Compression of long-cavity Ti:sapphire oscillator pulses with large-mode-area photonic crystal fibers

Motivated by the pulse compression challenge of novel long-cavity, high-pulse-energy Ti:sapphire laser oscillators, we report on ~280 nm supercontinuum generation and 4.5-times compression of close to transform limited, high-energy oscillator pulses using different large-mode-area photonic crystal fibers and standard chirped mirrors. As input, we used pulses of a long-cavity Ti:sapphire oscillator with 190 nJ pulse energy, 70 fs pulse length and 3.6 MHz repetition rate. Compressed pulses at the fiber/compressor output had a duration of 15–18 fs with up to 100 nJ pulse energy representing as much as 53 % throughput for the fiber/chirped mirror system. Using transform-limited input pulses, we could use short fiber pieces and thus a simple, low-dispersion chirped mirror compressor comprised of one pair of mirrors.     

Algebraic conditions for additive functions over the reals and over finite fields

Let C be an affine plane curve. We consider additive functions \(f{:}\; K\rightarrow K\) for which \(f(x)f(y)=0\), whenever \((x,y)\in C\). We show that if \(K=\mathbb {R}\) and C is the hyperbola with defining equation \(xy=1\), then there exist nonzero additive functions with this property. Moreover, we show that such a nonzero f exists for a field K if and only if K is transcendental over \(\mathbb Q\) or over \(\mathbb {F}_p\), the finite field with p elements. We also consider the general question when K is a finite field. We show that if the degree of the curve C is large enough compared to the characteristic of K, then f must be identically zero.     

Equivalence after extension and Schur coupling coincide for inessential operators

In recent years the coincidence of the operator relations equivalence after extension (EAE) and Schur coupling (SC) was settled for the Hilbert space case. For Banach space operators, it is known that SC implies EAE, but the converse implication is only known for special classes of operators, such as Fredholm operators with index zero and operators that can in norm be approximated by invertible operators. In this paper we prove that the implication EAE $?$ SC also holds for inessential Banach space operators. The inessential operators were introduced as a generalization of the compact operators, and include, besides the compact operators, also the strictly singular and strictly co-singular operators; in fact they form the largest ideal such that the invertible elements in the associated quotient algebra coincide with (the equivalence classes of) the Fredholm operators.     

Assessment of pulmonary air trapping and obstruction in expiration: an experimental MRI study

PURPOSE: The aim of this experimental study was to evaluate the potential of a simple expiration technique by means of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in an animal model to detect pulmonary air-trapping areas after artificial bronchial obstruction. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Sixteen pigs were evaluated by means of a modified T1-weighted FLASH with fat saturation in respiratory arrest (TR=4.6 ms, TE=1.8 ms, alpha=10 degrees, S.D.=3-5 mm). A measurement of the signal intensity (SI) in the peripheral lung tissue was made in both inspiration and expiration before and after inhalation of 2 ml of 0.5% acetylcholine to simulate a bronchial obstruction. A final measurement of the lung SI was also made after bronchospasmolytic induction through salbutamol (beta2-mimetic bronchodilator). RESULTS: In expiration, a mean SI increase in peripheral lung tissue of about 183% was seen in comparison to inspiration (mean SI increase of 11-32). After inhalation of 0.5% acetylcholine, the expirational signal increase in peripheral lung tissue was only 114% of the original SI. The expirational signal homogeneity decreased after inhalation of acetylcholine. After inhalation of salbutamol, the lung tissue signal elevation in expiration was 193%. CONCLUSION: We interpret the low expiratory signal elevation after acetylcholine inhalation as a result of an air-trapped bronchial constriction in certain areas. The simple expiratory technique in an animal model showed that it is suitable to demonstrate obstructive air trapping using MRI.     

Lower bounds on the minimum distance in Hermitian one-point differential codes

Korchmáros and Nagy [Hermitian codes from higher degree places. J Pure Appl Algebra, doi: 10. 1016/j.jpaa.2013.04.002, 2013] computed the Weierstrass gap sequence G(P) of the Hermitian function field Fq2( H ) at any place P of degree 3, and obtained an explicit formula of the Matthews-Michel lower bound on the minimum distance in the associated differential Hermitian code CΩ(D, mP ) where the divisor D is, as usual, the sum of all but one 1-degree Fq2-rational places of Fq2( H ) and m is a positive integer. For plenty of values of m depending on q, this provided improvements on the designed minimum distance of CΩ(D, mP). Further improvements from G(P) were obtained by Korchmáros and Nagy relying on algebraic geometry. Here slightly weaker improvements are obtained from G(P) with the usual function-field method depending on linear series, Riemann-Roch theorem and Weierstrass semigroups. We also survey the known results on this subject.     

The effect of electron correlation on the conformational space of melatonin

The pineal gland hormone melatonin regulates several physiological processes including circadian rhythm and also alleviates oxidative stress‐induced degenerative diseases. In spite of its important biological roles, no high level ab initio conformational study has been conducted to reveal its structural features. In this work, the conformational flexibility of melatonin was investigated using correlated ab initio calculations. Conformers, obtained previously at the Hartree‐Fock level (HF/6‐31G*), were fully optimized using second order Møller‐Plesset perturbation theory applying the frozen core approximation (MP2(FC)/6‐31G*). Furthermore, single‐point MP4(SDQ,FC)/6‐31G*//MP2(FC)/6‐31G* computations were performed to investigate the effect of higher order perturbation terms. The HF and MP2 conformational spaces are considerably different: the initial 128 structures converged into 102 different local minima as confirmed by frequency calculations; 28 new minima appeared and 26 previous HF local minima disappeared; no “all‐trans” C3 side chain conformations are seen at the MP2(FC) level. The MP2 global minimum conformation is stabilized by an aromatic‐side chain interaction. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2008     

The occurrence of free radicals in milled and irradiated paprika as detected by ESR

Ionising radiation and various other types of treatment can induce oxidising processes that give rise to free radicals in materials. This paper reports an ESR study of free radicals in spicy paprika in various phases of grinding and in samples of different particle sizes as functions of the absorbed gamma dose and storage time. In 7th phase of grinding, the ESR intensity first increased and then decreased after conditioning. The ESR intensity increased with increase in the absorbed dose, and then decreased during the 8 weeks of storage. This declining intensity demonstrates the simultaneous presence of free radicals having short and long shelf life in paprika samples.     

New isomers of 4,1-benzothiazepines. The first evidence for the desmotropy of seven-membered heterocycles

A novel procedure was developed for the preparation of 2,3-disubstituted 4,1-benzothiazepines, via the ring transformation of (2R^∗,2aS^∗)-2-chloro-2a-phenyl-2,2a-dihydro-2H,4H-azeto[1,2-a][3,1]benzothiazin-1-one (1) with sodium ethoxide in ethanol. The tautomeric products (R^∗)-3-ethoxycarbonyl-2-phenyl-3,5-dihydro-4,1-benzothiazepine (4) and 3-ethoxycarbonyl-2-phenyl-1,5-dihydro-4,1-benzothiazepine (5) exhibit the rare phenomenon of desmotropy of the condensed seven-membered heterocycles. Surprisingly, these desmotropes could be separated by column chromatography. The products are unexpectedly stable in solution and their structures were proved by means of NMR and mass spectrometry.     

Enantioseparation of phenylalanine analogs on a quinine-based anion-exchanger chiral stationary phase: structure and temperature effects

Application of a cinchona alkaloid-based chiral anion-exchanger stationary phase for the direct high-performance liquid chromatographic enantioseparation of N-protected unusual phenylalanine analogs is reported. The N-benzyloxycarbonyl, N-3,5-dinitrobenzyloxycarbonyl, N-benzoyl and N-3,5-dinitrobenzoyl derivatives were well separable with high resolution. To achieve optimal separation of the enantiomers, the chromatographic conditions and temperature were varied. Linear van't Hoff plots were observed in the studied temperature range, 278-343 K, and the apparent changes in enthalpy, delta(deltaH degrees), entropy, delta(delta S degrees), and Gibbs free energy, delta(delta G degrees), were calculated. The values of the thermodynamic parameters depended on the nature of the N-acyl groups, on the structures of the compounds, and especially on the nature of the substituent on C3 of phenylalanine.