Cohomology and extension problems for semi <Emphasis Type="Italic">q</Emphasis>-coronae

We prove some extension theorems for analytic objects, in particular sections of a coherent sheaf, defined in semi q-coronae of a complex space. Semi q-coronae are domains whose boundary is the union of a Levi flat part, a q-pseudoconvex part and a q-pseudoconcave part. Such results are obtained mainly using cohomological techniques.     

111In–L–LDL and 153Gd–L–LDL as radiotracers for detection of AR4‐2J rat pancreatic tumors

Pancreatic cancer has an extremely poor prognosis, due, in part, to lack of methods for early diagnosis. The present study was designed to evaluate the potential of labeling low‐density lipoprotein (LDL) with a radionuclide using a lipid chelating agent, bis(stearylamide) of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (L), to detect pancreatic tumors by gamma‐scintigraphy. Previous studies indicated that the difficulty of visualization of pancreatic tumors was due to their poor vascularization. This study compares the ability of two radiotracers, ¹¹¹In–L–LDL and ¹⁵³Gd–L–LDL to target highly vascularized rat pancreatic tumors (AR4‐2J) implanted in nude mice. Biodistribution studies showed that the tumor uptake of ¹¹¹In–L–LDL and ¹⁵³Gd–L–LDL tracers was twofold and fivefold higher respectively than with the controls (¹¹¹In citrate and ¹⁵³Gd citrate respectively). These tracers would thus be suitable for scintigraphic imaging. We show here that LDL could be employed as a delivery system for tracers such as ¹¹¹In or ¹⁵³Gd when these two radionuclides are complexed by a lipid‐chelating anchor, and that ¹¹¹In–L–LDL and ¹⁵³Gd–L–LDL enabled better visualization of the pancreatic tumor tissues, with a better result with ¹⁵³Gd–L–LDL. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of the ν3 band of 12CH3D at 7.6 μm

The previously reported (J. Mol. Spectrosc.68, 195–222 (1977)) study of the CH₃D spectrum occurring at 1033–1270 cm^?1 which was mainly concerned with the ν₆ fundamental has now been extended to cover the region 1270–1420 cm^?1. In all, 342 transitions belonging to the ν₃ band are now assigned. Both the ν₃ and ν₆ bands are processed simultaneously taking into account of the Coriolis interaction between them, and the fitting of all the experimental data led to 21 significant spectroscopic constants for the states v₆= 1 and v₃ = 1 of CH₃D.     

Abatement of waste-water biorefractory organics via electro-oxidative treatment

The electrochemical oxidation of coumaric acid, a biorefractory compound present in several industrial waste waters, has been investigated by use of Pt-Ti anodes and at electrolyte concentration (0.02 N NaCl or Na2SO4) low enough to allow direct dischargeability of the waste water into superficial water basins according to the Italian law (DL 152/11-5-99). Particularly, the role of the electrolyte over the conversion rate has been assessed. The obtained results show that the oxidation process should take place both at the electrode surface and in the bulk of the solution, via electrochemically-generated oxidising species (H2O2, persulfates, Cl2, NaClO). The faster coumaric acid abatement rates were found with chloride based electrolytes, which, however, lead to the formation of non-biodegradable small-molecular-weight chlorinated hydrocarbons.     

A functional approach to the many-body nuclear problem: the MEC

Summary We show how a functional approach to the nuclear many-body problem can provide a unified scheme to deal with the many facets of the problem and to establish well-defined procedures of approximation. We consider, in particular, the perturbative and the mean-field (loop expansion) approximations to an exact effective bosonic Lagrangian, discussing how well-known computational schemes (hole-line expansion, RPA, etc.) may be obtained as subsets of definite orders in these expansions. An application to the calculation of the longitudinal electromagnetic response function, with the simpleNπ interaction, is finally presented. We show how the pion dynamic and the short-range correlations cooperate to obtain a better agreement with experimental data. Presented by R. Cenni.     

New Method for Catalyst Powder Manufacturing Based on Solvent Combustion

A new method for the synthesis of fine catalyst powders is presented. Catalyst precursors are dissolved in an ethanol-water mixture which is burned through a nozzle-type burner. As a result, catalyst powders are formed and removed from flue gases through a filter. LaMnO₃ catalysts for the catalytic combustion of methane have been prepared, characterised (TEM, XRD) and compared with a reference manfacturing method (the citrates one) showing promising, though improvable, results. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A sliced inverse regression approach for data stream

In this article, we focus on data arriving sequentially by blocks in a stream. A semiparametric regression model involving a common effective dimension reduction (EDR) direction \(\beta \) is assumed in each block. Our goal is to estimate this direction at each arrival of a new block. A simple direct approach consists of pooling all the observed blocks and estimating the EDR direction by the sliced inverse regression (SIR) method. But in practice, some disadvantages appear such as the storage of the blocks and the running time for large sample sizes. To overcome these drawbacks, we propose an adaptive SIR estimator of \(\beta \) based on the optimization of a quality measure. The corresponding approach is faster both in terms of computational complexity and running time, and provides data storage benefits. The consistency of our estimator is established and its asymptotic distribution is given. An extension to multiple indices model is proposed. A graphical tool is also provided in order to detect changes in the underlying model, i.e., drift in the EDR direction or aberrant blocks in the data stream. A simulation study illustrates the numerical behavior of our estimator. Finally, an application to real data concerning the estimation of physical properties of the Mars surface is presented.     

Linear mobility for coherent quantum tunneling in a periodic potential

The dynamics of a quantum particle moving in a tight binding lattice and coupled to an ohmic heat bath is investigated. Imaginary-time functional integral methods are utilized to determine the self-energy of the velocity-velocity correlation function for weak damping and arbitrary temperatures. Recent results for the linear mobility atT=0 and high temperatures are confirmed and extended to intermediate temperatures. The dominant corrections to the zero temperature mobility are given in terms of a power law.On leave from Dipartimento di Fisica, CISM, Università di Genova Italy