A novel ceramic matrix composite based on YNbO4–TiO2 for microwave applications

This work presents the dielectric properties of YNbO₄ (YNO)–TiO₂ composites in the microwave range. X-ray diffraction analysis demonstrates that the addition of TiO₂ to YNO results in the formation of a Y(Nb_0.5Ti_0.5)₂O₆ phase. In the microwave range, the values of permittivity and dielectric loss did not present major changes with the increment of TiO₂. Moreover, the addition of TiO₂ results in an improvement in the thermal stability of YNO, with YNO63 demonstrating a resonant frequency of ?8.96 ppm.°C^?1. We utilised numerical simulations to evaluate the behaviour of these materials as dielectric resonator antennae and it is found that they exhibit a reflection coefficient below ?10 dB at the resonant frequency, with a realised gain of 4.94 – 5.76 dBi, a bandwidth of 665–1050 MHz and a radiation efficiency above 84%. Our results indicate that YNO–TiO₂ composites are interesting candidates for microwave operating devices.     

Dielectric performance of pyrochlore-type Bi2MgNb2-xTaxO9 ceramics: The effects of tantalum doping

The solid solutions based on the pyrochlore-type system Bi₂MgNb_2-xTa_xO₉ were formed in the compositional range х = 0–2.0 (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Nb_1.6-tTa_tO_7.2, t = 0–1.6). The Rietveld method was used to refine the structure for Bi₂MgNb_2-xTa_xO₉ (x = 0, 1.0, 2.0). The increasing tantalum content led to the slight decrease in the cubic unit cell parameters from 10.56934 (4) Å for x = 0 and 10.54607 (3) Å for x = 2 (sp.gr. Fd-3m:2). At the same time, tantalum additions suppressed grain growth in the pyrochlore ceramics during sintering and made it possible to obtain materials with an average grain size of 1–2 μm (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Ta_1·6O_7.2). The increase in the Ta⁵⁺ concentration led to the decrease in the dielectric permeability from 104 (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Nb_1·6O_7.2) to 20 (Bi_1·6Mg_0·8Ta_1·6O_7.2) at room temperature, while the dielectric loss tangent remained lower than 0.002, which is due to the small grain size and the high porosity of the samples. An increase in temperature has practically no effect on the values of the dielectric permittivity in the entire frequency range. The samples have weak through conductivity. The activation energies of electrical conductivity varied in the range of 0.84–1.00 eV, and the less tantalum, the lower the activation energy. The electrical properties of the samples at 200 Hz to 1 MHz are described by the simplest parallel scheme.     

QoS-Aware Optical Fog-Assisted Cyber-Physical System in the 5G Ready Heterogeneous Network

Wireless Personal Communications - In recent years, the emergence of Internet of things and cyber-physical system provide a proactive and efficacious solution to enable remote monitoring, machine...     

Efficient watermarking technique for protection and authentication of document images

Multimedia Tools and Applications - In this paper, a hashing based watermarking technique for the protection and authentication of document image is proposed. Message Digest 5 (MD5) hashing is...     

Model-driven engineering for mobile robotic systems: a systematic mapping study

Software and Systems Modeling - Mobile robots operate in various environments (e.g. aquatic, aerial, or terrestrial), they come in many diverse shapes and they are increasingly becoming parts of...     

Tailored-Made Polydopamine Nanoparticles to Induce Ferroptosis in Breast Cancer Cells in Combination with Chemotherapy

Ferroptosis is gaining followers as mechanism of selective killing cancer cells in a non-apoptotic manner, and novel nanosystems capable of inducing this iron-dependent death are being increasingly developed. Among them, polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA NPs) are arousing interest, since they have great capability of chelating iron. In this work, PDA NPs were loaded with Fe³⁺ at different pH values to assess the importance that the pH may have in determining their therapeutic activity and selectivity. In addition, doxorubicin was also loaded to the nanoparticles to achieve a synergist effect. The in vitro assays that were performed with the BT474 and HS5 cell lines showed that, when Fe³⁺ was adsorbed in PDA NPs at pH values close to which Fe(OH)₃ begins to be formed, these nanoparticles had greater antitumor activity and selectivity despite having chelated a smaller amount of Fe³⁺. Otherwise, it was demonstrated that Fe³⁺ could be released in the late endo/lysosomes thanks to their acidic pH and their Ca²⁺ content, and that when Fe³⁺ was co-transported with doxorubicin, the therapeutic activity of PDA NPs was enhanced. Thus, reported PDA NPs loaded with both Fe³⁺ and doxorubicin may constitute a good approach to target breast tumors.     

Feasibility study of large-scale mass customization 3D printing framework system with a case study on Nanjing Happy Valley East Gate

At present, the development and implementation of digital transformation are the keys to promoting high-quality industry development. The new digital fabrication method of robotic 3D printing is a research area being studied by many to tackle the issue of the declining productivity of traditional construction methods. Although many studies have been done, most of the current 3D printing projects are facing limitations in terms of scale. In order to bridge the gap, this article proposed a mass customization 3D printing framework system for large-scale projects. This article discusses how mass customization is made possible through the joint operation of the FUROBOT software and 3D printing hardware. By taking the east gate of Nanjing Happy Valley Plaza as a case study, the article demonstrates and studies the feasibility of the large-scale mass customization 3D printing framework system.     

Extremum Strategies of Approach of Controlled Objects in Dynamic Game Problems with Terminal Payoff Function

Cybernetics and Systems Analysis - The authors propose a method for solving the problem of approach of controlled objects in dynamic game problems with a terminal payoff function. The method is...     

TRAJECTORY CONTROL OF THE OBSERVATION PROCESS OF A MOBILE DIGITAL DIRECTION FINDER IN THE TOPOLOGY OF A ROAD NETWORK

Journal of Computer and Systems Sciences International - The solution of the problem of determining the trajectory control of the observation process of a mobile digital direction finder in the...     

International research collaboration in Africa: a bibliometric and thematic analysis

It is widely recognised that science in Africa will benefit from international research collaboration (IRC), and therefore studies have been done on IRC in Africa (hereafter: Africa-related IRC research). However, there is no information on the development of Africa-related IRC research, the geographical location of the scientists interested in the topic, the visibility of the literature and the themes researched. This information makes it possible to understand relevant aspects in the context of IRC in Africa, which are useful for identifying IRC strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. It also allows paving the way for future research on this topic. Using discipline–specific terms, bibliometric, and thematic analysis, I collected the literature on Africa-related IRC research indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoS). The results showed that the number of publications on the topic has increased, few African countries have researched the topic, a third of the publications were written exclusively by African scientists, and the topic has high visibility. The panoply of publications revealed that patterns, driving factors, effects, networks, asymmetries, and policies concerning IRC were the main themes researched.