A variationally consistent finite element approach to the two‐fluid internal contact‐line problem

A new method for simulating incompressible viscous fluid flow involving moving internal contact lines is presented. The steady state interface shape is determined by a variationally consistent formulation of the surface tension contribution to the equations of motion adapted to the case of internal contact lines through the application of a global force balance compatibility condition that consistently removes the pressure indeterminacy. The Crouzeix–Raviart element is chosen to capture the pressure discontinuity at the two‐fluid interface. The resulting discrete equations are solved by an iterative procedure which displays fast convergence characteristics for small capillary numbers. Numerical results for the case of the steady movement of a fluid meniscus in a two‐dimensional channel are presented. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis and Investigation of Flavanone Derivatives as Potential New Anti-Inflammatory Agents

Flavonoids are polyphenols with broad known pharmacological properties. A series of 2,3-dihydroflavanone derivatives were thus synthesized and investigated for their anti-inflammatory activities. The target flavanones were prepared through cyclization of 2′-hydroxychalcone derivatives, the later obtained by Claisen–Schmidt condensation. Since nitric oxide (NO) represents an important inflammatory mediator, the effects of various flavanones on the NO production in the LPS-induced RAW 264.7 macrophage were assessed in vitro using the Griess test. The most active compounds were flavanone (4G), 2′-carboxy-5,7-dimethoxy-flavanone (4F), 4′-bromo-5,7-dimethoxy-flavanone (4D), and 2′-carboxyflavanone (4J), with IC50 values of 0.603, 0.906, 1.030, and 1.830 µg/mL, respectively. In comparison, pinocembrin achieved an IC₅₀ value of 203.60 µg/mL. Thus, the derivatives synthesized in this work had a higher NO inhibition capacity compared to pinocembrin, demonstrating the importance of pharmacomodulation to improve the biological potential of natural molecules. SARs suggested that the use of a carboxyl-group in the meta-position of the B-ring increases biological activity, whereas compounds carrying halogen substituents in the para-position were less active. The addition of methoxy-groups in the meta-position of the A-ring somewhat decreased the activity. This study successfully identified new bioactive flavanones as promising candidates for the development of new anti-inflammatory agents.     

Mechanical properties of bulk single crystalline nanoporous gold investigated by millimetre-scale tension and compression testing

In this work, the mechanical behaviour of millimetre-scale, bulk single crystalline, nanoporous gold at room temperature is reported for the first time. Tension and compression tests were performed with a custom-designed test system that accommodates small-scale samples. The absence of grain boundaries in the specimens allowed measurement of the inherent strength of millimetre-scale nanoporous gold in tension. The elastic modulus and strength values in tension and compression were found to be significantly lower than values measured with nanoindentation-based techniques and previously reported in the literature, but close to those reported for millimetre-scale polycrystalline samples tested using traditional compression techniques. Fracture toughness was found to be very low, in agreement with the macroscopic brittleness of nanoporous gold, but this is due to the localization of deformation to a narrow zone of ligaments, which individually exhibit significant plasticity and necking.     

Structure-dependent magnetic susceptibility of sharp poly(ethylene oxide) fractions

Nine sharp fractions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) glycol with number-average molar masses (M _n) in the range from 0.6 × 10³ to 20 × 10³ (PEO-0.6 to PEO-20) were characterized by magnetic susceptibility χ measured in the temperature interval 293 K to 378 K. In contrast to the liquidlike PEO-0.6 with temperature-invariant χ, the values of χ for each of the remaining solid samples, after the initial increase, exhibited two plateaus separated by a relatively narrow temperature interval of their second increase. The jumps of χ at lower and higher temperatures were attributed to a solid-state transition of unspecific nature and to the melting of the crystal fraction, respectively.

The temperature-invariant values of χ_n in the melt state above T _m pass through a minimum for the sample PEO-2.0 and then increase again with (M_n) to a limiting value χ_∞ = ?0.622 × 10^?6. It is concluded that a considerable contribution of the molar-mass-dependent “paramagnetism” χ_P = χ ^? χ_d (where χ_d is the diamagnetic contribution estimated by Kirkwood's equation) to the total magnetic susceptibility of PEO fractions reflects distortions of the spherical symmetry of the electron shells around chain atoms resulting from the discontinuous change of both inter- and intrachain interactions as the (M_n) increases through and above the critical crossover molar mass (M_cr ) = 2 × 10³.