Rhombus Tilings: Decomposition and Space Structure

We study the spaces of rhombus tilings, i.e. the graphs whose vertices are tilings of a fixed zonotope. Two tilings are linked if one can pass from one to the other by a local transformation, called a flip. We first use a decomposition method to encode rhombus tilings and give a useful characterization for a sequence of bits to encode a tiling. We use the previous coding to get a canonical representation of tilings, and two order structures on the space of tilings. In codimension 2 we prove that the two order structures are equal. In larger codimensions we study the lexicographic case, and get an order regularity result.     

Representing knowledge about linear programming formulation

This paper describes a system, LPFORM, that enables users to design linear programming models interactively, using graphics. An output of the system is an algebraic statement of the model and data references that are subsequently used to generate the input for a solver in the standard MPS format. The emphasis of this paper is on the types of knowledge one has on the submodels that make up larger models and how this knowledge can be organized.     

The Axisymmetric Deformation of a Thin,or Moderately Thick,Elastic Spherical Cap

A refined shell theory is developed for the elastostatics of a moderately thick spherical cap in axisymmetric deformation. This is a two-term asymptotic theory, valid as the dimensionless shell thickness tends to zero.The theory is more accurate than “thin shell” theory, but is still much more tractable than the full three-dimensional theory. A fundamental difficulty encountered in the formulation of shell (and plate) theories is the determination of correct two-dimensional boundary conditions, applicable to the shell solution, from edge data prescribed for the three-dimensional problem. A major contribution of this article is the derivation of such boundary conditions for our refined theory of the spherical cap. These conditions are more difficult to obtain than those already known for the semi-infinite cylindrical shell, since they depend on the cap angle as well as the dimensionless thickness. For the stress boundary value problem, we find that a Saint-Venant-type principle does not apply in the refined theory, although it does hold in thin shell theory. We also obtain correct boundary conditions for pure displacement and mixed boundary data. In these cases, conventional formulations do not generally provide even the first approximation solution correctly. As an illustration of the refined theory, we obtain two-term asymptotic solutions to two problems, (i) a complete spherical shell subjected to a normally directed equatorial line loading and (ii) an unloaded spherical cap rotating about its axis of symmetry.     

Un Groupe Hyperbolique Est Determine Par Son Bord

We construct on the boundary of a hyperbolic group (in Gromov'ssense) a natural visual measure and a natural crossratio. Weprove that the I-quasiconformal homeomorphisms (in Pansu's sense)between the boundaries of hyperbolic groups are the quasimöbiusmaps (that is, the bijections that almost preserve the crossratios),and that they are the extensions of the quasi-isometries betweenthe groups. We define a barycentre for every probability measureon the boundary without atom, extending the Douady-Earle construction.     

Thermal analysis of some metal n-benzoyl-n-phenylhydroxylamine chelates

The preparation and thermal analysis of the metal chelates of N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine (BPHA) with Al(III), Cd(II), Co(II), Cr(III), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) is discussed. The differential thermal analysis apparatus is described in detail. DTA and TGA curves of BPHA arid the chelates from 25 to 700° in oxygen and in nitrogen are presented.     

Fabrication of a glass-implemented microcapillary electrophoresis device with integrated contactless conductivity detection

Glass microdevices for capillary electrophoresis (CE) gained a lot of interest in the development of micrototal analysis systems (microTAS). The fabrication of a microTAS requires integration of sampling, chemical separation and detection systems into a microdevice. The integration of a detection system into a microchannel, however, is hampered by the lack of suitable microfabrication technology. Here, a microfabrication method for integration of insulated microelectrodes inside a leakage-free microchannel in glass is presented. A combination of newly developed technological approaches, such as low-temperature glass-to-glass anodic bonding, channel etching, fabrication of buried metal interconnects, and deposition of thin plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) silicon carbide layers, enables the fabrication of a CE microdevice with an integrated contactless conductivity detector. The fabrication method of this CE microdevice with integrated contactless conductivity detector is described in detail. Standard CE separations of three inorganic cations in concentrations down to 5 microM show the viability of the new microCE system.     

Effect of H(2)O-CO(2) organization on ovalbumin adsorption at the supercritical CO(2)-water interface

We have studied the formation of water-CO(2) interfaces in the presence of different concentrations of ovalbumin (OVA) by tensiometry and by means of interfacial rheological measurements to obtain some information on the capacity of protein film to stabilize H(2)O in CO(2) emulsion. The formation of pure water-CO(2) interface can be described as a two-step phenomenon.(1) The CO(2) molecules adsorb onto the water surface and then a reorganization of the interface creates a H(2)O-CO(2) cluster network. This organization occurs at a temperature (40 degrees C) higher than the higher temperature limit (10 degrees C) allowing the formation of crystalline structure called CO(2) clathrate.(2) Our results show that ovalbumin adsorption from bulk concentrations higher than 0.0229 g/L inhibits the cluster formation for a CO(2) pressure less than 80 bar. However, for lower concentrations, the more the CO(2) pressure is close to 80 bar, the more OVA adsorption is reduced by the H(2)O-CO(2) cluster network. Moreover, from a pressure of 90 bar, the affinity of OVA for the interface increases and mixed films made of protein molecules and clusters are obtained for the OVA concentrations lower than 1 g/L.     

Chemical profiling and classification of illicit heroin by principal component analysis, calculation of inter sample correlation and artificial neural networks

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) were utilised to validate illicit drug classification in the profiling method used at “Institut de Police Scientifique” of the University of Lausanne (IPS). This method established links between samples using a combination of principal component analysis (PCA) and calculation of a correlation value between samples.Heroin seizures sent to the IPS laboratory were analysed using gas chromatography (GC) to separate the major alkaloids present in illicit heroin. Statistical analysis was then performed on 3371 samples. Initially, PCA was performed as a preliminary screen to identify samples of a similar chemical profile. A correlation value was then calculated for each sample previously identified with PCA. This correlation value was used to determine links between drug samples. These links were then recorded in an Ibase^® database. From this database the notion of “chemical class” arises, where samples with similar chemical profiles are grouped together. Currently, about 20 “chemical classes” have been identified.The normalised peak areas of six target compounds were then used to train an ANN to classify each sample into its appropriate class. Four hundred and sixty-eight samples were used as a training data set. Sixty samples were treated as blinds and 370 as non-linked samples. The results show that in 96% of cases the neural network attributed the seizure to the right “chemical class”.The application of a neural network was found to be a useful tool to validate the classification of new drug seizures in existing chemical classes. This tool should be increasingly used in such situations involving profile comparisons and classifications.     

Addition of a chiral copper reagent derived from propargylic oxazolidininone to aldehydes

[reaction: see text] The copper reagent arising from an optically pure propargylic oxazolidinone was found to react regio- and diastereoselectively with aldehydes, leading, in a one-pot procedure, to the anti homopropargylic amino alcohols derivatives in good yields.