On commutators of vector BMO functions and multilinear singular integrals with non-smooth kernels

Let T be a bounded multilinear operator on some product of Lq(Rn) spaces. Assume that T has a non-smooth associated kernel which satisfies certain weak regularity conditions but not regular enough to fall under the scope of the standard multilinear Calderón-Zygmund theory. The main aim of this paper is to establish a sufficient condition on the kernel of T so that the commutator of a vector BMO function and T is bounded on certain product Lp(Rn) spaces. We obtain boundedness of the commutator of and T by first proving certain pointwise estimates on the Fefferman-Stein sharp maximal operator. An important example of multilinear operators which satisfy our kernel conditions is the maximal mth order Calderón commutator.     

Hardy Spaces, Regularized BMO Spaces and the Boundedness of Calderón–Zygmund Operators on Non-homogeneous Spaces

One defines a non-homogeneous space (X,μ) as a metric space equipped with a non-doubling measure μ so that the volume of the ball with center x, radius r has an upper bound of the form r ⁿ for some n>0. The aim of this paper is to study the boundedness of Calderón–Zygmund singular integral operators T on various function spaces on (X,μ) such as the Hardy spaces, the L ^p spaces, and the regularized BMO spaces. This article thus extends the work of X. Tolsa (Math. Ann. 319:89–149, 2011) on the non-homogeneous space (? ⁿ ,μ) to the setting of a general non-homogeneous space (X,μ). Our framework of the non-homogeneous space (X,μ) is similar to that of Hytönen (2011) and we are able to obtain quite a few properties similar to those of Calderón–Zygmund operators on doubling spaces such as the weak type (1,1) estimate, boundedness from Hardy space into L ¹, boundedness from L ^∞ into the regularized BMO, and an interpolation theorem. Furthermore, we prove that the dual space of the Hardy space is the regularized BMO space, obtain a Calderón–Zygmund decomposition on the non-homogeneous space (X,μ), and use this decomposition to show the boundedness of the maximal operators in the form of a Cotlar inequality as well as the boundedness of commutators of Calderón–Zygmund operators and BMO functions.     

Facile synthesis of SnO2–ZnO core–shell nanowires for enhanced ethanol-sensing performance

The design of core–shell heteronanostructures is powerful tool to control both the gas selectivity and the sensitivity due to their hybrid properties. In this work, the SnO₂–ZnO core–shell nanowires (NWs) were fabricated via two-step process comprising the thermal evaporation of the single crystalline SnO₂ NWs core and the spray-coating of the grainy polycrystalline ZnO shell for enhanced ethanol sensing performance. The as-obtained products were investigated by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. The ethanol gas-sensing properties of pristine SnO₂ and ZnO–SnO₂ core–shell NW sensors were studied and compared. The gas response to 500 ppm ethanol of the core–shell NW sensor increased to 33.84, which was 12.5-fold higher than that of the pristine SnO₂ NW sensor. The selectivity of the core–shell NW sensor also improved. The response to 100 ppm ethanol was about 14.1, whereas the response to 100 ppm liquefied petroleum gas, NH₃, H₂, and CO was smaller, and ranged from 2.5 to 5.3. This indicates that the core–shell heterostructures have great potential for use as gas sensing materials.     

Quantum non-demolition measurement of photon number using weak nonlinearities

We propose an alternative method for the quantum non-demolition measurement of photon numbers wherein weak cross-Kerr nonlinearities are to be used. The usual approach to quantum non-demolition measurements of quantum number involves encoding the photon number, through a cross-Kerr interaction, into a phase shift of a probe coherent state which is then detected through balanced homodyning. Weak nonlinearities produce small phase shifts which are difficult to detect and distinguish. In the method we propose, unbalanced homodyning acts as a displacement operator on the probe beam coherent state such that the cross-Kerr interaction encodes the photon number into the amplitude of a new coherent state. The value of the photon number can be determined by inefficient photon counting on the new coherent state. Our proposed method requires fewer resources than does the usual approach.     

Chemical Composition and Antifungal Activity of Essential Oil from the Roots of Tinomiscium petiolare

Chemistry of Natural Compounds -     

Molecularly engineering polymeric membranes for H2/CO2 separation at 100–300 °C

Over the last two decades, polymers with superior H₂/CO₂ separation properties at 100–300 °C have gathered significant interest for H₂ purification and CO₂ capture. This timely review presents various strategies adopted to molecularly engineer polymers for this application. We first elucidate the Robeson's upper bound at elevated temperatures for H₂/CO₂ separation and the advantages of high-temperature operation (such as improved solubility selectivity and absence of CO₂ plasticization), compared with conventional membrane gas separations at ~35 °C. Second, we describe commercially relevant membranes for the separation and highlight materials with free volumes tuned to discriminate H₂ and CO₂, including functional polymers (such as polybenzimidazole) and engineered polymers by cross-linking, blending, thermal treatment, thermal rearrangement, and carbonization. Third, we succinctly discuss mixed matrix materials containing size-sieving or H₂-sorptive nanofillers with attractive H₂/CO₂ separation properties.     

Controlled pinewood fractionation with supercritical ethanol: A prerequisite toward pinewood conversion into chemicals and biofuels

The objective of this work was to investigate the ability of supercritical (SC) ethanol conditions to attack preferentially the lignin fraction against the carbohydrate fraction and their effects on the product distribution among gases, light products, bio-oils, and chars. In this study, the conversion of each pinewood component was determined by the analysis of solid residues to quantify cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and char contents. It is shown that, by tuning the temperature, hemicellulose and lignin are already transformed in subcritical ethanol conditions, lignin being more reactive than hemicellulose. In contrast, native wood cellulose is recalcitrant to liquefaction in SC ethanol near the critical point (T_c = 241 °C and P_c = 61 bar), but 20% of native wood cellulose is converted in SC ethanol at 280 °C. Besides, the severity of the conditions, in terms of temperature and treatment time, does not significantly influence the yields of gases, light products, and bio-oils but strongly enhances char formation. Interestingly, the increase in SC ethanol density does not change the conversion of biomass components but has a marked effect on bio-oil yield and prevents char formation. The optimum fractionation conditions to convert the lignin component, while keeping unattacked the cellulose fraction with a minimum formation of char, are dense SC ethanol, at 250 °C for 1 h, in batch conditions. However, although lignin is more reactive than hemicellulose under these conditions, these fractions are converted, in a parallel way, to around 50% and 60%, respectively.     

A micrometer head integrated microfluidic device for facile droplet size control and automatic measurement of a droplet size

A novel microfluidic droplet generator is proposed, which can control the droplet size through turning an integrated micrometer head with ease, and the size of the produced micro-droplet can be automatically and real-time monitored by an open-sourced software and off-the-shelf hardware.