Optimal Investment in a Levy Market

In this paper we consider the optimal investment problem in a market where the stock price process is modeled by a geometric Levy process (taking into account jumps). Except for the geometric Brownian model and the geometric Poissonian model, the resulting models are incomplete and there are many equivalent martingale measures. However, the model can be completed by the so-called power-jump assets. By doing this we allow investment in these new assets and we can try to maximize the expected utility of these portfolios. As particular cases we obtain the optimal portfolios based in stocks and bonds, showing that the new assets are superfluous for certain martingale measures that depend on the utility function we use.     

Green chemistry for the synthesis of methacrylate-based hydrogels crosslinked through Diels–Alder reaction

This study describes an environmentally friendly and green synthetic approach for the preparation of poly(aminoethylmethacrylate)-based hydrogels crosslinked through Diels–Alder (DA) reaction in water. This “click” reaction offers the possibility of preparing chemically crosslinked hydrogels in the absence of any catalyst, initiator or coupling agent, thus preserving the biocompatibility of the material. The suitable furan diene was obtained by modifying a methacrylate polymer by its reaction with furfural, a first generation compound derived from renewable resources. Methacrylate-based complementary polymeric dienophiles were also prepared by introducing maleimide groups into the structure. The products obtained at different steps were characterized by FTIR, NMR and TGA techniques. The study of the rheological properties of the hydrogels proved the success of this green “click” synthetic strategy confirming the formation of chemically crosslinked networks by the use of the Diels–Alder reaction. Furthermore, SEM studies revealed promising morphological properties of the ensuing hydrogels in terms of biomedical applications.     

Thermal treatment of the carbon nanotubes and their functionalization with styrene

In this work we studied the functionalization of commercially available multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) (Nanocyl 3100) with polystyrene by the method so called “grafting from”. The nanotubes were used as received and oxidized in air at 400 °C. The functionalization was started using thionyl chloride under reflux, followed by a reaction with ethylene glycol which allowed the inclusion of hydroxyl groups. The reaction of those with 2-chloropropionyl chloride led to the generation of the polymerization initiator. Last, the radical polymerization of the functionalized nanotubes, using styrene as the monomer, led to new materials which were studied with thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy.     

A Characterization of Monotone and Regular Divergences

In this paper we characterize the local structure of monotone and regular divergences, which include f-divergences as a particular case, by giving their Taylor expansion up to fourth order. We extend a previous result obtained by encov, using the invariant properties of Amari's -connections.     

Influence of curing conditions on the morphology and physical properties of epoxy resins modified with a liquid polyamine

A diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin has been stoichiometrically cured with cycloaliphatic amine 4,4′-diamino-3,3′-dimethylcyclohexylmethane (3DCM) and modified with an amine terminated oligomer polyoxypropylenetriamine (POPTA) at a concentration of 15 wt %. Mixtures, postcured at the same temperature, have been precured at different temperatures. Phase separation takes place before gelation at all precure temperatures used. The variation in the glass transition region of the mixtures has been analyzed by dynamic mechanical measurements. Mechanical properties and fracture toughness of the modified mixtures have been related to their microstructural spherical features. Results are compared to those for the unmodified mixtures cured with different precure temperatures. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A review of bacterial cellulose: sustainable production from agricultural waste and applications in various fields

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a polymer with interesting conformation and properties. BC can be obtained in different shapes and is easily modified by chemical and physical means, so its applications in the production of new materials and nanocomposites for different purposes have been in the focus of many research projects. However, one of the major challenges to address in bacterium-derived polymer technology is to find suitable carbon sources as substrates that are cheap and do not compete with food production for achieving large scale industrial applications. Agricultural wastes are defined as the residues from the growing and processing of raw agricultural products such as crops, fruits, vegetables and dairy products. Their composition can vary depending on the type of agricultural activity and harvesting conditions, but these residues are suitable for the production of BC. The aim of this review is to give insight into the production of BC using agro-wastes and an overview of the most interesting and novel applications of this biopolymer in different areas i.e. environmental applications, optoelectronic and conductive devices, food ingredients and packaging, biomedicine, and 3D printing technology.

Graphic abstract

     

Power variation for Gaussian processes with stationary increments

We develop the asymptotic theory for the realised power variation of the processes X=?•G$X=?•G$, where G$G$ is a Gaussian process with stationary increments. More specifically, under some mild assumptions on the variance function of the increments of G$G$ and certain regularity conditions on the path of the process ?$?$ we prove the convergence in probability for the properly normalised realised power variation. Moreover, under a further assumption on the Hölder index of the path of ?$?$, we show an associated stable central limit theorem. The main tool is a general central limit theorem, due essentially to Hu and Nualart [Y. Hu, D. Nualart, Renormalized self-intersection local time for fractional Brownian motion, Ann. Probab. (33) (2005) 948–983], Nualart and Peccati [D. Nualart, G. Peccati, Central limit theorems for sequences of multiple stochastic integrals, Ann. Probab. (33) (2005) 177–193] and Peccati and Tudor [G. Peccati, C.A. Tudor, Gaussian limits for vector-valued multiple stochastic integrals, in: M. Emery, M. Ledoux, M. Yor (Eds.), Seminaire de Probabilites XXXVIII, in: Lecture Notes in Math, vol. 1857, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2005, pp. 247–262], for sequences of random variables which admit a chaos representation.     

Kinetics and Morphology of an Epoxy Resin Modified with PEO-PPO-PEO Block Copolymers

Block copolymers are a special class of polymers having the ability to self-assemble into nanoscale ordered structures which depend on molecular composition of the blocks. With the aim of studying the influence of copolymer composition, the kinetics of a 4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane-cured diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy system modified with a PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymers has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), taking into account the relation between blocks in the copolymer as well as different copolymer contents. DSC results show that the rate of cure reaction decreases when the copolymer is added, which can be attributed to the interaction between the hidroxyl groups of the growing epoxy thermoset and the ether groups of the block copolymer observed by FTIR. The experimental results obtained have been related to the morphologies observed by atomic force microscopy (AFM).     

In situ polymerization and characterization of elastomeric polyurethane-cellulose nanocrystal nanocomposites. Cell response evaluation

Polyurethane/Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) nanocomposites have been prepared by means of in situ polymerization using CNCs as precursors of polyurethane chains. Thermal, mechanical and morphological characterization has been analyzed to study the effect of CNC on the micro/nanostructure, which consisted of individualized nanocellulose crystallites covalently bonded to hard and soft segments of polyurethane. The incorporation of low CNC content led to a tough material whereas higher amount of CNC provoked an increase in soft and hard segments crystallization phenomenon. Moreover, from the viewpoint of polyurethane and polyurethane nanocomposites applications focused on biomedical devices, biocompatibility studies can be considered necessary to evaluate the influence of CNC on the biological behaviour. SEM micrographs obtained from cells seeded on top of the materials showed that L-929 fibroblasts massively colonized the materials surface giving rise to good substrates for cell adhesion and proliferation and useful as potential materials for biomedical applications.