Effects of the addition of ultrasound‐pulsed gelatin to chitosan on physicochemical and antioxidant properties of casting films

This study investigated the performance of chitosan based films with added, high‐intensity ultrasound‐pulsed, gelatins (42, 52, 71 and 84 W cm^?2). The mechanical, structural, chemical and antioxidant properties were investigated, to evaluate the potential of ultrasound as a technique to improve film properties. The tensile strength and elastic modulus of films containing ultrasound‐pulsed gelatins showed a significant increase, while the elongation parameter showed a significant decrease. Micrographs showed that all films presented agglomerations. The infrared spectra of the films displayed characteristic shifts in the chitosan and gelatin spectra, which may be the result of hydrogen bridge interactions and electrostatic interactions between the two polymers. The antioxidant capacity was analyzed through the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay and the 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzthiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay of films and showed that gelatins treated with higher acoustic intensity had improved antioxidant capacity. High‐intensity ultrasound‐treated gelatin enhanced the strength, elasticity and antioxidant properties of the chitosan based films. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry     

Review of analytical models for the study of highly doped regionsof silicon devices

Several analytical models developed to study the transport of minority carriers in heavily doped emitter regions of silicon devices are reviewed and compared. To calculate the emitter recombination current, special emphasis is placed on the models of J. Del Alamo and R.M. Swanson (ibid, vol.31, no.12, p.1878-88, 1984) and of J.S. Park, A. Neugroschel, and F. Lindholm (ibid, vol.33, no.2, p.240-8, 1986), which are shown to contain other previous models. For solar cells and photodiodes, the quantum collection efficiency and the photogenerated current are also to be calculated; the models developed by M.A. Green and A.W. Blakers (ibid, vol.30, no.10, p.1360-5, 1983) and by J. Del Alamo and Swanson (Proc. 17th IEEE Photovoltai Specialists Conf., p.1303-8, 1984) for that purpose is described and extended. The approximate analytical solutions are shown to constitute upper and lower bounds on the exact solution. The accuracy and range of applicability of these bounds are discussed     

Predictive modeling of surface roughness in grinding

The surface roughness is a variable often used to describe the quality of ground surfaces as well as to evaluate the competitiveness of the overall grinding system. This paper presents the prediction of the arithmetic mean surface roughness based on a probabilistic undeformed chip thickness model. The model expresses the ground finish as a function of the wheel microstructure, the process kinematic conditions, and the material properties. The analysis includes a geometrical analysis of the grooves left on the surface by ideal conic grains. The material properties and the wheel microstructure are considered in the surface roughness prediction through the chip thickness model. A simple expression that relates the surface roughness with the chip thickness was found, which was verified using experimental data from cylindrical grinding.     

Grinding force and power modeling based on chip thickness analysis

The ability to predict grinding force and power is important to many aspects of grinding process optimization, monitoring, and control. This paper presents the predictive modeling of grinding force and power based on the probabilistic distribution of undeformed chip thickness as a function of the kinematic conditions, material properties, wheel microstructure, and dynamic effects. The chip thickness is the main random variable and it is expected to assume a Rayleigh probability density function. The model takes into account the microstructure of the grinding wheel given by the grain geometry and the static grain density in terms of the radial depth into the wheel. The dynamic cutting edge density was calculated incorporating the effects of kinematic and dynamic phenomena such as the kinematic hidden grains and the local grain deflection. The elastic deformation of the grinding contact length was also considered. The model was used to predict the total tangential and normal forces in surface grinding and the total grinding power in cylindrical grinding. In both cases experimental measurement data in the context of chip thickness probability density, tangential force, normal force, and power have been presented and compared to model calculations.     

Active primary mirror support for the 2.1-m telescope at the San Pedro Mártir Observatory

We have designed and installed a new set of actuators for the suspension of the primary mirror of the 2.1-m telescope at San Pedro Mártir. This active optics system has allowed us to correct low-order aberrations identified by several wave-front analysis techniques.     

Energy-optimal collaborative file distribution in wired networks

The impact of the ICT sector in worldwide power consumption is an increasing concern, motivating the research community to devote an important effort to define novel energy efficient networking solutions. Despite file distribution is responsible for a major portion of the current Internet traffic, little effort has been dedicated to address the issue of its energy efficiency so far. Most of the previous literature focuses on optimizing the download time of file distribution schemes (e.g. centralized server-based or distributed peer-to-peer solutions) while it is yet unclear how to optimize file distribution schemes from the point of view of energy consumed. In this paper, we present a general modelling framework to analyze the energy consumption of file distribution systems. First, we show that the general problem of minimizing energy consumption in file distribution is NP-hard. Then, for restricted versions of the problem, we establish theoretical bounds to minimal energy consumption. Furthermore, we define a set of optimal algorithms for a variety of system settings, which exploit the service capabilities of hosts in a P2P fashion. We show that our schemes are capable of reducing at least 50 % of the energy consumed by traditional (yet largely used) centralized distribution schemes even when considering effects such as network congestion and heterogeneous access speed across nodes.     

Quantification and Determination of Composition of Steryl Ferulates in Refined Rice Bran Oils Using an UPLC-MS Method

Gamma-oryzanol contains a mixture of steryl ferulates found in rice bran oil. Several studies have attributed nutraceutical properties to this mixture, such as hypocholesterolemic and anti-inflammatory activities. A method based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was developed and evaluated for the simultaneous quantification of gamma-oryzanol and identification of five major steryl ferulates directly in refined rice bran oils (RBO) samples. The proposed method was evaluated according to linearity by obtaining standard curves with R ² values above 0.990, and limit of detection values ranged from 1.9 to 5.9 µg/mL, whereas limits of quantification ranged from 5.9 to 17.9 µg/mL; inter- and intraday accuracy and precision were within the range required by the US Food and Drug Administration guidelines; recovery levels ranged from 78 to 85% for gamma-oryzanol, and from 84 to 119% for steryl ferulates. The method can be considered robust in relation to the NH₄OH (ammonium hydroxide) content and cone voltage variations, with coefficient of variation and average relative percentage deviation values lower than 7.0 and 4.4%, respectively. The stability during the storage test was maintained in concentrated samples (18.5 µg/mL), with recovered values between 93 and 113%. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of RBO samples, demonstrating that it could be easily used for quality control purposes.     

Real-Time Attitude Stabilization of a Mini-UAV Quad-rotor Using Motor Speed Feedback

A real-time attitude stabilization control scheme is proposed for the efficient performance of a mini-UAV Quad-Rotor. Brushless DC (BLDC) motor speed sensing is performed by reflective sensors in order to obtain a robust stabilization of the vehicle in hovering mode both indoor and outdoor. The speed measurement has the advantage of introducing this state information directly in the closed loop control which should be very useful for achieving robust stabilization of the mini-UAV. Furthermore a stabilizing control strategy based on Control Lyapunov Function (CLF) is proposed. The control scheme contains two control loops. The inner loop is devoted to control the motors speed while the outer loop is devoted to control the attitude stabilization of a mini-UAV. Assuming that the motors can be considered as a disturbance of the system, then by the standard singular perturbation theory, we may conclude that the system is asymptotically stable. Finally, to verify the satisfactory performance of proposed embedded controller, simulations and experimental results of speed sensing feedback in BLDC motors of the Quad-rotor aircraft in the presence of disturbances are presented.     

Real-time Stabilization of a Quadrotor UAV: Nonlinear Optimal and Suboptimal Control

In this paper a nonlinear suboptimal stabilizing control strategy based on Control Lyapunov Functions (CLF) is synthesized and applied to a quadrotor helicopter. Sufficient conditions are obtained for this control law to ensure the asymptotic stability of the closed loop system. Furthermore, a particular methodology to find a CLF candidate for nonlinear affine system is also presented, which is highly relevant because the dynamical model representing the VTOL aerial vehicles have this affine structure. Using this CLF candidate, we are able to synthesize a nonlinear stabilizing optimal control law which allows energy saving. Numerical simulations were developed for both control strategies and real time experiments have been performed using the nonlinear stabilizing control algorithm. The numerical simulations have shown a successful performance of the autonomous aerial vehicle.