Mechanisms of n‐butanol formation in butyl acrylate latexes

The mechanisms involved in the formation of n‐butanol during the synthesis of butyl acrylate containing latices were investigated. The experimental results showed that neither the hydrolysis of butyl acrylate nor of the ester bond in the butyl acrylate segments of the polymer played a major role in the formation of n‐butanol, which was mainly generated from the polymer backbone, by transfer reactions to polymer chain followed by cyclization. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 5838–5846, 2007     

Performance evaluation of fiber Bragg grating sensors by digital holographic technique, strain gauge measurement

In view of the growing interest for non-destructive tests of materials, geodynamical monitoring and in general remote sensing, there is a great effort to bring practical optical sensors from research labs to industrial and environmental applications. In this paper, we employ digital holographic technique as an efficient tool for evaluating the strain measurement capability of fiber Bragg gratings (FBG). A cantilever beam has been employed as a test structure under loading test. The strain measurements results obtained by fiber-based sensors have been compared to those obtained by using full-field digital holographic technique and point-wise strain gauge sensors glued on the same cantilever beam. A simple theoretical model is also presented to interpret and compare the experimental results coming from different techniques.     

A microspectroscopic study of the electronic homogeneity of ordered and disordered Sr2FeMoO6

Disordered Sr₂FeMoO₆ shows a drastic reduction in saturation magnetization compared to highly ordered samples, moreover magnetization as a function of the temperature for different disordered samples shows qualitatively different behaviours. We investigate the origin of such diversity by performing spatially resolved photoemission spectroscopy on various disordered samples. Our results establish that e_xtensive electronic inhomogeneity, arising most probably from an underlying chemical inhomogeneity in disordered samples, is responsible for the observed magnetic inhomogeneity. It is further pointed out that these inhomogeneities are connected with composition fluctuations of the type Sr₂Fe_1+x Mo_1-x O₆ with Fe-rich (x > 0) and Mo-rich (x < 0) regions. Dedicated to Prof J Gopalakrishnan on his 62nd birthday.     

CAS based approach for discussing subset construction

This paper continues the discussion of teaching nondeterminism (see [6]) where we presented a didactic approach introducing the notion of nondeterministic automata. Although in this paper we use the same methodology we have to face up to new didactic challenges. Namely, teaching the subset construction requires answers to the question how can CAS be used in teaching the different phases of mathematical problem solving so that we can reach higher cognitive efficiency.     

A calorimetric study of the different thermal behaviour of DNA in the isotropic and liquid-crystalline states

A difference between the thermal behaviour of the isotropic and liquid-crystalline state of sonicated DNA in aqueous salt solution containing poly(ethyleneglycol)(PEG) has been demonstrated. On cooling, a different degree of renaturation of thermally denaturated DNA is observed between samples which form the isotropic state and more concentrated samples which on cooling form the cholesteric state.     

Harmonic and intermodulation distortion modeling in IM-DD multi-band radio over fiber links exploiting injection locked lasers

A comprehensive numerical tool has been developed for the evaluation of the performances of Radio over Fiber (RoF) links intended for wireless signal distribution.At the transmitter end an appropriate set of rate equations allows to model the optical source as a solitary laser or as an appropriately injection locked laser. The optical channel is modeled putting into account the combined effect of fiber dispersion, laser source non ideal performances (e.g. non-linear effects, frequency chirp), and quadratic detection of the receiving photodiode. The simulation model developed can be a useful tool at the design stage allowing a preliminary evaluation of the characteristics of real RoF links.     

Deformations of arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay subvarieties of pn

We show that every arithmetically Cohen-Macaulay two-codimensional subscheme ofP ⁿ can be deformed to a reduced union of two-codimensional linear subvarieties. This problem (classical for curves with the name of Zeuthen problem) was solved for curves by F.Gaeta.     

Parking Capacity and Pricing in Park'n Ride Trips: A Continuous Equilibrium Network Design Problem

In this paper we consider the problem of designing parking facilities for park'n ride trips. We present a new continuous equilibrium network design problem to decide the capacity and fare of these parking lots at a tactical level. We assume that the parking facilities have already been located and other topological decisions have already been taken.The modeling approach proposed is mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints. In the outer optimization problem, a central Authority evaluates the performance of the transport network for each network design decision. In the inner problem a multimodal traffic assignment with combined modes, formulated as a variational inequality problem, generates the share demand for modes of transportation, and for parking facilities as a function of the design variables of the parking lots. The objective is to make optimal parking investment and pricing decisions in order to minimize the total travel cost in a subnetwork of the multimodal transportation system.We present a new development in model formulation based on the use of generalized parking link cost as a design variable.The bilevel model is solved by a simulated annealing algorithm applied to the continuous and non-negative design decision variables. Numerical tests are reported in order to illustrate the use of the model, and the ability of the approach to solve applications of moderate size.     

Compositions for health products obtained by treatment of tomato with beta-cyclodextrin

The aim of this work was to produce lycopene-containing powders from tomato products by a solvent-free method making use of β-cyclodextrin (βCD). Powders were prepared by spray-drying a tomato concentrate (TC), one of the most bioavailable form of lycopene, after mechanical treatment with βCD in different weight ratios. The obtained product was centrifuged to eliminate partly food matrix and characterized for the amount of lycopene hydrodispersed/hydrosolubilized in the aqueous fraction. The chemical antioxidant activity of sera was evaluated too. Powders obtained by spray-drying sera exhibited good flow properties, a lycopene content between 0.4 and 1.09 mg/g and excellent water dispersability. The process developed, which makes use of βCD for the treatment of tomato products, turns to be of great interest to obtain a bulk material for nutraceuticals displaying superior biovailability of lycopene.