Solution of the Spinless Salpeter Equation with a Time-Dependent Linear Potential

We derive the general solution of the semi-relativistic spinless Salpeter equation in the presence of a time-dependent linear potential via the Lewis–Riesenfeld framework and using two forms of the invariant. For comparison, we reobtain the solution in the momentum-space directly by applying a time-momentum transformation to the involved partial differential equation. We also investigate the classical-quantum correspondence for the model in the case of time-periodic force using a momentum-space Gaussian wave-packet.     

Managing the exchange of information in product development

In the present paper, we develop a dynamic programming (DP) model of the product development (PD) process. We conceptualize product development as a sequence of decisions: whether to incorporate a piece of information that just arrived (i.e. became available) or wait longer. We utilize this formulation to analyze different situations that depend on the type, and nature of information that is exchanged: stationary versus dynamic information. We derive optimal decision rules to determine whether (and when) to incorporate for each case. An analysis of the model results in several important findings. First, we must not necessarily incorporate all available information that is related to the design activity. Specifically, once the information collection exceeds certain value, the design team should stop collecting further information. Second, only when past design work accumulates to a certain threshold value should the team include the latest information and perform rework. Large uncertainty of the information and large sensitivity of the design activity makes the incorporation of new information less likely. Finally, managerial implications are discussed with several numerical examples.     

Ion Exchange Properties of Ceric Silicontungstate

Ceric silicotungstate was prepared under optimum conditions. The characteristics of the compound were investigated using different techniques. The resulting compounds showed good exchange properties with high affinity toward some cations, like Pb²¹, Fe³¹, Ag¹, Ba²¹, Ra²¹ and UO₂ ²¹. The use of this exchanger for separation and analysis of radium isotopes in environmental samples is recommended.     

Modeling the span of control of leaders with different skill sets

In leading a team doing routine engineering design, two orthogonal skill sets can be distinguished: domain-specific or technical skills, and interpersonal “managerial” skills which are more general. This paper presents a computational model of team performance that relates these two types of skills to the amount of managerial and communication work generated given a certain team size (i.e. span of control). This model can be used to derive the optimal managerial profile for any team size, or the optimal team size for the skill set of a specific manager, provided the nature of the work remains fixed. The analysis of the model reveals several interesting insights. First, managerial skills are found to increase team performance up to a point after which it starts to decrease again. Second, a manager needs to compensate for low domain knowledge with high people skills, so optimal managerial skill level increases with lower domain knowledge. Third, both abilities have a significant impact on the manager’s allocated time for his/her group; however, more influence is noticed for managerial skills. Finally, the manager was found to be more essential to large teams.     

Evaluation of the Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Sewage Sludge and Tomato Waste at Mesophilic Temperature

Sewage sludge is a hazardous waste, which must be managed adequately. Mesophilic anaerobic digestion is a widely employed treatment for sewage sludge involving several disadvantages such as low methane yield, poor biodegradability, and nutrient imbalance. Tomato waste was proposed as an easily biodegradable co-substrate to increase the viability of the process in a centralized system. The mixture proportion of sewage sludge and tomato waste evaluated was 95:5 (wet weight), respectively. The stability was maintained within correct parameters in an organic loading rate from 0.4 to 2.2 kg total volatile solids (VS)/m³ day. Moreover, the methane yield coefficient was 159 l/kg VS (0 °C, 1 atm), and the studied mixture showed a high anaerobic biodegradability of 95 % (in VS). Although the ammonia concentration increased until 1,864?±?23 mg/l, no inhibition phenomenon was determined in the stability variables, methane yield, or kinetics parameters studied.     

An efficient and reusable heterogeneous catalyst Animal Bone Meal for facile synthesis of benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, and benzothiazoles

A library of benzimidazoles, benzoxazoles, and benzothiazoles was efficiently synthesized by condensation of o-phenylenediamine, o-aminophenol, and o-aminothiophenol respectively with aromatic aldehydes in the presence of catalytic amounts of Animal Bone Meal (ABM) and Lewis acids doped ABMs. Reactions were conducted under reflux conditions in air. The remarkable features of this new protocol are high conversion, short reaction times, and cleaner reaction profiles, straightforward procedure, and reduction in catalyst toxicity.     

Influence of water on the photooxidation of KHJ phenoxy resins, 1. Mechanisms

This study is devoted to the influence of water on the mechanisms of photooxidation of anticorrosion coatings based on epoxy resins used in extremely aggressive media like the marine environment. The two principal environmental parameters to be considered are sunlight (UV-light) and water. It is important to understand the role of these two environmental parameters on the ageing of epoxy anticorrosion coatings. On the basis of the effect of photooxidation on the molecular structure under “dry” conditions, water was introduced into the ageing process with either alternating cycles of irradiation/immersion in water or simultaneously by irradiation of the polymer in water. The presence of water had two effects on the photodegradation of PKHJ^® phenoxy resin; the first one was on the degradation of the main photoproduct (phenyl formates) formed during irradiation through a hydrolysis reaction leading to the release of formic acid. The second effect consisted of an increase in the photooxidation rate by the formation of photo-initiators.     

Love waves in functionally graded piezoelectric materials by stiffness matrix method

A numerical matrix method relative to the propagation of ultrasonic guided waves in functionally graded piezoelectric heterostructure is given in order to make a comparative study with the respective performances of analytical methods proposed in literature. The preliminary obtained results show a good agreement, however numerical approach has the advantage of conceptual simplicity and flexibility brought about by the stiffness matrix method. The propagation behaviour of Love waves in a functionally graded piezoelectric material (FGPM) is investigated in this article. It involves a thin FGPM layer bonded perfectly to an elastic substrate. The inhomogeneous FGPM heterostructure has been stratified along the depth direction, hence each state can be considered as homogeneous and the ordinary differential equation method is applied. The obtained solutions are used to study the effect of an exponential gradient applied to physical properties. Such numerical approach allows applying different gradient variation for mechanical and electrical properties. For this case, the obtained results reveal opposite effects. The dispersive curves and phase velocities of the Love wave propagation in the layered piezoelectric film are obtained for electrical open and short cases on the free surface, respectively. The effect of gradient coefficients on coupled electromechanical factor, on the stress fields, the electrical potential and the mechanical displacement are discussed, respectively. Illustration is achieved on the well known heterostructure PZT-5H/SiO₂, the obtained results are especially useful in the design of high-performance acoustic surface devices and accurately prediction of the Love wave propagation behaviour.     

Broadband flat amplification based on fully double-pass configuration in serial hybrid fiber amplifier

Optical and Quantum Electronics - In this article, we construct a new design for optical spherical Heisenberg total recursion flux with a normalized microscale in spherical Heisenberg space....