Testing the validity of the Ehrenfest theorem beyond simple static systems: Caldirola–Kanai oscillator driven by a time-dependent force

The relationship between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics is investigated by taking a Gaussian-type wave packet as a solution of the Schr o¨dinger equation for the Caldirola–Kanai oscillator driven by a sinusoidal force. For this time-dependent system, quantum properties are studied by using the invariant theory of Lewis and Riesenfeld. In particular,we analyze time behaviors of quantum expectation values of position and momentum variables and compare them to those of the counterpart classical ones. Based on this, we check whether the Ehrenfest theorem which was originally developed in static quantum systems can be extended to such time-varying systems without problems.     

Magnetic fields and the Weyl tensor in the early universe

We have solved the Einstein–Maxwell equations for a class of metrics with constant spatial curvature by considering only a primordial magnetic field as source. We assume a slight modification of the Tolman averaging relations so that the energy–momentum tensor of this field possesses an anisotropic pressure component. This inhomogeneous magnetic universe is isotropic and its time evolution is guided by the usual Friedmann equations. In the case of a flat universe, the space-time metric is free of singularities (except the well-known initial singularity at \(\text {t} = 0\) ). It is shown that the anisotropic pressure of our model has a straightforward relation to the Weyl tensor. We then analyze the effect of this new ingredient on the motion of test particles and on the geodesic deviation of the cosmic fluid.     

Ligand expansion in ligand-based virtual screening using relevance feedback

Query expansion is the process of reformulating an original query to improve retrieval performance in information retrieval systems. Relevance feedback is one of the most useful query modification techniques in information retrieval systems. In this paper, we introduce query expansion into ligand-based virtual screening (LBVS) using the relevance feedback technique. In this approach, a few high-ranking molecules of unknown activity are filtered from the outputs of a Bayesian inference network based on a single ligand molecule to form a set of ligand molecules. This set of ligand molecules is used to form a new ligand molecule. Simulated virtual screening experiments with the MDL Drug Data Report and maximum unbiased validation data sets show that the use of ligand expansion provides a very simple way of improving the LBVS, especially when the active molecules being sought have a high degree of structural heterogeneity. However, the effectiveness of the ligand expansion is slightly less when structurally-homogeneous sets of actives are being sought.     

Diffusion and viscosity of liquid tin: Green-Kubo relationship-based calculations from molecular dynamics simulations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of liquid tin between its melting point and 1600 °C have been performed in order to interpret and discuss the ionic structure. The interactions between ions are described by a new accurate pair potential built within the pseudopotential formalism and the linear response theory. The calculated structure factor that reflects the main information on the local atomic order in liquids is compared to diffraction measurements. Having some confidence in the ability of this pair potential to give a good representation of the atomic structure, we then focused our attention on the investigation of the atomic transport properties through the MD computations of the velocity autocorrelation function and stress autocorrelation function. Using the Green-Kubo formula (for the first time to our knowledge for liquid tin) we determine the macroscopic transport properties from the corresponding microscopic time autocorrelation functions. The selfdiffusion coefficient and the shear viscosity as functions of temperature are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Laminar bubbly flow in an open capillary channel in microgravity

The study of a bubbly laminar two-phase flow in an open capillary channel under microgravity conditions was conducted aboard the sounding rocket, Texus-45. The channel consists of two parallel plates of width b = 25 mm and distance a = 10 mm. The flow along the length l = 80 mm is confined by a free surface on one side and a plate on the opposite side. The bubbles are injected at the nozzle of the capillary channel via six capillary tubes of 100 μm in inner diameter. Different liquid and gas flow rates were tested leading to different liquid free surface shape and bubble size.     

A dual-dual mixed formulation for nonlinear exterior transmission problems

We combine a dual-mixed finite element method with a Dirichlet-to-Neumann mapping (derived by the boundary integral equation method) to study the solvability and Galerkin approximations of a class of exterior nonlinear transmission problems in the plane. As a model problem, we consider a nonlinear elliptic equation in divergence form coupled with the Laplace equation in an unbounded region of the plane. Our combined approach leads to what we call a dual-dual mixed variational formulation since the main operator involved has itself a dual-type structure. We establish existence and uniqueness of solution for the continuous and discrete formulations, and provide the corresponding error analysis by using Raviart-Thomas elements. The main tool of our analysis is given by a generalization of the usual Babuska-Brezzi theory to a class of nonlinear variational problems with constraints.

     

Polyphenolics with Strong Antioxidant Activity from Acacia nilotica Ameliorate Some Biochemical Signs of Arsenic-Induced Neurotoxicity and Oxidative Stress in Mice

Neurotoxicity is a serious health problem of patients chronically exposed to arsenic. There is no specific treatment of this problem. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathological process of neurotoxicity. Polyphenolics have proven antioxidant activity, thereby offering protection against oxidative stress. In this study, we have isolated the polyphenolics from Acacia nilotica and investigated its effect against arsenic-induced neurotoxicity and oxidative stress in mice. Acacia nilotica polyphenolics prepared from column chromatography of the crude methanol extract using diaion resin contained a phenolic content of 452.185 ± 7.879 mg gallic acid equivalent/gm of sample and flavonoid content of 200.075 ± 0.755 mg catechin equivalent/gm of sample. The polyphenolics exhibited potent antioxidant activity with respect to free radical scavenging ability, total antioxidant activity and inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Administration of arsenic in mice showed a reduction of acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain which was counteracted by Acacia nilotica polyphenolics. Similarly, elevation of lipid peroxidation and depletion of glutathione in the brain of mice was effectively restored to normal level by Acacia nilotica polyphenolics. Gallic acid methyl ester, catechin and catechin-7-gallate were identified in the polyphenolics as the major active compounds. These results suggest that Acacia nilotica polyphenolics due to its strong antioxidant potential might be effective in the management of arsenic induced neurotoxicity.     

On metallic ratio in

Metallic ratio is a root of the simple quadratic equation x² = kx + 1 for k is any positive integer which is the characteristic equation of the recurrence relation of k‐Fibonacci (k‐Lucas) numbers. This paper is about the metallic ratio in . We define k‐Fibonacci and k‐Lucas numbers in , and we show that metallic ratio can be calculated in if and only if p≡ ± 1 mod (k² + 4), which is the generalization of the Gauss reciprocity theorem for any integer k. Also, we obtain that the golden ratio, the silver ratio, and the bronze ratio, the three together, can be calculated in for the first time. Moreover, we introduce k‐Fibonacci and k‐Lucas quaternions with some algebraic properties and some identities for them.     

A memetic algorithm for the inventory routing problem

Journal of Heuristics - In this article, we study an Inventory Routing Problem with deterministic customer demand in a two-tier supply chain. The supply chain network consists of a supplier using a...