Investigation of structural,optical, electrical,and magnetic properties of Fe-doped La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 manganites

In this work, the physical properties of nanocrystalline samples of La_0.7Sr_0.3Mn_1−xFe_xO₃ (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.20) perovskite manganites synthesized by the reverse micelle (RM) technique were explored in detail. The phase purity, crystal structure, and crystallite size of the samples were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. All the samples had rhombohedral crystal structure and crystallite size increased with increase in Fe content in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃. The scanning electron micrographs (SEMs) exhibited smooth surface morphology and nonuniform shape of the particles. The optical properties studied using UV-visible absorption spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the absorbance and optical band gap with an increase in Fe content in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ compound. The temperature-dependent resistivity measurements revealed semiconducting nature of x = 0 and 0.1 samples up to the studied temperature range, while a metal-to-insulator transition was observed at higher Fe doping. Magnetic studies revealed weak ferromagnetism in all the samples and a reduction in the maximum magnetization with an increase in Fe content. A close correlation between electrical transport and magnetic properties was observed with the doping of Fe ion in La_0.7Sr_0.3MnO₃ at Mn site. These results advocate strong interactions associated with the double exchange mechanism among Fe³⁺ and Mn³⁺ ions.     

Calf massager: Intervention for body muscle discomfort during prolonged standing

Many occupations require workers to stand for long periods of time without proper interventions, which causes discomfort in the back and lower limbs. Therefore, this study aims to assess the effectiveness in alleviating body muscle discomfort during prolonged standing through the use of a calf massager. This study was conducted among male workers at a manufacturer with production line workers and the list was obtained from the HR Department and simple random sampling was done by number categorization. A total of 100 respondents (50 respondents for both the control and the experimental groups) participated in this study. The experiment took place in a room with a similar setup for the production line. Each respondent was requested to perform the simulated task for 2 hr. For the experimental group, the calf massager was turned on every 15 min. At every 15‐min interval after turning on the calf massager, respondents from both groups were required to evaluate their discomfort level on a Borg's scale CR‐10 questionnaire. The results showed that the level of body discomfort among respondents in the experimental group reduced (20–30%) compared with that of the control group. Multivariate analysis results revealed that the discomfort rating for the lower back, knees, thighs, calves, and feet was significantly lower (p < .05) among the experimental group compared with the control group. For lower body parts, the lower back region was statistically significant (p < .05) at the 90th, 105th, and 120th min; the thigh region was statistically significant (p < .05) at the 120th min; the knee region was statistically significant (p < .05) at the 105th and 120th min; the calf region was statistically significant (p < .05) at all minute intervals except the 15th and 45th min, while the feet region, was statistically significant at the 105th and 120th min. Therefore, this study indicates that calf massage treatment is capable of reducing body muscle discomfort during prolonged standing and highlights the significance of calf massage.     

Design of a wideband microstrip antenna and the use of artificial neural networks in parameter calculation

This paper deals with the design of a multi-slot hole-coupled microstrip antenna on a substrate of 2 mm thickness that gives multi-frequency (wideband) characteristics. The Method of Moments (MoM)-based IE3D software was used to simulate the results for return loss, VSWR, the Smith chart, and the radiation patterns. A tunnel-based artificial neural network (ANN) was also developed to calculate the radiation patterns of the antenna. The radiation patterns were measured experimentally at 10.5 GHz and 12 GHz. The experimental results were in good agreement with the simulated results from IE3D and those of the artificial neural network. A new method of using a genetic algorithm (GA) in an artificial neural network is also discussed. This new method was used to calculate the resonant frequency of a single-shorting-post microstrip antenna. The resonant frequency calculated using the genetic-algorithm-coupled artificial neural network was compared with the analytical and experimental results. The results obtained were in very good agreement with the experimental results.     

Eradication of Barrett''s mucosa with argon plasma coagulation and acid suppression: immediate and mid term results

Microcapsules are used for the formulation of drug controlled release and drug targeting dosage forms. Encapsulated hydrophobic drugs are often applied as their solutions in plant oils. The uptake of the oils in the complex coacervate microcapsules can be improved by the addition of surfactants. In this study, soybean, olive and peanut oils were chosen as the representatives of plant oils. The well characterized complex coacervation of gelatin and acacia has been used to produce the microcapsules. The amount of encapsulated oil has been determined gravimetrically. The encapsulation of the oils was high (75-80%). When the surfactants with HLB values from 1.8 to 6.7 were used, the amount of encapsulated oil was high (65-85%). A significant decrease of the oil content in the microcapsules was found when Tween 61 with HLB = 9.6 had been added into the mixture. No oil was found inside the microcapsules from the coacervate emulsion mixture containing Tween 81 (HLB = 10) and Tween 80 (HLB = 15), respectively. The results of the experiment confirm the dependence of hydrophobic substance encapsulation on the HLB published recently for Squalan.     

A novel hybrid deep learning method with cuckoo search algorithm for classification of arrhythmia disease using ECG signals

Neural Computing and Applications - This work presents an efficient hybridized approach for the classification of electrocardiogram (ECG) samples into crucial arrhythmia classes to detect heartbeat...     

Ageing studies of pineapple leaf fiber–reinforced polyester composites

This experimental study evaluated the water absorption characteristics of pineapple leaf fiber (PALF)–polyester composites of different fiber content. The degree of water absorption was found to increase with fiber loading. The mechanism of diffusion was analyzed and the effect of fiber loading on the sorption kinetics was studied. The diffusion coefficient was calculated and found to increase with fiber content. Studies were also made to correlate water absorption with the cross‐sectional areas of the specimens. The effects of ageing on the tensile properties and dimensional stability of PALF polyester composites were studied under two different ageing conditions. Ageing studies showed a decrease in tensile strength of the composites. The composite specimens subjected to thermal ageing showed only a slight deterioration in strength. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 503–510, 2004     

Electrical Conduction in Nano-Structured La0.9Sr0.1Al0.85Co0.05Mg0.1O3 Perovskite Oxide

Nanocrystalline La_0.9Sr_0.1Al_0.85Co_0.05Mg_0.1O₃ oxide powder was synthesized by a citrate–nitrate auto-ignition process and characterized by thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, and impedance spectroscopy measurements. Nanocrystalline (50–100 nm) powder with perovskite structure could be produced at 900°C by this process. The powder could be sintered to a density more than 96% of the theoretical density at 1550°C. Impedance measurements on the sintered samples unequivocally established the potential of this process in developing nanostructured lanthanum aluminate-based oxides. The sintered La_0.9Sr_0.1Al_0.85Co_0.05Mg_0.1O₃ sample exhibited a conductivity of 2.40 × 10⁻² S/cm in air at 1000°C compared with 4.9 × 10⁻³ S/cm exhibited by La_0.9Sr_0.1Al_0.85Mg_0.15O₃.     

Equivalence of classicality and separability based on P phase–space representation of symmetric multiqubit states

Classical and quantum world views differ in peculiar ways. Understanding decisive quantum features—for which no classical explanation exist—and their interrelations is of foundational interest. Moreover, recognizing non-classical features carries practical significance in information processing tasks as it offers insights as to why quantum protocols work better than their classical counterparts. We focus here on two celebrated notions of non-classicality viz., negativity of P phase–space representation and entanglement in symmetric multiqubit systems. We prove that they imply each other.