Measurement of the refractive index dispersion of As2Se3 bulk glass and thin films prior to and after laser irradiation and annealing using prism coupling in the near- and mid-infrared spectral range

The prism coupling technique has been utilized to measure the refractive index in the near- and mid-IR spectral region of chalcogenide glasses in bulk and thin film form. A commercial system (Metricon model 2010) has been modified with additional laser sources, detectors, and a new GaP prism to allow the measurement of refractive index dispersion over the 1.5-10.6 μm range. The instrumental error was found to be ±0.001 refractive index units across the entire wavelength region examined. Measurements on thermally evaporated AMTIR2 thin films confirmed that (i) the film deposition process provides thin films with reduced index compared to that of the bulk glass used as a target, (ii) annealing of the films increases the refractive index of the film to the level of the bulk glass used as a target to create it, and (iii) it is possible to locally increase the refractive index of the chalcogenide glass using laser exposure at 632.8 nm.     

On the role of particles distribution on damage and fatigue mechanisms

Damage and fatigue properties of steel grades are often related to particles shape and chemical composition. To understand the role of particles on damage and fatigue mechanisms numerical modelling at the microscale level can be helpful. It is shown here how forging can induce an oriented microstructure (grain flow orientation) that induces anisotropic damage and fatigue behaviour. Then a microstructure builder (DIGIMICRO) is presented to illustrate how it is possible to create a realistic microstructure in an elementary volume. Computations performed within this heterogeneous elementary volume can be used to understand the anisotropy induced by particles shape and orientation.     

1-β-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine conjugates of ether and thioether phospholipids. A new class of ara-C prodrug with improved antitumor activity

The 1-β-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) conjugates 1-O-alkyl (ether) and 1-S-alkyl (thioether) phospholipids, being analogues of ara-CDP-sn-1,2-O-dipalmitoylglycerol (1), showed significant antitumor activity against L1210 and P388 leukemiain vivo. The more active conjugates include the 1-O-alkyl analogues, ara-CDP-rac-1-O-hexadecyl-2-O-palmitoylglycerol (2) and ara-CDP-rac-1-O-octadecyl-2-O-palmitoylglycerol (3), and the corresponding 1-S-alkyl analogues, ara-CDP-rac-1-S-hexadecyl-2-O-palmitoyl-1-thioglycerol (4) and ara-CDP-rac-1-S-octadecyl-2-O-palmitoyl-1-thioglycerol (5, Cytoros). The conjugates were formulated by sonication, in which the conjugates existed as discs (size 0.01–0.04 μ).. Among the conjugates of the three different phospholipids, the 1-S-alkyl analogues 4 and 5 displayed the strongest antitumor activity against L1210 leukemia in mice, followed by the 1-O-alkyl (2 and 3) and the 1-O-acyl (1) analogues. The 1-S-alkyl analogue 5 was considerably more effective than the 1-O-acyl analogue 1 against myelomonocytic WEHI-3B leukemia in mice. Conjugate 5 (Cytoros) showed a significant therapeutic activity in mice with colon 26 carcinoma, M5076 sarcoma, and C-1300 neuroblastoma. Furthermore, this agent inhibited liver metastases of M5076 sarcoma. Conjugates 3 and 5 also inhibited the metastasis of 3-Lewis lung carcinoma to the lungs of mice. Cytoros (5) and its analogues, with other ether and thioether phospholipids, appear to offer increased therapeutic benefit to mice with tumors. Based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Alkyl Ether Lipids, Tokyo, Japan, May 1989.     

Drawbacks of impedance networks

This paper presents the influence of voltage‐fed impedance networks, known as Z‐source and quasi–Z‐source, as well as some more sophisticated networks on the static and dynamic properties of voltage source inverters. The impedance networks increase output voltage distortions with the second harmonic of the fundamental harmonic and decrease the power efficiency. The distortions of the output voltage increase for the discontinuous current mode of the impedance network. The DC voltage boost factor depends on the impedance network power losses. The impedance networks add 2 resonant frequencies that are very close each other to the control transfer function of the inverter in the frequency range that is close to the fundamental frequency. The influence of the impedance network on the control transfer function depends on the effective damping resistance in the impedance network. The impedance network operation during the “shoot‐through” time increases the damping of the inverter output filter. The effective damping resistances and the inductance of the coils depend on the power losses in the magnetic materials. Theoretical models along with experimental verification can help to estimate the real influence of impedance networks on the inverter properties.