Neutron emission from fracturing of granite blocks: An experimental revisitation

A series of experimental tests, such as those of Carpinteri et al. (2013), have been performed. The aim was to check the emission of neutrons in the fracture of Luserna granite blocks under mechanical loading, as reported by the above mentioned authors. No neutrons have been detected and some doubts have emerged on the soundness of the previous measurements.     

Evaluating continuous chirality measure as a 3D descriptor in chemoinformatics applied to asymmetric catalysis

Continuous Chirality Measure (CCM) is a computational metric by which to quantify the chirality of a compound. In enantioselective catalysis, prior work has postulated that CCM is correlated to selectivity and can be used to understand which structural features dictate catalyst efficacy. Herein, the investigation of CCM as a metric capable of guiding catalyst optimization is explored. Conformer-dependent CCM is also explored. Finally, CCM is used with Sterimol parameters to significantly improve the performance of Random Forest models.     

Quasi-periodic bursters and chaotic dynamics in a shallow arch subject to a fast–slow parametric excitation

Nonlinear Dynamics - In this paper, various nonlinear dynamics of a one-degree-of-freedom shallow arch model are investigated. The arch is subject to an imposed displacement of its support that is...     

Sustainable Access to Acridin-9-(10H)ones with an Embedded m-Terphenyl Moiety Based on a Three-Component Reaction

A Ce(IV)-catalyzed three-component reaction between chalcones, anilines and β-ketoesters followed by a microwave-assisted thermal cyclization afforded 1,3-diaryl-1,2-dihydroacridin-9(10H)-ones. Their microwave irradiation in nitrobenzene, acting both as solvent and oxidant, afforded fully unsaturated 1,3-diarylacridin-9(10H)-ones, which combine acridin-9-(10H)one and m-terphenyl moieties. Overall, the route generates three C-C and one C-N bond and has the advantage of requiring a single chromatographic separation.     

Morphological and Interaction Characteristics of Surface-Active Ionic Liquids and Palmitic Acid in Mixed Monolayers

A series of water soluble, surface-active ionic liquids (SAILs), namely, 1-alkyl-3-methyl imidazolium chlorides ([C_n-mim]Cl) and their mixtures with palmitic acid (PA) are investigated in Langmuir monolayers and Langmuir–Blodgett films. It is inferred from the surface pressure-area isotherms that C₁₆-mim-IL mixes non-ideally with PA and stabilizes the binary mixed films. In addition, the residence of mim-IL at the water surface is enhanced as a function of the increasing alkyl side chain length. Generally, the compressional moduli values decrease upon increasing the content of the mim-ILs over a wide range of compositions. Furthermore, film relaxation measurements indicate that the IL component is selectively excluded from the mixed films upon achieving a certain target pressure. Brewster angle microscope images demonstrate minimal changes on the PA domains in the presence of either C₄- and C₈-mim-ILs, whereas presence of the hexadecyl counterpart results in the formation of condensed sheets. Atomic force microscopy imaging of deposited films show the formation of propeller-like aggregates when C₈- or C₁₆-mim-IL is present in the mixed films.     

Coordinate transformation and construction of finite element mesh in a diverted tokamak geometry

A coordinate transformation technique between straight magnetic field line coordinate system (Ψ, θ) and Cartesian coordinate system (R, Z) is presented employing a Solov'ev solution of the Grad-Shafranov equation. Employing the equilibrium solution, the poloidal magnetic flux Ψ(R, Z) of a diverted tokamak, magnetic field line equation is solved computationally to find curves of constant poloidal angle θ, which provides us with explicit relations R = R(Ψ, θ) and Z = Z(Ψ, θ). Correspondingly, conversion from one coordinate to the other along particle trajectories in the vicinity of separatrix is demonstrated. Based on the magnetic structure, a finite element mesh is generated in a diverted tokamak geometry to solve Poisson's equation.     

Production of Mixed Powders of Actinide Dioxides by Thermal Reductive Denitration Using Microwave Heating

Physics of Atomic Nuclei - The use of microwave heating to produce solid solutions of actinide oxides in the processes of thermal denitration of model nitric acid solutions formed in reducing...     

Synthesis of New Methanofullerenes with Phthalimide Fragment

Bromo- and chloromethyl ketones based on N-phthalyl-substituted amino acids have been synthesized via the Arndt–Eistert reaction. The products [2+1] cycloaddition to the fullerene scaffold has afforded the monoadducts of fullerene C60.     

Noise-Immune Communication with Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Using Kravchenko Weight Function Processing

Doklady Mathematics - Signal structures based on OFDM signals and error-correcting codes resistant to the influence of spectrum-concentrated noise are described. An algorithm for receiving such...