On solitary wave diffraction by multiple,in-line vertical cylinders

The interaction of solitary waves with multiple, in-line vertical cylinders is investigated. The fixed cylinders are of constant circular cross section and extend from the seafloor to the free surface. In general, there are N of them lined in a row parallel to the incoming wave direction. Both the nonlinear, generalized Boussinesq and the Green–Naghdi shallow-water wave equations are used. A boundary-fitted curvilinear coordinate system is employed to facilitate the use of the finite-difference method on curved boundaries. The governing equations and boundary conditions are transformed from the physical plane onto the computational plane. These equations are then solved in time on the computational plane that contains a uniform grid and by use of the successive over-relaxation method and a second-order finite-difference method to determine the horizontal force and overturning moment on the cylinders. Resulting solitary wave forces from the nonlinear Green–Naghdi and the Boussinesq equations are presented, and the forces are compared with the experimental data when available.     

On the fundamental equations of piezoelasticity of quasicrystal media

The three-dimensional fundamental equations of elasticity of quasicrystals with extension to quasi-static electric effect are expresses in both differential and variational invariant forms for a regular region of quasicrystal material. The principle of conservation of energy is stated for the regular region and the constitutive relations are obtained for the piezoelasticity of material. A theorem is proved for the uniqueness in solutions of the fundamental equations by means of the energy argument. The sufficient boundary and initial conditions are enumerated for the uniqueness. Hamilton’s principle is stated for the regular region and a three-field variational principle is obtained under some constraint conditions. The constraint conditions, which are generally undesirable in computation, are removed by applying an involutory transformation. Then, a unified variational principle is obtained for the regular region, with one or more fixed internal surface of discontinuity. The variational principle operating on all the field variables generates all the fundamental equations of piezoelasticity of quasicrystals under the symmetry conditions of the phonon stress tensor and the initial conditions. The resulting equations, which are expressible in any system of coordinates and may be used through simultaneous approximation upon all the field variables in a direct method of solutions, pave the way to the study of important dislocation, fracture and interface problems of both elasticity and piezoelasticity of quasicrystal materials.     

Chemical Analysis of Hydroxyapatite Artificial Bone Powders by Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometry(EDXRF)

Stoichiometric hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles were synthesized by a wet chemical method. Calcium nitrate tetra hydrate used as calcium source and dibasic ammonium phosphate used as phosphorous source. Calcium nitrate tetra hydrate and dibasic ammonium phosphate solutions were prepared by dissolving the salts in distilled water. Stoichiometric hydroxyapatite nanoparticles used by artificial bone powders and synthesized by a wet chemical method were analyzed using EDXRF method.The concentrations of K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Sr and Pb for artificial bone powders have been determined. Besides, Calcium contents were evaluated according to the agitation time and temperature in the production process.     

Photodissociation pathways and lifetimes of protonated peptides and their dimers

Photodissociation lifetimes and fragment channels of gas-phase, protonated YA(n) (n = 1,2) peptides and their dimers were measured with 266 nm photons. The protonated monomers were found to have a fast dissociation channel with an exponential lifetime of ~200 ns while the protonated dimers show an additional slow dissociation component with a lifetime of ~2 μs. Laser power dependence measurements enabled us to ascribe the fast channel in the monomer and the slow channel in the dimer to a one-photon process, whereas the fast dimer channel is from a two-photon process. The slow (1 photon) dissociation channel in the dimer was found to result in cleavage of the H-bonds after energy transfer through these H-bonds. In general, the dissociation of these protonated peptides is non-prompt and the decay time was found to increase with the size of the peptides. Quantum RRKM calculations of the microcanonical rate constants also confirmed a statistical nature of the photodissociation processes in the dipeptide monomers and dimers. The classical RRKM expression gives a rate constant as an analytical function of the number of active vibrational modes in the system, estimated separately on the basis of the equipartition theorem. It demonstrates encouraging results in predicting fragmentation lifetimes of protonated peptides. Finally, we present the first experimental evidence for a photo-induced conversion of tyrosine-containing peptides into monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon along with a formamide molecule both found in space.     

Exploring the scope of the 29G12 antibody catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction

[Chemical reaction: See text] 29G12 is a murine monoclonal antibody programmed to catalyze the regio- and enantioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between 4-acetamidobenzonitrile N-oxide 1a and N,N-dimethylacrylamide 2a (Toker, J. D.; Wentworth, P., Jr.; Hu, Y.; Houk, K. N.; Janda, K. D. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122, 3244). Given the unique nature of 29G12 as a protein biocatalyst for this chemical reaction, we have investigated both the substrate specificity and mechanistic parameters of the 29G12-catalyzed process. These studies have shown that while 29G12 is specific for its dipole substrate 1a, the antibody is highly promiscuous with respect to the dipolarophiles it can process. 29G12 accepts a bulky hydrophobic dipolarophile cosubstrate, with rates of product formation up to 70-fold faster than with the original substrate 2a. In all cases, the respective isoxazoline products are produced with exquisite regio- and stereochemical control (78-98% ee). Comparison between the steady-state kinetic parameters from the 29G12-catalyzed reaction of 1a with the most efficient versus the original dipolarophile cosubstrate (2m and 2a, respectively), reveals that while the effective molarities (EM)s are almost identical (EM(2m)) 26 M; EM((2a)) 23 M), the affinity of 29G12 for the larger dipolarophile 2m is more than 1 order of magnitude higher than for 2a [Km(2m) 0.44 +/- 0.04 mM; Km(2a) 5.8 +/- 0.4 mM]. Furthermore, when 2m is the cosubstrate, the affinity of 29G12 for its dipole 1a is also greatly improved [Km(1a) 0.82 +/- 0.1 mM compared to Km(1a) 3.4 +/- 0.4 mM when 2a is the cosubstrate]. An analysis of the temperature dependence of the 29G12-catalyzed reaction between 1a and 2m reveals that catalysis is achieved via a decrease in enthalpy of activation (DeltaDeltaH 4.4 kcal mol(-1)) and involves a large increase in the entropy of activation (DeltaDeltaS 10.4 eu). The improved affinity of 29G12 for the nitrile oxide 1a in the presence of 2m, coupled with the increase in DeltaDeltaS during the 29G12-catalyzed reaction between 1a and 2m supports the notion of a structural reorganization of the active site to facilitate this antibody-catalyzed reaction.     

The effect of pressure on transformation temperatures and some physical parameters of Fe–32Mn–6Si–3Cr shape memory alloy

An experimental investigation of the effect of pressure on shape memory behavior of Fe–32%Mn–6%Si–3%Cr alloy was undertaken. There are significant differences in the Gibbs free energy, dislocation density and transformation temperatures of the alloy due to applied pressure.     

Poly(crotonic acid-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid)-metal complexes with copper(II), cobalt(II), and nickel(II): Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial activity

Poly(crotonic acid-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) [P(CrA-co-AMPS)] (44.22:55.78) copolymer was prepared in N,N-dimethylformamide solution using the benzoyl peroxide (Bz₂O₂) as initiator. Cu(II), Ni(II) and Co(II) chelates of the copolymer were prepared and the formation constants of each complex were determined by the mole-ratio method using UV-vis spectroscopy. UV-vis studies showed that the complex formation tendency increased in the followed order: Cu(II) > Ni(II) > Co(II). The copolymer and its metal chelates were characterized by FTIR, TGA, X-ray diffraction and SEM analysis. Also, in vitro antimicrobial activity of the polymers were tested on various bacteria, and yeast.     

Novel Chelating Resin for Solid-Phase Extraction of Metals in Certified Reference Materials and Waters

A new chelating resin, poly(diacetonitrile methacrylamide-co-divinylbenzene-co-vinylimidazole), was synthesized and characterized by infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and elemental analysis. The novel resin was used for the first time as a chelating adsorbent for the preconcentration of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn from various samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The adsorption capacities of the resin were 29.3, 31.6, 29.3, 27.3, 35.5, 31.7, 39.8, and 32.3?mg?g^?1 for Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, respectively. The detection limits of the metal ions were from 0.42 to 3.21?µg?L^?1. A preconcentration factor of 30 for all metal ions was obtained. The precision of the method as the relative standard deviation was less than or equal to 2.6%. The described method was validated with certified reference materials and fortified real samples. The method was used for the determination of the analytes in well water and wastewater.     

Peptide Bond Formation in the Protonated Serine Dimer Following Vacuum UV Photon-Induced Excitation

Possible routes for intra-cluster bond formation (ICBF) in protonated serine dimers have been studied. We found no evidence of ICBF following low energy collision-induced dissociation (in correspondence with previous works), however, we do observe clear evidence for ICBF following photon absorption in the 4.6–14 eV range. Moreover, the comparison of photon-induced dissociation measurements of the protonated serine dimer to those of a protonated serine dipeptide provides evidence that ICBF, in this case, involves peptide bond formation (PBF). The experimental results are supported by ab initio molecular dynamics and exploration of several excited state potential energy surfaces, unraveling a pathway for PBF following photon absorption. The combination of experiments and theory provides insight into the PBF mechanisms in clusters of amino acids, and reveals the importance of electronic excited states reached upon UV/VUV light excitation.