Extraction studies of antimony bromide into benzene

Antimony(III) can be extracted rapidly and quantitatively into benzene from a 10 M H₂SO₄–0.03 M HBr system. The extracted antimony bromide has an antimony to bromine ratio of 1:3. Under the above optimum conditions for extraction of antimony, the behaviour of 35 other elements was studied; As³⁺, Ge⁴⁺, Se⁴⁺, and Sn²⁺ were extracted almost quantitatively, and the percentage extraction of Hg²⁺, Bi³⁺, and Te⁴⁺ was 74.1%, 10% and 5.5% respectively. The extraction of the elements into benzene from a 5 M H₂SO₄–0.01 M KI system was also investigated, A comparison of the two systems is given.     

Symmetry-improved CJT effective action

The formalism introduced by Cornwall, Jackiw and Tomboulis (CJT) provides a systematic approach to consistently resumming non-perturbative effects in Quantum Thermal Field Theory. One major limitation of the CJT effective action is that its loopwise expansion introduces residual violations of possible global symmetries, thus giving rise to massive Goldstone bosons in the spontaneously broken phase of the theory. In this paper we develop a novel symmetry-improved CJT formalism for consistently encoding global symmetries in a loopwise expansion. In our formalism, the extremal solutions of the fields and propagators to a loopwise truncated CJT effective action are subject to additional constraints given by the Ward Identities due to global symmetries. By considering a simple O(2)$\mathbb{O}(2)$ scalar model, we show that, unlike other methods, our approach satisfies a number of important field-theoretic properties. In particular, we find that the Goldstone boson resulting from spontaneous symmetry breaking of O(2)$\mathbb{O}(2)$ is massless and the phase transition is a second-order one, already in the Hartree–Fock approximation. After taking the sunset diagrams into account, we show how our approach properly describes the threshold properties of the massless Goldstone boson and the Higgs particle in the loops. Finally, assuming minimal modifications to the Hartree–Fock approximated CJT effective action, we calculate the corresponding symmetry-improved CJT effective potential and discuss the conditions for its uniqueness for scalar-field values away from its minimum.     

Highly Elastic Melamine Graphene/MWNT Hybrid Sponge for Sensor Applications

The rapidly increased interest in multifunctional nanoelectronic devices, such as wearable monitors, smart robots, and electronic skin, motivated many researchers toward the development of several kinds of sensors in recent years. Flexibility, stability, sensitivity, and low cost are the most important demands for exploiting stretchable or compressible strain sensors. This article describes the formation and characteristics of a flexible, low-cost strain sensor by combining a commercial melamine sponge and a graphene/carbon nanotubes hybrid. The composite that emerged by doping the highly elastic melamine sponge with a highly conductive graphene/carbon nanotubes hybrid showed excellent piezoresistive behavior, with low resistivity of 22 kΩ m. Its function as a piezoresistive material exhibited a high sensitivity of 0.050 kPa⁻¹ that combined with a wide detection area ranging between 0 to 50 kPa.     

Electronic spectroscopy and electronic structure of diatomic TiFe

Diatomic TiFe, a 12 valence electron molecule that is isoelectronic with Cr(2), has been spectroscopically investigated for the first time. In addition, the first computational study that includes the ground and excited electronic states is reported. Like Cr(2), TiFe has a (1)Σ(+) ground state that is dominated by the 1σ(2) 2σ(2) 1π(4) 1δ(4) configuration. Rotationally resolved spectroscopy has established a ground state bond length of 1.7024(3) A?, quite similar to that found for Cr(2) (r(0) = 1.6858 A?). Evidently, TiFe exhibits a high degree of multiple bonding. The vibronic spectrum is highly congested and intense to the blue of 20?000 cm(-1), while two extremely weak band systems, the [15.9](3)Π(1) ← X (1)Σ(+) and [16.2](3)Π(0+) ← X (1)Σ(+) systems, are found in the 16?000-18?500 cm(-1) region. The bond lengths, obtained by inversion of the B(e) (') values, and vibrational frequencies of the two upper states are nearly identical: 1.886?A? and 344 cm(-1) for [15.9](3)Π(1) and 1.884 A? and 349 cm(-1) for [16.2](3)Π(0+). The measured spin-orbit splitting of the (3)Π state is consistent with its assignment to the 1σ(2) 2σ(2) 1π(4) 1δ(3) 2π(1) configuration, as is also found in the ab initio calculations.     

The electronic structure of vanadium carbide, VC

Within an energy range of 2.4 eV, we have explored 29 of the 36 states of the diatomic molecule VC that arise from the atoms in their ground state, V(4s23d3;4F)+C(2s2 2p2;3P). We use multireference methods with large atomic natural orbital basis sets. The ground state is of 2Delta symmetry with the first two excited states, 4Delta and 2Sigma+, located 4.2 and 7.0 kcal/mol above the X state. All the states examined in this work are relatively strongly bound and show significant charge transfer from V to C. The binding energy of the X 2Delta state is estimated to be 95.3 kcal/mol in good agreement with the experimental value.     

Diblock copolymers of polystyrene‐b‐poly(1,3‐cyclohexadiene) exhibiting unique three‐phase microdomain morphologies

The synthesis and molecular characterization of a series of conformationally asymmetric polystyrene‐block‐poly(1,3‐cyclohexadiene) (PS‐b‐PCHD) diblock copolymers (PCHD: ～90% 1,4 and ～10% 1,2), by sequential anionic copolymerization high vacuum techniques, is reported. A wide range of volume fractions (0.27 ≤ ?_PS ≤ 0.91) was studied by transmission electron microscopy and small‐angle X‐ray scattering in order to explore in detail the microphase separation behavior of these flexible/semiflexible diblock copolymers. Unusual morphologies, consisting of PCHD core(PCHD‐1,4)–shell(PCHD‐1,2) cylinders in PS matrix and three‐phase (PS, PCHD‐1,4, PCHD‐1,2) four‐layer lamellae, were observed suggesting that the chain stiffness of the PCHD block and the strong dependence of the interaction parameter χ on the PCHD microstructures are important factors for the formation of this unusual microphase separation behavior in PS‐b‐PCHD diblock copolymers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 1564–1572     

Dielectric relaxation spectroscopy in poly(ethylene oxide)/water systems

The dielectric properties of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) are studied by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy measurements in wide ranges of frequency (5–2×10⁹ Hz) and temperature (193 − 300 K). PEO/water systems are also studied in a wide range of water content h (0 − 0.85 grams of water per grams of dry PEO). The measurements allow to distinguish between the dipolar secondary mechanism γ and effects related to free charge motion. The data are analyzed within the formalisms of permittivity, ϵ*, and electric modulus, M*. The water has been found to plasticize the dipolar process and to affect strongly the conduction process. A critical water content h_c, h_c = 0.13, has been found for the mechanism of charge transport.     

Synthesis of a Novel Chitosan/Basil Oil Blend and Development of Novel Low Density Poly Ethylene/Chitosan/Basil Oil Active Packaging Films Following a Melt-Extrusion Process for Enhancing Chicken Breast Fillets Shelf-Life

An innovative process for the adsorption of the hydrophobic Basil-Oil (BO) into the hydrophilic food byproduct chitosan (CS) and the development of an advanced low-density polyethylene/chitosan/basil-oil (LDPE/CS_BO) active packaging film was investigated in this work. The idea of this study was the use of the BO as both a bioactive agent and a compatibilizer. The CS was modified to a CS_BO hydrophobic blend via a green evaporation/adsorption process. This blend was incorporated directly in the LDPE to produce films with advanced properties. All the obtained composite films exhibited improved packaging properties. The film with 10% CS_BO content exhibited the best packaging properties, i.e., 33.0% higher tensile stress, 31.0% higher water barrier, 54.3% higher oxygen barrier, and 12.3% higher antioxidant activity values compared to the corresponding values of the LDPE films. The lipid oxidation values of chicken breast fillets which were packaged under vacuum using this film were measured after seven and after fourteen days of storage. These values were found to be lower by around 41% and 45%, respectively, compared with the corresponding lipid oxidation values of pure LDPE film.     

Mathematical Models for Studying the Value of Motivational Leadership in Teams

Mathematical models are presented for studying the value of leadership in a team where the members interact with each other. The models are based on a leader’s role of motivating each team member to perform closer to his/her maximum ability. These models include controllable parameters whose values reflect the amount of task interdependence among the workers as well as the motivational skill and variability in the skill of the leader. Confirming results—such as the fact that the skill level of the leader is a critical factor in the expected performance of the team—establish credibility in the models. Mathematical analysis and computer simulations are used to provide new managerial insights into the value of the leader—such as the fact that the skill of the leader can be more important than controlling the amount of interdependence among the team members and that having a choice of multiple leaders with no particular motivating skill is beneficial to the performance of small teams but not to large teams.Daniel Solow received a B.S. in Mathematics from Carnegie-Mellon, an M.S. in Operations Research from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Ph. D. in Operations Research from Stanford University. He has been a professor at Case Western Reserve University since 1978. His research interests include complex systems, discrete, linear, and nonlinear optimization. He has also developed systematic methods for teaching mathematical proofs, computer programming, and operations research.Sandy Kristin Piderit is an assistant professor of organizational behavior at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She studies the roles of relationships among coworkers on their performance and satisfaction with their work environments, and has published studies in the Academy of Management Review, the Journal of Management Studies, and Management Science.Apostolos Burnetas received a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from National Technical University in Athens, Greece, and an M.B.A. and Ph.D. in Operations Research from Rutgers University. He has been at the Department of Operations at Case Western Reserve University and is currently an Associate Professor at the Department of Mathematics at the University of Athens. His research interests include stochastic models and optimization, complex systems, and applications in queueing systems, supply chain and the interface of operations with finance.Chartchai Leenawong received a B.S. in Mathematics from Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, an M.S. in Computer Science from the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from Case Western Reserve University. His research interests include mathematical modeling of complex systems as applied to business organizations. He has been a professor at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand since 2002.     

Strategic customer behavior in a queueing system with delayed observations

We consider the single-server Markovian queue with infinite waiting space and assume that there exists a certain reward-cost structure that reflects the customers’ desire for service and their dislike for waiting. The system is unobservable for the customers at their arrival instants, but the administrator provides them with periodic announcements of their current positions at rate \(\theta \), so that they may renege if it is preferable for them to do so. The customers are strategic, and their decision problem is whether to join or not the system upon arrival and whether to stay or renege later. Their strategies are specified by a join probability q and a reneging threshold n. We determine the equilibrium strategies \((n_e,q_e)\) and study the socially optimal strategies \((n_\mathrm{soc},q_\mathrm{soc})\). Extensive numerical experiments provide interesting qualitative insight about the model. In particular, the equilibrium throughput of the system is a unimodal function of \(\theta \). Moreover, despite the fact that we have an avoid-the-crowd situation, it is possible that \(q_\mathrm{soc}>q_e\), in contrast to the classical unobservable model.