Strategic analysis of the dairy transportation problem

The dairy transportation problem (DTP) consists of determining the best routes to be performed for collecting milk from farms and delivering it to processing plants. We study the particular case of the province of Quebec, where the Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec is responsible for negotiating the transportation costs on behalf of producers. Several issues are highlighted in the actual process of designing contracts such as using historical data. We propose an approach based on scenario analysis that consists of revising both the steps and the information used to construct the routes. We develop a generalized tabu search algorithm that integrates the different characteristics of the DTP.     

Comparison of efficiency calibration techniques of HPGe detector for radioactivity measurement of soil sample in Marinelli geometry

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - To keep the accredited category for the gamma spectrometry test in our laboratory, the efficiency curves of a HPGe detector for soil sample in...     

Sol–gel preparation and structural characterization of Ba2TiSi2O8 powder

Fresnoite (Ba₂TiSi₂O₈, BTS) nano-particles were successfully synthesized at a low temperature of 900?°C by a modified Pechini sol?Cgel process with starting materials of Ba(NO₃)₂, Si(OC₂H₅)₄ and Ti(OC₃H₇)₄. The structural characterization of the precursors and derived synthesized oxide powders is done by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal analysis (TG-DTG) and electron microscopy (SEM, EDX and TEM) studies. The effect of heat-treating temperature on the crystallinity of the fresnoite was investigated. Combined the XRD data and the strong FTIR peaks assigned to Ti?CO and Si?CO vibration, indicate the formation of fresnoite phase at a temperature of 900?°C. Also the nano-crystals size distribution was studied and the main diameter of nanoparticles was about 47?nm.     

A relaxed constant positive linear dependence constraint qualification and applications

In this work we introduce a relaxed version of the constant positive linear dependence constraint qualification (CPLD) that we call RCPLD. This development is inspired by a recent generalization of the constant rank constraint qualification by Minchenko and Stakhovski that was called RCRCQ. We show that RCPLD is enough to ensure the convergence of an augmented Lagrangian algorithm and that it asserts the validity of an error bound. We also provide proofs and counter-examples that show the relations of RCRCQ and RCPLD with other known constraint qualifications. In particular, RCPLD is strictly weaker than CPLD and RCRCQ, while still stronger than Abadie’s constraint qualification. We also verify that the second order necessary optimality condition holds under RCRCQ.     

A mesoscopic thermomechanically coupled model for thin-film shape-memory alloys by dimension reduction and scale transition

We design a new mesoscopic thin-film model for shape-memory materials which takes into account thermomechanical effects. Starting from a microscopic thermodynamical bulk model, we guide the reader through a suitable dimension reduction procedure followed by a scale transition valid for specimen large in area up to a limiting model which describes microstructure by means of parametrized measures. All our models obey the second law of thermodynamics and possess suitable weak solutions. This is shown for the resulting thin-film models by making the procedure described above mathematically rigorous. The main emphasis is, thus, put on modeling and mathematical treatment of joint interactions of mechanical and thermal effects accompanying phase transitions and on reduction in specimen dimensions and transition of material scales.     

Orthonormal bases generated by Cuntz algebras

We show how some orthonormal bases can be generated by representations of the Cuntz algebra; these include Fourier bases on fractal measures, generalized Walsh bases on the unit interval and piecewise exponential bases on the middle third Cantor set.     

Kinetic Studies of the Thermal cis-to-trans Isomerization of Dioxaphospholanes

By following a previously reported method,¹ the synthesis of r-2-alkoxy-cis-4-cis-5-dimethyl-1,3,2-λ³-dioxaphospholanes ligands (1 and 3) was carried out. The purpose of this work is the kinetic study of the inversion barrier at phosphorus for 1 and 3 and the comparison with the already informed dioxaphospholane 2. The kinetic measurements of the thermal isomerization cis-to-trans were performed by ³¹P NMR spectroscopy, observing a first order kinetics for both compounds. The energy of activation (E_a) for the epimerization of compounds cis-1 and cis-3 was calculated to be 16.0 ± 0.6 and 11.8 ± 0.8 kcal/mol, respectively. The values of the thermodynamic parameters of the transition state (Δ H^≠, Δ S^≠, Δ G^≠) suggest that the inversion at phosphorus not only depends on the spatial requirements of the alkoxy substituent but also on entropic effects. The thermodynamic parameters Δ H°, Δ S°, and Δ G° were also evaluated and they show that the cis isomers are preferred from enthalpic point of view, but entropic effects dominate the equilibrium trans ? cis leading to the entropically favored trans isomers. Furthermore, the results are supported by density functional theory calculations of 1–4 at the B3LYP/6-31G** level.     

Substituent Effects on 31P NMR Chemical Shifts and 1JP–Se of triarylselenophosphates

The effect of electron-withdrawing (EW) and electron-releasing (ER) substituents on the ³¹P NMR chemical shifts and the structural parameters of a series of tris-(p-X-aryl)selenophosphates is reported in this article. Similarly to O-aryl phosphates and O-aryl thiophosphates, EW groups attached to aromatic rings induce a shielding effect on the ³¹P NMR signal. After a detailed experimental and theoretical analysis, we confirmed that the selenium atom is the main part responsible for the charge density transfer toward phosphorus through a back-bonding effect. The obtained ¹J_P-Se values for the complete series agree with this observation.

Supplemental materials are available for this article. Go to the publisher's online edition of Phosphorus, Sulfur, and Silicon and the Related Elements to view the free supplemental file.