Embeddings of Müntz Spaces: Composition Operators

Given a strictly increasing sequence ${\Lambda = (\lambda_n)}$ of nonnegative real numbers, with ${\sum_{n=1}^\infty \frac{1}{\lambda_n}<\infty}$ , the Müntz spaces ${M_\Lambda^p}$ are defined as the closure in L ^p ([0, 1]) of the monomials ${x^{\lambda_n}}$ . We discuss how properties of the embedding ${M_\Lambda^2\subset L^2(\mu)}$ , where?μ is a finite positive Borel measure on the interval [0, 1], have immediate consequences for composition operators on ${M^2_\Lambda}$ . We give criteria for composition operators to be bounded, compact, or to belong to the Schatten–von Neumann ideals.     

On nonconvex bifunction variational inequalities

In this paper, we introduce and consider a new class of variational inequalities, which is called the nonconvex bifunction variational inequality. We suggest and analyze some iterative methods for solving nonconvex bifunction variational inequalities using the auxiliary principle technique. We prove that the convergence of implicit method requires only pseudomonotonicity, which is weaker condition than monotonicity. Our proof of convergence is very simple. Results proved in this paper may stimulate further research in this dynamic field.     

Catalytic Activity and Morphological Properties of Ni/MgO Catalysts for the Oxidative Coupling of Methane

The catalytic activity of Ni/MgO catalysts was studied for the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM). The catalysts were characterized using transmission electron microscope (TEM) and XRD. The increase in C2+ selectivity of Ni/MgO was attributed to the presence of bulk dislocations and MgNiO₂ phase. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preliminary Evaluation of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Extracted Dabai Pulp Oleoresin as a New Alternative Fat

There has been growing interest among food scientists in producing a toxin-free fat as an end product with varying physical or nutritional properties of interest to the food industry. Oleoresin is a rich source of bioactive compounds which consumers can easily add to a large variety of food. Dabai (Canarium odontophyllum) pulp oleoresin (DPL) was extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO₂) extraction, a green extraction technology. This study investigates the quality of SC-CO₂ extracted DPL in discovering its potential as a new alternative fat. The extraction experiment was carried out at a pressure of 40 MPa and a temperature of 40 °C. DPL is a saturated fatty acid (SFA)-rich fat due to its high SFA composition (47.72 ± 0.01%). In addition, the low content of peroxide value (PV) (5.60 ± 0.09 mEq/kg) and free fatty acids (FFA) (3.40 ± 0.03%) indicate the quality and stability of DPL for various applications besides food consumption. DPL also has a low slip melting point (SMP) (20.20 ± 0.03 °C), and HPLC-FID revealed that DPL contained 0.13 ± 0.02 mg/100 g of vitamin E (α-tocopherol), indicating its potential application as a solid fat with a bioactive compound. This present work demonstrates the possible prospect of DPL in the formulation of end products for food industries.     

A new predictor-corrector method for noncoercive mixed variational inequalities

In this paper, we use the auxiliary principle technique to suggest and analyze a class of predictor-corrector methods for solving noncoercive mixed variational inequalities. The convergence of the proposed method requires only the partially relaxed strongly monotonicity, which is even weaker than the co-coercivity. As special cases, we obtain a number of new and known results for classical variational inequalities.     

Safranal Induces Vasorelaxation by Inhibiting Ca2+ Influx and Na+/Ca2+ Exchanger in Isolated Rat Aortic Rings

Introduction: Safranal, which endows saffron its unique aroma, causes vasodilatation and has a hypotensive effect in animal studies, but the mechanisms of these effects are unknown. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms of safranal vasodilation. Methods: Isolated rat endothelium-intact or -denuded aortic rings were precontracted with phenylephrine and then relaxed with safranal. To further assess the involvement of nitric oxide, prostaglandins, guanylate cyclase, and phospholipase A₂ in safranal-induced vasodilation, aortic rings were preincubated with L-NAME, indomethacin, methylene blue, or quinacrine, respectively, then precontracted with phenylephrine, and safranal concentration–response curves were established. To explore the effects of safranal on Ca²⁺ influx, phenylephrine and CaCl₂ concentration–response curves were established in the presence of safranal. Furthermore, the effect of safranal on aortic rings in the presence of ouabain, a Na⁺-K⁺ ATPase inhibitor, was studied to explore the contribution of Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger to this vasodilation. Results: Safranal caused vasodilation in endothelium-intact and endothelium-denuded aortic rings. The vasodilation was not eliminated by pretreatment with L-NAME, indomethacin, methylene blue, or quinacrine, indicating the lack of a role for NO/cGMP. Safranal significantly inhibited the maximum contractions induced by phenylephrine, or by CaCl₂ in Ca²⁺-free depolarizing buffer. Safranal also relaxed contractions induced by ouabain, but pretreatment with safranal totally abolished the development of ouabain contractions. Discussion/Conclusion: Inhibition of Na⁺-K⁺ ATPase by ouabain leads to the accumulation of Na⁺ intracellularly, forcing the Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger to work in reverse mode, thus causing a contraction. Inhibition of the development of this contraction by preincubation with safranal indicates that safranal inhibited the Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger. We conclude that safranal vasodilation is mediated by the inhibition of calcium influx from extracellular space through L-type Ca²⁺ channels and by the inhibition of the Na⁺/Ca²⁺ exchanger.     

An Edge-Supported Blockchain-Based Secure Authentication Method and a Cryptocurrency-Based Billing System for P2P Charging of Electric Vehicles

The popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) is constantly increasing, as they use relatively greener, sustainable energy. However, it is a fact that the charging stations for EVs are yet to meet the demand. It could be a great solution if a peer-to-peer (P2P) charging system could be initiated by anyone who wants to make their garage’s charge points publicly available for commercial purposes, named a home charging station (HCS). In this work, our idea is to bring interested charging stations under a network of nodes and a blockchain-based management system, where the blockchain is responsible for ensuring the authenticity of both the charging stations and charge receiver. A cryptocurrency-based payment system has also been proposed to ensure transactions’ security, integrity, transparency, and immutability. A reputation management system is applied to maintain the quality of service. Miners with high processing power are used to alleviate lagging during block creation, supported by edge servers. The proposed system has been implemented by using virtual machines. A theoretical analysis is presented to assess the compatibility and possible cost requirements to implement the system in a real-world scenario.     

Applications of Nanomaterials in Microbial Fuel Cells: A Review

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an environmentally friendly technology and a source of renewable energy. It is used to generate electrical energy from organic waste using bacteria, which is an effective technology in wastewater treatment. The anode and the cathode electrodes and proton exchange membranes (PEM) are important components affecting the performance and operation of MFC. Conventional materials used in the manufacture of electrodes and membranes are insufficient to improve the efficiency of MFC. The use of nanomaterials in the manufacture of the anode had a prominent effect in improving the performance in terms of increasing the surface area, increasing the transfer of electrons from the anode to the cathode, biocompatibility, and biofilm formation and improving the oxidation reactions of organic waste using bacteria. The use of nanomaterials in the manufacture of the cathode also showed the improvement of cathode reactions or oxygen reduction reactions (ORR). The PEM has a prominent role in separating the anode and the cathode in the MFC, transferring protons from the anode chamber to the cathode chamber while preventing the transfer of oxygen. Nanomaterials have been used in the manufacture of membrane components, which led to improving the chemical and physical properties of the membranes and increasing the transfer rates of protons, thus improving the performance and efficiency of MFC in generating electrical energy and improving wastewater treatment.     

Cattaneo–Christov heat flux model for stagnation point flow of micropolar nanofluid toward a nonlinear stretching surface with slip effects

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Cattaneo–Christov with variable thermal relaxation time and entropy generation is the main concern of this study. The micropolar fluid with...     

Resolvent Algorithms for Mixed Quasivariational Inequalities

It is well known that mixed quasivariational inequalities are equivalent to implicit resolvent equations. We use this alternative equivalent formulation to suggest and analyze a new modified resolvent method for solving mixed quasivariational inequalities and related problems. We show that the convergence of this modified method requires only pseudomonotonicity, which is a weaker condition than monotonicity. Since mixed quasivariational inequalities include various classes of variational inequalities as special cases, our result continues to hold for these problems.