Stroh Formalism and Rayleigh Waves

The Stroh formalism is a powerful and elegant mathematical method developed for the analysis of the equations of anisotropic elasticity. The purpose of this exposition is to introduce the essence of this formalism and demonstrate its effectiveness in both static and dynamic elasticity. The equations of elasticity are complicated, because they constitute a system and, particularly for the anisotropic cases, inherit many parameters from the elasticity tensor. The Stroh formalism reveals simple structures hidden in the equations of anisotropic elasticity and provides a systematic approach to these equations. This exposition is divided into three chapters. Chapter 1 gives a succinct introduction to the Stroh formalism so that the reader could grasp the essentials as quickly as possible. In Chapter 2 several important topics in static elasticity, which include fundamental solutions, piezoelectricity, and inverse boundary value problems, are studied on the basis of the Stroh formalism. Chapter 3 is devoted to Rayleigh waves, for long a topic of utmost importance in nondestructive evaluation, seismology, and materials science. There we discuss existence, uniqueness, phase velocity, polarization, and perturbation of Rayleigh waves through the Stroh formalism.

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Influence of compression pressure and velocity on tablet sticking

A rotary tablet machine fitted with 8-mm diameter flat-faced punches was used to measure scraper pressure (SCR), a type of shear stress, to evaluate sticking behavior. The shear stress between the surfaces of the tablet and lower punch was determined using an SCR detection system. Mean surface roughness (R(a)) of tablets, measured by a scanning laser-microscope, was used to estimate the magnitude of sticking. Tablet tensile strength tended to increase with compression pressure at either of the tablet production velocities tested, which was consistent with previous reports. SCR decreased with increasing compression pressure for samples at all compression velocities, and showed a tendency to increase with binder concentration. SCR also tended to increase with compression velocity for samples at all compression pressures, suggesting that the frequency of tablet sticking increased as compression velocity increased. R(a) associated with sticking increased with SCR, indicating that the adhesive force between the particles of the tablet surface and the lower punch surface plays an important role in sticking.     

Development of septum-free injector for gas chromatography and its application to the samples with a high boiling point

A novel apparatus with a simple structure has been developed for introducing samples into the vaporizing chamber of a gas chromatograph. It requires no septum due to the gas sealing structure over the carrier gas supply line. The septum-free injector made it possible to use injection port temperatures as high as 450 degrees C. Repetitive injection of samples with boiling points below 300 degrees C resulted in peak areas with relative standard deviations between 1.25 and 3.28% (n=5) and good linearity (r(2)>0.9942) for the calibration curve. In the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and a base oil, the peak areas of components with high boiling points increased as the injection port temperature was increased to 450 degrees C.     

Structures of two alkaline autoxidation products of BHA, a widely used antioxidant

In order to confirm the structures of the autoxidation products of 2-tert-butyl-4-methoxyphenol (BHA), X-ray crystallographic analyses have been undertaken. One of the products was converted to a dibenzoate, which was subjected to the analysis to establish the structure as the O ⁶,O ⁷-dibenzoyl derivative of (1R*,2R*,6S*,7S*,9R*)-4,9-di-tert-butyl-6,7-dihydroxytricyclo[5.2.2.0^{2, 6}]undec-4-ene-3,8,10-trione. Crystallographic analysis of the major isomer of the two isomeric products gave its structure as (E)-4-tert-butyl-2-(3-tert-butyl-4-oxocyclopent-2-en-1-ylidene)cyclopent-4-ene-1,3-dione, which also established the structure of the minor isomer as the corresponding (Z)-isomer.     

Carrier tuning of type-I clathrate single crystals

A method to precisely control the carrier properties for single crystalline type-I clathrate is investigated. Polycrystalline samples are synthesized first according to the theoretical ratio for carrier control, and followed by Ga flux single crystal growth process. The composition of single crystals was determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP), and the detailed structure was determined by using high-resolution X-ray diffraction. The carrier type and concentration can be tuned by changing the Ba/Ga composition for Ba₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ (BGG), while only n-type carrier can be achieved in Sr₈Ga₁₆Ge₃₀ (SGG). X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the different occupancy factors of the endohedral chemical species may be the reason for this carrier difference between BGG and SGG.     

Chirality sensing of chiral pyrrolidines and piperazines with a liquid crystalline dynamic helical poly(phenylacetylene) bearing ethyl phosphonate pendant groups

Stereoregular cis‐transoidal poly(phenylacetylene) bearing a phosphonic acid monoethyl ester as the pendant group (poly‐ 1 ‐H) was found to form a preferred‐handed helix upon complexation with various optically active pyrrolidines and piperazines in dilute dimethyl sulfoxide and water, and the complexes exhibited characteristic induced circular dichroisms (ICDs) in the UV‐vis region of the polymer backbone. The Cotton effect signs in water reflect the absolute configuration of the pyrrolidines. The sodium salt of poly‐ 1 ‐H (poly‐ 1 ‐Na) and poly‐ 1 ‐H in the presence of optically active amines formed lyotropic nematic and cholesteric liquid crystalline phases in concentrated water solutions, respectively, indicating the rigid‐rod characteristic of the polymer main chain regardless of the lack of a single‐handed helix, as evidenced by the long persistence length of about 18 nm before and after the preferred‐handed helicity induction in the polymer. X‐ray diffraction of the oriented films of the nematic and cholesteric liquid crystalline polymers exhibited almost the same diffraction pattern, suggesting that both polymers have the same helical structure; dynamically racemic and one‐handed helices, respectively. On the basis of the X‐ray analysis, a possible helical structure of poly‐ 1 is proposed. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 1383–1390, 2010     

A novel method for synthesis of silica nanoparticles

A sequential method has been used, for the first time, to prepare monodisperse and uniform-size silica nanoparticles using ultrasonication by sol-gel process. The silica particles were obtained by hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) in ethanol medium and a detailed study was carried out on the effect of different reagents on particle sizes. Various-sized particles in the range 20-460 nm were synthesized. The reagents ammonia (2.8-28 mol L(-1)), ethanol (1-8 mol L(-1)), water (3-14 mol L(-1)), and TEOS (0.012-0.12 mol L(-1)) were used and particle size was examined under scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. In addition to the above observations, the effect of temperature on particle size was studied. The results obtained in the present study are in agreement with the results observed for the electronic absorption behavior of silica particles, which was measured by UV-vis spectrophotometry.     

Effects of surface processing of lactose carrier particles on dry powder inhalation properties of salbutamol sulfate

The effects of the surface processing of lactose carrier particles on the dry powder inhalation properties of salbutamol sulfate were investigated. Lactose carrier particles were processed using a high-speed elliptical-rotor-type powder mixer (Theta-Composer). In the present study, drug/carrier powder mixtures were prepared, consisting of micronized salbutamol sulfate and coarse lactose carriers with various particle surface conditions prepared by surface processing. These powder mixtures were aerosolized by a Jethaler, and the in vitro inhalation properties of salbutamol sulfate were evaluated with a twin impinger. Compared with those of the powder mixed with unprocessed lactose carriers, the in vitro inhalation properties of the powder mixture prepared using the surface processed lactose carriers were significantly different, showing that the in vitro inhalation properties of salbutamol sulfate were improved. The in vitro inhalation properties increased with the rotor rotation rate. Using this surface processing system would thus be valuable for increasing the inhalation properties of dry powder inhalation with lactose carrier particles.     

Certified sediment reference materials for trace element analysis from the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ)

Two types of sediment reference material (NMIJ 7302-a and 7303-a) for trace elements analysis have been prepared and certified by the National Metrology Institute of Japan in the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (NMIJ/AIST). The original materials were collected from a bay near industrial activity in Kyushu (NMIJ CRM 7302-a; marine sediment) and from Lake Biwa (NMIJ CRM 7303-a; lake sediment). The sediment materials were air-dried, sieved, homogenized, packaged in 1000 glass bottles (60 g each), and radiation sterilized. Certification of these CRM for trace elements was conducted by NMIJ, where each element was determined by at least two independent analytical techniques. Isotope-dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS) was applied for certification of all the elements except mono-nuclide elements such as As and Co. Other techniques such as ICP–MS with quadrupole mass spectrometry and sector-field mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP–AES), and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), were also used. Certified values have been provided for 14 elements (Sb, As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, Hg, Mo, Ni, Se, Ag, Sn, and Zn) in both CRM.     

Diels-alder reaction of (E)-4-(2-nitroethenyl)-1H-imidazoles and methyl (E)-3-(1-imidazol-4-yl)propenoates

Diels-Alder reaction of methyl (E)-3-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)propenoates 2, 3a-c and (E)4-(2-nitroethenyl)-1H-imidazoles 3d,e with 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, cyclopentadiene, and cyclohexa-1,3-diene gave the corresponding cycloadducts 6–9 .