Buckling of a Timoshenko beam on elastic foundation with uncertain input data

A monotone dependence of the critical buckling load of a simplysupported Timoshenko–Mindlin beam both on the shear correctionfactor and on the stiffness of foundation is proved. Then theworst-scenario method is employed to find the ‘most dangerous’input data.     

State of the Art in the Field of Electronic and Bioelectronic Tongues – Towards the Analysis of Wines

This review compares various types of (bio)electronic tongues. The design and principles of potentiometric and voltammetric electronic tongues are discussed together with applications in food and environmental analysis. Different approaches towards bioelectronic tongue are presented. Several methods for evaluation and interpretation of the measured data are described. Finally, the potential of such devices for analysis of wine is discussed.     

On the dynamics of parabolic equations describing diffusion, convection and a chemical reaction

A tubular nonisothermal-nonadiabatic chemical reactor with a consecutive reactions described by a set of three nonlinear parabolic equations, shows a sequence of period-doubling bifurcations of a “limit cycle”. A numerical examination of the model reveals that complex periodic and irregular oscillations are possible. With increasing value of the Peclet number regular and irregular oscillations are suppressed and disappear. From the computed results may be informed that for reacting systems nonlinear parabolic equations may feature similar qualitative properties as the ordinary differential equations. The results of this numerical study may be used to explain turbulization of laminar flames.     

Post-Buckling Range of Plates in Axial Compression with Uncertain Initial Geometric Imperfections

The method of reliable solutions alias the worst scenario method is applied to the problem of von Karman equations with uncertain initial deflection. Assuming two-mode initial and total deflections and using Galerkin approximations, the analysis leads to a system of two nonlinear algebraic equations with one or two uncertain parameters-amplitudes of initial deflections. Numerical examples involve (i) minimization of lower buckling loads and (ii) maximization of the maximal mean reduced stress.     

Biotinylation of quantum dots for application in fluoroimmunoassays with biotin-avidin amplification

A competitive microplate fluoroimmunoassay was developed for the determination of human serum albumin in urine. It is based on the use of biotinylated CdTe quantum dots (QDs) whose synthesis is optimised in terms of storage stability, purification, and signal-to-noise ratio. The bioconjugated QDs were characterised by gel chromatography and gel electrophoresis. Storage stability and quantum yield were investigated. The excitation/emission wavelengths are 360/620?nm. The immunoassay of human serum albumin in urine has a working range from 1.7 to 10?μg.mL^?1, and the limit of detection is 1.0?μg.mL^?1.

Isotachophoretic purification of nanoparticles: tuning optical properties of quantum dots

Synthesized nanoparticles often require fine fractionation according to shape, dimension, mass, chemical composition, charge, and other properties in order to become suitable for practical use. Quantum dots (QDs) are luminescent nanocrystals with narrow emission peaks. This property has been widely utilized for the multiplexed sensing and barcoding of microparticles. QDs with narrower emission peaks are preferred for such applications. The width of the emission peaks can be significantly reduced after purification. A newly developed preparative isotachophoretic method employs the dependence of spectral properties and electrophoretic mobility on the diameter of QDs. Separated fractions of QDs revealed narrower emission peaks (72% of the original width) and improved quantum yield (two-fold). The usefulness of the developed isotachophoresis for purification and analysis of other nanostructures, for example, plasmonic nanoparticles and nanobioconjugates, is expected, too.     

On Exact Results in the Finite Element Method

We prove that the finite element method for one-dimensional problems yields no discretization error at nodal points provided the shape functions are appropriately chosen. Then we consider a biharmonic problem with mixed boundary conditions and the weak solution u. We show that the Galerkin approximation of u based on the so-called biharmonic finite elements is independent of the values of u in the interior of any subelement.