Direct determination of interlaminar stresses in polymeric adhesive layer

A method for direct measurement of shear and normal displacements, and a simple way of determining the distribution of the respective average stresses along an interlaminar adhesive layer (IAL), were successfully examined on a symmetrical doubler model. Experimental data proved to be in agreement with available analytical solutions for this model in the elastic stage. The method was also examined beyond the elastic linear range and may be used to follow up the initiation of delamination.     

Solution properties of dye lasers. Rhodamine B in alcohols

Absorption spectra measurements of rhodamine B in methanol and ethanol solutions in the absence and presence of several buffers have confirmed the pres     

Static and dynamic analysis of the DCB problem in fracture mechanics

A finite difference scheme for treating the static and dynamic stress fields under plane-strain conditions in the DCB, is proposed. The adequacy of the scheme is established via the static solution by comparing the results obtained numerically with those obtained experimentally. Both the numerical and experimental results are also compared with data available in the literature. Discrepancies found are explained and discussed. For the numerical scheme adjusted to handle the propagating crack problem, the results represent a situation which is close to that observed experimentally; namely, an essentially constant steady state crack propagation speed from the start, with crack length at arrest and velocity values depending on the initial conditions. In addition, the velocities predicted by the analysis are shown to be in good agreement with those reported in the literature.     

Singing proficiency in the general population

Most believe that the ability to carry a tune is unevenly distributed in the general population. To test this claim, we asked occasional singers (n=62) to sing a well-known song in both the laboratory and in a natural setting (experiment 1). Sung performances were judged by peers for proficiency, analyzed for pitch and time accuracy with an acoustic-based method, and compared to professional singing. The peer ratings for the proficiency of occasional singers were normally distributed. Only a minority of the occasional singers made numerous pitch errors. The variance in singing proficiency was largely due to tempo differences. Occasional singers tended to sing at a faster tempo and with more pitch and time errors relative to professional singers. In experiment 2 15 nonmusicians from experiment 1 sang the same song at a slow tempo. In this condition, most of the occasional singers sang as accurately as the professional singers. Thus, singing appears to be a universal human trait. However, two of the occasional singers maintained a high rate of pitch errors at the slower tempo. This poor performance was not due to impaired pitch perception, thus suggesting the existence of a purely vocal form of tone deafness.     

Probe particles alter dynamic heterogeneities in simple supercooled systems

The authors present results from molecular dynamics simulations on the effect of smooth and rough probes on the dynamics of a supercooled Lennard-Jones (LJ) mixture. The probe diameter was systematically varied from one to seven times the diameter of the large particles of the LJ mixture. Mean square displacements show that in the presence of a large smooth probe the supercooled liquid speeds up, while in the presence of a large rough probe, the supercooled liquid slows down. Non-Gaussian parameters indicate that with both smooth and rough probes, the heterogeneity of the supercooled system increases. From the analysis of local Debye-Waller factors, it is evident that the change in the dynamics of the LJ system is heterogeneous, with the largest perturbations close to the probes. Large smooth and rough probes appear to set up heterogeneities in these supercooled systems that would otherwise not occur, and these heterogeneities persist for long times.     

Selective immobilization of DNA and antibody probes on electrode arrays: simultaneous electrochemical detection of DNA and protein on a single platform

A proof of concept procedure for the electroaddressable covalent immobilization of DNA and protein on arrayed electrodes along with simultaneous detection of multiple bioagents in the same sample solution is described. Carboxyphenyldiazonium was selectively deposited onto five of nine individually addressable electrodes in an array via bias assisted assembly. Amine functionalized DNA probes were covalently coupled to the carboxyl surface via carbodiimide chemistry. This was followed by the covalent immobilization of diazonium-antibody conjugates into the remaining four electrodes via cyclic voltammetry. Simultaneous electrochemical detection of a DNA sequence related to the breast cancer BRCA1 gene and the human cytokine protein interleukin-12, which is a substantial component in the immune system response and attack of tumor cells, is reported. These results demonstrate the possibility of selective patterning of diverse biomolecules on a single device and may have significant implications for future development of microarrays and biosensors.     

Étale exoticity of the Pinchuk surface

In this paper we give a geometric proof for a version of the Pinchuk solution of the Strong Real Jacobian Conjecture. Moreover, we compute the location of the zero sets on the Pinchuk surface of the determinant of the Jacobians of the corresponding étale mappings.     

Bicomponent Microneedle Array Biosensor for Minimally‐Invasive Glutamate Monitoring

This article describes the design of a new and attractive minimally‐invasive bicomponent microneedle sensing device for the electrochemical monitoring of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and glucose. The new device architecture relies on the close integration of solid and hollow microneedles into a single biosensor array device containing multiple microcavities. Such microcavities facilitate the electropolymeric entrapment of the recognition enzyme within each microrecess. The resulting microneedle biosensor array can be employed as a minimally‐invasive on‐body transdermal patch, obviating the extraction/sampling of the biological fluid, thereby simplifying device requirements. The new concept is demonstrated for the electropolymeric entrapment of glutamate oxidase and glucose oxidase within a poly(o‐phenylenediamine) (PPD) thin film. The PPD‐based enzyme entrapment methodology enables the effective rejection of coexisting electroactive interferents without compromising the sensitivity or response time of the device. The resulting microneedle‐based glutamate and glucose biosensors thus exhibit high selectivity, sensitivity, speed, and stability in both buffer and undiluted human serum. High‐fidelity glutamate measurements down to the 10 µM level are obtained in serum. The attractive recess design also serves to protect the enzyme layer upon insertion into the skin. This simple, yet robust microneedle design is well‐suited for diverse biosensing applications in which real‐time metabolite monitoring is a core requirement.     

Learning the geometry of common latent variables using alternating-diffusion

One of the challenges in data analysis is to distinguish between different sources of variability manifested in data. In this paper, we consider the case of multiple sensors measuring the same physical phenomenon, such that the properties of the physical phenomenon are manifested as a hidden common source of variability (which we would like to extract), while each sensor has its own sensor-specific effects (hidden variables which we would like to suppress); the relations between the measurements and the hidden variables are unknown. We present a data-driven method based on alternating products of diffusion operators and show that it extracts the common source of variability. Moreover, we show that it extracts the common source of variability in a multi-sensor experiment as if it were a standard manifold learning algorithm used to analyze a simple single-sensor experiment, in which the common source of variability is the only source of variability.     

Scattering length instability in dipolar Bose-Einstein condensates

We predict a new kind of instability in a Bose-Einstein condensate composed of dipolar particles. Namely, a comparatively weak dipole moment can produce a large, negative two-body scattering length that can collapse the Bose-Einstein condensate. To verify this effect, we validate mean-field solutions to this problem using exact, diffusion Monte Carlo methods. We show that the diffusion Monte Carlo energies are reproduced accurately within a mean-field framework if the variation of the s-wave scattering length with the dipole strength is accounted for properly.