Fractional weighted nuclear norm based two dimensional linear discriminant features for cucumber leaf disease recognition

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The quality and quantity of agricultural products are significantly affected by plant diseases. The plant diseases could be mitigated if identified at an early...     

Deep Learning based Early Prediction Scheme for Breast Cancer

Wireless Personal Communications - Breast cancer is one of the rapid spreading diseases resulting in the death of younger age group of women. Unfortunately, as the detection of cancer is at later...     

MHD mixed convection of a Cu–water nanofluid flow through a channel with an open trapezoidal cavity and an elliptical obstacle

In the current work, numerical simulations are achieved to study the properties and the characteristics of fluid flow and heat transfer of (Cu–water) nanofluid under the magnetohydrodynamic effects in a horizontal rectangular canal with an open trapezoidal enclosure and an elliptical obstacle. The cavity lower wall is grooved and represents the heat source while the obstacle represents a stationary cold wall. On the other hand, the rest of the walls are considered adiabatic. The governing equations for this investigation are formulated, nondimensionalized, and then solved by Galerkin finite element approach. The numerical findings were examined across a wide range of Richardson number (0.1 ≤ Ri ≤ 10), Reynolds number (1 ≤ Re ≤ 125), Hartmann number (0 ≤ Ha ≤ 100), and volume fraction of nanofluid (0 ≤ φ ≤ 0.05). The current study's findings demonstrate that the flow strength increases inversely as the Reynolds number rises, which pushes the isotherms down to the lower part of the trapezoidal cavity. The Nu_avg rises as the Ri rise, the maximum Nu_avg = 10.345 at Ri = 10, Re = 50, ϕ = 0.05, and Ha = 0; however, it reduces with increasing Hartmann number. Also, it increase by increasing ϕ, at Ri = 10, the Nu_avg increased by 8.44% when the volume fraction of nanofluid increased from (ϕ = 0–0.05).     

Nonsimilar solution of a boundary layer flow of a Reiner–Philippoff fluid with nonlinear thermal convection

The thermodynamics modeling of a Reiner–Philippoff-type fluid is essential because it is a complex fluid with three distinct probable modifications. This fluid model can be modified to describe a shear-thinning, Newtonian, or shear-thickening fluid under varied viscoelastic conditions. This study constructs a mathematical model that describes a boundary layer flow of a Reiner–Philippoff fluid with nonlinear radiative heat flux and temperature- and concentration-induced buoyancy force. The dynamical model follows the usual conservation laws and is reduced through a nonsimilar group of transformations. The resulting equations are solved using a spectral-based local linearization method, and the accuracy of the numerical results is validated through the grid dependence and convergence tests. Detailed analyses of the effects of specific thermophysical parameters are presented through tables and graphs. The study reveals, among other results, that the buoyancy force, solute and thermal expansion coefficients, and thermal radiation increase the overall wall drag, heat, and mass fluxes. Furthermore, the study shows that amplifying the space and temperature-dependent heat source parameters allows fluid particles to lose their cohesive force and, consequently, maximize flow and heat transfer.     

Profiling hot isostatically pressed canister–wasteform interaction for Pu-bearing zirconolite-rich wasteforms

Zirconolite-rich full ceramic wasteforms designed to immobilize Pu-bearing wastes were produced via hot isostatic pressing (HIP) using stainless steel (SS) and nickel (Ni) HIP canisters. A detailed profiling of the elemental compositions of the major and minor phases over the canister–wasteform interaction zone was performed using scanning electron microscopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) characterization. Bulk sample analyses from regions near the center of the HIP canister were also conducted for both samples using X-ray diffraction and SEM-EDS. The sample with the Ni HIP canister showed almost no interaction zone with only minor diffusion of Ni from the inner wall of the canister into the near-surface region of the wasteform. The sample with the SS HIP canister showed ∼100–120 μm of interaction zone dominated by high-temperature Cr diffusion from canister materials to the wasteform with the Cr predominantly incorporated into the durable zirconolite phase. We also examined, for the first time, changes to the HIP canister wall thickness caused by HIPing and demonstrated that no canister wall thinning occurred. Instead, in the areas examined, the canister wall thickness was observed to increase (up to ∼20%) due to the compression occurring during the HIP cycle. Further, only sparse formation of (Cr, Mn)-rich oxide particles were noted within the HIP canister inner wall area immediately adjacent to the ceramic material, with no evidence for reverse diffusion of ceramic materials. Though the HIP canister–wasteform interaction extends to ∼120 μm when using an SS HIP canister for the system investigated, this translates to <<1 vol.% for an industrial scale HIPed wasteform. Importantly, the HIP canister–wasteform interactions did not produce any obviously less durable phases in the wasteform or had any detrimental impact on the HIP canister properties.     

Dissolution Kinetics of Nickel(II) Hydroxide in a Mixed Ammonia–Carbonate Solution

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - The reaction of nickel(II) hydroxide and a mixed ammonia–carbonate solution to form nickel(II) aqua–ammonia complexes is studied in the...     

Direct ink writing of vancomycin-loaded polycaprolactone/ polyethylene oxide/ hydroxyapatite 3D scaffolds

Novel inks were formulated by dissolving polycaprolactone (PCL), a hydrophobic polymer, in organic solvent systems; polyethylene oxide (PEO) was incorporated to extend the range of hydrophilicity of the system. Hydroxyapatite (HAp) with a weight ratio of 55–85% was added to the polymer-based solution to mimic the material composition of natural bone tissue. The direct ink writing (DIW) technique was applied to extrude the formulated inks to fabricate the predesigned tissue scaffold structures; the influence of HAp concentration was investigated. The results indicate that in comparison to other inks containing HAp (55%, 75%, and 85%w/w), the ink containing 65% w/w HAp had faster ink recovery behavior; the fabricated scaffold had a rougher surface as well as better mechanical properties and wettability. It is noted that the 65% w/w HAp concentration is similar to the inorganic composition of natural bone tissue. The elastic modulus values of PCL/PEO/HAp scaffolds were in the range of 4–12 MPa; the values were dependent on the HAp concentration. Furthermore, vancomycin as a model drug was successfully encapsulated in the PCL/PEO/HAp composite scaffold for drug release applications. This paper presents novel drug-loaded PCL/PEO/HAp inks for 3D scaffold fabrication using the DIW printing technique for potential bone scaffold applications.