Interrelations of discrete Painlevé equations through limiting procedures

We study the discrete Painlevé equations associated to the affine Weyl group which can be obtained by the implementation of a special limits of -associated equations. This study is motivated by the existence of two -associated discrete both having a double ternary dependence in their coefficients and which have not been related before. We show here that two equations correspond to two different limits of a -associated discrete Painlevé equation. Applying the same limiting procedures to other -associated equations we obtained several -related equations most of which have not been previously derived.     

Effective functionalization of multiwalled carbon nanotube with amphiphilic poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer carrying silver nanoparticles for better dispersability and antimicrobial activity

Two multiwalled carbon nanotube hybrids have been prepared: (a) multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) functionalized with amphiphilic poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer (APPI), viz. MWCNTs-APPI, and (b) silver nanoparticles (AgNPs)-deposited multiwalled carbon nanotubes functionalized with an amphiphilic poly(propyleneimine) dendrimer (MWCNTs-APPI-AgNPs). The degree of covalent functionalization of APPI in MWCNTs and deposition of AgNPs in MWCNTs-APPI were examined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The amount of APPI functionalized on MWCNTs determined by thermal gravimetric analysis was about 67% which enables an effective dispersability in aqueous and organic solvents without sonication and these solutions were stable for 6 months without undergoing aggregation of MWCNTs. The electronic properties of the hybrid materials were not altered drastically as verified by the Raman studies. The antimicrobial activities of MWCNTs-APPI and MWCNTs-APPI-AgNPs against three different bacteria, viz. Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escheriachia coli illustrated excellent activity.     

Platinum supported on CeO2 effectively scavenges free radicals within the electrolyte of an operating fuel cell

CeO(2), Pt/CeO(2) and MnO(2) additives were found to lower the rate of free radical induced polymer electrolyte membrane degradation in an operating fuel cell by over one order of magnitude.     

Thermoelectric power of cerium up to 6 GPa

The thermoelectric power (TEP) of cerium has been measured up to 6 GPa. The results have been interpreted using the theories developed by Blandin et. al. and Hirst.     

Biodegradability of polylactide bottles in real and simulated composting conditions

As new biodegradable polymers and their packaging applications are emerging, there is a need to address their environmental performance. In particular, there is a need to understand the time required for their complete disintegration, before these materials are deployed in commercial composting processes. Standards developed by ASTM and ISO evaluate the biodegradation of biodegradable plastic materials in simulated controlled composting conditions. However, a more detailed understanding of the biodegradation of complete packages is needed in order to have a successful composting operation. This paper investigates the biodegradation performance of polylactide (PLA) bottles under simulated composting conditions according to ASTM and ISO standards, and these results are compared with a novel method of evaluating package biodegradation in real composting conditions. Two simulated composting methods were used in this study to assess biodegradability of PLA bottles: (a) a cumulative measurement respirometric (CMR) system and (b) a gravimetric measurement respirometric (GMR) system. Both CMR and GMR systems showed similar trends of biodegradation for PLA bottles and at the end of the 58th day the mineralization was 84.2±0.9% and 77.8±10.4%, respectively. PLA bottle biodegradation in real composting conditions was correlated to their breakdown and variation in molecular weight. Molecular weight of 4100 Da was obtained for PLA bottles in real composting conditions on the 30th day. The biodegradation observed for PLA bottles in both conditions explored in this study matches well with theoretical degradation and biodegradation mechanisms; however, biodegradation variability exists in both conditions and is discussed in this paper.     

Extracting the frequencies of the pinna spectral notches in measured head related impulse responses

The head related impulse response (HRIR) characterizes the auditory cues created by scattering of sound off a person's anatomy. The experimentally measured HRIR depends on several factors such as reflections from body parts (torso, shoulder, and knees), head diffraction, and reflection/ diffraction effects due to the pinna. Structural models (Algazi et al., 2002; Brown and Duda, 1998) seek to establish direct relationships between the features in the HRIR and the anatomy. While there is evidence that particular features in the HRIR can be explained by anthropometry, the creation of such models from experimental data is hampered by the fact that the extraction of the features in the HRIR is not automatic. One of the prominent features observed in the HRIR, and one that has been shown to be important for elevation perception, are the deep spectral notches attributed to the pinna. In this paper we propose a method to robustly extract the frequencies of the pinna spectral notches from the measured HRIR, distinguishing them from other confounding features. The method also extracts the resonances described by Shaw (1997). The techniques are applied to the publicly available CIPIC HRIR database (Algazi et al., 2001c). The extracted notch frequencies are related to the physical dimensions and shape of the pinna.     

New technique for finding needles in haystacks: geometric approach to distinguishing between a new source and random fluctuations

We propose a new test statistic based on a score process for determining the statistical significance of a putative signal that may be a small perturbation to a noisy experimental background. We derive the reference distribution for this score test statistic; it has an elegant geometrical interpretation as well as broad applicability. We illustrate the technique in the context of a model problem from high-energy particle physics. Monte Carlo experimental results confirm that the score test results in a significantly improved rate of signal detection.     

Advances in anion exchange membranes for electrochemical energy conversion

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Shelf-Life Studies on B-Stage Novolac Epoxy Glass Mica Tapes

Activation energy for the curing process of epoxy glass mica tape has been experimentally determined from differential scanning calorimetric measurements and found to be 20 kcal/ mol. Thermochemical calculation shows that the rate controlling step is the dissociation of the C-O bond in the epoxide leading to ring opening and its subsequent reaction with amine hardener. Shelf life has been determined from the measurement of the enthalpy loss corresponding to the curing during the aging process. The kinetics of the aging process also yields an activation energy of 20 kcal/mol which corresponds to the slow curing of the epoxy resin.