One-step synthesis of single-phase (Co,Mg, Ni,Cu, Zn) O High entropy oxide nanoparticles through SCS procedure: Thermodynamics and experimental evaluation

Evaluation of the thermodynamic aspects of the synthesis process offers a better insight through the single-step synthesis of high entropy oxide particles. The thermodynamic calculations were used to specify the required conditions (fuel type and fuel amount) for the synthesis of single-phase (Co, Mg, Ni, Cu, Zn) O particles. Moreover, the impact of the activities coefficients alteration on the formation of (Co, Mg, Ni, Cu, Zn) O single-phase was calculated. Experiments were carried out using glycine, urea, citric acid, and hexamine at various fuel to oxidizer ratios (φ = 1.05, 1, 0.95, and 0.9) to explore the effect of fuel type and φ values on physicochemical properties of final product. Obtained results indicated that single-phase (Co, Mg, Ni, Cu, Zn) O powders were synthesized using glycine at the fuel-lean condition. Prepared powders exhibited promising crystallinity (59%), the thermal stability of 400 °C, 28 nm particle size, high porosity, and 15 m². g^?1 surface area.     

Control Charts for Dispersed Count Data: An Overview

Control charts based on the Poisson distribution are commonly used to monitor count data in attributes. However, the Poisson distribution is based on the underlying equidispersion assumption that is limiting as discussed by different researchers in the literature. Therefore, a generalized control chart is required that can be used to monitor both overdispersed and underdispersed count data. This article reviews the methods to implement for dispersed count data and present ideas for future work in this area. A comprehensive literature review for researchers and practitioners is presented in this article. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Transient Effect of Micro Vibration from Two Space Vehicles on Mixture During Thermodiffusion Experiment

Numerical modeling of thermodiffusion experiment for a binary mixture of water and isopropanol under micro-vibrations condition is presented. The vibrations obtained onboard ISS and FOTON-M3 are due to different activities. The effect of micro-gravity vibration level on the variation of mixture properties were investigated in detail. In this paper, the thermodiffusion experiment was investigated for two different g-jitter vibrations in the presence of a thermal gradient. The cavity is filled with a binary mixture of water and isopropanol with negative Soret. All physical properties including density, mass diffusion and thermodiffusion coefficients were assumed as functions of temperature and concentration. In order to understand the behavior of the mixture during the course of the experiment, five locations in the domain were chosen. It was found that a similarity between g-jitter vibration and induced velocity pattern exist. Micro vibration was found to have a minimal effect on the molecular and thermodiffusion coefficients.     

Investigation of the Soret effect in binary,ternary and quaternary hydrocarbon mixtures: New expressions for thermodiffusion factors in quaternary mixtures

Thermodiffusion or the Soret effect in binary, ternary and quaternary hydrocarbon mixtures is studied. Using the linear non-equilibrium thermodynamic (LNET) approach, expressions are derived for the estimation of the thermodiffusion coefficients or factors in quaternary mixtures using different approaches. New series of experimental data for binary, ternary and quaternary mixtures are used to evaluate the performance of the Firoozabadi, Kempers (Haase) and our two developed expressions based on the LNET approach. Results show that the model expressions are generally more effective for binary mixtures. In binary mixtures, the Firoozabadi model is preferred, whereas in ternary and quaternary mixtures, our developed expressions based on the LNET and the LNET–Kempers combined approach are superior. Overall, we may conclude that the LNET approach, extended by the authors to ternary and quaternary mixtures, is a reliable model for less-complex systems, such as the linear hydrocarbon mixtures. The LNET approach is also flexible in that provided the required modifications are made, it may be applicable to more complex systems, such as associating mixtures, as well. It is also argued that a thermodiffusion model should be independent of the mass transfer frame of reference, as thermodiffusion coefficients are calculated at the steady state condition, where all fluxes are zero.     

Autothermal reforming of methane over nickel catalysts supported on nanocrystalline MgAl2O4 with high surface area

In this paper autothermal reforming of methane (ATR) was carried out over MgAl₂O₄ supported Ni catalysts with various Ni loadings. MgAl₂O₄ spinel with high specific surface area, as nanocrystalline carrier for nickel catalysts was synthesized by co-precipitation method with the addition of pluronic P123 triblock copolymer as surfactant. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, BET, TEM, SEM, TPR and TPH techniques. The results demonstrated that methane conversion is significantly increased with increasing the Ni content and methane conversion of 15% Ni/MgAl₂O₄ was higher than that of other catalysts in all operation temperatures. Furthermore the influences of H₂O/CH₄, and O₂/CH₄ molar ratio in feed and GHSV on activity of 5% Ni/MgAl₂O₄ catalyst were investigated.     

Potent Alkaline Phosphatase Inhibitors,Pyrazolo-Oxothiazolidines: Synthesis,Biological Evaluation,Molecular Docking,and Kinetic Studies

To develop new alkaline phosphatase inhibitors (ALP), a series of pyrazolo-oxothiazolidine derivatives were synthesized and biologically assessed, and the results showed that all of the synthesized compounds significantly inhibited ALP. Specifically, compound 7g displayed the strongest inhibitory activity (IC₅₀ = 0.045 ± 0.004 μM), which is 116-fold more active than monopotassium phosphate (IC₅₀ = 5.242 ± 0.472 μM) as a standard reference. The most potent compound among the series (7g) was checked for its mode of binding with the enzyme and shown as non-competitively binding with the target enzyme. The antioxidant activity of these compounds was examined to investigate the radical scavenging effect. Moreover, the MTT assay method was performed to evaluate their toxic effects on the viability of MG-63 human osteosarcoma cells, and all compounds have no toxic effect on the cells at 4 μM. Computational research was also conducted to examine the binding affinity of the ligands with alkaline phosphatase, and the results revealed that all compounds showed good binding energy values within the active site of the target. Therefore, these novel pyrazolo-oxothiazolidine derivatives might be employed as promising pharmacophores for potent and selective alkaline phosphatase inhibitors.     

3D numerical simulations of thermodiffusion experiment for a ternary mixture on-board foton

The phenomenon of mass flux in a mixture due to a temperature gradient is known as the Soret effect. Accurate experimental and theoretical models are needed for a better understanding and effective characterisation of situations involving coupled transport processes as in hydrocarbon reservoirs. This requires precise knowledge of the transport coefficients particularly the Fick and Soret diffusion coefficients. We have investigated the effect of residual-g and (very) low-frequency g-jitters encountered on-board spacecraft FOTON on mass-thermo-fluid dynamics in the presence of Soret effect. Results revealed that the diffusion process is slightly affected by the g-jitter on board the FOTON platform, which indicates that FOTON is a good platform to conduct near perfect microgravity environment.     

Damage identification in connections of moment frames using time domain responses and an optimization method

Damage is defined as changes to the material and/or geometric properties of a structural system, comprising changes to the boundary conditions and system connectivity, adversely affecting the system’s performance. Inspecting the elements of structures, particularly critical components, is vital to evaluate the structural lifespan and safety. In this study, an optimization-based method for joint damage identification of moment frames using the time-domain responses is introduced. The beam-to-column connection in a metallic moment frame structure is modeled by a zero-length rotational spring at both ends of the beam element. For each connection, an end-fixity factor is specified, which changes between 0 and 1. Then, the problem of joint damage identification is converted to a standard optimization problem. An objective function is defined using the nodal point accelerations extracted from the damaged structure and an analytical model of the structure in which the nodal accelerations are obtained using the Newmark procedure. The optimization problem is solved by an improved differential evolution algorithm (IDEA) for identifying the location and severity of the damage. To assess the capability of the proposed method, two numerical examples via different damage scenarios are considered. Then, a comparison between the proposed method and the existing damage identification method is provided. The outcomes reveal the high efficiency of the proposed method for finding the severity and location of joint damage considering noise effects.     

Optimal power allocation for cognitive radio networks with relay‐assisted directional transmission

In this paper, the problem of power allocation in a cooperative cognitive radio (CR) network is investigated. An optimal power allocation is proposed to maximize efficiency of the secondary network in which secondary users transmit simultaneously over a spectral band assigned to the primary users. The CR network employs directional relays to improve efficiency of the communication links and minimize interference introduced to the primary users. Unlike the conventional cooperative relay‐assisted network, the directional relays are grouped in clusters. This clustering technique along with directional transmission can significantly reduce interference to the primary links and improve the system performance. Two algorithms are also developed on the basis of the penalty method to determine unknown transmission powers. Some corroborant numerical examples are provided to illustrate quick convergence behavior of the proposed algorithms and great superiority of employing clustered directional relays in cooperative CR networks. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.