DEA-based pre-merger planning tool

Data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be used as a pre-merger planning tool to estimate expected cost and profit efficiency gains. Specifically, in this paper, two alternative DEA models are presented, one to minimize post-merger input cost and the other to maximize post-merger profit. The first model assumes that input prices are known, whereas the second assumes that output prices are known. As both models explicitly consider the possibility of closing existing units, they are especially apt for in-market horizontal mergers, in which considerable overlap may exist among the branches of the merging firms. Indicative efficiency ratios are proposed based on the results of the models. The proposed approach is, in addition, rather flexible, allowing the optional inclusion of a variety of features and constraints, such as incompatibility among units, employment guarantees, etc.     

The effects of sheet thickness on the oscillation of an air-blasted liquid sheet

In the present work, experiments have been performed to study the influence of the sheet thickness on the oscillatory movement of an air-blasted liquid sheet, based on measurements of oscillation frequencies and wavelengths. To measure the wavelengths, a novel double-beam diffraction technique has been implemented. It has been determined that the sheet oscillation frequency depends on the inverse of the square root of the sheet thickness, while the wavelength increases linearly as sheet thickness is increased. Based on these dependencies, suitable non-dimensional groups are proposed to describe the problem. Wave propagation velocities have also been calculated and discussed.     

Structural and Electronic Properties Study of Colombian Aurifer Soils by Mössbauer Spectroscopy and X-ray Diffraction

In this work a study on gold mineral samples is reported, using optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Mössbauer spectroscopy (MS). The auriferous samples are from the El Diamante mine, located in Guachavez-Nariño (Colombia) and were prepared by means of polished thin sections. The petrography analysis registered the presence, in different percentages that depend on the sample, of pyrite, quartz, arsenopyirite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and galena. The XRD analysis confirmed these findings through the calculated cell parameters. One typical Rietveld analysis showed the following weight percent of phases: 85.0% quartz, 14.5% pyrite and 0.5% sphalerite. In this sample, MS demonstrated the presence of two types of pyrite whose hyperfine parameters are δ ₁ = 0.280 ± 0.002 mm/s and Δ ₁ = 0.642 ± 0.002 mm/s, δ ₂ = 0.379 ± 0.002 mm/s and Δ ₂ = 0.613 ± 0.002 mm/s.     

Polyisophthalamides with heteroaromatic pendent rings: Synthesis,physical properties,and water uptake

A set of novel aromatic polyamides containing pyridine pendent groups was prepared from aromatic diamines and new monomers that are 5‐substituted derivatives of isophthalic acid bearing nicotinamide, isonicotinamide, or picolinamide groups. The polymers were obtained in high yield and high molecular weight by the phosphorylation method of polycondensation. They were characterized by spectroscopic and chromatographic methods and several of their properties were investigated. All of the polymers were soluble in polar aprotic solvents and gave films of good mechanical properties. Glass transition temperatures were higher than that of the reference polymer, poly(m‐phenyleneisophthalamide) (IP‐MPD), while the thermal resistance, defined by the initial decomposition temperature observed by thermogravimetry, was in the range 370–420 °C, lower by 30–70 °C than that of IP‐MPD. The presence of a pendent pyridine group and an additional amide side group per repeat unit made the polymers essentially amorphous and greatly improved their abilities to absorb water in comparison with nonsubstituted polyamides. Water uptake values up to 15% were observed at 65% relative humidity. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 5300–5311, 2005     

Magnetic and Structural Properties of the Mechanically Alloyed Nd2(Fe100 − x Nb x )14B System

In this work we report the magnetic and structural properties obtained by Mössbauer spectrometry, Vibrating Sample Magnetometer and X-ray diffraction of milled powders with initial composition Nd₂(Fe_{100 ? x} Nb _x )₁₄B with x = 0 and x = 4. The mixtures were ball milled for different times up to 240 h. Structural and microstructural parameters were derived from high statistics X-ray patterns and discussed as a function of milling time. The Mössbauer spectra of the samples were fitted by means of a sextet and an hyperfine field distribution, associated to a pure iron phase (α-Fe) and a disordered iron-based phase, respectively. The α-Fe grain size decreases from 50 nm for 6 h up to 5 nm for 240 h milling time. The Vibrating Sample Magnetometer results allow to conclude that these samples behave as soft ferromagnets.     

J/psi production in Indium-Indium collisions at 158 GeV/nucleon

The NA60 experiment studies muon pair production at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. In this Letter we report on a precision measurement of J/psi in In-In collisions. We have studied the J/psi centrality distribution, and we have compared it with the one expected if absorption in cold nuclear matter were the only active suppression mechanism. For collisions involving more than approximately 80 participant nucleons, we find that an extra suppression is present. This result is in qualitative agreement with previous Pb-Pb measurements by the NA50 experiment, but no theoretical explanation is presently able to coherently describe both results.     

Textile/Metal–Organic‐Framework Composites as Self‐Detoxifying Filters for Chemical‐Warfare Agents

The current technology of air‐filtration materials for protection against highly toxic chemicals, that is, chemical‐warfare agents, is mainly based on the broad and effective adsorptive properties of hydrophobic activated carbons. However, adsorption does not prevent these materials from behaving as secondary emitters once they are contaminated. Thus, the development of efficient self‐cleaning filters is of high interest. Herein, we report how we can take advantage of the improved phosphotriesterase catalytic activity of lithium alkoxide doped zirconium(IV) metal–organic framework (MOF) materials to develop advanced self‐detoxifying adsorbents of chemical‐warfare agents containing hydrolysable P? F, P? O, and C? Cl bonds. Moreover, we also show that it is possible to integrate these materials onto textiles, thereby combining air‐permeation properties of the textiles with the self‐detoxifying properties of the MOF material.     

Influence of multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) dispersion on ignition of poly(dimethylsiloxane)–MWCNT composites

Poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) filled with low contents of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was prepared using different ways to monitor the dispersion of MWCNT. The influence of the dispersion on thermal conductivity and transmittance was measured. High degree of transparence can be achieved with 0.02 phr of well dispersed MWCNT. Time‐to‐ignition (TTI) was also measured on 2‐ or 4‐mm‐thick specimens heated using radiative unidirectional source. Time‐to‐ignition was found to decrease with the incorporation of MWCNT because more heat is absorbed at the surface. Higher time‐to‐ignition was observed for partially translucent composites, due to different absorption in‐depth profiles. It can be assumed that time‐to‐ignition can be controlled by the dispersion of MWCNT into the polymeric matrix. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large-scale dynamics in high Reynolds number jets and jet flames

The far-field large-scale dynamics of a momentum-driven Re = 2 × 10⁸ non-reacting jet and a Re = 3 × 10⁷ jet diffusion flame are presented and compared. The results are derived from computer graphic volume rendering of a set of sequential images of each flow. When compared to conventional display techniques, volume rendering, by allowing many frames of a movie sequence to be presented simultaneously, more clearly shows the detailed flow evolution. For the non-reacting jet we see the passage and growth of large-scale organized structures up through the jet column, the axial velocity decay of the structures, the fluid entrainment patterns, and occasional pairing events. A rendering of a non-sequential set of images shows no discernible organized component. Volume rendering of the reacting jet shows a similar pattern of burning large-scale organized structures which convert over considerable axial distances but without the corresponding velocity decay, similar to observations of laboratory flames. The images presented here are believed to be some of the most direct visual evidence to date for large-scale organized motions in the far-field of high Reynolds number, fully developed jets and jet flames. Since conditional sampling techniques are not used, we believe that the volume renderings seen here are likely to be representative of the natural development of jet flows.