The Effect of Alkane Chain Length on the Liquid–Liquid Critical Temperatures of Oligostyrene/Linear-Alkane Mixtures

Summary. Upper critical solution temperatures (UCSTs) for liquid–liquid demixing in a set of mixtures of linear alkanes (pentane (N ₁=5) to pentacontane (N ₁=50)) with an oligostyrene (1241amu, N ₂=12) are reported. We find strong correlation between the Hildebrand solubility parameters of the alkanes and the UCST. Correlations are developed which enable predictions concerning the miscibility of mixtures of compounds with longer chains.     

A Generalized Block Replacement Policy with Minimal Repair and General Random Repair Costs for a Multi-unit System

A generalization of the block replacement policy (BRP) is proposed and analysed for a multi-unit system which has the specific multivariate distribution. Under such a policy an operating system is preventively replaced at times kT (k = 1, 2, 3,...), as in the ordinary BRP, and the replacement of the failed system at failure is not mandatory; instead, a minimal repair to the component of the system can be made. The choice of these two possible actions is based on some random mechanism which is age-dependent. The cost of the ith minimal repair of the component at age y depends on the random part C(y) and the deterministic part C_i(y). The aim of the paper is to find the optimal block interval T which minimizes the long-run expected cost per unit time of the policy.     

Refining Cosmetatos' Approximation for the Mean Waiting Time in the M/D/s Queue

This paper deals with refining Cosmetatos's approximation for the mean waiting time in an M/D/s queue. Although his approximation performs quite well in heavy traffic, it overestimates the true value when the number of servers is large or the traffic is light. We first focus on a normalized quantity that is a ratio of the mean waiting times for the M/D/s and M/M/s queues. Using some asymptotic properties of the quantity, we modify Cosmetatos's approximation to obtain better accuracy both for large s and in light traffic. To see the quality of our approximation, we compare it with the exact value and some previous approximations. Extensive numerical tests indicate that the relative percentage error is less than 1% for almost all cases with s ≤ 20 and at most 5% for other cases.     

Approximating the Mean Waiting Time in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">GI/G/s</Emphasis> Queue

We provide two distribution-dependent approximations for the mean waiting time in a GI/G/s queue. Both approximations are weighted combinations of the exact mean waiting times for the GI/M/s and M/D/s queues each of which has the same mean service time and traffic intensity as in the approximating GI/G/s queue. The weights in the approximations are expressed by the service-time c.d.f. and the first two moments of interarrival and service times. To examine the performance of our approximations, they are numerically compared with exact solutions and previous two-moment approximations for various cases. Extensive numerical comparisons indicate that the relative percentage errors of the approximations are of the order of 5% in moderate traffic and 1% in heavy traffic, except for extreme cases.     

Evolution of host-parasitoid network through homeochaotic dynamics

Host-parasitoid systems with evolving mutation rates are studied. By increasing the growth rate of hosts, the diversity of both species is maintained dynamically. For the lower growth rate, diversity is brought about by mere parasitism. The average mutation rate for parasites is elevated to a high value, while that for hosts is suppressed at a low level. For the higher growth rate, the mutation rates for both hosts and parasites are elevated to form a symbiotic cluster connected by on-going mutation. This symbiotic state is sustained through a chaotic oscillation keeping some coherency among species. For a flat landscape for hosts, dynamical clustering of oscillation is observed. Lyapunov spectra of such oscillations show that high dimensional chaos with small positive exponents underlies in the symbiotic state. This weak high dimensional chaos, termed "homeochaos," is essential to the maintenance of symbiosis in ecosystems.     

Experiments in Solving Mixed Integer Programming Problems on a Small Array of Transputers

The time-consuming process of solving large-scale Mixed Integer Programming problems using the branch-and-bound technique can be speeded up by introducing a degree of parallelism into the basic algorithm. This paper describes the development and implementation of a parallel branch-and-bound algorithm created by adapting a commercial MIP solver. Inherent in the design of this software are certain ad hoc methods, the use of which are necessary in the effective solution of real problems. The extent to which these ad hoc methods can successfully be transferred to a parallel environment, in this case an array of at most nine transputers, is discussed. Computational results on a variety of real integer programming problems are reported.     

Univariate Stochastic Programming with Random Decision Variable

The problem of minimising E(X) subject to the constraints X ? 0, P(X ? b) ? a(0 < a < 1) has been considered, where b is a non-negative random variable with continuous probability distribution. A necessary and sufficient condition for randomised decisions to be superior to the non-randomised one has been derived.     

Effect of film thickness on the electro-reduction of molecular oxygen on electropolymerized cobalt tetra-aminophthalocyanine films

We studied the electrocatalytic activity of cobalt tetra-aminophthalocyanine (CoTAPc) for the reduction of molecular oxygen (O₂) on adsorbed monomeric and on electropolymerized films of different thicknesses on glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The polymeric films, denoted poly-CoTAPc, were first characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and it appears that the types of phenomena revealed to be occurring depend less on the film thickness in basic than in acid media. For O₂ reduction, the results showed that poly-CoTAPc is more active than the monomeric CoTAPc adsorbed on GC. Indeed, rotating ring-disk electrode data showed that polymeric CoTAPc promotes the four-electron reduction of O₂ to water in parallel to a two-electron reduction to give peroxide. On monomeric and thin films of poly-CoTAPc, a two-electron reduction mechanism predominates. In basic media the activity increases very slightly with thickness, whereas in acid media this increase is more pronounced. This parallels the observed behavior revealed by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.     

Sorption of uranium by non-living water hyacinth roots

Summary Many studies have shown that water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) roots can be used to accumulate high concentrations of organic as well as inorganic pollutants. They are currently used to remediate aquatic environments and aqueous solutions. In the present study, sorption of uranium from aqueous solutions by using dried roots of water hyacinth has been investigated. The sorption of uranium was examined as a function of initial concentration, pH, weight of roots and contact time. Five different concentrations 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100 μg ^. ml^-1 were used. Sorption proves to be very rapid and depend on pH, weight of roots and concentration of uranium. Maximum sorption capacity of water hyacinth roots was 64,000 U⁶⁺ μg/g. The sorption of uranium by water hyacinth roots follows a Langmuir isotherm.