Enviro-Friendly Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles Using Berberis lycium Leaf Extract and Their Antibacterial Efficacy

In the present study,an enviro-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles from Berberis lycium Royle leaf extract and their antibacterial efficacy against five pathogenic bacteria were investigated.This biosynthesis technique is proved to be advantageous over physical and chemical methods as no toxic chemicals are used.The structural and morphological characterization was made by UV-visible spectroscopy,scanning electron microscopy,and transmission electron microscopy.The synthesized nanoparticles were oval,rectangular,and spherical in shape,size ranges from 8 to 100 nm and exhibited an absorption peak at 458 nm.The biosynthesized silver nanoparticles have shown good antibacterial effect toward tested bacteria.It is believed that these biosynthesized silver nanoparticles can play a vital role in nano-based products in future.     

Interactions between shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRA) and cement paste's pore solution

Shrinkage reducing admixtures (SRA) have been developed to combat shrinkage cracking in concrete elements. While SRA has been shown to have significant benefits in reducing the magnitude of drying and autogenous shrinkage, it has been reported that SRA may cause a negative side effect as it reduces the rate of cement hydration and strength development in concrete. To examine the influence of SRA on cement hydration, this study explores the interactions between SRA and cement paste's pore solution. It is described that SRA is mainly composed of amphiphilic (i.e., surfactant) molecules that when added to an aqueous solution, accumulate at the solution-air interface and can significantly reduce the interfacial tension. However, these surfactants can also self-aggregate in the bulk solution (i.e., micellation) and this may limit the surface tension reduction capacity of SRA. In synthetic pore solutions, SRA is observed to form an oil-water-surfactant emulsion that may or may not be stable. Specifically, at concentrations above a critical threshold, the mixture of SRA and pore fluid is unstable and can separate into two distinct phases (an SRA-rich phase and an SRA-dilute phase). Further, chemical analysis of extracted pore solutions shows that addition of SRA to the mixing water depresses the dissolution of alkalis in the pore fluid. This results in a pore fluid with lower alkalinity which causes a reduction in the rate of cement hydration. This may explain why concrete containing SRA shows a delayed setting and a slower strength development.     

Aedes aegypti Piwi4 Structural Features Are Necessary for RNA Binding and Nuclear Localization

The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway provides an RNA interference (RNAi) mechanism known from Drosophila studies to maintain the integrity of the germline genome by silencing transposable elements (TE). Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, which are the key vectors of several arthropod-borne viruses, exhibit an expanded repertoire of Piwi proteins involved in the piRNA pathway, suggesting functional divergence. Here, we investigate RNA-binding dynamics and subcellular localization of A. aegypti Piwi4 (AePiwi4), a Piwi protein involved in antiviral immunity and embryonic development, to better understand its function. We found that AePiwi4 PAZ (Piwi/Argonaute/Zwille), the domain that binds the 3′ ends of piRNAs, bound to mature (3′ 2′ O-methylated) and unmethylated RNAs with similar micromolar affinities (K_D = 1.7 ± 0.8 μM and K_D of 5.0 ± 2.2 μM, respectively; p = 0.05) in a sequence independent manner. Through site-directed mutagenesis studies, we identified highly conserved residues involved in RNA binding and found that subtle changes in the amino acids flanking the binding pocket across PAZ proteins have significant impacts on binding behaviors, likely by impacting the protein secondary structure. We also analyzed AePiwi4 subcellular localization in mosquito tissues. We found that the protein is both cytoplasmic and nuclear, and we identified an AePiwi4 nuclear localization signal (NLS) in the N-terminal region of the protein. Taken together, these studies provide insights on the dynamic role of AePiwi4 in RNAi and pave the way for future studies aimed at understanding Piwi interactions with diverse RNA populations.     

Design of an Ultra-Compact and Highly-Sensitive Temperature Sensor Using Photonic Crystal Based Single Micro-Ring Resonator and Cascaded Micro-Ring Resonator

Silicon - In the present report, a photonic crystal based micro-ring resonator (MRR) structure is proposed which is very compact in size and has very fast response and is employed for temperature...     

RFID-enabled item-level product information revelation

We consider a homogeneous product market and the incentive for oligopolists to share item-level product information with their customers. Enabled by Radio Frequency Identification technology, each firm has the option to record and reveal item-level information of a proportion of its products. We consider a two-stage game where each firm first decides its production plan and then determines its level of information revelation. With a constant clearance discount rate, we derive pure strategy equilibria that are subgame perfect and demonstrate that complete information sharing is the unique Nash equilibrium for the game when the common demand is volatile and that no information revelation is the unique Nash equilibrium when demand is not volatile. Furthermore, we show that the Nash equilibrium is the same with a decreasing clearance discount rate and that neither complete information revelation nor zero information revelation is consistent with an equilibrium with an increasing discount rate. Results are similar in a duopoly non-homogeneous product market scenario.     

Thermodynamic models for vapor-liquid equilibria of nitrogen + oxygen + carbon dioxide at low temperatures

For the design and optimization of CO₂ recovery from alcoholic fermentation processes by distillation, models for vapor-liquid equilibria (VLE) are needed. Two such thermodynamic models, the Peng-Robinson equation of state (EOS) and a model based on Henry’s law constants, are proposed for the ternary mixture N₂ + O₂ + CO₂. Pure substance parameters of the Peng-Robinson EOS are taken from the literature, whereas the binary parameters of the Van der Waals one-fluid mixing rule are adjusted to experimental binary VLE data. The Peng-Robinson EOS describes both binary and ternary experimental data well, except at high pressures approaching the critical region. A molecular model is validated by simulation using binary and ternary experimental VLE data. On the basis of this model, the Henry’s law constants of N₂ and O₂ in CO₂ are predicted by molecular simulation. An easy-to-use thermodynamic model, based on those Henry’s law constants, is developed to reliably describe the VLE in the CO₂-rich region.     

An Improved Chua's Circuit and Its Use in Hyperchaotic Circuit

An improved implementation of Chua's circuit using dual output current conveyor is presented. The present proposal offers the advantages of low component count, current mode processing, availability of current across inductor and availability of voltage across inductor in form of current. The application of present circuit in designing low hardware inductorless hyperchaotic circuit is also presented. The paper concludes with a discussion of advantages of present proposal of Chua's circuit and inductorless hyper chaotic circuit thus designed over their earlier counterparts. The designs are adequately supported by SPICE simulation results. Patent pending.     

Fenton and Electro-Fenton Methods for Oxidation of H-Acid and Reactive Black 5

Oxidative treatment of H-acid (HA) and Reactive Black 5 (RB5) using Fenton reagent (Fe2+/H2O2) and the electro-Fenton (EF) method is reported. Optimization of doses of ferrous iron and hydrogen peroxide was carried out in each case using HA; and the oxidation of RB5 was also carried out under the optimized conditions. Approximately 71% chemical oxygen demand (COD) was removed in 2 h using the conventional Fenton method at optimized doses: Fe2+ = 0.3?g/L (5.37 mM), H2O2 = 6?mL/L (53.0 mM), H2O2/Fe2+ = 10. In contrast, more than 92% COD was removed in 15 min using the EF method with an optimized Fe2+ dose of 0.130?g/L (2.34 mM) and 8?ml/L (70.6 mM) of H2O2. The pseudo-first-order rate constants (k) for the Fenton reagent and EF method were 0.054 and 0.38?min?1. The COD removal through the EF method was seven times faster. The calculated energy requirement of the EF method was 0.82?kg?COD/kW?h at the minimum applied current (0.25 A) when approximately 92.5% COD was removed. In the case of RB5, about 67 and 87% COD was removed under optimized Fenton and electro-Fenton conditions, respectively. The higher efficiency of the EF method was attributed to incremental addition of Fe2+ and accompanying higher H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio. The results are discussed in the light of the mechanism for Fenton’s oxidation.     

STEREO CORRESPONDENCE ESTIMATION USING MULTIWAVELETS SCALE-SPACE REPRESENTATION-BASED MULTIRESOLUTION ANALYSIS

A multiresolution technique based on multiwavelets scale-space representation for stereo correspondence estimation is presented. The technique uses the well-known coarse-to-fine strategy, involving the calculation of stereo correspondences at the coarsest resolution level with consequent refinement up to the finest level. Vector coefficients of the multiwavelets transform modulus are used as corresponding features, where modulus maxima defines the shift invariant high-level features (multiscale edges) with phase pointing to the normal of the feature surface. The technique addresses the estimation of optimal corresponding points and the corresponding 2D disparity maps. Illuminative variation that can exist between the perspective views of the same scene is controlled using scale normalization at each decomposition level by dividing the details space coefficients with approximation space. The problems of ambiguity, explicitly, and occlusion, implicitly, are addressed by using a geometric topological refinement procedure. Geometric refinement is based on a symbolic tagging procedure introduced to keep only the most consistent matches in consideration. Symbolic tagging is performed based on probability of occurrence and multiple thresholds. The whole procedure is constrained by the uniqueness and continuity of the corresponding stereo features. The comparative performance of the proposed algorithm with eight famous existing algorithms, presented in the literature, is shown to validate the claims of promising performance of the proposed algorithm.     

Numerical study on thermal impacts of different void patterns on performance of chip-scale packaged power device

Chip scale package (CSP) technology offers promising solutions to package power device due to its relatively good thermal performance among other factors. Solder thermal interface materials (STIMs) are often employed at the die bond layer of a chip-scale packaged power device to enhance heat transfer from the chip to the heat spreader. Nonetheless, the presence of voids in the solder die-attach layer impedes heat flow and could lead to an increase in the peak temperature of the chip. Such voids which form easily in the solder joint during reflow soldering process at manufacturing stage are primarily occasioned by out-gassing phenomenon and defective metallisation. Apparently, the thermal consequences of voids have been extensively studied, but not much information exist on precise effects of different patterns of solder die-attach voids on the thermal performance of chip-level packaged power device. In this study, three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) is employed to investigate such effects. Numerical studies were carried out to characterise the thermal impacts of various voids configurations, voids depth and voids location on package thermal resistance and chip junction temperature. The results show that for equivalent voiding percentage, thermal resistance increases more for large coalesced void type in comparison to the small distributed voids configuration. In addition, the study suggests that void extending through the entire thickness of solder layer and voids formed very close to the heat generating area of the chip can significantly increase package thermal resistance and chip junction temperature. The findings of this study indicate that void configurations, void depth and void location are vital parameters in evaluating the thermal effects of voids.