Superquantiles at Work: Machine Learning Applications and Efficient Subgradient Computation

Set-Valued and Variational Analysis - R. Tyrell Rockafellar and his collaborators introduced, in a series of works, new regression modeling methods based on the notion of superquantile (or...     

Dinuclear gold (I)-di-N-heterocyclic carbene complexes: syntheses,structure, density functional theory calculation and photoluminescence study

The synthesis and characterizations for a series of dinuclear gold (I)-di-NHC complexes, 1–8 through the trans-metalation method of their respective silver (I)-di-NHC complexes, i–viii are reported (where NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene). The successful complexation of a series of unusual non-symmetrical and symmetrical di-NHC ligands, 3,3'-(ethane-1,2-diyl)-1-alkylbenzimidazolium-1'-butylbenzimidazolium (with alkyl = methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, benzyl) with the gold (I) ions are suggested by elemental analysis, Fourier transform-infrared, ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR data. The ¹³C-NMR spectra of 1–8 show a singlet sharp peak in the range of 190.00–192.00 ppm, indicating the presence of a carbene carbon that bonded to the gold (I) ion. From single crystal X-ray diffraction data, the structure of complex 6 with the formula of [di-NHC-Au (I)]₂·2PF₆ is obtained [where NHC = 3,3'-(ethane-1,2-diyl)-1-hexylbenzimidazolium-1'-butylbenzimidazolium]. The photophysical study in solid state of 6 displays an intense photoluminescence with a strong emission maxima, λ_em = 480 nm, upon excitation at 340 nm at room temperature. Interestingly, the emission maximum at 77 K shows a structural character with a strong peak at 410 nm, a medium at 433 nm and a weak at 387 nm, accompanied by a tail band to about 500 nm.     

Radiation pasteurised oil palm empty fruit bunch fermented with Pleurotus sajor-caju as feed supplement to ruminants

In solid state fermentation, Pleurotus sajor-caju has been found to be able to degrade at least 30% oil palm empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) fibre leaving 70 % useful materials. Conditions under which fermentation carried out were investigated. It was found that, in the temperature range between 25– 28 °C, relative ph between 6–8, moisture between 60–70 % and medium composition of CaCO₃: rice bran 2 %: 5 % were the optimum conditions. The results showed in fermented products that, there were substantial reduction in cellulosic component such as Crude Fiber (CF, 18 %); Acid Detergent Fibre (ADF, 45 %), Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF, 61 %) and Acid Detergent Lignin (ADL, 14 %). However, Crude Protein (CP, 10%) increased resulted from single cell protein enrichment of mycelial microbial mass. The mass reductions of substrate in fermentation process corresponds to the CO₂ released during fermentation. Hence, attributable to the decreased in content of CF, ADF, NDF, and ADL. The digestibility study has also been carried out to determine the useful level of this product to ruminant. Aflatoxin content was detected low in both the initial substrates and products. Based on nutritional value and low content of aflatoxin, the product is useful as a source of roughage to ruminant.     

Fractional green function for linear time-fractional inhomogeneous partial differential equations in fluid mechanics

This paper deals with the solutions of linear inhomogeneous time-fractional partial differential equations in applied mathematics and fluid mechanics. The fractional derivatives are described in the Caputo sense. The fractional Green function method is used to obtain solutions for time-fractional wave equation, linearized time-fractional Burgers equation, and linear time-fractional KdV equation. The new approach introduces a promising tool for solving fractional partial differential equations.     

10-GHz Optical Comb in L-Band Region With Brillouin/Erbium-Doped Fibre Laser

A multiwavelength Brillouin/erbium fibre laser (BEFL) which operates in the long wavelength (L-band) region is demonstrated for potential applications in an L-band wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) communication system. The laser configuration consists of a long erbium-doped fibre to enable L-band amplification where two 3-dB couplers take a portion of the generated BEFL signal and re-inject it into the single mode fibre to seed a cascaded BEFL line in the same direction as the first BEFL line. A stable and strong laser comb of up to five lines with 10-GHz spacing has been obtained with a Brillouin pump (BP) of 9.2 mW and a 980 nm pump of 92 mW. The BEFL has shown a broad tuning range with a tuning characteristic for line #1 which is flat over a range greater than 9.9 nm.     

Synthesis and immunomodulatory activity of some novel amino acid germinates

Amino acid germanate compounds are synthesized by the chemical reaction of germanium dioxide with a selected amino acid in the presence of an alkali medium at a suitable elevated temperature. Amino acids included in the novel synthesis include histidine, methionine and glutathione. The study evaluated their effects on induction of interleukin-12 and interferon-γl in Swiss albino Webster rats. The new germanium compounds, especially bis-methionino germanate, are considered as good interferon inducer that significantly enhance the immunologic function.     

Preconcentration and separation of iron, zinc, cadmium and mercury, from waste water using Nile blue a grafted polyurethane foam

The present work describes a novel method for the incorporation of Nile blue A into polyurethane foam matrix. This foam material was found to be very suitable for the extraction of metal ions from aqueous solutions. The characterization of Nile blue A grafted foam and the effect of halide concentration, pH, shaking time, extraction isotherm and capacity have been investigated. This foam material was found to be suitable for the separation and preconcentration of iron (III), zinc (II), cadmium (II) and mercury (II) from waste water. The extraction was accomplished in (15-20) minutes. Iron was separated from acid medium (2-4 M HCl), zinc from (3-5 M HCl), cadmium from (4-6 M HCl) as thiocyanate complexes and mercury was separated from (1-2 M HCl) as chloride.     

Crystallization kinetics of chalcogenide glass Se0.8 Te0.2

The crystallization kinetics of the chalcogenide glass Se_0.8Te_0.2 was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry. The variation in partial area (X) with temperature (T) revealed that the transition from the amorphous to the crystalline phase occurs in two dimensions.Activation energies were determined for both the glass transition (E _t) and the crystallization (E _c).E _t was calculated from the variation inT _g with the heating rate (a).E _c was determined by three different methods: (i) variation inX withT, (ii) variation inT _p witha, and (iii) variation inT _c witha.E _t andE _c have values of 161.01±2.75 and 84.75 ±8.21 kJ/mol, respectively.

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Zusammenfassung Mittels DSC wurde die Kristallisierungskinetik des Chalkogenidglases Se_0.8Te_0.2 untersucht. Eine Änderung partieller Gebiete (X) mit der Temperatur (T) zeigte, daß der Übergang von der amorphen zur kristallinen Phase zweidimensional verläuft.Es wurde die Aktivierungsenergie sowohl für den Glasübergang (E _t) als auch für die Kristallisierung (E _c) bestimmt.E _t wurde mittels der Abhängigkeit vonT _g von der Aufheizgeschwindigkeit (a) ermittelt.E _c wurde auf drei verschiedene Wege bestimmt: (i) Änderung vonX in Abhängigkeit vonT, (ii) Änderung vonT _p in Abhängigkeit vona und (iii) Änderung vonT _c in Abhängigkeit vona. Die Werte vonE _t undE _c betragen 161.01±2.75 bzw. 84.75±8.21 kJ/mol.

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This work was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the GTZ GmbH and DAAD, W. Germany.     

Analysis of selected pesticides and alkylphenols in human cord blood by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer

A total of seven pesticides and eight alkylphenols were monitored using this method for the determination of their trace levels in human cord blood. The pesticides are lindane, diazinon, α-endosulfan, β-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, chlorpyrifos and endrin; while the alkylphenols are 4-n-butylphenol, 4-n-pentylphenol, 4-n-hexylphenol, 4-t-octylphenol, 4-n-heptylphenol, nonylphenol, 4-n-octylphenol and bisphenol A. The pesticides and alkylphenols in the cord blood samples were extracted with solid phase extraction IST C18 cartridges and analyzed by selected ion monitoring mode using quadrapole detector in Shimadzu QP-5000 gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer. Trace levels of pesticide and alkylphenols in the range of non-detectable to 15.17 ng ml⁻¹, were detected in the human cord blood samples. This technique of monitoring the levels of endocrine-disruptors in blood samples is consistent, reliable and cost effective while reducing wastage of time and solvents.