Experimental investigation of Co and Fe-Doped CuO nanostructured electrode material for remarkable electrochemical performance

The current research work presents a facile and cost–effective co-precipitation method to prepare doped (Co & Fe) CuO and undoped CuO nanostructures without usage of any type of surfactant or capping agents. The structural analysis reveals monoclinic crystal structure of synthesized pure CuO and doped-CuO nanostructures. The effect of different morphologies on the performance of supercapacitors has been found in CV (cyclic voltammetry) and GCD (galvanic charge discharge) investigations. The specific capacitances have been obtained 156 (±5) Fg^?1, 168(±5) Fg^?1 and 186 (±5) Fg^?1 for CuO, Co-doped CuO and Fe-doped CuO electrodes, respectively at scan rate of 5 mVs^?1, while it is found to be 114 (±5) Fg^?1, 136 (±5) Fg^?1 and 170 (±5) Fg^?1 for CuO, Co–CuO and Fe–CuO, respectively at 0.5 Ag^-1 as calculated from the GCD. The super capacitive performance of the Fe–CuO nanorods is mainly attributed to the synergism that evolves between CuO and Fe metal ion. The Fe-doped CuO with its nanorods like morphology provides superior specific capacitance value and excellent cyclic stability among all studied nanostructured electrodes. Consequently, it motivates to the use of Fe-doped CuO nanostructures as electrode material in the next generation energy storage devices.     

Land surface deformation parameter estimation using persistent scatterer interferometry approach in an underground metal mining environment

Persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) is a major advancement in radar interferometry for detecting and monitoring land deformation. PSI is the most advanced class of differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) techniques. The technique conquers the main drawbacks of the conventional DInSAR technique by identifying radar targets having stable backscattering characteristics in time. These targets are termed as persistent scatterers (PSs). The higher the number of PSs for a study area the higher the accuracy of the results will be, which is most common for deformation analysis in urban areas. However, for non-urban or highly de-correlated areas, PSs density collapses significantly, which needs to increase for optimal results. For this purpose, partially coherent/distributed scatterers (DSs) are being exploited in addition to the PSs. The field surface of this study is one of the copper-rich mining belts in India, which consists of two major underground metal mines. Scatterer characterziation of the field surface under study suggests that most of the scatterers are DSs and very few scatterers under the influence of the mining zone are PSs. In addition to this, a preliminary investigation of deformation characteristics of the field surface under study reveals that the spatial extent of deformation is small/localized along with slow and non-linear deformation. Keeping in view scatterer and deformation characteristics of the field surface under study, in this research paper, a Quasi-Persistent Scatterer based PSI approach has been applied using high-resolution TerraSAR-X interferometric data stack (10 images) to generate deformation time series and deformation velocity. Furthermore, results obtained from the applied PSI approach and ground-based observations (using GNSS) have shown good agreement with each other, in the order of ?5.20?mm/year (LOS) and ?5.38?mm/year (subsiding), respectively.     

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...     

Efficacious Doxorubicin Delivery Using Glutathione-Responsive Hollow Non-phospholipid Vesicles Bearing Lipoyl Cholesterols

In this study, we developed redox-sensitive vesicles using synthesised lipoyl cholesterol derivatives, a non-ionic surfactant and an optimum level of free cholesterol. Interestingly, concentration-dependent self-assembly was observed by scanning electron microscopy, wherein vesicles manifested as hollow spherical (at 0.15 mm ) and triangular (0.50 mm ). The redoxresponsive characteristics of the vesicles was probed in the presence of dithiothreitol; they underwent a clear increase in size as observed by dynamic light scattering measurements. These vesicles could easily encapsulate an anticancer drug, doxorubicin, and were observed to be stable in the presence of serum. They showed substantial release of the drug in response to biologically relevant stimulus, that is, glutathione. A toxicity assessment on HeLa and HepG2 cancer cells demonstrated activities of the drug-loaded vesicles comparable to that of free drug, whereas significantly enhanced toxicity and apoptotic induction were observed against drug-resistant HeLa cells, which was determined by studying the cellular internalisation of doxorubicin.     

Delegating Religious Practices to Autonomous Machines,A Reply to “Prayer-Bots and Religious Worship on Twitter: A Call for a Wider Research Agenda”

Minds and Machines -     

Geosynthetic-sheet pile reinforced foundation for mitigation of earthquake and tsunami induced damage of breakwater

Earthquake and tsunami impose great threats on the stability of a breakwater. Foundation of the breakwater is weakened by these forces, and it may result in collapse of the breakwater. Lateral flow of seabed soils take place beneath the breakwater, and excess pore water pressure is generated in the foundation by an earthquake that precedes tsunami. These factors may lead to excessive settlement and horizontal displacement of the breakwater. Tsunami introduces additional instability to the deformed breakwater. Due to water level difference between seaside and harborside of the breakwater during a tsunami, seepage occurs through its foundation, and it may cause pipping of seabed soils. Tsunami induced scouring of mound is also a big problem for the stability of the breakwater foundation. Finally, these result in failure of the breakwater foundation. Due to failure of its foundation, the breakwater may collapse and cannot block the tsunami. It results in entering of the tsunami in coastal areas. In order to make a breakwater resilient against earthquake and tsunami induced damage, reinforcing countermeasures were developed for foundation of a breakwater. Geogrid, gabions and sheet piles were used for reinforcing a foundation model. The effectiveness of the model is evaluated through physical modeling for mitigating the earthquake and tsunami induced damage. Shaking table tests were performed to determine the effectiveness of the reinforced model under different earthquake loadings. Tsunami overflow test was conducted on the same deformed model in order to see the effects of tsunami on the model. Comparisons were made between the unreinforced and reinforced foundations, and it was observed during the tests that the reinforced foundation performed well in reducing the damage of the breakwater brought by the earthquake and tsunami. Overall, this study is useful for practice engineering, and the reinforced foundation model can be adopted for designing a breakwater foundation to reduce damage triggered by an earthquake and tsunami in the future.     

Effect of Kollidon VA®64 particle size and morphology as directly compressible excipient on tablet compression properties

The study evaluates use of Kollidon VA^®64 and a combination of Kollidon VA^®64 with Kollidon VA^®64 Fine as excipient in direct compression process of tablets. The combination of the two grades of material is evaluated for capping, lamination and excessive friability. Inter particulate void space is higher for such excipient due to the hollow structure of the Kollidon VA^®64 particles. During tablet compression air remains trapped in the blend exhibiting poor compression with compromised physical properties of the tablets. Composition of Kollidon VA^®64 and Kollidon VA^®64 Fine is evaluated by design of experiment (DoE). A scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of two grades of Kollidon VA^®64 exhibits morphological differences between coarse and fine grade. The tablet compression process is evaluated with a mix consisting of entirely Kollidon VA^®64 and two mixes containing Kollidon VA^®64 and Kollidon VA^®64 Fine in ratio of 77:23 and 65:35. A statistical modeling on the results from the DoE trials resulted in the optimum composition for direct tablet compression as combination of Kollidon VA^®64 and Kollidon VA^®64 Fine in ratio of 77:23. This combination compressed with the predicted parameters based on the statistical modeling and applying main compression force between 5 and 15?kN, pre-compression force between 2 and 3?kN, feeder speed fixed at 25?rpm and compression range of 45–49?rpm produced tablets with hardness ranging between 19 and 21?kp, with no friability, capping, or lamination issue.     

Influence of fine ceramic aggregates on the residual properties of concrete subjected to elevated temperature

The residual properties of concrete subjected to elevated temperature are of importance to assess the stability of the structure. This paper investigates the performance of concrete containing white ware ceramic sand exposed to elevated temperature. Concrete mixes containing 0%, 50%, and 100% ceramic sand were prepared. The specimen were exposed to elevated temperatures of 200°C, 500°C, and 800°C for a duration of 60 minutes. Their residual mechanical properties (compressive strength, split tensile strength), ultra sonic pulse velocity, and mass change for different cooling regimes were investigated and compared among specimen. The results showed that incorporation of ceramic sand in concrete mixes improved the resistance against elevated temperature of hardened concrete.