Photoinduced alignment of polymer liquid crystals containing azobenzene moieties in the side group VII. On He-Ne laser beam irradiation

Photoinduced alignment in a polymer liquid crystal prepared from 6-{1-[4-(2-cyano-4-nitrophenylazo)phenyl]piperazino}hexyl acrylate and 4'-[6-(methacryloyloxy)hexyloxy]-4-cyanobiphenyl was investigated for the first time on irradiation with a polarized He-Ne laser beam at 633 nm. The azobenzene moieties as well as the inert cyanobiphenyl mesogenic units were aligned with the molecular long axis perpendicular to the polarization direction of the irradiation light. Alignment induced on short irradiation was reversible, while that induced under prolonged irradiation was irreversible due to the occurrence of crosslinking which might be caused by photoinduced decomposition of the azobenzene moieties during the photoirradiation process.     

Magnetic relaxations of antiferromagnetic nanoparticles in magnetic fields

We reexamine anomalous magnetic relaxations of ferritin in magnetic fields, the presence of which has been regarded as evidence suggesting the existence of thermally assisted macroscopic quantum tunneling in antiferromagnetic nanoparticles. In the present study, relaxation curves of ferritin are examined using an approach that is free from assumptions regarding distributions of various parameters of polydispersive particles. The results are not anomalous. In other words, the relaxation is accelerated by the field, as expected for classical superparamagnetic fluctuations.     

A simple multiaxial fatigue criterion for metals

A new simple multiaxial high-cycle fatigue endurance criterion, suitable for situations where the convex hull associated with the stress path approximates well an ellipsoid, is proposed. It considers, as measures of fatigue solicitation: (i) a new definition for the equivalent shear stress amplitude; and (ii) the maximum principal stress along the stress history. Assessment of the resulting criterion for a wide range of in-phase and out-phase cyclic loads shows that it compares very well with experimental data published in the literature. To cite this article: C.A. Gonçalves et al., C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).

Résumé

On propose un critère simple d'endurance à la fatigue polycyclique, applicable à des situations pour lesquelles l'envelope convexe associé à l'histoire des contraintes s'approche bien d'une ellipse. Le critère considère, comme mesures de solicitation à la fatigue : (i) une nouvelle définition de l'amplitude de contrainte de cisaillement ; et (ii) la contrainte principale maximale au cours de l'histoire de chargement. Pour citer cet article : C.A. Gonçalves et al., C. R. Mecanique 332 (2004).     

Role of cholesterol 10-methyl group and effect of "extra" 14-methyl group on silkworm growth and development

In order to establish the functional importance of the 10-methyl group of cholesterol and the planarity of the steroid ring, silkworms (Bombyx mori) were reared on an artificial diet containing 19-norcholesterol (1), 14 alpha-methylcholesterol (3) or 19,19-difluorocholesterol (2). The former two sterols (1 and 3) only partially satisfied the silkworm sterol requirement; growth and development were seriously retarded. The fluorinated sterol (2) was much more deleterious and was totally inadequate in meeting the sterol requirement.     

“Helix-in-Helix” Superstructure Formation through Encapsulation of Fullerene-Bound Helical Peptides within a Helical Poly(methyl methacrylate) Cavity

A one-handed 3₁₀-helical hexapeptide is efficiently encapsulated within the helical cavity of st-PMMA when a fullerene (C₆₀) derivative is introduced at the C-terminal end of the peptide. The encapsulation is accompanied by induction of a preferred-handed helical conformation in the st-PMMA backbone with the same-handedness as that of the hexapeptide to form a crystalline st-PMMA/peptide-C₆₀ inclusion complex with a unique optically active helix-in-helix structure. Although the st-PMMA is unable to encapsulate the 3₁₀-helical peptide without the terminal C₆₀ unit, the helical hollow space of the st-PMMA is almost filled by the C₆₀-bound peptides. This result suggests that the C₆₀ moiety can serve as a versatile molecular carrier of specific molecules and polymers in the helical cavity of the st-PMMA for the formation of an inclusion complex, thus producing unique supramolecular soft materials that cannot be prepared by other methods.     

Remote Control of the Planar Chirality in Peptide‐Bound Metallomacrocycles and Dynamic‐to‐Static Planar Chirality Control Triggered by Solvent‐Induced 310‐to‐α‐Helix Transitions

The dynamic planar chirality in a peptide‐bound Ni^II‐salphen‐based macrocycle can be remotely controlled. First, a right‐handed (P)‐3₁₀‐helix is induced in the dynamic helical oligopeptides by a chiral amino acid residue far from the macrocyclic framework. The induced planar chirality remains dynamic in chloroform and acetonitrile, but is almost completely locked in fluoroalcohols as a result of the solvent‐induced transition of the peptide chains from a 3₁₀‐helix to a wider α‐helix, which freezes the rotation of the pendant peptide units around the macrocycle.