Application of the finite point method to high‐Reynolds number compressible flow problems

In this work, the finite point method is applied to the solution of high‐Reynolds compressible viscous flows. The aim is to explore this important field of applications focusing on two main aspects: the easiness and automation of the meshless discretization of viscous layers and the construction of a robust numerical approximation in the highly stretched clouds of points resulting in such domain areas. The flow solution scheme adopts an upwind‐biased scheme to solve the averaged Navier–Stokes equations in conjunction with an algebraic turbulence model. The numerical applications presented involve different attached boundary layer flows and are intended to show the performance of the numerical technique. The results obtained are satisfactory and indicative of the possibilities to extend the present meshless technique to more complex flow problems. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of the bicyclo[6.2.1]undecane ring system by a solvent-free Diels–Alder reaction

A bicyclo[6.2.1]undecane model compound of the core structure of the biologically active furanoheliangolide sesquiterpene was synthesized. This new and short route was developed by using a solvent-free Diels–Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and 3-nitro-2-cyclohexenone, followed by simple transformations. Theoretical calculations were performed in order to understand reactivity aspects of the cycloaddition.     

Electrolytes for quasi solid‐state dye‐sensitized solar cells based on block copolymers

The first use of PS_n‐b‐PEO_m‐b‐PS_n block copolymers (PS = polystyrene, PEO = poly(ethylene oxide)) as solid hosts for iodine/iodide electrolytes in dye‐sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is described. Using the benchmark photosensitizer N719, DSSC based on the quasi solid‐state electrolytes afforded efficiencies up to 6.7%, to be compared with an efficiency of 7.3% obtained in similar conditions with a conventional iodine/iodide liquid electrolyte. By varying the PS:PEO relative volume ratio in the block copolymers different properties and morphologies were obtained. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 719–727     

Quantum histories without contrary inferences

In the consistent histories formulation of quantum theory it was shown that it is possible to retrodict contrary properties. We show that this problem do not appear in our formalism of generalized contexts for quantum histories.     

La distribution on the crater surface of W-1%La2O3 produced by a single laser pulse

The W-1%La₂O₃ alloy has been irradiated by a single laser pulse (λ = 1064 nm) to simulate transient thermal loads of high energy occurring in a tokamak under operative conditions. A zone with a diameter of ~2 mm, namely, much larger than the focal spot, results to be affected by the pulse, and a crater of about 300 μm is observed in its center. La₂O₃ particles are not present inside the crater. The change of surface morphology is accompanied by elemental redistribution. Multipoint XPS analysis evidenced that the concentration of La is very low in the crater and increases moving toward the border of the affected zone while that of W shows an opposite trend. The composition changes involve only the outmost 5 nm of the sample: through depth profiling, no differences of chemical composition were detected deeper in the alloy between the center and external border of the affected area.     

Janus Gold Nanostars–Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles for NIR-Light-Triggered Drug Delivery

Janus gold nanostar–mesoporous silica nanoparticle ( AuNSt–MSNP ) nanodevices able to release an entrapped payload upon irradiation with near infrared (NIR) light were prepared and characterized. The AuNSt surface was functionalized with a thiolated photolabile molecule ( 5 ), whereas the mesoporous silica face was loaded with a model drug (doxorubicin) and capped with proton-responsive benzimidazole-β-cyclodextrin supramolecular gatekeepers ( N 1 ). Upon irradiation with NIR-light, the photolabile compound 5 photodissociated, resulting in the formation of succinic acid, which induced the opening of the gatekeeper and cargo delivery. In the overall mechanism, the gold surface acts as a photochemical transducer capable of transforming the NIR-light input into a chemical messenger (succinic acid) that opens the supramolecular nanovalve. The prepared hybrid nanoparticles were non-cytotoxic to HeLa cells, until they were irradiated with a NIR laser, which led to intracellular doxorubicin release and hyperthermia. This induced a remarkable reduction in HeLa cells viability.     

Access to Enantiopure Advanced Intermediates en Route to Madangamines

The synthesis of enantiopure ABCE and ABCD tetracyclic advanced intermediates en route to madangamine alkaloids and studies for the construction of the triunsaturated 15-membered D ring of madangamine B and the saturated 13-membered D ring of madangamine E are reported.     

Phase segregation of metastable quenched liquid mixtures and the effect of the quenching rate

The effect of the quenching rate on the phase separation of partially miscible liquid mixtures is studied, showing that it may influence the growth rate of single-phase domains. In particular, the phase separation of metastable binary mixtures in the presence of strong emulsifiers appears to be heavily retarded. These effects constitute an important limitation to the phase transition extraction process introduced by the authors in previous works, which is based on the fact that phase separation of unstable mixtures is rapid, even in the presence of surface active compounds.     

An enriched damage-frictional cohesive-zone model incorporating stress multi-axiality

The paper presents an interphase cohesive zone model (CZM) incorporating stress multi-axiality devised to capture, by simplified micro-modeling, the influence of the in-plane strain and stress state in the mechanical response of the CZM. Moreover, the model is able to account for the Poisson-related effect in the interphase, which can play an important role in the modeling of heterogeneous masonry elements. From the constitutive point of view, the proposed formulation couples damage and friction by addressing a smooth transition from a quasi-brittle response to a residual frictional behavior described by a Coulomb law with unilateral contact. As in-plane stresses are accounted for, damage activation and evolution are governed by a Drucker–Prager law with linear softening. A predictor-corrector procedure based on a backward Euler scheme is detailed for integrating the nonlinear evolutive problem together with the related tangent operator which consistently linearizes the algorithmic strategy. This framework is embedded into a kinematically-enriched finite element interphase formulation incorporating stress multi-axiality. The modeling features of the resulting numerical tool are tested both at the local level, for the typical interphase point, and in meso-structural tests consisting of brick-mortar triplets, investigating the capability of the proposed model and numerical procedure to simulate the brick-mortar decohesion mechanism during confined slip tests.