A consistent theory for poroelastic plates

In many fields of engineering thin porous components are used, e.g. as damping elements for noise insulation in cars or walls in buildings. Today these elements are often calculated using a numerical 3-D model. Because of numerical problems which occur using a 3-D model for thin transversly loaded structures a plate theory is advantageous. To take into account the porous structure as well as the damping effect of the porosity of these components a poroelastic plate theory is necessary. Several posibilities exist to establish plate theories. Generally, methods to derive a plate theory require a priory assumptions motivated by engineering intuition (like the classical Kirchhoff normal hypothesis). In this contribution a priori assumptions are not used. Plate theories of different orders are derived from the 3-D poroelastic theory using series expansion. For elastic plates this idea was introduced in [3]. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Encapsulation of living cells with polymeric systems

Microencapsulation of cells producing recombinant proteins or hormones leads to immunoprotection and immobilization in culture or in vivo. We are investigating three different strategies for the production of calcium cross-linked alginate beads of a small size with immobilized and immunoprotected mammalian cells: a) the AirJet technology (coaxial gas flow extrusion), b) the vibrating nozzle technology, and c) the JetCutter technology. A alginate/poly-L-lysine/alginate complexation was used as the polymeric system. All three methods may be used for production of homogeneous beads with a diameter of approximately 350 μm. While the vibrating nozzle technique was limited to an alginate viscosity of 0.2 Pa·s or less, the AirJet and JetCutter technology were less sensitive to higher viscosities. High frequency Scanning Acoustic Microscopy is used for mechanical characterization of the microspheres as well as for investigation of surface properties.     

Syllable identification by children and adults for two task conditions

Both 6-year-old children and adults showed as good performance on a syllable identification task for a test condition having more trials per test run and a lower overall level of positive reinforcement as they did for a condition with fewer trials per test run and a higher, overall level of positive reinforcement. Differences between identification thresholds of children and adults are interpreted as reflecting age-related differences in speech processing rather than differences in responding to the test situation.     

A spectroscopic study of 1,3-dimethyl-2-(trimethylstannyl)-1,3-diaza-2-boracycloakanes

The vibrational spectra of 1,3-dimethyl-2-(trimethylstannyl)-1,3-diaza-2-boracyclopentane and the corresponding diazacyclohexane derivatives as well as those of some other 1,3-diaza-2-boracycloalkanes have been recorded. Boron-nitrogen valence vibrations are observed in the 1500±10 cm^?1 frequency region and boron-tin stretching is assigned near 760 cm^?1. These data are discussed in conjunction with the ¹¹B and ¹H NMR spectra of the various heterocycles and the tin Mössbauer spectra of the two boron-tin species.     

Synthesis and Complexation Study of New Aminoalkynyl−amidinate Ligands

The current library of amidinate ligands has been extended by the synthesis of two novel dimethylamino-substituted alkynylamidinate anions of the composition [Me₂N−CH₂−C≡C−C(NR)₂]⁻ (R = ⁱPr, cyclohexyl (Cy)). The unsolvated lithium derivatives Li[Me₂N−CH₂−C≡C−C(NR)₂] ( 1 : R = ⁱPr, 2 : R = Cy) were obtained in good yields by treatment of in situ-prepared Me₂N−CH₂−C≡C−Li with the respective carbodiimides, R−N=C=N−R. Recrystallization of 1 and 2 from THF afforded the crystalline THF adducts Li[Me₂N−CH₂−C≡C−C(NR)₂] ⋅ nTHF ( 1 a : R = ⁱPr, n=1; 2 a : R = Cy, n=1.5). Precursor 2 was subsequently used to study initial complexation reactions with selected di- and trivalent transition metals. The dark red homoleptic vanadium(III) tris(alkynylamidinate) complex V[Me₂N−CH₂−C≡C−C(NCy)₂]₃ ( 3 ) was prepared by reaction of VCl₃(THF)₃ with 3 equiv. of 2 (75 % yield). A salt-metathesis reaction of 2 with anhydrous FeCl₂ in a molar ratio of 2 : 1 afforded the dinuclear homoleptic iron(II) alkynylamidinate complex Fe₂[Me₂N−CH₂−C≡C−C(NCy)₂]₄ ( 4 ) in 69 % isolated yield. Similarly, treatment of Mo₂(OAc)₄ with 3 or 4 equiv. of 2 provided the dinuclear, heteroleptic molybdenum(II) amidinate complex Mo₂(OAc)[Me₂N−CH₂−C≡C−C(NCy)₂]₃ ( 5 ; yellow crystals, 50 % isolated yield). The cyclohexyl-substituted title compounds 2 a , 4 , and 5 were structurally characterized through single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies.