Analysis of photo-excited thin superconducting films for optoelectronic device applications

This paper introduces a steady state photoresponse analysis in superconducting thin films. A model is developed for investigating the capability of superconductors for potential optoelectronic applications. First, we consider the thermodynamical variation under the application of continuous optical radiation in superconducting state. Then, the photo-induced changes in electrical parameters are evaluated from thermodynamical variations using the electrodynamics based on the BCS theory. All variations are considered as a function of optical characteristics along with the material properties. The numerical simulation gives us the optimum range of applied optical frequency and absorbed radiation intensity required for sensitive control of superconducting properties for optoelectronic and microwave applications.     

Rapid determination of soil unconfined compressive strength using reflectance spectroscopy

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Understanding the physical and especially mechanical properties of forest soils is very important in forest engineering operations including...     

Probiotic-Induced Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells: A Novel Therapy for Inflammatory Bowel Disease?

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are immune-mediated, chronic relapsing diseases with a rising prevalence worldwide in both adult and pediatric populations. Treatment options for immune-mediated diseases, including IBDs, are traditional steroids, immunomodulators, and biologics, none of which are capable of inducing long-lasting remission in all patients. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a fundamental role in inducing tolerance and regulating T cells and their tolerogenic functions. Hence, modulation of intestinal mucosal immunity by DCs could provide a novel, additional tool for the treatment of IBD. Recent evidence indicates that probiotic bacteria might impact immunomodulation both in vitro and in vivo by regulating DCs’ maturation and producing tolerogenic DCs (tolDCs) which, in turn, might dampen inflammation. In this review, we will discuss this evidence and the mechanisms of action of probiotics and their metabolites in inducing tolDCs in IBDs and some conditions associated with them.     

A study on the cure characteristics of epoxy/diaminodiphenylmethane system prepared at room temperature

The curing behavior and kinetics of epoxy resin with diaminodiphenylmethane (DDM) as the curing agent was studied by many researchers, however all of them prepared the system at a high‐temperature condition (i.e., T ≥ 80°C). In this study, a mixture of epoxy/DDM was prepared at ambient temperature and its curing characteristics were studied by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The autocatalytic model was used to calculate the kinetic factors in the dynamic experiments. The kinetics of the curing reaction was also evaluated by two different isoconversional models; namely Friedman method and the Advanced Isoconversional method proposed by Vyazovkin to investigate the activation energy behavior during the curing reaction. The activation energy of the curing reaction was found to be in the range of 48 ± 2 kJ/mol and might be considered to be constant during the curing. In fact, our findings were different from the result reported by other researchers for the system which was prepared at elevated temperature. Therefore, it seems that the preparation temperature of the samples influenced considerably on the curing behavior of epoxy with DDM. Finally, a time–temperature–transformation (TTT) diagram was established to determine the cure process and glass transition properties of the system. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Pomegranate fallen leaves as a source of natural dye for mordant-free dyeing of wool

The application of metal mordants is usually necessary in dyeing of wool with natural dyes to improve the dye exhaustion and fastness properties. The majority of metal salts generally used as mordants are considered as toxic and it is important to find replacements for them. Plant sources with high content of tannins are good candidates as bio-mordant or colourant to overcome this drawback. In this study, the waste fallen leaves of pomegranate tree were used as a source of natural dye for the eco-friendly dyeing of wool fabric without the use of metal mordants. The dyeing process variables including dye concentration, dyebath pH, and temperature were optimised using response surface methodology to obtain the highest colour strength. The colour strength was increased by increasing the natural dye powder up to 100%owf while the optimum pH and dyebath temperature were 4 and 100°C, respectively. The sample dyed under the optimal condition exhibited good fastness properties against washing and light. This study approved the potential of Punica granatum fallen leaves for the dyeing of wool without any mordant, while high fastness properties were obtained.     

A knowledge based component/service repository to enhance analysts’ domain knowledge for requirements analysis

Knowledge of the business domain (e.g., insurance claim, human resources) is crucial to analysts’ ability to conduct good requirements analysis (RA). However, current practices afford little assistance to analysts in acquiring domain knowledge. We argue that traditional reuse repositories could be augmented by adding rich faceted information on component/services and artifacts such as business-process templates to help analysts acquire domain knowledge during RA. In this paper, we present the design of a Knowledge Based Component Repository (KBCR) for facilitating RA. Then, we report on the design and development of a KBCR prototype. We illustrate its application in a system that is populated with components and process templates for the auto insurance claim domain. An empirical study was conducted to assess its effectiveness in improving RA. Results showed that KBCR enhanced analysts’ business domain knowledge and helped them better prepare for RA. Our key research contribution is to offer analysts a rich repository (i.e., KBCR) containing domain knowledge that they could utilize to acquire domain knowledge that is crucial for carrying out RA. While repositories of reusable components have been employed for some time, no one has used such repositories to help analysts acquire domain knowledge in order improve the RA of the system.     

Synthesis, characterization and magnetic properties of NiS1+x nanocrystals from [bis(salicylidene)nickel(II)] as new precursor

[Bis(salicylidene)nickel(II)] was used as a precursor to prepare nickel sulfides nanoparticles of average size 20 nm by a chemical process in oleylamine. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. Magnetization measurement indicates that both of the α-NiS and Ni₃S₄ nanoparticles show pramagnetism due to the size effect.