Differentiation of species of the Baccharis genus by HPLC and chemometric methods.

Phytochemical investigation of the aerial parts of three Baccharis species (Asteraceae family) was performed using HPLC and chemometric methods, with the objective of distinguishing between three morphologically very similar species: Baccharis genistelloides Persoon var. trimera (Less.) DC, B. milleflora (Less.) DC and B. articulata (Lam.) Persoon. With the help of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and variance weights, it was possible to characterize the chromatographic profiles of the alcoholic extracts of the three species. Application of Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) methods on a training set of 74 extracts resulted in models that correctly classified all eight samples in an independent test set.     

Isotopic production cross sections of residues in reactions induced by relativistic heavy ions with protons and deuterons

The isotopic production cross sections of heavy residues in relativistic heavy-ion collisions have been investigated in inverse kinematics. The primary reaction products were fully identified in mass and atomic number prior to beta decay using the fragment separator FRS. The huge collection of data obtained helps in the understanding of the two main reaction mechanisms involved: fragmentation and fission. These data provide basic information for future radioactive ion beam facilities and for technical applications like intense neutron sources by means of spallation targets.     

Diffuse x-ray scattering study of the formation of microdefects in heat-treated dislocation-free large-diameter silicon wafers

Diffuse x-ray scattering (DXS) is used to study the formation of microdefects (MDs) in heat-treated dislocation-free large-diameter silicon wafers with vacancies. The DXS method is shown to be efficient for investigating MDs in silicon single crystals. Specific defects, such as impurity clouds, are found to form in the silicon wafers during low-temperature annealing at 450°C. These defects are oxygen-rich regions in the solid solution with diffuse coherent interfaces. In the following stages of decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution, oxide precipitates form inside these regions and the impurity clouds disappear. As a result of the decomposition of the supersaturated solid solution of oxygen, interstitial MDs form in the silicon wafers during multistep heat treatment. These MDs lie in the {110} planes and have nonspherical displacement fields. The volume density and size of MDs forming in the silicon wafers at various stages of the decomposition are determined.     

Phase Separation Driven by a Fluctuating Two-Dimensional Self-Affine Potential Field

We study phase separation in a system of hard-core particles driven by a fluctuating two-dimensional self-affine potential landscape which evolves through Kardar–Parisi–Zhang (KPZ) dynamics. We find that particles tend to cluster together on a length scale which grows in time. The final phase-separated steady state is characterized by an unusual cusp singularity in the scaled correlation function and a broad distribution for the order parameter. Unlike the one-dimensional case studied earlier, the cluster-size distribution is asymmetric between particles and holes, reflecting the broken reflection symmetry of the KPZ dynamics, and has a contribution from an infinite cluster in addition to a power law part. A study of the surface in terms of coarse-grained depth variables helps understand many of these features.     

Numerical analysis of time-dependent Boussinesq models

In this paper we analyse numerical models for time-dependent Boussinesq equations. These equations arise when so-called Boussinesq terms are introduced into the shallow water equations. We use the Boussinesq terms proposed by Katapodes and Dingemans. These terms generalize the constant depth terms given by Broer. The shallow water equations are discretized by using fourth-order finite difference formulae for the space derivatives and a fourth-order explicit time integrator. The effect on the stability and accuracy of various discrete Boussinesq terms is investigated. Numerical experiments are presented in the case of a fourth-order Runge-Kutta time integrator.     

Charged axially symmetric solution and energy in teleparallel theory equivalent to general relativity

An exact charged solution with axial symmetry is obtained in the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity. The associated metric has the structure function G(ξ)=1-ξ²-2mAξ³-q²A²ξ⁴. The fourth order nature of the structure function can make calculations cumbersome. Using a coordinate transformation we get a tetrad whose metric has the structure function in a factorizable form (1-ξ²)(1+r₊Aξ)(1+r_-Aξ) with r_± as the horizons of Reissner–Nordström space-time. This new form has the advantage that its roots are now trivial to write down. Then, we study the singularities of this space-time. Using another coordinate transformation, we obtain a tetrad field. Its associated metric yields the Reissner–Nordström black hole. In calculating the energy content of this tetrad field using the gravitational energy-momentum, we find that the resulting form depends on the radial coordinate! Using the regularized expression of the gravitational energy-momentum in the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity we get a consistent value for the energy.     

Optimisation of fault-tolerant fabric-cutting schedules using genetic algorithms and fuzzy set theory

In apparel industry, manufacturers developed standard allowed minutes (SAMs) databases on various manufacturing operations in order to facilitate better scheduling, while effective production schedules ensure smoothness of downstream operations. As apparel manufacturing environment is fuzzy and dynamic, rigid production schedules based on SAMs become futile in the presence of any uncertainty. In this paper, a fuzzification scheme is proposed to fuzzify the static standard time so as to incorporate some uncertainties, in terms of both job-specific and human related factors, into the fabric-cutting scheduling problem. A genetic optimisation procedure is also proposed to search for fault-tolerant schedules using genetic algorithms, such that makespan and scheduling uncertainties are minimised. Two sets of real production data were collected to validate the proposed method. Experimental results indicate that the genetically optimised fault-tolerant schedules not only improve the operation performance but also minimise the scheduling risks.     

Idempotency of Extensions via the Bicompletion

Let Top ₀ be the category of topological T ₀-spaces, QU ₀ the category of quasi-uniform T ₀-spaces, T : QU ₀ → Top ₀ the usual forgetful functor and K : QU ₀ → QU ₀ the bicompletion reflector with unit k : 1 → K. Any T-section F : Top ₀ → QU ₀ is called K-true if KF = FTKF, and upper (lower) K-true if KF is finer (coarser) than FTKF. The literature considers important T-sections F that enjoy all three, or just one, or none of these properties. It is known that T(K,k)F is well-pointed if and only if F is upper K-true. We prove the surprising fact that T(K,k)F is the reflection to Fix(TkF) whenever it is idempotent. We also prove a new characterization of upper K-trueness. We construct examples to set apart some natural cases. In particular we present an upper K-true F for which T(K,k)F is not idempotent, and a K-true F for which the coarsest associated T-preserving coreflector in QU ₀ is not stable under K. We dedicate this paper to the memory of Sérgio de Ornelas Salbany (1941–2005).     

A manifestation of magnetism of bismuth in iron garnet films

Bismuth iron garnet films prepared through electron-beam and laser-induced evaporation on (001)-oriented substrates of scandium gallium gadolinium garnet are investigated using ferromagnetic resonance. It is assumed that the additional minima observed in the angular dependence of the resonance field can be associated with the magnetic moment of bismuth ions.