Development of New Efficient Adsorbent by Functionalization of Mg3Al-LDH with Methyl Trialkyl Ammonium Chloride Ionic Liquid

The present paper describes a new way of obtaining an efficient adsorbent material by functionalization of Mg₃Al layered double hydroxides (LDH) with methyl trialkyl ammonium chloride-ionic liquid (IL) using two methods: ultrasound and cosynthesis. Layered double hydroxides are good solid support for the functionalization with ionic liquids due to their well-ordered structure. The immobilization of the ILs in suitable solid supports combine the advantages of the ILs with the properties of the solid supports bringing more benefits such as use of lower quantity of ILs and avoiding of ILs loss in the aqua phase which overall decrease the treatment costs. In case of ultrasound method of functionalization is assured a uniform distribution of IL on the solid surface, but through immobilization by cosynthesis due to the tunable properties of LDH, is assured an intercalation of the ILs between the LDH layers. This fact was highlighted by the X-ray diffraction (RXD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of the obtained adsorbent. The added value brought by the functionalization of Mg₃Al with the studied IL was underlined by the adsorption studies conducted in the treatment process of water with diclofenac content. Kinetic, thermodynamic, and equilibrium studies were performed. DCF adsorption onto the studied materials correspond to a chemisorption, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model describing the most accurately the experimental data. DCF adsorption onto the studied materials occurs as a heterogeneous process, with the experimental data fitting best with the SIPS isotherm. The sample obtained through cosynthesis developed a maximum adsorption capacity of 648 mg/g.     

Quasistatic Crack Growth in Elasto-Plastic Materials: The Two-Dimensional Case

We study a variational model for the quasistatic evolution of elasto-plastic materials with cracks in the case of planar small strain associative elasto-plasticity.     

Laplace equation in a domain with a rectilinear crack: higher order derivatives of the energy with respect to the crack length

We consider the weak solution of the Laplace equation in a planar domain with a straight crack, prescribing a homogeneous Neumann condition on the crack and a nonhomogeneous Dirichlet condition on the rest of the boundary. For every k we express the k-th derivative of the energy with respect to the crack length in terms of a finite number of coefficients of the asymptotic expansion of the solution near the crack tip and of a finite number of other parameters, which only depend on the shape of the domain.     

Singular Hopf bifurcations and mixed-mode oscillations in a two-cell inhibitory neural network

Recent studies of a firing rate model for neural competition as observed in binocular rivalry and central pattern generators [R. Curtu, A. Shpiro, N. Rubin, J. Rinzel, Mechanisms for frequency control in neuronal competition models, SIAM J. Appl. Dyn. Syst. 7 (2) (2008) 609-649] showed that the variation of the stimulus strength parameter can lead to rich and interesting dynamics. Several types of behavior were identified such as: fusion, equivalent to a steady state of identical activity levels for both neural units; oscillations due to either an escape or a release mechanism; and a winner-take-all state of bistability. The model consists of two neural populations interacting through reciprocal inhibition, each endowed with a slow negative-feedback process in the form of spike frequency adaptation. In this paper we report the occurrence of another complex oscillatory pattern, the mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs). They exist in the model at the transition between the relaxation oscillator dynamical regime and the winner-take-all regime. The system distinguishes itself from other neuronal models where MMOs were found by the following interesting feature: there is no autocatalysis involved (as in the examples of voltage-gated persistent inward currents and/or intrapopulation recurrent excitation) and therefore the two cells in the network are not intrinsic oscillators; the oscillations are instead a combined result of the mutual inhibition and the adaptation. We prove that the MMOs are due to a singular Hopf bifurcation point situated in close distance to the transition point to the winner-take-all case. We also show that in the vicinity of the singular Hopf other types of bifurcations exist and we construct numerically the corresponding diagrams.     

An evaluation of infrared microwindows for ozone retrievals using the Eureka Bruker 125HR Fourier transform spectrometer

A Bruker 125HR Fourier transform spectrometer was installed at the Polar Environment Atmospheric Research Laboratory (PEARL) at Eureka, Nunavut, Canada in the summer of 2006 to study atmospheric composition. Using the optimal estimation method, typically over a limited spectral region called a microwindow, information about the vertical distribution of trace gas species that have absorption bands in the mid-infrared spectral range can be retrieved. Total and partial columns can also be determined to show the temporal evolution of the target gas. For ozone in particular, retrievals have been performed using several of its many mid-infrared absorption features, resulting in a lack of consistency in the literature in the microwindows chosen for retrievals. This work focuses on the optimization of the ozone retrieval, assessing a set of 22 microwindows between 780 and 3052 cm⁻¹ to determine which is best suited to conditions at Eureka. The 1000-1004.5 cm⁻¹ spectral interval is shown to be the most sensitive to both the stratosphere and troposphere. This microwindow gives the highest number of degrees of freedom for signal (∼7 for total column), and the smallest total error (4.3%) compared with 21 other spectral regions. Retrievals performed with this microwindow agree well with results obtained from other instruments on-site. Total column ozone measured by the Bruker 125HR in this microwindow agreed to 2% with two other Fourier transform spectrometers, to 0.7% with a Brewer spectrophotometer, to 8% with a SAOZ UV-VIS spectrometer, and to 7% with ozone sondes.     

Matrix-valued polynomials generated by the scalar-type Rodrigues’ formulas

The properties of matrix-valued polynomials generated by the scalar-type Rodrigues’ formulas are analyzed. A general representation of these polynomials is found in terms of products of simple differential operators. The recurrence relations, leading coefficients, completeness are established, as well as, in the commutative case, the second order equations for which these polynomials are eigenfunctions and the corresponding eigenvalues, and ladder operators.A new, direct proof is given to the conjecture of Durán and Grünbaum that if the weights are self-adjoint and positive semidefinite then they are necessarily of scalar type.Commutative classes of orthogonal polynomials (corresponding to weights that are self-adjoint but not positive semidefinite) are found, which satisfy all the properties usually associated to orthogonal polynomials, and are not of scalar type.     

Nonlinear differential problems with first- or second-order differences in Hilbert spaces

In a real Hilbert space, we investigate the existence, uniqueness and asymptotic properties of the generalized solutions of some nonlinear differential systems with first- or second-order differences, subject to extreme conditions and initial data. Some generalizations of Minty’s theorem for the characterization of maximal monotone operators are also presented.     

Synthesis,thermal, spectral,antimicrobial and cytotoxicity profile of the Schiff bases bearing pyrazolone moiety and their Cu(II) complexes

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - A series of Schiff bases resulted in the [1?+?1] condensation of 8-alkyl-2-hydroxy-tricyclo[7.3.1.02.7]-tridecan-13-one with the...