Some remarks on the geometry of superspace supergravity

In this note, we first give a quick presentation of the supergeometry underlying supergravity theories, using an intrinsic differential geometric language. For this, we adopt the point of view of Cartan geometries, and rely as well on the work of John Lott, who has found a unified geometrical interpretation of the torsion constraints for many supergravity theories, based on the use of H-structures. In this framework, the constraints amount to requiring first-order integrability of H-structures, for a specific supergroup H.The supergroup H used by Lott is not the usual diagonal representation of the Lorentz group on superspace, but an extension of the latter. This extension appears to be natural and it can be related to the super-Poincaré group. We also observe that the constraints arising from the requirement of first-order integrability have basically the same form, in any spacetime dimension.Looking at supergravity from an affine viewpoint (i.e. as a gauge theory for the super-Poincaré group), we show that requiring first-order integrability amounts to requiring the equivalence, up to gauge transformations, between infinitesimal gauge supertranslations acting on the supervielbein and infinitesimal superdiffeomorphisms acting on the supervielbein.The latter action is performed through a covariant Lie derivative, whose expression involves naturally the supertorsion tensor. We use this expression to show that the term added to the spin connection, in the supercovariant derivative of d=11 supergravity, has a natural superspace origin. In particular, the 4-form field strength is related to a specific component of the supertorsion tensor.We conclude by some general remarks concerning Killing spinors in geometry and supergravity, discussing their possible interpretations, as Killing vector fields on a specific supermanifold on one hand, and as parallel spinors for an appropriate connection on the other hand. We show that this last interpretation is very natural from the point of view of Klein and Cartan geometries.     

Sol–gel synthesis of 8 nm magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles and their magnetic properties

Magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized by a sol–gel method. The obtained nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive analysis by X-ray (EDAX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and Mössbauer spectrometry. XRD and Mössbauer measurements indicate that the obtained nanoparticles are single phase. TEM analysis shows the presence of spherical nanoparticles with homogeneous size distribution of about 8 nm. Room temperature ferromagnetics behavior was confirmed by SQUID measurements. The mechanism of nanoparticles formation and the comparison with recent results are discussed. Finally, the synthesized nanoparticles present a potential candidate for hyperthermia application given their saturation magnetization.     

Mn doped ZnO nanostructured thin films prepared by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method

Mn-doped ZnO thin films with different percentage of Mn content (0, 1, 3 and 5 at.%) and substrate temperature of 350 °C, were deposited by a simple ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method under atmospheric pressure. We have studied the structural and optical properties by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultra-violet visible near infrared (UV–Vis-NIR) spectroscopy. The lattice parameters calculated for the Mn-doped ZnO from XRD pattern were found to be slightly larger than those of the undoped ZnO, which indicate substitution of Mn in ZnO lattice. Compared with the Raman spectra for ZnO pure films, the Mn-doping effect on the spectra is revealed by the presence of additional peak around 524 cm⁻¹ due to Mn incorporation. With increasing Mn doping the optical band gap increases indicating the Burstein–Moss effect.     

Effects of substrate-induced-strain on the structural and transport properties of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 thin films

We have studied the structural and electrical properties of epitaxial La_0.7Ca_0.3MnO₃ (LCMO) thin films prepared by metal organic deposition under different types and degrees of substrate-induced strain. 40-nm-thick films have been epitaxially grown on single-crystalline (LaAlO₃)_0.3?C(SrAlTaO₆)_0.7 (negligible tensile strain), SrTiO₃ (tensile strain) and LaAlO₃ (compressive strain) substrates. High-resolution X-ray diffraction and reciprocal space maps demonstrate a direct correlation between the crystalline quality and the substrate-induced strain. The electrical properties were found to be strongly dependent on the substrate used. The temperature dependence of resistivity curves was fitted using various approaches in different phases (below and above the ferromagnetic transition temperature T _P). In the ferromagnetic metallic phase, ??(T) follows a T ^?? power law. The obtained values of the coefficient ???(3.5?C4) indicate that the electrical transport in our films is a combination of spin wave scattering processes and electron?Cmagnon or two-magnon scattering phenomena. In the paramagnetic insulator phase, the activation energy E _A and the variable range hopping characteristics (characteristic temperature T ₀) were found to be strongly dependent on the strain-induced lattice mismatch between the LCMO and the substrate used.     

On rubin's harmonic analysis and its related positive definite functions

In this paper, a new formulation of the Rubin's q-translation is given, which leads to a reliable q-harmonic analysis. Next, related q-positive definite functions are introduced and studied, and a Bochner's theorem is proved.     

Variational problem in the non-negative orthant of ℝ<Superscript>3</Superscript>: reflective faces and boundary influence cones

In this paper we consider the variational problem in the non-negative orthant of ℝ³. The solution of this problem gives the large deviation rate function for the stationary distribution of an SRBM (Semimartingal Reflecting Brownian Motion). Avram, Dai and Hasenbein (Queueing Syst. 37, 259–289, 2001) provided an explicit solution of this problem in the non-negative quadrant. Building on this work, we characterize reflective faces of the non-negative orthant of ℝ ^d , we construct boundary influence cones and we provide an explicit solution of several constrained variational problems in ℝ³. Moreover, we give conditions under which certain spiraling paths to a point on an axis have a cost which is strictly less than the cost of every direct path and path with two pieces.     

Predicting initial erosion during the hole erosion test by using turbulent flow CFD simulation

CFD simulation with enhanced modeling of turbulence and near-wall treatment is used to model water–clay mixtures flowing through a cylindrical pipe domain. Effects on the wall-shear stress resulting from varying water clay content and applied hydraulic gradient are analyzed. Various parametric studies were performed and had shown that the two-dimensional modelling introduced in the present study does not yield a uniform wall-shear stress along the pipe wall and that clay concentration affects significantly the wall-shear stress value. This is in contrast with the common hypothesis used in one-dimensional modeling approaches where this stress is assumed constant and which gives rise to uniform erosion along the pipe wall. The obtained results had enabled predicting more realistically erosion amount and had allowed for understanding the irregular eroded hole wall shape as observed experimentally after performing the standard hole erosion test.     

Ethylcellulose, polycaprolactone, and eudragit matrices for controlled release of piroxicam from tablets and microspheres

The present paper provides details of the preparation of polymeric tablets and microspheres based on piroxicam as a therapeutic active agent and the drug release study from these formulations. Tablets composed of ethylcellulose, Eudragit? or mixtures of Eudragit? and synthesised poly(oxepan-2-one) were prepared and tested. The effect of the matrix on the drug release at 37°C was studied. The drug-loaded microparticles were prepared using solvent evaporation microencapsulation. These systems were characterised by SEM and FTIR spectroscopy and the size and size distribution were also determined. The results demonstrated that the drug release could be modified by means of these formulations. Finally, piroxicam dissolution rate constants were calculated from Higuchi??s release model.     

Fluorescence and Electrochemical Sensing of Pesticides Methomyl, Aldicarb and Prometryne by the Luminescent Europium-3-Carboxycoumarin Probe

This work describes the application of time resolved fluorescence in microtiterplates and electrochemical methods on glassy carbon electrode for investigating the interactions of europium-3-carboxycoumarin with pesticides aldicarb, methomyl and prometryne. Stern-volmer studies at different temperatures indicate that static quenching dominates for methomyl, aldicarb and prometryne. By using Lineweaver-Burk equation binding constants were determined at 303 K, 308 K and 313 K. A thermodynamic analysis showed that the reaction is spontaneous with ΔG being negative. The enthalpy ΔH and the entropy ΔS of reactions were all determined. A time-resolved (gated) luminescence-based method for determination of pesticides in microtiterplate format using the long-lived europium-3-carboxycoumarin has been developed. The limit of detection is 4.80, 5.06 and 8.01 μmol L⁻¹ for methomyl, prometryne and aldicarb, respectively. This is the lowest limit of detection achieved so far for luminescent lanthanide-based probes for pesticides. The interaction of the probe with the pesticides has been investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), differential pulse polarography (DPP), square wave voltammetry (SWV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) on a glassy carbon electrode in I = 0.1 mol L⁻¹ p-toluenesulfonate at 25 °C. The diffusion coefficients of the reduced species are calculated. The main properties of the electrode reaction occurring in a finite diffusion space are the quasireversible maximum and the splitting of the net SWV peak for Eu(III) ions in the ternary complex formed . It was observed that the increase of the cathodic peak currents using LSV is linear with the increase of pesticides concentration in the range 5 × 10⁻⁷ to 1 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹. The detection limit (DL) were about 1.01, 2.23 and 1.89 μmolL⁻¹ for aldicarb, methomyl and prometryne, respectively. In order to assess the analytical applicability of the method, the influence of various potentially interfering species was examined. Influence of interfering species on the recovery of 10 μmol L⁻¹ pesticides has been investigated.     

Pressure and temperature characterization of two interferometric configurations based on suspended-core fibers

In this work, two all-fiber interferometric configurations based on suspended core fibers (SCF) are investigated. A Fabry–Pérot cavity (FPC) made of SCF spliced in-between segments of single-mode and hollow-core fiber is proposed. The interferometric signals are generated by the refractive-index mismatches between the two fibers in the splice region and at the end of the suspended-core fiber. An alternative sensing head configuration formed by the insertion of a length of SCF as a birefringence element in a Sagnac loop interferometer is also demonstrated. In this structure, the interferometric signals are generated by interfering two counter propagating beams with different polarization states which propagate through a length of SCF as a birefringence element. The sensitivity to pressure and temperature was determined for both configurations. The results show that the pressure sensitivities are ? 4.68 × 10^? 5 nm/psi and 0.032 nm/psi for FPC and Sagnac loop interferometers, respectively. The temperature sensitivity of both structures has been obtained and the results have been discussed.