Sonocatalytic oxidative desulfurization of oil from the Zhanazhol oilfield

Sonocatalytic oxidative desulfurization of oil from the Zhanazhol oilfield was investigated. Application of stepwise periodic treatment in an ultrasound field in the presence of a Ni-skeletal catalyst and oxidizer was shown to be an effective procedure for improving the quality of oil and oil-based products, which allowed targeted change of its chemical composition, increasing the yield of light products (gasoline and diesel fractions from 15.6 to 21.9 and from 47.7 to 58.6 wt %, respectively) and decreasing the sulfur content in oil products to 49%.     

Phase Separation in a Spin Density Wave State of Twisted Bilayer Graphene

JETP Letters - Twisted bilayer graphene at the so-called magic twist angle θ ∼ 1° is theoretically studied. In the absence of interaction between electrons, the system under study...     

Effect of direct current on higher harmonic generation in the frequency spectrum of magnetoimpedance of amorphous wires with circular anisotropy

The effect of direct current on the nonlinear response of magnetoimpedance in circularly anisotropic amorphous wires is investigated. A model is proposed for calculating the voltage across the ends of the wire in the case of a weak skin effect in the sample. It is shown that a direct current passing through the wire can substantially increase the amplitude of even harmonics of the voltage. The conditions in which the sensitivity of the second harmonic to the applied magnetic field is maximal are determined.     

The modified absorption optic method for diagnostics of the wave liquid film on a rotating surface

The modification of absorption optic method for diagnostics of the wave liquid film on the surface of a rotating disk was proposed. Inaccuracy of the method was estimated analytically and experimentally. The field measurements of liquid film thickness on a rotating disk were carried out.     

Nonuniform self-organized dynamical states in superconductors with periodic pinning

We consider magnetic flux moving in superconductors with periodic pinning arrays. We show that sample heating by moving vortices produces negative differential resistivity (NDR) of both N and S type (i.e., N- and S-shaped) in the voltage-current characteristic (VI curve). The uniform flux flow state is unstable in the NDR region of the VI curve. Domain structures appear during the NDR part of the VI curve of an N type, while a filamentary instability is observed for the NDR of an S type. The simultaneous existence of the NDR of both types gives rise to the appearance of striking self-organized (both stationary and nonstationary) two-dimensional dynamical structures.     

Thiol‐Directed Synthesis of Highly Fluorescent Gold Clusters and Their Conversion into Stable Imaging Nanoprobes

Fluorescent gold clusters (FGCs) with tunable emission from blue to red and quantum yields in the range of 6–17 % have been synthesized by simple modification of the conditions used for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles, namely by replacing the stronger reducing agent with a controlled amount of thiol. Various functional FGCs with hydrodynamic diameters of 5–12 nm have been successfully synthesized and used as cell labels. The results of our investigations strongly indicate that FGCs composed of Au⁰ are more stable imaging probes than commonly reported red/NIR‐emitting FGCs with a composition of Au⁰/Au^I, as this combination rapidly transforms into nonfluorescent large clusters on exposure to light. The FGC‐based nanoprobes reported herein exhibit stable fluorescence upon continuous light exposure and can be used as imaging probes with low cytotoxicity.     

Collective volume plasmons in manganites with nanoscale phase separation: simulation of the measured infrared spectra of La(0.7)Ca(0.3)MnO3

Optical characteristics of manganites with nanoscale electronic phase separation are simulated using an exact renormalization group transformation in Kirchhoff's equations. The local electric field is found to be highly inhomogeneous, exceeding the incident-wave field by orders of magnitude when the permittivities of the phases have opposite signs and plasmons are excited. The spatial scale of the field fluctuations suggests the collective character of the plasmon modes. The results of the simulation explain the optical anomalies of La(0.7)Ca(0.3)MnO(3) single crystals and films in the infrared frequency range in a natural way.     

Optical measurement of instantaneous liquid film thickness based on total internal reflection

An optical method of measuring the instantaneous transparent liquid film thickness, based on the effect of total internal reflection by the gas-liquid interface, is represented. A light circle whose diameter is proportional to the liquid film thickness and eccentricity is proportional to the slope gradient of the liquid film surface in the measurement region is formed around a small-size light source in the plane of vessel bottom. Using several light sources, the method allows measurement of the liquid film thickness field. The method is implemented in a multichannel meter of transparent liquid film thickness and curvature surface, with computer image processing.     

Aspherical‐Atom Modeling of Coordination Compounds by Single‐Crystal X‐ray Diffraction Allows the Correct Metal Atom To Be Identified

Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction (XRD) is often considered the gold standard in analytical chemistry, as it allows element identification as well as determination of atom connectivity and the solid‐state structure of completely unknown samples. Element assignment is based on the number of electrons of an atom, so that a distinction of neighboring heavier elements in the periodic table by XRD is often difficult. A computationally efficient procedure for aspherical‐atom least‐squares refinement of conventional diffraction data of organometallic compounds is proposed. The iterative procedure is conceptually similar to Hirshfeld‐atom refinement (Acta Crystallogr. Sect. A­ 2008 , 64, 383–393; IUCrJ. 2014 , 1,61–79), but it relies on tabulated invariom scattering factors (Acta Crystallogr. Sect. B­ 2013 , 69, 91–104) and the Hansen/Coppens multipole model; disordered structures can be handled as well. Five linear‐coordinate 3d metal complexes, for which the wrong element is found if standard independent‐atom model scattering factors are relied upon, are studied, and it is shown that only aspherical‐atom scattering factors allow a reliable assignment. The influence of anomalous dispersion in identifying the correct element is investigated and discussed.     

A market-based martingale valuation approach to optimum inventory control in a doubly stochastic jump-diffusion economy

We propose a novel market-based approach to optimum inventory control in a doubly stochastic jump-diffusion economy by modelling a commodity distributor’s inventory investment as a portfolio of forward commitments with explicit accounting of the jump-diffusion dynamics of demands, costs, and prices in open markets. We apply the robust real-asset martingale valuation methodology to derive a closed-form solution for the inventory value and a simple and intuitive optimality condition. Numerical analysis verifies this condition and demonstrates that the resulting optimum policy has robust properties in relation to the stylized effects.