Hardy–Littlewood–Polya’s Inequality and a New Concept of Weak Majorization

In this paper, we study some weak majorization properties with applications for the trees. A strongly notion of majorization is introduced and Hardy–Littlewood–Polya’s inequality is generalized.     

Preparation of counterion stabilized concentrated silver sols

A strategy for obtaining stable concentrated silver dispersions without dedicated stabilizing agents is presented. This approach consists of rapidly mixing aqueous solutions of silver salicylate and ascorbic acid. By using salicylate as Ag(+) counterion, it is possible to prepare stable sols with metal concentrations up to two orders of magnitude higher than with silver nitrate. The stabilizing effect of the counterion is the result of a decreased ionic strength due to salicylate protonation and its adsorption on the surface of silver. Both effects increase the range of the electrostatic repulsive forces by expanding the electrical double layer.     

Calculation of the quantum efficiency for the absorption on confinement levels in quantum dots

The quantum efficiency of the absorption on quantum confinement levels is investigated. This is achieved by modeling the electron confinement in a spherical quantum dot (QD). The confinement levels are calculated using both infinite and finite rectangular quantum wells. The spectral internal quantum efficiency is evaluated within both the models, by computing Einstein’s coefficients for the transitions between confinement levels. The size of QDs (1–3 nm radius) leads to negligible many body effects. The nature of the QD material and of the matrix embedding is taken into account in the finite rectangular quantum well approximation and introduces only a small correction. The temperature dependence of the efficiency is also taken into account. A numerical application is performed for a silicon QD of 2.5 nm radius, embedded in amorphous silica. It is proved that the absorption threshold shifts toward the far infrared limit and that the spectral internal quantum efficiency reaches 4–5% at the threshold.     

The FENE Dumbbell Polymer Model: Existence and Uniqueness of Solutions for the Momentum Balance Equation

We consider the FENE dumbbell polymer model which is the coupling of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with the corresponding Fokker–Planck–Smoluchowski diffusion equation. We show global well-posedness in the case of a 2D bounded domain. We assume in the general case that the initial velocity is sufficiently small and the initial probability density is sufficiently close to the equilibrium solution; moreover an additional condition on the coefficients is imposed. In the corotational case, we only assume that the initial probability density is sufficiently close to the equilibrium solution.     

Reliability of Financial Information from the Perspective of Benford’s Law

This study investigates the conformity to Benford’s Law of the information disclosed in financial statements. Using the first digit test of Benford’s Law, the study analyses the reliability of financial information provided by listed companies on an emerging capital market before and after the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The results of the study confirm the increase of reliability on the information disclosed in the financial statements after IFRS implementation. The study contributes to the existing literature by bringing new insights into the types of financial information that do not comply with Benford’s Law such as the amounts determined by estimates or by applying professional judgment.     

Biocatalytic designs for the conversion of renewable glycerol into glycerol carbonate as a value-added product

A comparative study of two different biocatalytic models, e.g. enzyme immobilized on magnetic particles (EIMP) and cross-linking enzyme aggregates onto magnetic particles (CLEMPA) was performed. The first model was designed as enzyme-immobilized on the magnetic particles surface (EIMP). The second model was constructed as a network structure with the enzyme aggregates and magnetic particles placed into the nodes and polyglutaraldehyde cross-linker as the network ledges. The design was called cross-linking enzyme aggregates onto magnetic particles (CLEMPA). The biocatalysts were prepared using lipase enzyme from Aspergillus niger for catalyzing the glycerol (Gly) conversion to glycerol carbonate (GlyC). The biocatalyst characteristics for both designs (EIMP and CLEMPA) were evaluated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser light scattering (LLS) and UV-Vis techniques. The EIMP model was strongly influenced by the composition of the polymeric layer covering the particles surface, while the size of the magnetic particles affected mostly the CLEMPA design. Also, the biocatalytic capacity of the tested models was evaluated as maximum 52% Gly conversion with 90% GlyC selectivity for EIMP, and 73% Gly conversion with 77% GlyC selectivity for CLEMPA. Both biocatalytic models were successfully used to prepare GlyC from “crude” glycerol collected directly from the biodiesel process (e.g. 49% Gly conversion with 91% GlyC selectivity for EIMP and 70% Gly conversion with 80% GlyC selectivity for CLEMPA).      

Numerical stochastic model for the magnetic relaxation time of the fine particle system with dipolar interactions

This paper presents the results obtained by numerical simulations, the magnetic relaxation time simulation for a fine particle system with dipolar magnetic interaction. We used a 3D simulation model for fine magnetic particles with spherical shape and lognormal distribution for their diameters. Starting from Dormann–Bessais–Fiorani model, the 3D model we used is more realistic if we consider that the particles are randomly arranged into a preset volume, following a Gaussian distribution generated with the Box–Mueller transformation.     

Thermal decomposition of ammonia. N2H4-an intermediate reaction product

The paper reports the thermal decomposition of ammonia under dynamic conditions at 800°C in a quartz reactor. Its purpose is to confirm the homogeneous-heterogeneous degenerated branched chain mechanism established in previous studies, which assume the formation of N₂H₄ as a molecular intermediate; this paper identifies hydrazine as a product of thermal decomposition using FT-IR and UV-VIS spectroscopies.     

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of the reciprocating flow in a branching tube network

The paper deals with the three dimensional numerical simulation of the reciprocating flow in a branching network, a phenomenon that might be found for example in the human bronchi. As the first approximation, the working fluid was water with laminar flow regime. The main issue was to elucidate the mechanism of the air exchange in the human lungs. The model used in this simulation consists of two branching generations. Three different cases have been analyzed with various frequency, Re and Wo numbers.