Structural,magnetic, magnetocaloric and impedance spectroscopy analysis of Pr0.8Sr0.2MnO3 manganite prepared by modified solid-state route

Orthorhombic Pr_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ sample is prepared by solid-state reaction method and quenched in water. The occurrence of a second-order phase transition is confirmed by Arrott plots. The critical exponents determined using different models are in good agreement with the 3D-Ising model. The magnetocaloric results have shown an important maximum of the magnetic entropy change and relative cooling power evaluated at 2.14 J?kg^?1?K^?1 and 101.52 J?kg^?1 under a field change of 2T. The DC conductance measurements revealed that this compound exhibited a semiconductor to metallic behavior at $T_{\mathit{SM}}=400$ K. Moreover, the AC results are described by the Jonscher power law. Concerning the electrical and dielectric properties, they disclosed the behavior-dependency of both temperature and frequency. As for the complex impedance measurements, they showed that the conduction mechanism was governed by grain boundaries. The dielectric results demonstrated important values of the real part of the permittivity, and the Pr_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ material can be used for capacitor manufacturing.     

Wave propagation in a fractional viscoelastic Andrade medium: Diffusive approximation and numerical modeling

This study focuses on the numerical modeling of wave propagation in fractionally-dissipative media. These viscoelastic models are such that the attenuation is frequency-dependent and follows a power law with non-integer exponent within certain frequency regimes. As a prototypical example, the Andrade model is chosen for its simplicity and its satisfactory fits of experimental flow laws in rocks and metals. The corresponding constitutive equation features a fractional derivative in time, a non-local-in-time term that can be expressed as a convolution product whose direct implementation bears substantial memory cost. To circumvent this limitation, a diffusive representation approach is deployed, replacing the convolution product by an integral of a function satisfying a local time-domain ordinary differential equation. An associated quadrature formula yields a local-in-time system of partial differential equations, which is then proven to be well-posed. The properties of the resulting model are also compared to those of the Andrade model. The quadrature scheme associated with the diffusive approximation, and constructed either from a classical polynomial approach or from a constrained optimization method, is investigated. Finally, the benefits of using the latter approach are highlighted as it allows to minimize the discrepancy with the original model. Wave propagation simulations in homogeneous domains are performed within a split formulation framework that yields an optimal stability condition and which features a joint fourth-order time-marching scheme coupled with an exact integration step. A set of numerical experiments is presented to assess the overall approach. Therefore, in this study, the diffusive approximation is demonstrated to provide an efficient framework for the theoretical and numerical investigations of the wave propagation problem associated with the fractional viscoelastic medium considered.     

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the coriander cake obtained by extrusion

This study was designed to examine the effect of operating conditions on essential oil composition and antioxidant activity of coriander cakes. Twenty-nine components were determined in essential oils, which were mostly alcohol monoterpenes. The highest essential oil yields (0.11%) were obtained by the nozzle diameter of 5 mm. The main components of cake essential oil linalool, γ-terpinene, geranyl acetate, linalyl acetate and camphor showed significant variations with different nozzle diameter.The total phenol contents and condensed flavonoid contents varied between different nozzle diameters; the highest values obtained of small diameters (5 and 6 mm). Significant differences were also found in total tannin contents among different nozzle diameters. The total phenol contents decreased significantly (p < 0.05) when increased the nozzle diameter to 9 mm and reached 9.11 mg GAE/g.The screening of antioxidant activity of the different coriander cakes using the di(phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) iminoazanium radical (DPPH) assay showed an appreciable reduction of the stable radical DPPH, although small nozzle diameter was the most efficient method with an IC₅₀ reached of 55 μg/ml as compared with bigger diameter (IC₅₀ = 88 μg/ml).All the extracts had lower β-carotene bleaching activity than that of synthetic antioxidant BHA and BHT. Coriander cake extracts presented a very low reducing power ability (EC₅₀ ≈ 700 μg/ml) compared to ascorbic acid (EC₅₀ = 40 μg/ml).