Existence of the Optimum in Shallow Lake Type Models with Hysteresis Effect

Journal of Optimization Theory and Applications - Pollution management models of Shallow Lake type identify a well-known class of infinite horizon optimal control problems, characterized by the...     

A modulus-based formulation for the vertical linear complementarity problem

Numerical Algorithms - We introduce a modulus-based formulation for vertical linear complementarity problems (VLCPs) with an arbitrary number ? of matrices. This formulation can be used to...     

Near-Ultraviolet Circular Dichroism and Two-Dimensional Spectroscopy of Polypeptides

A fully quantitative theory of the relationship between protein conformation and optical spectroscopy would facilitate deeper insights into biophysical and simulation studies of protein dynamics and folding. In contrast to intense bands in the far-ultraviolet, near-UV bands are much weaker and have been challenging to compute theoretically. We report some advances in the accuracy of calculations in the near-UV, which were realised through the consideration of the vibrational structure of the electronic transitions of aromatic side chains.     

Fracture behavior and mechanical,thermal, and rheological properties of biodegradable films extruded by flat die and calender

The development of biodegradable materials for tailored applications, particularly in the field of polymeric films and sheets, is a challenging technological goal as well as a contribution to help protect the environment. Poly(lactic) acid (PLA) is a promising substitute for several oil-based polymers; however, to overcome its thermal and mechanical drawbacks, researchers have developed solutions such as blending PLA with polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), which is capable of increasing the ductility of the final material. In this study, PLA/PBAT binary blends, with minimum possible content of nonrenewable materials, were examined from processing, thermal, morphological, and rheological perspective. An optimized PLA/PBAT ratio was chosen as the polymeric basis to obtain a biodegradable formulation by adding a biobased plasticizer and appropriate fillers to produce a micrometer film with tailored flexibility and tear resistance. The processing technology involved flat-die extrusion, followed by calendering. The tearing resistance of the produced film was investigated, and the results were compared with literature data. A study on the essential work of fracture was implemented to explore the mode III out-of-plane fracture resistance starting from a trouser tear test.     

The acoustic characteristics of clause, sentence and paragraph boundaries in Chinese Putonghua

The acoustic and perceptive characteristics of discourse units, including clauses, simple sentences, compound sentences and paragraphs, were studied. The acoustic characteristics were based on the analysis of a speech corpus consisted of ten monologues. The Perceived Boundary Strength (PBS) of the monologues was labeled on a five-point scale by 25 participants. The main results are as follows: (1) There is a significant difference in the PBS of clauses (corresponding to intonational phrase), sentences (including simple sentences and compound sentences) and paragraphs. But the PBS of simple sentences and compound sentences is the same, and the pitch reset and pause are also not significantly different between these two kinds of boundaries. (2) The pitch-based cue used to distinguish clauses, sentences and paragraphs appears to be the difference between pre- and post-boundary syllables, but not simply the pitch value of either syllable alone. (3) Declination mainly occurs within intonational phrases, whereas there is no consistent global declination in sentences or in paragraphs. (4) Pauses are longer and more varied at the boundary of larger discourse units. Moreover, there is a significant positive correlation between pause duration and degree of pitch reset at clause boundaries, but not at sentence or paragraph boundaries.     

Photoluminescent properties and Raman spectra of ZnO-based scintillating glasses

Glasses in SiO₂–ZnO–BaO system with the different ZnO/BaO ratio were studied. In some cases, BaF₂ was introduced to substitute for BaO on the equal base. Photoluminescent spectra showed that ZnO in glass matrices behaved somewhat differently from ZnO crystals. Especially, the introduction of fluorine ions led to dramatic shift of UV emission band of glasses closer to that of ZnO crystals. Raman spectral analysis provided consistent results. In particular, Raman bands in the high frequency region are sensitive to effects of different ZnO/BaO or BaF₂/BaO ratio on structure of glasses.     

New strong interactions: From QCD to LHC

The concept of strong interactions need not be limited to the sector of physics taken by QCD. While this domain is investigated by RHIC, LHC will be able to probe potential new strong interactions simultaneously: Finding the precise mechanism for electroweak symmetry breaking is one of the prime problems of physics. Intricately linked to this point is the question after the true nature or even the existence of the Higgs boson. Here, we present stronly interacting theories providing an explanation for the hierarchy problem and leading to a light composite Higgs boson, favoured by experimental data. Our variation of the standard model is consistent with precision data. We achieve this accordance by using technifermions in a higher representation of their gauge group. Anomaly conditions require at least one extra lepton family for some of the theories whereby they contain a natural dark matter candidate. We can accurately determine the masses of said leptons from experimental data.     

用遗传算法研究Con(n=3-60)团簇的结构特性

我们采用半经验的Gupta多体势结合遗传算法,系统地研究了Con(n=3-60)团簇的几何结构特性.我们发现在钴团簇的生长中存在一个类fcc构型与类Ih构型之间的竞争,从n=39开始,钴团簇呈现出明显的Ih生长模式.Con(n=3-60)团簇的幻数为13,19,23,38,55,结合钴团簇的平均最近邻原子间距和平均配位数,分析了钴团簇幻数序列存在的原因.我们发现团簇内部原子具有增强团簇对称性和加强团簇稳定性的显著作用.