Purity assessment using the mass balance approach for inorganic in-house certified reference material production at Inmetro

Accreditation and Quality Assurance - The production of Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) is one of the essential activities of the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology...     

Mathematical analysis of a solution method for finite-strain holonomic plasticity of Cosserat materials

Meccanica - This article deals with the mathematical derivation and the validation over benchmark examples of a numerical method for the solution of a finite-strain holonomic (rate-independent)...     

Path to achieving molecular dispersion in a dense reactive mixture

A uniform dispersion of reactants is necessary to achieve a complete reaction involving multicomponents. In this study, we have examined the role of plasticizer in the reaction of two seemingly unlikely reactants: a highly crystalline hexamethylenetetramine (HMTA) and a strongly hydrogen bonded phenol formaldehyde resin. By combining information from NMR, infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry, we were able to determine the role of specific intermolecular interactions necessary for the plasticizer to dissolve the highly crystalline HMTA and to plasticize the phenol formaldehyde resin in this crosslinking reaction. The presence of the plasticizer increased the segmental mobility, disrupted the hydrogen bonded matrix, and freed the hydroxyl units, which further increased the solubility of the HMTA. Both the endothermic and exothermic transitions are accounted for in the calorimetric data obtained. For the first time, it is possible to obtain the effective molar ratio of each component needed to complete the crosslinking reaction efficiently. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1519–1526     

Orthogonal and unitary tensor decomposition from an algebraic perspective

While every matrix admits a singular value decomposition, in which the terms are pairwise orthogonal in a strong sense, higher-order tensors typically do not admit such an orthogonal decomposition. Those that do have attracted attention from theoretical computer science and scientific computing. We complement this existing body of literature with an algebro-geometric analysis of the set of orthogonally decomposable tensors.More specifically, we prove that they form a real-algebraic variety defined by polynomials of degree at most four. The exact degrees, and the corresponding polynomials, are different in each of three times two scenarios: ordinary, symmetric, or alternating tensors; and real-orthogonal versus complex-unitary. A key feature of our approach is a surprising connection between orthogonally decomposable tensors and semisimple algebras—associative in the ordinary and symmetric settings and of compact Lie type in the alternating setting.     

Determination of cocaine adulterants in human urine by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction and high-performance liquid chromatography

Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry - This study aimed to determine simultaneously five major street cocaine adulterants (caffeine, lidocaine, phenacetin, diltiazem, and hydroxyzine) in human...     

Two improved formulations for the minimum latency problem

In network problems, latency is associated with the metric used to evaluate the length of the path from a root vertex to each vertex in the network. In this work we are dealing with two applications or variations of the minimum latency problem known as the repairman problem and the deliveryman problem. We have developed two integer formulations for the minimum latency problem and compared them with other two formulations from the literature for the time-dependent traveling salesman problem. The present work highlights the similarities and differences between the different formulations. In addition, we discuss the convenience of including a set of constraints in order to reduce the computation time needed to reach the optimal solution. We have carried out extensive computational experimentation on asymmetrical instances, since they provide the characteristics of the deliveryman and repairman problems in a better way.     

Ambivalent role of metal chlorides in ring opening reactions of 2H-azirines: synthesis of imidazoles,pyrroles and pyrrolinones

2H-Azirines were found to react with imines, enaminones and enaminoesters in the presence of metal salts. Imidazoles, pyrroles and new pyrrolinones derivatives are isolated in good overall yields. The role of metal salts was investigated as they can act as Lewis acids or electron donors. Mechanisms are proposed suggesting that imidazoles arise from addition of azirine to imines via radical or ionic mechanism; pyrroles and pyrrolinones are obtained from azirines with enamino derivatives when the salt acts as a Lewis acid. In the latter case the properties of the metallic compound influence the reaction regioselectivity.     

Enhanced interfacial adhesion,mechanical, and thermal properties of natural flour-filled biodegradable polymer bio-composites

This study examined the interfacial adhesion, mechanical, and thermal properties of compatibilizing agent-treated and non-treated biocomposites as a function of the type of compatibilizing agent. The tensile strength, interfacial adhesion, and heat deflection temperature (HDT) of maleic anhydride-grafted poly(butylene succinate) (PBS-MA) and maleic anhydride-grafted poly(lactic acid) (PLA-MA)-treated biocomposites are greater than those of untreated maleic anhydride-grafted poly(styrene-b-ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) triblock copolymer (SEBS-MA) and maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAPP)-treated biocomposites. The storage modulus (E′) values and the tan δ_max temperatures (T _g) of PBS-MA and PLA-MA-treated biocomposites were slightly higher than that of the untreated biocomposites.