Characterisation of gelatin nanoparticles encapsulated with Moringa oleifera bioactive extract

This study describes the preparation and characterisation of nanoparticles with gelatin as the wall matrix to encapsulate Moringa oleifera (MO) extract using an electrospraying technique. The electrospraying conditions for voltage, flow rate and emitter/collector distance were 20 kV, 0.5 mL h^?1 and 10 cm, respectively. Nanoparticles with encapsulated MO extract (1–5%, w/w) were successfully produced and characterised in relation to spectroscopic, morphological and thermal properties. Increasing amounts of MO extract resulted in a significant decrease in the nanocapsule size (ranging from 140 and 179 nm) produced. Spectroscopic analysis indicated no chemical interactions between core and wall materials. The encapsulation efficiency (EE) of MO extract‐loaded nanocapsules obtained was 83.0 ± 4.0%. Surface analysis showed that roughness decreased from 91 nm (empty beads) to 57.5 nm with addition of 3% MO extract. The thermal stability of encapsulated nanoparticles slightly increased and the glass transition temperature (T_g) disappeared due to increase in crystallinity.     

The kinetics of interactions between fecapentaene-12 and DNA

Fecapentaene-12 (Fp-12) is a potent colon cancer mutagen, which interacts with DNA. In this study, the kinetics of its interactions with DNA is investigated. Various pHs are used. Three first-order rates are observed at each pH. This suggests that interaction between Fp-12 and DNA occurs through three different mechanisms.     

Temperature induced forming of zirconia from aqueous slurries: mechanism and rheology

Several near-net shape-forming techniques via colloidal process were received a great attention for manufacturing low cost and reliable advanced ceramics. Temperature induced forming is known as a suitable procedure that allows the solidification of aqueous suspension, which produce green parts, with interesting economics and environmental benefits. In the present work, well-dispersed zirconia suspensions in aqueous media were prepared using tri-ammonium citrate (TAC) as dispersant agent. Results of electrokinetics phenomena and rheological properties of the investigated system were used to optimize the content of TAC and to maximize the solid loading. Krieger–Dougherty's model was applied to describe the relation between relative viscosity of the dispersion and volume fraction of the solids in this system. Consolidation mechanism of the 40-vol.% zirconia suspensions in aqueous media was studied using temperature induced forming technique. The consolidation conditions were evaluated via measuring of viscoelastic functions of the sample, storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) as a function of temperature at frequency of 10 s⁻¹. To confirm the gel formation, the heights of the moulded samples were measured at different temperatures after keeping the mold in the oven for 14 h at the desired temperature. The obtained green body by this technique was characterized in terms of density and microstructure.     

MRI findings in simultaneous bilateral meniscal lesions

This study investigates concurrent lesions of the knee that may be associated with bilateral simultaneous meniscal lesions. The MRI images of the knees of 22 patients with this condition were examined in detail. The results suggest a degenerative cause.     

Effect of path planning on the laser powder deposition process: thermal and structural evaluation

In this study, ANSYS finite element software is used to simulate the temperature and stress field in the laser powder deposition process. The model is used to determine the effect of the deposition pattern on the final stress distribution. Four deposition patterns are defined to cover the same area: long bead, short bead, spiral in, and spiral out. The results show that the deposition pattern significantly affects the temperature history of the process, and consequently, the stress distribution. Among the four deposition patterns, the spiral-in pattern shows the highest and the short-bead pattern shows the lowest maximum residual stress. The modeling results are verified with experiments.     

Impact of high‐κ gate dielectric and other physical parameters on the electrostatics and threshold voltage of long channel gate‐all‐around nanowire transistor

High‐κ gate‐all‐around structure counters the Short Channel Effect (SCEs) mostly providing excellent off‐state performance, whereas high mobility III–V channel ensures better on‐state performance, rendering III–V nanowire GAAFET a potential candidate for replacing the current FinFETs in microchips. In this paper, a 2D simulator for the III–V GAAFET based on self‐consistent solution of Schrodinger–Poisson equation is proposed. Using this simulator, capacitance–voltage profile and threshold voltage are characterized, which reveal that gate dielectric constant (κ) and oxide thickness do not affect threshold voltage significantly at lower channel doping. Moreover, change in alloy composition of In_xGa_1‐xAs, channel doping, and cross‐sectional area has trivial effects on the inversion capacitance although threshold voltage can be shifted by the former two. Although, channel material also affects the threshold voltage, most sharp change in threshold voltage is observed with change in fin width of the channel (0.005 V/nm for above 10 nm fin width and 0.064 V/nm for sub‐10 nm fin width). Simulation suggests that for lower channel doping below 10²³ m⁻³, fin width variation affects the threshold voltage most. Whereas when the doping is higher than 10²³ m⁻³, both the thickness and dielectric constant of the oxide material have strong effects on threshold voltage (0.05 V/nm oxide thickness and 0.01 V/per unit change in κ). Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A method for reserve clearing in disaggregated model considering lost opportunity cost

In this paper, a new formulation for clearing reserve market in a deregulated environment with separated energy and reserve market is introduced. In the proposed method, reserve market is cleared such that the costs associated with capacity reservation, producing energy in real-time, opportunity cost of those units which are accepted in the energy market and backed down from the accepted values to participate in the reserve market are minimized. This optimization problem is formulated and solved using linear programming method. Finally, the proposed method is applied to a six units test system to examine the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Concentration‐dependent minority carrier lifetime in an In0.53Ga0.47As interdigitated lateral PIN photodiode model based on spin‐on chemical fabrication methodology

The fitted parameters for the analytic function used to specify the doping dependence of minority carrier lifetimes for In_0.53Ga_0.47As (InGaAs) is described in this paper. This model together with other carrier models was used to develop an interdigitated lateral PIN photodiode utilizing InGaAs as the absorbing layer. We propose the usage of spin‐on chemicals such as spin‐on dopants and spin‐on glass to form the p+ wells, n+ wells and the surface passivation layer of the device hence providing a cheap and easy solution versus the conventional epitaxial growth methodology. The modeled device achieved dark currents of 0.21 nA and capacitance of 2.87 nF at an operating voltage of 5 V. Optical illumination at a wavelength of 1550 nm and power of 10 W/cm² enabled the device to achieve responsivity of 0.56 A/W and external quantum efficiency of 44%. The −3 dB frequency response of the device was at 8.93 GHz and signal‐to‐noise ratio is 36 dB. The developed device shows close correlation with experimentally developed devices developed using other fabrication methodologies. The results of this work would be useful in the thorough development of InGaAs‐based devices based on spin‐on chemical fabrication methodology using commercial device simulation packages. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Agent-based Modeling Framework for Assessing the Public Health Protection of Water Advisories

In the event that pathogens or toxins are introduced to a water distribution system, a utility manager may identify a threat through water quality data or alerts from public health officials. The utility manager may issue water advisories to warn consumers to reduce water use activities. As consumers react and change water demands, dynamic feedbacks among the community, utility managers, and the engineering infrastructure can create unexpected public health consequences and network hydraulics. A Complex Adaptive System (CAS)-based methodology is developed to couple an engineering model of a water distribution system with agent-based models (ABM) of consumers, public health officials, and utility managers to simulate feedback among management decisions, system hydraulics, and public behavior. A utility manager and a public health official are represented as agents, who respond to the event using a set of rules and equations that are based on a statistical analysis of a set of recorded water events. Consumers are represented as agents who update their water activities based on exposure to the contaminant and warnings from a utility agent and family members. A model of consumer compliance is developed using results from two surveys that report data to characterize consumer perceptions toward information sources during a water contamination event. The ABM framework is applied for an illustrative mid-sized virtual city to quantify the significance of interactions and advisories on public health consequences.     

Optimisation of pressurised liquid extraction for antioxidative polyphenolic compound from Momordica charantia using response surface methodology

Pressurised liquid extraction (PLE) of antioxidant compounds from bitter gourd fruits (Momordica charantia) in aqueous ethanolic solvent was investigated using response surface methodology at laboratory scale to understand key impact of extraction variables. Extraction efficiency was optimised by measuring the yield of extraction, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP) and radical scavenging activity (RSA). The optimal extraction conditions were reached at 80% ethanol concentration, 10‐min extraction time and at 160 °C. Under these extraction conditions, values of TPC (5.40 ± 0.30 g GAE per 100 g), TFC (1.50 ± 0.10 g QE per 100 g), FRAP (778.55 ± 10 μmol eq Fe (II) g^?1), yield (178.50 ± 5.50 mg g^?1 dc) and RSA (75.50 ± 4.50%) were achieved. Furthermore, statistical analysis revealed that antioxidative attributes of bitter gourd extract were strongly and positively correlated with extraction temperature and ethanol concentration rather than processing time. This study illustrated that PLE has the potential to extract antioxidant compounds from tropical fruit vegetables in an accelerated manner. Furthermore, influential parameters affecting the process could be optimised for further industrial intake.