Comment on “Nonlocal third-order shear deformation plate theory with application to bending and vibration of plates (by R. Aghababaei and J.N. Reddy,Journal of Sound and Vibration 326 (2009) 277–289)”

This paper aims to prove the inaccuracy of the Navier solution presented by Aghababaei and Reddy [1] for the bending analysis of nanoplates based on the nonlocal theory of Eringen. According to the derived relations for bending of the nonlocal plate model, the main cause of this inaccuracy is attributed to an incorrect approximation of the Navier solution for a uniform transverse load. Of course, this problem does not inherently occur for the Navier solution in cases such as free vibration or the buckling of a nonlocal plate model in which the amount of transverse load is zero. In order to obtain further verification the results reported based on the Navier solution by Aghababaei and Reddy (2009, [1]) for the bending analysis of a nanoplate are compared with those computed by the differential quadrature (DQ) and finite difference (FD) methods. As shown, the results obtained by both the FD and DQ methods are consistently alike and unlike the solutions reported by Aghababaei and Reddy (2009, [1]) they are independent from small scale effect.     

Addendum to: “Geometrical and topological aspects of electrostatics on Riemannian manifolds” [J. Geom. Phys. 57 (8) (2007) 1679–1696]

In this note we discuss and solve several open problems posed in our recent paper “Geometrical and topological aspects of electrostatics on Riemannian manifolds”, also published in this journal. Some minor mistakes therein are corrected as well.     

Total asymmetric synthesis of (–)-Phenylhistine, (–)-Aurantiamine and related compounds. Part I

A new general, short, and efficient strategy for the construction of dehydro-diketopiperazines was developed. Horner–Emmons type coupling between a phosphinyl glycine ester and a formyl heterocycle is the key coupling reaction, which proceeds in good-to-excellent yields on several sterically-hindered substrates. Moreover, racemization of the parent L-amino acids is avoided as a result of the mild basic conditions used. The selection of the NH protective group of the formyl heterocycle was crucial. N-tosylated heterocycles proved ideal for this reaction sequence. Thus, the title compounds, (–)-Phenylhistine and (–)-Aurantiamine, were prepared in high yield (four steps, 47% overall) and optical purity. Furthermore, the synthesis of unnatural derivatives including an indole analogue was successfully completed.     

Addendum to: “Ricci-flat holonomy: A classification” [J. Geom. Phys. 57 (6) 1457–1475]: The case of spin(10)

This note fills a hole in the author’s previous paper “Ricci-flat holonomy: A classification”, by dealing with irreducible holonomy algebras that are subalgebras or real forms of C⊕spin(10,C)$\mathbb{C}\oplus \mathfrak{s}\mathfrak{p}\mathfrak{i}\mathfrak{n}(10,\mathbb{C})$. These all turn out to be of Ricci type.     

Corrigendum to “Noether symmetries and conserved quantities for spaces with a section of zero curvature” [J. Geom. Phys. 61 (2011) 658–662]

In Feroze and Hussain (2011) it was proved that the number of new conserved quantities for spaces or spacetimes with an $m$-dimensional section of zero curvature is $m$. This result needs modification as it holds for the spaces having no proper homothetic vector (i.e. other than isometries).     

A response to ‘Comments on the effect of liquid layering on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids’, E. Doroodchi, T. M. Evans & B. Moghtaderi, 2009. J Nanopart Res 11(6):1501–1507

This article provides a response to a recent brief communication ‘Comments on the effect of liquid layering on the thermal conductivity of nanofluids’ by Doroodchi et al. in J Nanopart Res 11(6):1501–1507, 2009. It provides an opportunity for us to clarify the fundamental differences between the models of Yu and Choi (2003) and Leong et al. (2006) mentioned in the communication, followed by an explanation of the development of Leong et al.’s model. While we re-affirm that the model of Leong et al. (2006) was developed based on the right methodology, appropriate boundary conditions and mathematical basis and is therefore valid, there are at least three incorrect equations in Doroodchi et al.’s communication which raise serious doubts on their results calculated from the above models. Hence, the comments by Doroodchi et al. (2009) about the model of Leong et al. (2006) are not well-justified.     

Erratum to “Lower bounds for the eigenvalues of the basic Dirac operator on a Riemannian foliation” [J. Geom. Phys. 51 (2004) 166–182]

We correct some statements in the paper mentioned in the title.     

Solid-phase total synthesis of (–)-Phenylhistine and (–)-Aurantiamine. Synthesis of a diverse dehydro-2,5-diketopiperazine library. Part II

The preparation of solid supported glycine phosphonate and its utilization for the total synthesis of two natural products is presented. The proposed protocol combines diversity with accessibility and speed, which makes this scaffold suitable for automated parallel synthesis and combinatorial chemistry. The preparation of a small library of dehydro-2,5-diketopiperazines, combining several natural amino acids with diverse heterocycles (including thiazoles, pyridines, indoles and imidazoles), is also demonstrated.     

Cognition coming about: Self-organisation and free-energy: Commentary on Wright,J.J. and Bourke,P.D. (2020) “The growth of cognition: Free energy minimization and the embryogenesis of cortical computation”

Wright and Bourke's compelling article rightly points out that existing models of embryogenesis fail to explain the mechanisms and functional significance of the dynamic connections among neurons. We pursue their account of Dynamic Logic by appealing to the Markov blanket formalism that underwrites the Free Energy Principle. We submit that this allows one to model embryogenesis as self-organisation in a dynamical system that minimises free-energy. The ensuing formalism may be extended to also explain the autonomous emergence of cognition, specifically in the brain, as a dynamic self-assembling process.     

The electronic structures of commensurate Ru(0001)–(3 × 3)–4Kr and Ru(0001)–(5 × 5)–Kr using density functional theory

We have calculated the minimum energies for each of three positionings of the adatom unit cells for Ru(0001)–(3 × 3)–4Kr (high Kr coverage) and for Ru(0001)–(5 × 5)–Kr (low Kr coverage). The differences between the results for the low and high-coverage cases may clarify puzzles posed by the experimental results of Narloch and Menzel. The low-coverage solution converges to a structure having Kr in the top site at a height of 3.09 Å above the substrate with the adsorption energy 185 meV. In the high-coverage case, adatom unit cells with a corner Kr at top, fcc hollow, and hcp hollow locations are found to have nearly the same adsorption energy of 175 meV. The height of the corner atom above the substrate is found to be 3.35, 3.54, and 3.50 Å for the top, fcc hollow and hcp hollow sites, respectively. These results are explained by demonstrating that there is an enhancement of the substrate electronic density of states at krypton orbital energies in the low-coverage case.