Expanders That Beat the Eigenvalue Bound: Explicit Construction and Applications

n and 0 < δ < 1, we construct graphs on n nodes such that every two sets of size share an edge, having essentially optimal maximum degree . Using known and new reductions from these graphs, we derive new explicit constructions of: 1.  A k round sorting algorithm using comparisons. 2.  A k round selection algorithm using comparisons. 3.  A depth 2 superconcentrator of size . 4.  A depth k wide-sense nonblocking generalized connector of size . All of these results improve on previous constructions by factors of , and are optimal to within factors of . These results are based on an improvement to the extractor construction of Nisan & Zuckerman: our algorithm extracts an asymptotically optimal number of random bits from a defective random source using a small additional number of truly random bits. Received: June 13, 1995/Revised: Revised October 23, 1998     

FT‐IR and Isotherm Study on Anion Adsorption onto Novel Chelating Fibers

A new chelating fiber, poly(acrylo‐amidino diethylenediamine), was synthesized based on polyacrylonitrile fibers in diethylenetriamine with the aid of AlCl₃. Complex formation with CrO₄^2– was strongly pH‐dependent, as complexes formed only in the presence of NH₃⁺ and NH₂⁺. In the medium pH region, both ionic and hydrogen bonds were formed between poly(acrylo‐amidino diethylenediamine) and the chromate ion, as was confirmed by means of FT‐IR spectroscopy.     

Study on syntheses of phosphates and transition‐metal complexes on viscose rayon felt for flame retardancy

High‐performance materials for flameproofing, phosphates (polyphosphate and ammonium phosphate) were synthesized on viscose rayon felt. This surface reaction has the advantage of a nonblooming effect and an application in thermosetting plastics. Metal complexes have the effect of reducing the amount of smoke. Therefore, in the second step, transition‐metal complexes were synthesized on the viscose rayon ammonium phosphate felt. This article focuses on the surface modification of phosphates and metal complexes on viscose rayon. All reactions were confirmed by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared and time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry. As the concentrations of phosphoric acid and urea increased, the peak intensities of ammonium ion groups and phosphate groups greatly increased. The thermal properties of the synthesized materials were studied with thermogravimetric analysis and oxygen index testing. On the basis of the experimental results, the synthesized flame‐retardancy materials showed excellent physicochemical and thermal effects and flame retardancy. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 38: 2815–2823, 2000     

Asymptotic efficiency of ridge estimator in linear and semiparametric linear models

The linear model with a growing number of predictors arises in many contemporary scientific endeavor. In this article, we consider the commonly used ridge estimator in linear models. We propose analyzing the ridge estimator for a finite sample size n and a growing dimension p. The existence and asymptotic normality of the ridge estimator are established under some regularity conditions when p→∞. It also occurs that a strictly linear model is inadequate when some of the relations are believed to be of certain linear form while others are not easily parameterized, and thus a semiparametric partial linear model is considered. For these semiparametric partial linear models with p>n, we develop a procedure to estimate the linear coefficients as if the nonparametric part is not present. The asymptotic efficiency of the proposed estimator for the linear component is studied for p→∞. It is shown that the proposed estimator of the linear component asymptotically performs very well.     

Log-concavity of characteristic polynomials and the Bergman fan of matroids

In a recent paper, the first author proved the log-concavity of the coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of a matroid realizable over a field of characteristic 0, answering a long-standing conjecture of Read in graph theory. We extend the proof to all realizable matroids, making progress towards a more general conjecture of Rota?CHeron?CWelsh. Our proof follows from an identification of the coefficients of the reduced characteristic polynomial as answers to particular intersection problems on a toric variety. The log-concavity then follows from an inequality of Hodge type.     

Isolation of Industrial Important Bioactive Compounds from Microalgae

Microalgae are known as a rich source of bioactive compounds which exhibit different biological activities. Increased demand for sustainable biomass for production of important bioactive components with various potential especially therapeutic applications has resulted in noticeable interest in algae. Utilisation of microalgae in multiple scopes has been growing in various industries ranging from harnessing renewable energy to exploitation of high-value products. The focuses of this review are on production and the use of value-added components obtained from microalgae with current and potential application in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmeceutical, energy and agri-food industries, as well as for bioremediation. Moreover, this work discusses the advantage, potential new beneficial strains, applications, limitations, research gaps and future prospect of microalgae in industry.     

A novel method to measure the cell gap and pretilt angle of a reflective liquid crystal display

A powerful method for the phase retardation measurement of a reflective liquid crystal cell is presented. The proposed method is based on the heterodyne interferometer theory for probing cell parameters. Due to common-path optical arrangement, a fast measurement with high accuracy and sensitivity was possible. Both theoretical analysis and experimental procedures are presented. The experimental results agree well with that obtained theoretically.     

Positron mobility in anthracene

We have measured the positron mobility in a sample of scintillation grade anthracene at two temperatures. We obtain at 300 K: =(26.0±0.9±2.6) cm²V^–1s^–1 and at 77 K: =(33.4±1.1±3.3) cm²V^–1s^–1, where the first error estimate is statistical and the second is systematic. We have also made preliminary measurements on a highly purified sample that yields =(130±3±20) cm² V^–1 s^–1 at 300 K. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that the positron is scattered from both impurities and acoustic phonons in the first sample, and predominantly from photons in the second. It appears that positrons in pure anthracene crystals are delocalized and have a mean free path of about 85 Å at room temperature.     

Effect of Amino Acids on the Phase Behavior of Aqueous Biphasic Systems Composed of 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Tetrafluoroborate and Sodium Citrate

Ionic liquids (ILs) based aqueous biphasic systems (ABSs) have been successfully applied to the extraction and purification of biomolecules. Although much research has focused on the effect of ILs on the phase formation, there are few reports that describe the phase behavior of quaternary IL-based ABS systems using amino acids (AAs) as additives. Here, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([C₄mim]BF₄) formed an ABS with sodium citrate (Na₃C₆H₅O₇) with the aid of AAs. The phase behavior and physical properties of the ABS were investigated at 298 K. The capacity of the AA to create the ABS (area of biphasic region) increases with increasing in solubility and decrease with the molecular weight of the ILs and follows the trend glycine?>?l-alanine?≈?l-lysine?>?l-threonine?>?l-proline?≈?l-arginine?>?none. Moreover, the pH of the top and bottom phases containing l-proline as additive are nearly neutral; l-threonine, glycine, and l-alanine result in mildly acidic environments, while l-arginine and l-lysine provide basic pH conditions. The results show that the effects of the addition of the AAs can be considerable and important in the simulation, design calculation and pH control of ABS for efficient separation and extraction processes.