Graphene‐Functionalized 3D‐Carbon Fiber Electrodes – Preparation and Electrochemical Characterization

Graphene nanosheets were produced on the surface of carbon fibers by in situ electrochemical procedure including oxidative and reductive steps to yield first graphene oxide, later converted to graphene. The electrode material composed of graphene‐functionalized carbon fibers was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammery demonstrating superior electrochemical kinetics comparing with the original carbon paper. The interfacial electron transfer rate for the reversible redox process of [Fe(CN)₆]^3?/4? was found ca. 4.5‐fold higher after the electrode modification with the graphene nanosheets. The novel electrode material is suggested as a promising conducting interface for bioelectrocatalytic electrodes used in various electrochemical biosensors and biofuel cells, particularly operating in vivo.     

Effect of laser parameters on properties of surface-alloyed Al substrate with Ni

Experimental investigations were carried out to examine the influence of the spot size and peak-power density of a pulsed Nd:YAG laser on the depth of the alloyed layer, the microstructure and the hardness in laser surface alloying of Al with Ni. It was found that the effect of both the peak-power density and the amount of energy absorbed from the laser beam on the depth of the alloyed layer and hardness must be considered simultaneously. In this work, the hardness of the alloyed layer was found to be 10–15 times the value for base Al.     

Superficial wrinkles in stretched, drying gelatin films

When a thin film of initially hydrated gelatin is allowed to dry from the surface, superficial changes in the structure of the material affect the local mechanical properties of the drying region. If the film is simultaneously subjected to large strain deformation (above 20%), a periodic pattern of wrinkles appears on the surface of the gelatin along the length of the sample in the direction of the applied force. These wrinkles are uniformly distributed on the surface of the gelatin with a wavelength that is much smaller than the sample thickness, which changes with sample composition, aging time, and deformation rate. We investigate these patterns via in situ environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) and provide a theory for their origin.     

Supercontinuum generation with femtosecond optical pulse compression in silicon photonic crystal fibers at 2500 nm

In this paper, femtosecond optical pulses compression and supercontinuum generation in a triangular silicon photonic crystal fiber at 2500 nm are investigated. A region of large minimum anomalous group velocity dispersion, negligible higher order dispersions and unique nonlinearity of silicon are used to demonstrate compression of 100 fs initial input optical pulses to 2.5 fs and ultra-broadband supercontinuum generation with very low input pulse energy over short distances of the fiber.     

Structure of polymeric carbon dioxide CO2-V

The structure of polymeric carbon dioxide (CO2-V) has been solved using synchrotron x-ray powder diffraction, and its evolution followed from 8 to 65 GPa. We compare the experimental results obtained for a 100% CO2 sample and a 1 mol?% CO2/He sample. The latter allows us to produce the polymer in a pure form and study its compressibility under hydrostatic conditions. The high quality of the x-ray data enables us to solve the structure directly from experiments. The latter is isomorphic to the β-cristobalite phase of SiO2 with the space group I42d. Carbon and oxygen atoms are arranged in CO4 tetrahedral units linked by oxygen atoms at the corners. The bulk modulus determined under hydrostatic conditions, B0=136(10) GPa, is much smaller than previously reported. The comparison of our experimental findings with theoretical calculations performed in the present and previous studies shows that density functional theory very well describes polymeric CO2.     

A numerical approach based on the meshless collocation method in elastodynamics

In this paper, a collocation technique with the modified equilibrium on line method （ELM） for imposition of Neumann （natural） boundary conditions is presented for solving the two-dimensional problems of linear elastic body vibrations. In the modified ELM, equilibrium over the lines on the natural boundary is satisfied as Neumann boundary condition equations. In other words, the natural boundary conditions are satisfied naturally by using the weak formulation. The performance of the modified version of the ELM is studied for collocation methods based on two different ways to construct meshless shape functions： moving least squares approximation and radial basis point interpolation. Numerical examples of two-dimensional free and forced vibration analyses show that by using the modified ELM, more stable and accurate results would be obtained in comparison with the direct collocation method.     

Regiocontrolled synthesis of the trimeric quinone framework of conocurvone

[reaction: see text] The trimeric quinone framework of conocurvone is crucial for its potent anti-HIV activity. A new synthesis of trimeric quinones based on stepwise substitution of the halogens in 2,3-dihaloquinones by hydroxyquinone anions is described. Chlorinated biquinones are key intermediates that undergo regiospecific substitution reactions to yield trimeric quinone monomethyl ethers.     

On the Stress Field of a Nonlinear Elastic Solid Torus with a Toroidal Inclusion

Standard measures of local deformation such as deformation gradient, strain, elastic deformation, and plastic deformation are dimensionless. However, many macroscopic and submacroscopic geometrical changes observed in continuous bodies result in the formation of zones across whose boundaries significant changes in geometry can occur. In order to predict the sizes of such zones and their influence on material response, theories of elasticity and plasticity have been employed in which second gradients of deformation, gradients of strain, as well as gradients of elastic or of plastic deformation are taken into account. The theory of structured deformations provides additive decompositions of first deformation gradient and of second deformation gradient, valid for large deformations of any material, in which each term has a multiscale geometrical interpretation corresponding to the presence or absence of submacroscopic disarrangements (non-smooth geometrical changes such as slips and void formation). This article provides a field theory that broadens the earlier field theory, elasticity with disarrangements, by including energetic contributions from submacroscopic “gradient-disarrangements” (limits of averages of jumps in gradients of approximating deformations) and by treating particular kinematical conditions as internal constraints. An explicit formula is obtained showing the manner in which submacroscopic gradient-disarrangements determine a defectiveness density analogous to the dislocation density in theories of plasticity. A version of the new field theory incorporates this defectiveness density to obtain a counterpart of strain-gradient plasticity, while another instance of elasticity with gradient-disarrangements recovers an instance of strain-gradient elasticity with symmetric Cauchy stress. All versions of the new theory included here are compatible with the Second Law of Thermodynamics.     

Reducing negative effects of quadratic norm regularization on image reconstruction in electrical impedance tomography

Employing the conventional quadratic norm to regularize the inverse problem in electrical impedance tomography often stabilizes the solution at the expense of imposing some smoothness on the reconstructed image. This study proposes a novel multi-regularized approach in order for quadratic norm regularization to reduce its deleterious effects on the reconstructed image. The amounts of regularization exerted on the finite elements over the mesh are not kept constant, but are changed depending on either the sensitivity of the boundary measurements to the finite elements, or the anomaly positioning. The results show that the proposed schemes appreciably improve the image with regard to spatial resolution, artifact, and shape preservation. These schemes considerably reduce the unappealing sensitivity of the inverse solution to the regularization parameter changes as well.     

Finite-element simulation of ultrasound brain surgery: effects of frequency, focal pressure, and scanning path in bone-heating reduction

In this paper, the finite-element method (FEM) simulation of ultrasound brain surgery is presented. The overheating problem of the post-target bone, which is one of the limiting factors for a successful ultrasound brain surgery, is considered. In order to decrease bone heating, precise choices of frequency, focal pressure, and scanning path are needed. The effect of variations in the mentioned scanning parameters is studied by means of the FEM. The resulting pressure and temperature distributions of a transdural ultrasound brain surgery are simulated by employing the FEM for solving the Helmholtz and bioheat equations in the context of a two-dimensional MRI-based brain model. Our results show that for a suitable value of the frequency, an increase in focal pressure leads to a decrease in the required duration of the treatment and is associated with less heating of the surrounding normal tissue. In addition, it is shown that at a threshold focal pressure, the target temperature reaches toxic levels whereas the temperature rise in the bone is minimal. Wave reflections from sinus cavities, which result in constructive interference with the incoming waves, are one of the reasons for overheating of the bone and can be avoided by choosing a suitable scanning path.