Rheological,thermal and morphological properties of polyethylene terephthalate/polyamide 6/rice husk ash composites

This work deals with the rheological, morphological, and thermal properties of composites having poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), polyamide-6 (PA6), and their blends as matrices, and rice husk ash (RHA) as a filler. The study determines the effect of composition on the change in viscosity and rate of degradation during processing in a torque rheometer. Our data indicates that thermal stability and degradation during processing depend on matrix composition and filler concentration. SEM micrographs show both partial adhesion of the filler to the matrices and filler pullout. Optical microscopy shows particle agglomeration and that agglomerate size increased with filler content. FTIR investigates the shifting of absorption bands of PET/PA6 composite after the addition of RHA and attributes the selective dispersion of RHA to the formation of hydrogen bonds. Our data supports the idea that filler employed here is an option to develop polymer composites with improved properties.     

Trans-10 18:1 in ruminant meats: A review

Trans (t) fatty acids (TFA) from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils (i.e., industrial trans) have been phased out of foods in many countries due to their promotion of cardiovascular disease. This leaves ruminant-derived foods as the main source of TFA. Unlike industrial TFA where catalytic hydrogenation yields a broad distribution of isomers, ruminant TFA are enzymatically derived and can result in enrichment of specific isomers. Comparisons between industrial and ruminant TFA have often exonerated ruminant TFA due to their lack or at times positive effects on health. At extremes, however, ruminant-sourced foods can have either high levels of t10- or t11-18:1, and when considering enriched sources, t10-18:1 has properties similar to industrial TFA, whereas t11-18:1 can be converted to an isomer of conjugated linoleic acid (cis(c)9,t11-conjugated linoleic acid), both of which have potential positive health effects. Increased t10-18:1 in meat-producing ruminants has not been associated with negative effects on live animal production or meat quality. As such, reducing t10-18:1 has not been of immediate concern to ruminant meat producers, as there have been no economic consequences for its enrichment; nevertheless at high levels, it can compromise the nutritional quality of beef and lamb. In anticipation that regulations regarding TFA may focus more on t10-18:1 in beef and lamb, the present review will cover its production, analysis, biological effects, strategies for manipulation, and regulatory policy.     

A linear algebra approach to OLAP

Inspired by the relational algebra of data processing, this paper addresses the foundations of data analytical processing from a linear algebra perspective. The paper investigates, in particular, how aggregation operations such as cross tabulations and data cubes essential to quantitative analysis of data can be expressed solely in terms of matrix multiplication, transposition and the Khatri–Rao variant of the Kronecker product. The approach offers a basis for deriving an algebraic theory of data consolidation, handling the quantitative as well as qualitative sides of data science in a natural, elegant and typed way. It also shows potential for parallel analytical processing, as the parallelization theory of such matrix operations is well acknowledged.     

A Closed-Loop Automatic Data-Mining Approach for Preventive Network Monitoring

As telecommunication networks grow in size and complexity, monitoring systems need to scale up accordingly. Alarm data generated in a large network are often highly correlated. These correlations can be explored to simplify the process of network fault management, by reducing the number of alarms presented to the network-monitoring operator. This makes it easier to react to network failures. But in some scenarios, it is highly desired to prevent the occurrence of these failures by predicting the occurrence of alarms before hand. This work investigates the usage of data mining methods to generate knowledge from historical alarm data, and using such knowledge to train a machine learning system, in order to predict the occurrence of the most relevant alarms in the network. The learning system was designed to be retrained periodically in order to keep an updated knowledge base.     

Augmented reality system to assist inexperienced pool players

Computational Visual Media - Pool and billiards are amongst a family of games played on a table with six pockets along the rails. This paper presents an augmented reality tool designed to assist...     

Beam search algorithms for the single machine total weighted tardiness scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setups

In this paper, we consider the single machine weighted tardiness scheduling problem with sequence-dependent setups. We present heuristic algorithms based on the beam search technique. These algorithms include classic beam search procedures, as well as the filtered and recovering variants. Previous beam search implementations use fixed beam and filter widths. We consider the usual fixed width algorithms, and develop new versions that use variable beam and filter widths.     

Preparation and characterization of TiO2-BaO-ZnO-B2O3 glass systems for optical devices

We study the TiO₂-BaO-ZnO-B₂O₃ glass system, where the ZnO and B₂O₃ compositions were constant and the ratio TiO₂/BaO was varied from 0.87 to 1.76. A super kanthal resistance furnace was used to melt the compounds inside an alumina crucible, at 1200 °C, for 10 min. After melting, the glasses were poured out into steel moulds and rapidly cooled by quenching. The glasses obtained were homogeneous, bubble free and transparent. They were characterized by X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV-VIS spectroscopy, dilatometry, density and linear refractive index. An infrared cut off caused by the composition influence was found in both IR and UV-vis spectra. From dilatometry T _d and T _g were verified as being anomalous. The linear thermal expansion coefficient presented an anomalous behaviour in relation to TiO₂ concentrations. The density and linear refractive index increased with increasing TiO₂/BaO ratio arriving at their peak value of TiO₂/BaO=1.5 and then decreasing. The dependence of softening point T _d on the ratio TiO₂/BaO exhibited the same behaviour. It is suggested that Ti⁴⁺ plays a dual part in the glass system, assuming a predominantly tetrahedral coordination in the low titania region and a predominantly octahedral coordination in the high titania region. With a heat treatment of the glass around 600 °C, we observed a rapid change of refractive index with increasing temperature.     

Giant Anomalous Hall and Nernst Conductivities in Magnetic All-d Metal Heusler Alloys

All-d Heuslers are a category of novel compounds combining versatile functionalities such as caloric responses and spintronics with enhanced mechanical properties. Despite the promising transport properties (anomalous Hall (AHC) and anomalous Nernst (ANC) conductivities) shown in the conventional Co₂XY Heuslers with p-d hybridization, the all-d Heuslers with only d-d hybridization open a new horizon to search for new candidates with outstanding transport properties. In this work, the AHC and ANC are evaluated for thermodynamically stable ferro/ferri-magnetic all-d-metal regular Heusler compounds based on high-throughput first-principles calculations. It is observed that quite a few materials exhibit giant AHCs and ANCs, such as cubic Re₂TaMn with an AHC of 2011 S cm^-1, and tetragonal Pt₂CrRh with an AHC of 1966 S cm^-1 and an ANC of 7.50 A m^-1K^-1. Comprehensive analysis on the electronic structure reveals that the high AHC can be attributed to the occurrence of the Weyl nodes or gapped nodal lines in the neighborhood of the Fermi level. The correlations between such transport properties and the number of valence electrons are also thoroughly investigated, which provides a practical guidance to tailor AHC and ANC via chemical doping for transverse thermoelectric applications.     

Impact of white-matter mask selection on DTI histogram-based metrics as potential biomarkers in cerebral small vessel disease

Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine - Histogram-based metrics extracted from diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) have been suggested as potential biomarkers for cerebral small...