Formulations for Numerically Approximating Hyperbolic Systems Governing Sediment Transport

This paper investigates the accurate numerical solution of the equations governing bed-load sediment transport. Two approaches: a steady and an unsteady approach are discussed and five different formulations within these frameworks are derived. A flux-limited version of Roe's scheme is used with the different formulations on a channel test problem and the results compared.     

Efficient plagiarism detection for large code repositories

Unauthorized re‐use of code by students is a widespread problem in academic institutions, and raises liability issues for industry. Manual plagiarism detection is time‐consuming, and current effective plagiarism detection approaches cannot be easily scaled to very large code repositories. While there are practical text‐based plagiarism detection systems capable of working with large collections, this is not the case for code‐based plagiarism detection. In this paper, we propose techniques for detecting plagiarism in program code using text similarity measures and local alignment. Through detailed empirical evaluation on small and large collections of programs, we show that our approach is highly scalable while maintaining similar levels of effectiveness to that of the popular JPlag and MOSS systems. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Isotopic approximations and interval solids

Given a nonsingular compact two-manifold F without boundary, we present methods for establishing a family of surfaces which can approximate F so that each approximant is ambient isotopic to F. The methods presented here offer broad theoretical guidance for a rich class of ambient isotopic approximations, for applications in graphics, animation and surface reconstruction. They are also used to establish sufficient conditions for an interval solid to be ambient isotopic to the solid it is approximating. Furthermore, the normals of the approximant are compared to the normals of the original surface, as these approximating normals play prominent roles in many graphics algorithms.The methods are based on global theoretical considerations and are compared to existing local methods. Practical implications of these methods are also presented. For the global case, a differential surface analysis is performed to find a positive number ρ so that the offsets F_o(±ρ) of F at distances ±ρ are nonsingular. In doing so, a normal tubular neighborhood, F(ρ), of F is constructed. Then, each approximant of F lies inside F(ρ). Comparisons between these global and local constraints are given.     

Organic dyes containing fluorenylidene functionalized phenothiazine donors as sensitizers for dye sensitized solar cells

Two new organic sensitizers featuring fluorenylidene decoration on the phenothiazine donor have been synthesized and characterized as sensitizers for nanocrystalline TiO₂-based dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The dyes possess cyanoacrylic acid as acceptor/anchoring group and a conjugation pathway composed of fluorene and thiophene. Introduction of the fluorenylidene moiety on phenothiazine enhances the optical density of the dyes while the extension of conjugation by thiophene insertion red-shifts the absorption peak originating from the intramolecular charge transfer from phenothiazine to cyanoacrylic acid. The ground and excited state oxidation potentials of the fluorenylidene-containing dyes are upwardly shifted when compared to the parent dyes indicating a π-delocalized donor segment. The electronic properties were supported by density functional theoretical computations. Among the DSSCs fabricated, the dye (5a) having fluorene and thiophene in the spacer resulted higher power conversion efficiency (3.31 %) than the corresponding bithiophene analog (5b, 2.83 %) attributable to the relatively high electron life time and enhanced resistance for recombination in the former.     

Development of a directly correlated Raman and uHPLC-MS content uniformity method for dry powder inhalers through statistical design,chemometrics and mathematical modeling

Context: Content uniformity (CU) is a critical quality attribute measured and monitored throughout the development and commercial supply of pharmaceutical products. Traditional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods are time-consuming in both sample preparation and analysis. Thus, a rapid, nondestructive and preparation free spectroscopy based method such as Raman is preferred.

Objective: Multiple mathematical algorithms were used to establish robust and directly correlated Raman and ultra-HPLC-mass spectrometry (uHPLC-MS) CU methods for the rapid analysis of blends and agglomerates formulated for dry powder inhalers (DPIs).

Materials and Methods: Model samples included blends of caffeine and lactose; albuterol and lactose; and albuterol and lactose agglomerates. Design of experiments (DoE) was employed to optimize Raman spectra. Multivariate curve resolution (MCR) was leveraged to assess Raman method robustness. Mathematical modeling provided direct method to method correlation by allowing samples to be scanned first for Raman spectra and then dissolved for uHPLC-MS analysis. Several chemometric models were developed and evaluated for the quantitative analysis of CU.

Results: The DoE revealed Raman power and exposure time were negatively correlated when optimizing albuterol and caffeine spectra but positively correlated for lactose. MCR revealed regions in which small changes to power and time resulted in an 8–10% change in concentration predictions. A PCR model worked well for the analysis of caffeine blend samples and a PLS model worked best for both albuterol blends and agglomerates.

Discussion and Conclusion: Utilization of DoE, chemometrics and mathematical modeling provided a robust and directly correlated CU method for DPIs.     

In Situ Grazing-Incidence Wide-Angle Scattering Reveals Mechanisms for Phase Distribution and Disorientation in 2D Halide Perovskite Films

2D hybrid halide perovskites with the formula (A′)₂(A)_n-1Pb_nI_3n+1 have remarkable stability and promising efficiency in photovoltaic and optoelectronic devices, yet fundamental understanding of film formation, key to optimizing these devices, is lacking. Here, in situ grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS) is used to monitor film formation during spin-coating. This elucidates the general film formation mechanism of 2D halide perovskites during one-step spin-coating. There are three stages of film formation: sol–gel, oriented 3D, and 2D. Three precursor phases form during the sol–gel stage and transform to perovskite, first giving a highly oriented 3D-like phase at the air/liquid interface followed by subsequent nucleations forming slightly less oriented 2D perovskite. Furthermore, heating before crystallization leads to fewer nucleations and faster removal of the precursors, improving orientation. This outlines the primary causes of phase distribution and perpendicular orientation in 2D perovskite films and paves the way for rationally designed film fabrication techniques.     

An evaluation of the mechanical performance of extruded wheat starch loose fill

During the distribution process, products are continuously exposed to dynamic forces resulting from vehicle vibrations as well as drops and shocks from various types of handling. In order to reduce the adverse effects of such loads, protective packaging or cushioning materials are used. Engineered packaging materials are generally petroleum based (plastics) and present significant environmental concerns after their disposal. The use of environmentally friendly, bio‐compostable, alternatives is a logical development; however, if the salient protective characteristics of these materials are not well established, their use may lead to greater losses and a larger environmental impact through product loss. This paper introduces a comprehensive approach for the mechanical characterisation of alternative cushioning materials, which includes the effects of environmental conditions. The procedure is used to compare the performance of loose fill starch beads with a commonly used engineering cushioning material, namely medium density, closed cell polyethylene. The results show that the starch beads can offer a viable alternative to the engineered cushioning materials as they provide reasonable overall cushioning character, albeit over a narrower stress range when compared with the polyethylene cushions. The loose fill was also shown to perform in terms of vibration damping and resistance to sustained dynamic loads for low static stress levels.     

A Highly Translatable Dual-arm Local Delivery Strategy To Achieve Widespread Therapeutic Coverage in Healthy and Tumor-bearing Brain Tissues

Drug delivery nanoparticles (NPs) based entirely on materials generally recognized as safe that provide widespread parenchymal distribution following intracranial administration via convection-enhanced delivery (CED) are introduced. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs are coated with various poloxamers, including F68, F98, or F127, via physical adsorption to render particle surfaces non-adhesive, thereby resisting interactions with brain extracellular matrix. F127-coated PLGA (F127/PLGA) NPs provide markedly greater distribution in healthy rat brains compared to uncoated NPs and widespread coverage in orthotopically-established brain tumors. Distribution analysis of variously-sized F127/PLGA NPs determines the average rat brain tissue porosity to be between 135 and 170 nm while revealing unprecedented brain coverage of larger F127/PLGA NPs with an aid of hydraulic pressure provided by CED. Importantly, F127/PLGA NPs can be lyophilized for long-term storage without compromising their ability to penetrate the brain tissue. Further, 65- and 200-nm F127/PLGA NPs lyophilized-reconstituted and administered in a moderately hyperosmolar infusate solution show further enhance particle dissemination in the brain via osmotically-driven enlargement of the brain tissue porosity. Combination of F127/PLGA NPs and osmotic tissue modulation provides a means with a clear regulatory path to maximize the brain distribution of large NPs that enable greater drug loading and prolong drug release.