Minimizing makespan on a single machine subject to random breakdowns

We investigate optimal sequencing policies for the expected makespan problem with an unreliable machine, where jobs have to be reprocessed in their entirety if preemptions occur because of breakdowns. We identify a class of uptime distributions under which LPT minimizes expected makespan.     

Excess isentropic compressibility and speed of sound of the ternary mixture 2-propanol + diethyl ether + n-hexane and the constituent binary mixtures at 298.15 K

Speed of sound and densities of the ternary mixture 2-propanol + diethyl ether + n-hexane and also the binary mixtures 2-propanol + diethyl ether and 2-propanol + n-hexane have been measured at the entire composition range at 298.15 K. The excess isentropic compressibilities and the excess speed of the sound have been calculated from experimental densities and speed of sound. These excess properties of the binary mixtures were fitted to Redlich-Kister equation, while the Cibulka’s equation was used to fit the values related to the values to the ternary system. These excess properties have been used to discuss the presence of significant interactions between the component molecules in the binary mixtures and also the ternary mixtures. Speed of sound of the binary mixtures and the ternary mixture have been compared with calculated values from free length theory (FLT), collision factor theory (CFT), Nomoto’s relation (NR), Van Deal’s ideal mixing relation (IMR) and Junjie’s relation (JR). The results are used to compare the relative merits of these theories and relations in terms of the root mean square deviation relative (RMSD_r).     

New transesterification reaction between acetylated wood and tetramethoxysilane: A feasibility study

Novel transesterification of acetylated maritime pine sapwood (Pinus pinaster Soland) reaction was performed with tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) in presence of dibutyltin oxide as a catalyst. Transesterification was confirmed by weight percent gain calculations (WPG), infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) as well as ¹³C and ²⁹Si NMR CP-MAS analysis. The results showed that transesterification indeed occurs via exchange of acetate groups from acetylated wood and methoxysilane groups from TMOS. The effect of temperatures and reaction time upon transesterification efficiency was also investigated.     

Direct determination of manganese in vitamin-mineral tablets using solid sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry

Manganese in vitamin-minerals tablets was determined by solid sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (SS-ETAAS) using three different calibration methods, namely calibration against aqueous standards, standard addition with aqueous standards on solid samples and calibration against solid certified standards. Samples were only finely ground and introduced directly into the furnace by means of solid autosampler system without any dissolving process. Effects of different calibration techniques, temperatures and heating rates of atomization and pyrolysis steps on the accuracy and precision of the analyte elements were investigated. After optimization of the experimental parameters, there is good agreement (at 95% confidence level) between the results obtained by solid sampling and those obtained by acid digestion of samples.     

Essential Oil and Antimicrobial Evaluation of the Pistacia eurycarpa

The compositions of microdistilled and hydrodistilled essential oils of the mastix ofPistacia eurycarpaYalt. (Anacardiaceae) were compared. The essential oils were analyzed by GC/MS:- andbeta;-pinenes were found as the major constituents. The antimicrobial activity of the hydrodistilled oil was determined due to the ethnomedical uses of the oleo-gum resin on skin diseases.     

A new route for the functionalisation of wood through transesterification reactions

A novel transesterification reaction between acetylated maritime pine sapwood (Pinus pinaster Soland) and methyl benzoate (MB), in the presence of dibutyltin oxide (DBTO) as a catalyst, was performed. Reaction was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance cross-polarisation with magic-angle spinning (NMR CP MAS) analysis: signals corresponding to benzoylated wood were identified and, when transesterification was performed with ethyl trimethylsilylacetate (ETMSA), characteristic trimethylsilyl groups were detected. The acetyl/benzoyl exchange rate was found to increase with increasing amount of DBTO, temperature and reaction time and a concurrent deterioration of the woody material was evidenced.     

Nanocomposites based on crosslinked polyacrylic latex/silver nanoparticles for waterborne high‐performance antibacterial coatings

Functional polymer/AgNPs nanocomposites have been prepared. Silver nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized to which polyacrylamide, PAAm, was covalently bound. PAAm was synthesized via a RAFT reaction and carried thiol and carboxylic acid end groups. Thiol was used to bind the polymer to the metal surface and carboxyl for further reactions. The AgNPs were used in a post‐crosslinking reaction with a separately synthesized poly(butyl acrylate‐co‐methyl methacrylate)/polyglycidyl methacrylate core/shell latex bearing epoxy functional groups. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the functional AgNPs effectively crosslinked the latex polymer, and that the final product had excellent mechanical strength. Antibacterial tests revealed that the nanocomposite films had strong antibacterial activity against all types of the bacteria and the immobilization of silver NPs by crosslinking retarded the release of silver in comparison to the uncrosslinked ones. With the presented method, it is possible to obtain ductile antibacterial nanocomposites to be used as waterborne functional coatings. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 1435–1447     

Versatile light‐responsive organogels: Evaluation of their dye releasing and photoinitiation behaviors

Light‐responsive crosslinked structures were prepared by a straightforward quaternization strategy using chloride functional polystyrene copolymers and commercially available Michler's ketone with varying feed ratios. Resulting organogels demonstrated excellent solvent absorption and their swelling characteristics were altered by UV‐light irradiation. According to scanning electron microscope images, UV‐illuminated samples showed an obvious photodecomposition, which enhanced their solvent uptake capacity with increase of UV exposure. Additionally, release behavior of eosin Y as a model compound was determined by UV–vis and fluorescence spectrometers. Achieved photoactive gels were also employed as the reusable heterogeneous initiators for photoinduced free‐radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1275–1282     

Protecting the data-driven newsvendor against rare events: a correction-term approach

We propose an approach to the data-driven newsvendor problem that incorporates a correction factor to account for rare events, when the decision-maker has few historical data points at his disposal but knows the range of the demand. This mitigates a weakness of pure data-driven methodologies, specifically, the fact that they under-protect the system against tail events, which are in general under-observed in the empirical demand distribution. We test the approach in extensive computational experiments and provide a summary table of the numerical experiments to help the decision maker gain further insights.     

Radii of starlikeness and convexity of a cross-product of Bessel functions

To illustrate vertical and horizontal equidistributions of Kloosterman sums, we prove two relevant central limit theorems by some analytic and combinatorial properties of Chebyshev polynomials and independence of monodromy groups of Kloosterman sheaves. The first one supports a short interval version of Katz’s vertical Sato–Tate distribution theorem, and the second one coincides with the horizontal conjecture of Katz in the statistical sense.