Synthesis of highly pure and dense 0.9(KNbO3)-0.1(BaNi1/2Nb1/2O3-δ) ceramic with superior magnetic properties

Residual NiO phase is generally detected in 0.9(KNbO₃)–0.1(BaNi_1/2Nb_1/2O_3-δ) (KBNNO) synthesized using NiO as a nickel precursor by solid-state reaction. In this work, NiO phase is found to exist in the form of the residual NiO particles with a size of 100-200 nm using energy dispersive X-ray elemental mapping. These NiO residual particles are eliminated by using nickel acetate as a nickel precursor and a 100% perovskite phase KBNNO is successfully synthesized at as low as 600°C temperature. Furthermore, using the two-step sintering technique, 100% relative density is achieved in this material. The nickel acetate–based KBNNO shows a robust ferromagnetism with the saturation magnetization of 11.42 memu/g and the remanent magnetization of 3.89 memu/g which is 38 times higher than that of previously reported value in NiO-based KBNNO. Thus, a highly pure and fully dense KBNNO ceramic with superior magnetic properties is obtained using nickel acetate and by the two-step sintering method. This is a key step forward in the processing of KBNNO and is likely to have a significant impact on other physical properties of this newly invented and promising photovoltaic perovskite material.     

Synergistic interaction of 2-amino 4-methyl benzothiazole (AMBT) and benzotriazole (BTZ) offers excellent protection to mild steel exposed in acid atmosphere at elevated temperatures: Electrochemical,computational and surface studies

The synergistic interactions and corrosion protection properties of 2-amino 4-methyl benzothiazole, (AMBT) and 1, 2, 3-benzotriazole (BTZ) have been studied for mild steel in HCl at elevated temperatures. The extent of synergistic interaction increases with temperature. The methods of study include the conventional weight loss studies, computational screening, surface characterization and electrochemical studies. Quantum chemical approach was used to calculate some electronic properties of the molecules and to ascertain the synergistic interaction, inhibitive effect and molecular structures. The corrosion inhibition efficiencies and the global chemical reactivity relate to parameters like total energy, E_HOMO, E_LUMO and gap energy (ΔE). Condensed atom Fukui functions also calculated using DFT at B3LYP/6-31G* level, and were found to be correlating with the experimental results.     

Fractional Gravitational Grey Wolf Optimization to Multi-Path Data Transmission in IoT

Wireless Personal Communications - The advancements of technology in the field of communication made WSN based IoT attractive and applicable to various areas. It is comprised IoT nodes that work on...     

An efficient bi-layer content based image retrieval system

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Large amount of multi-media content, generated by various image capturing devices, is shared and downloaded by millions of users across the globe, every second....     

A tamper detection suitable fragile watermarking scheme based on novel payload embedding strategy

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Intentional tampering in digital image content is one of the common malpractices in the current digital arena. So in this paper, the authors have proposed a...     

Privacy-preserving iris authentication using fully homomorphic encryption

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Rapid advancement in technology has led to the use of biometric authentication in every field. In particular, from the past few years, iris recognition systems...     

NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Is Involved in LPA1-Mediated Brain Injury after Transient Focal Cerebral Ischemia

Lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPA₁) contributes to brain injury following transient focal cerebral ischemia. However, the mechanism remains unclear. Here, we investigated whether nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation might be an underlying mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of brain injury associated with LPA₁ following ischemic challenge with transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Suppressing LPA₁ activity by its antagonist attenuated NLRP3 upregulation in the penumbra and ischemic core regions, particularly in ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1)-expressing cells like macrophages of mouse after tMCAO challenge. It also suppressed NLRP3 inflammasome activation, such as caspase-1 activation, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) maturation, and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC) speck formation, in a post-ischemic brain. The role of LPA₁ in NLRP3 inflammasome activation was confirmed in vitro using lipopolysaccharide-primed bone marrow-derived macrophages, followed by LPA exposure. Suppressing LPA₁ activity by either pharmacological antagonism or genetic knockdown attenuated NLRP3 upregulation, caspase-1 activation, IL-1β maturation, and IL-1β secretion in these cells. Furthermore, nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and p38 were found to be LPA₁-dependent effector pathways in these cells. Collectively, results of the current study first demonstrate that LPA₁ could contribute to ischemic brain injury by activating NLRP3 inflammasome with underlying effector mechanisms.     

Enhancement of Tensile and Microhardness of AA 6082-T6 Friction Stir Welds via Brass Interlayers

Russian Journal of Non-Ferrous Metals - This paper investigates the effects of brass interlayer on the microstructural and mechanical properties of friction stir welded AA 6082-T6. To analyze the...