Samarium Based High Surface Area Perovskite Type Oxides SmFe1-XAlXO3 (X=0.00, 0.50, 0.95).Part I, Synthesis and Characterization of Materials

High specific surface area (ssa) perovskite type solids based on samarium (SmFe_1-xAl_xO₃, x = 0.00, 0.50, 0.95) were prepared using hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide C16TAB as a precursor and gelating agent. The structure of perovskite is fully developed at 600oC for the SmFeO3 solid but not for the other materials. The ssa of the solids varies (33.5 m²g^-1 - 1 m²g^-1) depending on composition and calcination temperature.     

Complex networks and banking systems supervision

Comprehensive and thorough supervision of all banking institutions under a Central Bank’s regulatory control has become necessary as recent banking crises show. Promptly identifying bank distress and contagion issues is of great importance to the regulators. This paper proposes a methodology that can be used additionally to the standard methods of bank supervision or the new ones proposed to be implemented. By this, one can reveal the degree of banks’ connectedness and thus identify “core” instead of just “big” banks. Core banks are central in the network in the sense that they are shown to be crucial for network supervision. Core banks can be used as gauges of bank distress over a sub-network and promptly raise a red flag so that the central bank can effectively and swiftly focus on the corresponding neighborhood of financial institutions. In this paper we demonstrate the proposed scheme using as an example the asset returns variable. The method may and should be used with alternative variables as well.     

Aerodynamic design using the truncated Newton algorithm and the continuous adjoint approach

In this paper, the so‐called ‘continuous adjoint‐direct approach’ is used within the truncated Newton algorithm for the optimization of aerodynamic shapes, using the Euler equations. It is known that the direct differentiation (DD) of the flow equations with respect to the design variables, followed by the adjoint approach, is the best way to compute the exact matrix, for use along with the Newton optimization method. In contrast to this, in this paper, the adjoint approach followed by the DD of both the flow and adjoint equations (i.e. the other way round) is proved to be the most efficient way to compute the product of the Hessian matrix with any vector required by the truncated Newton algorithm, in which the Newton equations are solved iteratively by means of the conjugate gradient (CG) method. Using numerical experiments, it is demonstrated that just a few CG steps per Newton iteration are enough. Considering that the cost of solving either the adjoint or the DD equations is approximately equal to that of solving the flow equations, the cost per Newton iteration scales linearly with the (small) number of CG steps, rather than the (much higher, in large‐scale problems) number of design variables. By doing so, the curse of dimensionality is alleviated, as shown in a number of applications related to the inverse design of ducts or cascade airfoils for inviscid flows. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct,adjoint and mixed approaches for the computation of Hessian in airfoil design problems

In this paper, four approaches to compute the Hessian matrix of an objective function used often in aerodynamic inverse design problems are presented. The computationally less expensive among them is selected and applied to the reconstruction of cascade airfoils that reproduce a prescribed pressure distribution over their walls, under inviscid and viscous flow considerations. The selected approach is based on the direct sensitivity analysis method for the computation of first derivatives, followed by the discrete adjoint method for the computation of the Hessian matrix. The applications presented in this paper show that the Newton method, based on exact Hessian matrices, outperforms other gradient‐based algorithms such as steepest descent or BFGS algorithm. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ion transport through LiCoO2/(Li2O)x · (B2O3) thin-film bi-layers

e-Gun deposited bi-layer structures of LiCoO₂/(Li₂O)_x · (B₂O₃) cathode material and solid electrolyte have been investigated by SEM and impedance spectroscopy. The crystallinity of the substrates, on which the structures are deposited, influences the extent of crystallization, and consequently the ionic conductivity, of the electrolyte layer. Comparison of impedance spectra between bi-layers and electrolyte single layers indicates that the total ionic conductivity of the electrolyte in the bi-layer is decreased with respect to the single layer, due to higher crystallization.     

Rapid and novel discrimination and quantification of oleanolic and ursolic acids in complex plant extracts using two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy—Comparison with HPLC methods

A novel strategy for NMR analysis of mixtures of oleanolic and ursolic acids that occur in natural products is described. These important phytochemicals have similar structure and their discrimination and quantification is rather difficult. We report herein the combined use of proton-carbon heteronuclear single-quantum coherence (¹H-¹³C HSQC) and proton-carbon heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation (¹H-¹³C HMBC) NMR spectroscopy, in the identification and quantitation of oleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA)in plant extracts of the Lamiaceae and Oleaceae family. The combination of ¹H-¹³C HSQC and ¹H-¹³C HMBC techniques allows the connection of the proton and carbon-13 spins across the molecular backbone resulting in the identification and, thus, discrimination of oleanolic and ursolic acid without resorting to physicochemical separation of the components. The quantitative results provided by 2D ¹H-¹³C HSQC NMR data were obtained within a short period of time (∼14 min) and are in excellent agreement with those obtained by HPLC, which support the efficiency of the suggested methodology.     

Decision-making by hierarchies of discordant agents

We study the following decision-making scenario: A linear program is solved by a set of agents arranged hierarchically in a tree, where each agent decides the level of certain variables, and has a distinct objective function, known to all agents. Authority is reflected in two ways: Agents higher in the tree set their variables first; and agents that are siblings in the tree resolve their game by focusing on the Nash equilibrium that is optimum for the agent above them. We give a necessary and sufficient condition for such a hierarchy to be efficient (i.e., to have perfect coordination, to ultimately optimize the objective of the firm). We study problems related to designing a hierarchy (assigning decision makers to positions in the tree) in order to achieve efficiency or otherwise optimize coordination. Received June 16, 1997 / Revised version received July 8, 1998?Published online May 12, 1999     

Base-induced rearrangement of tritylamines to imines: discovery and investigation of the mechanism

An unexpected compound, the aniline derived benzophenone imine, was isolated when tritylamine was treated with n-BuLi and alkyl halides, during the formation of N-alkyl tritylamines, in the process of preparing primary amines. A nucleophilic attack of the nitrogen anion of tritylamide on the adjacent C-bonded phenyl, either substituted or not, involving a bridging anionic intermediate, is proposed for this base-induced tritylamine rearrangement to produce the corresponding imine. Electron-withdrawing groups in the aromatic ring, favoring the negative charge development, affect the relative migratory tendencies.