New results in the study of Brillouin scattering in thiourea

Below T₂ = 202 K, in the incommensurate phase, a Debye relaxation appears for c₃₃; it can be attributed to a linear coupling between an acoustical mode and a phason. The relaxation time is τ = τ₀/(T₀?T) with τ₀ = 6.2 x 10^?12 sec deg and T₀ = 200.9 K. The same phenomenon appears more weakly for c₁₁. The c₆₆ elastic constant has a double discontinuity around T₁ = 169 K; this shows that in the vicinity of T₁ there are two transitions, separated by a temperature interval of 3°.     

On differentiable compactifications of the hyperbolic space

The group of direct isometries of the hyperbolic space This isometric action admits many differentiable compactifications into an action on the closed n-dimensional ball. We prove that all such compactifications are topologically conjugate but not necessarily differentiably conjugate. We give the classifications of real analytic and smooth compactifications.     

Critical revision of the ZEPLIN-I sensitivity to WIMP interactions

The ZEPLIN Collaboration has recently published its first result presenting a maximum sensitivity of 1.1×¹⁰⁻⁶$1.1\times {10}^{\mathrm{-6}}$ picobarn for a WIMP mass of ≈60 GeV$\approx 60\text{ GeV}$. The analysis is based on a discrimination method using the different time distribution of scintillation light generated in electron recoil and nuclear recoil interactions. We show that the methodology followed both for the calibration of the ZEPLIN-I detector response and for the estimation of the discrimination power is not reliable enough to claim any background discrimination at the present stage. The ZEPLIN-I sensitivity appears then to be in the order of 10⁻³ picobarn, three orders of magnitude above the claimed 1.1×¹⁰⁻⁶$1.1\times {10}^{\mathrm{-6}}$ picobarn.     

Determination of estrogen presence in water by SPR using estrogen receptor dimerization

Estrogenic compounds are a class of pharmaceutical products harmful to animals and a cause of environmental damage. The biological activity of these compounds is high since they have been designed to act at low concentrations. Thus, even at the low concentrations found in the environment, they may produce deleterious effects on aquatic organisms as well as on humans, who might be contaminated in a number of ways (via drinking water or contaminated food, for example). We used the property of these compounds to bind a specific protein (estrogen receptor, ER) to develop a quantification method of these chemical entities. Estrogenic compound detection was performed using ER dimerization properties monitored by surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The ligand-activated ER dimer was detected by its interaction with a specific DNA consensus sequence estrogen response element. The concentration and the nature of the estrogenic compounds modified the SPR signal and were characteristic of the ligand-dependent homodimerization of ER. For 17β-estradiol, dimerization of ER was experimentally determined at an ER to 17β-estradiol ratio near 1:1. Estrogenic compounds (17β-estradiol, estriol, estrone, ethynyl estradiol) activated the dimerization process at different concentration levels, while some others (tamoxiphen, resveratrol, genistein, bisphenol A) did not seem to have any effects on it. We demonstrated that this method allows the direct detection of 17β-estradiol at concentrations above 1.4 μg/L (5 nM).     

Revisiting the determination of langmuir parameters--application to tetrahydrothiophene adsorption onto activated carbon

The selection of a proper sorbent for a given application is a complex problem. The design and efficiency of adsorption processes require an equilibrium adsorption model. Linear transformation is one of the methods available to estimate the adjustable parameters of isotherm models but possesses limitations compared to nonlinear regressions. A different approach to calculate predicted equilibrium isotherm values leading to an alternative nonlinear regression is presented in this paper and compared with usual regression methods. Adsorption isotherm data of gaseous THT onto three activated carbon materials constitute an experimental basis for the discussion. Assessment of the goodness-of-fit of the Langmuir model is supported by different selected test functions. The new nonlinear approach did not obtain the best results for each test function, but raises questions about the inherent combined error in regression procedures.     

Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry characterization of historical varnishes of ancient Italian lutes and violin

The organic constituents of historical vanishes from two ancient Italian lutes and a Stradivari violin, kept in the Musée de la musique in Paris, have been characterized using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Results have been compared with the chromatograms and mass spectra of recent as well as old naturally aged reference materials. The three historical varnishes analyzed have been shown to be oil varnishes, probably mixtures of linseed oil with resins. Identification of diterpenoids and triterpenoids compounds, and of the resins that may have been ingredients of the varnishes, are discussed in this paper.