Velocity renormalization and carrier lifetime in graphene from the electron-phonon interaction

We present a first-principles investigation of the phonon-induced electron self-energy in graphene. The energy dependence of the self-energy reflects the peculiar linear band structure of graphene and deviates substantially from the usual metallic behavior. The effective band velocity of the Dirac fermions is found to be reduced by 4%-8%, depending on doping, by the interaction with lattice vibrations. Our results are consistent with the observed linear dependence of the electronic linewidth on the binding energy in photoemission spectra.     

A review: Acoustic emission,a tool for composite-materials studies

The technique of acoustic emission has two broad applications areas. The first is nondestructive evaluation. The second is as a tool in studies or research which are not fundamentally directed towards acoustic emission. It is this second application with which we are concerned here. Acoustic emission is a very useful tool in this role because of its high sensitivity, real-time capability, volume-monitoring approach, and sensitivity to any process or mechanism which generates sound waves. This paper presents a comprehensive review of areas where acoustic emission (AE) has been used for materials studies on composite materials. The following fields, among others, will be covered: (1) time-dependent composite properties, (2) impact studies, (3) correlation of AE with stress level, (4) application to matrix cure studies, (5) relationship of AE-detected damage to other measures of damage, (6) studies of the effects of matrix material, (7) application to differences in second phase, (8) interface studies, (9) AE and dimensional stability, (10) AE applied to orientation studies, and (11) environmental effects. This review will emphasize the roles that AE can play as a tool for the materials scientist: (1) discovery of damage mechanisms, (2) characterization of damage progression with increasing time or stress, (3) optimization of fabrication variables, and (4) reduction in the numbers of test specimens required in various studies.     

Liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry for analysis of 1,2-dibromo-4-(1,2-dibromoethyl)cyclohexane (TBECH) and 1,2,5,6-tetrabromocyclooctane (TBCO)

Although the two flame retardants 1,2-dibromo-4-(1,2-dibromoethyl)cyclohexane (TBECH) and 1,2,5,6-tetrabromocyclooctane (TBCO) have been widely used, a selective instrumental method of analysis for these compounds has not been developed to date. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility to utilize liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) for the separation and analysis of α- and β-TBCO and α-, β-, γ-, and δ-TBECH. Acetone was initially used in a tetrahedron solvent system for LC optimization. A simple isocratic elution allowed near-baseline separation of these compounds. Different ionization approaches and mechanisms were investigated. The mass spectrometric transition of [M + O(2)](-) => Br(-) (459.8 => 78.9) was a selective detection method for the target analytes. Good instrument detection limits (5 pg for γ-/δ-TBECH, 125 pg for α-/β-TBECH, and 30 pg for α-/β-TBCO with 2.0 μL injection) were obtained. Excellent linearity up to 50 ng/μL (R(2) >0.999) was also achieved. This method has been applied to environmental samples (surface water) for screening purposes with recoveries ranging from 76-92% (CV%: 5-8%). This method shows significant improvement over previous methods.     

DEA based dimensionality reduction for classification problems satisfying strict non-satiety assumption

This study shows how data envelopment analysis (DEA) can be used to reduce vertical dimensionality of certain data mining databases. The study illustrates basic concepts using a real-world graduate admissions decision task. It is well known that cost sensitive mixed integer programming (MIP) problems are NP-complete. This study shows that heuristic solutions for cost sensitive classification problems can be obtained by solving a simple goal programming problem by that reduces the vertical dimension of the original learning dataset. Using simulated datasets and a misclassification cost performance metric, the performance of proposed goal programming heuristic is compared with the extended DEA-discriminant analysis MIP approach. The holdout sample results of our experiments shows that the proposed heuristic approach outperforms the extended DEA-discriminant analysis MIP approach.     

Selective molecular sequestration with concurrent natural product functionalization and derivatization: from crude natural product extracts to a single natural product derivative in one step

A resin-bound nitroso compound sequestered a single unexpected component from crude plant seed extracts. Several plants, including Piper nigrum, Eugenia caryophyllata, and Pimenta dioica, were extracted with organic solvent in the presence of a nitroso-containing resin. The nitroso resin selectively sequestered a single compound, β-caryophyllene, via a chemo- and regioselective ene reaction. The ene product was released from the resin, and proper selection of the solid-phase linker and cleavage cocktail allowed concomitant further transformation of the primary ene product to a novel functionalized polycycle. Preliminary studies indicate that the new hydroxylamine-containing natural product derivatives have antibiotic activity.     

Inorganic scintillators: today and tomorrow

The past half-century has witnessed the discovery of many new scintillator materials and numerous advances in our understanding of the basic physical processes governing the operation of inorganic scintillators. These developments are reviewed briefly, but then the question arises—what about today and tomorrow? Have we exhausted luminescence phenomena and the periodic table in our search for improved scintillator materials? Properties of both intrinsic and activated scintillator materials, crystalline and amphorous, are considered. Several fundamental limits of scintillator performance are examined together with the prospects for discovering better scintillators guided by first-principles theoretical calculations of the processes active in scintillation.     

Spying on the cost structure of naive bidding competitors via linear programming models

A linear programming model is constructed which enables a firm to estimate its competitor's cost structure when the competitor adheres to a non-randomized strategy. The existence of the model makes randomized bidding prudent apart from game theory considerations. The need for increased curriculum attention to optimal bidding is highlighted.     

Conditions for the generalized numerical range to be real

Necessary and sufficient conditions are given for the C-numerical range of a matrix A to be a subset of the real axis. In particular, it is shown that both A and C must be translates of hermitian matrices.