Influence of preparation method on SrMoO4 impurity content and magnetotransport properties of double perovskite Sr2FeMoO6 polycrystals

The magnetic and electric properties of the Sr₂FeMoO₆ compound produced under different preparation conditions were studied. Depending on the preparation condition, a strong variation in the nonmagnetic SrMoO₄ impurity content was found, which in turn determined the metallic or semiconducting behavior of the resistivity of the Sr₂FeMoO₆ compound. There was also evidence that SrMoO₄ played a crucial role in modifying the low magnetic field intergrain tunneling magnetoresistance in Sr₂FeMoO₆. In addition, we have established a simple method to prepare the single phase Sr₂FeMoO₆ polycrystals.     

Mössbauer effect of iron-57 intercalated in layered compound 2H−Fe0.5TaSe2

⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer effect study has been performed on intercalated compound 2H?Fe_0.5TaSe₂ over a temperature range between 14K and 500K. The highly concentrated intercalation samples 2H?Fe_xTaSe₂ with Fe atoms (x up to 2) are prepared by the electrochemical method for the first time. The Mössbauer measurement shows that iron is in Fe³⁺ high spin state and with the same probability occupies both octahedral and tetrahedral interstices of the Van der Waals gap. The fact that effective masses of iron ions in both sites are close to 57 amu and characteristic temperatures (Θ_M =130K, 107K respectively) are found to be relatively small is attributed to the weak forces on Fe³⁺.     

Parity violation at neutron p-wave resonances of238U and232Th and related questions

Parity violation effects have been studied at 40 neutron p-wave resonances of the even-even nuclei²³⁸U and²³²Th. Of these 11 show parity violation effects larger than 2 standard deviations, making parity violation a rather common phenomenon. Parity mixing up to 10% has been found. The root-mean squared matrix elements for parity violation derived from these resonances are M=0.58 (+0.50/-0.25) meV for²³⁸U, respectively 1.39 (+0.35/-0.38) meV for²³²Th.     

Theory of main chain nematic polymers with spacers of varying degree of flexibility

Main chain liquid crystal polymers are modelled as either worms or jointed rods. In reality they are composed of mesogenic units (rods) linked by spacers with varying degrees of flexibility. We present a molecular model to describe non-homogeneous nematic polymers. The model takes account of molecular parameters, such as the lengths of the mesogenic group and the spacer units, and the interactions between them. The spacers are found to have an order differing from the mesogenic units. If the spacer is not very long and thus in effect is inflexible, one end of the spacer can retain to some extent the orientation of the other end, allowing orientational correlation between spacers mediated by the intermediate mesogenic unit. This is important in giving the chain a global rod-like behaviour as the nematic field becomes strong or the temperature low. The nematic order of the two components (mesogens and spacers), the nematic-isotropic transition as well as the latent entropy are examined. Furthermore, the anisotropic conformations of the polymers are investigated, which show either rod-like or random walk behaviour. Comparison of our results with experiment is found to be satisfactory.     

Tuning inventory policy parameters in a small chemical company

A project to improve inventory management in a small UK chemical company is described. A research group comprising university academics and company managers for logistics and information technology examined current practices and analysed a database of historical records of business operations of the company. Based on the analysis, a scheme to categorise stock and set ordering policies to optimise inventory costs was developed. Some comments are made on process issues and the learning that took place.     

Difference in micellar properties of sodium dodecyl sulfonate from sodium 4-decyl naphthalene sulfonate in D2O solution studied by 1H NMR relaxation and 2D NOESY

¹H chemical shift changes of sodium 4-decyl naphthalene sulfonate (SDNS) at 313 K show that its critical micellar concentration lies between 0.82 and 0.92 mmol/dm³, which is in the same range as that of the previous study at 298 K. The spin–lattice relaxation time, spin–spin relaxation time and two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy experiments give information about the structure of the SDNS micelle and the dynamics of the molecules in the micelle. The size of the SDNS micelle remains almost unchanged in the temperature range from 298 to 313 K as deduced by analyzing the self-diffusion coefficient. Special arrangement of the naphthyl rings of SDNS in the micelles affects the packing of these hydrophobic chains. The methylene groups of the alkyl chain nearest the naphthalene groups penetrate into the aromatic region, which results in a more tightly packed hydrophobic micellar core than that of sodium dodecyl sulfonate.     

Partially Strictly Monotone and Nonlinear Penalty Functions for Constrained Mathematical Programs

We introduce the concept of partially strictly monotone functions and apply it to construct a class of nonlinear penalty functions for a constrained optimization problem. This class of nonlinear penalty functions includes some (nonlinear) penalty functions currently used in the literature as special cases. Assuming that the perturbation function is lower semi-continuous, we prove that the sequence of optimal values of nonlinear penalty problems converges to that of the original constrained optimization problem. First-order and second-order necessary optimality conditions of nonlinear penalty problems are derived by converting the optimality of penalty problems into that of a smooth constrained vector optimization problem. This approach allows for a concise derivation of optimality conditions of nonlinear penalty problems. Finally, we prove that each limit point of the second-order stationary points of the nonlinear penalty problems is a second-order stationary point of the original constrained optimization problem.     

MgO films grown on yttria-stabilized zirconia by molecular beam epitaxy

MgO films were grown on (0 0 1) yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). The crystalline structures of these films were investigated using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Growth temperature was varied from 350 to 550 °C, with crystalline quality being improved at higher temperatures. The MgO films had a domain structure: (1 1 1)[1 1 2¯]_MgO(0 0 1)[1 0 0]_YSZ with four twin variants related by a 90° in-plane rotation about the [1 1 1]_MgO axis. The observed epitaxial orientation was compared to previous reports of films grown by pulsed laser deposition and sputtering and explained as resulting in the lowest interface energy.     

The CRONE Suspension: Management of the Dilemma Comfort-Road Holding

The CRONE suspension, French acronym of “suspension à Comportement Robuste d’Ordre Non Entier”, results from a traditional suspension system whose spring and damper are replaced by a mechanical and hydropneumatic system defined by a fractional (so-called non-integer) order force–displacement transfer function. ‘ling, frequency-domain robust control design methodology, optimal approach, stability analysis and performance are presented in this paper.