Capacity solution for a perturbed nonlinear coupled system

We shall give the existence of a capacity solution to a nonlinear elliptic coupled system, whose unknowns are the temperature inside a semiconductor material, u, and the electric potential, $$\varphi $$, the model problem we refer to is $$\begin{aligned} \left\{ \begin{array}{l} \Delta _p u+g(x,u)= \rho (u)|\nabla \varphi |^2 \quad \mathrm{in} \quad \Omega ,\\ {{\,\mathrm{div}\,}}(\rho (u)\nabla \varphi ) =0 \quad \mathrm{in} \quad \Omega ,\\ \varphi =\varphi _0 \quad \text{ on } \quad {\partial \Omega },\\ u=0 \quad \mathrm{on} \quad {\partial \Omega }, \end{array} \right. \end{aligned}$$where $$\Omega \subset \mathbb {R}^N$$, $$N\ge 2$$ and $$\Delta _p u=-{\text {div}}\left( |\nabla u|^{p-2} \nabla u\right) $$ is the so-called p-Laplacian operator, and g a nonlinearity which satisfies the sign condition but without any restriction on its growth. This problem may be regarded as a generalization of the so-called thermistor problem, where we consider the case of the elliptic equation is non-uniformly elliptic.     

Scale directional distance function and its application to the measurement of eco-efficiency in the manufacturing sector

Directional distance function (DDF) is a recognized technique for measuring efficiency while incorporating undesirable outputs. This approach allows for desirable outputs to be expanded while undesirable outputs are contracted simultaneously. A drawback of the DDF approach is that the direction vector to the production boundary is fixed arbitrarily, which may not provide the best efficiency measure. Therefore, this study extends the previous framework of efficiency analysis to introduce a new slacks-based measure of efficiency called the scale directional distance function (SDDF) approach. This new approach determines the optimal direction to the frontier for each unit of analysis and provides dissimilar expansion and contraction factors to achieve a more reasonable eco-efficiency score. This new approach is employed to measure the eco-efficiency of the Malaysian manufacturing sector. In addition, the paper demonstrates the use of the new approach to establish target values for the reduction/expansion of outputs in order for the inefficient DMUs to achieve full eco-efficiency. The results indicate that Melaka, Pulau Pinang, Negeri Sembilan, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan have attained full eco-efficiency while Terengganu is the least eco-efficient. The overall eco-efficiency of the manufacturing sector in Malaysia is 80.5 % with wide variations across the states.     

A Practical Method for Designing Linear Quadratic Regulator for Commensurate Fractional-Order Systems

The methods currently available for designing a linear quadratic regulator for fractional-order systems are either based on sufficient-type conditions for the optimality of functionals or generate very complicated analytical solutions even for simple systems. It follows that the use of such methods is limited to very simple problems. The present paper proposes a practical method for designing a linear quadratic regulator (assuming linear state feedback), Kalman filter, and linear quadratic Gaussian regulator/controller for commensurate fractional-order systems (in Caputo sense). For this purpose, considering the fact that in dealing with fractional-order systems the cost function of linear quadratic regulator has only one extremum, the optimal state feedback gains of linear quadratic regulator and the gains of the Kalman filter are calculated using a gradient-based numerical optimization algorithm. Various fractional-order linear quadratic regulator and Kalman filter design problems are solved using the proposed approach. Specifically, a linear quadratic Gaussian controller capable of tracking step command is designed for a commensurate fractional-order system which is non-minimum phase and unstable and has seven (pseudo) states.     

Effects of external electric fields on double proton transfer kinetics in the formic acid dimer

Molecules can be exposed to strong local electric fields of the order of 10(8)-10(10) V m(-1) in the biological milieu. The effects of such fields on the rate constant (k) of a model reaction, the double-proton transfer reaction in the formic acid dimer (FAD), are investigated. The barrier heights and shapes are calculated in the absence and presence of several static homogenous external fields ranging from 5.14 × 10(8) to 5.14 × 10(9) V m(-1) using density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) and second order M?ller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) in conjunction with the 6-311++G(d,p) Pople basis set. Conventional transition state theory (CTST) followed by Wigner tunneling correction is then applied to estimate the rate constants at 25 °C. It is found that electric fields parallel to the long axis of the dimer (the line joining the two carbon atoms) lower the uncorrected barrier height, and hence increase the raw k. These fields also flatten the potential energy surface near the transition state region and, hence, decrease the multiplicative tunneling correction factor. The net result of these two opposing effects is that fields increase k(corrected) by a factor of ca. 3-4 (DFT-MP2, respectively) compared to the field-free k. Field strengths of ～3 × 10(9) V m(-1) are found to be sufficient to double the tunneling-corrected double proton transfer rate constant at 25 °C. Field strengths of similar orders of magnitudes are encountered in the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), in the microenvironment of a DNA base-pair, in an enzyme active site, and in intense laser radiation fields. It is shown that the net (tunneling corrected) effect of the field on k can be closely fitted to an exponential relationship of the form k = aexp(bE), where a and b are constants and E the electric field strength.     

Artificial boiling heat transfer in the free convection to carbonic acid solution

Free convection phenomenon has been experimentally investigated around a horizontal rod heater in carbonic acid solution. Because of the tendency of the solution to desorb carbon dioxide gas when temperature is increased, bubbles appear when cylinder surface is heated. The bubbles consists mainly carbon dioxide and also a negligible amount of water vapor. The results present that dissolved carbon dioxide in water significantly enhances the heat transfer coefficient in compare to pure free convection regime. This is mainly due to the microscale mixing on the heat transfer surface, which is induced by bubble formation. In this investigation, experiments are performed at different bulk temperatures between 288 and 333 K and heat fluxes up to 400 kW m⁻² at atmospheric pressure. Bubble departure diameter, nucleation site density and heat transfer coefficient have been experimentally measured. A model has been proposed to predict the heat transfer coefficient.     

Synthesis,characterization, and in vitro toxicity evaluation of upconversion luminescence NaLuF4:Yb3+/Tm3+ nanoparticles suitable for medical applications

Synthesis, characterization, and in vitro toxicity evaluation of upconversion luminescence NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ nanoparticles (UCLNPs) are reported in the current study. Initially, the synthesized lanthanide trifluoroacetate (Ln(OOCCF₃)₃) precursor was used to fabricate NaLuF₄ nanoparticles doped with Yb³⁺ and Tm³⁺ metal ions. The nanoparticles were coated with calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) after removing the hydrophobic species on them to enhance their biocompatibility. The in vitro methylthiazolyldiphenyl-tetrazoliumbromide (MTT) test was used to evaluate the toxicity of synthesized NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ nanoparticles (NLF-5) on L929 mouse fibroblast cell lines. The transmission electron microscopy image showed that the particle size of NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ was 32 nm. The synthesized NLF-5 nanoparticles have both α-cubic and β-hexagonal crystalline structures that provided a superb near-infrared-to-near-infrared upconversion luminescence signal when excited at 980 nm. MTT test results show that the death of L929 fibroblast cells was observed only at concentrations above 250 μg/mL of NaLuF₄:Yb³⁺/Tm³⁺ nanoparticles. In addition, with an increase in patrol time of 24, 48, and 72 hr, cell toxicity increased significantly, while the coated nanoparticles did not have any toxic effects. The synthesized nanoparticles could be used as a suitable material for medical applications due to their small particle size, high photoluminescence emission intensity, and low toxicity.     

Plasmonically enhanced optical transmission through a metalized nanostructured photonic crystal fiber taper

A subwavelength holey plasmonic structure was proposed by adiabatically tapering a photonic crystal fiber (PCF) and subsequently metalizing the cleaved end facet. By coupling a white light into the PCF side, we experimentally observed an enhanced optical transmission in the spectral domain through the plasmonic structure at the tapered end. We further showed numerically that the proposed device renders a focused directional beam, due to its Fresnel-zone-like configuration and the plasmonic lensing effects.     

Radiation synthesis of chitosan beads grafted with acrylic acid for metal ions sorption

Radiation-induced grafting of acrylic acid onto chitosan beads was performed in solution at a dose rate of 20.6 Gy/min of cobalt-60 gamma rays. The effect of absorbed dose on grafting yield was investigated. The characterization of the grafted material was performed by FTIR spectroscopy and the swelling measurements at different pHs. The grafting yield increased with the increase in dose, it reached 80% at 40 kGy irradiation dose.The removal of Pb and Cd ions from aqueous solutions was investigated with both ungrafted and grafted chitosan beads. The sorption behavior of the sorbents was examined through pH, kinetics and equilibrium measurements. Grafted chitosan beads presented higher sorption capacity for both metal ions than unmodified chitosan beads.     

Protonation of the metal—metal bond in Fe2(μ-A)(μ-A′)(CO)4L2 complexes (A  A′ SC6H5, P(C6H5)2, P(CH3)2; A  SC6H5, A′ z.dbnd; P(C6H5)2; L z.dbnd; P(C6H5)3-n(CH3)n). : III. Experimental study of the influence of the A and A′ bridges on the basicity of the metal—metal bond

In order to check the influence of the bridges on the basicity of the metal—metal bond in Fe₂(μ-A)(μ-A′)(CO)₄L₂ complexes, the compounds with A  A′ SC₆H₅, P(C₆H₅)₂; P(CH₃)₂; A  SC₅H₅, A′ P(C₆H₅)₂ and L  P(CH₃)_3-n (C₆H₅)_n (n  0—3) have been prepared. IR and PMR spectroscopic results are interpreted in structural terms, and show that the Fe₂(SC₆H₅)(P(C₆H₅)₂.)-(CO)₄L₂ complexes are non rigid on the NMR time scale for n = 0, 1. Replacement of the first SC₆H₅ bridge by a P(C₆H₅)₂ bridge markedly increase the basicity of the metal—metal bond, but replacement of the second SC₆H₅ bridge has no significant effect.     

Characterization of olive mill wastewater and gamma irradiation effects on some parameters of its composition

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Gamma irradiation was applied to olive mill wastewater and synthetic samples prepared from Gallic acid. The effects, generated on the...