Operation characteristics of the Au-II 690-nm laser transition in a segmented hollow-cathode discharge

Single-mode operation at the Au-II 690-nm transition was obtained in a segmented hollow-cathode discharge laser without the use of any additional frequency-selective device. The pressure of the helium buffer gas, which is responsible for the significant homogeneous broadening of the laser line, was varied between 10 and 20 mbar. The discharge was excited with rectangular current pulses (up to 3 A) six times exceeding the threshold value. The time dependence of the laser output during the 1-ms-long discharge pulses is explained on the basis of the temperature and pressure changes in the tube. The highest small-signal gain at optimal discharge conditions was 11%m⁻¹. Received: 1 July 1999 / Revised version: 4 November 1999 / Published online: 23 February 2000     

Affinity of Cu+ for the copper-binding domain of the amyloid-β peptide of Alzheimer's disease

The role of metal ions in Alzheimer's disease etiology is unresolved. For the redox-active metal ions iron and copper, the formation of reactive oxygen species by metal amyloid complexes has been proposed to contribute to Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration. For copper, reactive oxygen species are generated by copper redox cycling between its 1+ and 2+ oxidation states. Thus, the AβCu(I) complex is potentially a critical reactant associated with Alzheimer's disease etiology. Through competitive chelation, we have measured the affinity of the soluble copper-binding domain of the amyloid-β peptide for Cu(I). The dissociation constants are in the femtomolar range for both wild-type and histidine-to-alanine mutants. These results indicate that Cu(I) binds more tightly to monomeric amyloid-β than Cu(II) does, which leads us to propose that Cu(I) is a relevant in vivo oxidation state.     

Electric field dependence of phase equilibria of binary Stockmayer fluid mixtures

A perturbation theory based study of the effect of an external electric field on the phase equilibrium properties of binary Stockmayer fluids is presented. The dipole–dipole interaction and the applied field are treated as independent perturbations to a Lennard–Jones mixture, and the reference fluid is treated by the van der Waals one-fluid approximation. A third-order free energy expression in the electric field strength is established, and the dielectric constant is calculated for a needle-shaped sample parallel to the field direction. We present and discuss vapour–liquid and liquid–liquid equilibrium curves at a given temperature for some dipolar mixtures exposed to an electric field, including chlorodifluoromethane +?difluoromethane and acetonitrile +?methanol. A sufficiently high electric field may result in massive shifts of vapour pressures and critical or azeotropic points, and can considerably alter the properties of coexisting phases. The vapour pressure decreases with increasing field strength.     

Higher order symmetrizer and application to an unusual transport equation

We study a class of stationary transport equation with nonlocal low-order tems We obtain the existence and uniqueness of a solution in sobolev spaces     

Pattern formation in the ferrocyanide-iodate-sulfite reaction: the control of space scale separation

We revisit the conditions for the development of reaction-diffusion patterns in the ferrocyanide-iodate-sulfite bistable and oscillatory reaction. This hydrogen ion autoactivated reaction is the only example known to produce sustained stationary lamellar patterns and a wealth of other spatio-temporal phenomena including self-replication and localized oscillatory domain of spots, due to repulsive front interactions and to a parity-breaking front bifurcation (nonequilibrium Ising-Bloch bifurcation). We show experimentally that the space scale separation necessary for the observation of stationary patterns is mediated by the presence of low mobility weak acid functional groups. The presence of such groups was overlooked in the original observations made with hydrolyzable polyacrylamide gels. This missing information made the original observations difficult to reproduce and frustrated further experimental exploitation of the fantastic potentialities of this system. Using one-side-fed spatial reactors filled with agarose gel, we can reproduce all the previous pattern observations, in particular the stationary labyrinthine patterns, by introducing, above a critical concentration, well controlled amounts of polyacrylate chains in the gel network. We use two different geometries of spatial reactors (annular and disk shapes) to provide complementary information on the actual three-dimensional character of spatial patterns. We also reinvestigate the role of other feed parameters and show that the system exhibits both a domain of spatial bistability and of large-amplitude pH oscillations associated in a typical cross-shape diagram. The experimental method presented here can be adapted to produce patterns in the large number of oscillatory and bistable reactions, since the iodate-sulfite-ferrocynide reaction is a prototype of these systems.     

Patterns of the ferrocyanide-iodate-sulfite reaction revisited: the role of immobilized carboxylic functions

We experimentally demonstrate that the standing lamella reaction-diffusion patterns initially observed 17 years ago in a gel-filled open spatial reactor operated with the ferrocyanide-iodate-sulfite bistable reaction requires an upper critical concentration of low-mobility species with weak acid functional groups, a parameter that was overlooked at the time and had made observations difficult to reproduce. The present approach enables the control of the space scale separation between activatory and inhibitory processes. It makes the wealth of exotic pattern dynamics observed earlier easier to reproduce and understand. This contribution should considerably revive the interest in this reaction and boost the search for the control of reaction-diffusion patterns in other bistable systems.     

求解复杂湍流的非线性涡黏性系数模型和代数应力模型

非线性涡黏性系数模型和代数应力模型联系了线性涡黏性系数湍流模型和完整的微分 雷诺应力模型.随着它们受到日益关注,其形式也越来越多样化.本篇综述的目的是对这些模 型加以总结并比较它们之间的共同点及不同之处,指出它们与完整微分雷诺应力模型之间的 关系,以及相对于线性涡黏性系数模型而言它们在预报流场上所具有的优势.     

Spatial bistability: a source of complex dynamics. From spatiotemporal reaction-diffusion patterns to chemomechanical structures

We show experimentally and theoretically that reaction systems characterized by a slow induction period followed by a fast evolution to equilibrium can readily generate "spatial bistability" when operated in thin gel reactors diffusively fed from one side. This phenomenon which corresponds to the coexistence of two different stable steady states, not breaking the symmetry of the boundary conditions, can be at the origin of diverse reaction-diffusion instabilities. Using different chemical reactions, we show how stationary pulses, labyrinthine patterns or spatiotemporal oscillations can be generated. Beyond simple reaction-diffusion instabilities, we also demonstrate that the cross coupling of spatial bistability with the size responsiveness of a chemosensitive gel can give rise to autonomous spatiotemporal shape patterns, referred to as chemomechanical structures.