Rheological and diffusion properties of a dextran-con A polymer in the presence of Insulin and Magnesium

Previous work carried out in our laboratories has focused on the formation and investigation of a dextran and concanavalin A (con A) based gel, which has the ability to alter its conformational structure in the presence and absence of free and terminal glucoses such that a gel–sol phase transition occurs. Here we report the diffusion and rheological investigations in to the effects of the addition of insulin and varyingconcentrations of magnesium chloride hexahydrate (Mg₂Cl₂6H₂O) at 20 and 37 °C. Rheological examination of glucose-sensitive (dextran-con A) gels were conducted using a cone and plate viscometer used in continual rotation and oscillatory modes. The results are interpreted in terms of the structure of the gel network and suggest rheological assessment provides an effective method of assessing the properties of gel systems. The subsequent testing of such formulations in in-vitro diffusion experiments revealed a reduction in the rate of diffusivity in the insulin marker, poly R-478 dye. The performance of this self-regulating drug delivery system has been examined and the addition of insulin and magnesium chloride may alter the way in which the gel operates as a drug delivery device and in the delivery of insulin. This may have implications for other ligands.     

Characterization of strongly interacted multiple cracks in an infinite plate

Based on the Kachanov method and the alternating iteration technique, a new method is proposed to deal with the problem of the strongly interacted multiple cracks in an infinite plate. Unlike the Kachanov method which neglects the interaction of the tractions of the non-uniform components, the tractions of the non-uniform components on the surfaces of cracks are considered through the alternating technique. The accuracy and efficiency of present method are validated by comparing the results of two collinear and two parallel overlapped open the cracks obtained by the present method with those of the exact solutions, the results of the Kachanov method and the alternating iteration technique. Applications of present method in solving sliding close crack problems and evaluating the plastic zones demonstrate the versatility of present method.     

Optical and neutron domain structure studies of amorphous ribbons

The domain configuration of amorphous ribbons with positive, vanishing and negative magnetostriction constant λ_s has been investigated by means of the longitudinal magneto-optical Kerr-effect and a three-dimensional neutron depolarization analysis. The influence of an external tensile stress on the domain arrangement depends on the sign and the magnitude of the magnetostriction constant and could be measured quantitatively in the depolarization experiment. With the aid of the optical observations domain models have been established; these models were tested and completed by means of an analytic calculation of the corresponding depolarization matrix and a comparison with experimental data. Domain reorientation processes within the ribbons under an imposed tensile stress were found to agree with theoretical predictions. The nearly nonmagnetostrictive alloys shows neither stripe domains nor simple wide domains but a more complicated structure with several layers of domains.     

Ion Flux from the Cathode Region of a Vacuum Arc

This paper reviews the properties of the cathode ion flux generated in the vacuum arc. The structure and distribution of mass erosion from individual cathode spots and the characteristics of current carriers from the cathode region at moderate arc currents are described. An appreciable ion flux (～10% of total arc current) is emitted from the cathode of a vacuum arc. This ion flux is strongly peaked in the direction of the anode, though some ion flux may be seen even at angles below the plane of the cathode surface. The observed spatial distribution of the ion flux is expressed quite well as an exponential function of solid angle. The ion flux is quite energetic, with average ion potentials much larger than the arc voltage, and generally contains a considerable fraction of multiply-charged ions. The average ion potential and ion multiplicity increase significantly for cathode materials with higher arc voltages, but decrease with increasing arc current for a particular material. The main theories concerning ion acceleration in cathode spots are the potential hump theory (PH), which assumes that all ions are created at the same potential, and the gas dynamic theory (GD), which assumes that all ions are created with the same flow velocity. Experimental data on the potentials and energies of individual ions indicates that these theories in their original forms are not quite correct, however extensions or modifications of the PH and GD theories seem very likely to be able to predict correct values for the charge states, potentials, and energies of individual ions.     

Strained layer quantum well semiconductor optical amplifiers: Polarization insensitive amplification

Polarization insensitive optical amplification was demonstrated in newly developed semiconductor optical amplifiers that have strained GalnAsP quantum well structures. We tailored the active region of the quaternary strained layer quantum well structure with a small biaxially tensile strain of 0.2% in the well layers for polarization insensitive operation.