Dirac and Faddeev–Jackiw quantization of a five-dimensional Stüeckelberg theory with a compact dimension

A detailed Hamiltonian analysis for a five-dimensional Stüeckelberg theory with a compact dimension is performed. First, we develop a pure Dirac’s analysis of the theory; we show that after performing the compactification, the theory is reduced to four-dimensional Stüeckelberg theory plus a tower of Kaluza–Klein modes. We develop a complete analysis of the constraints, we fix the gauge and we show that there are present pseudo-Goldstone bosons. Then we quantize the theory by constructing the Dirac brackets. As complementary work, we perform the Faddeev–Jackiw quantization for the theory under study, and we calculate the generalized Faddeev–Jackiw brackets, we show that both the Faddeev–Jackiw and Dirac’s brackets are the same. Finally we discuss some remarks and prospects.     

Convoy movement problem: a civilian perspective

We study the convoy movement problem in peacetime from a civilian perspective by seeking to minimize civilian traffic disruptions. We develop an exact hybrid algorithm that combines the k-shortest path algorithm along with finding a minimum weighted k-clique in a k-partite graph. Through this coupling scheme, we are able to exactly solve large instances of the convoy movement problem without relaxing many of its complicating constraints. An experimental study is performed based on pseudo-transportation networks to illustrate the computational viability of the method as well as policy implications.     

A Curved Noninteracting 2D Electron Gas with Anisotropic Mass

In da Costa's thin‐layer approach, a quantum particle moving in a 3D sample is confined to a curved thin interface. At the end, the interface effects are ignored and the quantum particle is localized on a curved surface. A geometric potential arises and, since it is due to this confinement procedure, it depends on the transverse to the surface mass component. The effects due to an anisotropic effective mass on a noninteracting two‐dimensional electron gas confined to a curved surface are reported. By tailoring the mass, many investigations carried out in the literature can be improved, which in turn can be useful to better designing electronic systems without modifying the geometry of the given system. Some examples are examined, such as a particle on a helicoidal surface, on a cylinder, on a catenoid and on a cone, with some possible applications briefly discussed.     

Hospital capacity,capability, and emergency preparedness

Disasters often result in shifts in hospital capacity utilization. Emergency preparedness plans must recognize capacity at the service-line level. This information can provide an additional level of detail to better design response activities and develop cost-effective disaster response plans. We model a possible preparedness plan for Florida hospitals in the case of a major disaster. We model a hurricane event because, in addition to its similarity to other disasters, it provides enough warning for substantive preparation activities. Following Johansen, we measure capacity in a frontier setting using data envelopment analysis. We also use a criterion of economic capability to ensure that a Pareto Optimal situation can be maintained. Information on hospital capacity, patient characteristics of inpatient discharges, and financial performance was merged to perform this study. Our findings suggest there is not enough excess capacity for some specialized services in Florida. However, possible evacuation policies can still be derived from our findings satisfying medical and economic capabilities.     

Cheminformatics analysis and learning in a data pipelining environment

Summary Workflow technology is being increasingly applied in discovery information to organize and analyze data. SciTegic's Pipeline Pilot is a chemically intelligent implementation of a workflow technology known as data pipelining. It allows scientists to construct and execute workflows using components that encapsulate many cheminformatics based algorithms. In this paper we review SciTegic's methodology for molecular fingerprints, molecular similarity, molecular clustering, maximal common subgraph search and Bayesian learning. Case studies are described showing the application of these methods to the analysis of discovery data such as chemical series and high throughput screening results. The paper demonstrates that the methods are well suited to a wide variety of tasks such as building and applying predictive models of screening data, identifying molecules for lead optimization and the organization of molecules into families with structural commonality.     

Lipase-mediated selective acetylation of primary alcohols in ethyl acetate

An environmental friendly process to selectively acetylate primary alcohols was demonstrated. The esterification process consists of treatment of a primary alcohol in the presence of immobilized C. antarctica lipase (Novozyme-435) in ethyl acetate at room temperature. Primary alcohols were acetylated in the presence of secondary alcohols and phenols.     

Possible Ultrasonic Evidence for the Existence of Vortex-Antivortex Pairs

The attenuation of surface acoustic waves in the 700 MHz frequency range passing through 1000 Å NbN films has been measured on several NbN films. The films have a columnar structure where the columns are about 200 Å in diameter separated by 20 Å voids. In the superconducting state the attenuation does not follow the usual BCS curve. It appears to be composed of the sum of a BCS curve plus another curve which has a maximum below the superconducting transition temperature. The attenuation data may also be analyzed to yield an effective energy gap which is quenched at about one fifth of the BCS zero temperature energy gap. Tentatively, the Kosterlitz-Thouless vortex-antivortex model is used to determine the temperature dependence of an effective order parameter that yields reduced attenuation data which agree qualitatively with the experimental results.     

AlPO-18 membranes for CO2/CH4 separation

The synthesis of reproducible and continuous AlPO-18 membranes is demonstrated. The separation performance of these membranes for equimolar CO(2)/CH(4) gas mixtures is presented. The AlPO-18 membranes displayed CO(2) permeances as high as ~6.6 × 10(-8) mol m(-2) s Pa with CO(2)/CH(4) separation selectivities in the ~52-60 range at 295 K and 138 kPa.