Characterization of nano-crystalline LiNiVO4 synthesized by hydrothermal process

LiOH·H₂O, Ni(CH₃COO)₂·4H₂O and NH₄VO₃ were used to synthesize nano-crystalline LiNiVO₄ by hydrothermal process in deionized water at 150 °C for 2 h and subsequent calcination at 300-600 °C for 6 h. By using an X-ray diffractometer (XRD), a transmission electron microscope (TEM) and a selected area electron diffraction (SAED) method, nano-crystalline LiNiVO₄ with inverse spinel structure was detected. The stretching vibration of VO₄ tetrahedrons analyzed by a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) was split into three bands at 661, 746 and 835 cm^− 1, and that analyzed by a Raman spectrometer was detected at 823.9 and 787.7 cm^− 1. The thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses (TGA and DTA) show two discrete weight losses at 25-117 °C and 117-600 °C and four endothermic peaks at 84, 145, 202 and 372 °C, corresponding to the evaporation of water and the decomposition of inorganic and organic compounds.     

Synthesis and analysis of CuS with different morphologies using cyclic microwave irradiation

Nano- and micro-sized CuS crystals were successfully synthesized from copper and sulfur sources (CuCl₂ ^. 2H₂O, CuBr, Cu(CH₃COO)₂ ^. H₂O, CH₃CSNH₂, NH₂CSNHNH₂ and NH₂CSNH₂) in ethylene glycol assisted by the cyclic irradiation of different microwave powers and prolonged times. By using XRD and SAED, CuS (hcp) was detected. The products characterized using SEM and TEM compose of assemblies of nano-flakes, clusters of nano-particles, nano-fibers, nano-rods and sponge-like structures influenced by the synthesized conditions. Their lattice vibrations are in the same Raman wavenumber at 474 cm⁻¹. Among the different products, the emission peaks are over the range 414–435 nm (2.85–2.99 ev). Reaction evidences of the sources were provided using FTIR. Phase and morphology formations are also proposed on according to the analytical results.     

Analysis of Ascorbic Acid and Isoascorbic Acid in Orange and Guava Fruit Juices Distributed in Thailand by LC-IT-MS/MS

This work describes the determination of ascorbic acid (AA) and isoascorbic acid (IAA) in fruit juices by liquid chromatography coupled with ion trap tandem mass spectrometry (LC-IT-MS/MS), with a reversed phase column (C₁₈) and simple isocratic conditions of 0.1 % formic acid. The negative ion mode of electrospray ionization (ESI) and the MS/MS transition of m/z 175 were used for the quantitation of AA- and IAA-generated product ions with m/z 115. The method was validated in terms of linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantitation (LOQ), precision, and accuracy. Good linearity was achieved with 0.6 and 1.8 μg/mL for the LOD and LOQ, respectively. The intraday and intermediate precisions were approximately 4 and 7 %, respectively. Recovery percentages ranged from 88 to 108 %. All validation parameters were found to be within the acceptable range for both AA and IAA. Hence, the proposed method is suitable for simultaneously determining AA and IAA. Fourteen fruit juice samples were analyzed including fruit juices from supermarkets, local markets, and laboratory preparations. Ten fruit juice samples (100 %) from different brands in the supermarkets were investigated for AA and IAA content. AA could be detected in all the samples, ranging from 5.2?±?2 to 44.4?±?1.3 μg/mL, and the values of vitamin C in 4 guava samples were less than the values specified by the manufacturer. IAA was observed in 4 of 10 samples ranging from 3.4?±?0.9 to 78.3?±?3.9 μg/mL, and the highest value of IAA was approximately two fold higher than the highest value of AA. For freshly prepared fruit juices, AA was detected in both local market- and laboratory-prepared juices. The value ranged from 13.2?±?0.9 to 105.1?±?1.3 μg/mL. In addition, the AA stability after opening the package was evaluated. The results showed that after 4 days of storage in the refrigerator, approximately 30 and 15 % losses of AA were observed for the orange and guava juices, respectively. Fresh fruit juices were thus demonstrated to be good sources of AA, with the highest value observed for guava juice prepared in the laboratory.     

Performance of a 500 kWP grid connected photovoltaic system at Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand

This paper summarises the first eight months of monitoring of the PHA BONG photovoltaic generation project, a 500 kW_p photovoltaic pilot plant, in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand. The local grid in this remote area in the North West of Thailand is very limited in its capacity and cannot be enlarged. It has been in operation since 20 March 2004 by feeding into 400 V_AC, 22 kV medium voltage grid. The system consist of a photovoltaic array 1680 modules (140 strings, 12 modules/string; 300 W/module), power conditioning units and battery converter system. During the first eight months of this system's operation, the PV system generated about 383,274 kWh. The average of generating electricity production per day was 1695.9 kWh. It ranged from 1452.3 to 2042.3 kWh. The efficiency of the PV array system ranged from 9 to 12%. The efficiency of the power conditioning units (PCU) is in the range from 92 to 98%. The final yield (Y_F) ranged from 2.91 to 3.98 h/d and the performance ratio (PR) range from 0.7 to 0.9.     

Mass Spectrometric-Based Proteomics for Biomarker Discovery in Osteosarcoma: Current Status and Future Direction

Due to a lack of novel therapies and biomarkers, the clinical outcomes of osteosarcoma patients have not significantly improved for decades. The advancement of mass spectrometry (MS), peptide quantification, and downstream pathway analysis enables the investigation of protein profiles across a wide range of input materials, from cell culture to long-term archived clinical specimens. This can provide insight into osteosarcoma biology and identify candidate biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and stratification of chemotherapy response. In this review, we provide an overview of proteomics studies of osteosarcoma, indicate potential biomarkers that might be promising therapeutic targets, and discuss the challenges and opportunities of mass spectrometric-based proteomics in future osteosarcoma research.     

Congestion tracking control for wireless TCP/AQM network via immersion and invariance

This paper deals with an immersion and invariance (I&I) control design for wireless Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) network to solve Active Queue Management (AQM) problems. With the help of this strategy, the developed control law can be used to cope with congestion tracking problems for a nonlinear wireless network model. Besides, the nonlinear congestion control law is proposed to assure that the queue length is able to track the desired queue length despite having sudden changes. The developed control design is validated in the MATLAB environment. The effectiveness of the developed control is verified through a simulation and compared with integral backstepping design, backstepping design, sliding mode design, and synergetic control design. The simulation results demonstrated that the presented strategy is not only able to solve the desired congestion tracking control problem but also provide improved transient performances.