High-performance photocatalysts for the selective oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds

With an increase in awareness about the need for green chemistry, there is a shift in focus towards identifying eco-compatible technologies that can improve product yield and eliminate the use or generation of hazardous compounds. An immediate practical example of such an approach is the development of sustainable methods for alcohol oxidation as alternatives to the current processes that are energy intensive and rely on ecotoxic chemicals. In this regard, heterogeneous photocatalysis has been identified as a robust technique to catalyze reactions under benign conditions, which would otherwise require harsh synthesis routes. With the advent of materials sciences and nanotechnology, there has been a tremendous increase in the scope of applicability of photocatalysis in fine chemicals synthesis. Though an attractive choice, much of the fundamental information pertaining to catalyst activity, selectivity and reaction conditions for optimum conversion are still to be investigated for most of these systems. To this end, this review will encompass recent achievements in the selective photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols by harnessing solar radiation as a viable source of energy. The discussion will be arranged based on common types of photocatalysts reported in literature, namely metal oxides (eg, TiO₂ and ZnO, Nb₂O₅), sulphides (eg, CdS, CuS, and Bi₂S₃), and carbonaceous photocatalysts (eg, g-C₃N₄). Several such candidates for photocatalysts will be discussed critically with the aim of providing useful insight into developing selective photocatalysts that can oxidize alcohols via eco-friendly pathways along with high yields.     

Biomimetic Multienzyme Complexes Based on Nanoscale Platforms

Inspired by the widely present multienzyme complexes in nature that enable highly cooperative catalytic mechanisms, we designed a biomimetic dual‐functionalized nanoparticle‐based platform for colocalizing multiple enzymes. The use of nanoscale materials together with a novel sequential colocalization approach with two model enzymes [glucose oxidase (GOX) and horseradish peroxidase] resulted in a 100% increase in the overall conversion rate compared to the equivalent amount of free enzymes in solution and a physical mixture of individual immobilized enzymes on nanoparticles. GOX is an important enzyme used in glucose biosensors for diagnostics. Colocalizing GOX with peroxidase allows for colorimetric visualization of the peroxide formed that enables monitoring glucose levels in solution. This platform can be readily applicable to other multienzyme systems as well. © 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 355–360, 2013     

Influence of Ball Burnishing Process on Equal Channel Angular Pressed Mg-Zn-Si Alloy on the Evolution of Microstructure and Corrosion Properties

Silicon - In the present study, Mg-4Zn-1Si alloy was subjected to equal channel angular pressing (ECAP) up to 4 passes at 300 °C, followed by ball burnishing using 0.3 mm...     

Symbolic dynamic filtering and language measure for behavior identification of mobile robots

This paper presents a procedure for behavior identification of mobile robots, which requires limited or no domain knowledge of the underlying process. While the features of robot behavior are extracted by symbolic dynamic filtering of the observed time series, the behavior patterns are classified based on language measure theory. The behavior identification procedure has been experimentally validated on a networked robotic test bed by comparison with commonly used tools, namely, principal component analysis for feature extraction and Bayesian risk analysis for pattern classification.     

The influence of mesoscale eddies on a commercial fishery in the coastal waters of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands,India

Mesoscale eddies enhance the productivity in a stratified coastal environment by upwelling. The seas around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been found to have frequent mesoscale eddy activity. Commercial fishing grounds coincide with upwelling areas associated with cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies and also with areas between two adjacent eddies. There are different eddy zones supporting different types of fishing gears and fish. The current study aims at identifying the different zones of mesoscale eddies in the Andaman Sea and compares the productivity and fishing activity in each of them. Data collected from 454 commercial fishing trips in the Andaman Sea along with maps of sea level anomaly and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) global level 3 mapped thermal infrared (IR) daytime sea surface temperature (SST) from the Aqua and Terra satellites were used for the study. Known upwelling areas such as the periphery of anticyclonic and the core of cyclonic eddies showed higher catches in longlines, ring seines among the fishing gears, and among all the fish species groups. Downwelling areas such as the periphery of cyclonic and the core of anticyclonic eddies showed lower catches with ring seines and the fish species groups. Areas in between adjacent eddies were explored in this study and the fish captures in such areas were found to be different with types of fishing and the target fish group. The study shows results that link eddy activity with the performance of a fishery.     

Dissolution of waste plastics in biodiesel

The dissolution behavior of polystyrene (PS) and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) in biodiesel was investigated with an eye towards developing methods to dispose waste plastics by burning them with fuel. To complement and guide the experimental investigations, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to calculate solubility parameters, cohesive energy densities, Flory‐Huggins χ parameters and phase diagrams of the target systems. Dissolution kinetics of PS and LDPE in methyl esters was monitored by gravimetry, from which parameters such as dissolution rates, activation energies, and scaling indices were estimated. The shear viscosity of the polymer solutions was measured to ascertain their suitability as fuel mixtures. The dissolution of PS in biodiesel appears to be controlled by the diffusion of polymer chains through a boundary layer adjacent to the polymer/solvent interface. Taken together, the experimental and modeling studies provide a predictive toolbox to design biodiesels of different compositions that will dissolve commodity polymers such as PS and LDPE to be used as fuels in engines. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2010. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Cytocompatible chitosan-graft-mPEG-based 5-fluorouracil-loaded polymeric nanoparticles for tumor-targeted drug delivery

Biodegradable materials like chitosan (CH) and methoxy polyethylene glycol (mPEG) are widely being used as drug delivery carriers for various therapeutic applications. In this study, copolymer (CH-g-mPEG) of CH and carboxylic acid terminated mPEG was synthesized by carbodiimide-mediated acid amine reaction. The resultant hydrophilic copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H NMR studies, revealing its relevant functional bands and proton peaks, respectively. Blank polymeric nanoparticles (B-PNPs) and 5-fluorouracil loaded polymeric nanoparticles (5-FU-PNPs) were formulated by ionic gelation method. Furthermore, folic acid functionalized FA-PNPs and FA-5-FU-PNPs were prepared for folate receptor-targeted drug delivery. FA-5-FU-PNPs were characterized by particle size, zeta potential, and in vitro drug release studies, resulting in 197.7?nm,?+29.9?mv, and sustained drug release of 88% in 24?h, respectively. Cytotoxicity studies were performed for FA-PNPs and FA-5-FU-PNPs in MCF-7 cell line, which exhibited a cell viability of 80 and 41%, respectively. In vitro internalization studies were carried out for 5-FU-PNPs and FA-5-FU-PNPs which demonstrated increased cellular uptake of FA-5-FU-PNPs by receptor-mediated transport. Significant (p?相似文献   

Redesigned Spatial Modulation for Spatially Correlated Fading Channels

In this paper, a new variant of Spatial Modulation (SM) Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) transmission technique, designated as Redesigned Spatial Modulation (ReSM) has been proposed. In ReSM scheme, a dynamic mapping for antenna selection is adopted. This scheme employs both single antenna as well as double antenna combinations depending upon channel conditions to combat the effect of spatial correlation. When evaluated over spatially correlated channel conditions, for a fixed spectral efficiency and number of transmit antennas, ReSM exhibits performance improvement of at least 3 dB over all the conventional SM schemes including Trellis Coded Spatial Modulation (TCSM) scheme. Furthermore, a closed form expression for the upper bound on Pairwise Error Probability (PEP) for ReSM has been derived. This has been used to calculate the upper bound for the Average Bit Error Probability (ABEP) for spatially correlated channels. The results of Monte Carlo simulations are in good agreement with the predictions made by analytical results. The relative gains of all the comparison plots in the paper are specified at an ABER of 10^?4.     

Robot-Assisted Real-Time Tumor Manipulation for Breast Biopsy

Breast biopsy guided by imaging techniques such as ultrasound is widely used to evaluate suspicious masses within the breast. The current procedure allows the clinician to determine the location and extent of a tumor in the patient breast before inserting the needle. However, there are several problems with this procedure: the complex interaction dynamics between the needle force and the breast tissue will likely displace the tumor from its original position, necessitating multiple insertions, causing clinicianspsila fatigue, patient's discomfort, and compromising the integrity of the tissue specimen. In this paper, we present a new concept for real-time manipulation of a tumor using a robotic controller that monitors the image of the tumor to generate appropriate external force to position the tumor at a desired location. The idea here is to demonstrate that it is possible to manipulate a tumor in real time by applying controlled external force in an automated way such that the tumor does not deviate from the path of the needle. Experiments on breast phantoms are presented to demonstrate the essence of this concept. The success of this approach has the potential to reduce the number of attempts a clinician makes to capture the desired tissue specimen, minimize tissue damage, improve speed of biopsy, reduce patient discomfort, and eliminate false negative results.     

Automatic segmentation of liver & lesion detection using H-minima transform and connecting component labeling

Automatic segmentation of the liver and the Lesion detection can be a very challenging task due to its variability in size, shape, position and the presence of other organs with similar intensities. Manual segmentation and detection of a tumor is a time-consuming task and greatly depends upon the expertise and experience of the physician. We proposed a method which consists of automatic segmentation and detection of liver and lesion using CT scan modality. H-minima transform filter, Otsu global thresholds, Morphological opening by reconstruction and modified Connected Component Labeling algorithms are applied for liver segmentation. To keep the technique simple and effective, an appropriate range of threshold values are defined to detect different types of lesions. Performance of the proposed system is evaluated and compared with the state-of-the art algorithms. The results of the comparison show that the proposed approach is robust and efficient due to its simplicity. The dice coefficient score for the hepatic segmentation is 94% while sensitivity and specificity for hepatic lesion are 93% and 87% respectively.