X-ray powder diffraction study of ZnLi0·5Mn0·5SnO4

X-ray crystallographic investigation of the title complex oxide composition reveals the presence of two phases. The first is a spinel phase which is somewhat consistent with Zn₂SnO₄ witha ₀=8·646 Å. The other phase has been identified as a non-spinel phase of LiMnSnO₄, the presence of which was confirmed by synthesizing it and comparing its XRD pattern with that of the title composition. The exact composition of the two phases has been determined by intensity calculations. It seems that while cooperative J-T effect is responsible for the observed symmetry of LiMnSnO₄, the distribution of phase along with separation of phases is attributed to the solubility limit of Sn⁴⁺ in such quaternary compositions.     

Novel alginate based coatings on Mg alloys

Coatings on yttrium doped magnesium (Mg4Y) alloy substrates were prepared using alginate hydrogels by dip coating method to improve the surface bioactive properties of the substrate. Furthermore, composite coatings containing nano-sized calcium phosphate corresponding to hydroxyapatite (HA) phase entrapped within alginate hydrogel were also synthesized on the Mg4Y substrates. Surface characteristics of these coated substrates have been investigated using FTIR-ATR, SEM and EDS. The results show that the coatings with alginate alone are not stable in vitro; however, incorporation of NanoCaPs slightly improves the stability of these coatings. In addition, these composite coatings showed cell attachments with fibronectin incorporation. These results indicate that alginate hydrogels have the potential to be used as bioactive coating materials for different biofunctional applications.     

Quantification of the electrostatic forces involved in the directed assembly of colloidal nanoparticles by AFM nanoxerography

Directed assembly of 10 nm dodecanethiol stabilized silver nanoparticles in hexane and 14 nm citrate stabilized gold nanoparticles in ethanol was performed by AFM nanoxerography onto charge patterns of both polarities written into poly(methylmethacrylate) thin films. The quasi-neutral silver nanoparticles were grafted on both positive and negative charge patterns while the negatively charged gold nanoparticles were selectively deposited on positive charge patterns only. Numerical simulations were conducted to quantify the magnitude, direction and spatial range of the electrophoretic and dielectrophoretic forces exerted by the charge patterns on these two types of nanoparticles in suspension taken as models. The simulations indicate that the directed assembly of silver nanoparticles on both charge patterns is due to the predominant dielectrophoretic forces, while the selective assembly of gold nanoparticles only on positive charge patterns is due to the predominant electrophoretic forces. The study also suggests that the minimum surface potential of charge patterns required for obtaining effective nanoparticle assembly depends strongly on the charge and polarizability of the nanoparticles and also on the nature of the dispersing solvent. Attractive electrostatic forces of about 2 × 10( - 2) pN in magnitude just above the charged surface appear to be sufficient to trap silver nanoparticles in hexane onto charge patterns and the value is about 2 pN for gold nanoparticles in ethanol, under the present experimental conditions. The numerical simulations used in this work to quantify the electrostatic forces operating in the directed assembly of nanoparticles from suspensions onto charge patterns can easily be extended to any kind of colloid and serve as an effective tool for a better comprehension and prediction of liquid-phase nanoxerography processes.     

AUTOMATICALLY CONFIGURING RADIAL BASIS FUNCTION NEURAL NETWORKS FOR NONLINEAR INTERNAL MODEL CONTROL

A nonlinear internal model control (NIMC) strategy based on automatically configuring radial basis function networks (RBFN) is proposed for single-input single-output (SISO) systems of relative degree greater than unity. The automatic configuration and training of the RBFN is carried out employing hierarchically-self-organizing-learning algorithm, which eliminates a predefined network structure, with closed-loop input-output data generated for a series of setpoint changes using PI controller. Simulation studies with automatically configuring RBFN for isothermal polymerization reactor control demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed control strategy with automatically configuring RBFN over PI control for setpoint tracking as well as disturbance rejection.     

Bioconvective Casson nanofluid flow toward stagnation point in non-Darcy porous medium with buoyancy effects,chemical reaction,and thermal radiation

The emphasis on non-Newtonian fluid encountered in biomedical, pharmaceuticals, mining, food, chemical, and plastics industries and in noticeably enormous diverse industrial applications influenced this article. This study is accomplished in a non-Darcy porous stretching surface to investigate the stagnation point of bioconvective Casson nanofluid. Chemical reaction, applied consistent magnetic field, radiative heat transfer, and buoyancy force consequences are studied for numerical examination. Composed of nonlinear partial differential equations for the above presumptions and reforming them into ordinary differential equations by means of compatible transformations are enforced. Adopting the fifth order Runge–Kutta Felhberg method with the shooting technique obtained a numerical solution. Obtained solutions are authenticated by comparing previous solutions. The major finding includes the reduction of the Casson parameter on the skin friction coefficient.     

Physicochemical,techno-functional and structural properties of gluten-free crackers developed from sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.)) varieties

The present study was conducted to develop gluten-free crackers using six different white varieties of sorghum, namely CO30, K12, Parbhani Moti (PM), Parbhani Shakti (PS), ICSV15021 and M35-1. The physico-chemical, mineral and functional properties of developed crackers were studied. The crackers from soft wheat flour serve as a control. Highest protein (7.35 g/100 g), iron (6.63 mg/100 g) and potassium (199.86 mg/100 g) were found in ICSV15021 crackers, whereas highest total dietary fibre (9.01 g/100 g), magnesium (31.13 mg/100 g), copper (1.47 mg/100 g), zinc (1.92 g/100 g) and manganese (1.32 mg/100 g) were found in PS crackers. All exhibited A-type crystallinity pattern except PS crackers (V-type pattern). Overall acceptability of K12 sorghum crackers was found to be similar to control. In conclusion, this study evidenced that gluten-free sorghum crackers exhibited higher nutrients and mineral composition and can be regarded as health-promoting functional food, which is also cost-effective than commercially available gluten-free products.     

A machine learning assisted optical multistage interconnection network: Performance analysis and hardware demonstration

Integration of the machine learning (ML) technique in all-optical networks can enhance the effectiveness of resource utilization, quality of service assurances, and scalability in optical networks. All-optical multistage interconnection networks (MINs) are implicitly designed to withstand the increasing high-volume traffic demands at data centers. However, the contention resolution mechanism in MINs becomes a bottleneck in handling such data traffic. In this paper, a select list of ML algorithms replaces the traditional electronic signal processing methods used to resolve contention in MIN. The suitability of these algorithms in improving the performance of the entire network is assessed in terms of injection rate, average latency, and latency distribution. Our findings showed that the ML module is recommended for improving the performance of the network. The improved performance and traffic grooming capabilities of the module are also validated by using a hardware testbed.