Preparation and characterization of polypyrrole/clinoptilolite nanocomposite with enhanced electrical conductivity by surface polymerization method

In this work, polypyrrole/clinoptilolite nanocomposite was synthesized by in situ surface polymerization of pyrrole using Fe³⁺ as oxidant, incorporated on the inner and outer surface of clinoptilolite nanoparticles. Formation of nanocomposite and deposition of polypyrrole on the clinoptilolite surface was confirmed and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD) patterns, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and cyclic voltammetry techniques. Elemental analysis showed the loading/incorporation of 9.18 wt% polypyrrole in the clinoptilolite structure. However the electrical conductivity of polypyrrole/clinoptilolite nanocomposite pellets was higher than that of similar pure polypyrrole pellets, synthesized through the chemical oxidation polymerization method using Fe³⁺ as oxidant without the presence of clinoptilolite nanoparticles. Improved structural order or crystalinity of polypyrrole chains in nanocomposite structure which was confirmed by XRD and SEM results, may be the responsible of higher electrical conductivity of nanocomposite compared to pure polypyrrole although the low content (9.18 wt%) of polypyrrole in nanocomposite. Cyclic voltammetry studies showed that polypyrrole/clinoptilolite nanocomposite is electroactive similar to pure polypyrrole. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Review of Children and prejudice.

Reviews the book, Children and prejudice by Frances Aboud (1988). It is to the credit of the author to bring to our attention the importance of children's cognitive development. The cognitive stages of development according to Piaget, Kohlberg, and so on are shown to restrict or facilitate perception and cognitive interpretations of social events and experiences. The social psychological theories of prejudice are critically discussed. Their major limitations are indicated. On the basis of her research as well as that of several others, the author formulates her theory of social-cognitive development with respect to prejudice. The chapters are carefully and lucidly written. Having noted the above merits of the book I should mention some of the shortcomings of the research cited and the integration made so far. In using the cognitive-developmental approach of Piaget and Kohlberg, the author stops short of delineating the age-related cognitive changes between the ages of 4 years (when prejudice begins) and 7 or 8 years (when cognitive changes enable prejudice to take a new turn). In addition, the cognitive-developmental approach to research on prejudice is promising but, so far, the promise has not fully materialized. A third source of disappointment pertains to the content of research on prejudice. Allowing for the fact that the bulk of research is generally done in the United States, there is so little information regarding prejudice against Canadian ethnic minorities. To new researchers the book provides a critical review of the research literature and of the methods to study prejudice in children. Where the book falls short is in providing advanced sophisticated studies and understanding of developmental changes from childhood to adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparative factorial analysis of semantic structures in monolingual Indian and American school children.

430 monolingual, Hindi-speaking elementary school children in India and 200 English-speaking Ss in the United States rated 15 concepts on 15 bipolar semantic scales. Factor analyses yielded a bifactor common space for the United States sample, and 3- and 4-factor space for the 8- and 12-yr-old Ss, respectively, in the Indian sample. The common denominator, evaluative, potency, and activity semantic space, was observed in both cultural samples. The 2 sample factor structures showed evidences of factorial congruence. Between sample factorial dissimilarities are suggested to be due to Culture-Concept-Scale interactions. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social IT outsourcing and development: theorising the linkage

In recent years, a growing number of social enterprises have focused their attention on harnessing the benefits of trade in software by involving underprivileged communities from developing countries in the production of information technology (IT). The goal of this type of activity, known as social IT outsourcing, is not only to provide employment and income to low‐income individuals but also to address wider development priorities within the locality. This paper focuses on strengthening our understanding of social IT outsourcing as a promoter of development. Based on research in Jharkhand, eastern India, we seek to understand how social IT outsourcing activity is interpreted from the perspective of employees who provide data services for the market and from the perspective of the social enterprise that balances its market orientation with its social development goals. Our findings generate new insights into the mechanisms at play through which social IT outsourcing is able to provide a variety of developmental advantages to rural poor communities leading to policy implications for governments and development agencies.     

Information systems and culture: Applying ‘stages of growth’ concepts to development administration

Abstract

This paper examines how cultural factors influence the rate at which individuals adopt technology to assist them in their duties. In order to achieve this, we review usage of the stages of growth model of information systems development in organisations which has been applied in the context of western and non‐western organisations in various parts of the world. We then apply the model to the context of development administration where information technology interventions are becoming pervasive but where the inherent traditional cultural characteristics are fundamentally at variance with those of information technology practitioners. The case study we present is that of the implementation of information systems in the Karachi Development Authority (KDA). The findings highlight the utility and limitations of the stages of growth model in terms of its ability to accommodate the inherent cultural characteristics of KDA. While such knowledge will have value for information technology practitioners within their own societies, we contend that it will become even more valuable for practitioners from western cultures in applying technology solutions to development administration.     

Plasma Focus Device as a Breeder of Proton to Produce Short Lived Radioisotope <Superscript>18</Superscript>F

In a plasma focus device, the nuclear fusion products are created through the thermal and non-thermal (beam-target) mechanisms. The beam target character of the pinched plasma is used to determine the yield of 3.02 Mev protons (when deuterium filling gas is used) at the optimized regime. For this situation, a combination of “moving boiler” model and a shock wave theory are employed. The numerical simulations for the production of the positron emitter nuclide, ¹⁸F (T _1/2 = 110 min; widely used in positron emission tomography), for two Mather type devices (NX2 and PF1000) show that, the rules of the drift velocity as well as the drive parameters have an high impact on the final yields.     

Identifying brain regions contributing to Alzheimer's disease using self regulating particle swarm optimization

In this article, we developed an approach for detecting brain regions that contribute to Alzheimer's disease (AD) using support vector machine (SVM) classifiers and the recently developed self regulating particle swarm optimization (SRPSO) algorithm. SRPSO employs strategies inspired by the principles of learning in humans to achieve faster and better optimization results. The classifiers for distinguishing subjects into AD patients and cognitively normal (CN) individuals were built using grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumetric features extracted from structural magnetic resonance (MR) images. It could be observed from results that the classifier built using both GM and WM features provided accuracy of 89.26% which is better than the performance of classifiers built using either GM or WM features only. Moreover, consideration of clinical features in addition to volumetric features improves the accuracy further to 94.63% which is better than the performance reported by recent works in literature. In order to identify the brain regions that are important for AD vs CN classification problem, we used SRPSO to extract GM and WM features that yield better classification performance. Using 50 features identified by SRPSO, an accuracy of 89.39% was obtained which is close to the accuracy based on all features. The features identified by SRPSO were mapped back to the brain to identify brain regions that exhibit degeneration in AD. In addition to identifying areas known to be involved in AD like cerebellum, hippocampus, this helped in finding newer areas that might contribute towards AD.     

Design and optimization of alginate−chitosan−pluronic nanoparticles as a novel meloxicam drug delivery system

The inflammation and pain associated with osteoarthritis are treated with nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This treatment is accompanied by several side effects; therefore local intra articular (IA) NSAID injection can be more efficient and safe than systemic administration or topical use. In this study, alginate?chitosan?pluronic nanoparticles were considered as a new vehicle for IA meloxicam delivery. These novel nanoparticles were prepared using an ionotropic gelation method and were optimized for variables such as alginate to chitosan mass ratio, pluronic concentration, and meloxicam concentration using a 3‐factor in 3‐level Box‐Behnken design. To optimize the formulation, the dependent variables considered were particle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and mean dissolution time (MDT). The nanoparticles morphology was characterized by FESEM and AFM. The potential interactions of the drug‐polymers were investigated by ATR‐FTIR and DSC, and the delivery profile of meloxicam from the nanoparticles was obtained. The average particle size of the optimized nanoparticles was 283 nm, the zeta potential was ?16.9 mV, the meloxicam entrapment efficiency was 55%, and the MDT was 8.9 hours. The cumulative released meloxicam amount from the composite nanoparticles was 85% at pH 7.4 within 96 h. The release profile showed an initial burst release followed by a sustained release phase. The release mechanism was non‐Fickian diffusion. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42241.     

Novel corona discharge treatment of cotton fabric with Cu and ZnO nanoparticles

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate coating of copper and zinc oxide nanoparticles on cotton fabric by using corona discharge in two ways of pre-treatment and post-treatment. In pre-treatment method, cotton fabrics were modified by corona discharge before coating separately with nanoparticles. In post-treatment, cotton fabrics were coated separately with ZnO and Cu nanoparticles before treating by corona discharge. Self-cleaning properties of treated fabrics were determined by staining methylene blue dye. The antibacterial tests, Scanning electron microscopy and FTIR/ATR analysis were carried out to observe antibacterial performance, surface morphology and analyze the surface chemical structure, respectively. Atomic absorption spectroscopy and water droplet adsorption were used for the determination of metal ion content, and water adsorption. Results showed that by pre-treatment method of corona discharge, absorption of copper nanoparticles was increased, and self-cleaning effect and antibacterial performance of copper nanoparticles were higher than post-treatment. ZnO nanoparticles had highest self-cleaning and antibacterial effect by pre-treatment method. By post-treatment method, the photocatalyst activity of ZnO nanoparticles was decreased.