Recent advances in anion recognition

By linkage of 1,5-naphthalenedisulfonate (1,5-NDS) anion fluorophore, 3D cucurbit[7]uril (CB[7]) framework has been constructed. The maximum solid-state fluorescence wavelength of the CB[7] framework exhibits blue-shift from 406 to 340 nm in comparison with that of 1,5-NDS, which was ascribed to increased excited energy from 0.10 to 0.13 eV according to theoretical calculations.     

Predicting the cell-wall compositions of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus radiata</Emphasis> (radiata pine) wood using ATR and transmission FTIR spectroscopies

Because plant cell walls vary in their polysaccharide compositions and lignin contents, their monosaccharide compositions and lignin contents are often determined, but these analyses are time consuming and laborious. We therefore investigated Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy coupled with partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis as a way of rapidly predicting the monosaccharide compositions and lignin contents of the cell walls of compression wood (CW) and opposite wood (OW) of the gymnosperm Pinus radiata. The effects were investigated of sample moisture content (ambient or dry) and sample particle size (large particles, < 0.422 mm or small particles, < 0.178 mm) of milled wood on attenuated total reflectance (ATR) and transmission FTIR spectra, as well as the PLS-1 models and subsequent predictions. PLS-1 models were built using mixtures of CW and OW as the training set, to provide a linear range of monosaccharide compositions and lignin contents. Models were externally validated by predicting another set of wood mixtures before predicting CW and OW of a separate test set. Most of the monosaccharide amounts in the separate test set were best predicted by ATR spectroscopy of ambient large particles, achieving the lowest standard error values for the monosaccharides arabinose (0.36%), xylose (1.05%), galactose (1.79%), glucose (6.32%), and 4-O-methylglucuronic acid (0.20%). The results show the feasibility of using ATR spectroscopy of ambient large particles for the rapid prediction of monosaccharide compositions and lignin contents of plant cell walls.     

Dynamic algorithm selection for pareto optimal set approximation

This paper presents a meta-algorithm for approximating the Pareto optimal set of costly black-box multiobjective optimization problems given a limited number of objective function evaluations. The key idea is to switch among different algorithms during the optimization search based on the predicted performance of each algorithm at the time. Algorithm performance is modeled using a machine learning technique based on the available information. The predicted best algorithm is then selected to run for a limited number of evaluations. The proposed approach is tested on several benchmark problems and the results are compared against those obtained using any one of the candidate algorithms alone.     

On parallel Branch and Bound frameworks for Global Optimization

Branch and Bound (B&B) algorithms are known to exhibit an irregularity of the search tree. Therefore, developing a parallel approach for this kind of algorithms is a challenge. The efficiency of a B&B algorithm depends on the chosen Branching, Bounding, Selection, Rejection, and Termination rules. The question we investigate is how the chosen platform consisting of programming language, used libraries, or skeletons influences programming effort and algorithm performance. Selection rule and data management structures are usually hidden to programmers for frameworks with a high level of abstraction, as well as the load balancing strategy, when the algorithm is run in parallel. We investigate the question by implementing a multidimensional Global Optimization B&B algorithm with the help of three frameworks with a different level of abstraction (from more to less): Bobpp, Threading Building Blocks (TBB), and a customized Pthread implementation. The following has been found. The Bobpp implementation is easy to code, but exhibits the poorest scalability. On the contrast, the TBB and Pthread implementations scale almost linearly on the used platform. The TBB approach shows a slightly better productivity.     

Fractional capacities relative to bounded open Lipschitz sets complemented

As a complement of (Shi and Xiao in Potential Anal 45:261–298, 2016) this article addresses five more aspects of the fractional capacities relative to bounded open Lipschitz subsets of \({\mathbb {R}}^n\): (i) quasi-everywhere version; (ii) unique extremal; (iii) energy functional; (iv) dual representation; (v) fine behaviour of each fractional Sobolev function in \({\mathbb {R}}^n\).     

Coprecipitation of calcium hydroxyapatite,graphene oxide,and chitosan from aqueous solutions

We determined the character of interactions between calcium hydroxyapatite Са₁₀(РO₄)₆(ОН)₂ (HA), graphene oxide (GO), and chitosan (С₆Н₁₁NO₄) _n (CHT) to yield HA/CHT/GO nanocomposites (NCs) in the СаС1₂–(NH₄)₂НРО₄–NH₃–Н₂О–(С₆Н₁₁NO₄) _n –GO system (25°С). A set of physicochemical methods helped us to elucidate composition–synthesis parameters–structure–particle size–properties correlations for the prepared NCs and to prove the feasibility to manufacture NCs with tailored HA, CHT, and GO contents, described by the bulk formula Са₁₀(РО₄)₆(ОН)₂ · х(С₆Н₁₁NO₄) _n · yGO · zН₂О, where х = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3; y = 0.6, 1.2, 2.4; and z = 6.0–7.4.     

Phase equilibria in the Cu–Cu<Subscript>2</Subscript>Se–As system

Phase equilibria in the Cu–Cu₂Se–As were investigated by differential thermal analysis and X-ray powder diffraction analysis. Informative plots describing this system were constructed, viz., the polythermal sections Cu_0.667Se_0.333–As, Cu_0.667Se_0.333–Cu_0.735As_0.265, and Cu_0.8Se_0.2–As, the isothermal section of the phase diagram at 300 K, and the projection of the liquidus surface. The obtained results differ from the published data in length of fields of primary crystallization of phases and in coordinates of a number of invariant equilibrium points.