Laterally dibenzyloxy-branched nematogens with large nematic range and rich solid polymorphism

Mesogenic compounds containing four rings in the core usually have very high melting points. However, when two identical lateral benzyloxy groups are introduced on the same side of one of the central rings, the melting point is lowered dramatically and a large nematic range is retained. This range is affected by the bulkiness of the para-substituents in the lateral rings. Methyl groups can be introduced in the ortho- or meta-positions with a consequent decrease in the melting temperature without much affecting the nematic range. These compounds exhibit a rich solid polymorphism which is certainly related to the effect of the conformations of the lateral substituent on the molecular arrangment in the solid phase. Some preliminary NMR experiments on the nematic phase indicate that the molecular long axis coincides with the core axis, whereas the para-axis of the lateral fragment makes an angle close to the magic angle with respect to the molecular long axis.     

Multiplurifunctionalized Phosphorus Dendrimers: Selective Functionalization of P(X)CL2 Terminal Groups

Abstract

Dendrimers are hyperbranched macromolecules constituted of repetitive branched units. They are synthesized step-by-step, a method which ensures a perfectly defined structure. This mini-review reports examples of rare “multiplurifunctionalized” dendrimers that have several types of functional groups precisely located on each terminal branching point. They are obtained thanks to the specificity of the reactivity of each Cl of P(X)Cl₂ (X = generally S, but also O) terminal groups on the surface of poly(phosphorhydrazone) dendrimers.     

Photocontrolled Release of the Anticancer Drug Chlorambucil with Caged Harmonic Nanoparticles

While chemotherapy is one of the most used treatments in oncology, the systemic administration of chemotherapeutics generally results in undesired damages to healthy tissues and cells, side effects such as severe nausea and leukopenia, and reduced efficacy due to multidrug resistance and poor target accessibility. The limitations of conventional chemotherapy formulation have prompted the development of alternative nanomaterials-based strategies to achieve targeted and stimuli sensitive payload delivery to reach optimal local drug concentration at tumor sites. In this study, the anticancer drug chlorambucil (Clb) was conjugated to the surface of silica coated lithium niobate (LNO) harmonic nanoparticles (HNPs) using a photocaging tether based on coumarin-4-yl methyl derivative. Upon laser pulsed femtosecond irradiation at 790 nm, the second harmonic emission from the metal oxide core induced the efficient release of Clb, with concomitant contribution from the nonlinear absorption of the coumarin (CM)-based moiety.     

High-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light-scattering detection for the determination of phospholipid classes in human milk,infant formulas and phospholipid sources of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids

We developed and validated a new high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the separation of phospholipid classes in human milk, infant formulas and phospholipidic sources of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFAs) used in paediatric nutrition. Phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine and sphingomyelin were separated in less than 25 min using an Extrasil silica column (150 x 4.0 mm I.D., 3-microm particle size) by isocratic elution with a mixture of isopropanol-hexane-water. Phospholipids were determined by an evaporative light-scattering detector. Several chromatographic conditions were assayed to optimise the method, whose suitability is shown by the detection limits, linearity ranges and precision rates obtained. The main advantages of the proposed method are its speed and the direct determination of the main phospholipids present in human milk, infant formulas and the phospholipid sources of LC-PUFAs used in paediatric nutrition.     

Helstrom Bound for Squeezed Coherent States in Binary Communication

In quantum information processing, using a receiver device to differentiate between two non-orthogonal states leads to a quantum error probability. The minimum possible error is known as the Helstrom bound. In this work, we study the conditions for state discrimination using an alphabet of squeezed coherent states and compare them with conditions using the Glauber-Sudarshan, i.e., standard, coherent states.     

Newton's method on Riemannian manifolds: covariant alpha theory

In this paper, Smale's theory is generalized to the contextof intrinsic Newton iteration on geodesically complete analyticRiemannian and Hermitian manifolds. Results are valid for analyticmappings from a manifold to a linear space of the same dimension,or for analytic vector fields on the manifold. The invariant is defined by means of high-order covariant derivatives. Boundson the size of the basin of quadratic convergence are given.If the ambient manifold has negative sectional curvature, thosebounds depend on the curvature. A criterion of quadratic convergencefor Newton iteration from the information available at a pointis also given.     

Modeling of MIG/MAG welding with experimental validation using an active contour algorithm applied on high speed movies

This paper investigates some issues in physical modeling of metal inert gas/metal active gas (MIG/MAG) welding process in the short arc mode. In this mode, a metal supply is molten in the arc state and then transferred to the weld pool during the short-circuit state. A hybrid model having two distinct continuous states whose switchings are controlled by two guard conditions is proposed. Due to the complexity of the physical phenomena involved in the welding process, simplifications are used to obtain a model accounting for the main physical contributions but simple enough to yield an efficient, fast and numerically tractable simulator which can be used intensively for evaluating different control strategies. In an attempt to validate the proposed model, different measurements have been made including supply voltage and current sampled synchronously with high speed digital video. In order to extract some relevant quantities representative of the metal transfer from image sequences, an active contour algorithm is developed and tested. The effectiveness of the proposed model in the prediction of major tendencies of a welding process, especially in the arc state, is shown using experimental data. Some limitations of the model during the metal transfer are also stressed and possible remedies are then proposed.