Prediction problem in quantum mechanics is intractable (NP-Hard)

It is proved that both the prediction problem and the problem of reconstructing the state from the observations in quantum mechanics are NP-hard.     

Some new topological cardinal inequalities

In this paper we make use of the Pol-Šapirovski?'s technique to prove several cardinal inequalities, which generalize other well-known inequalities.     

An elementary proof of the uniqueness of invariant product measures for some infinite dimensional processesUne preuve élémentaire de l'unicité des mesures invariantes produits pour certains processus en dimension infinie

Consider an infinite dimensional diffusion process with state space , where T is the circle, and defined by an infinitesimal generator L which acts on local functions f as . Suppose that the coefficients a_i and b_i are smooth, bounded, of finite range, have uniformly bounded second order partial derivatives, that a_i are uniformly bounded from below by some strictly positive constant, and that a_i is a function only of η_i. Suppose that there is a product measure ν which is invariant. Then if ν is the Lebesgue measure or if d=1,2, it is the unique invariant measure. Furthermore, if ν is translation invariant, it is the unique invariant, translation invariant measure. The proofs are elementary. Similar results can be proved in the context of an interacting particle system with state space , with uniformly positive bounded flip rates which are finite range. To cite this article: A.F. Ram??rez, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 334 (2002) 139–144     

Microperforated insertion units: An alternative strategy to design microperforated panels

Microperforated panels (MPPs) coupled to a rigid wall have been proposed recently as an alternative to porous absorbers in situations having concerns with bacterial contamination and small particles discharge, like food, pharmaceutical and microelectronic industries. There exists also an increasing interest for MPP absorbers in the transportation industry and civil engineering. In general, an optimally designed MPP with good broadband absorption requires many submillimetric holes distributed over a panel of also submillimetric thickness. Such thin plates or foils become so fragile that they need to be protected from mechanical damage. In this paper, an alternative strategy is investigated which allows the design of MPPs with panels of millimetric thickness while maintaining their acoustic performance. These absorbers, named microperforated insertion units (MIUs), avoid the structural problems of the classical MPPs. An assessment of the sound absorption properties of these structures is presented. Comparisons between calculations and measurements are also made under two experimental conditions: plane waves at normal incidence (impedance tube) and free field (anechoic room).     

The absolute configuration of peroxisomicines A1 and A2

Peroxisomicine A1 is a potentially antineoplastic compound isolated from the seeds of Karwinskia parvifolia. It is considered as a useful chemotype for the preparation of topoisomerase II targeted anticancer cells. Stereochemically, it is characterized by the presence of two stereocenters and a rotationally hindered and thus likewise stereogenic biaryl axis. In this contribution, the absolute configuration of peroxisomicine A1 and its epimer, peroxisomicine A2, was established by means of a five-step degradative procedure giving the respective R- and S-configured methyl 2-(2′-methyl-5′-oxotetrahydrofuryl)acetates. The configuration of the degradation product was obtained by means of optical rotation, ¹H NMR analysis using a chiral displacement reagent, and by experimental and quantum chemical circular dichroism (CD) investigations. Based on the results obtained here and considering our previous work on the relative configuration at centers versus axis of these compounds, peroxisomicine A1 resulted to be the P,3S,3′S-isomer and peroxisomicine A2 the P,3R,3′S-isomer.     

Direct and simultaneous spectrofluorometric determination of naproxen and salicylate in human serum assisted by chemometric analysis

A direct method for the simultaneous determination of naproxen and salicylate in human serum is reported, based on a combination of spectrofluorometric measurements with two multivariate calibration techniques: partial least-squares (PLS-1) and the novel net analyte preprocessing (NAP). The method is rapid, selective and sensitive, and is based on the measurement of the fluorescence spectra of NH₃ alkalinized whole human sera at the excitation wavelength of 315 nm. It can be applied within the ranges of concentrations 50-200 ng ml⁻¹ for naproxen and 100-300 ng ml⁻¹ for salicylate. The employed chemometric techniques have been compared on the basis of the statistical indicators for calibration and validation. Reproducibility and interference studies in abnormal sera have also been carried out.     

Interfacial electron transfer in FeII(CN)6 4- -sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles: a study of direct charge injection by electroabsorption spectroscopy

Electroabsorption (Stark) spectroscopy has been used to study the dye sensitized interfacial electron transfer in an Fe(II)(CN)(6)(4)(-) donor complex bound to a TiO(2) nanoparticle. The average charge-transfer distance determined from the Stark spectra is 5.3 A. This value is similar to the estimated distance between the Fe(II) center of the complex and the Ti(IV) surface site coordinated to the nitrogen end of a bridging CN ligand in (CN)(5)Fe(II)-CN-Ti(IV)(particle). This finding suggests that the electron injection is to either an individual titanium surface site or a small number of Ti centers localized around the point of ferrocyanide coordination to the particle and not into a conduction band orbital delocalized over the nanoparticle. The polarizability change, Tr(Deltaalpha), between the ground and the excited states of the Fe(II)(CN)(6)(4)(-)-TiO(2)(particle) system is approximately 3 time larger than normally observed in mixed-valence dinuclear metal complexes. It is proposed that the large polarizability of the excited state increases the dipole-moment changes measured by Stark spectroscopy.