Multivariate optimization and comparison between conventional extraction (CE) and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) of carotenoid extraction from cashew apple

Carotenoids are an essential component of cashew and can be used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, natural pigment, food additives, among other applications. The present work focuses on optimizing and comparing conventional and ultrasound-assisted extraction methods. Every optimization step took place with a 1:1 (w:w) mixture of yellow and red cashew apples lyophilized and ground in a cryogenic mill. A Simplex-centroid design was applied for both methods, and the solvents acetone, methanol, ethanol, and petroleum ether were evaluated. After choosing the extractor solvent, a central composite design was applied to optimize the sample mass (59–201 mg) and extraction time (6–34 min). The optimum conditions for the extractor solvent were 38% acetone, 30% ethanol, and 32% petroleum ether for CE and a mixture of 44% acetone and 56% methanol for UAE. The best experimental conditions for UAE were a sonication time of 19 min and a sample mass of 153 mg, while the CE was 23 min and 136 mg. Comparing red and yellow cashews, red cashews showed a higher carotenoid content in both methodologies. The UAE methodology was ca. 21% faster, presented a more straightforward composition of extracting solution, showed an average yield of superior carotenoid content in all samples compared to CE. Therefore, UAE has demonstrated a simple, efficient, fast, low-cost adjustment methodology and a reliable alternative for other applications involving these bioactive compounds in the studied or similar matrix.     

Parametric error bounds for convex approximations of two-stage mixed-integer recourse models with a random second-stage cost vector

We consider two-stage recourse models with integer restrictions in the second stage. These models are typically non-convex and hence, hard to solve. There exist convex approximations of these models with accompanying error bounds. However, it is unclear how these error bounds depend on the distributions of the second-stage cost vector q. In this paper, we derive parametric error bounds whose dependence on the distribution of q is explicit: they scale linearly in the expected value of the ${?}_1$-norm of q.     

A posteriori error analysis of a quadratic finite volume method for nonlinear elliptic problems

In this article, we construct and analyze a residual-based a posteriori error estimator for a quadratic finite volume method (FVM) for solving nonlinear elliptic partial differential equations with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. We shall prove that the a posteriori error estimator yields the global upper and local lower bounds for the norm error of the FVM. So that the a posteriori error estimator is equivalent to the true error in a certain sense. Numerical experiments are performed to illustrate the theoretical results.     

New lower bounds on 2-spontaneous emission error designs

The combinatorial object named $t$-spontaneous emission error design ($t$-SEED) was proposed by Beth et al. in 2003 in order to correct errors caused by quantum jumps. The newly rising category of $t$-SEEDs has been studied extensively in recent years. Especially, the maximal possible dimensions for 2-SEEDs with block size 3 were determined completely; lower bounds on 2-SEEDs were established by applying affine groups. In this paper we utilize the action of twisted affine groups on finite fields and obtain new lower bounds on the dimensions of 2-$(q^2,k;m)$ SEEDs, some of which outperform the known ones.     

On decay rate of solutions for the stationary Navier–Stokes equation in an exterior domain

In this paper, we consider the asymptotic behavior of an incompressible fluid around a bounded obstacle. By adapting the Schauder's estimate for stationary Navier–Stokes equation to improve the regularity, the problem is solved by using appropriate Carleman estimates. It should be noted that the minimal decaying rate for a general scalar equation is $\exp ?(?C|x{|}^{2+})$. However, the structure of the Navier–Stokes is special. Under the assumption for any nontrivial solution to be uniform bounded which is weaker than those in [10], we got the minimal decaying rate is $\exp ?(?C|x{|}^{\frac{3}{2}+})$ which is better than the results in general scalar cases.     

On the complexity of extending the convergence ball of Wang’s method for finding a zero of a derivative

Ball convergence results are very important, since they demonstrate the complexity in choosing initial points for iterative methods. One of the most important problems in the study of iterative methods is to determine the convergence ball. This ball is small in general restricting the choice of initial points. We address this problem in the case of Wang’s method utilized to determine a zero of a derivative. Finding such a zero has many applications in computational fields, especially in function optimization. In particular, we find the convergence ball of Wang’s method using hypotheses up to the second derivative in contrast to earlier studies using hypotheses up to the fourth derivative. This way, we also extend the applicability of Wang’s method. Numerical experiments used to test the convergence criteria complete this study.