VI. Extract of a memoir on argental mercury. Read before the French National Institute

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Regards sociologiques croisés sur les processus de création au théâtre

International audienc

Insertion of a Bulky Rhodium Complex into a DNA Cytosine−Cytosine Mismatch: An NMR Solution Study

The bulky octahedral complex Rh(bpy)_2chrysi^(3+) (chrysi = 5,6-chrysenequinonediimine) binds single-base mismatches in a DNA duplex with micromolar binding affinities and high selectivity. Here we present an NMR solution study to characterize the binding mode of this bulky metal complex with its target CC mismatch in the oligonucleotide duplex (5‘-CGGACTCCG-3‘)_2. Both NOESY and COSY studies indicate that Rh(bpy)_2chrysi^(3+) inserts deeply in the DNA at the mismatch site via the minor groove and with ejection of both destabilized cytosines into the opposite major groove. The insertion only minimally distorts the conformation of the oligonucleotide local to the binding site. Both flanking, well-matched base pairs remain tightly hydrogen-bonded to each other, and 2D DQF-COSY experiments indicate that all sugars maintain their original C_2‘-endo conformation. Remarkably, ^(31)P NMR reveals that opening of the phosphate angles from a B_I to a B_(II) conformation is sufficient for insertion of the bulky metal complex. These results corroborate those obtained crystallographically and, importantly, provide structural evidence for this specific insertion mode in solution

Open-loop control of cavity noise using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition reduced-order model.

Flow over open cavities is mainly governed by a feedback mechanism due to the interaction of shear layer instabilities and acoustic forcing propagating upstream in the cavity. This phenomenon is known to lead to resonant tones that can reach 180 dB in the far-field and may cause structural fatigue issues and annoying noise emission. This paper concerns the use of optimal control theory for reducing the noise level emitted by the cavity. Boundary control is introduced at the cavity upstream corner as a normal velocity component. Model-based optimal control of cavity noise involves multiple simulations of the compressible Navier–Stokes equations and its adjoint, which makes it a computationally expensive optimization approach. To reduce the computational costs, we propose to use a reduced-order model (ROM) based on Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) as a surrogate model of the forward simulation. For that, a control input separation method is first used to introduce explicitly the control effect in the model. Then, an accurate and robust POD ROM is derived by using an optimization-based identification procedure and generalized POD modes, respectively. Since the POD modes describe only velocities and speed of sound, we minimize a noise-related cost functional characteristic of the total enthalpy unsteadiness. After optimizing the control function with the reduced-order model, we verify the optimality of the solution using the original, high-fidelity model. A maximum noise reduction of 4.7 dB is reached in the cavity and up to 16 dB at the far-field

Structure prediction based on ab initio simulated annealing for boron nitride

Possible crystalline modifications of chemical compounds at low temperatures correspond to local minima of the energy landscape. Determining these minima via simulated annealing is one method for the prediction of crystal structures, where the number of atoms per unit cell is the only information used. It is demonstrated that this method can be applied to covalent systems, at the example of boron nitride, using ab initio energies in all stages of the optimization, i.e. both during the global search and the subsequent local optimization. Ten low lying structure candidates are presented, including both layered structures and 3d-network structures such as the wurtzite and zinc blende types, as well as a structure corresponding to the beta-BeO type

Quantum transport of two-dimensional Dirac fermions in SrMnBi2

We report two-dimensional quantum transport in SrMnBi$_2$ single crystals. The linear energy dispersion leads to the unusual nonsaturated linear magnetoresistance since all Dirac fermions occupy the lowest Landau level in the quantum limit. The transverse magnetoresistance exhibits a crossover at a critical field $B^*$ from semiclassical weak-field $B^2$ dependence to the high-field linear-field dependence. With increase in the temperature, the critical field $B^*$ increases and the temperature dependence of $B^*$ satisfies quadratic behavior which is attributed to the Landau level splitting of the linear energy dispersion. The effective magnetoresistant mobility $\mu_{MR}\sim 3400$ cm$^2$/Vs is derived. Angular dependent magnetoresistance and quantum oscillations suggest dominant two-dimensional (2D) Fermi surfaces. Our results illustrate the dominant 2D Dirac fermion states in SrMnBi$_2$ and imply that bulk crystals with Bi square nets can be used to study low dimensional electronic transport commonly found in 2D materials like graphene.Comment: 5 papges, 4 figure