On the use of pyrrole black in zinc-halogen batteries

The storage of Br₂/Br^– and I₂/I^– couples in a conducting polymer matrix, polypyrrole coated on a reticulated vitreous carbon disc, is described and the application of these positive electrodes in zinc-halogen model batteries is discussed. The cell based on the polypyrrole bromine adduct shows the higher open circuit voltage which, however, depends on the state of charge. Such cells self discharge thus limiting their usefulness. In the case of the iodine cell the self discharge is due to loss of iodine from the polymer to the bulk solution, but with the bromine cell the cause is oxidative bromination and depolymerization of the polypyrrole.     

A Decomposition of the Tikhonov Regularization Functional Oriented to Exploit Hybrid Multilevel Parallelism

We introduce a decomposition of the Tikhonov Regularization (TR) functional which split this operator into several TR functionals, suitably modified in order to enforce the matching of their solutions. As a consequence, instead of solving one problem we can solve several problems reproducing the initial one at smaller dimensions. Such approach leads to a reduction of the time complexity of the resulting algorithm. Since the subproblems are solved in parallel, this decomposition also leads to a reduction of the overall execution time. Main outcome of the decomposition is that the parallel algorithm is oriented to exploit the highest performance of parallel architectures where concurrency is implemented both at the coarsest and finest levels of granularity. Performance analysis is discussed in terms of the algorithm and software scalability. Validation is performed on a reference parallel architecture made of a distributed memory multiprocessor and a Graphic Processing Unit. Results are presented on the Data Assimilation problem, for oceanographic models.     

A generalized method of moments for closed queueing networks

We introduce a new solution technique for closed product-form queueing networks that generalizes the Method of Moments (MoM), a recently proposed exact algorithm that is several orders of magnitude faster and memory efficient than the established Mean Value Analysis (MVA) algorithm. Compared to MVA, MoM recursively computes higher-order moments of queue lengths instead of mean values, an approach that remarkably reduces the computational costs of exact solutions, especially on models with large numbers of jobs.In this paper, we show that the MoM recursion can be generalized to include multiple recursive branches that evaluate models with different numbers of queues, a solution approach inspired by the Convolution algorithm. Combining the approaches of MoM and Convolution simplifies the evaluation of normalizing constants and leads to large computational savings with respect to the recursive structure originally proposed for MoM.     

Relationships between lean product development enablers and problems

The lean product development (LPD) approach uses lean principles and enablers (tools, techniques and practices) to reduce waste and continuously improve the product development processes (PDP). Other than reducing product development lead time, LPD also aims at improving quality by reducing problems that might occur during the process. Several LPD enablers are proposed in the existing literature; however, there is limited knowledge on how these enablers may effectively counteract the occurrence of problems in the PDP. We empirically tested the association between 4 groups of LPD enablers and 11 groups of LPD problems in a sample of 64 companies that are undergoing lean implementation in the shop floor and administrative areas. There are two major contributions here. First, we propose an empirically validated instrument for assessing the adoption of LPD enablers and the incidence of LPD problems in companies filling an existing gap in the literature. Second, we provide understanding on how LPD enablers can mitigate the incidence of LPD problems, allowing companies undergoing lean implementation to better manage their PDP. Moreover, some results demonstrate that the association between enablers and problems may not be as suggested in the existing literature.     

Assessment of activated sludge viability with flow cytometry

The aim of the study was to evaluate the applicability of fluorescent dyes and multiparameter flow cytometry for the rapid and direct viability/activity assessment of activated sludge samples taken from wastewater treatment plants. Viability and activity of the biomass were estimated respectively through cellular membrane integrity, staining with SYBR Green I and Propidium Iodide, and through fluorogenic dyes capable of detecting enzymatic activity, as FDA and BCECF-AM. A procedure has been developed to disaggregate sludge flocs before dyes staining and cytometric analysis. The developed procedure allows a high recovery of bacteria with good accuracy and repeatability, and minimize the damage of the cells suspension obtained from the disaggregation of the flocs. These measurements were applied to estimate the two main parameters required to define the biological activated sludge process: the endogenous decay rate and the specific growth rate in exponential phase with high F/M ratio. Oxygen utilization rate measurements (OUR) were conducted to conventionally monitor the activity of the biomass. The preliminary data are encouraging and support the possibility to investigate bacteria dynamics on wastewater treatment plants.     

The rate of formation of the hydrates of F-31(CH2ClF) and F-142b(CH3CClF2) in a stirred tank reactor

The kinetics of formation of the hydrates of F-31 and F-142b have been measured separately in a continuous-stirred tank reactor of 3700 cc volume. Rates of formation vary from 0.6 to 3 wt%/min with the ΔT ranging from 0.25 to 0.9°C and the agitation rate varying between 1 and 46 watts/liter. All data were taken in NaCl solutions of near 6% by weight.F-31(CH₂ClF) hydrate appears to be an excellent choice for use in the hydrate process for desalting. Its formation conditions in pure water are 17.9°C and 2.8 atm absolute, the rates of formation are high, and the crystals formed are rough spheres of mean diameters of 200 to 250 microns.     

The effect of the incorporation of polystyrene‐based chain extenders on the properties of the shape memory polyurethanes

In this work, the idea of modulating the shape memory properties of polyurethanes by changing their macromolecular architecture through the incorporation of polystyrene‐based moieties was investigated. To study these effects, poly(styrene‐co‐maleic anhydride) (SMA) was incorporated during the synthesis of PU as a potential chain extender. Two sample groups were produced: (i) PU, produced with hydrazine as a chain extender and (ii) PU_SMA, produced with the addition of SMA instead of hydrazine. The results suggest that the SMA incorporation in the PU_SMA chains occurred by the reaction between NCO groups of the PU and maleic anhydride (MA) of the SMA. The presence of SMA was useful in modulating the structure of PU by reducing the soft segment crystallinity and molar mass. These changes in the structure and macromolecular architecture due to the presence of SMA moieties in PU chains led to pronounced improvements in strength, toughness, and the shape recovery ratio. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44471.     

Good and asymptotically good quantum codes derived from algebraic geometry

In this paper, we construct several new families of quantum codes with good parameters. These new quantum codes are derived from (classical) t-point (\(t\ge 1\)) algebraic geometry (AG) codes by applying the Calderbank–Shor–Steane (CSS) construction. More precisely, we construct two classical AG codes \(C_1\) and \(C_2\) such that \(C_1\subset C_2\), applying after the well-known CSS construction to \(C_1\) and \(C_2\). Many of these new codes have large minimum distances when compared with their code lengths as well as they also have small Singleton defects. As an example, we construct a family \({[[46, 2(t_2 - t_1), d]]}_{25}\) of quantum codes, where \(t_1 , t_2\) are positive integers such that \(1<t_1< t_2 < 23\) and \(d\ge \min \{ 46 - 2t_2 , 2t_1 - 2 \}\), of length \(n=46\), with minimum distance in the range \(2\le d\le 20\), having Singleton defect at most four. Additionally, by applying the CSS construction to sequences of t-point (classical) AG codes constructed in this paper, we generate sequences of asymptotically good quantum codes.     

A Loosely Coordinated Model for Heap-Based Priority Queues in Multicore Environments

Heap-based priority queues are very common dynamical data structures used in several fields, ranging from operating systems to scientific applications. However, the rise of new multicore CPUs introduced new challenges in the process of design of these data structures: in addition to traditional requirements like correctness and progress, the scalability is of paramount importance. It is a common opinion that these two demands are partially in conflict each other, so that in these computational environments it is necessary to relax the requirements of correctness and linearizability to achieve high performances. In this paper we introduce a loosely coordinated approach for the management of heap based priority queues on multicore CPUs, with the aim to realize a tradeoff between efficiency and sequential correctness. The approach is based on a sharing of information among only a small number of cores, so that to improve performance without completely losing the features of the data structure. The results obtained on a scientific problem show significant benefits both in terms of parallel efficiency, as well as in term of numerical accuracy.