A framework for weighting of criteria in ranking stage of material selection process

Material selection is an onerous process of design activities which needs to be carefully carried out in order to increase the probability of success. A lot of multi-criteria decision-making methods have been proposed in material selection, many of which require quantitative weights for the attributes. Since weights play a very significant role in the ranking results of the materials, this paper presents a framework for determining importance degree of criteria to overcome the shortcomings of this subject in material selection. Furthermore, the suggested framework covers the situation of interdependent relationship between the criteria which has not been surveyed in material selection yet. An example was considered to illustrate how this framework is conducted. On the basis of the numerical results, it can be concluded that the proposed method can soundly deal with the material selection problems.     

The effect of 2 liquid feeds and 2 sources of protein in starter on performance and blood metabolites in Holstein neonatal calves

The aim of present study was to investigate the effect of 2 liquid feeds and 2 protein sources in starter on the performance and blood metabolite responses of Holstein neonatal calves from birth to 6 wk of age. Calves (20 males and 20 females) based on sex were randomly assigned to 4 treatments in a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, including soybean meal (SBM) and meat and bone meal (MB) with either fermented colostrum (or fresh milk. Although sex and liquid feed had no significant effect on feed intake, calves consumed more feed intake on the diet containing SBM (15 ± 0.2 kg) than MB (13 ± 0.2 kg) during the experimental period; also, weight gain was affected by both liquid feed and starter. Liquid feed and starter had significant effects on calf body size, including pin width, hip width, withers height, hip height, and stomach size, but no significant effects were observed on calf body size between the sexes. Plasma glucose concentration was not affected by sex, liquid feed, or starter. Plasma urea nitrogen concentration decreased in the first 3 wk and then started to increase during the last 3 wk, but it was only affected by starter and calves receiving SBM (10.18 mg/dL) had a higher concentration of plasma urea nitrogen than calves receiving MB (9.6 mg/dL) at the end of the experiment. Plasma growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I concentrations decreased in all treatment groups from d 0 to the end of the study. No significant effects were observed on plasma growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I concentrations between the 2 sexes, but they were significantly affected by both liquid feed and starter. Results of the present study provide useful information to apply to Holstein neonatal calves during the first 6 wk of life when liquid feed and 2 sources of protein in starter are considered.     

ZnO Nanoparticle Ionic Liquids Carbon Paste Electrode as a Voltammetric Sensor for Determination of Sudan I in the Presence of Vitamin B<Subscript>6</Subscript> in Food Samples

Room-temperature ionic liquid n-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluoro phosphate as a binder and ZnO nanoparticle (ZnO/NPs) as a sensor were used to construct a new ZnO/NPs carbon ionic liquid paste electrode (ZnO/NPs/IL/CPE), which exhibited enhanced electrochemical behavior as compared with the traditional carbon paste electrode with paraffin for electrooxidation of Sudan I. This modified electrode exhibited a potent and persistent electron mediating behavior followed by well separated oxidation peaks of Sudan I and vitamin B₆. The peaks current of square wave voltammograms (SWV) of Sudan I and vitamin B₆ increased linearly with their concentration in the ranges of 0.01–400 μM Sudan I and 0.5–800 μM vitamin B₆. The detection limits for Sudan I and vitamin B₆ were 0.008–0.2 μM, respectively. The modified electrode has been successfully applied for the assay of Sudan I and vitamin B₆ in food samples.     

Application of Vitis vinifera Microcapsules on Cotton Fabric: A Potential to Prevent UV-Induced Skin Problems

ABSTRACT

Considering the harmful effect of UV radiation, present study was aimed at developing a UV protective finish for cotton fabric using Vitis vinifera leaves extract. Process parameters of the study were optimized for getting maximum UV protection while maintaining other physical properties of the fabric. Box and Behnken design was used under response surface methodology (RSM) for optimization process. It was found that 3.574% concentration of microcapsules with 2.942% concentration of binder at 120.664°C curing temperature were selected as optimum conditions for application of Vitis vinifera microcapsules on cotton fabric. It can be concluded that application of Vitis vinifera microcapsules on cotton fabric incorporates UV protection properties on cotton fabric, which can helpful to prevent various UV-induced skin problems.     

Bilateral neuropathologic changes in a child with hemimegalencephaly

Evaluation of a 7-month-old girl with developmental delay and intractable seizures revealed hemispheric asymmetry and an enlarged right cerebral hemisphere. Because of a history of seizures refractory to medical therapy, she was admitted for right hemispherectomy, but died of complications of surgery. Postmortem brain examination revealed asymmetric enlargement of the right cerebral hemisphere but no gross abnormalities in the left hemisphere. Microscopic examination demonstrated bilateral neuropathologic changes consistent with severe cortical dysplasia in the right cerebral hemisphere and mild cortical dysplasia in the left. Although white matter abnormalities in the unaffected hemisphere have been reported in hemimegalencephaly, bilateral cortical abnormalities, not reported previously in patients with hemimegalencephaly, may account for the varied clinical outcome with medical therapy or after hemispherectomy.     

Investigation of stress induced leakage current in CMOS structures with ultra-thin gate dielectrics

Investigation on the stress induced leakage current shows that the SILC degradation rate follows a pure power law with the injection dose which is almost independent of gate bias polarity and stress current intensity. Moreover, it has also been found that the SILC is invariant with the device area, substrate type but could depend on the gate material in the case of P+ polysilicon due to boron-induced defects in the bulk of the oxide.     

Material selection for femoral component of total knee replacement using comprehensive VIKOR

The increasing trend of total knee replacement (TKR) revision surgery, which is associated with aseptic loosening, makes it a challenging research subject. The concern of loosening can be partially improved by selecting the optimal materials for TKR components. Therefore, this paper considers selection of the best material among the set of alternatives for femoral component of TKR through the multi-criteria decision making approach. The comprehensive VIKOR method was used to select the optimum material, and a systematic technique for sensitivity analysis of weights was introduced to find more reliable results. The obtained ranking order suggested the use of new materials over the existing ones. Porous and dense NiTi shape memory alloys were ranked first and second respectively.     

Lipid composition of retailed organic, free-range and conventional chicken breasts

Lipid fractions of 20 retailed chicken breasts were correlated with production system: organic, corn‐fed, free‐range and conventional. Neutral lipid (NL), phospholipid (PL) and free fatty acids (FFA) were examined separately. Influence of production systems was found more pronounced in PL composition than NLs. Corn‐fed and free‐range NLs had higher contents of nutritionally beneficial eicosapentanoic acid (C20:5 n‐3) and docosahexanoic acid (C22:6 n‐3) than organic and conventional. Lower polyunsaturated fatty acids in organic and free‐range PLs could be beneficial for tissue stability. Principal component product space for PLs showed clear clustering related to product category. In contrast, this was not observed with FFA except in the partial least square regression product space suggesting influences on NLs and PLs and FFA. PLs had lower contents of arachidonic acid than in earlier studies. Advantages were observed in lipid fractionation using advanced sorbent extraction matrices.     

A comparative experimental investigation of deep-hole micro-EDM drilling capability for cemented carbide (WC-Co) against austenitic stainless steel (SUS 304)

Microelectro-discharge machining (micro-EDM) has become a widely accepted non-traditional material removal process for machining difficult-to-cut but conductive materials effectively and economically. The present study aims to investigate the feasibility of machining deep microholes in two difficult-to-cut materials: cemented carbide (WC-Co) and austenitic stainless steel (SUS 304) using the micro-EDM drilling. The effect of discharge energy and electro-thermal material properties on the performance of the two work materials during the micro-EDM drilling has also been investigated. The micro-EDM drilling performance of two materials has been assessed based on the quality and accuracy of the produced microholes, machining stability, material removal rate (MRR), and electrode wear ratio. The results show that deep-hole micro-EDM drilling is technically more feasible in WC-Co as it offers microholes with smooth and burr-free surfaces at the rim in addition to improved circularity and lower overcut than those provided by SUS 304. Moreover, WC-Co exhibits better machinability during the deep-hole micro-EDM drilling, providing relatively higher MRR and stable machining.