Fractional quasi AKNS‐technique for nonlinear space–time fractional evolution equations

This paper aims to formulate the fractional quasi‐inverse scattering method. Also, we give a positive answer to the following question: can the Ablowitz‐Kaup‐Newell‐Segur (AKNS) method be applied to the space–time fractional nonlinear differential equations? Besides, we derive the Bäcklund transformations for the fractional systems under study. Also, we construct the fractional quasi‐conservation laws for the considered fractional equations from the defined fractional quasi AKNS‐like system. The nonlinear fractional differential equations to be studied are the space–time fractional versions of the Kortweg‐de Vries equation, modified Kortweg‐de Vries equation, the sine‐Gordon equation, the sinh‐Gordon equation, the Liouville equation, the cosh‐Gordon equation, the short pulse equation, and the nonlinear Schrödinger equation.     

Synthesis and biological study of a new series of bifunctional organoiron thio‐ and seleno‐terephthalate derivatives (C5H5)Fe(CO)2ECO(C6H4)COX (E = S,X = R2N,RNH, NH2, OH,Cl; E = Se,X = RNH,RS, RCOO,NH2, OH,Cl)

A new series of bifunctional organoiron thio‐ and seleno‐terephthalate complexes — (η‐C₅H₅)Fe(CO)₂ECO(C₆H₄)COX [E = S; X = C₆H₁₁NH, (C₂H₅)₂N; and E = Se; X = P? CH₃? C₆H₄? NH, C₆H₅? C₂N₂O? S, m? NO₂? C₆H₄? CH?CH? COO] — has been synthesized via the organic transformation reactions of the terephthaloyl chloride precursors η‐(C₅H₅)Fe(CO)₂ECO(C₆H₄)COCl with the desired nucleophiles. These new complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and ¹H NMR spectra. The above complexes, in addition to some other selected analogues, were tested for their antifungal, antibacterial and mutagenic activity. Our results show that all the selenium‐containing compounds have antifungal activity on Candida albicans and antibacterial effects against Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus. Four of the six selenium‐containing derivatives exhibited growth inhibitory effects against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and/or Escherichia coli. Sulfur‐containing derivatives elicited activity against C. albicans, and each one of them showed activity against at least one of the bacterial strains that have been used in this investigation. Two selenium‐ and two sulfur‐containing derivatives showed mutagenic activity against one or more than one strain of the Salmonella typhimurium using the Ames test. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geometrical control of the interatomic coulombic decay process in quantum dots for infrared photodetectors

In electron dynamics calculations the interatomic Coulombic decay (ICD) process has recently been shown to take place in two vertically‐aligned quantum dots (QDs). Energy emitted during the relaxation of one electron in one QD is converted into kinetic energy of another electron ejected from a neighboring QD. As the electronic structure of QDs can be controlled by their geometries, we prove here in thorough scans of the transversal and vertical QD confinement potentials’ widths that geometries are likewise control parameters for ICD. Such a comprehensive investigation has been enabled by a significant development of the calculations in terms of speed achieved among others by optimization of the grid and Coulomb interaction operator representations. As key result of this study we propose two cigar‐shaped singly‐charged GaAs QDs vertically aligned in the direction of their long side for a most efficient QD ICD realization useful for an infrared photodetector. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Environment-induced surface dynamics of a biomimetic ionomer studied using in situ second harmonic generation

The environmental-induced surface dynamics of the biomimetic phosphoryl choline (PC)-functionalized poly(trimethylene carbonate) ionomer has been studied and compared to its unfunctionalized counterpart using in situ second harmonic generation measurements. Whereas the nonpolar liquid n-hexane did not induce any surface dynamic processes in the ionomer under study, the presence of water initiated a Debye-type dynamic reaction at the surface of the PC ionomer, which had no equivalent in the unfunctionalized material. This first-order reaction was attributed to a surface enrichment process of the functionalized ionomer in the hydrophilic environment involving movement of the PC endgroups from aggregates in the bulk to the surface. The time constant of the process was found to be about 6 min, and the corresponding activation energy was 0.4 eV. The dehydration process of the PC-functionalized ionomer in nitrogen gas atmosphere could be described by two time constants, one slightly below 1 min and the other one just above 13 min. The results presented in this work show that SHG measurements are well suited for the study of polymer surface restructuring dynamics in response to environmental changes. Such information is very important for the successful design and implementation of biomimetic polymers intended for biomedical applications.     

Optimizing the logistics of anaerobic digestion of manure

Electrical power production from the combustion of biogas from anaerobic digestion (AD) of manure is a means of recovering energy from animal waste. We evaluate the lowest cost method of moving material to and from centralized AD plants serving multiple confined feeding operations. Two areas are modeled, Lethbridge County, Alberta, Canada, an area of concentrated beef cattle feedlots, and Red Deer County, Alberta, a mixed-farming area with hog, dairy, chicken and beef cattle farms, and feedlots. We evaluate two types of AD plant: ones that return digestate to the source confined feeding operation for land spreading (current technology), and ones that process digestate to produce solid fertilizer and a dischargeable water stream (technology under development). We evaluate manure and digestate trucking, trucking of manure with return of digestate by pipelines, and pipelining of manure plus digestate. We compare the overall cost of power from these scenarios to farm or feedlot-based AD units. For a centralized AD plant with digestate return for land spreading the most economical transport option for manure plus digestate is by truck for the mixed-farming area and by pipelines for the concentrated feedlot area. For a centralized AD plant with digestate processing, the most economical transport option is trucking of manure for both cases.However, for the concentrated feedlot area, pipeline transport of manure is close in cost to trucking, and the impact of truck congestion would likely lead to selection of pipeline transport. For the mixed-farming area, centralized AD is more economical than for any individual farm or feedlot unit. For the concentrated feedlot area, a centralized AD plant is less economical than a feedlot-based AD unit more than 55,000 head (digestate return) and 300,000 head (digestate processing). The study demonstrates the viability of centralized AD plants vs farm-based units in most farming environments, and that careful analysis of the cost of pipeline vs truck transport of manure and digestate is required on a case-by-case basis.     

pH-induced protonation of lysine in aqueous solution causes chemical shifts in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

We demonstrate the applicability of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to obtain charge- and site-specific electronic structural information of biomolecules in aqueous solution. Changing the pH of an aqueous solution of lysine from basic to acidic results in nitrogen 1s and carbon 1s chemical shifts to higher binding energies. These shifts are associated with the sequential protonation of the two amino groups, which affects both charge state and hydrogen bonding to the surrounding water molecules. The N1s chemical shift is 2.2 eV, and for carbon atoms directly neighboring a nitrogen the shift for C1s is approximately 0.4 eV. The experimental binding energies agree reasonably with our calculated energies of lysine(aq) for different pH values.     

Tin-Naphthalene Sulfonic Acid Complexes as Photostabilizers for Poly(vinyl chloride)

Poly(vinyl chloride) degrades when exposed to ultraviolet light for long durations; therefore, the photostability of polymeric materials should be enhanced through the application of additives. New organotin complexes containing 4-aminonaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid were synthesized and their role as poly(vinyl chloride) photostabilizers were evaluated. The reaction of 4-amino-3-hydroxynaphthalene-1-sulfonic acid and appropriate di- or trisubstituted tin chloride (triphenyltin chloride, tributyltin chloride, dibutyltin dichloride, and dimethyltin dichloride) in methanol under reflux gave the corresponding tin-naphthalene complexes with yields of 75%–95%. Elemental analyses and spectroscopic techniques including infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (proton and tin) were used to confirm their structures. The tin complexes were added to poly(vinyl chloride) to produce thin films that irradiated with ultraviolet light. Various parameters were assessed, such as the weight loss, formation of specific functional groups, changes in the surface due to photoirradiation, and rate constant of photodegradation, to test the role played by the organotin complexes to reduce photodegradation in polymeric films. The results proved that organotin complexes acted as photostabilizers in these circumstances. The weight loss, formation of fragments containing specific functional groups, and undesirable changes in the surface of polymeric films were limited in the presence of organotin complexes. Organotin complexes containing three phenyl groups showed the most desirable stabilization effect. These act as efficient primary and secondary photostabilizers, and as decomposers for peroxides. In addition, such an additive inhibits the dehydrochlorination process, which is the main cause of poly(vinyl chloride) photodegradation.     

Heat transfer characteristics of staggered wing-shaped tubes bundle at different angles of attack

An experimental and numerical study has been conducted to clarify heat transfer characteristics and effectiveness of a cross-flow heat exchanger employing staggered wing-shaped tubes at different angels of attack. The water-side Re_w and the air-side Re_a were at 5 × 10² and at from 1.8 × 10³ to 9.7 × 10³, respectively. The tubes arrangements were employed with various angles of attack θ_1,2,3 from 0° to 330° at the considered Re_a range. Correlation of Nu, St, as well as the heat transfer per unit pumping power (ε) in terms of Re_a and design parameters for the studied bundle were presented. The temperature fields around the staggered wing-shaped tubes bundle were predicted by using commercial CFD FLUENT 6.3.26 software package. Results indicated that the heat transfer increased with the angle of attack in the range from 0° to 45°, while the opposite was true for angles of attack from 135° to 180°. The best thermal performance and hence the efficiency η of studied bundle occurred at the lowest Re_a and/or zero angle of attack. Comparisons between the experimental and numerical results of the present study and those, previously, obtained for similar available studies showed good agreements.     

Extraction of cobalt(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution by N,N'-carbonyl difatty amides

The development of economic and environmentally friendly extractants to recover cobalt metal is required due to the increasing demand for this metal.In this study,solvent extraction of Co(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution using a mixture of N,N’-carbonyl difatty amides(CDFAs) synthesised from palm oil as the extractant was carried out.The effects of various parameters such as acid,contact time,extractant concentration,metal ion concentration and stripping agent and the separation of Co(Ⅱ) from other metal ions such as Fe(Ⅱ),Ni(Ⅱ),Zn(Ⅲ) and Cd(Ⅱ) were investigated.It was found that the extraction of Co(Ⅱ) into the organic phase involved the formation of 1:1 complexes.Co(Ⅱ) was successfully separated from commonly associated metal ions such as Fe(Ⅱ),Ni(Ⅱ),Zn(Ⅲ) and Cd(Ⅱ).Co(Ⅱ) stripping from the loaded organic phase was studied in aqueous solution.These results are useful to recover Co(Ⅱ) from aqueous solution utilising(CDFAs) as an extractant.     

Shared solvation of sodium ions in alcohol-water solutions explains the non-ideality of free energy of solvation

In order to explain the discrepancies between theories and experiments regarding the non-ideality in the free energy of solvation, here we present a microscopic picture of sodium ions dissolved in water-alcohol mixed solvents. We used X-ray absorption spectroscopy to probe the K-edge of sodium ions in mixed solvents of water and alcohols (methanol, ethanol) and in the respective pure solvents. In the mixed solvents a shared solvation of the sodium ions is observed. We find that specifically the water component plays a key role in stabilizing the solvation shell in mixed solvents, which was revealed by a selective photochemical process occurring only in the pure alcohol solvents.