An admissible minimax estimator of a bounded scale-parameter in a subclass of the exponential family under scale-invariant squared-error loss

A subclass of the scale-parameter exponential family is considered and for the rth power of the scale parameter, which is lower bounded, an admissible minimax estimator under scale-invariant squared-error loss is presented. Also, an admissible minimax estimator of a lower-bounded parameter in the family of transformed chi-square distributions is given. These estimators are the pointwise limits of a sequence of Bayes estimators. Some examples are given.     

Asphaltene self-association and water-in-hydrocarbon emulsions

The configuration of asphaltenes on the water-oil interface was evaluated from a combination of molar mass, interfacial tension, drop size distribution, and gravimetric measurements of model emulsions consisting of asphaltenes, toluene, heptane, and water. Molar mass measurements were required because asphaltenes self-associate and the level of self-association varies with asphaltene concentration, the resin content, solvent type, and temperature. Plots of interfacial tension versus the log of asphaltene molar concentration were employed to determine the average interfacial area of asphaltene molecules on the interface. The moles of asphaltenes per area of emulsion interface were determined from the molar mass data as well as drop size distributions and gravimetric measurements of the model emulsions. The results indicate that asphaltenes form monolayers on the interface even at concentrations as high as 40 kg/m(3). As well, large aggregates with molar masses exceeding approximately 10,000 g/mol did not appear to adsorb at the interface. The area occupied by the asphaltenes on the interface was constant indicating that self-associated asphaltenes simply extend further into the continuous phase than nonassociated asphaltenes. The thickness of the monolayer ranged from 2 to 9 nm.     

Heteropoly acids, their salts and polyoxometalates as heterogenous, efficient and eco-friendly catalysts in organic reactions: Some recent advances

In this review article, some recent advances of applying heteropoly acids and polyoxometalates as heterogeneous, reusable and eco-friendly catalysts in organic synthesis are discussed.     

An efficient and chemoselective method for protection of thiols catalyzed by aluminumdodecatungstophosphate (AlPW12O40), as a highly water tolerant Lewis acid catalyst

Protection of various thiols with diphenylmethanol was achieved in high yields at room temperature using catalytic amounts of AlPW₁₂O₄₀ in CH₂Cl₂. In the presence of this catalyst, protection of SH versus OH was achieved with high chemoselectivity and yields. The catalyst can be easily recovered and reused. Deprotection of DPM thioethers was also achieved using molecular iodine at reflux in CH₂Cl₂ in high yields.     

Dark solitons of the Biswas–Milovic equation by the first integral method

This paper studies the Biswas–Milovic equation that is a generalized version of the familiar nonlinear Schrodinger's equation describing the propagation of solitons through optical fibers for trans-continental and trans-oceanic distances with Kerr law nonlinearity by the aid of the first integral method. The dark 1-soliton solution is retrieved by the aid of this method and a couple of other singular periodic solutions are also obtained.     

Effect of the External Mirror Feedback Strength in the Dynamics and Spectrum of the Injected Semiconductor Lasers

We analytically investigate the effect of an external mirror on the stability of an injected semiconductor laser, the latter treated as injected damped oscillators. In the studied configuration, the injected semiconductor laser with an external mirror is under the influence of a chaotic oscillating optical signal that is generated by a similar semiconductor master laser. We derive our results in terms of the damping rate and resonance frequency. We show that the external mirror can eliminate the unstable modes of the injected laser at low frequencies. Furthermore, the mirror can enhance the damping of the oscillation modes of the injected semiconductor laser; consequently, the driven response of the injected laser may have a broad spectrum, even wider than that of the chaotic driving signal. We also show results for the bandwidths of the injection amplitude and phase increment as functions of the injection rate and feedback strength of the external mirror. In addition, we use bifurcation and time-series curves to describe the dynamical behavior of the injected laser. We identify the feedback strength of injected laser, relative to that of the master laser, which induces synchronization between the injected-laser oscillation modes and the master laser.     

Control of instability in a semiconductor laser using a functional pump current generator with a dynamical parameter

In this paper, an electric circuit to control the dynamic output of a semiconductor laser is introduced. The circuit controls chaos and instability of the laser output by changing its pumping current. The change of the current is also introduced by a nonlinear map. The most important element of this nonlinear map is a dynamical variable parameter. We have studied the dynamic behavior of the laser before and after applying the control using bifurcation curves and time series. We have shown that the laser output, in the intervals of the feedback phase and strength where it is chaotic, can be totally inverted to the quasi periodic (QP) and period one (P1) oscillation modes, by control method.     

One-dimensional mercury(II) coordination polymers with a flexible bidentate Schiff base ligand (Me2N-Ba)2Bn: Synthesis, characterization, and crystal structures

Three one-dimensional mercury(II) complexes, [Hg₂(μ_N,N-((Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn)(μ-X)₂X₂] _n , where X = Cl (I), Br (II), and I (III), (Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn = N,N′-bis(dimethylaminobenzylidene)butane-1,4-diamine, involving a bidentate Schiff base with a flexible spacer (=N-C-C-C-C-N=) were prepared under mild condition and characterized by elemental analyses (CHN), FT-IR, ¹H & ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. The crystal structure of II has been determined by X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Each Hg(II) center adopts a distorted [HgNBr₃] tetrahedron environment arising from two crystallographically equivalent (Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn Schiff base ligands. Each of ligands acts as N₂-bis-chelating ligand with the nitrogen atoms of two imine functions in anti-form leading to the dinuclear [Hg₂(μ_N,N-(Me₂N-Ba)₂Bn)Br₂] groups. Such dinuclear [Hg₂(μ_N,N-((Me₂Nvg-Ba)₂Bn)Br₂] groups are bridged two iodine anions (μ-Br)₂ to form a neutral 1D-chain mercury (II) coordination polymer.     

Electropolymerized coatings of poly(o‐anisidine) and poly(o‐anisidine)‐TiO2 nanocomposite on aluminum alloy 3004 by using the galvanostatic method and their corrosion protection performance

Poly(o‐anisidine) (POA) and poly(o‐anisidine)‐TiO₂ (POA‐TiO₂) nanocomposite coatings on aluminum alloy 3004 (AA3004) have been investigated by using the galvanostatic method. The electrosynthesized coatings were characterized by FT ‐ IR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM ‐ EDX and SEM. The corrosion protection performance of POA and POA‐TiO₂ nanocomposite coatings was investigated in the 3.5% NaCl solution by using potentiodynamic polarization technique and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that the corrosion rate of the nanocomposite coatings is about 900 times lower than the bare AA3004 under optimal conditions. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.