Continuous families of Hölder functions that are not of bounded variation

This paper deals with three classes of functions of great importance in analysis and its applications. We construct a family of Hölder functions in the closed unit interval having two continuous parameters. Those functions are not of bounded variation for any pair of values of the Hölder constant and exponent. The construction depends on a change of variables given by a Lipschitz function with constant equal to 1. Several questions related to the concepts of genericity, surjectivity and deformability are posed at the end.     

Un processus effectif de détermination des systoles pour les surfaces hyperboliques

We give an effective process to discribe explicitly the systols of an hyperbolic surface depending on his Fenchel-Nielsen coordinates.      

A comparison of depletion versus equalization for reducing high-abundance proteins in human serum

In this work three methods to diminish the content of most highly abundant proteins in human serum have been studied and compared. Protein depletion with ACN or DTT and protein equalization with the ProteoMiner^? (PM) have been assessed by 1‐D gel electrophoresis and MS. After treatment 5, 18 and 9 major proteins within the 20 most abundant proteins in serum were identified for the ACN, DTT and PM methods, respectively. The ACN method was efficient for depleting high molecular weight proteins, over 75 KDa, resulting in 10±4% (n=3) of the total protein content remaining in the depleted serum. In addition, 75% of the proteins belonging to the group of the 20 most abundant proteins were not detected, making this depletion strategy a cheap alternative to expensive commercial tools regularly used for removing high abundance proteins from serum. The ACN extract was found rich in apolipoproteins. The dithithreitol method promotes the precipitation of proteins rich in disulfide bonds, mainly albumin, with 73±7% (n=3) of the total protein content remaining in the depleted serum, which was found rich in immunoglobulins. The PM method compresses the dynamic range of the serum proteins, rendering an extract containing 16±2% (n=3) of the total initial protein content. The extract was found to be rich in both apolipoproteins and immunoglobulins. As a general rule the DTT and PM methods provide a compression of the dynamic range of serum protein concentrations while the ACN method allows an effective depletion of the protein fraction above 72 KDa.     

Biosynthesis of iron and silver nanoparticles at room temperature using aqueous sorghum bran extracts

Iron and silver nanoparticles were synthesized using a rapid, single step, and completely green biosynthetic method employing aqueous sorghum extracts as both the reducing and capping agent. Silver ions were rapidly reduced by the aqueous sorghum bran extracts, leading to the formation of highly crystalline silver nanoparticles with an average diameter of 10 nm. The diffraction peaks were indexed to the face-centered cubic (fcc) phase of silver. The absorption spectra of colloidal silver nanoparticles showed a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak centered at a wavelength of 390 nm. Amorphous iron nanoparticles with an average diameter of 50 nm were formed instantaneously under ambient conditions. The reactivity of iron nanoparticles was tested by the H(2)O(2)-catalyzed degradation of bromothymol blue as a model organic contaminant.     

Molecular structures and supramolecular association of chlorodiorganotin(IV) complexes with bis- and tris-dithiocarbamate ligand

Two series of di and trinuclear chlorodiorganotin(IV) complexes derived from bis- and tris-dithiocarbamate ligands have been prepared and structurally characterized. The dinuclear complexes 1-2 of the composition {(R₂SnCl)₂(bis-dtc)} (1, R = Me; 2, R = ⁿBu) have been obtained from R₂SnCl₂ (R = Me, ⁿBu) and the triethylammonium salt of N,N′-dibenzyl-1,2-ethylene-bis(dithiocarbamate). The trinuclear complexes 3-9 with the general formula {(R₂SnCl)₃(tris-dtc)} 3, R = Me, tris-dtc = tris-dtc-Me; 4, R = Me, tris-dtc = tris-dtc-ⁱPr; 5, R = Me, tris-dtc = tris-dtc-Bn; 6, R = ⁿBu, tris-dtc = tris-dtc-Me; 7, R = ⁿBu, tris-dtc = tris-dtc- ⁱPr; 8, R = ⁿBu, tris-dtc = tris-dtc-Bn; 9, R = ^tBu, tris-dtc = tris-dtc-Me) were prepared from R₂SnCl₂ (R = Me, ⁿBu, ^tBu) and the potassium dithiocarbamate salts of (tris[2-(methylamino)ethyl]amine) (tris-dtc-Me), (tris[2-(isopropylamino)ethyl]amine) (=tris-dtc-ⁱPr) and (tris[2-(benzylamino)ethyl]amine) (=tris-dtc-Bn). Compounds 1-9 have been analyzed as far as possible by elemental analysis, FAB⁺ mass spectrometry, IR and NMR (¹H, ¹³C, ¹¹⁹Sn) spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The solid state and solution studies showed that the dtc ligands are coordinated to the tin atoms in the anisobidentate manner. In all cases the metal centers are five-coordinate. The coordination geometry is intermediate between square-pyramidal and trigonal-bipyramidal coordination polyhedra with τ-values in the range of 0.32-0.53. For the members of each series characterized in the solid state by X-ray diffraction analysis, different molecular conformations were found. The crystal structures show the presence of C-H?Cl, C-H?S, C-H?π, S?Cl, S?S, Cl?Sn and S?Sn contacts.     

Potent 5-nitrofuran derivatives inhibitors of Trypanosoma cruzi growth: electrochemical, spectroscopic and biological studies

Cyclic voltammetry and electron spin resonance techniques were used in the investigation of several potential antiprotozoal containing thiosemicarbazone and carbamate nitrofurans. In the electrochemical behaviour, a self-protonation process involving the nitro group was observed. The reactivity of the nitro anion radical for these derivatives with glutathione, a biological relevant thiol, was also studied in means of cyclic voltammetry. These studies demonstrated that glutathione could react with radical species from 5-nitrofuryl system. Furthermore, from the voltammetric results, some parameters of biological significance as E(7)(1) (indicative of the biological nitro anion radical formation), and [Formula: see text] (thermodynamic indicator the of oxygen redox cycling) have been calculated. We also evaluated the stability of the nitro anion radical in terms of the dimerization constant (k(d)). The nitrofuran-free radicals from cyclic voltammetry were characterized by electron spin resonance. A clear dependence between both the thiosemicarbazone or carbamate substructure and the length of the linker, furyl- or furylpropenyl-spacer, and the delocalization of the unpaired electron was observed. Through of biological assays we obtained important parameters that account for the selective anti-trypanosomal activity of these derivatives. The trypomastigote viability study showed that all derivatives are as active as in the epimastigote form of the parasite in a doses dependent manner.     

Structural characterisation and thermo-physical properties of glasses in the Li<Subscript>2</Subscript>O–SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript>–Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>–K<Subscript>2</Subscript>O system

This article aims to shed some light on the structure and thermo-physical properties of lithium disilicate glasses in the system Li₂O–SiO₂–Al₂O₃–K₂O. A glass with nominal composition 23Li₂O–77SiO₂ (mol%) (labelled as L₂₃S₇₇) and glasses containing Al₂O₃ and K₂O with SiO₂/Li₂O molar ratios (3.13–4.88) were produced by conventional melt-quenching technique in bulk and frit forms. The glass-ceramics (GCs) were obtained from nucleation and crystallisation of monolithic bulk glasses as well as via sintering and crystallisation of glass powder compacts. The structure of glasses as investigated by magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) depict the role of Al₂O₃ as glass network former with four-fold coordination, i.e., Al(IV) species while silicon exists predominantly as a mixture of Q ³ and Q ⁴ (Si) structural units. The qualitative as well as quantitative crystalline phase evolution in glasses was followed by differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) adjoined with Rietveld-reference intensity ratio (R.I.R.) method, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The possible correlation amongst structural features of glasses, phase composition and thermo-physical properties of GCs has been discussed.