Double‐hydrophilic block copolymer for encapsulation and two‐way pH change‐induced release of metalloporphyrins

A double hydrophilic block copolymer composed of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(4‐vinyl pyridine) (P4VP) was obtained through hydrolysis of diblock copolymer of poly(tert‐butyl acrylate) (PtBA) and P4VP synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization. Water‐soluble micelles with PAA core and P4VP corona were observed at low (acidic) pH, while micelles with P4VP core and PAA corona were formed at high (basic) pH. Two metalloporphyrins, zinc tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP) and cobalt tetraphenylporphyrin (CoTPP), were used as model compounds to investigate the encapsulation of hydrophobic molecules by both types of micelles. UV–vis spectroscopic measurements indicate that micelles with P4VP core are able to entrap more ZnTPP and CoTPP as a result of the axial coordination between the transition metals and the pyridine groups. The study found that metalloporphyrins encapsulated by the micelles with PAA core could be released on pH increase, while those entrapped by the micelles with P4VP core could be released on pH decrease. This behavior originates from the two‐way pH change‐induced disruption of PAA‐b‐P4VP micelles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1734–1744, 2006     

Mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membrane and PEM fuel cell durability

The life of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is currently limited by the mechanical endurance of polymer electrolyte membranes and membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). In this paper, the authors report recent experimental and modeling work toward understanding the mechanisms of delayed mechanical failures of polymer electrolyte membranes and MEAs under relevant PEMFC operating conditions. Mechanical breach of membranes/MEAs in the form of pinholes and tears has been frequently observed after long‐term or accelerated testing of PEMFC cells/stacks. Catastrophic failure of cell/stack due to rapid gas crossover shortly follows the mechanical breach. Ex situ mechanical characterizations were performed on MEAs after being subjected to the accelerated chemical aging and relative humidity (RH) cycling tests. The results showed significant reduction of MEA ductility manifested as drastically reduced strain‐to‐failure of the chemically aged and RH‐cycled MEAs. Postmortem analysis revealed the formation and growth of mechanical defects such as cracks and crazing in the membranes and MEAs. A finite element model was used to estimate stress/strain states of an edge‐constrained MEA under rapid RH variations. Damage metrics for accelerated testing and life prediction of PEMFCs are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2346–2357, 2006     

Strong instability of solitary waves for nonlinear Klein–Gordon equations and generalized Boussinesq equations

We study here instability problems of standing waves for the nonlinear Klein–Gordon equations and solitary waves for the generalized Boussinesq equations. It is shown that those special wave solutions may be strongly unstable by blowup in finite time, depending on the range of the wave's frequency or the wave's speed of propagation and on the nonlinearity.     

A MEMS-Based Piezoelectric Power Generator for Low Frequency Vibration Energy Harvesting

A novel power generator has been achieved to convert vibration to electrical energy via the piezoelectric effect. The generator obtained by micro fabrication process mainly consists of silicon based frame and composite cantilever. The prototype tested at resonant vibration generates 1.15μW of effective power to a 20.4-kΩ resistance load. The potential of this work is to offer miniaturization solutions for power generators, and with the proposed method the ambient ubiquitous vibration can be harvested effectively as endless energy source to form an integrated self-powering system.     

Model and empirical study on some collaboration networks

In this paper we present an empirical study of a few practical systems described by cooperation networks, and propose a model to understand the results obtained. We study four non-social systems, which are the Bus Route Networks of Beijing and Yangzhou, the Travel Route Network of China, Huai-Yang recipes of Chinese cooked food, and a social system, which is the Collaboration Network of Hollywood Actors. In order to explain the results related to the degree distribution, act-degree distribution and act-size distribution (especially about the degree distribution, which may be better fitted using a stretched exponential distribution (SED)), we suggest a simple model to show a possible evolutionary mechanism for the emergence of such networks. The analytic and numerical results obtained from the model are in good agreement with the empirical results.     

锁相电子散斑系统

电子散斑干涉计量在变形量检测¹、无损探伤、振动分析^(2,3)等领域具有广泛的应用前景,目前它之所以未能实用化,最重要的原因就是该系统对环境的要求过高,特别是物体的振动和空气的扰动对测量结果影响很大,甚至会导致测量失败,因而国内外学者在不断寻找解决此问题的锁相技术。本文提出了一种简易的切实可行的锁相方法-光学锁相法,消除了物体的振动和空气扰动对电子散斑测量的影响。     

人工神经网络X射线荧光光谱法测定钢中酸溶铝

建立了一种人工神经网络-X射线荧光光谱法测定钢中酸溶铝的方法，用X射线荧光光谱法测定低合金钢中总铝值，应用所建立的ANN-BP网络模型，输入总铝含量直接预测出酸溶铝含量。同时使用改进的BP算法，避免了神经网络学习中可能产生的麻痹现象。该方法用于钢中酸溶铝的测定，结果满意。     

An identification of the connections of Quillen and Beilinson-Schechtman

Given a family of Riemann surfaces and a holomorphic vector bundle Beilinson and Schechtman construct a canonical connection on the associated determinant bundle. We prove the conjecture which states that their connection coincides with the Quillen connection. This is done by reducing to the case where along fibers are invertible. Both connection forms become more accessible in this case.Supported in part by N.S.F. Grant No. DMS-9201022Supported in part by National Science Council of Republic of China Grant No. NSC 82-0208-M-002-125-T, and NSERC of Canada Grant No. OGP 0121883