Synergistic Interaction Between Cationic Novel Gemini Surfactant and Non-ionic Conventional Surfactants in Aqueous Medium

The interaction between novel gemini surfactant (alkane-α, ω-bis(dimethyl hexadecyl ammonium bromide) (G6)) and two different non-ionic surfactants (Triton X-114 (TX-114), Tween 20 (T-20)) has been investigated in the current study at temperature 298.15 K. The critical micelle concentration (cmc) values of mixed systems were computed by the conductometric titration in the aqueous medium. The results have been examined by utilizing numerous theoretical models (Clint, Rubingh, Motomura, Maeda, and Lange models). The experimentally determined cmc were lower than corresponding ideal values (cmc*) and decreased with the mixtures' stoichiometric mole fraction (α1) of G6. This shows non-ideal behavior between two employed components. The interaction parameter at mixed micelle (β) has been analyzed by using regular solution approximation. The attractive interaction or synergistic behavior in both mixed systems is confirmed by the negative values of β. The various energetics parameters were also evaluated and discussed.

Faradaic efficiency in protonic-ceramic electrolysis cells

Proton-conducting ceramics (e.g., doped barium zirconates or cerates) are typically mixed ionic-electronic conductors (MIEC). The electronic conduction, typically in the form of positively charged small polarons or electron holes, leads to “electronic leakage.” In an ideal steam-electrolysis cell, one gas-phase H2 molecule is produced from every two electrons delivered from an external power source. In other words, such ideal behavior achieves 100% faradaic efficiency. However, the electronic flux associated with MIEC membranes contributes to reduced faradaic efficiency. The present paper develops a model that predicts the behavior of faradaic efficiency as a function of electrolysiscell operating conditions. Although the model framework is more general, the paper focuses on the behavior of a cell based upon a BaCe0.7Zr0.1Y0.1Yb0.1O3−δ (BCZYYb) membrane. The study predicts the effects of operating conditions, including temperature, pressure, and gas compositions.

Viscosity Investigations on the Binary Systems of (1 ChCl:2 Ethylene Glycol) DES and Methanol or Ethanol

In this study, the viscosity behavior of two mixtures of Ethaline (1 ChCl:2 ethylene glycol) with either methanol or ethanol were investigated over the temperature range of 283.15–333.15 K at atmospheric pressure. The measured viscosities of neat Ethaline, methanol, and ethanol showed reliable agreement with the corresponding reported literature values. The mixture viscosities were modeled by an Arrhenius-like model to determine the behavior of viscosity with respect to temperature. The data were also modeled by the four well-known mixture viscosity models of Grunberg–Nissan, Jouyban–Acree, McAllister, and Preferential Solvation. All of the model results were reliable, with the Jouyban–Acree and Preferential Solvation models showing the most accurate agreement with the experimental measurements. The Jones–Dole viscosity model was also investigated for the measured viscosities, and by analyzing the results of this model, strong interactions among Ethaline and the alcohol molecules were proposed for both systems. As a final analysis, viscosity deviations of the investigated systems were calculated to study the deviations of the viscosity behaviors with respect to ideal behavior. Both systems showed negative viscosity deviations at all of the investigated temperatures, with the negative values tending towards zero, and hence more ideal behavior, with increasing temperatures. Moreover, in order to correlate the calculated viscosity deviations, the Redlich–Kister model was successfully used for both systems and at each investigated temperature.

Emergence of robust self-organized undulatory swimming based on local hydrodynamic force sensing

Undulatory swimming represents an ideal behavior to investigate locomotion control and the role of the underlying central and peripheral components in the spinal cord. Many vertebrate swimmers have central pattern generators and local pressure-sensitive receptors that provide information about the surrounding fluid. However, it remains difficult to study experimentally how these sensors influence motor commands in these animals. Here, using a specifically designed robot that captures the essential components of the animal neuromechanical system and using simulations, we tested the hypothesis that sensed hydrodynamic pressure forces can entrain body actuation through local feedback loops. We found evidence that this peripheral mechanism leads to self-organized undulatory swimming by providing intersegmental coordination and body oscillations. Swimming can be redundantly induced by central mechanisms, and we show that, therefore, a combination of both central and peripheral mechanisms offers a higher robustness against neural disruptions than any of them alone, which potentially explains how some vertebrates retain locomotor capabilities after spinal cord lesions. These results broaden our understanding of animal locomotion and expand our knowledge for the design of robust and modular robots that physically interact with the environment.

LANGUAGE REALIZATION OF AGGRESSION IN THE MIDDLE AGES (BASED ON THE EPIC POEM «KUDRUN»)

This paper presents the topical issue of the role of aggressive domestic and foreign policy of the German rulers of the XIII century. According to the plot of the epic poem «Kudrun», at the heart of the aggressive domestic and foreign policy of the German rulers is a global conflict involving man and the world, people and their religious worldview, the hierarchy of relations of the individual, wildlife and descendants of the «elite», king, queen and the authority of the church, upbringing and education, the beauty of a young woman and the hostility of a man, the jealousy of a brave old king-father and the cruelty of an elderly woman-queen-mother, and so on. Oppositions are also found in the categories of «one’s own» and «foreign», good and evil, old and new, earthly and unearthly, material and ideal, perfect and imperfect, living and inanimate, free from slavery and enslaved, bodily, mental and spiritual, mind and emotions. There is a bifurcation of the whole objective world into its physical existence and meaning. At the same time, the ideal behavior of knights is transformed – the support of German kings. There are relationships – «knight – thief, robber», «knight – barbarian», «knight – animal». Aggressive human behavior as a social being has a moral character. In the question of immorality, the medial man is influenced by ancient psychology, paganism and Christianity. The aim of the article is to identify German language units with the meaning of aggression in the Middle Ages. The study used deductive, structural-semantic, logical-semantic, contextual analysis, the method of linguistic description and analysis of dictionary definitions. The results of the study include clarification of the concept of «aggression», tracing its semantic content in time, highlighting the system of language units such as word, proper name, phrase (free and permanent), sentence (simple, complex, complex, combined, supra-phrase unity) and elucidation of the peculiarities of the formation of the phenomenon. It has been proven that aggression can be natural or artificial. Natural aggression is characteristic of the element of water, wild animals and man as a biological being, artificial – man as a social being and supernatural beings who embody evil.Aggression correlates with gender, age and culture: a man is aggressive at any age and in any culture, a woman – only in old age, being in the status of a mother who wishes her child a happy fate and being a foreigner. We conclude that the concept of aggression in medieval Germany is associated primarily with extralinguistic factors (religion, domestic and foreign policy, social, economic and cultural-historical development), refracted verbally by the author of the epic poem «Kudrun».Key words: the Middle ages, aggression, man, animal, element, word, proper name, phrase, sentence. Статтю присвячено актуальній проблемі щодо ролі агресивної внутрішньої і зовнішньої політики германських можновладців ХІІІ ст. Згідно з фабулою епічної поеми «Кудруна», в підвалинах агресивної внутрішньої і зовнішньої політики германських можновладців лежить глобальний конфлікт, що включає в себе людину і навколишній світ, людей і їхній релігійний світогляд, ієрархію стосунків індивідуума, диких тварин і нащадків «еліти», авторитет короля, королеви й авторитет церкви, виховання й освіту, красу молодої жінки й ворожість чоло-віка, ревнощі сміливого літнього короля-батька й жорстокість літньої жінки-королеви-матері тощо. Опозиції виявляємо і в категоріях «свого» й «чужого», добра й зла, старого й нового, земного й неземного, матеріального й ідеального, досконалого й недосконалого, живого й неживого, вільного від рабства й поневоленого, тілесного, душевного й духовного, розуму й емоцій. Відбувається роздвоєння цілісного предметного світу на його фізичне буття і значення. Разом з цим трансформується ідеальна поведінка лицарів – опори германських королів. Виникають нові співвідношення – «лицар – злодій, розбійник», «лицар – варвар», «лицар – тварина». Агресивна поведінка людини як соціальної істоти має моральний характер. У питанні про аморальність медіальна людина перебуває під впливом античної психології, язичництва та християнства. Метою статті є виявлення німецьких мовних одиниць зі значенням агресивності в середні віки. В ході дослідження було використано дедуктивний, структурно-семантичний, логіко-семантичний, контекстуальний аналізи, метод лінгвістичного опису та аналіз словникових дефініцій. Результати дослідження охоплюють уточнення поняття «агресивність», простеження його смислового наповнення на часовому зрізі, виокремлення системи мовних одиниць як-от слово, власна назва, словосполучення (вільне й стале), речення (просте, складне, ускладнене, комбіноване, надфразова єдність) та з’ясування особливостей формування феномену. Доведено, що агресивність може бути природною та штучною. Природна агресивність характерна стихії води, диким тваринам і людині як біологічній істоті, штучна – людині як соціальній істоті та надприродним істотам, що втілюють у собі зло. Агресивність корелює зі статтю, віком і культурою: чоловік – агресивний у будь-якому віці та в будь-якій культурі, жінка – лише в літньому віці, перебуваючи в статусі матері, яка бажає своїй дитині щасливої долі та будучи іноземкою. Висновуємо, що поняття агресивності в середньовічній Німеччині пов’язане насамперед з позамовними чинни-ками (релігія, внутрішня і зовнішня політика, соціальний, економічний і культурно-історичний розвиток), заломленими автором епічної поеми «Кудруна» вербально.Ключові слова: середні віки, агресивність, людина, тварина, стихія, слово, власна назва, словосполучення, речення.

Relaxation Dynamics of Ethanol and N-Butanol in Diesel Fuel Blends from Terahertz Spectroscopy

Binary blends of ethanol-diesel, n-butanol-diesel, ethanol-biodiesel, and n-butanol-biodiesel have been analyzed with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy in a full range of concentrations and at room temperature. The real and imaginary parts of the complex dielectric constant of the blends were obtained from the spectra and fitted to the Debye model at low volume concentrations (up to 7.5% for ethanol in diesel and up to 20% for butanol in diesel, ethanol in biodiesel, and butanol in biodiesel blends), considering the number of relaxation processes recommended in the literature for each pure component (single for diesel, double for biodiesel, and triple for alcohols). The results indicate that the faster relaxation time in low alcohol mixtures is longer than in pure alcohols. This relaxation time increases as the alcohol content increases. The excess of the real and of imaginary parts of the dielectric constant were individually determined. The analysis of such excess and of its different contributions (volume, contrast, and interactions) suggests that the intermolecular interactions between the different components of the blends dominate the relaxation dynamics in each pseudo-binary system. Ethanol was found to move blends further away from ideal behavior than n-butanol. In fact, these latter blends showed the most ideal behavior, suggesting that the length of the alcohol carbon chain plays an important role. This information allows a possible link between the nonlinear behavior of the physicochemical properties of the blends (e.g., viscosity and surface tension) and the molecular interactions between their constituent molecules. This relation could have direct application for monitoring the fuel composition and quality in the vehicle control systems.

Defining Adherent Behavior in Lifestyle Medicine Prescriptions: A Qualitative Analysis of Responses From Healthcare Providers Regarding Food and Nutrition

Objectives Lifestyle Medicine (LM) practice targets six behavioral domains: nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress reduction, social support, and avoidance of addictive substances. To date, no formal study of LM practitioner perspectives of ideal behavior for these domains has been conducted. Our objective was to describe the behaviors that comprise ideal/adherent patient behavior for each of the six domains, focusing on nutrition, as reported by practicing LM providers. Methods We conducted an (online) survey of members of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine in the summer of 2019 (n = 612). Respondents were asked to describe ideal patient behavior for each domain in their own words. Their textual responses were coded line by line, with multiple codes assigned when relevant. Similar codes were collapsed to develop a more parsimonious code-set for each area. Counts and rankings for each set of codes was calculated, with key quotes extracted associated with top ranked codes. Results A total of n = 471 respondents provided any free-text answer on ideal patient dietary behavior. Out of the total n = 471 providing an answer, specific individual behaviors were mentioned most frequently were as follows: eat whole foods (85%), eat plant-based (85%), be motivated and open-minded (20%), reduce unhealthy fats or limit/eliminate oil (19%), practice moderation in total intake (12%), eat more fruits & vegetables (13%), and reduce carbohydrates (10%). The most common meta-theme that emerged focused on the foods that one should eat (e.g., plant based, whole foods, water), followed by foods that one should not eat (e.g., processed foods, unhealthy fats, dairy, meat). The next most common meta-theme mentioned related to the desirable characteristics of the patient themselves (motivated, open-minded; complies with provider instructions etc.) and promoted specific behaviors (moderation, fasting, cook own food). A final common meta-theme related to overall guiding principles for healthy nutrition (sustainable, flexible and balanced). Conclusions Results of this analysis suggest that LM providers most commonly prescribe dietary behavior changes focusing on emphasizing whole or unrefined plant foods, while also finding positive patient attitude and compliance important. Funding Sources American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

A GPU-accelerated adaptive FSAI preconditioner for massively parallel simulations

The solution of linear systems of equations is a central task in a number of scientific and engineering applications. In many cases the solution of linear systems may take most of the simulation time thus representing a major bottleneck in the further development of scientific and technical software. For large scale simulations, nowadays accounting for several millions or even billions of unknowns, it is quite common to resort to preconditioned iterative solvers for exploiting their low memory requirements and, at least potential, parallelism. Approximate inverses have been shown to be robust and effective preconditioners in various contexts. In this work, we show how adaptive Factored Sparse Approximate Inverse (aFSAI), characterized by a very high degree of parallelism, can be successfully implemented on a distributed memory computer equipped with GPU accelerators. Taking advantage of GPUs in adaptive FSAI set-up is not a trivial task, nevertheless we show through an extensive numerical experimentation how the proposed approach outperforms more traditional preconditioners and results in a close-to-ideal behavior in challenging linear algebra problems.

Developing Machine Learning Models for Ionic Conductivity of Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids

In this work, we have developed machine learning models based on support vector machine (SVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) to correlate ionic conductivity of imidazolium-based ionic liquids. The data, collected from the NIST ILThermo Database, spans six orders of magnitude and ranges from 275-475 K. Both models were found to exhibit very good performance. The ANN-model was then used to predict ionic conductivity for all the possible combinations of cations and anions contained in the original dataset, which led to the identification of an ionic liquid with 30% higher ionic conductivity than the highest conductivity reported in the database at 298 K. The model was further employed to predict ionic conductivity of binary ionic liquid mixtures. A large number of ionic liquid mixtures were found to possess non-ideal behavior in that an intermediate mole fraction for such ionic liquid mixtures resulted in either a maximum or minimum in the ionic conductivity.