Reply to “A comment on “A test of general relativity using the LARES and LAGEOS satellites and a GRACE Earth gravity model,by I. Ciufolini et al.””

In 2016, we published “A test of general relativity using the LARES and LAGEOS satellites and a GRACE Earth’s gravity model. Measurement of Earth’s dragging of inertial frames [1]”, a measurement of frame-dragging, a fundamental prediction of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, using the laser-ranged satellites LARES, LAGEOS and LAGEOS 2. The formal error, or precision, of our test was about 0.2% of frame-dragging, whereas the systematic error was estimated to be about 5%. In the 2017 paper “A comment on “A test of general relativity using the LARES and LAGEOS satellites and a GRACE Earth’s gravity model by I. Ciufolini et al.”” by L. Iorio [2] (called I2017 in the following), it was incorrectly claimed that, when comparing different Earth’s gravity field models, the systematic error in our test due to the Earth’s even zonal harmonics of degree 6, 8, 10 could be as large as 15%, 6% and 36%, respectively. Furthermore, I2017 contains other, also incorrect, claims about the number of necessary significant decimal digits of the coefficients used in our test (claimed to be nine), in order to eliminate the largest uncertainties in the even zonals of degree 2 and 4, and about the non-repeatability of our test. Here we analyze and rebut those claims in I2017.     

Negotiation and Equilibria in User Competition for Resources: A Dynamic Plot Approach

We consider a scenario where two users are competing for substitutable facilities and where the costs to a user for using a facility depend on its usage as well as the usage by the other user. This results in a nonlinear dynamic game the solution of which implies an allocation that satisfies both users. Games with four different types of solution spaces are presented where the equilibria and the process to reach a negotiated compromise solution have different characterizations. Nash equilibria and nondominated points are discussed in this context and an interactive graphical dynamic plot approach is presented for obtaining negotiated solutions in such nonlinear dynamic games.     

A matter-dominated cosmological model with variable G and Λ and its confrontation with observational data

In the framework of renormalization-group improved cosmologies, we analyze both theoretically and observationally the exact and general solution of the matter-dominated cosmological equations, by using the expression of the cosmological term as a function of the Newton parameter already determined by the integration method employed in a previous paper. A rough comparison between such a model and the concordance ΛCDM model from the point of view of the magnitude-redshift relationship has been already considered, without showing any appreciable differences. Here we test our model by using astrophysical data (the Union2 type Ia supernovae (SNIa) dataset, the Hubble diagram constructed from some gamma ray bursts luminosity distance indicator), to constrain its parameters. We also apply a cosmographic approach to our cosmological model. In order to estimate the cosmographic parameters we fit a large dataset, including not only the Hubble diagram, as traced by SNIa and gamma ray bursts, but also the H(z) measurements from passively evolving galaxies, baryon acoustic oscillations and the distance priors from the cosmic microwave background radiation anisotropy spectrum. We show that this matter-dominated cosmological model with variable Newton parameter and variable cosmological term is indeed compatible with the observations above. The cosmographic approach adopted confirms such conclusions. Last, it seems possible to include radiation into the model, since numerical integration of the equations derived by the presence of both radiation and matter shows that, after inflation, the total density parameter is initially dominated by the radiation contribution and later by the matter one.     

A convenient one-pot procedure for the selective reduction of ketones in the presence of aldehydes

The title process has been accomplished by a three-step sequence involving protection of aldehyde as the imine, $\text{in situ}$ reduction of ketone with lithium tri-$\text{tert}$-butoxyaluminohydride, and regeneration of aldehyde on hydrolytic work-up.     

1-Alkoxycarbonyl- and 1-acyl-v-triazolo[4,5-b]-pyridine/hydrogen peroxide oxygenating systems

Epoxidation of alkenes and oxidation of thioanisole to the corresponding sulfoxide was achieved using the 1-alkoxycarbonyl- or 1-acyl-v-triazolo[4,5-6]pyridine/hydrogen peroxide systems. High yields of epoxide or sulfoxide were observed when some amide-type triazolides were employed for the oxidizing method.     

A new route to N2- and N3-substituted-2,3-diaminopyridines. Synthesis of 1- and 3-alkoxycarbonyl-v-triazolo[4,5-b]pyridines

Selective protection of the 3-amino group of 2,3-diaminopyridine with benzyl chloroformate allows a new synthesis of 3-methylamino- and 3-amino-2-alkylaminopyridines. The preparation of 1- and 3-alkoxycarbonyl-v-triazolo[4,5-b]pyridines is also reported.     

Residue analysis of organophosphorus pesticides in animal matrices by dual column capillary gas chromatography with nitrogen-phosphorus detection

Organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) were determined in matrices of animal origin by dual column capillary gas chromatography using nitrogen-phosphorus detection (NPD). This method was tested on cow milk and on liver and muscle of wild boar. The isolation of these pesticides was performed by liquid partition followed by cleanup with solid phase cartridge (SPE C18), after extraction from the matrix. The analytes identification was obtained by comparing the retention times in two columns with different polarity. The quantification of each OPP was obtained using parathion-ethyl as internal standard. The method was developed in a UNI EN ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory. The recovery, investigated by analyzing samples spiked at 5, 10 and 50 ppb, ranged from 59 to 117% in milk, from 60 to 81% in liver and from 68 to 76% in muscle. The limit of quantification (LOQ) and limit of detection (LOD) were, respectively, 5 and 1 ppb for each compound and allowed quantifying the residues below the legal limits.