A Note on Asymptotic Expansions to Approximate Eigenvalues of Integral Operators with Green's Kernels using the Iterated Galerkin Method

In this article, we consider approximation of eigenvalues of integral operators with Green's function-type kernels using the iterated Galerkin method. We obtain asymptotic expansions for approximate eigenvalues. The Richardson extrapolation is used to obtain eigenvalue approximations of higher order. A numerical example is considered in order to illustrate our theoretical results.     

Bispidine as a β-strand nucleator: from a β-arch to self-assembled cages and vesicles

The development of synthetic scaffolds that nucleate well-folded secondary structures is highly challenging. Herein, we designed and synthesized a series of core-modified peptides (F1, F2, F3, and F4) that fold into β-strand structures. These bispidine-scaffolded peptides were studied by CD, IR, NMR, single crystal XRD, and Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate their conformational preferences. Solid-state and solution studies revealed that bispidine is a versatile scaffold that could be placed either at the terminal or at the middle of the peptide strand for nucleating the β-strand structure. Scaffolds that nucleate an isolated β-strand conformation are rare. Bispidine placed at the C-terminus of the peptide chain could nucleate a β-strand conformation, while bispidine placed at the middle resulted in a β-arch conformation. This nucleation activity stems from the ability to restrict the psi torsion angle (ψ) through intramolecular C5 hydrogen bonding between the equatorial hydrogen(s) of bispidine and the carbonyl oxygen(s) of the amino acid close to the scaffold. Furthermore, the bispidine peptidomimetic with a super secondary structure, namely β-arch, assembled into single-hole submicron cages and spherical vesicles as evident from microscopic studies. The design logic defined here will be a significant strategy for the development of β-strand mimetics and super secondary structures.

Bispidine is a versatile scaffold that could be placed either at the terminal or at the middle of the peptide strand for nucleating β-strand structures. These β-strand mimetics self-assemble to single hole submicron cages and vesicles.     

Synthesis,characterization and ethylene polymerization by metallasilsesquioxane

Soluble complexes of group (IV) metallocenes anchored on a substituted polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane trisilanol support were prepared and characterized. These catalyst precursors formulated as [M(O^O^O)X] are found to be active in polymerization of ethylene at high temperature in combination with ethylaluminum sesquichloride (Et₃Al₂Cl_3, EASC) as co‐catalyst. The polyethylene obtained by these catalysts is linear, crystalline and displays narrow dispersity. The unique low molecular weight PE formed in this reaction exhibits properties comparable to commercial micronized PE waxes that have potential industrial applications in surface coating and ink formulations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of coal water slurry prepared for PRB coal

Powder River Basin(PRB)coal,which accounts for over 40%of the coal consumed for power generation in the United States,was investigated for preparation of coal water slurry(CWS).The static stability and rheology of the CWS were characterized as a function of loading.The coal loading was varied from 30%to 50%and both ionic(sodium polystyrene sulphonate(PSS))and nonionic(Triton X-100)surfactants were employed as additives.The addition of PSS to PRB slurries was found to yield poor static stability.On the other hand,Triton X-100 was found to be an effective surfactant,reducing the sedimentation by more than 50%compared to the one without surfactant in 45%CWS.Adding Triton X-100 reduces the viscosity of the CWS for coal loadings of30%and 40%.Although the viscosities for coal loading of 42.5%and 45%are higher when Triton X-100 is added,the static stability is significantly better than for samples without surfactant.The highest coal loading for PRB slurry with acceptable viscosity for pumping is 42.5%.     

Advances in Electrochemical and Catalytic Performance of Nanostructured FeCo2O4 and Its Composites

It is well established that the excessive and uncontrolled use of fossil fuels and organic chemicals have put a risk to the earth‘s environment and the life that sustains within it. Carbon-free, sustainable, alternative energy technologies have therefore become the prime focus of current research. Smart inorganic materials have emerged as the potential solution to suffice energy needs and remediate the organic pollutants discharged to the environment. One such promising, versatile material is FeCo₂O₄ which has gained immense research interest in the present decade due to its high efficiency and performance in energy and environmental applications. Innovative material design strategies involving the interplay of nanostructured morphology, chemical composition, redox surface states, and defect engineering have significantly enhanced both electrochemical and catalytic properties of FeCo₂O₄. Therefore, this review article aims to provide the first-ever comprehensive account of the latest research and developments in design-synthesis strategies, characterization techniques, and applications of nanostructured FeCo₂O₄ and its composites in various electrochemical as well as catalytic applications. A detailed account of the nanostructured FeCo₂O₄ and its composites in various energy storage and conversion devices such as supercapacitors (SCs), batteries, and fuel cells has been presented. Furthermore, a special section has been devoted to highlight the role of FeCo₂O₄ in enhancing the sluggish reaction kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water splitting application. This review also highlights the role of nanostructured FeCo₂O₄ in photocatalytic waste water treatment, gas sensing, and dual-phase membrane technologies wherein FeCo₂O₄ has demonstrated promising performance.     

Relaxations and discretizations for the pooling problem

The pooling problem is a folklore NP-hard global optimization problem that finds applications in industries such as petrochemical refining, wastewater treatment and mining. This paper assimilates the vast literature on this problem that is dispersed over different areas and gives new insights on prevalent techniques. We also present new ideas for computing dual bounds on the global optimum by solving high-dimensional linear programs. Finally, we propose discretization methods for inner approximating the feasible region and obtaining good primal bounds. Valid inequalities are derived for the discretized models, which are formulated as mixed integer linear programs. The strength of our relaxations and usefulness of our discretizations is empirically validated on random test instances. We report best known primal bounds on some of the large-scale instances.     

Existence and Weyl’s law for spherical cusp forms

Let G be a split adjoint semisimple group over and a maximal compact subgroup. We shall give a uniform, short and essentially elementary proof of the Weyl law for cusp forms on congruence quotients of . This proves a conjecture of Sarnak for -split groups, previously known only for the case G = PGL(n). The key idea amounts to a new type of simple trace formula. Received: April 2005 Revision: June 2006 Accepted: October 2006     

Techniques for characterization of charge carrier mobility in organic semiconductors

The charge transport characteristics of organic semiconductors are one of the key attributes that impacts the performance of organic electronic and optoelectronic devices in which they are utilized. For improved performance in organic photovoltaic cells, light-emitting diodes, and field-effect transistors (FETs), efficient transport of the charge carriers within the organic semiconductor is especially critical. Characterization of charge transport in these organic semiconductors is important both from scientific and technological perspectives. In this review, we shall mainly discuss the techniques for measuring the charge carrier mobility and not the theoretical underpinnings of the mechanism of charge transport. Mobility measurements in organic semiconductors and particularly in conjugated polymers, using space-charge-limited current, time of flight, carrier extraction by linearly increasing voltage, double injection, FETs, and impedance spectroscopy are discussed. The relative merits, as well as limitations for each of these techniques are reviewed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Improvement of signal-to-noise ratio in digital holography using wavelet transform

The basic problem in optical and digital holography is the presence of speckle noise in the reconstruction process, which reduces the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The presence of speckle noise is serious drawback in optical and digital holography since it substantially reduces the SNR in the reconstructed image. In this paper, we present wavelet filtering to improve SNR in the reconstructed images from digital holograms. Experimental results are presented.     

Continuous Zeolite MFI Membranes Fabricated from 2D MFI Nanosheets on Ceramic Hollow Fibers

High‐quality 2D MFI nanosheet coatings were prepared on α‐alumina hollow fiber supports by vacuum filtration and then transformed into molecular sieving membranes by two sequential hydrothermal treatments. This processing method eliminates the need for specially engineered silica‐based support materials that have so far been necessary to allow the formation of functional membranes from 2D MFI nanosheets. The sequential steps enhance adhesion of the membrane on the fiber support, fill in nanoscale gaps between the 2D nanosheets, and preserve the desirable (0k0) out‐of‐plane orientation without the need of any support engineering or modification. The membrane exhibits high performance for separation of n‐butane from i‐butane, and for other technologically important hydrocarbon separations. The present findings have strong implications on strategies for obtaining thin, highly selective zeolite membranes from 2D zeolites in a technologically scalable manner.