Improving biorefinery planning: Integration of spatial data using exact optimization nested in an evolutionary strategy

Biorefineries can provide a product portfolio from renewable biomass similar to that of crude oil refineries. To operate biorefineries of any kind, however, the availability of biomass inputs is crucial and must be considered during planning. Here, we develop a planning approach that uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to account for spatially scattered biomass when optimizing a biorefinery’s location, capacity, and configuration. To deal with the challenges of a non-smooth objective function arising from the geographic data, higher dimensionality, and strict constraints, the planning problem is repeatedly decomposed by nesting an exact nonlinear program (NLP) inside an evolutionary strategy (ES) heuristic, which handles the spatial data from the GIS. We demonstrate the functionality of the algorithm and show how including spatial data improves the planning process by optimizing a synthesis gas biorefinery using this new planning approach.     

Particle-like platonic solutions in scalar gravity

We construct globally regular gravitating solutions, which possess only discrete symmetries. These solutions of Yang–Mills-dilaton theory may be viewed as exact (numerical) solutions of scalar gravity, by considering the dilaton as a kind of scalar graviton, or as approximate solutions of Einstein–Yang–Mills theory. We focus on platonic solutions with cubic symmetry, related to a rational map of degree N=4$N=4$. We present the first two solutions of the cubic N=4$N=4$ sequence, and expect this sequence to converge to an extremal Reissner–Nordström solution with magnetic charge P=4$P=4$.     

Orbits in the field of a gravitating magnetic monopole

Orbits of test particles and light rays are an important tool to study the properties of space-time metrics. Here we systematically study the properties of the gravitational field of a globally regular magnetic monopole in terms of the geodesics of test particles and light. The gravitational field depends on two dimensionless parameters, defined as ratios of the characteristic mass scales present. For critical values of these parameters the resulting metric coefficients develop a singular behavior, which has profound influence on the properties of the resulting space-time and which is clearly reflected in the orbits of the test particles and light rays.     

Stationary Dyonic regular and black hole solutions

We consider globally regular and black hole solutions in SU(2) Einstein–Yang–Mills–Higgs theory, coupled to a dilaton field. The basic solutions represent magnetic monopoles, monopole–antimonopole systems or black holes with monopole or dipole hair. When the globally regular solutions carry additionally electric charge, an angular momentum density results, except in the simplest spherically symmetric case. We evaluate the global charges of the solutions and their effective action, and analyze their dependence on the gravitational coupling strength. We show, that in the presence of a dilaton field, the black hole solutions satisfy a generalized Smarr type mass formula. B. Kleihaus gratefully acknowledges support by the German Aerospace Center. F. Navarro-Lérida gratefully acknowledges support by the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia under grant EX2005-0078.     

Correlation between Quantum Entanglement and Quantum Coherence in the Case of XY Spin Chains with the Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya Interaction

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics - Recently, there has been an increased interest in studying quantum entanglement and quantum coherence. Since both of these properties are...     

Untersuchungen zur chemischen Bestimmung von Threonin und Serin

Zusammenfassung Die Threonin- bzw. die Threonin und Serinbestimmung auf chemischem Wege werden hinsichtlich der beiden wichtigsten Verfahren, nämlich der Oxydation mit Bleitetraacetat und mit Perjodsäure, vergleichend überprüft. Beide Methoden arbeiten, insbesondere nach Einführung einer für die Serinoxydation vorgeschlagenen Abänderung, recht genau. Für die Untersuchung von Aminosäuregemischen oder Eiweißhydrolysaten ist aus erörterten und überprüften Gründen die Perjodat-Oxydation vorzuziehen.     

Method development for the determination of selected pesticides on tobacco by high-performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation-tandem mass spectrometry

A method was developed for the quantitative determination of alachlor, benalaxyl, clomazone, diflubenzuron, dimethomorph, diphenamid, ethofumesate, metalaxyl, methoprene, metobromuron and piperonyl butoxide on tobacco. The pesticides were extracted with water and methanol from five different types of tobacco. The extracts were purified by partition on an extraction cartridge containing diatomaceous earth. The purified extracts were analysed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography connected to an atmospheric pressure ionisation–electrospray-triple quadrupole mass spectrometer operating in the positive ion mode. Two different transitions and their relative intensities were monitored for unambiguous identification. All pesticides presented overall recovery rates between 35% and 110%. The trueness is near 100% and the interday precision is below 15%. The limits of quantifications are equal or below the guidance residue levels proposed by the Agrochemical Advisory Committee of CORESTA, an association of organisations having scientific research relative to tobacco.     

β-Lactam derivatives as enzyme inhibitors: halogenated β-lactams and related compounds

Different modifications of the imine – acyl chloride reaction were used for the synthesis of 3-mono- and 3,3-dihalogenated 1,4-diaryl substituted β-lactams. Furthermore, these β-lactams were modified by halogen substitution either at the aryl at position 1 or at the aryl substituent at position 4, or at both positions. The influence of the halogen atoms on the reactivity of the β-lactam ring, visible by the carbonyl frequence in their IR spectra, was studied. A selection of compounds was tested as inhibitors of the serin protease porcine pancreatic elastase. No simple correlation between IR frequence and biological activity was found. Finally, the base induced rearrangement of N-benzyl β-lactams was used for the synthesis of 4,5-diaryl substituted pyrrolidinones. Correspondence: Hans-Hartwig Otto, Department of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry (PMC), Institute of Pharmacy, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University, 17487 Greifswald, Germany.