Structuring Multi-attribute Value Hierarchies

The first stage in a multi-attribute value analysis is the development of a hierarchical structure of the attributes of the problem. This paper reports the process of developing such a structure for the problem of choosing a suitable mode of transport for radioactive waste. The initial hierarchy of attributes went through several stages of development as new insights emerged about the nature of the problem. Some of the reasons behind this restructuring are discussed, and several important questions about the structuring process are formulated.     

Synthesis of alkylindoles (review)

Methods for obtaining alkylindoles, excluding the Fischer synthesis and direct alkylation, developed during the last 15 years are correlated.Translated from Khimiya Geterotsiklicheskikh Soedinenii, No. 9, pp. 1155–1172, September, 1987.     

Magnetic-Zenith Effect

We develop a theory of the magnetic-zenith effect (MZE) observed upon the ionosphere modification by powerful radio waves. The dependences of MZE on main parameters, such as the magnetic-field inclination angle, pump-wave frequency and power, and angular width of HF beam are obtained. The optimal elevation angle of pump-wave beam is predicted. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 48, No. 9, pp. 772–787, September 2005.     

Characterization of nanocrystals in laser condensates deposited through vanadium evaporation in an oxygen atmosphere

The influence of the substrate temperature T _sub (20–360°C) and the oxygen pressure P(O₂) (5 × 10⁻³−0.13 Pa) in an evaporation chamber on the structure and phase composition of films prepared through laser sputtering of a vanadium target is investigated by electron diffraction and in situ transmission electron microscopy (with the use of the bend extinction contour technique for determining the bending of the crystal lattice). It is demonstrated that the oxygen content in the films increases with an increase in the oxygen pressure P(O₂) at a fixed substrate temperature T _sub and decreases with an increase in the substrate temperature T _sub at a fixed oxygen pressure P(O₂). The conditions responsible for the formation and composition of the crystalline (VO_0.9) and amorphous (V₂O₃) phases in the films are determined. It is established that the phase composition of the film depends on the angle of condensation of the vapor-plasma flow. The crystallization of the V₂O₃ amorphous phase is accompanied by an increase in the density by 9.2%. It is revealed that the V₂O₃ spherulites growing in the amorphous film have a bent crystal lattice. The bending of the crystal lattice can be as large as ∼42 deg/μm.

     

Structure and Structural Nonrigidity of Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin Radical Cations

Ab initio calculations showed that the tetrachlorodibenzo-para-dioxin radical cations (TCDD RCs) with a planar structure have two steady states with asymmetric dioxin cycles. The activation barriers between these states are up to 2 kcal/mole, so that the RCs may be regarded as being structurally nonrigid within the dioxin cycle. The 2,3,7,8-TCDD RC is more stable than the 1,4,6,9-TCDD RC, the energy difference being 5.2 kcal/mole. The adiabatic ionization potential of 2,3,7,8-TCDD (7.54 eV) is 0.1 eV smaller than the corresponding potential of 1,4,6,9-TCDD. These factors account for the increased hemoproteide affinity and hence increased biological activity of 2,3,7,8-TCDD.     

Reduction of Entrained Hydroxy Species in Ormosil Films for Integrated Optics

Organically modified silicates (ormosils) have been viewed as possible materials for optical signal processing devices for communications networks. One significant problem obstructing their use in this application is the absorption of infrared light by hydroxy species (present for example in silanol groups (SiOH) and water) around the communications wavelengths (1310 and 1550 nm). We have investigated several ormosil compositions, synthesised via an aqueous sol-gel method, to determine if residual hydroxy groups can be removed more effectively via reducing the connectivity of the material by increasing the number of organic groups (such as Si—CH₃). Furthermore, we have investigated the effect of different inert atmospheres on the drying process. It was found that reducing the connectivity does promote the removal of hydroxy absorption, mainly via the condensation of residual silanol groups, but also by removal of residual water, depending on the other precursors in the system. It was also found that the drying atmosphere used (nitrogen or helium) had no effect on the drying process.     

Dicyclopentadienyl complexes of titanium,niobium, and tungsten in the controlled synthesis of poly(methyl methacrylate)

Organometallic compounds Cp₂TiCl₂, (EtC₅H₄)₂NbCl₂, and (PrⁱC₅H₄)₂WCl₂ were assessed as additives that control polymer chain growth in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. In the presence of compounds mentioned in amounts comparable with that of the initiator, a uniform process with no gel-effect occured and respective linear increase in the molecular weight of the polymer up to high degrees of the monomer conversion was observed.     

The Sample Average Approximation Method Applied to Stochastic Routing Problems: A Computational Study

The sample average approximation (SAA) method is an approach for solving stochastic optimization problems by using Monte Carlo simulation. In this technique the expected objective function of the stochastic problem is approximated by a sample average estimate derived from a random sample. The resulting sample average approximating problem is then solved by deterministic optimization techniques. The process is repeated with different samples to obtain candidate solutions along with statistical estimates of their optimality gaps.We present a detailed computational study of the application of the SAA method to solve three classes of stochastic routing problems. These stochastic problems involve an extremely large number of scenarios and first-stage integer variables. For each of the three problem classes, we use decomposition and branch-and-cut to solve the approximating problem within the SAA scheme. Our computational results indicate that the proposed method is successful in solving problems with up to 2¹⁶⁹⁴ scenarios to within an estimated 1.0% of optimality. Furthermore, a surprising observation is that the number of optimality cuts required to solve the approximating problem to optimality does not significantly increase with the size of the sample. Therefore, the observed computation times needed to find optimal solutions to the approximating problems grow only linearly with the sample size. As a result, we are able to find provably near-optimal solutions to these difficult stochastic programs using only a moderate amount of computation time.