Khillah extract as inhibitor for acid corrosion of SX 316 steel

The inhibitive effect of the extract of khillah (Ammi visnaga) seeds, on the corrosion of SX 316 steel in HCl solution was determined using weight loss measurements as well as potentiostatic technique. It was found that the presence of the extract reduces markedly the corrosion rate of steel in the acid solution. The inhibition efficiency increases as the extract concentration is increased. The inhibitive effect of khillah extract was discussed on the basis of adsorption of its components on the metal surface. Negative values were calculated for the energy of adsorption indicating the spontaneity of the adsorption process. The formation of insoluble complexes as a result of interaction between iron cations and khellin, which present in the extract, was also discussed.     

A modified predictor–corrector scheme for the two-dimensional sine-Gordon equation

A three-time level finite-difference scheme based on a fourth order in time and second order in space approximation has been proposed for the numerical solution of the nonlinear two-dimensional sine-Gordon equation. The method, which is analysed for local truncation error and stability, leads to the solution of a nonlinear system. To avoid solving it, a predictor–corrector scheme using as predictor a second-order explicit scheme is proposed. The procedure of the corrector has been modified by considering as known the already evaluated corrected values instead of the predictor ones. This modified scheme has been tested on the line and circular ring soliton and the numerical experiments have proved that there is an improvement in the accuracy over the standard predictor–corrector implementation. This research was co-funded by E.U. (75%) and by the Greek Government (25%).     

On Quantum Team Games

Recently Liu and Simaan (2004) convex static multi-team classical games have been introduced. Here they are generalized to both nonconvex, dynamic and quantum games. Puu's incomplete information dynamical systems are modified and applied to Cournot team game. The replicator dynamics of the quantum prisoner's dilemma game is also studied.     

Determination of trace levels of diosmin in a pharmaceutical preparation by adsorptive stripping voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode.

A systematic study on the electrochemical behavior of diosmin in Britton-Robinson buffer (pH 2.0-10.0) at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was made. The oxidation process of the drug was found to be quasi-reversible with an adsorption-controlled step. The adsorption stripping response was evaluated with respect to various experimental conditions, such as the pH of the supporting electrolyte, the accumulation potential and the accumulation time. The observed anodic peak current at +0.73 V vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode increased linearly over two orders of magnitude from 5.0x10(-8) M to 9.0x10(-6) M. A limit of detection down to 3.5x10(-8) M of diosmin at the GCE was achieved with a mean recovery of 97+/-2.1%. Based on the electrochemical data, an open-circuit accumulation step in a stirred sample solution of BR at pH 3.0 was developed. The proposed method was successfully applied to the determination of the drug in pharmaceutical formulations. The results compared favorably with the data obtained via spectrophotometric and HPLC methods.     

Instabilities in the Chapman-Enskog Expansion and Hyperbolic Burnett Equations

It is well-known that the classical Chapman-Enskog procedure does not work at the level of Burnett equations (the next step after the Navier-Stokes equations). Roughly speaking, the reason is that the solutions of higher equations of hydrodynamics (Burnett's, etc.) become unstable with respect to short-wave perturbations. This problem was recently attacked by several authors who proposed different ways to deal with it. We present in this paper one of possible alternatives. First we deduce a criterion for hyperbolicity of Burnett equations for the general molecular model and show that this criterion is not fulfilled in most typical cases. Then we discuss in more detail the problem of truncation of the Chapman-Enskog expansion and show that the way of truncation is not unique. The general idea of changes of coordinates (based on analogy with the theory of dynamical systems) leads finally to nonlinear Hyperbolic Burnett Equations (HBEs) without using any information beyond the classical Burnett equations. It is proved that HBEs satisfy the linearized H-theorem. The linear version of the problem is studied in more detail, the complete Chapman-Enskog expansion is given for the linear case. A simplified proof of the Slemrod identity for Burnett coefficients is also given.     

EPR-detected photoinduced electron transfer in three structurally related molecular triads

A comparative electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study has been performed on a series of structurally related molecular triads which undergo photoinduced electron transfer and differ one from the other in terms of the acceptor or donor moieties. The molecular triads, C-P-C₆₀, TTF-P-C₆₀ and C-P-P_F, share the same free-base, tetraarylporphyrin (P) as the primary electron donor, which after light excitation initiates the electron transfer process, but differ either in terms of the electron acceptor (fullerene derivative, C₆₀, versus fluorinated free-base porphyrin, P_F), or in terms of the final electron donor (carotenoid polyene, C, versus tetrathiafulvalene, TTF). All these molecular triads can be considered artificial photosynthetic reaction centers in their ability to mimic several key properties of the reaction center primary photochemistry. Photoinduced charge separation and recombination have been followed by time-resolved EPR in a glass of 2-methyltetrahydrofuran and in the nematic phase of the uniaxial liquid crystal E-7. All the triads undergo photoinduced electron transfer, with the generation of charge-separated states in both the low-dielectric environment of the 2-methyl-tetrahydrofuran glass and in anisotropic E-7 medium. Different photochemical pathways have been recognized depending on the specific donor and acceptor moieties constituting the molecular triads. In the presence of the tetrathiafulvalene electron donor singlet- and triplet-initiated electron transfer routes are concurrently active. Recombination to the low-lying carotenoid triplet state occurs in the carotene-based triads, while singlet recombination is the only active route for the TTF-P-C₆₀ triad, where a low-lying triplet state is lacking. Long-lived charge separation has been observed in the case of TTF-P-C₆₀: about 8 μs for the singlet-born radical pair in the glassy isotropic matrix and about 7 μs for the triplet-born radical pair in the nematic phase of E-7. For all the molecular triads, a weak exchange interaction (J?1 G) between the electrons in the final spin-correlated radical pair has been evaluated by simulation of the EPR spectra, providing evidence for superexchange electronic interactions mediated by the tetraarylporphyrin bridge.     

Chromatic and opto-mechanical dispersion of some characteristic parameters of optical fiber undergoing macrobending

Bending of optical fiber leads to an induced-anisotropy in the index profile that influences many important guiding fiber parameters. An analytical method is described for the measurement of refractive-index-wavelength dispersion in bent optical fibers. Multiple-beam Fizeau fringes technique at transmission is used to analyze the opto-mechanical properties and induced-index anisotropy in a standard single-mode fiber undergoes pure mechanical macrobending. The shift in Fizeau fringes is employed to evaluate the dispersion of the cladding material of the bent fiber. The radial variations in Cauchy’s coefficients and the associated variations of some fiber parameters due to macrobending are carried out. The radial profiles of some material parameters such as oscillation energy, dispersion energy, lattice energy and material dispersion are measured as well. The presented method is capable to achieve quantitative and qualitative measurements, which is not available with other methods. The method has a good index resolution in the order of 10⁻⁴ and spatial resolution of 1.3 μm.     

Laser diagnostics of nanoscale dielectric films on absorbing substrate by differential reflectivity and ellipsometry

The differential reflection characteristics for ultrathin inhomogeneous dielectric film on absorbing substrate are investigated in the long-wavelength approximation. The obtained first-order expressions for differential reflectivity and changes in the ellipsometric angles caused by ultrathin layer are of immediate interest to the solution of the inverse problem. The method to determine the averaged values (not the realistic profile) of refractive index for inhomogeneous nanometric films are shown. The novel possibilities for determining the dielectric constant and thickness of nanoscale homogeneous films by the differential ellipsometric and reflectivity measurements are developed, and a simple method to estimate whether the nanometric film is homogeneous or not is also discussed.     

Interference of spin splittings in magneto-oscillation phenomena in two-dimensional systems

The spin splitting caused by the terms linear in wavevector in the effective Hamiltonian containing can give rise to the new magneto-oscillation phenomena in two-dimensional systems. It is shown that the joint action of the spin-dependent contributions due to the heterostructure asymmetry and to the lack of inversion center in the bulk material suppresses beats that arise in the magneto-oscillation phenomena in the presence of the terms of only one of these types.