Rice-like CuO nanostructures for sensitive electrochemical sensing of hydrazine

In this work, a low temperature aqueous chemical growth methodology was used for the fabrication of CuO nanostructures. The as-synthesised nanostructures were then elaborately characterised by number of analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The obtained nanostructures were observed to possess interlaced rice-shaped structural features with the length and width of individual rice determined to be in the range of 200–300 nm and 50–100 nm respectively. The unique nanostructures when utilised as electrode material exhibited excellent electro-catalytic potential towards oxidation of hydrazine in alkaline media. The excellent conductive of CuO added by the high surface area of obtained nanorice-like structures enabled development of highly sensitive (3087 µA mM⁻¹ cm⁻²), selective and stable electrochemical sensor for hydrazine. In addition, the successfully application of the developed sensor in spiked tap, bottled and industrial water samples for the detection of hydrazine suggested its feasibility for practical environmental application.

     

Effect of Varying Amount of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG-600) and 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane on the Properties of Chitosan based Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Chitosan and polyethylene glycol (PEG-600) membranes were synthesized and crosslinked with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES). The main purpose of this research work is to synthesize RO membranes which can be used to provide desalinated water for drinking, industrial and agricultural purposes. Hydrogen bonding between chitosan and PEG was confirmed by displacement of the hydroxyl absorption peak at 3237 cm⁻¹ in pure chitosan to lower values in crosslinked membranes by using FTIR. Dynamic mechanical analysis revealed that PEG lowers Tg of the modified membranes vs. pure chitosan from 128.5 °C in control to 120 °C in CS-PEG5. SEM results highlighted porous and anisotropic structure of crosslinked membranes. As the amount of PEG was increased, hydrophilicity of membranes was increased and water absorption increased up to a maximum of 67.34%. Permeation data showed that flux and salt rejection value of the modified membranes was increased up to a maximum of 80% and 40.4%, respectively. Modified films have antibacterial properties against Escherichia coli as compared to control membranes.     

Design of backtracking search heuristics for parameter estimation of power signals

Neural Computing and Applications - This study presents a novel implementation of evolutionary heuristics through backtracking search optimization algorithm (BSA) for accurate, efficient and robust...     

Continuous microwave assisted flow synthesis and characterization of calcium deficient hydroxyapatite nanorods

Synthetic calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA) nanorods (<100?nm) were rapidly prepared with the help of a new continuous microwave assisted flow synthesis (CMFS) reactor in 5?min only from aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide and orthophosphoric acid at pH 8.5. The effect of various reaction parameters like, pH, concentration, temperature, residence time, degree of crystallinity and particle surface area were studied in detail. The phase purity, particle size and morphology of the powder samples were characterised by techniques such as X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. With the help of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, the chemical analysis was completed. Measurements were taken into account to estimate the particle size following the dynamic light scattering. The results showed that the employed synthesis procedure offered an efficient and economical route to achieve high quality nano-sized products with suitable size and low level of impurities.     

DCE-MRI of hepatocellular carcinoma: perfusion quantification with Tofts model versus shutter-speed model—initial experience

Objective

To quantify hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) perfusion and flow with the fast exchange regime-allowed Shutter-Speed model (SSM) compared to the Tofts model (TM).

Materials and methods

In this prospective study, 25 patients with HCC underwent DCE-MRI. ROIs were placed in liver parenchyma, portal vein, aorta and HCC lesions. Signal intensities were analyzed employing dual-input TM and SSM models. ART (arterial fraction), K ^trans (contrast agent transfer rate constant from plasma to extravascular extracellular space), v _e (extravascular extracellular volume fraction), k _ep (contrast agent intravasation rate constant), and τ _i (mean intracellular water molecule lifetime) were compared between liver parenchyma and HCC, and ART, K ^trans, v _e and k _ep were compared between models using Wilcoxon tests and limits of agreement. Test–retest reproducibility was assessed in 10 patients.

Results

ART and v _e obtained with TM; ART, v _e , k _e and τ _i obtained with SSM were significantly different between liver parenchyma and HCC (p < 0.04). Parameters showed variable reproducibility (CV range 14.7–66.5 % for both models). Liver K ^trans and v _e ; HCC v _e and k _ep were significantly different when estimated with the two models (p < 0.03).

Conclusion

Our results show differences when computed between the TM and the SSM. However, these differences are smaller than parameter reproducibilities and may be of limited clinical significance.

     

Mathematical optimization of multilayer piezoelectric devices with nonuniform layers by simulated annealing

Multilayer ultrasonic transducers with layers of uniform design are in common use. It is also possible to devise such transducers in which the layer design is nonuniform. However, this adds many degrees of freedom to the transducer design, and conventional design techniques are inadequate to realize desired behavior or even to assess potential benefits. In this paper, a theoretical investigation of multilayer piezoelectric structures with nonuniform layers is reported. Results are presented from a study using computer code to solve the one-dimensional wave equation. It is first shown how multilayer structures with nonuniform layer thicknesses generate even and odd harmonics in their frequency response, suggesting that frequency response can be controlled by choice of layer thickness. However, this choice is complicated and it is impossible to analyze all possible combinations of layer thicknesses. Hence, use of the stochastic optimization technique of simulated annealing is reported. Two optimized transducer designs illustrate this. The first design maximizes uniformity of the fundamental, second, and third harmonics of pressure output, achieved to approximately +/-3%. The results suggest additional bandwidth can be achieved for practical applications, as the presence of a finite response at the second harmonic frequency avoids the null usually associated with this frequency. This is further illustrated with the second optimized transducer design in the form of a three-layer 1-3 connectivity piezo-composite transducer for underwater operation.     

Design and Synthesis of Polycyclic Imidazole‐Containing N‐ Heterocycles based on C?H Activation/Cyclization Reactions

A new strategy for the synthesis of polycyclic imidazole‐containing N‐heterocycles, based on the two general synthetic ways, namely the Pd(II)‐catalyzed intramolecular arylation via CH/C Hal and CH/CH coupling reactions, was developed. The method proposed here enables the synthesis of many fused N‐heterocycles containing purine, 1‐deazapurines and benzimidazole structural units.     

Nature-inspired heuristic paradigms for parameter estimation of control autoregressive moving average systems

Neural Computing and Applications - Aim of this research is to explore the strength of evolutionary and swarm intelligence techniques for parameter identification of control autoregressive moving...     

Dietary mycotoxins binders: a strategy to reduce aflatoxin m1 residues and improve milk quality of lactating Beetal goats

Aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) is a metabolite of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and secreted in milk of animals that are kept on a moldy diet. AFB1 is produced by several toxigenic species of fungi. In this study, the comparative efficacy of two mycotoxin binders was evaluated in terms of reducing excretion of AFM1, total viable bacterial count and somatic cell count in milk obtained from goats fed with AFB1 contaminated diet. A total of 32 lactating Beetal goats were reared and divided into 4 equal groups: Animals of group A were kept as control, while those in groups B, C, and D were individually fed with AFB1 at 40 µg alone, 40 µg AFB1 along with mycotoxin binder Toxfin^® at 3 g kg^?1 of cotton seed cake, and 40 µg AFB1 along with mycotoxin binder Elitox^® at a dose rate of 1 g kg^?1 of cotton seed cake, respectively. Toxfin^® significantly decreased the excretion of AFM1 in goats’ milk by 49.57 % while Elitox^® non-significantly reduced the excretion of AFM1 in goats’ milk by 19.49 %. Total viable bacterial count in milk samples of group C and D, and somatic cell count in milk samples of group C did not reduce significantly. However, somatic cell count in milk samples of group D reduced significantly. We conclude that the addition of Toxfin^® in the moldy diet significantly reduce the excretion of AFM1 in animals’ milk and minimize the risk of mycotoxin toxicity to public health.