Free vibration analysis of ribbed plates by a combined analytical–numerical method

An easy to code and computationally efficient analytical–numerical method for quick prediction of the modal characteristics of rectangular ribbed plates is presented. The approach is suitable for low-frequency free vibration analysis of thin rectangular plates reinforced by a small number of light stiffeners. The assumed-modes method is used to formulate the equations of motion of the plate and the rib separately. The motion of the built-up structure is then obtained by enforcing appropriate continuity conditions between the two. The resulting sparse generalized eigenvalue problem can be profitably solved by reliable methods to calculate only a small set of selected eigenmodes. An alternative formulation is also proposed for the single-ribbed case which leads to a compact analytical form of the frequency equation whose solution can be easily determined either graphically or numerically. The present method demonstrates good agreement with published results and standard finite element analysis.     

Identical particles, projectors and probabilities

In this Letter we reanalyze the old problem of the probability interpretation of the wave function in the case of identical particles. It is shown that, although the construction of observable single particle position (or momentum) operators is not easy nor natural, it is possible to bypass the problem through the construction of projectors that make probability computations completely systematic, easy to understand and adequate to the spirit of Quantum Mechanics.     

Natural α-Glucosidase and Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B Inhibitors: A Source of Scaffold Molecules for Synthesis of New Multitarget Antidiabetic Drugs

Diabetes mellitus (DM) represents a group of metabolic disorders that leads to acute and long-term serious complications and is considered a worldwide sanitary emergence. Type 2 diabetes (T2D) represents about 90% of all cases of diabetes, and even if several drugs are actually available for its treatment, in the long term, they show limited effectiveness. Most traditional drugs are designed to act on a specific biological target, but the complexity of the current pathologies has demonstrated that molecules hitting more than one target may be safer and more effective. The purpose of this review is to shed light on the natural compounds known as α-glucosidase and Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) dual-inhibitors that could be used as lead compounds to generate new multitarget antidiabetic drugs for treatment of T2D.     

Micellization Phenomena in Semicrystalline Block Copolymers: Reflexive and Critical Views on the Formation of Cylindrical Micelles

Investigations on the self‐assembly of block copolymers in solution have in some way a less well‐studied history than the study of their phase separation in the solid state, and many aspects are yet not completely understood. Here we focus on the behavior of a specific class of copolymers, namely semicrystalline block copolymers, capable of forming cylindrical aggregates in a solvent selective for the non‐crystalline, complementary block. A common model of micellization is proposed, in principle applicable to most of these copolymeric systems.

     

Enthalpy Relaxation of Polymers: On the Possible Role of Liquid‐Crystalline Order

Isothermal physical ageing experiments were performed by differential scanning calorimetry to probe the enthalpy relaxation in a methacrylate copolymer carrying azobenzene mesogenic side groups. Further evidence of the ability of the configurational entropy model developed by Gomez Ribelles in describing the structural relaxation mechanism of polymers is provided. The trend of the equilibrium structural relaxation time was also determined as a function of the reduced temperature T_g/T. The comparison of the aging dynamics of the copolymer with those of previous analogous copolymers containing different amounts of azobenzene counits allowed us to highlight effects of the liquid‐crystalline nematic order on the properties of structural relaxation.

     

Dendronized Polymers via Macromonomer Route in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Radical polymerizations from third to fifth generation macromonomers were conducted in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂). It was found that all monomers were not soluble in such a medium, and reactions occurred in the CO₂‐swollen monomer matrices. Despite the expected severe diffusion limitations, very high conversions and molecular weights were obtained. It is believed that the plasticization effect induced by the CO₂ plays a key role in these surprising findings. Scanning force microscopical analyses confirmed that mainly linear dendronized polymers were obtained and therefore chain transfer to polymer is virtually irrelevant.

     

Study of post-growth annealing and Ga coverage effects in low-density GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots grown by modified droplet epitaxy

We present a detailed analysis of the Ga coverage and of the post-growth annealing effects on the optical properties of very-low-density self-assembled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots grown by modified droplet epitaxy. Through theoretical calculation of the QD electronic states, including thermally activated Al–Ga interdiffusion processes, we were able to relate our spectroscopic observations to QD structural properties.