Rheological behavior of concentrated suspensions as affected by the dynamics of the mixing process

The rheological characterizations of concentrated suspensions are generally carried out assuming “well-mixed” suspensions. However, the variation of the concentration distributions of the ingredients of the formulation, i.e., the “goodness of mixing”, the size and shape distributions of the particle clusters and the rheological behavior of the suspension all depend on the thermo-mechanical history that the suspension is exposed to during the mixing process. Here, various experimental tools are used for the characterization of the degree of mixedness (concentration distributions) of various ingredients along with the characterization of rheological material functions, wall slip behavior and the maximum packing fraction of a graphite/elastomer suspension. The degree of mixedness values of the ingredients of the suspensions processed using batch and continuous processes and under differing operating conditions were characterized quantitatively using wide-angle X-ray diffraction and thermo gravimetric analysis and were elucidated under the light of the electrical properties of the suspension as affected by the mixing process. Upon achieving better homogeneity of the graphite particles and the binder and decreases in the size and breadth of the size distributions of particle clusters (as inferred from electrical measurements and maximum packing fraction values), the elasticity (storage modulus) and the shear viscosity (magnitude of the complex viscosity from small-amplitude oscillatory shear and shear viscosity from steady torsional and capillary rheometry) of the suspension decreased significantly and the wall slip velocity values increased. These findings demonstrate the intimate relationships that exist between the rheological behavior of concentrated suspensions and the thermo-mechanical history that they are exposed to during the processing stage and suggest that the preparation conditions for suspensions should be carefully selected and well documented to achieve reproducible characterization of rheological material functions.     

Theoretical analysis of frontier orbitals,electronic transitions,and global reactivity descriptors of M(CO)4L2 type metal carbonyl complexes: a DFT/TDDFT study

Structural Chemistry - Metal carbonyl complexes, which have been known as effective catalysts since early days, find use in many fields both directly and indirectly. Although the use of metal...     

Anticancer activities of manganese-based photoactivatable CO-releasing complexes (PhotoCORMs) with benzimidazole derivative ligands

Carbon monoxide is an important signaling molecule which is produced by heme oxygenase-1. CO shows antiproliferative activity against cancer cells; hence, activation of HO-1 is a significant inhibition strategy against tumor formation and survival of cancer cells. In this work, manganese-based CO-releasing molecules (CORMs) were designed and synthesized to inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation. Human invasive ductal breast cancer cells (MCF-7) were treated with the synthesized CORMs to investigate the effect of the complexes on breast cancer survival under UV light. In vitro experiments indicated that the complexes inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation, and further, the antiproliferative effects were increased under UV light. Thus, these novel CORMs may provide a drug template for the treatment of invasive ductal breast cancer.     

The distribution of the domination number of class cover catch digraphs for non-uniform one-dimensional data

For two or more classes of points in R^d with d≥1, the class cover catch digraphs (CCCDs) can be constructed using the relative positions of the points from one class with respect to the points from one or all of the other classes. The CCCDs were introduced by Priebe et al. [C.E. Priebe, J.G. DeVinney, D.J. Marchette, On the distribution of the domination number of random class catch cover digraphs. Statistics and Probability Letters 55 (2001) 239-246] who investigated the case of two classes, X and Y. They calculated the exact (i.e., finite sample) distribution of the domination number of the CCCDs based on X points relative to Y points both of which were uniformly distributed on a bounded interval. We investigate the distribution of the domination number of the CCCDs based on data from non-uniform X points on an interval with end points from Y. Then we extend these calculations for multiple Y points on bounded intervals.     

Extension of one-dimensional proximity regions to higher dimensions

Proximity regions (and maps) are defined based on the relative allocation of points from two or more classes in an area of interest and are used to construct random graphs called proximity catch digraphs (PCDs) which have applications in various fields. The simplest of such maps is the spherical proximity map which gave rise to class cover catch digraph (CCCD) and was applied to pattern classification. In this article, we note some appealing properties of the spherical proximity map in compact intervals on the real line, thereby introduce the mechanism and guidelines for defining new proximity maps in higher dimensions. For non-spherical PCDs, Delaunay tessellation (triangulation in the real plane) is used to partition the region of interest in higher dimensions. We also introduce the auxiliary tools used for the construction of the new proximity maps, as well as some related concepts that will be used in the investigation and comparison of these maps and the resulting PCDs. We provide the distribution of graph invariants, namely, domination number and relative density, of the PCDs and characterize the geometry invariance of the distribution of these graph invariants for uniform data and provide some newly defined proximity maps in higher dimensions as illustrative examples.     

Oscillation Criteria for Four-Dimensional Time-Scale Systems

In this paper, we obtain oscillation and nonoscillation criteria for solutions to four-dimensional systems of first-order dynamic equations on time scales. Especially, we are interested in the conditions which insure that every solution is oscillatory in the sub-linear, half-linear, and super-linear cases. Our approach is based on the sign of the components of nonoscillatory solutions. Several examples are included to highlight our main results.     

Halanay type inequalities on time scales with applications

This paper aims to introduce Halanay type inequalities on time scales. By means of these inequalities we derive new global stability conditions for nonlinear dynamic equations on time scales. Giving several examples we show that besides generalization and extension to q-difference case, our results also provide improvements for the existing theory regarding differential and difference inequalities, which are the most important particular cases of dynamic inequalities on time scales.     

Numerical simulation of minimum B‐jumps at abrupt drops

A numerical simulation of minimum B‐jumps in horizontal rectangular channels having an abrupt drop is given. Gradually varied, steady, supercritical flow is assumed as the initial condition. An unsteady flow is created by increasing the downstream depth. One‐dimensional, unsteady Saint‐Venant equations are solved by using the MacCormack and the dissipative two–four explicit finite difference schemes. The steady flow solution is obtained by treating the time variable as an iteration parameter and letting the solution converge to the steady state. The abrupt drop is treated as an interior boundary and solved by the method of characteristics. The results are compared with experimental and analytical studies. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photoinduced Graft Copolymerization onto Chitosan Under Heterogeneous Conditions

Photoinitiated graft copolymerization of acrylamide onto chitosan under heterogeneous conditions and in the absence of a photo initiator was investigated. The effect of irradiation time, the amount of chitosan and monomer concentration on the extent of grafting was examined. The maximum grafting percentage obtained was 294%. The copolymer was characterized using carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (¹³C-NMR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The system designed allows synthesis of grafted chitosan with free amine groups which are otherwise possible only by chemical protection. The swelling properties of copolymer were followed in aqueous solution.     

Limiting Behaviors of Nonoscillatory Solutions for Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Time Scale Systems

We consider a two-dimensional time scale system of first order dynamic equations and establish some necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of nonoscillatory solutions for the system using Knaster fixed point theorem, the Schauder fixed point theorem and the Schauder–Tychonoff fixed point theorem. We also provide examples to underline the main results of this article.