Synthesis and characterization of poly(N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone) grafted sodium alginate hydrogel beads for the controlled release of indomethacin

Graft copolymers of sodium alginate (NaAlg) with N‐vinyl‐2‐pyrrolidone were prepared using azobisisobutyronitrile as initiator. The graft copolymers (NaAlg‐g‐PVP) were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Polymeric hydrogel beads of NaAlg and NaAlg‐g‐PVP were prepared by crosslinking method using glutaraldehyde (GA) as a crosslinker in the hydrochloric acid catalyst (HCl) and these beads were used to deliver anti‐inflammatory drug, indomethacin (IM). Chemical stability of the IM after encapsulation into beads was confirmed by FTIR. Preparation conditions of the NaAlg‐g‐PVP beads were optimized by considering the percentage entrapment efficiency, particle size, swelling capacity and their release data. In vitro release studies were performed in simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.2) for the initial 2 h, followed by simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7.4) for 4 h. Effects of GA concentration, exposure time to GA, drug/polymer (d/p) ratio, and concentration of HCl on the release of IM were discussed. It was observed that IM release from the beads decreased with increasing GA concentration and exposure time. IM release also decreases with increasing d/p ratio and HCl concentration. The highest IM release was obtained to be 77% for beads crosslinked with 0.027M GA. Swelling experiments were also performed to compute molecular mass between crosslinks of the beads. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

A Stream X-Machine Tool for Modelling and Generating Test Cases for Chronic Diseases Based on State-Counting Approach

Programming and Computer Software - In the biomedical domain, diagrammatical models have been extensively used to describe and understand the behaviour of biological organisms (biological agents)...     

Performance evaluation of an importance sampling technique in a Jackson network

Importance sampling is a technique that is commonly used to speed up Monte Carlo simulation of rare events. However, little is known regarding the design of efficient importance sampling algorithms in the context of queueing networks. The standard approach, which simulates the system using an a priori fixed change of measure suggested by large deviation analysis, has been shown to fail in even the simplest network settings. Estimating probabilities associated with rare events has been a topic of great importance in queueing theory, and in applied probability at large. In this article, we analyse the performance of an importance sampling estimator for a rare event probability in a Jackson network. This article carries out strict deadlines to a two-node Jackson network with feedback whose arrival and service rates are modulated by an exogenous finite state Markov process. We have estimated the probability of network blocking for various sets of parameters, and also the probability of missing the deadline of customers for different loads and deadlines. We have finally shown that the probability of total population overflow may be affected by various deadline values, service rates and arrival rates.     

Large-scale SRAM-based IP lookup architectures using compact trie search structures

SRAM-based pipelined architectures for high-speed IP lookup using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) has recently attracted a great deal of attention from researchers. Due to the limited amount of on-chip memory and the number of I/O pins of FPGAs, compact data structures providing high memory efficiency are in great demand.     

Viscoelastic and Processing Effects on the Fiber-Matrix Interphase Strength. Part I. The Effects of Loading Rate, Test Temperature, Fiber Sizing and Global Strain Level

The effects of loading rate, fiber sizing, test temperature and global strain level on the adhesion strength between carbon fibers and a thermosetting epoxy (Epon 815) are studied using the single fiber fragmentation test procedure. Analytical methodology describing the viscoelastic behavior observed is also presented. The possibility of rate-temperature-interphase thickness superposition for the interfacial strength function is illustrated based on the analytical models discussed. Experimental data are discussed using Weibull statistics and also presented in the form of percent relative frequency histograms for the fiber fragments in a collective fashion. The use of histograms allows for interpretation of the skewness in the data population.     

Fabrication of chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol/amine modified carbon nanotube composite films for rapid chromate removal

Composite adsorbent films with amine and hydroxyl functionalities were synthesized from chitosan (CS), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and amine-modified carbon nanotubes (a-MWCNT) by solvent casting method. Weight proportions of CS to PVA and weight percent of a-MWCNT were optimized to achieve highest chromate removal capacity. Structural characteristics of the composites were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. Accordingly, incorporation of a-MWCNT to CS/PVA structure resulted in the generation of nanochannels, which enhanced adsorption capacity. Moreover, the composite comprising 0.4% wt. a-MWCNT provided over 99% of Cr (VI) removal from 50 mg L⁻¹ Cr (VI) solution within five minutes of contact time. Redlich–Peterson and Radke–Prausnitz isotherm models provided the highest conformity to adsorption data. Maximum chromate sorption capacity of CS/PVA/a-MWCNT composite film was determined as 134.2 mg g⁻¹ being 172% higher than that of CS/PVA. Regeneration was best achieved in 1.0 M NaOH and the composite was shown to retain at least 70% of its original capacity after five consecutive adsorption–desorption cycles.     

Chemical,thermal, and mechanical properties and ultraviolet transmittance of novel nano-hydroxyapatite/polyethylene terephthalate milk bottles

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAp) composite granules were obtained using twin-screw extruder. Preforms were prepared by injection molding and then PET/nHAp bottles were produced by blow molding. For PET bottles with nHAp, the migration amounts of carboxylic acid (COOH), acetaldehyde (AA), diethylene glycol (DEG), and isophthalic acid (IPA); glass transition temperature (T_g); melting temperature (T_m); and the maximum crystallization temperature (T_cry) were measured. The load-carrying capacity, burst strength, stress cracking, and regional material distribution tests were carried out on the bottles. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and ultraviolet transmittance analyses were conducted to explain the changes in mechanical, chemical, physical properties, and light transmission of bottles. It was found out that the COOH amount increased and the AA content decreased with increasing nHAp amount. On the other hand, no change was observed in the amounts of DEG and IPA. Although the mechanical properties such as load-carrying capacity and burst strength of the bottles have improved, it has been determined that the standard environmental stress crack resistance test procedure cannot be applied to such a composite. Experimental findings indicate that nHAp disrupts the chemical structure of PET and it isolates harmful chemicals such as AA by forming intermolecular bonds. Moreover, with the addition of up to 0.8% nHAp, PET bottles block the light transmission approximately 80% within 400–700 nm wave length zone. The study demonstrates that the PET/nHAp composite bottles can be used in the food industry, particularly in the packaging of milk and milk products which are vulnerable to light exposure.     

Using an artificial bee colony algorithm for the optimal placement of viscous dampers in planar building frames

In this study, an Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm (ABCA) is used to obtain the optimal size and location of viscous dampers in planar buildings to reduce the damage to the frame systems during an earthquake. The transfer function amplitude of the top displacement and the elastic base shear force evaluated at the first natural circular frequency of structures are chosen as objective functions. The damper coefficients of the added viscous dampers are taken into consideration as design variables in a planar building frame. Transfer function amplitude of the top displacement and the amplitude of the elastic base shear force at the fundamental natural frequency are minimized under an active constraint on sum of the damper coefficients of the added dampers. According to two specified objective functions, an optimization algorithm based on the ABCA is proposed. The proposed method is verified by a gradient-based algorithm; steepest direction search algorithm (SDSA). The proposed ABCA and the SDSA are applied to find the optimal damper distribution for a nine-storey planar building then the optimal damper allocation obtained from the ABCA is investigated to rehabilitate models of irregular planar buildings. The validity of the proposed method was demonstrated through a time history analysis of the optimal damper designs, which were determined based on the frequency domain using the ABCA. The numerical results of the proposed optimal damper design method show that the use of the ABCA can be a practical and powerful tool to determine the optimal damper allocation in planar building structures.