Critical ruptures

The fracture of materials is a catastrophic phenomenon of considerable technological and scientific importance. Here, we analysed experiments designed for industrial applications in order to test the concept that, in heterogeneous materials such as fiber composites, rocks, concrete under compression and materials with large distributed residual stresses, rupture is a genuine critical point, i.e., the culmination of a self-organization of damage and cracking characterized by power law signatures. Specifically, we analyse the acoustic emissions recorded during the pressurisation of spherical tanks of kevlar or carbon fibers pre-impregnated in a resin matrix wrapped up around a thin metallic liner (steel or titanium) fabricated and instrumented by Aérospatiale-Matra Inc. These experiments are performed as part of a routine industrial procedure which tests the quality of the tanks prior to shipment. We find that the seven acoustic emission recordings of seven pressure tanks which was brought to rupture exhibit clear acceleration in agreement with a power law “divergence” expected from the critical point theory. In addition, we find strong evidence of log-periodic corrections that quantify the intermittent succession of accelerating bursts and quiescent phases of the acoustic emissions on the approach to rupture. An improved model accounting for the cross-over from the non-critical to the critical region close to the rupture point exhibits interesting predictive potential. Received 6 July 2000     

Magneto-optic study of spatial magnetic-field distribution relaxation in an HTSC film strip after transport current turn-on

The paper provides the first demonstration of the efficiency of applying the magneto-optic method to studies of the spatial and temporal magnetic-field relaxation in an YBa₂Cu₃O₇ film strip after the transport current is switched on. It is shown that the evolution of magnetic flux distribution is adequately described in terms of a modified Bean model with time-dependent critical current. At a time 50 ms after the current is switched on, the critical current of the samples studied decreases by ≈15%. This proves the significance of thermally activated magnetic flux motion (creep) in the regime investigated. The magnetic vortex pinning energy has been estimated as U ₀≈20 kT. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 965–968 (June 1999)     

Inhibition of Cytosolic Phospholipase A2α Induces Apoptosis in Multiple Myeloma Cells

Cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) is the rate-limiting enzyme in releasing arachidonic acid and biosynthesis of its derivative eicosanoids. Thus, the catalytic activity of cPLA2α plays an important role in cellular metabolism in healthy as well as cancer cells. There is mounting evidence suggesting that cPLA2α is an interesting target for cancer treatment; however, it is unclear which cancers are most relevant for further investigation. Here we report the relative expression of cPLA2α in a variety of cancers and cancer cell lines using publicly available datasets. The profiling of a panel of cancer cell lines representing different tissue origins suggests that hematological malignancies are particularly sensitive to the growth inhibitory effect of cPLA2α inhibition. Several hematological cancers and cancer cell lines overexpressed cPLA2α, including multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is an incurable hematological cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow with an emerging requirement of therapeutic approaches. We show here that two cPLA2α inhibitors AVX420 and AVX002, significantly and dose-dependently reduced the viability of multiple myeloma cells and induced apoptosis in vitro. Our findings implicate cPLA2α activity in the survival of multiple myeloma cells and support further studies into cPLA2α as a potential target for treating hematological cancers, including multiple myeloma.     

l‐Valyl‐l‐serine trihydrate

The valine side chains in the crystal structure of the title compound [systematic name: 2‐(2‐ammonio‐3‐methyl­butan­amido)‐3‐hydroxy­propano­ate tri­hydrate], C₈H₁₆N₂O₄·3H₂O, stack along an a axis of 4.77 Å to form hydro­phobic columns surrounded by remarkable water/hydroxyl shells. The peptide main chains are connected by hydrogen bonds in two‐dimensional layers. The peptide mol­ecules in each layer are related only by translation, and generate a very rare pattern. This is rendered possible through the formation of the shortest C^α—H·O(carboxyl­ate) inter­action ever recorded.     

Interaction theory of hypersonic laminar near-wake flow behind an adiabatic circular cylinder

The separation and shock wave formation on the aft-body of a hypersonic adiabatic circular cylinder were studied numerically using the open source software OpenFOAM. The simulations of laminar flow were performed over a range of Reynolds numbers (\(8\times 10^3 < Re < 8\times 10^4\)) at a free-stream Mach number of 5.9. Off-body viscous forces were isolated by controlling the wall boundary condition. It was observed that the off-body viscous forces play a dominant role compared to the boundary layer in displacement of the interaction onset in response to a change in Reynolds number. A modified free-interaction equation and correlation parameter has been presented which accounts for wall curvature effects on the interaction. The free-interaction equation was manipulated to isolate the contribution of the viscous–inviscid interaction to the overall pressure rise and shock formation. Using these equations coupled with high-quality simulation data, the underlying mechanisms resulting in Reynolds number dependence of the lip-shock formation were investigated. A constant value for the interaction parameter representing the part of the pressure rise due to viscous–inviscid interaction has been observed at separation over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. The effect of curvature has been shown to be the primary contributor to the Reynolds number dependence of the free-interaction mechanism at separation. The observations in this work have been discussed here to create a thorough analysis of the Reynolds number-dependent nature of the lip-shock.     

Characterization and in vitro phase I microsomal metabolism of designer benzodiazepines — an update comprising adinazolam,cloniprazepam, fonazepam, 3‐hydroxyphenazepam,metizolam and nitrazolam

Designer benzodiazepines represent an emerging class of new psychoactive substances. While other classes of new psychoactive substances such as cannabinoid receptor agonists and designer stimulants are mainly consumed for hedonistic reasons, designer benzodiazepines may also be consumed as ‘self‐medication’ by persons suffering from anxiety or other psychiatric disorders or as stand‐by ‘antidote’ by users of stimulant and hallucinogenic drugs. In the present study, five benzodiazepines (adinazolam, cloniprazepam, fonazepam, 3‐hydroxyphenazepam and nitrazolam) and one thienodiazepine (metizolam) offered as ‘research chemicals’ on the Internet were characterized and their main in vitro phase I metabolites tentatively identified after incubation with pooled human liver microsomes. For all compounds, the structural formula declared by the vendor was confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (MS), liquid chromatography MS/MS and liquid chromatography quadrupole time‐of‐flight MS analysis. The detected in vitro phase I metabolites of adinazolam were N‐desmethyladinazolam and N‐didesmethyladinazolam. Metizolam showed a similar metabolism to other thienodiazepines comprising monohydroxylations and dihydroxylation. Cloniprazepam was metabolized to numerous metabolites with the main metabolic steps being N‐dealkylation, hydroxylation and reduction of the nitro function. It has to be noted that clonazepam is a metabolite of cloniprazepam, which may lead to difficulties when interpreting analytical findings. Nitrazolam and fonazepam both underwent monohydroxylation and reduction of the nitro function. In the case of 3‐OH‐phenazepam, no in vitro phase I metabolites were detected. Formation of licensed benzodiazepines (clonazepam after uptake of cloniprazepam) and the sale of metabolites of prescribed benzodiazepines (fonazepam, identical to norflunitrazepam, and 3‐hydroxyphenazepam) present the risk of incorrect interpretation of analytical findings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microfabrication of stacks of acoustic matching layers for 15 MHz ultrasonic transducers

This paper presents a novel method used to manufacture stacks of multiple matching layers for 15 MHz piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers, using fabrication technology derived from the MEMS industry. The acoustic matching layers were made on a silicon wafer substrate using micromachining techniques, i.e., lithography and etch, to design silicon and polymer layers with the desired acoustic properties. Two matching layer configurations were tested: a double layer structure consisting of a silicon–polymer composite and polymer and a triple layer structure consisting of silicon, composite, and polymer. The composite is a biphase material of silicon and polymer in 2-2 connectivity. The matching layers were manufactured by anisotropic wet etch of a (1 1 0)-oriented Silicon-on-Insulator wafer. The wafer was etched by KOH 40 wt%, to form 83 μm deep and 4.5 mm long trenches that were subsequently filled with Spurr’s epoxy, which has acoustic impedance 2.4 MRayl. This resulted in a stack of three layers: The silicon substrate, a silicon–polymer composite intermediate layer, and a polymer layer on the top. The stacks were bonded to PZT disks to form acoustic transducers and the acoustic performance of the fabricated transducers was tested in a pulse-echo setup, where center frequency, −6 dB relative bandwidth and insertion loss were measured. The transducer with two matching layers was measured to have a relative bandwidth of 70%, two-way insertion loss 18.4 dB and pulse length 196 ns. The transducers with three matching layers had fractional bandwidths from 90% to 93%, two-way insertion loss ranging from 18.3 to 25.4 dB, and pulse lengths 326 and 446 ns. The long pulse lengths of the transducers with three matching layers were attributed to ripple in the passband.     

Spectroelectrochemical cell for in situ studies of solid oxide fuel cells

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are able to produce electricity and heat from hydrogen‐ or carbon‐containing fuels with high efficiencies and are considered important cornerstones for future sustainable energy systems. Performance, activation and degradation processes are crucial parameters to control before the technology can achieve breakthrough. They have been widely studied, predominately by electrochemical testing with subsequent micro‐structural analysis. In order to be able to develop better SOFCs, it is important to understand how the measured electrochemical performance depends on materials and structural properties, preferably at the atomic level. A characterization of these properties under operation is desired. As SOFCs operate at temperatures around 1073 K, this is a challenge. A spectroelectrochemical cell was designed that is able to study SOFCs at operating temperatures and in the presence of relevant gases. Simultaneous spectroscopic and electrochemical evaluation by using X‐ray absorption spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is possible.     

On the second successive minimum of the Jacobian of a Riemann surface

To a compact Riemann surface of genus g can be assigned a principally polarized abelian variety (PPAV) of dimension g, the Jacobian of the Riemann surface. The Schottky problem is to discern the Jacobians among the PPAVs. Buser and Sarnak showed that the square of the first successive minimum, the squared norm of the shortest non-zero vector in the lattice of a Jacobian of a Riemann surface of genus g is bounded from above by log(4g), whereas it can be of order g for the lattice of a PPAV of dimension g. We show that in the case of a hyperelliptic surface this geometric invariant is bounded from above by a constant and that for any surface of genus g the square of the second successive minimum is equally of order log(g). We obtain improved bounds for the kth successive minimum of the Jacobian, if the surface contains small simple closed geodesics.