Role of molecular architecture on the vitrification of polymer thin films

We show that thin film star-shaped macromolecules exhibit significant differences in their average vitrification behavior, in both magnitude and thickness dependence, from their linear analogs. This behavior is dictated by a combination of their functionality and arm length. Additionally, the glass transition temperature at the free surface of a star-shaped molecule film may be higher than that of the interior, in contrast to their linear analogs where the opposite is true. These findings have implications for other properties, due largely to the origins, entropic, of this behavior.     

Microdisk resonator filters made of dielectric-loaded plasmonic waveguides

Microdisk resonator filters, an alternative to microring resonator filters, are studied by means of vectorial three dimensional finite element method simulations. Their performance characteristics are highlighted for different microdisk radii, and compared with those of the respective, footprint-wise, microring filters. We show that microdisk filters are advantageous, as the resonator involved exhibits smaller radiation losses. Extinction ratios as high as 30 dB are possible by properly tuning the gap separating the waveguide from the microdisk in each case. Transmission dips due to higher-radial-order modes that drastically change the transmission picture appear only for very large microdisk radii.     

Characterization of Greek Wines by Ultraviolet–Visible Absorption Spectroscopy and Statistical Multivariate Methods

Optical absorption spectroscopy has been used to study Cretan Greek wine matured for 3 months in various barrels. Vilana and Dafni white and Kotsifali and Mandilari red wines were analyzed. The total phenolic index for all varieties and color characteristics for only the red wine were determined. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) demonstrated that the absorption spectra, combined with multivariate statistical methods, may be used to identify these varieties. The results of principal component analysis were used to infer the chemical compounds responsible for the discrimination between varieties.     

A one-pot,two-step synthesis of 3-deazacanthin-4-ones via sequential Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura and Cu-catalyzed Buchwald-Hartwig reactions

3-Deazacanthin-4-one and nine analogues, including the 8-aza analogue, were prepared rapidly and in high yields from 8-iodoquinolones and 2-chloro(het)arylboronic acids. The strategy involves construction of the central B ring via concomitant Pd-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura CC and Cu-catalyzed Buchwald-Hartwig CN coupling reactions.     

Regularity for the nonlinear Signorini problem

We study the regularity of the solution to a fully nonlinear version of the thin obstacle problem. In particular we prove that the solution is C1,α for some small α>0. This extends a result of Luis Caffarelli of 1979. Our proof relies on new estimates up to the boundary for fully nonlinear equations with Neumann boundary data, developed recently by the authors.     

Diffraction grating with suppressed zero order fabricated using dielectric forces

An electric-field-assisted method to produce diffractive optical devices is demonstrated. A uniform film of liquid UV curable resin was produced as a drying ring from an organic solvent. Dielectrophoresis forces maintained the stability of the thin film and also imprinted a periodic corrugation deformation of pitch 20 μm on the film surface. Continuous in situ voltage-controlled adjustment of the optical diffraction pattern was carried out simultaneously with UV curing. A fully cured solid phase grating was produced with the particular voltage-selected tailored optical property that the zero transmitted order was suppressed for laser light at 633 nm.     

Designing vehicle routes for a mix of different request types,under time windows and loading constraints

This article introduces and solves a new rich routing problem integrated with practical operational constraints. The problem examined calls for the determination of the optimal routes for a vehicle fleet to satisfy a mix of two different request types. Firstly, vehicles must transport three-dimensional, rectangular and stackable boxes from a depot to a set of predetermined customers. In addition, vehicles must also transfer products between pairs of pick-up and delivery locations. Service of both request types is subject to hard time window constraints. In addition, feasible palletization patterns must be identified for the transported products. A practical application of the problem arises in the transportation systems of chain stores, where vehicles replenish the retail points by delivering products stored at a central depot, while they are also responsible for transferring stock between pairs of the retailer network. To solve this very complex combinatorial optimization problem, our major objective was to develop an efficient methodology whose required computational effort is kept within reasonable limits. To this end, we propose a local search-based framework for optimizing vehicle routes, in which feasible loading arrangements are identified via a simple-structured packing heuristic. The algorithmic framework is enhanced with various memory components which store and retrieve useful information gathered through the search process, in order to avoid any duplicate unnecessary calculations. The proposed solution approach is assessed on newly introduced benchmark instances.