Fed batch enzymatic saccharification of newspaper cellulosics improves the sugar content in the hydrolysates and eventually the ethanol fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The newspaper is comprised of (w w^?1) holocellulose (70.0%) with substantial amount of lignin (16.0%). Bioconversion of the carbohydrate component of newspaper to sugars by enzymatic saccharification, and its fermentation to ethanol was investigated. Of various enzymatic treatments using cellulase, xylanase and laccase, cellulase enzyme system was found to deink the newspaper most efficiently. The saccharification of deinked paper pulp using enzyme cocktail containing exoglucanase (20 U g^?1), β-glucosidase (60 U g^?1) and xylanase (80 U g^?1) resulted in 59.8% saccharification. Among additives, 1% (v v^?1) Tween 80 and 10 mol m^?3 CoCl₂ improved the enzymatic hydrolysis of newspaper maximally, releasing 14.64 g L^?1 sugars. The fed batch enzymatic saccharification of the newspaper increased the sugar concentration in hydrolysate from 14.64 g L^?1 to 38.21 g L^?1. Moreover, the batch and fed batch enzymatic hydrolysates when fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae produced 5.64 g L^?1 and 14.77 g L^?1 ethanol, respectively.     

Palladium dispersed multiwalled carbon nanotube based hydrogen sensor for fuel cell applications

Palladium nanocatalysts supported on surface-oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNT) were prepared by the aqueous solution reduction of _PdCl2${\mathrm{PdCl}}_2$. MWNT have been synthesized by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) technique. Pyrolysis of acetylene using a fixed-bed catalytic reactor over rare earth (RE) based _AB2${\mathrm{AB}}_2$ alloy hydride catalyst, obtained through hydrogen decrepitation technique, has been performed to synthesize MWNT. Structural, morphological and vibrational characterizations have been carried out using XRD, SEM, TEM and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. In situ electrical resistance measurements for thin films of MWNT obtained by spin coating samples were carried out by two-probe technique in a chamber with provision to introduce known concentration of hydrogen in constant air flow. Investigations of hydrogen sensing properties of Pd–MWNT ensembles have been carried out. The stability of Pd–MWNT thin films after several cycles of adsorption and desorption was studied. The change in electrical resistance due to hydrogen adsorption is reversible, with increase to saturation on exposure to hydrogen gas. The results demonstrate that chemically treated MWNT functionalized with nanostructured Pd show good _H2${\mathrm{H}}_2$ sensing response at room temperature.     

Laser diagnostics of soot precursors in a heavy-duty diesel engine at low-temperature combustion conditions

To better understand in-cylinder soot formation processes for modern, low-emissions, low-temperature combustion (LTC) operating conditions in diesel engines, soot and its precursors are imaged by laser diagnostics in a heavy duty optical engine. Virtually simultaneous images of planar laser-induced incandescence of soot (soot-PLII) using 1064 nm excitation and combined soot-PLII and planar laser-induced fluorescence of poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH-PLIF) using 532 nm excitation reveal the temporal and spatial evolution of soot and its precursors during combustion. With increasing dilution of the intake air stream by various levels of nitrogen to simulate the use of exhaust-gas recirculation (EGR) to achieve LTC, the residence time of PAH increases as soot formation is delayed. At zero dilution (21% intake oxygen), soot appears nearly simultaneously with PAH, while at higher dilution (12.7% or 9.5% intake oxygen), soot formation is delayed by hundreds of microseconds to a millisecond or more. At all dilution levels, at its onset, PAH rapidly fills most of the downstream cross-section of the jet, with a relatively uniform fluorescence intensity distribution. The spatial evolution of soot, however, shifts from a relatively rapid filling of the downstream head of the jet at low dilution, to inception at the midstream periphery of the jet followed by a gradual progression downstream at high dilution. Effects of fuel-bound aromatics are also explored by comparing soot and PAH formation for a representative diesel fuel containing 27% aromatics by weight to that for neat n-heptane. The residence time of PAH before the onset of soot is slightly longer with the non-aromatic fuel, but otherwise the spatial and temporal evolution of PAH-PLIF and soot-PLII are indistinguishable from that of the diesel fuel at LTC conditions. Spectral analysis shows a characteristic soot emission spectra from 1064 nm excitation, while 532 nm excitation yields significant short-wavelength emission that cannot be attributed solely to soot incandescence, and is likely due to fluorescence of large PAH soot precursors. No narrow spectral features, such as from C2 or C3 emission, are apparent in the spectra, even at high laser fluence.     

Hall current effects on MHD flow of chemically reacting fluid through a porous medium with heat source

We considered the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) free convective flow of an incompressible electrically conducting viscous fluid past an infinite vertical permeable porous plate with a uniform transverse magnetic field, heat source and chemical reaction in a rotating frame taking Hall current effects into account. The momentum equations for the fluid flow during absorbent medium are controlled by the Brinkman model. Through the undisturbed state, both the plate and fluid are in a rigid body rotation by the uniform angular velocity perpendicular to an infinite vertical plate. The perpendicular surface is subject to the homogeneous invariable suction at a right angle to it and the heat on the surface varies about a non-zero unvarying average whereas the warmth of complimentary flow is invariable. The systematic solutions of the velocity, temperature, and concentration distributions are acquired systematically by utilizing the perturbation method. The velocity expressions consist of steady-state and fluctuating situations. It is revealed that the steady part of the velocity field has a three-layer characteristic while the oscillatory part of the fluid field exhibits a multi-layer characteristic. The influence of various governing flow parameters on the velocity, temperature, and concentration are analyzed graphically. We also discuss computational results for the skin friction, Nusselt number, and Sherwood number in the tabular forms.     

3D and simplified pseudo-2D modeling of single cell of a high temperature solid oxide fuel cell to be used for online control strategies

In the current study, a single cell of a planar SOFC is firstly modeled in 3D using commercial SOFC module of ANSYS Fluent and the results are validated against the experimental investigations in the literature. Many researchers have used ANSYS Fluent for simulating solid oxide fuel cells. However, there is a huge gap in the literature on explaining the detailed procedure that should be followed in order to use this software effectively. A thorough step-by-step approach is presented to provide a deep insight into the software. Thereafter, a simplified quasi-2D method with infinitely shorter computational time is developed and the results are compared with the 3D model. It is found that the reduced model is capable of being utilized as an alternate method for both online diagnosis and designing active control strategies.     

Pluronic lecithin organogel of 5-aminosalicylic acid for wound healing

5-Aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) is an aminosalicylate anti-inflammatory drug, which is also known as mesalazine or mesalamine. Currently employed in treating inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, inflamed anus or rectum, and maintain remission in Crohn's disease. Evidence from the researchers highlighted its significant re-epithelization in allergic asthma, aphthous, and gastric ulcerative conditions. The objective of the study was to formulate the pluronic lecithin organogel (PLO) containing 5-ASA and evaluate its wound-healing ability in a full thickness excision wound rat model. The data obtained from in silico docking studies revealed 5-ASA is having an affinity towards the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) specifically towards beta1. Among various formulations prepared (F1 to F8), F1, and F6 have shown a maximum in vitro drug release with optimum pH and viscosity. From MTT assay it was found that selected PLO formulations showed no toxicity and enhanced cell proliferation in HaCaT cell lines. In vivo wound-healing studies in albino Wistar rats has revealed that PLO accelerates wound closure and reepithelization to the statistically significant level on day 3 (p?相似文献   

Modeling and surface texturing on surface roughness in machining LaPO4–Y2O3 composite

In this work, lanthanum phosphate with a 20% yttria (LaPO₄/Y₂O₃) composite prepared by an Aqueous Sol–Gel process is machined using an Abrasive Water Jet Machine (AWJM). The machinability of this composite is studied by varying the input parameters namely Jet Pressure (JP), Stand-Off Distance (SOD), and Traverse Speed (TS) on Surface finish. Garnet of 80 mesh size is used as an abrasive with a flow rate of 85?g/min. The microstructural characterization study reveals the presence of new element YPO₄. This element enhances the machinability and reduced porosity in the composite. Microscopy examinations on the machined surface reveals that partial overlapping at low JP, poor surface finish at high JP and SOD, forged deficiency at maximum SOD and TS. The minimum levels of all input parameters are influenced to obtain acceptable Ra. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) on the kerf surface shows micro wear track and peaks. The Multiple Regression Analysis (MRA) is developed for Ra to check the adequacy. From the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), SOD has a significant effect on Ra with a contribution of 53%. The influence of JP and TS on Ra is found to be 31% and 15%, respectively.     

Maximization of representativity factors for experimental planning of cross-section measurements: An information theoretic approach

The similarity between two nuclear systems is expressed by the representativity factors and maximizing its value to unity reduces the uncertainty from its existing value. As the representativity factor is a function of covariance matrix of neutron cross-sections, the inherent systematic uncertainty in neutron cross-sections inhibits it from approaching unity and hence statistical procedures have to be resorted to minimize the systematic uncertainty. As the conventional statistical techniques fail when systematic uncertainty is dominant, we propose an entropy based information theoretic approach of maximizing the mutual information by the knowledge of bounds for the correlated elements. We show that maximizing the mutual information and the representativity factors express the similar phenomena of uncertainty reduction. We estimated the bounds for the correlated elements of the correlation matrix for minor actinides and show how the systematic uncertainty is reduced when lower bound values are considered. These lower bound values aid in experimental planning for future measurement of cross-sections with reduced systematic uncertainty.     

The Couette flow of a conducting Jeffrey fluid when the walls are lined with deformable porous material

The paper deals with the flow, past a deformable porous channel bounded by finite deformable porous layer with moving rigid parallel plates. Transverse magnetic field is also applied and incorporated in the momentum equation. The coupled nonlinear equations are transformed to ordinary differential equations (ODEs) with suitable choice of similarity transformation. Further, these sets of nonlinear ODEs are solved analytically and are used to get results for the flow phenomena. The effects of the porous layer thickness and the drag on the flow phenomena are discussed graphically. It is observed that rigid velocity decreases with increasing in the drag, whereas the decrease in the deformable is noted. It is clear to see that the retards in solid displacement are shown with enhancing viscosity parameter η.     

A Distance Based Communication Mode Selection Mechanism for M2M Communications Over Cellular Networks

The implementation of machine-to-machine (M2M) communications in fifth-generation (5G) cellular networks can facilitate with several benefits like enhancement of bandwidth utilization, accommodating large number of users and decreasing traffic load on evolved node B (eNB). Integration of location information of unknown machine in communication mode selection mechanism is the key feature of this research. In this paper, a distance based communication mode selection mechanism using non-orthogonal resource sharing scheme is adopted in the proposed system model. Under the proposed mechanism, the expressions of throughput and RBs utilization policy are derived, which are the key parameters to evaluate the performance in the proposed network. Depending on the mode selection condition, such as threshold distance and threshold SINR between M2M users and regular cellular users, a UE can automatically choose its communication mode in the network. It is supposed that selection of mode before data transfer can improve the system performance. On the other hand, designing of efficient distance assisted proposed resource blocks (RBs) utilization policy reduces the traffic load on the eNB. Extensive simulations are carried out for evaluating the performance of the proposed mechanisms. The system performance is compared with various changeable parameters, such as throughput, mode selection threshold SINR, threshold distance and RBs. Besides, the proposed mechanism provides better network performance as well as reduces the traffic load in the proposed network.