Three-dimensional vibration analysis of a torus with circular cross section

The free vibration characteristics of a torus with a circular cross section are studied by using the three-dimensional, small-strain, elasticity theory. A set of three-dimensional orthogonal coordinates system, comprising the polar coordinate (r, theta) at each circular cross section and the circumferential coordinate phi around the ring, is developed. Each of the displacement components u(r), v(theta), and w(phi) in the r, theta, and phi directions, respectively, is taken as a product of the Chebyshev polynomials in the r direction and the trigonometric functions in the theta and phi directions. Eigenfrequencies and vibration mode shapes have been obtained via a three-dimensional displacement-based extremum energy principle. Upper bound convergence of the first seven eigenfrequencies accurate to at least six significant figures is obtained by using only a few terms of the admissible functions. The eigenfrequency responses due to variation of the ratio of the radius of the ring centroidal axis to the cross-sectional radius are investigated in detail. Very accurate eigenfrequencies and deformed mode shapes of the three-dimensional vibration are presented. All major modes such as flexural thickness-shear modes, in-plane stretching modes, and torsional modes are included in the analysis. The results may serve as a benchmark reference for validating other computational techniques for the problem.     

Inhibitors of plasmin that extend into both the S and S' binding sites: cooperative interactions between S1 and S2

A new procedure for the synthesis of cyclohexanone-based inhibitors of serine proteases is reported. In this procedure the reactive ketone functionality is carried through the synthesis in masked form as a TBDMS-protected alcohol. Deprotection followed by oxidation of the alcohol generates the final form of the inhibitor. Two new inhibitors, which interact with the S1-S3 and S2' subsites of plasmin, are synthesized using this procedure. Inhibitors 1 and 2 have IC50 values against plasmin of 20 and 24 microM, respectively. The inhibition studies show that cooperative binding of inhibitors in the S1 and S2 subsites of plasmin is important for determining inhibitor selectivity.     

TS-1 zeolite microengineered reactors for 1-pentene epoxidation

A zeolite-based microengineered reactor was fabricated and tested for 1-pentene epoxidation over titanium silicalite-1 (TS-1) catalyst, which has been selectively incorporated within the microreactor channel using a new synthesis procedure.     

Study of single cells by using capillary electrophoresis and native fluorescence detection

Capillary electrophoresis is known for its compatibility with biological materials and with small samples. It is an ideal tool for the study of single biological cells. Either whole cells or the material secreted from cells can be quantified. By continuously flowing a chemical stimulant over an immobilized cell inside the entrance of the capillary, one can even record the temporal progression of cellular secretion with sub-second resolution. The use of native fluorescence detection in such experiments provides a sensitive, rapid, non-intrusive and quantitative probe of important biomolecules such as catecholamines and proteins.     

Target detection by an echolocating harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena)

Two echolocation experiments are described. They were conducted on the same harbor porpoise housed in a sea pen, one year apart at Neeltje Jans, The Netherlands. The aims were to determine the target detection ability of an echolocating harbor porpoise, with the ultimate goal to predict the distance at which harbor porpoises can detect fishing nets. In experiment 1, the maximum distance at which the 3-year-old porpoise could detect a 7.62-cm diameter water-filled stainless-steel sphere by echolocation was determined psychophysically. The 50%-current detection threshold was reached when the sphere was at a distance of 26 m from the porpoise's rostrum. In experiment 2, conducted a year later, the maximum detection distance for a 5.08-cm water-filled stainless-steel sphere was 15.9 m. The target strengths of both targets were measured using simulated harbor porpoise echolocation signals and the results, coupled with transmission-loss calculations, indicated that the echo levels received by the porpoise with the targets at the threshold ranges in the two experiments were only 1.3 dB apart. Together with information on the target strengths of various fishing nets, the results of the present study can be used to predict the distance at which the nets can be detected by harbor porpoises.     

Plumes and waves in two-dimensional turbulent thermal convection

We have conducted a high-resolution, two-dimensional direct numerical simulation of Rayleigh-Bénard convection with stress-free and periodic boundary conditions at a Rayleigh (Ra) number of 10(8) and Prandtl (Pr) number of unity. An aspect-ratio three box has been considered. A single cell has been used as the initial condition. First, the flow develops into time-dependent convection with a strong asymmetry and highly convoluted thermal plumes delineating a large-scale circulation. Smaller thermal plumes detach from the boundary layer and extend over the entire cell, creating a local inversion of the temperature gradient adjacent to the boundary layers. Then the conditions leading to the formation of internal waves are fulfilled, as the local Richardson number decreases sufficiently small to cross the linear threshold of Ri=0.25. Together with the strong shear, convective rolls with a Kelvin-Helmholtz wavelike character are produced. The secondary boundary layer itself becomes unstable and produces smaller plumes. At later times, the large-scale circulation is destroyed and the internal waves disappear. A Reynolds number, based on the global scale, of Re=500, is attained at this stage. Only isolated thermal plumes and vortices are present. Thus, internal waves can be generated at finite Prandtl number fluids for sufficiently high Ra in the presence of a large-scale circulation. Spectral analysis reveals that the kinetic energy decays with a logarithmic slope of -3, while the logarithmic slope of the thermal variance has a value of around -5 / 3.     

The rotating bucket of sand: Experiment and theory

The surface shape of a bucket of sand rotating about its cylindrical axis is studied experimentally and theoretically. Focusing on fast time scales on which surface shape is determined by avalanches, we identify three regimes of behavior. At intermediate and high frequencies, the surface shape is always at its critical shape determined by the Coulomb yield condition. The low frequency behavior displays an unexpected subcritical region at the center of the bucket. To understand this central region, we adapt a continuum model of surface flow developed by Bouchaud et al. and Mehta et al. The model indicates that the subcritical region is due to a nonlinear instability mechanism. (c) 1999 American Institute of Physics.     

Determination of adriamycin and daunorubicin in urine by high-performance liquid chromatography with laser fluorometric detection

A separation and detection scheme is presented for the determination of the antitumor drugs adriamycin and daunorubicin in human urine. Separation is accompished by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and the drugs are detected down to the low picograms level by laser excited fluoresence using a unique fiber optic based flow-cell. Excellent detector selectivity and linearity are reported, and some of the factors influencing the performance of the detector are discussed. Possible extension of the procedure to other biologically important determinations are mentioned.     

Generalized quantum measurements and approximate simultaneous measurements of noncommuting observables

The importance of generalized quantum measurements in quantum optics and precision measurements is indicated. These measurements are formally realizable within conventional quantum mechanics and can often be interpreted as approximate simultaneous measurements of noncommuting observables. An uncertainty relation more stringent than the usual one is derived for these measurements.