Two regularization methods for backward heat problems with new error estimates

We introduce two new methods for solving a backward heat conduction problem. For these two methods, we give a stability analysis with new error estimates. Meanwhile, we investigate the roles of the regularization parameters in these two methods. Numerical results show that our algorithm is effective.     

Multi‐Species Multi‐Channel (MSMC): An Ab Initio‐based Parallel Thermodynamic and Kinetic Code for Complex Chemical Systems

Multi‐Species Multi‐Channel (MSMC) is an ab initio parallel program to calculate thermodynamic quantities (e.g., , , , and , time‐dependent species profiles, and rate coefficients as functions of temperature and pressure for complex chemical reaction systems, which consist of multiple stable species and multiple reaction channels interconnecting them. Thermodynamic properties of the species involved are calculated using statistical mechanics with molecular information from electronic structure calculations. Temperature‐ and pressure‐dependent behaviors are rigorously characterized within the eigenpair master equation/Rice–Ramsperger–Kassel–Marcus (ME/RRKM) framework. Corrections, e.g., for hindered internal rotation and tunneling treatment, are included. With the implementation of an ultra‐high precision package and rigorous matrix setup, MSMC is able to correctly mimic real behaviors of different types of chemical systems. Different eigenpair‐based approaches to extract phenomenological/macroscopic rate coefficients are implemented for different applications. Moreover, a friendly and platform‐independent graphical‐user‐interface (GUI) is provided to facilitate the use of MSMC and the pre‐/postcalculation data visualization/analysis on the fly. The program can be freely downloaded at https://sites.google.com/site/msmccode/ .     

Suzuki Reaction of Aryl Bromides Using a Phosphine-Free Magnetic Nanoparticle-Supported Palladium Catalyst

A palladium catalyst immobilized on superparaganetic nanoparticles was prepared with a palladium loading of 0.30 mmol/g. The catalyst was characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and nitrogen adsorption. The immobilized palladium catalyst was an efficient catalyst without added phosphine ligands for the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction of several aryl bromides with phenylboronic acid. The recovery of catalyst was simply by magnetic decantation in the presence of a magnet. The immobilized palladium catalyst can be reused many times without significant degradation in catalytic activity. No leaching of active palladium species into the reaction solution was detected.     

A simple spectral theory of polynomially bounded solutions and applications to differential equations

Semigroup Forum - In this paper we present a simple spectral theory of polynomially bounded functions on the half line, and then apply it to study the asymptotic behavior of solutions of fractional...     

Surface-modified lead–zirconium-titanate system for solution-processed ferroelectric-gate thin-film transistors

We propose the use of a La₂O₃ (LO) film as the capping layer for improvement of a semiconductor/insulator interface in a solution-processed indium–tin–oxide (ITO) ferroelectric-gate thin-film transistor (FGT) device. It is demonstrated that the LO layer acts as a good barrier film not only for preventing the interdiffusion between the ITO semiconductor and lead–zirconium-titanate (PZT) insulator layers, but also for stabilizing the PZT surface structure. The fabricated FGT device exhibited high I _on/I _off, large M _w, high μ _FE and improved retention time of about 10⁹, 3.5 V, 7.94 cm²?V^?1?s^?1 and 1 day, respectively, which are comparable to or better than those obtained with FGTs fabricated by means of conventional vacuum processes. We also point out that the key origin of the interface improvement is likely due to the incorporation of La into the PZT system, forming a La surface-modified PZT system which is more stable than the pure PZT in terms of Pb volatility and formation of oxygen vacancies.     

Synthesis and properties of chitosan‐based thermo‐ and pH‐responsive nanoparticles and application in drug release

In this research, thermo‐ and pH‐responsive nanoparticles with an average diameter of about 50–200 nm were synthesized via the surfactant‐free emulsion polymerization. The thermal/pH dual responsive properties of these nanoparticles were designed by the addition of a pH sensitive monomer, acrylic acid (AA), to be copolymerized with N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) in a chitosan (CS) solution. The molar ratio of CS/AA/NIPAAm in the feed was changed to investigate its effect on structure, morphology, thermal‐ and pH‐responsive properties of the nanoparticles. It was found that CS‐PAA‐PNIPAAm nanoparticles could be well dispersed in the aqueous solution and carried positive charges on the surface. The addition of thermal‐sensitive NIPAAm monomer affected the polymerization mechanism and interactions between CS and AA. The particle size of the nanoparticles was found to be varied with the composition of NIPAAm monomer in the feed. The synthesized nanoparticles exhibited stimuli‐responsive properties, and their mean diameter thus could be manipulated by changing pH value and temperature of the environment. The nanoparticles showed a continuous release of the encapsulated doxycycline hyclate up to 10 days during an in vitro release experiment. The environmentally responsive nanoparticles are expected to be used in many fields such as drug delivery system. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 2798–2810, 2009     

Synthetic Membrane Technology Sessions,Instrumentation Symposium

When a protein is exposed to a ligand linked to a water soluble polymer, a macrocomplex can be formed that can be isolated from the contaminant medium by different methods such as affinity partitioning or gel filtration. Ultrafiltration technique has also been tested in the separation of trypsin and chymotrypsin using a high molecular weight dextran—p-aminobenzamidine as a macroligand. Some theoretical considerations are given in order to evaluate the performance that can be expected from this biospecific complexation—ultrafiltration technique in the separation of biological species.     

Precise half-life measurements for 38Ca and 39Ca

The half-lives of ³⁸Ca and ³⁹Ca have been measured at ISOLDE of CERN. The REXTRAP facility was used to prepare ultra-clean samples of radioactive nuclei for precision decay spectroscopy. ³⁸Ca is one of the T _z = - 1 , 0⁺ $ \rightarrow$ 0⁺ $ \beta$ -emitting nuclides used to determine the vector coupling constant of the weak interaction and the V_ud quark-mixing matrix element. The result obtained, T _1/2 = 443.8(19) ms, is four times more precise than the average of previous measurements. For ³⁹Ca , a half-life of T _1/2 = 860.7(10) ms is obtained, a result in agreement with the average value from the literature.