Nondiffusive Quantum Transport in a Dynamically Disordered Medium

For a dynamically disordered continuum it is found that the exact quantum mechanical mean square displacement 〈x2(t)〉∼t3, for t→∞. A Gaussian white-noise spectrum is assumed for the random potential. The result differs qualitatively from the diffusive behavior well known for the one-band lattice Hamiltonian, and is understandable in terms of the momentum cutoff inherent in the lattice, simulating a "momentum bath."

Charge transfer complexes of crown ethers with neutral organic gyama-acceptor, 2-dicyanoethylene 1,3-indane dione

The interaction of benzo-15-crown-5, dibenzo-18-crown-6 and dibenzo-24-crown-8 with 2-dicyanoethylene 1,3-indane dione in CH2Cl2 has been described in terms of the formation of 1 : 1 molecular complexes. The magnitude of association constants and thermodynamic parameters indicate cooperative interactions of oxygens with the acceptors. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra of the complexes show that gyama-gyama interactions are a major source of ground state stabilization in these complexes.

Small-scale capture, transport and tank adaptation of live, medium-sized Scombrids using "Tuna Tubes"

The transport of live fish is a crucial step to establish fish culture in captivity, and is especially challenging for species that have not been commonly cultured before, therefore transport and handling methods need to be optimized and tailored. This study describes the use of tuna tubes for small-scale transport of medium-sized pelagic fish from the Scombridae family. Tuna tubes are an array of vertical tubes that hold the fish, while fresh seawater is pumped up the tubes and through the fish mouth and gills, providing oxygen and removing wastes. In this study, 19 fish were captured using rod and line and 42% of the captured fish were transported alive in the custom-designed tuna tubes to an on-shore holding tank: five mackerel tuna (Euthynnus affinis) and three leaping bonito (Cybiosarda elegans). Out of these, just three (15.8% of total fish) acclimatized to the tank's condition. Based on these results, we discuss an improved design of the tuna tubes that has the potential to increase survival rates and enable a simple and low cost method of transporting of live pelagic fish.

Charge transfer in Chevrel phases

Chemical shifts of Mo K-absorption edge and Mo core level binding energies in Ax Mo6 Ch8 (Ch = S, Se, Te) Chevrel phases show clear evidence for charge transfer from the A element to the Mo6 cluster. The chemical shifts vary linearly with the intercluster Mo-Mo distance as well as the rhombohedral parameter.

Superhydrophobic fabrics for oil-water separation based on the metal organic charge transfer complex CuTCNAQ

This work reports on the fabrication of a superhydrophobic nylon textile based on the organic charge transfer complex CuTCNAQ (TCNAQ = 11,11,12,12-tetracyanoanthraquinodimethane). The nylon fabric that is metallized with copper undergoes a spontaneous chemical reaction with TCNAQ dissolved in acetonitrile to form nanorods of CuTCNAQ that are intertwined over the entire surface of the fabric. This creates the necessary micro and nanoscale roughness that is required for the Cassie-Baxter state thereby achieving a superhydrophobic/superoleophilic surface without the need for a fluorinated surface. The material is characterised with SEM, FT-IR and XPS spectroscopy and investigated for its ability to separate oil and water in two modes, namely under gravity and as an absorbent. It is found that the fabric can separate dichloromethane, olive oil and crude oil from water and in fact reduce the water content of the oil during the separation process. The fabric is reusable and tolerant to conditions such as seawater, hydrochloric acid and extensive time periods on the shelf. Given that CuTCNAQ is a copper based semiconductor may also open up the possibility of other applications in areas such as photocatalysis and antibacterial applications.

Spray deposition of exfoliated MoS2 flakes as hole transport layer in perovskite-based photovoltaics

We propose the use of solution-processed molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) flakes as hole transport layer (HTL) for metal-organic perovskite solar cells. MoS2 bulk crystals are exfoliated in 2-propanol and deposited on perovskite layers by spray coating. We fabricated cells with glass/FTO/compact-TiO2/mesoporous-TiO2/CH3NH3PbI3/spiro- OMeTAD/Au structure and cells with the same structure but with MoS2 flakes as HTL instead of spiro-OMeTAD, the most widely used HTL. The electrical characterization of the cells with MoS2 as HTL show promising power conversion efficiency -η- of 3.9% with respect to cells with pristine spiro-OMeTAD (η=3.1%). Endurance test on 800-hour shelf life has shown higher stability for the MoS2–based cells (ΔPCE/PCE=-17%) with respect to the doped spiro-OMeTAD-based one (ΔPCE/PCE =-45%). Further improvements are expected with the optimization of the MoS2 deposition process

Brno: Transport to Terezin (Theresienstadt)

People in winter clothing, in a barren room lit by a bare bulb. Inscription in Czech: transport to the primary school.

A new multi-objective model to optimise rail transport scheduler

The sugarcane transport system plays a critical role in the overall performance of Australia’s sugarcane industry. An inefficient sugarcane transport system interrupts the raw sugarcane harvesting process, delays the delivery of sugarcane to the mill, deteriorates the sugar quality, increases the usage of empty bins, and leads to the additional sugarcane production costs. Due to these negative effects, there is an urgent need for an efficient sugarcane transport schedule that should be developed by the rail schedulers. In this study, a multi-objective model using mixed integer programming (MIP) is developed to produce an industry-oriented scheduling optimiser for sugarcane rail transport system. The exact MIP solver (IBM ILOG-CPLEX) is applied to minimise the makespan and the total operating time as multi-objective functions. Moreover, the so-called Siding neighbourhood search (SNS) algorithm is developed and integrated with Sidings Satisfaction Priorities (SSP) and Rail Conflict Elimination (RCE) algorithms to solve the problem in a more efficient way. In implementation, the sugarcane transport system of Kalamia Sugar Mill that is a coastal locality about 1050 km northwest of Brisbane city is investigated as a real case study. Computational experiments indicate that high-quality solutions are obtainable in industry-scale applications.

Non-diffusive classical transport in a medium with static randomness

The probability distribution for the displacement x of a particle moving in a one-dimensional continuum is derived exactly for the general case of combined static and dynamic gaussian randomness of the applied force. The dynamics of the particle is governed by the high-friction limit of Brownian motion discussed originally by Einstein and Smoluchowski. In particular, the mean square displacement of the particle varies as t2 for t to infinity . This ballistic motion induced by the disorder does not give rise to a 1/f power spectrum, contrary to recent suggestions based on the above dynamical model.

Electrical transport in Bi doped n-type amorphous semiconductors (GeSe3.5)100-xBix at high pressure

Electrical transport in Bi doped amorphous semiconductors (GeSe3.5)100-xBix (x=0,4,10) is studied in a Bridgman anvil system up to a pressure of 90 kbar and down to 77 K. A pressure induced continuous transition from an amorphous semiconductor to a metal-like solid is observed in GeSe3.5. The addition of Bi disturbs significantly the behaviour of resistivity with pressure. The results are discussed in the light of molecular cluster model for GeySe1-y proposed by Phillips.

Analyticity of the charge-monopole scattering amplitude

We study the analyticity in cosθ of the exact quantum-mechanical electric-charge-magnetic-monopole scattering amplitude by ascribing meaning to its formally divergent partial-wave expansion as the boundary value of an analytic function. This permits us to find an integral representation for the amplitude which displays its analytic structure. On the physical sheet we find only a branch-point singularity in the forward direction, while on each of the infinitely many unphysical sheets we find a logarithmic branch-point singularity in the backward direction as well as the same forward structure.

Characterization of vitamin A transport system from goat plasma

Retinol-binding protein and its complex with prealbumin were isolated from goat serum by chromatography on DEAE-Sephadex A-50, gel filtration and immuno-affinity chromatography on antigoat-serum albumin-Sepharose 4B. The homogeneous prealbumin-retinol-binding protein complex had a molecular weight of 75 000. Both on electrophoresis and in the presence of 2 M urea, the complex dissociated into retinol-binding protein and prealbumin. The molecular weight, electrophoretic behaviour, ultraviolet and fluorescence spectra of goat retinol-binding protein were similar to those isolated from other sources. On sodium dodecyl sulphate gel electrophoresis, goat prealbumin (molecular weight ≈ 55 000) exhibited two bands corresponding to molecular weights 26 000 and 13 000. This suggests that either goat prealbumin consists of two non-identical sub-units or perhaps complete dissociation might not have occurred. Goat prealbumin was able to bind Image -thyroxine and retinol-binding protein.