Effects of alcohols on micellization and on the reaction methyl 4‐nitrobenzenesulfonate + Br− in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide aqueous micellar solutions

The effects of n‐hexanol, n‐pentanol, and n‐butanol on the critical micelle concentration (cmc), on the micellar ionization degree (α), and on the rate of the reaction methyl 4‐nitrobenzenesulfonate + Br^? have been investigated in cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) aqueous solutions. An increase in the alcohol concentration present in the solution produces a decrease in the cmc and an increase in the micellar ionization degree. Kinetic data show that the observed rate constant decreases as alcohol concentration increases. This result was rationalized by considering variations in the equilibrium binding constant of the methyl 4‐nitrobenzenesulfonate molecules to the micelles, variations in the interfacial bromide ion concentration, and variations in the characteristics of the water–alcohol bulk phase provoked by the presence of alcohols. When these operative factors are considered, kinetic data in this and other works show that the second‐order rate constants in the micellar pseudophases of water–alcohol micellar solutions are quite similar to those estimated in the absence of alcohols. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 36: 634–641, 2004     

Anthocyanins as Key Phytochemicals Acting for the Prevention of Metabolic Diseases: An Overview

Anthocyanins are water-soluble pigments present in fruits and vegetables, which render them an extensive range of colors. They have a wide distribution in the human diet, are innocuous, and, based on numerous studies, have supposed preventive and therapeutical benefits against chronic affections such as inflammatory, neurological, cardiovascular, digestive disorders, diabetes, and cancer, mostly due to their antioxidant action. Despite their great potential as pharmaceutical applications, they have a rather limited use because of their rather low stability to environmental variations. Their absorption was noticed to occur best in the stomach and small intestine, but the pH fluctuation of the digestive system impacts their rapid degradation. Urine excretion and tissue distribution also occur at low rates. The aim of this review is to highlight the chemical characteristics of anthocyanins and emphasize their weaknesses regarding bioavailability. It also targets to deliver an update on the recent advances in the involvement of anthocyanins in different pathologies with a focus on in vivo, in vitro, animal, and human clinical trials.     

Temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of the nickel-platinum alloy system

The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity of Ni_1?xPt_x (x = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 at.%) between 77 and 700 K has been investigated. The experimental results are interpreted according to the theoretical model developed by Mott. It is shown that for this system Matthiessen's rule is not obeyed.     

The Effects of Different Superplasticizers and Water-to-Cement Ratios on the Hydration of Gray Cement Using T2-NMR

In the present work, we compare the influence introduced by the variation of water-to-cement ratio and the presence of different superplasticizers on the hydration process of gray cement using the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry. The stages of hydration are identified and a relationship between the ettringite formation during hydration process and the transverse relaxation time is established. It is also demonstrated that the addition of small amounts of superplasticizer in the cement paste significantly expands the dormant period while the hardening period is reduced. On the other side, the increase in the water-to-cement ratio has little influence on the dormant period but can instead increase the porosity of the sample and consequently reduce its strength.     

Negative differential conductance and hot phonons in suspended nanotube molecular wires

Freely suspended metallic single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) exhibit reduced current carrying ability compared to those lying on substrates, and striking negative differential conductance at low electric fields. Theoretical analysis reveals significant self-heating effects including electron scattering by hot nonequilibrium optical phonons. Electron transport characteristics under strong self-heating are exploited for the first time to probe the thermal conductivity of individual SWNTs (approximately 3600 W m-1 K-1 at T=300 K) up to approximately 700 K, and reveal a 1/T dependence expected for umklapp phonon scattering at high temperatures.     

Cosmological constant from quarks and torsion

We present a simple and natural way to derive the observed small, positive cosmological constant from the gravitational interaction of condensing fermions. In the Riemann‐Cartan spacetime, torsion gives rise to the axial–axial vector four‐fermion interaction term in the Dirac Lagrangian for spinor fields. We show that this nonlinear term acts like a cosmological constant if these fields have a nonzero vacuum expectation value. For quark fields in QCD, such a torsion‐induced cosmological constant is positive and its energy scale is only about 8 times larger than the observed value. Adding leptons to this picture could lower this scale to the observed value.     

MHD mixed convection flow near the stagnation-point on a vertical permeable surface

The steady magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) mixed convection boundary layer flow of a viscous and electrically conducting fluid near the stagnation-point on a vertical permeable surface is investigated in this study. The velocity of the external flow and the temperature of the plate surface are assumed to vary linearly with the distance from the stagnation-point. The governing partial differential equations are first transformed into ordinary differential equations, before being solved numerically by a finite-difference method. The features of the flow and heat transfer characteristics for different values of the governing parameters are analyzed and discussed. Both assisting and opposing flows are considered. It is found that dual solutions exist for both cases, and the range of the mixed convection parameter for which the solution exists increases with suction.     

Cosmology with torsion: An alternative to cosmic inflation

We propose a simple scenario which explains why our Universe appears spatially flat, homogeneous and isotropic. We use the Einstein–Cartan–Kibble–Sciama (ECKS) theory of gravity which naturally extends general relativity to include the spin of matter. The torsion of spacetime generates gravitational repulsion in the early Universe filled with quarks and leptons, preventing the cosmological singularity: the Universe expands from a state of minimum but finite radius. We show that the dynamics of the closed Universe immediately after this state naturally solves the flatness and horizon problems in cosmology because of an extremely small and negative torsion density parameter, ΩS≈−¹⁰⁻⁶⁹${\Omega }_S\approx -{10}^{-69}$. Thus the ECKS gravity provides a compelling alternative to speculative mechanisms of standard cosmic inflation. This scenario also suggests that the contraction of our Universe preceding the bounce at the minimum radius may correspond to the dynamics of matter inside a collapsing black hole existing in another universe, which could explain the origin of the Big Bang.     

MHD stagnation point flow towards a stretching sheet

The steady two-dimensional MHD stagnation point flow towards a stretching sheet with variable surface temperature is investigated. The governing system of partial differential equations are transformed into ordinary differential equations, which are then solved numerically using a finite-difference scheme known as the Keller-box method. The effects of the governing parameters on the flow field and heat transfer characteristics are obtained and discussed. It is found that the heat transfer rate at the surface increases with the magnetic parameter when the free stream velocity exceeds the stretching velocity, i.e. ε>1, and the opposite is observed when ε<1.     

Oblique stagnation slip flow of a micropolar fluid towards a stretching/shrinking surface: A stability analysis

A numerical solution is obtained for the steady oblique stagnation-point flow of a micropolar fluid over a stretching or shrinking surface with velocity slip condition. Results are obtained for representative values of slip parameter, micropolar parameter and stretching/shrinking parameter for strong particle interaction micropolar fluid. Dual solutions are found for the case of shrinking surface. An analysis of stability of these dual solutions shows that the solution branch that proceeds to large stretching case is stable. The streamlines are not symmetric for the oblique stagnation-point flow and reversed flow are observed near to the shrinking surface. The streamlines plots show that increase of slip parameter will reduce/eliminate the existing of rotating flow near the surface that caused by the shrinking effect.