Studies and Characterisation of Some Nd Laser Glass Rods Using Different Q-Switching Techniques

Using various Q switching techniques the performance potential of some Nd: glass rods have been analysed and compared with that of a standard rod. Second harmonics generated from such a Q-switched system have been separated from the fundamental using suitable dispersive element.     

Combining Image Compression with Digital Image Correlation

Experimental Mechanics - Digital image correlation (DIC) is a powerful experimental technique to determine displacement and strain fields. DIC methods usually require a large number of high...     

Absorption and photoluminescence studies of the temperature dependence of exciton life time in lattice-matched and strained quantum well systems

We present systematic studies of the temperature dependence of linewidths and lifetimes of excitonic transitions in quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy using both photoluminescence(PL) and optical absorption. The temperature ranged from 6K to room temperature. Samples under investigation were lattice-matched GaAs/AlGaAs and InGaAs/InAlAs, and strained InGaAs/GaAs and InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum wellssystems. In addition, the effects of well-size variations in GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells were measured and analyzed. In all cases we were able to observe the excitonic transitions up to room temperature. By a careful fitting of the experimental data we separated the exciton transitions from band-to-band transitions. By deconvoluting the excitonic transitions we obtained the homogeneous and inhomogeneous linewidths. The homogeneous linewidths were used to calculate the exciton lifetimes as a function of temperature using the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. We found the lifetime decreases significantly with temperature and increases with increasing well size. These results are interpreted in terms of the exciton-phonon interaction and are expected to be very useful for the design of semiconductor optical devices operating at different temperatures.     

Fracto-emission from neat epoxy resin

Fracto-emission is the emission of particles (e.g. electrons, photons, ions, neutral species) due to crack growth in materials. These emissions can be related to a number of fracture related phenomena including microcracking, crack speed of dynamic crack growth, locus of fracture (in filled materials), and potentially the extent of crack branching. Here, we examine the emission of electrons, positive ions, and photons during and following the fracture of a neat epoxy resin subjected to tensile and tensile impact loading in vacuum. Experiments which detect correlations of crack tip position and emission intensity show that the emissions occur during and following fracture. We also illustrate that observed variations of the fracture surface morphology under different loading conditions correlated with characteristics of the photon and charged particle emission. For example, regions of the surface exhibiting the highest degree of surface roughness resulted in more intense emission.     

Antimicrobial Activity of Quercetin: An Approach to Its Mechanistic Principle

Quercetin, an essential plant flavonoid, possesses a variety of pharmacological activities. Extensive literature investigates its antimicrobial activity and possible mechanism of action. Quercetin has been shown to inhibit the growth of different Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria as well as fungi and viruses. The mechanism of its antimicrobial action includes cell membrane damage, change of membrane permeability, inhibition of synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins, reduction of expression of virulence factors, mitochondrial dysfunction, and preventing biofilm formation. Quercetin has also been shown to inhibit the growth of various drug-resistant microorganisms, thereby suggesting its use as a potent antimicrobial agent against drug-resistant strains. Furthermore, certain structural modifications of quercetin have sometimes been shown to enhance its antimicrobial activity compared to that of the parent molecule. In this review, we have summarized the antimicrobial activity of quercetin with a special focus on its mechanistic principle. Therefore, this review will provide further insights into the scientific understanding of quercetin’s mechanism of action, and the implications for its use as a clinically relevant antimicrobial agent.     

Dielectric elastomer composites

The coupled electromechanical response of electroactive dielectric composites is examined in the setting of small deformation and moderate electric field. In this setting, the mechanical stress depends quadratically on the electric field through a combination of material electrostriction and Maxwell stress. It is rigorously shown that the macroscopic mechanical stress of the composite also depends quadratically on the macroscopic electric field. It is further demonstrated that the effective electromechanical coupling can be computed from the examination of the uncoupled electrostatic and elastic problems. The resulting expressions suggest that the effective electromechanical coupling may be very large for microstructures that lead to significant fluctuations of the electric field. This idea is explored through examples involving sequential laminates. It is demonstrated that the electromechanical coupling – the macroscopic strain induced in the composite through the application of a unit electric field – can be amplified by many orders of magnitude by either a combination of constituent materials with high contrast or by making a highly complex and polydisperse microstructure. These findings suggest a path forward for overcoming the main limitation hindering the development of electroactive polymers.     

Structure of cholest-5-en-3β-oxy-5-bromopentane by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 130 K

Cholest-5-en-3β-oxy-5-bromopentane (1) and cholest-5-en-3β-oxy-11-bromoundecane (2), key precursors for the synthesis of novel cationic amphiphiles based on cholesterol, have been synthesized and characterized by ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. Thermal disorder and effect of length of the bromoalkyl segment on the crystal structure have been investigated. Possible molecular level explanation of the unusual alternating s-trans–gauche conformation of the bromopentyl side chain of (1) has been presented.     

Molecular simulation of thermophysical properties of aromatic polymers containing oxetane ring in the main chain

Molecular simulation techniques have been applied to newly synthesized aromatic polymers, containing oxetane rings in the main chain, to characterize the shape of rod‐like macromolecules. Single chains and periodic unit cells of a series of aromatic polymers with degree of polymerization 15 were used in the simulations, in accordance with the experimentally obtained one. The total potential energy was minimized and then NVE and NPT molecular dynamics simulations were performed for 1,000 ps at 11 temperatures between 10 and 1,000 K. The coefficient of asymmetry was calculated from the computer‐generated structures. The predictive capability of the NPT molecular dynamics simulation and Polymer Properties modules of Cerius² were used to estimate the orientational properties (order parameter), glass transition temperature, cohesive energy, and decomposition temperature of the polymers simulated. In general, there is a good‐to‐excellent agreement between simulated results and available experimental data of the above investigated properties. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 37: 2334–2352, 1999     

Strong rotating flow in stationary droplets in low power budget using wire electrode configuration

We explore a simple strategy of generating strong rotating flow in a stationary surface‐droplet, using an intricate interplay of local electrical and thermal fields. Wire electrodes are employed to generate on‐spot heating without necessitating any elaborate micro‐fabrication, which causes strong local gradients in electrical properties to induce mobile charges into the droplet. Applying a low voltage (～10 V), strong rotational velocity of the order of mm/s can be achieved in the system, within the standard operating ranges of operating and geometrical parameters. Further, altering the diameter of the electrode, vortices can be tuned locally or globally in low power budget, without incurring any droplet oscillations. These results may turn out to be of immense consequence in enhancing micromixing in a plethora of droplet based applications ranging from thermal management to medical diagnostics to be potentially employed in resource‐limited settings.