A discrete time markovian inventory model for perishable commodities

In this paper, we analyze a Markovian inventory model for perishable commodities, in which the arrivals of items into the system as well as the demands for these items are assumed to be discrete r.v.'s having a common support {0, 1,…}. Each item in the system is classified into one of N age categories. New items arriving in the system are placed into the first age category. Items of age category j, j = 1,…, N-l, which have not been removed by demand during a day, are placed into age category j+1 at the beginning of the next day. Items of age N, which have not been removed by demand, are registered as outdates. Results concerning the characteristics of such a model are derived for the case of two and three age categories.     

Stochastic Liouville equations for hydrogen-bonding fluctuations and their signatures in two-dimensional vibrational spectroscopy of water

The effects of hydrogen-bond forming and breaking kinetics on the linear and coherent third-order infrared spectra of the OH stretch of HOD in D2O are described by Markovian, not necessarily Gaussian, fluctuations and simulated using the stochastic Liouville equations. Slow (0.5 ps) fluctuations are represented by a collective electrostatic coordinate, whereas fast (<100 fs) frequency fluctuations are described using either a second collective electrostatic coordinate or a four-state jump (FSJ) model for hydrogen-bonding configurations. Parameters for both models were obtained using a 1-ns molecular-dynamics trajectory calculated using the TIP4P force field combined with an electrostatic ab initio map. The asymmetry of the photon-echo spectra (larger linewidth on the blue side than on the red side) predicted by the FSJ is in better agreement with recent experiments.     

Coherent third-order spectroscopic probes of molecular chirality

The third-order optical response of a system of coupled localized anharmonic vibrations is studied using a Green's function solution of the nonlinear exciton equations for bosonized excitons, which are treated as interacting quasiparticles. The explicit calculation of two-exciton states is avoided and the scattering of quasiparticles provides the mechanism of optical nonlinearities. To first-order in the optical wave vector we find several rotationally invariant tensor components for isotropic ensembles which are induced by chirality. The nonlocal nonlinear susceptibility tensor is calculated for infinitely large periodic structures in momentum space, where the problem size reduces to the exciton interaction radius. Applications are made to alpha and 3(10) helical infinite peptides.     

Signatures of beta-peptide unfolding in two-dimensional vibrational echo spectroscopy: a simulation study.

An ensemble of exciton Hamiltonians for the amide-I band of the folded and unfolded states of a helical beta-heptapeptide is generated using a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The correlated fluctuations of its parameters and their signatures in two-dimensional (2D) vibrational echo spectroscopy are computed. This technique uses infrared pulse sequences to provide ultrafast snapshots of molecular structural fluctuations, in analogy with multidimensional NMR. The present study demonstrates that, by combining a method of calculating the vibrational Hamiltonian from MD snapshots and the nonlinear exciton equations (NEE), it may be possible to simulate realistic multidimensional IR spectra of chemically and biologically interesting systems.     

Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) Induced Crystallization of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) Super Performing Nanocomposite Films

This study is aimed to explore the properties of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) composite films with and without 1,2,3,4‐butane tetracarboxylic acid (BTCA), a nontoxic crosslinker. CNC and CNC‐PVA nanocomposite films are prepared using solution‐casting technique. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses show that crosslinking increased the glass transition temperature but reduced the melting temperature and crystallinity. Furthermore, high CNC concentrations in the PVA matrix interfere with PVA crystallinity, whereas in specific ratio between CNC and PVA, two different crystalline structures are observed within the PVA matrix. Film surfaces and fracture topographies characterized using scanning electron microscope indicate that at certain CNC‐PVA ratios, micron‐sized needle‐like crystals have formed. These crystalline structures correlate with the remarkable improvement in mechanical properties of the CNC‐PVA nanocomposite films, that is, enhanced tensile strain and toughness to 570% and 202 MJ m^?3, respectively, as compared to pristine PVA. BTCA enhances the tensile strain, ultimate tensile stress, toughness, and modulus of CNC films compared to pristine CNC films. Water absorption of crosslinked CNC and CNC‐PVA nanocomposite films is significantly reduced, while film transparency is significantly improved as a function of PVA and crosslinker content. The presented results indicate that CNC‐PVA nanocomposite films may find applications in packaging, and though materials applications.     

Directly Bound Deuterons Increase X-Nuclei Hyperpolarization using Dynamic Nuclear Polarization

Deuterated ¹³C sites in sugars (D-glucose and 2-deoxy-D-glucose) showed 6.3-to-17.5-fold higher solid-state dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) levels than their respective protonated sites at 3.35T. This effect was found to be unrelated to the protonation of the bath. Deuterated ¹⁵N in sites bound to exchangeable protons ([¹⁵N₂]urea) showed a 1.3-fold higher polarization than their respective protonated sites at the same magnetic field. This relatively smaller effect was attributed to incomplete deuteration of the ¹⁵N sites due to the solvent mixture. For a ¹⁵N site that is not bound to protons or deuterons ([¹⁵N]nitrate), deuteration of the bath did not affect the polarization level. These findings suggest a phenomenon related to DNP of X-nuclei directly bound to deuteron(s) as opposed to proton(s). It appears that direct binding to deuterons increases the solid-state DNP polarization level of X-nuclei which are otherwise bound to protons.     

Exciton dynamics in chromophore aggregates with correlated environment fluctuations

We study the effects of correlated molecular transition energy fluctuations in molecular aggregates on the density matrix dynamics, and their signatures in the optical response. Correlated fluctuations do not affect single-exciton dynamics and can be described as a nonlocal contribution to the spectral broadening, which appears as a multiplicative factor in the time-domain response function. Intraband coherences are damped only by uncorrelated transition energy fluctuations. The signal can then be expressed as a spectral convolution of a local contribution of the uncorrelated fluctuations and the nonlocal contribution of the correlated fluctuations.     

Coherent Multidimensional Vibrational Spectroscopy of Biomolecules: Concepts,Simulations, and Challenges

Good vibrations : The vibrational response of complex molecules to sequences of infrared pulses provides novel femtosecond snapshots of their structure and dynamics. This technique, which is the optical analogue of multidimensional NMR spectroscopy, gives correlation plots of motions during controlled time intervals between pulses that are applied to study protein folding, chirality, hydrogen‐bonding, phospholipid membranes, and chemical exchange.

     

Multilayered nanofibers from stacks of single-molecular thick nanosheets of hexakis(alkoxy)triphenylenes

Symmetrically substituted hexakis(alkoxy)triphenylene (HAT) derivatives were assembled into single molecular thick 2D nanosheets, which stacked further to give multilayered nanofibers through a convenient solution process. Detailed information on molecular arrangement was unraveled by various imaging techniques and diffraction studies.