On the improvement of detection characteristics of trans-stilbene crystals by improving crystal perfection

Organic molecular scintillating crystals are noted for their good timing and particle discrimination process. Trans-stilbene is one such candidate noted for its good particle detection characteristics for the past five decades. Progressive strengthening of detection characteristics of trans-stilbene has been attempted by improving crystal perfection. A series of timing resolution studies have been carried out for the Bridgman grown trans-stilbene crystals under different experimental conditions. The results were compared with the previously reported values. Pulse shape discrimination process has been carried out for ²⁴¹Am and ²⁵²Cf sources and good discrimination has been obtained for gamma-alpha and gamma-neutron sources from the grown organic phosphor crystal. Electronic Publication     

Mobile application-based computer-aided diagnosis of skin tumours from dermal images

Skin tumour is defined as the enormous growth of cells in the skin. The aim is to design standalone application for diagnosis of skin tumours. The dermal images of three different types obtained from the authorized PH2 database are used to analyse the defined image processing algorithm. In this algorithm, pre-processing was performed to remove hair cells. Contour-based level set is used to segment lesion from which clinical and morphological features are extracted for classification. Significant features are obtained with the feature selection technique, Random subset. Classification is performed with three classifiers. The efficiency of the classifier obtained with different trials of classification is analysed with the ANOVA test. With these results, the Multiclass Support vector machine was configured as a suitable classifier to categorize dermal images. Therefore, an application is developed for the analysis of images acquired through mobile with the help of a magnification set-up. Thus, extracted features, segmented and original images are transferred to a database for storage.     

Stereovision based force estimation with stiffness mapping in surgical tool insertion using recurrent neural network

The Journal of Supercomputing - This paper proposes a novel method for estimating the reaction force, the Stereovision Based Force Estimation Method (SBFEM), with deep learning techniques to...     

Doped oxides of cerium as inorganic colorants

The colour of inorganic colorants is based on metal ions such as cadmium, lead, chromium or cobalt, the majority of which are unfortunately potentially toxic. Thus, there is in a need to introduce alternative metal or metal oxides, which would be environmentally friendly and economically viable as a replacement for potentially toxic inorganic colorants. Rare earth-based colorants offer an additional opportunity for the development of optically pure colours. In this study, a replacement for potentially toxic colorants has been sought through the use of a rare earth metal ion, cerium. Appropriate doping of cerium oxides with molybdenum and iron gives an orange–red colorant. The conditions ideal for optimal colour have been standardised and the resultant colorant characterised through powder X-ray diffraction techniques, particle size measurement, etc. The colorants exhibit good hiding power and tinting strength.     

Multirate-Output-Feedback-Based LQ-Optimal Discrete-Time Sliding Mode Control

The traditional approach for sliding mode control design has been the design of a controller to achieve a predesigned sliding objective. However, not much research has been carried out on the design of the sliding surface. This note presents a technique for designing a sliding surface such that when confined to the surface, the closed-loop system has optimality in the linear quadratic sense. The paper also proposes a multirate-output-feedback-based controller that leads the system to the aforementioned optimal sliding mode.      

Microbiological quality of water immersion-chilled and air-chilled broilers

Carcass chilling during broiler processing is a critical step in preventing growth of pathogenic and spoilage bacteria. The objective of this study was to compare the microbiological quality of air- and water-chilled broiler carcasses processed at the same commercial facility. For each of four replications, 15 broilers were collected from the same commercial processing line after evisceration, after spraying with cetylpyridinium chloride (a cationic disinfectant), and after air chilling or water immersion chilling (WIC). All carcasses were quantitatively examined for mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Escherichia coli, coliforms, and Campylobacter as well as for the presence of Salmonella and Campylobacter. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were seen between air and water chilling for E. coli or coliforms or for the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter. Lower numbers of Campylobacter were recovered from WIC than from air-chilled carcasses (P < 0.05), but the incidence of Campylobacter on WIC carcasses was similar, suggesting that some Campylobacter organisms were injured rather than killed during WIC. In-line spraying with the disinfectant effectively decreased the incidence of Salmonella and Campylobacter on prechilled carcasses; however, cells presumably injured by the sanitizer recovered during chilling. Therefore, on-farm intervention strategies remain critically important in minimizing the spread of microbial contaminants during processing.     

Preparation and thermomechanical properties of stir cast Al-2Mg-11TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> (rutile) composite

Al-2Mg-11TiO₂ composite was successfully prepared by the conventional vortex method. The macrostructural observation revealed columnar structure with rutile particles being distributed throughout the matrix in the form of agglomerates. Microstructural observation showed the presence of micro voids in the particle-enriched zone. Electrical resistivity measurement showed a phase transformation at 360°C, which was consistent during DSC studies due to the precipitation of TiAl₃ phase. As-cast composite was both hot rolled and cold rolled successfully to 50 and 40% reduction, respectively. The mechanical properties of the thermomechanically-worked composite were studied. From fractographic analysis, it was clear that the crack had nucleated at the particle/matrix interface and propagated through the matrix by microvoid coalescence. Ultimate tensile strength of cold worked composite was found to be better than the hot worked material.     

Experimental verification of the generalized Schelkunoff'shorn-gain formulas for sectoral horns

An approximate formula has been recently proposed for the on-axis gain of rectangular waveguide antennas, that include open-ended rectangular waveguides and sectoral and pyramidal horns (see Selvan, K.T., IEEE Trans. Antennas Propagat., vol.47, p.1001-4, 1999). This formula is an approximate generalization of S.A. Schelkunoff's horn-gain formulas (see "Electromagnetic Waves", Van Nostrand, p.360-4, 1943). Gain measurements are reported for the gains of E plane and H plane sectoral horns and are used in an examination of the accuracy of Selvan's formulas. To the best of the authors' knowledge, these are the first ever measurement efforts on the gain of H-plane sectoral horns     

The influence of thickness and deposition temperature on the conduction activation energy of CdSe0.2Te0.8 thin films

The electrical conductivity and stability in resistance of CdSe_0.2Te_0.8 thin films in different ambients and deposited at different substrate temperatures were investigated. A reduction in conduction activation energy with increase in film thickness and deposition temperature is accounted for by the fact that in CdSe _x Te_1–x inhomogeneous semiconductor thin films, the potential relief inhomogeneity may be reduced with increase in film thickness and substrate temperature, which results in the decrease of conduction activation energy of the films.