Revisiting differential calculus in the light of an uncanny function

A metric jet can be linear without being the metric jet of a continuous linear map. We begin with giving such an amazing example and then we get interested in tangentiable maps whose tangent jet at a point is precisely a linear metric jet. For such maps, a local inversion theorem is still true.     

A New Porphyrin for the Preparation of Functionalized Water-Soluble Gold Nanoparticles with Low Intrinsic Toxicity

A potential new photosensitizer based on a dissymmetric porphyrin derivative bearing a thiol group was synthesized. 5-[4-(11-Mercaptoundecyloxy)-phenyl-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin (PR-SH) was used to functionalize gold nanoparticles in order to obtain a potential drug delivery system. Water-soluble multifunctional gold nanoparticles GNP-PR/PEG were prepared using the Brust–Schiffrin methodology, by immobilization of both a thiolated polyethylene glycol (PEG) and the porphyrin thiol compound (PR-SH). The nanoparticles were fully characterized by transmission electron microscopy and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Furthermore, the ability of GNP-PR/PEGs to induce singlet oxygen production was analyzed to demonstrate the activity of the photosensitizer. Cytotoxicity experiments showed the nanoparticles are nontoxic. Finally, cellular uptake experiments demonstrated that the functionalized gold nanoparticles are internalized. Therefore, this colloid can be considered to be a novel nanosystem that could potentially be suitable as an intracellular drug delivery system of photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy.     

Dielectric sorption analysis of pigmented epoxy coatings UV degraded at elevated pressures

Pigmented epoxy coatings were UV degraded for various periods at elevated pressures (1-100 bar) and investigated with dielectric sorption analysis (DSA). Differences in dynamics of absorption behaviour for degraded polymer occurred due to increased hydrophilicity, crosslinking and porosity. Degradation at all pressures showed desorption, caused by swelling of the coating and shrinking of pore size. The amount of water sorption and desorption rose linearly from 1 bar to 50 bar and from 50 bar on no further increase in degradation was found. Longer degradation times at 100 bar also resulted in a linear trend. At lower frequencies double peaks were found as a result of water desorption, polymer relaxation, water-hydrophilic cluster interactions and polymer swelling, indicating a frequency dependence. The double peak could be fitted by two independent curves, whereas a single exponential term sufficed to fit the desorption of water for all frequencies. Pressure is clearly an accelerating degradation parameter in combination with an UV source.     

Balanced Detection of Correlated Incoherent Signals: A Statistical Analysis of Intensity Noise With Experimental Validation

We study the balanced detection of broadband incoherent optical signals-signals characterized by high-intensity noise. We consider signals generated from a single incoherent source with two types of correlation: identical spectra, but delayed in time, and overlapping, nonidentical spectra but zero time delay. Our statistical analysis yields equations for the probability density function (pdf) of the balanced detector output for partially correlated input signals based on easily measured system parameters (power spectral densities in one case, relative time delay in the other). Using analytical tools we derive expressions for output pdfs giving extremely good prediction of measured pdfs for signals with correlation coefficient up to 95%. The analytic expressions can be used to characterize system performance, in particular, bit error rate for communications systems.     

Label Stacking in Photonic Packet-Switched Networks With Spectral Amplitude Code Labels

Label stacking is used for hierarchical addressing to reduce the size of lookup tables and to increase the speed of the routing process. We propose an optical label stacking using spectral-amplitude codes (SAC) as labels to accomplish ultrafast packet forwarding. We discuss the advantages of this label architecture compared to other proposals in the literature and present experimental results. We experimentally examine two types of optical packets, one with separable SAC labels and the other one with SAC-encoded payloads. In the first case, the SAC label is a collection of spectral tones modulated at the packet rate (low rate), and the payload is on a separate wavelength modulated at the data rate (fast rate). In the second case, the payload data modulates the collection of wavelengths that constitute the code. We implement a network with two forwarding nodes, and we transmit the packets with two labels in the label stack over 80 km of fiber and measure the bit error rate (BER) after two hops. We achieve error-free transmission (BER<10 ^-9) for the packets with SAC labels and SAC-encoded payload at payload bit rates of 10 and 2.5 Gb/s, respectively. This is the first experimental demonstration of optical label stacking to our knowledge     

Spectral-Amplitude-Coded OCDMA Optimized for a Realistic FBG Frequency Response

We develop a methodology for numerical optimization of fiber Bragg grating frequency response to maximize the achievable capacity of a spectral-amplitude-coded optical code-division multiple-access (SAC-OCDMA) system. The optimal encoders are realized, and we experimentally demonstrate an incoherent SAC-OCDMA system with seven simultaneous users. We report a bit error rate (BER) of 2.7times10^-8 at 622 Mb/s for a fully loaded network (seven users) using a 9.6-nm optical band. We achieve error-free transmission (BER<1times10^-9) for up to five simultaneous users     

Water sorption in UV degraded clear and pigmented epoxy coatings assessed by dielectric sorption analysis

Degraded clear and pigmented epoxy coatings were investigated by dielectric sorption analysis (DSA). Differences in dynamics of absorption, due to increased hydrophilicity, crosslinking and porosity, were found between UV degraded and undegraded epoxy coatings. Desorption was observed for longer degradation times, caused by swelling of the coating, squeezing out the excess of water. Model system measurements of pigmented coatings with various filters on top reproduced the desorption behaviour. Due to crack formation during DSA measurements, clear coatings showed fluctuating results, a result of release of tension of the UV degraded clear coating by humidified nitrogen. Pigmented coatings did not show this behaviour, resulting in an increasing water absorption trend with increasing degradation times. Larger desorption peaks were found for lower frequencies, indicating that either polarization takes place or water-hydrophilic interaction. Based on these results, DSA is suitable for non-destructive investigation of degraded coatings and paints.