Study on the Parameters Influencing the Accuracy and Reproducibility of Dynamic Pressure Measurements at the Surface of a Rigid Body During Water Impact

Water wave slamming is known as one of the most important load which marine constructions encounter. Especially the large and spiky local pressures moving fast over the body surface during a slamming event can be harmful for the structure. Analytical and numerical research on these pressure loads has already been performed, but however, quantitative experimental information necessary for validation of these studies is restricted. This lack in experimental data may originate from the fact that accurate pressure measurements are difficult to perform. This paper investigates the reason why this type of measurements is so difficult by identifying the parameters affecting the pressure recordings during water impact. According to the authors’ knowledge, no other paper is available in the open literature which investigates all these influencing factors. It has been observed that the pressure signal sampling rate, sensor position, water temperature, object surface conditions and water surface conditions all have an effect on the measured pressures. Only by controlling these parameters, accurate and reproducible results are possible. Precautions in order to meet this goal are formulated.     

Synergic effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles towards immunosensing of ricin with carbon nanotube-gold nanoparticles-chitosan modified screen printed electrode

An amperometric immunosensor for the specific detection of Ricinus communis is reported. Screen printed electrodes (SPEs) were modified with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) loaded multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)-chitosan (Ch) film. The ratio of MWCNT and GNP was optimised to get best electrochemically active electrode. Sandwich immunoassay format was used for the immunosensing of ricin. The revealing antibodies tagged with the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (ALP) converts the substrate 1-naphthyl phosphate into 1-naphthol that was determined with the amperometric technique. The amperometric current obtained was correlated with the concentration of ricin. The prepared GNP-MWCNT-Ch-SPE showed high stability due to the Ch film, short response time with good reproducibility and increased shelf life of the electrodes immobilised with antibodies. The electrochemical activity of the electrode improved because of optimization of composition of CNTs and gold nanoparticles. Under the optimal conditions, the modified electrode showed a wide linear response to the concentration of ricin in the range of 2.5-25 ng mL(-1) with a limit of detection of 2.1 ng mL(-1) and with a relative standard deviation of 5.1% and storage life of 32 days.     

Covalent Scrambling in Porous Polyarylthioethers through a Stepwise SNAr for Tunable Bandgap and Porosity

Porous poly(aryl thioether)s offer stability and electronic tunability by robust sulfur-aryl conjugated architecture, but synthetic access is hindered due to limited control over the nucleophilic nature of sulfides and the air sensitivity of aromatic thiols. Here, we report a simple, one-pot, inexpensive, regioselective synthesis of highly porous poly(aryl thioether)s through polycondensation of perfluoroaromatic compounds with sodium sulfide. The unprecedented temperature-dependent para-directing formation of thioether linkages leads to a stepwise transition of the polymer extension into a network, thereby allowing fine control of the porosity and optical band gaps. The obtained porous organic polymers with ultra-microporosity (<1 nm) and sulfur as the surface functional groups show size-dependent separation of organic micropollutants and selective removal of mercury ions from water. Our findings offer easy access to poly(aryl thioether)s with accessible sulfur functionalities and higher complexity, which will help in realizing advanced synthetic designs in applications such as adsorption, (photo)catalysis, and (opto)electronics.     

An unusual base-controlled equilibrium between monomeric and dimeric nickel(IV)–dimethylglyoxime complexes

Ionic nickel(IV)–dimethylglyoxime complexes have been prepared by oxidation of nickel(II)–dimethylglyoxime in alkaline solutions with ferricyanide. A novel base-controlled equilibrium is demonstrated between the monomeric and dimeric nickel(IV)–dimethylglyoxime complexes in solution. The oxidation state of nickel as +4 is confirmed by titration with hydroxylamine salt. The results obtained from the UV/VIS spectrophotometry, titrimetry, infrared and NMR studies are discussed.     

Amperometric immunosensor for the detection of Vibrio cholerae O1 using disposable screen-printed electrodes.

A disposable amperometric immunosensor was studied for the rapid detection of Vibrio cholerae (V. cholerae), the causative agent of cholera, employing an indirect sandwich enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) principle. Screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) were fabricated (by using commercial and homemade carbon inks), electrochemically characterized and the assay conditions were optimized for capturing antibodies and antigen. Whole cell lysate (WCL) of V. cholerae was used to raise antibodies in rabbits and mice. The antibodies raised against WCL of V. cholerae were found to be specific, and no cross reactivity was observed with other enteric bacteria. 1-Naphthyl phosphate was used as a substrate with the amperometric detection of its enzymatic hydrolysis product 1-naphthol at a potential of +400 mV vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode. A comparison between the amperometric detection technique and the standard ELISA was made in terms of the total assay time, the amount of biological materials used and the sensitivity of detection. The minimum detection limit of the amperometric immunosensor for V. cholerae was found to be 10(5) cells/ml in 55 min, while ELISA detected 10(6) cells/ml in 4 h.     

Generalization of an Energetic Optimality Condition for Nonconservative Systems

ABSTRACT

An optimality condition based on strain energy densities, derived by earlier investigators, has been generalized. The generalized condition for an optimum structure is in bilinear form. The concept of the adjoint system is utilized. The resulting condition is applied to the minimization of the mass of a column loaded by a tangential follower force. Some results are presented.