Ultrafiltration of a polymer-electrolyte mixture

We present a mathematical model to describe the ultrafiltration behaviour of polymer-electrolyte mixtures. The model combines the proper thermodynamic forces (pressure, chemical potential and electrical potential differences) with multicomponent diffusion theory. The model is verified with experimental data on the ultrafiltration of aqueous solutions of PEG-4000 and potassium phosphate. The single solute rejection of PEG-4000 goes through a maximum as also found by others. The single solute rejection of potassium phosphate depends on the ionic strength of the solution. At low ionic strength rejections are found of 50%. Solutions containing a high concentration of PEG-4000 and potassium phosphate show a negative rejection for potassium phosphate. This is caused by the strongly non-ideal behaviour of these aqueous solutions. The model predicts the behaviour of single solute experiments quite well, but some deviations are found with the mixed solute experiments. However, negative rejections found in the mixed solute experiments are predicted by the model.     

Finding nonnormal bent functions

The question if there exist nonnormal bent functions was an open question for several years. A Boolean function in n variables is called normal if there exists an affine subspace of dimension n/2 on which the function is constant. In this paper we give the first nonnormal bent function and even an example for a nonweakly normal bent function. These examples belong to a class of bent functions found in [J.F. Dillon, H. Dobbertin, New cyclic difference sets with Singer parameters, in: Finite Fields and Applications, to appear], namely the Kasami functions. We furthermore give a construction which extends these examples to higher dimensions. Additionally, we present a very efficient algorithm that was used to verify the nonnormality of these functions.     

Pricing and distributed QoS control for elastic network traffic

We study a processor-sharing model in which users choose between a high- and a low-priority service, based on their utility functions and prices charged by the service provider. The latter aims at revenue maximization. The model is motivated by file transmissions in data networks with distributed congestion control.     

Symmetric Hilbert spaces arising from species of structures

Symmetric Hilbert spaces such as the bosonic and the fermionic Fock spaces over some lsquo;one particle space’ are formed by certain symmetrization procedures performed on the full Fock space. We investigate alternative ways of symmetrization by building on Joyal's notion of a combinatorial species. Any such species F gives rise to an endofunctor of the category of Hilbert spaces with contractions mapping a Hilbert space to a symmetric Hilbert space with the same symmetry as the species F. A general framework for annihilation and creation operators on these spaces is developed, and compared to the generalised Brownian motions of R. Speicher and M. Bożejko. As a corollary we find that the commutation relation with admits a realization on a symmetric Hilbert space whenever f has a power series with infinite radius of convergence and positive coefficients. Received: 7 April 2000; in final form: 28 November 2000 / Published online: 19 October 2001     

Sliding spark spectroscopy

Summary A new analytical radiation source combined with fiber optics linked to a diode array detection device with modified software is described. The direct-reading spectrometer simultaneously covers the wavelength range 185–510 nm with a spectral resolution of <1.5 nm. Intense optical emission is observed when positionally stable high-current surface sparks supplied by a pulse-generator with definite discharge parameters (max. 800 Ampere/pulse) are sliding over compact non-conductive materials such as plastics, glasses, quartz filters or powder pellets. Substrate vaporization, ionization and excitation processes in the surface discharge plasma channel generate emission corresponding to neutral and ionic states. The spectra are essentially composed of lines emitted by the electrode material (e.g. copper, silver), from the substrate under investigation, radiation continuum as well as structured background from the surrounding air atmosphere. Due to the occurrence of emission lines of reactive fillers, inorganic pigments and stabilizers, a rapid multi-element screening method is demonstrated. A rapid identification system (mix-up test) of PVC or fire-retardant thermoplastics within one second has been realized from the atomic emission line intensity originating from the sputtered copper electrode material according to its increased volatility in the presence of chlorine (modified Beilstein test).Puls-Plasma-Technik GmbH, Dortmund     

A new polymorph of tetraphenyldiboroxane

A new polymorph of tetraphenyldiboroxane [or oxybis(diphenylborane)], C₂₄H₂₀B₂O, (Ia), has been found. It is monoclinic, like the already known form, (Ib), and can be refined in the same space group, namely P2₁/c, or in the equivalent setting P2₁/n. The molecular conformations of the two polymorphs differ in the rotations of two of the phenyl rings about the B—C bonds, leading to markedly different packing patterns and cell dimensions.