The response of clamped-clamped microbeams under mechanical shock

We present modeling, simulation, and characterization for the dynamic response of clamped-clamped microbeams under mechanical shock. A Galerkin-based reduced-order model is utilized and its results are verified by comparing to finite-element results. The results indicate that the response of a microbeam to mechanical shock is inherently non-linear because of the dominating effect of mid-plane stretching. The effect of the shock pulse shape is investigated. It is concluded that the shape of the shock pulse can result in significant dynamic amplification in the response of the microbeam even in cases where the shock load is considered quasi-static.The combined effect of the electrostatic force and mechanical shock is investigated. The results show that this combined effect can lead to early instability in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices through dynamic pull-in. This could explain some of the reported experimental evidences for the existence of strange modes of failure of MEMS devices under mechanical shock and impact. These failures are characterized by overlaps between moving microstructures and stationary electrodes, which cause electrical shorts. The shock-electrostatic interaction is shown to be promising to design smart MEMS switches triggered at predetermined level of shock and acceleration. Finally, the mechanical shock combined with the packaging effect of MEMS devices is analyzed. A single-degree-of-freedom model representing the motion of the package, which is mounted over a printed circuit board, coupled with the continuous beam model is utilized. Our results reveal that neglecting the effect of the package motion on the response of microbeams can overestimate or underestimate their response. It is concluded that a poor design of the package may result in severe amplification of the shock effect leading to a device failure.     

Photodecarboxylative benzylations of phthalimides

Photoadditions of phenylacetates to phthalimides give the corresponding benzylated hydroxyphthalimidines in moderate to high yields of 29-90%. With 2-phenylpropanoate, photoaddition affords a diastereoisomeric mixture in a de of 24% in favour of the like-diastereoisomer. l-3-Phenyl lactate and 2-oxo-3-phenylpropanoate both furnish the benzylated product through subsequent loss of formaldehyde and decarbonylation, respectively.     

Quantitation in gradient high performance liquid chromatography/inductively coupled mass spectrometry investigated using diclofenac and chlorpromazine

The use of directly coupled high performance liquid chromatography/inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (HPLC/ICPMS) employing chlorine ((35)Cl/(37)Cl) detection has been investigated with respect to the detection and quantitation of the drugs diclofenac and chlorpromazine. By integration of peak areas in the 'chloratogram' (the chlorine specific HPLC chromatogram), a calibration curve was constructed, from which the concentrations could be determined. Chlorine detected HPLC/ICPMS is quantitative over a wide range of concentrations of pharmaceutical relevance for metabolite detection and the results reproducible (standard deviation +/- 0.43%) over multiple injections. Application of gradient chromatography and variation in the bulk mobile phase physicochemical properties has little effect on the ICPMS detection response for these compounds. This work indicates that the use of HPLC/ICPMS is likely to be quantitatively reliable for metabolism studies for a range of chlorinated xenobiotics.     

Iron-binding properties of plant phenolics and cranberry's bio-effects

The health benefits of cranberries have long been recognized. However, the mechanisms behind its function are poorly understood. We have investigated the iron-binding properties of quercetin, the major phenolic phytochemical present in cranberries, and other selected phenolic compounds (chrysin, 3-hydroxyflavone, 3',4'-dihydroxy flavone, rutin, and flavone) in aqueous media using UV/vis, NMR and EPR spectroscopies and ESI-Mass spectrometry. Strong iron-binding properties have been confirmed for the compounds containing the "iron-binding motifs" identified in their structures. The apparent binding constants are estimated to be in the range of 10(6) M(-1) to 10(12) M(-2) in phosphate buffer at pH 7.2. Surprisingly, quercetin binds Fe(2+) even stronger than the well known Fe(2+)-chelator ferrozine at pH 7.2. This may be the first example of an oxygen-based ligand displaying stronger Fe(2+)-binding affinity than a strong nitrogen-based Fe(2+)-chelator. The strong Fe-binding properties of these phenolics argue that they may be effective in modulating cellular iron homeostasis under physiological conditions. Quercetin can completely suppress Fenton chemistry both at micromolar levels and in the presence of major cellular iron chelators like ATP or citrate. However, the radical scavenging activity of quercetin provides only partial protection against Fenton chemistry-mediated damage while Fe chelation by quercetin can completely inhibit Fenton chemistry, indicating that the chelation may be key to its antioxidant activity. These results demonstrate that quercetin and other phenolic compounds can effectively modulate iron biochemistry under physiologically relevant conditions, providing insight into the mechanism of action of bio-active phenolics.     

Trinuclear {M1}CN{M2}2 complexes (M1 = Cr(III), Fe(III), Co(III); M2 = Cu(II), Ni(II), Mn(II)). Are single molecule magnets predictable?

The reaction of the hexacyanometalates K3[M(1)(CN)6] (M(1) = Cr(III), Fe(III), Co(III)) with the bispidine complexes [M(2)(L(1))(X)](n+) and [M(2)(L(2))(X)](n+) (M(2) = Mn(II), Ni(II), Cu(II); L(1) = 3-methyl-9-oxo-2,4-di-(2-pyridyl)-7-(2-pyridylmethyl)-3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-1,5-dicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester; L(2) = 3-methyl-9-oxo-7-(2-pyridylmethyl)-2,4-di-(2-quinolyl)-3,7-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-1,5-dicarboxylic acid dimethyl ester; X = anion or solvent) in water-methanol mixtures affords trinuclear complexes with cis- or trans-arrangement of the bispidine-capped divalent metal centers around the hexacyanometalate. X-ray structural analyses of five members of this family of complexes (cis-Fe[CuL(2)]2, trans-Fe[CuL(1)]2, cis-Co[CuL(2)]2, trans-Cr[MnL(1)]2, trans-Fe[MnL(1)]2) and the magnetic data of the entire series are reported. The magnetic data of the cyanide bridged, ferromagnetically coupled cis- and trans-Fe[ML]2 compounds (M = Ni(II), Cu(II)) with S = 3/2 (Cu(II)) and S = 5/2 (Ni(II)) ground states are analyzed with an extended Heisenberg Hamiltonian which accounts for anisotropy and zero-field splitting, and the data of the Cu(II) systems, for which structures are available, are thoroughly analyzed in terms of an orbital-dependent Heisenberg Hamiltonian, in which both spin-orbit coupling and low-symmetry ligand fields are taken into account. It is shown that the absence of single-molecule magnetic behavior in all spin clusters reported here is due to a large angular distortion of the [Fe(CN)6](3-) center and the concomitant quenching of orbital angular momentum of the Fe(III) ((2)T2g) ground state.     

Micromorphic approach for gradient-extended thermo-elastic–plastic solids in the logarithmic strain space

The coupled thermo-mechanical strain gradient plasticity theory that accounts for microstructure-based size effects is outlined within this work. It extends the recent work of Miehe et al. (Comput Methods Appl Mech Eng 268:704–734, 2014) to account for thermal effects at finite strains. From the computational viewpoint, the finite element design of the coupled problem is not straightforward and requires additional strategies due to the difficulties near the elastic–plastic boundaries. To simplify the finite element formulation, we extend it toward the micromorphic approach to gradient thermo-plasticity model in the logarithmic strain space. The key point is the introduction of dual local–global field variables via a penalty method, where only the global fields are restricted by boundary conditions. Hence, the problem of restricting the gradient variable to the plastic domain is relaxed, which makes the formulation very attractive for finite element implementation as discussed in Forest (J Eng Mech 135:117–131, 2009) and Miehe et al. (Philos Trans R Soc A Math Phys Eng Sci 374:20150170, 2016).     

An investigation into the effects of electrostatic and squeeze-film non-linearities on the shock spectrum of microstructures

We present an investigation into the effects of some of the common microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) non-linearities on their shock response and shock spectrum. As a case study, a capacitive accelerometer is selected to investigate theoretically and experimentally the effect of non-linearities due to squeeze film damping (SQFD) and electrostatic actuation. For the theoretical investigation, a non-linear single-degree-of-freedom model is used to simulate the response of the device. It is shown that, in the case of light damping, the electrostatic forces soften the microstructure and raise its deflection significantly. Dynamic pull-in instability is predicted near the dynamic range zone of the shock spectrum. On the other hand, SQFD is found to highly suppress the deflection of the microstructure in the dynamic range, while it is of less effect in the quasi-static range. Experimentally, the capacitive accelerometer is powered with a DC load and then subjected to acceleration pulses generated by a shaker. Tests are conducted while the accelerometer is operated in air, where the squeeze film effect is significant, and while placed inside a vacuum chamber. Simulation results are compared to experimental data showing excellent agreement.     

On a non-linear geometrical inverse problem of Signorini type: identifiability and stability

This paper deals with a non-linear inverse problem of identification of unknown boundaries, on which the prescribed conditions are of Signorini type. We first prove an identifiability result, in both frameworks of thermal and elastic testing. Local Lipschitz stability of the solutions with respect to the boundary measurements is also established, in case of unknown boundaries which are parts of 𝒞^{1, β} Jordan curves, with β>0. © 1998 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart—John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phytochemical Study of the Composition of the Unsaponifiable Fraction of Various Vegetable Oils by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

Journal of Analytical Chemistry - We developed a method for quantitatively analyzing some components of the unsaponifiable fraction of edible oils and validated its characteristics. The component...     

Conservative discretizations and parameter‐robust preconditioners for Biot and multiple‐network flux‐based poroelasticity models

The parameters in the governing system of partial differential equations of multiple‐network poroelasticity models typically vary over several orders of magnitude, making its stable discretization and efficient solution a challenging task. In this paper, we prove the uniform Ladyzhenskaya–Babu?ka–Brezzi (LBB) condition and design uniformly stable discretizations and parameter‐robust preconditioners for flux‐based formulations of multiporosity/multipermeability systems. Novel parameter‐matrix‐dependent norms that provide the key for establishing uniform LBB stability of the continuous problem are introduced. As a result, the stability estimates presented here are uniform not only with respect to the Lamé parameter λ but also to all the other model parameters, such as the permeability coefficients K_i; storage coefficients $c_{p_i}$; network transfer coefficients β_{i j},i,j = 1,…,n; the scale of the networks n; and the time step size τ. Moreover, strongly mass‐conservative discretizations that meet the required conditions for parameter‐robust LBB stability are suggested and corresponding optimal error estimates proved. The transfer of the canonical (norm‐equivalent) operator preconditioners from the continuous to the discrete level lays the foundation for optimal and fully robust iterative solution methods. The theoretical results are confirmed in numerical experiments that are motivated by practical applications.