Amplification and saturation in a CO2 waveguide amplifier

An ir CO₂, dc current pumped, optical waveguide (WG) amplifier has been built, and its active medium optical parameters measured for several CO₂ emission lines, and their dependence from active medium total pressure, discharge current and temperature was investigated.High gain is found which, coupled with relatively high saturation power in the WG fundamental mode and ease of fabrication with this technology in long (up to 1.5 m) lengths, indicates promising use to efficiently amplify high spectral and spatial purity output of a short, highly tunable WG laser up to power levels suited for nonlinear spectroscopy and optical pumping. The dependence of the small signal gain coefficient and of the saturation parameter for individual rotational lines on the radiation intensity was computed using experimentally known parameters of the discharge plasma. The computation was carried out using the two mode rate equation approach for CO₂–N₂–He gas mixtures. A satisfactory agreement between theoretical and experimental results was obtained.Work supported by G.N.S.M.-C.N.R. and M.P.I.     

Rainfalls during great Forbush decreases

Summary The changes of rainfall values during great Forbush decreases recorded by the low-latitudinal neutron monitor of Huancayo (47 events from 1956 through 1992) were examined. The data on precipitations were taken from the State of S?o Paulo and from the Amazonian region, Brazil. As a rule, the data from more than 50 meteorological stations were used for each events. The main result is the following: during strong decreases of cosmic-ray flux in the atmosphere (great Forbush decreases) the precipitation value is decreased. The effect of rainfall changes is seen more distinctly if wet seasons are considered.     

Fracture in mercury cadmium telluride as a function of incident light

We have observed the influence of light on the fracture tougness in crystal of HgCdTe. The response of the crystal to light depends on the overall strain. For strains less than that corresponding to the ultimate tensile stress the crystal hardens when irradiated. After the ultimate tensile stress has been reached and the crstal with light. is seen to produce a reversible softening. Quantitative results are presented and explained in terms of elementary fracture mechanics and dislocation theory.     

Scalar-valued dominated polynomials on Banach spaces

It is well known that 2-homogeneous polynomials on -spaces are 2-dominated. Motivated by the fact that related coincidence results are possible only for polynomials defined on symmetrically regular spaces, we investigate the situation in several classes of symmetrically regular spaces. We prove a number of non-coincidence results which makes us suspect that there is no infinite dimensional Banach space such that every scalar-valued homogeneous polynomial on is -dominated for every .

     

Personal income tax reforms: A genetic algorithm approach

Given a settled reduction in the present level of tax revenue, and by exploring a very large combinatorial space of tax structures, in this paper we employ a genetic algorithm in order to determine the ‘best’ structure of a real world personal income tax that allows for the maximisation of the redistributive effect of the tax, while preventing all taxpayers being worse off than with the present tax structure. We take Italy as a case study.     

On almost summing polynomials and multilinear mappings

In this article we explore the notion of everywhere almost summing polynomials and define a natural norm which makes this class a Banach polynomial ideal which is a holomorphy type and also coherent and compatible with the notion of almost summing linear operators. Similar results are not valid for the original concept of almost summing polynomials, due to G. Botelho.     

Determination of phenolic compounds in wines by novel matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

A novel matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) extraction method was developed to extract simultaneously 23 phenolic compounds from wine samples prior to determination by gas chromatography with mass spectrometric detection in the selected ion monitoring mode. Different parameters of the MSPD technique such as dispersant solid-phase, eluting solvent, and sample ionic strength and pH were optimized. The optimized MSPD procedure requires a small volume of wine (1 mL), commercial silica gel (1.5 g) as dispersant solid-phase and a small volume of ethyl acetate (5 mL) as eluting solvent. Under these conditions, the extraction of the studied compounds was almost complete (mean values of recoveries between 87 and 109%) in a short time (15 min). Moreover, satisfactory standard deviations of repeatability (RSD<9% in most cases), linear regression coefficients (r(2)>0.993) and detection limits (<8 microg/L) confirm the usefulness of the methodology for routine monitoring of the concentration of individual phenolic antioxidants in wines. Application was illustrated by analysis of different wine samples.     

Semisynthesis of new D-seco-C-nor-taxane derivatives containing a polyfunctionalized furanosyl or cyclopentenyl or cyclopentyl C-ring

The synthesis of new D-seco-C-nor-taxane derivatives in which the D-ring has been deleted and the C-ring has been transformed into a new pentatomic ring, i.e., the polyfunctionalized tetrahydrofuranosyl and cyclopentenyl or cyclopentyl ring, was performed starting from baccatin III derivatives. The synthetic strategy adopted took advantage of the oxetane ring opening and disconnection of the C4-C5 bond, followed by an intramolecular condensation. The formation of furanosyl or cyclopentyl rings is strictly dependent on the presence of unprotected or protected oxygen at C-7 in the starting material. The reactions proceeded with good diastereoselectivity with control of the stereochemistry of one or two stereocenters.     

Multifunctional nanostructures based on inorganic nanoparticles and oligothiophenes and their exploitation for cellular studies

The combination of materials that possess different properties (such as, for instance, fluorescence and magnetism) into one single object of nanoscale size represents an attractive challenge for biotechnology, especially for their potential relevance in biomedical applications. We report here the preparation of novel bifunctional conjugates based on the linkage of inorganic nanoparticles to organic oligothiophene fluorophores (OTFs). In comparison to the organic dyes commonly used in bioimaging and more similarly to colloidal quantum dots, OTFs have broad optical absorption spectra, and therefore OTF fluorophores emitting at different colors can be excited with a single excitation source, allowing for easier multiplexing analysis. In this work we show the preparation of OTF-nanoparticle conjugates based on gold and iron oxide nanoparticles and their characterization using different techniques such as gel electrophoresis, photoluminescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, and so on. In addition, by performing an in vitro study on human tumor cells we show that OTF-nanoparticle conjugates emitting at different colors can be used for multiplexing detection. Also, in the case of iron oxide-OTF conjugates, once uptaken by the cells, we show that they preserve both their fluorescent and their magnetic properties.