Gamma radiation effects on physical properties of parchment documents: Assessment of Dmax

Parchments are important documents that give testimony for History; therefore these materials should be respected and preserved. Considering incremental biodeterioration problems that have to be faced daily, the Archive of the University of Coimbra (AUC) is involved in different scientific projects in order to evaluate and determine new methods for document decontamination and preservation.The aim of this study was to evaluate gamma radiation effects on the colour and texture of the AUC parchment documents. The assessment of these effects was used to estimate the maximum gamma radiation dose (D_max) that could guarantee parchment documents′ decontamination treatment, without significant alteration of their physical properties. Parchment samples were exposed to gamma radiation doses ranging from 10 to 30 kGy. The texture and colour of samples were assessed before and after the irradiation procedure, using a texture analyser and an electronic colorimeter. Hardness and springiness were determined based on texture spectra. Lightness (L?), Chroma (C), greenness vs. redness (a*) and yellowness vs. blueness (b*) values were obtained from colorimetric measures. Results indicate no significant effects of gamma radiation on the texture and colour of parchment for the studied doses.     

The efect of the couple stress parameter and Prandtl number on the transient natural convection flow over a vertical cylinder

An analysis is performed to study transient free convective boundary layer flow of a couple stress fluid over a vertical cylinder, in the absence of body couples. The solution of the time-dependent non-linear and coupled governing equations is carried out with the aid of an unconditionally stable Crank–Nicolson type of numerical scheme. Numerical results for the steady-state velocity, temperature as well as the time histories of the skin-friction coefcient and Nusselt number are presented graphically and discussed. It is seen that for all flow variables as the couple stress control parameter, Co, is amplified, the time required for reaching the temporal maximum increases but the steady-state decreases.     

Linear and Nonlinear Analyses of the Onset of Buoyancy-Induced Instability in an Unbounded Porous Medium Saturated by Miscible Fluids

This study analyzes the stability of an initially sharp interface between two miscible fluids in a porous medium. Linear stability equations are first derived using the similarity variable of the basic state, and then transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations using a spectral expansion with and without quasi-steady-state approximation (QSSA). These transformed equations are solved using the eigenanalysis and initial value problem approach. The initial growth rate analysis shows that initially the system is unconditionally stable. The stability characteristics obtained under the present QSSA are quantitatively same as those obtained without the QSSA. To support these theoretical results, numerical simulations are conducted using the Fourier-spectral method. The results of theoretical linear stability analyses and the numerical simulations validate to each other.     

Site-selective C–H nitration of N-aryl-7-azaindoles under palladium(II) catalysis

The site-selective C–H nitration reaction of 7-azaindoles with t-butyl nitrite under palladium catalysis is described. This protocol provides an efficient method for the construction of ortho-nitrated N-aryl-7-azaindoles with excellent site-selectivity and functional group compatibility. The formed 7-azaindole derivatives can be readily transformed into 7-azaindoles containing an aniline functional group under palladium-catalyzed hydrogenation conditions.     

Accelerated quasicontinuum: a practical perspective on hyper-QC with application to nanoindentation

Abstract

Hyper-QC is a multiscale method based on the quasicontinuum (QC) method in which time is accelerated using hyperdynamics through the addition of a suitable bias potential. This paper describes the practical details of implementing and carrying out hyper-QC simulations and introduces a novel mechanism-based bias potential for deformation processes in face-centred cubic (fcc) systems. The factors limiting the maximum achievable acceleration are discussed. The method is demonstrated for nanoindentation into a thin film of single crystal fcc nickel at near experimental loading rates. Speed up factors as high as 10,000 are achieved. The simulations reveal a thermally activated dislocation nucleation mechanism with a logarithmic dependence on temperature and indenter velocity in agreement with a theoretical model.     

A micro/nanocasting method for replicating soft micro/nanosurface structures using a dynamic electrical field

We propose a new electric field-induced micro/nanocasting method to replicate soft patterns using micro/nanocasting techniques without pressure. The process uses an alternating current (AC) electrical field and rotation of one electrode, generating a dynamic electrical field that induces electrokinetic flow motion in a dielectric solution (polydimethylsilane, PDMS). We used a lotus leaf as a replication template and characterised the PDMS flow motion to observe the effects of various process parameters (e.g., electrical field strength, rotation speed of an electrode, and electrode shape). The unstable flow motion was significantly dependent on the processing parameters, especially the rotation speed of the electrode. Using the optimised processing conditions, the replication efficiency was about 88%. We believe that this method has potential for fabricating soft micro/nanosized structures.     

Chip-based nLC-TOF-MS is a highly stable technology for large-scale high-throughput analyses

Many studies focused on the discovery of novel biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of disease states are facilitated by mass spectrometry-based technology. HPLC coupled to mass spectrometry is widely used; miniaturization of this technique using nano-liquid chromatography (LC)-mass spectrometry (MS) usually results in better sensitivity, but is associated with limited repeatability. The recent introduction of chip-based technology has significantly improved the stability of nano-LC-MS, but no substantial studies to verify this have been performed. To evaluate the temporal repeatability of chip-based nano-LC-MS analyses, N-glycans released from a serum sample were repeatedly analyzed using nLC-PGC-chip-TOF-MS on three non-consecutive days. With an average inter-day coefficient of variation of 4 %, determined on log₁₀-transformed integrals, the repeatability of the system is very high. Overall, chip-based nano-LC-MS appears to be a highly stable technology, which is suitable for the profiling of large numbers of clinical samples for biomarker discovery.     

Measurement of excitation functions of the natAg(α,x) reactions up to 45 MeV

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - We measured excitation functions for the production of the 108m,108g,109g,110m,110g,111gIn, the 109g,111mCd, and the 105g,106m,110m,111gAg in...