Study of interactions of various ionic species with solvents toward the design of receptors

In earlier studies, the interactions of isolated ionic species with various solvents were investigated using ab initio calculations. The ionic species investigated included cations (proton, hydronium, ammonium, and metal cations) and anions (single electron, hydroxide, and halide anions). However in the present study, we investigate the interactions of these ionic species with the solvent in the presence of other competing ionic species. We also elaborate on how the information obtained from these extensive studies have been employed in designing and synthesizing various kinds of novel ionophores and receptors.     

Preparation of Fe–Si–B–Nb amorphous powder cores with excellent high-frequency magnetic properties

FeSiBNb amorphous powder cores were prepared with the amorphous powder by gas atomization and subsequent hot pressing of resulting powder after creating oxide layers on the amorphous powder. Fully amorphous FeSiBNb powders with good soft magnetic properties were successfully obtained in the particle size range below 100 μm. FeSiBNb amorphous powder cores exhibit stable permeability up to 10 MHz, showing excellent high-frequency characteristics.     

Reduction of Dislocations in GaN Epilayer Grown on Si （111） Substrates using a GaN Intermedial Layer

GaN intermedial layers grown under different pressures are inserted between GaN epilayers and AIN/Si（111） substrates. In situ optical reflectivity measurements show that a transition from the three-dimensional （3D） mode to the 2I） one occurs during the GaN epilayer growth when a higher growth pressure is used during the preceding GaN intermedial layer growth, and an improvement of the crystalline quality of GaN epilayer will be made. Combining the in situ reflectivity and transmission electron microscopy （TEM） measurements, it is suggested that the lateral growth at the transition of growth mode is favourable for bending of dislocation lines, thus reducing the density of threading dislocations in the epilayer.     

Traces of functions with a dominating mixed derivative in ℝ<Superscript>3</Superscript>

We investigate traces of functions, belonging to a class of functions with dominating mixed smoothness in ℝ³, with respect to planes in oblique position. In comparison with the classical theory for isotropic spaces a few new phenomenona occur. We shall present two different approaches. One is based on the use of the Fourier transform and restricted to p = 2. The other one is applicable in the general case of Besov-Lizorkin-Triebel spaces and based on atomic decompositions.     

Fractional extensions of some boundary value problems in oil strata

In the present paper, we solve three boundary value problems related to the temperature field in oil strata — the fractional extensions of the incomplete lumped formulation and lumped formulation in the linear case and the fractional generalization of the incomplete lumped formulation in the radial case. By using the Caputo differintegral operator and the Laplace transform, the solutions are obtained in integral forms where the integrand is expressed in terms of the convolution of some auxiliary functions of Wright function type. A generalization of the Laplace transform convolution theorem, known as Efros’ theorem is widely used.     

Allocation of jobs and identical resources with two pooling centers

We examine the resource allocation problem of partitioning identical servers into two parallel pooling centers, and simultaneously assigning job types to pooling centers. Each job type has a distinct Poisson arrival rate and a distinct holding cost per unit time. Each pooling center becomes a queueing system with an exponential service time distribution. The goal is to minimize the total holding cost. The problem is shown to be polynomial if a job type can be divided between the pooling centers, and NP-hard if dividing job types is not possible. When there are two servers and jobs cannot be divided, we demonstrate that the two pooling center configuration is rarely optimal. A heuristic which checks the single pooling center has an upper bound on the relative error of 4/3. The heuristic is extended for the multiple server problem, where relative error is bounded above by the number of servers.      

Impact of demand uncertainty on coordinating supply chain inventories through common replenishment epochs

Prior studies have shown that inventories in a one vendor, multi-buyer supply chain with deterministic demands can be coordinated effectively through the use of common replenishment epochs (CRE). In this paper, we study the impact of demand uncertainty on the effectiveness of coordinating such a supply chain. We develop a model to analyse the coordination mechanism using CRE in a one-vendor, multi-buyer supply chain, when the demand faced by the buyers is stochastic. Our numerical study based on the model found that coordination through CRE may not always be beneficial when the demand variance is high. We also investigate a strategy of advance order processing by the vendor to improve the effectiveness of coordination through CRE.     

‘Doing the right problem’ <Emphasis Type="Italic">versus</Emphasis> ‘doing the problem right’: problem structuring within a Land Force environment

The essential first step of any OR investigation is to ensure that the ‘right problem’ is studied. Our approach is to propose a set of six ‘rights’ or questions whereby achievement against particular aspects of a problem space is made and these provide the basis for scoping the context, understanding the system, and proposing sound options to the decision-maker. This style of problem structuring is an essential element of the Defence problem domain, and especially so for the Land Force, where there exist multiple degrees of freedom for poorly defined problems in an environment of uncertainty and ambiguity. Central to this is performing conceptual rather than analytical modelling, as perturbations then provide a basis for exploring a space, rather than solving a problem.     

Singlewall carbon nanotubes covered with polystyrene nanoparticles by in‐situ miniemulsion polymerization

This work is to make carbon nanotubes dispersible in both water and organic solvents without oxidation and cutting nanotube threads. Polystyrene‐singlewall carbon nanotube (PS‐SWNT) composites were prepared with three different methods: miniemulsion polymerization, conventional emulsion polymerization, and mixing SWNT with PS latex. The two factors, crosslinking and surface coverage of PS are important factors for the mechanical and electrical properties, including dispersion states of SWNT in various solvents. The PS‐SWNT composite prepared via a conventional emulsion polymerization showed SWNT bundles entirely covered with PS, whereas the PS‐SWNT composite prepared via a miniemulsion polymerization showed SWNT partially covered with crosslinked PS nanoparticles. The method of mixing SWNTs with PS latex did not show the well dispersed state of carbon nanotubes because PS was not crosslinked and was dissolved in a solvent, and nanotubes separated from PS precipitated. So the PS nanoparticle‐SWNT composite had lower electrical resistance, and higher mechanical strength than the other composites made by the latter two methods. As the amount of SWNT increases, the bare surface area of SWNT increases and the electrical conductivity increases in the composite made by the miniemulsion polymerization. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 573–584, 2006