth domains in ℝ². A part of the boundary of the domain is variable as the graph of a smooth function. The problem is equivalently reformulated on a fixed domain. Continuity of the solution to the state equation with respect to domain variations is shown. This is used to obtain differentiability in the general case, and moreover a useful formula for the gradient of the cost functional in the case where the principal part of the differential operator is the Laplacian. Online publication 23 January 2004.     

Stable products of spheres in the non-linear coupling of oscillators or quasi-periodic motions

For generic families of vector fields or transformations, normally hyperbolic invariant products of spheres appear near partially elliptic rest points. To cite this article: M. Kammerer-Colin de Verdière, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 339 (2004).     

Teaching proof in the context of physics

This paper describes an application of statics to geometrical proofs in the classroom. The aim of the study was to find out whether the use of concepts and arguments from statics can help students understand and produce proofs of geometrical theorems. The two theorems studied were (1) that the medians in a triangle meet at a single point which is the centre of gravity of the triangle, and (2) the Varignon theorem, that the lines joining the midpoints of successive sides of a quadrilateral form a parallelogram. The classroom experiment showed that most students were successful in using arguments from statics in their proofs, and that they gained a better understanding of the theorems. These findings lend support to the claim that the introduction of statics helps students produce proofs and grasp their meaning.