A framework for optimization under limited information

In many real world problems, optimisation decisions have to be made with limited information. The decision maker may have no a priori or posteriori data about the often nonconvex objective function except from on a limited number of data points. The scarcity of data may be due to high cost of observation or fast-changing nature of the underlying system. This paper presents a “black-box” optimisation framework that takes into account the information collection, estimation, and optimisation aspects in a holistic and structured manner. Explicitly quantifying the observations at each optimisation step using the entropy measure from information theory, the often nonconvex-objective function to be optimised is modelled and estimated by adopting a Bayesian approach and using Gaussian processes as a state-of-the-art regression method. The resulting iterative scheme allows the decision maker to address the problem by expressing preferences for each aspect quantitatively and concurrently.     

Investigation of 2-aminoethanethiol as corrosion inhibitor for steel using response surface methodology (RSM)

The inhibition efficiency of 2-aminoethanethiol (2-AEE) has been investigated against steel corrosion in 0.1 M HCl solution. The effect of temperature, pH, and concentration were studied with the help of potentiodynamic measurement, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy techniques. The potential of zero charge (E_pzc) studies showed that the adsorption occurs via ?SH group; the metal surface is positively charged in corrosive test solution. The adsorptive interaction is evaluated, and best correlation was obtained with Langmuir isotherm. 2-AEE was shown to have significant inhibition efficiency against steel corrosion. The response surface methodology was employed to explain the relation between pH, inhibitor concentration, and the efficiency. The regression analysis was realized for development of an equation between independent variables and the output. The success of fitting model was tested with basic statistical arguments, residual and variance analysis, T and F tests, and R ² value. The statistical evaluations showed that the obtained polynomial equation can be successfully used for optimization of applications involving the use of 2-AEE as inhibitor.     

A poly(3-acetylthiophene) modified glassy carbon electrode for selective voltammetric measurement of uric acid in urine sample

A reliable and reproducible method for the determination of uric acid in urine samples has been developed. The method is based on the modification of a glassy carbon electrode by 3-acetylthiophene using cyclic voltammetry. The poly(3-acetylthiophene) modified glassy carbon electrode showed an excellent electrocatalytic effect towards the oxidation of uric acid in 0.1 m phosphate buffer solution (PBS) at pH 7.2. Compared with a bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE), an obvious shift of the oxidation peak potential in the cathodic direction and a marked enhancement of the anodic current response for uric acid were observed. The poly(3-acetylthiophene)/GCE was used for the determination of uric acid using square wave voltammetry. The peak current increased linearly with the concentration of uric acid in the range of 1.25 x 10(-5)-1.75 x 10(-4) M. The detection limit was 5.27 x 10(-7) M by square wave voltammetry. The poly(3-acetylthiophene)/GCE was also effective to determine uric acid and ascorbic acid in a mixture and resolved the overlapping anodic peaks of these two species into two well-defined voltammetric peaks in cyclic voltammetry at 0.030 V and 0.320 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) for ascorbic acid and uric acid, respectively. The modified electrode exhibited stable and sensitive current responses toward uric acid and ascorbic acid. The method has successfully been applied for determination of uric acid in urine samples.     

Metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy and characterizations of nearly-lattice-matched AlInN alloys on GaN/sapphire templates and free-standing GaN substrates

The epitaxy optimization studies of high-quality n-type AlInN alloys with different indium contents grown on two types of substrates by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) were carried out. The effect of growth pressure and V/III molar ratio on growth rate, indium content, and surface morphology of these MOVPE-grown AlInN thin films were examined. The surface morphologies of the samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. By varying the growth temperatures from 860 °C to 750 °C, the indium contents in AlInN alloys were increased from 0.37% up to 21.4% as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. The optimization studies on the growth conditions for achieving nearly-lattice-matched AlInN on GaN templates residing on sapphire and free-standing GaN substrates were performed, and the results were analyzed in a comparative way. Several applications of AlInN alloy for thermoelectric and light-emitting diodes are also discussed.     

Synthesis of a new 1,2,3,4,5‐pentasubstituted cyclohexanol and determining its stereochemistry by NMR spectroscopy and quantum‐chemical calculations

The presence of substituents in cyclohexane can influence to the ratio of conformers; for some cases, the boat form is preferable. The new six‐membered cyclohexanol derivative 2 has been obtained by the synthesis of (E)‐1‐(bromophenyl)‐3‐phenylpropen‐2‐one ( 1 ). The NMR and quantum‐chemical conformational analysis for the 2 have carried out, and its possible mechanism of formation was given. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of Nitrogen Doping on the Optical Bandgap and Electrical Conductivity of Nitrogen-Doped Reduced Graphene Oxide

Graphene as a material for optoelectronic design applications has been significantly restricted owing to zero bandgap and non-compatible handling procedures compared with regular microelectronic ones. In this work, nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide (N-rGO) with tunable optical bandgap and enhanced electrical conductivity was synthesized via a microwave-assisted hydrothermal method. The properties of the synthesized N-rGO were determined using XPS, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy, UV/vis, as well as FESEM techniques. The UV/vis spectroscopic analysis confirmed the narrowness of the optical bandgap from 3.4 to 3.1, 2.5, and 2.2 eV in N-rGO samples, where N-rGO samples were synthesized with a nitrogen doping concentration of 2.80, 4.53, and 5.51 at.%. Besides, an enhanced n-type electrical conductivity in N-rGO was observed in Hall effect measurement. The observed tunable optoelectrical characteristics of N-rGO make it a suitable material for developing future optoelectronic devices at the nanoscale.     

Cytotoxic effect of eudesmanolides isolated from flowers of Tanacetum vulgare ssp. siculum

A phytochemical analysis of the dichloromethane extract from the flowers of a subspecies of Tanacetum vulgare growing in Sicily was carried out. Five known sesquiterpene lactones with the eudesmane skeleton have been isolated and the cytotoxic activity of these compounds was tested in vitro on A549 (human lung carcinoma epithelial-like) and V79379A (Chinese hamster lung fibroblast-like) cells using the tetrazolium salt reduction (MTT) assay. All of tested compounds induced high time- and concentration-dependent cytotoxic effects.