Size and morphology-controlled synthesis of mesoporous hydroxyapatite nanocrystals by microwave-assisted hydrothermal method

We report the rapid microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis of mesoporous hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanocrystals with controlled size, morphology, and surface area using various organic modifiers as regulators. The products were analyzed for their crystalline nature, phase purity, morphology, particle size and pore size distribution. Results indicated that ascorbic acid, cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) play an important role to obtain needle like, rod like and fiber like mesoporous HAp nanocrystals with different specific surface area by controlling growth habit of HAp along c-axis. In addition, the prepared samples were B-type carbonated HAp similar to bone minerals. Therefore, the present approach can be a promising way to obtain precursor for making tissue engineering scaffolds, drug/protein delivery carriers and bone fillers with tunable characteristics.     

Mammogram pectoral muscle removal and classification using histo-sigmoid based ROI clustering and SDNN

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Mammograms are the images used by radiologists to diagnose breast cancer. Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in women. The early detection of breast...     

Design,Performance Analysis of GaAs/6H-SiC/AlGaN Metal Semiconductor FET in Submicron Technology

Silicon - A unique structure of GaAs/6H-SiC/InGaN metal–semiconductor field-effect transistor has been proposed and demonstrated in this work. The proposed GaAs/6H-SiC/InGaNMetal...     

Corrosion Behavior of Alloy 600 in Simulated Nuclear High Level Waste Medium

Nickel-based alloys are being considered as candidate materials for the storage of high level waste. In the present investigation, Alloy 600 was assessed by potentiodynamic anodic polarization technique for its corrosion behavior in the as-received, solution annealed, and sensitized condition in 3 M HNO₃ and 3 M HNO₃ containing simulated high level waste. From the results of the investigation, it was found that the solution annealed specimen possesses superior corrosion resistance compared to the as-received and sensitized specimen. Double loop electrochemical potentiokinetic reactivation test was carried out to study the degree of sensitization. The effect of different concentrations of chloride ions in 3 M HNO₃ at 25 °C indicated tendency for pitting as the concentration of chloride ions was increased. Microstructural examination was carried out by optical microscope and scanning electron microscope after electrolytic etching. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study was carried out to investigate the passive film formed in 3 M HNO₃ and 3 M HNO₃ simulated high level waste.     

Fed batch enzymatic saccharification of newspaper cellulosics improves the sugar content in the hydrolysates and eventually the ethanol fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The newspaper is comprised of (w w^?1) holocellulose (70.0%) with substantial amount of lignin (16.0%). Bioconversion of the carbohydrate component of newspaper to sugars by enzymatic saccharification, and its fermentation to ethanol was investigated. Of various enzymatic treatments using cellulase, xylanase and laccase, cellulase enzyme system was found to deink the newspaper most efficiently. The saccharification of deinked paper pulp using enzyme cocktail containing exoglucanase (20 U g^?1), β-glucosidase (60 U g^?1) and xylanase (80 U g^?1) resulted in 59.8% saccharification. Among additives, 1% (v v^?1) Tween 80 and 10 mol m^?3 CoCl₂ improved the enzymatic hydrolysis of newspaper maximally, releasing 14.64 g L^?1 sugars. The fed batch enzymatic saccharification of the newspaper increased the sugar concentration in hydrolysate from 14.64 g L^?1 to 38.21 g L^?1. Moreover, the batch and fed batch enzymatic hydrolysates when fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced 5.64 g L^?1 and 14.77 g L^?1 ethanol, respectively.     

Luminomagnetic Nd3+ doped fluorapatite coated Fe3O4 nanostructures for biomedical applications

Luminomagnetic nanostructured Nd³⁺ doped fluorapatite (FAP) coated Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were produced by hydrothermal method. X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that the prepared nanoparticles contain both FAP and Fe₃O₄ phases. Electron microscope analysis shows the formation of nanoparticles of Fe₃O₄ encased in rod shaped FAP nanoparticles of average length 40 nm. Magnetic measurements confirm the room temperature superparamagnetic nature of the nanoparticles with saturation magnetization value up to 7.8 emu/g. The prepared nanoparticles display strong near infrared (NIR) emission at 1060 nm under 800 nm excitation. Cell viability studies for 72 hour demonstrate the survival rate of over 84% with 500 μg/mL concentration indicating the good cytocompatibility of the prepared materials. The present Nd³⁺ doped FAP coated Fe₃O₄ nanostructure provides an excellent multifunctional platform for diagnostics and therapeutic applications.     

Melt processing and characterization of tricalcium phosphate filled polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate/polymethyl methacrylate composites for biomedical applications

Abstract

PBAT/PMMA/MA/TCP composites were prepared by melt blending and characterized by FTIR, XRD, SEM and in vitro bioactivity studies using SBF and cell viability tests. SBF studies revealed good bioactivity nature which was observed in SEM and confirmed by EDAX. Cell viability test revealed an excellent viability of squamous cells within 2?h than the control. Soil burial tests of the composites show fast degradation within 50 days under natural conditions. The tensile and hardness properties is marginally increased than that of PBAT/PMMA blend. These biocomposites can be used for the fabrication of medical devices by melt blending and injection molding process.     

Effect of compatibilization on mechanical and thermal properties of polypropylene–soy flour composites

A new biobased composite was developed by adding soy flour (SF) to polypropylene (PP). This composite shows an enhanced tensile strength and modulus but decrease in elongation at break. The compatibilizer (coupling agent) appears to have a synergistic effect on tensile strength. The presence of the compatibilizer improves the dispersion of SF in the PP matrix. The addition of glycerol plasticizer to the composite improves the processability resulting in improved performance, as compared to composites without glycerol plasticizer. The optimal compatibilizer content appears to be 6%.     

Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Analysis of Long Cables

A simple finite-difference iterative model is presented here for the nonlinear analysis of a long inclined cable due to its self-weight and other concentrated loads in between. The input requires the end coordinates, area of cross section, modulus of elasticity, and initial tension of the cable. If the ends of the cable are subjected to displacements, the tension in the cable varies nonlinearly and the new deformed shape is computed using an iterative procedure. Unlike finite-element methods, initial cable geometry is not required here, and the method automatically computes the initial geometry even with concentrated loads.