An efficient and novel numerical method for quasiconformal mappings of doubly connected domains

A numerical method for quasiconformal mapping of doubly connected domains onto annuli is presented. The ratio R of the radii of the annulus is not known a priori and is determined as part of the solution procedure. The numerical method presented in this paper requires solving iteratively a sequence of inhomogeneous Beltrami equations, each for a different R. R is updated using a procedure based on the bisection method. The new method is an extension of Daripas method for the quasiconformal mapping of the exterior of simply connected domains onto the interior of unit disks [15]. It uses fast and accurate algorithms for evaluating certain singular integrals and is, thus, very efficient and accurate. Its performance is demonstrated for several doubly connected domains.     

Vibrational study of hydrogen bonding and structural disorder in Na2H(SO4)2, K3H(SO4)2 and (NH4)3H(SO4)2 crystals

Infrared and Raman spectra on Na₃H(SO₄)₂, K₃ H(SO₄)₂ and (NH₄)₃ H(SO₄)₂ crystals have been investigated at 300 and 100 K in the 4000 to 30 cm⁻¹ region. An assignment of bands in terms of OH group frequencies and more or less distorted tetrahedra of ammonium and sulphate ions is given. The crystallographic and spectroscopic symmetry and/or dissymetry of OHO hydrogen bonds linking sulphate ions into dimers is discussed using OH group frequencies and the splitting of the v₁ (SO₄) Raman bands as criteria. In the particular case of (NH₄)₃H(SO₄)₁ compound containing several solid phases it can be shown that the room temperature phase (II) is strongly disordered, principally because of an orientational disorder of ammonium ions, and that a progressive ordering takes place with temperature lowering.     

Posttranslational hydroxylation of human phenylalanine hydroxylase is a novel example of enzyme self-repair within the second coordination sphere of catalytic iron

Phenylalanine hydroxylase, a mononuclear non-heme iron enzyme, catalyzes the hydroxylation of phenylalanine to tyrosine in the presence of oxygen and reduced pterin cofactor. X-ray structural studies have established the coordination around the iron metal center and point to significant interactions within the second coordination sphere. One such interaction involves Tyr325 in human phenylalanine hydroxylase (hPAH), which forms a hydrogen-bonding network with an aqua ligand on iron and the pterin cofactor. The full-length tetramer (1-452) and truncated dimer (117-424) Tyr325Phe hPAH mutant enzymes showed similar kinetics, thermal stabilities, and oligomerization profiles as their corresponding wild-type proteins. The possibility of in vivo posttranslational hydroxylation that would restore the activity of hPAH was examined by mass spectrometry on the trypsin digested full-length (1-452) hPAH Tyr325Phe point mutant. The amino acid tags obtained by ESI-MS/MS confirmed the presence of a Phe325 in the peptide corresponding to the doubly charged precursor ion at m/z 916.4 (L A T I F W F T V E F G L C K), and its hydroxylated counterpart in the peptide corresponding to the m/z 924.4 (L A T I F-OH W F T V E F G L C K) byproduct ion series comprising the fragments y(5)-y(12). Furthermore, the point mutation Tyr325Ala resulted in an enzyme that was totally inactive and did not display any evidence of hydroxylation. These results demonstrate the importance of Tyr325 for proper conformation of the active site, substrate binding, and catalysis. The rescue of the Tyr325Phe mutant in hPAH via self-hydroxylation presents a novel example of oxidative repair on the molecular level.     

1,2,3‐ and 1,2,4‐triazolium salts,pyrazoles, and quinoxalines from diarylnitrilimines and isocyanides: A study of the scope

Formation of the four title compounds has been found to be strongly dependent on substituents: 1,2,3‐Triazolium salts 6 do not arise from nitrilimines 2 that have an electron‐acceptor attached to either the C‐ or the N‐phenyl group. Likewise tert‐butyl and aryl isocyanides do not afford this class of compounds; from the former isocyanide, dequaternization products 7 are obtained instead, whereas from the latter 1,2,4‐triazolium salts 11 are formed. Compounds 11 with tert‐butyl group at the ring are unstable too, giving rise to triazoles 13 . Pyrazole formation (analogues of 14 ) is completely suppressed when both tert‐butyl and aryl isocyanides are used, whereas access to this ring system works best with see‐alkyl isocyanides (the influence of substituents of 2 being almost negligible in this case). Formation of quinoxalines 23 which arise from intermediary 1,2‐diazets 22 by ring expansion is much favoured on employment of 2 that bears a donator substituent at the N‐phenyl group, and under this premise ring closure to 22 is virtually independent on the nature of the isocyanide. Formation of 23 is not observed with 2 having acceptor groups.     

Synthesis, DTA, IR and Raman spectra of penthylenediammonium hexachlorostannate NH3(CH2)5NH3SnCl6.

The Raman and IR spectra of NH3(CH2)5NH3SnCl6 have been measured at ambient temperature. It is shown that the cations in the compound assume a symmetry lower than C2v. Combination bands observed in the 2100-1800 cm(-1) region in the IR spectrum of NH3(CH2)5NH3SnCl6 indicate that the compound contains the C-NH3 grouping, the bands are discussed and their assignment are suggested. No evidence of existence of hydrogen bonding is found from the infrared spectrum in the region of 2800-3200 cm(-1); anions and cations are found not connected by hydrogen bonding and are therfore isolated. The Raman spectrum of anions can be interpreted in terms of disordered groups, not clearly showing the predicted splitting of bands.     

Discovery of Novel Epoxyketone Peptides as Lipase Inhibitors

Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in the developed world and is associated with important comorbidities. Pancreatic lipase (PL) inhibitors play a key role in the metabolism of human fat. A series of novel epoxyketones peptide derivatives were investigated for their pancreatic lipase inhibitory activity. The epoxyketone moiety is a well-known reactive electrophile group that has been used as part of proteasome inhibitors in cancer therapy, and it is widely believed that these are very selective for targeting the proteasome active site. Here we investigated various peptide derivatives with an epoxide warhead for their anti-lipase activity. The assessment of these novel epoxyketones was performed by an in-house method that we developed for rapid screening and identification of lipase inhibitors using GC-FID. Herein, we present a novel anti-lipase pharmacophore based on epoxyketone peptide derivatives that showed potent anti-lipase activity. Many of these derivatives had comparable or more potent activity than the clinically used lipase inhibitors such as orlistat. In addition, the lipase appears to be inhibited by a wide range of epoxyketone analogues regardless of the configuration of the epoxide in the epoxyketone moiety. The presented data in this study shows the first example of the use of epoxyketone peptides as novel lipase inhibitors.     

Palladium extraction by triphenylphosphine sulfide in benzene

The extraction of Pd(II) by triphenylphosphine sulfide (Ph₃PS) in benzene from nitric acid solutions has been investigated. The effect of different parameters on the extraction of palladium was studied. Based on the results, an equilibrium model is proposed. The stoichiometry of the extracted species was elucidated and found to be Pd(NO₃)₂2Ph₃PS. Possible interference with selected radionuclides that might exist in high level liquid waste was investigated and discussed.     

Characterization by mirage effect technique of dye diffusion in columnar discotic liquid crystals

The anisotropic behaviour of the matter diffusion in columnar discotic liquid crystals is studied by the 'mirage effect' technique. The D_h and D₀ mesophases of C₈HET and C₁₁HET, respectively, are considered. The impurity (a dye, the 1-[4-(xylylazo)xylylazo]-2-naphthol) diffusing in these mesophases is detected by the photothermal deflection technique. Measurements of the diffusion coefficients are performed in two perpendicular directions, along and perpendicularly to the molecular columns. Effects of impurity size, length and type of the branched chains on the discs of triphenylene, and molecule stackings in columns, are presented.     

A New Access Control Solution for a Multi-Provider Wireless Environment

The fundamental goal in future 4G mobile multi-service networks is to provide an efficient mobile computing environment. We presume that future terminals will be equipped with multiple heterogeneous wireless interfaces. We want to enable each user to seamlessly move between different providers networks. Besides seamless roaming, a key consideration is also devoted to quality-of-service provision. In this article, we propose a model and an architectural framework for supporting quality of service in the context of interconnected multi-provider wireless systems. The proposed integrated COPS-based management and RADIUS-based access control architecture will allow providers to offer multimedia services while optimizing the use of the underlying network resources. We suggest new concepts and protocols to provide solutions to these challenges and describe the French national research project named MMQoS aiming on building such future networks.