Influence of the composition of the polymer matrix on the electrooptical properties of films with a dispersed liquid crystal

Polymer films with a dispersed liquid crystal were prepared by photopolymerization of (meth)acrylic monomers. The electrooptical properties of these films were studied. The influence exerted by the composition of the monomer mixture, cross-linking agents, and chain-transfer agent on the liquid crystal drop size and on the transmission of the polymer-liquid crystal films was examined.     

Stationary Distribution Function Estimation for Ergodic Diffusion Process

The problem of nonparametric stationary distribution function estimation by the observations of an ergodic diffusion process is considered. The local asymptotic minimax lower bound on the risk of all the estimators is found and it is proved that the empirical distribution function is asymptotically efficient in the sense of this bound.     

Optimization of the synthesis of non-symmetrical alkyl dimethyl sulfonium halides

This work is aimed at the optimization of the yield and purity of non-symmetrical trialkyl sulfonium halide salts. The effects of parameters such as solvent, temperature and concentration were studied. The products were carefully analyzed and the crystal structure of [{n-CH₃(CH₂)₁₅}(CH₃)₂S]Br determined. The overall aim of the present study is future syntheses of low-dimensional magnetic materials.     

Multiplicity of zeros and discrete orthogonal polynomials

We consider a problem of bounding the maximal possible multiplicity of a zero of some expansions Σ a_iF_i(x), at a certain point c, depending on the chosen family {imi}. The most important example is a polynomial with c = 1. It is shown that this question naturally leads to discrete orthogonal polynomials. Using this connection we derive some new bounds, in particular on the multiplicity of the zero at one of a polynomial with a prescribed norm. 30C15, 33C47     

On the theory of isentropic solutions of quasilinear conservation laws

This paper studies isentropic solutions of quasilinear first-order equations with two independent variables and a flux function that is only continuous. The isentropic solutions are characterized by the requirement that the S. N. Kruzhkov entropy conditions hold for these solution with the equality sign. It turns out that the existence of a nonconstant isentropic solution imposes rather strong restrictions on the nonlinearity. In particular, it is shown that on the minimal interval containing the essential image of the isentropic solution, the flux function satisfies the local Lipschitz condition, and its generalized derivative is a function of locally bounded variation. Also, it is proved that when the flux function is nonlinear, any isentropic solution is continuous on nondegenerate intervals. __________ Translated from Sovremennaya Matematika i Ee Prilozheniya (Contemporary Mathematics and Its Applications), Vol. 33, Suzdal Conference-2004, Part 1, 2005.     

Mechanistic characterization of aerobic alcohol oxidation catalyzed by Pd(OAc)(2)/pyridine including identification of the catalyst resting state and the origin of nonlinear [catalyst] dependence

The Pd(OAc)(2)/pyridine catalyst system is one of the most convenient and versatile catalyst systems for selective aerobic oxidation of organic substrates. This report describes the catalytic mechanism of Pd(OAc)(2)/pyridine-mediated oxidation of benzyl alcohol, which has been studied by gas-uptake kinetic methods and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The data reveal that turnover-limiting substrate oxidation by palladium(II) proceeds by a four-step pathway involving (1) formation of an adduct between the alcohol substrate and the square-planar palladium(II) complex, (2) proton-coupled ligand substitution to generate a palladium-alkoxide species, (3) reversible dissociation of pyridine from palladium(II) to create a three-coordinate intermediate, and (4) irreversible beta-hydride elimination to produce benzaldehyde. The catalyst resting state, characterized by (1)H NMR spectroscopy, consists of an equilibrium mixture of (py)(2)Pd(OAc)(2), 1, and the alcohol adduct of this complex, 1xRCH(2)OH. These in situ spectroscopic data provide direct support for the mechanism proposed from kinetic studies. The catalyst displays higher turnover frequency at lower catalyst loading, as revealed by a nonlinear dependence of the rate on [catalyst]. This phenomenon arises from a competition between forward and reverse reaction steps that exhibit unimolecular and bimolecular dependences on [catalyst]. Finally, overoxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzoic acid, even at low levels, contributes to catalyst deactivation by formation of a less active palladium benzoate complex.     

Development of digital gamma-activation autoradiography for the determination of platinum group element inclusions in geological samples

It has been shown that gamma-activation significantly extends possibilities of activation autoradiography with respect to determination of platinum group elements (PGE) in silicate samples. All PGE may be activated by bremsstrahlung with forming radionuclides having convenient half-lives for autoradiography (hours-days). Digital methods for quantitative 2D-densitometry of autoradiograph images by means of documents scanners have been developed and discussed. Approaches for increasing selectivity of analysis by means of autoradiography have been proposed and tested on the real sample containing PGE inclusions (analysis of decay kinetics while cooling, combination with gamma-ray spectrometry).     

Tensor products of coherent configurations

A Cartesian decomposition of a coherent configuration ✗ is defined as a special set of its parabolics that form a Cartesian decomposition of the underlying set. It turns out that every tensor decomposition of ✗ comes from a certain Cartesian decomposition. It is proved that if the coherent configuration ✗ is thick, then there is a unique maximal Cartesian decomposition of ✗; i.e., there is exactly one internal tensor decomposition of ✗ into indecomposable components. In particular, this implies an analog of the Krull–Schmidt theorem for the thick coherent configurations. A polynomial-time algorithm for finding the maximal Cartesian decomposition of a thick coherent configuration is constructed.