Equivalent contributing depth investigated by a lateral wave with axial transmission in viscoelastic cortical bone

Cortical bone is a viscoelastic heterogeneous medium which may be assessed with axial transmission. This work aims at evaluating the average depth investigated by the lateral wave for radial variations of material properties in relatively thick cortical bone. The equivalent contributing depth (ECD) is derived from the finite element simulation results for spatial variations of a viscoelastic coefficient (η(11)) and of porosity. A value of ECD equal to around 1.6 mm is obtained for a spatial variation of η(11). The method fails to predict accurate values of the ECD for a spatial variation of porosity, because all parameters vary simultaneously.     

Hexagonal nanorods of tungsten trioxide: Synthesis, structure, electrochemical properties and activity as supporting material in electrocatalysis

Tungsten trioxide, unhydrated with hexagonal structure (h-WO₃), has been prepared by hydrothermal method at a temperature of 180 °C in acidified sodium tungstate solution. Thus prepared h-WO₃ has been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) method and using electrochemical techniques. The morphology has been examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopies (SEM and TEM) and it is consistent with existence of nanorods of 50-70 nm diameter and up to 5 μm length. Cyclic voltammetric characterization of thin films of h-WO₃ nanorods has revealed reversible redox behaviour with charge-discharge cycling corresponding to the reversible lithium intercalation/deintercalation into the crystal lattice of the h-WO₃ nanorods. In propylene carbonate containing LiClO₄, two successive redox processes of hexagonal WO₃ nanorods are observed at the scan rate of 50 mV/s. Such behaviour shall be attributed to the presence of at least two W atoms of different surroundings in the lattice structure of h-WO₃ nanorods. On the other hand, in aqueous LiClO₄ solution, only one redox process is observed at the scan rate of 10 mV/s. The above observations can be explained in terms of differences in the diffusion of ions inside two types of channel cavities existing in the structure of the h-WO₃ nanorods. Moreover, the material can be applied as active support for the catalytic bi-metallic Pt-Ru nanoparticles during electrooxidation of ethanol in acid medium (0.5 mol dm⁻³ H₂SO₄).     

A genetic algorithm for optimizing defective goods supply chain costs using JIT logistics and each-cycle lengths

The competitive environment of global markets has forced many manufacturers to select the most appropriate supply chain network (SCN) for reduction of total costs and wasted time. Cost reduction and selection of the appropriate length of each period are two important factors in the competitive market that are often not addressed comprehensively by researchers. In our study, we proposed genetic algorithms (GAs) for optimising a novel mathematical model of the defective goods supply chain network (DGSCN). In the proposed model, we assumed that all imperfect-quality products are not repairable, whereas those considered as scrap are directly sold to customers at a low price. The objective of the proposed model is to minimise the costs of production, distribution, holding and backorder. In addition to minimising the costs, the model can determine the economic production quantity (EPQ), the appropriate length of each cycle (ALOEC) and the quantities of defective products, scrap products and retailer shortages using Just-In-Time logistics (JIT-L). We used the GAs and a Cplex solver with probability parameters and various dimensions for validation of the studied model in real-life situations, and we compared the outputs to demonstrate the performance of the model. Additionally, to identify the appropriate length of each cycle (ALOEC), we needed to solve the model using exact parameters and same dimensions and prefer to use Lingo for this application.     

Determination of Ciprofloxacin in Dried Blood Spots for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

The use of blood spot collection cards is a simple way to obtain specimens for analysis of drugs for the purpose of therapeutic drug monitoring, assessing adherence to medications and preventing toxicity in certain groups of patients. We describe the development and validation of a microanalytical technique for the determination of ciprofloxacin from dried blood spots. The method is based on reversed phase liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Drug recovery in the developed method was found to be higher than 95%. The limits of detection and quantification were calculated to be to be 60 and 100 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. The intra- and inter-day precision (measured by CV%) was always less than 6% (13.07% at LOQ). The accuracy (measured by relative error, %) was always less than 8% (7.82% at LOQ). Stability analysis showed that ciprofloxacin is stable for at least 1 month when stored at −70 °C. The small volume of blood required (30 μL), combined with the simplicity of the analytical technique makes this method a potential procedure for monitoring ciprofloxacin concentrations in certain patient populations.

     

On the Symmetric H q -Semiclassical Polynomial Sequences of Even Class. Some Examples from the Class Two

In the present work, we deal with the quadratic decomposition of symmetric H _q -semiclassical polynomial sequences of even class. Some examples from class two are settled. We give an integral and discrete measure representations for each of considered symmetric forms.     

Synthesis,Crystal Structure,and Antibacterial Activity of 1,2,4‐Triazoles and 1,2,4‐Triazol‐3‐one

A straightforward method has been developed for the synthesis of 1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐one 3 and 1,2,4‐triazoles 6a , 6b , 6c , 6d starting from N¹‐substituted‐N¹‐tosylhydrazonates 2 and hydrazine monohydrate. This methodology affords a number of 1,2,4‐triazol‐3‐one 3 and 1,2,4‐triazoles 6a , 6b , 6c , 6d in reasonable yields. The structures of all new compounds were elucidated using infrared, ¹H and ¹³C NMR, high‐resolution mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and the X‐ray crystallography (for compounds 3 and 6a ). Some of the newly synthesized compounds were screened for their antibacterial activity.     

Direct and indirect electrochemical oxidation of Indigo Carmine using PbO2 and TiRuSnO2

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - In this paper, the electrocatalytic properties of PbO2 and TiRuSnO2 anodes for direct and indirect electrochemical oxidation of a synthetic solution...     

Lipschitz conditions for the generalized discrete Fourier transform associated with the Jacobi operator on [0,π]

Our aim in this paper is to prove an analog of the classical Titchmarsh theorem on the image under the discrete Fourier–Jacobi transform of a set of functions satisfying a generalized Lipschitz condition in the space ${\mathbb{L}}_2^{(\alpha ,\beta )}$.     

Anisotropic parameter identification using inhomogeneous tensile test

In this contribution, an inverse identification strategy of constitutive laws for elastoplastic behaviour is presented. The proposed inverse algorithm is composed on an appropriate finite element calculation combined with an optimisation procedure. It is applied to identify material anisotropic coefficients using a set up of easy performed laboratory tests. The used experimental data are the plane tensile test and the off axes tensile tests. The identified behaviour models are mainly based on Hill's quadratic yield criterion. Two cases of this yield criterion have been considered: the transverse isotropic and the orthotropic one under an associated and non-associated flow rule assumptions for each case. The yield surface has been assumed to expand isotropically (isotropic strain hardening law) as a function of the plastic work.In order to better describe anisotropic plastic properties of the studied materials, a recently planar anisotropic yield function is used. It is a non-quadratic yield criterion which takes account of anisotropic yield stresses as well as anisotropic strain ratios. It is subsequently shown that the agreement between inverse identification results and experimental measurements were improved.We prove also that the presented strategy is a good alternative to the simplified homogeneous tests assumption, especially for the plane tensile test.     

Analysis of hydrodynamic and thermal dispersion in porous media by means of a local approach

A pore scale analysis is implemented in this numerical study to investigate the behavior of microscopic inertia and thermal dispersion in a porous medium with a periodic structure. The macroscopic characteristics of the transport phenomena are evaluated with an averaging technique of the controlling variables at a pore scale level in an elementary cell of the porous structure. The Darcy–Forchheimer model describes the fluid motion through the porous medium while the continuity and Navier–Stokes equations are applied within the unit cell. An average energy equation is employed for the thermal part of the porous medium. The macroscopic pressure loss is computed in order to evaluate the dominant microscopic inertial effects. Local fluctuations of velocity and temperature at the pore scale are instrumental in the quantification of the thermal dispersion through the total effective thermal diffusivity. The numerical results demonstrate that microscopic inertia contributes significantly to the magnitude of the macroscopic pressure loss, in some instances with as much as 70%. Depending on the nature of the porous medium, the thermal dispersion may have a marked bearing on the heat transfer, particularly in the streamwise direction for a highly conducting fluid and certain values of the Peclet number.