Experimental analysis of the effects of cerium oxide nanoparticles on a single-cylinder diesel engine using biofuel blended with diesel as fuel

Energy demand is the hot topic of all developing and developed countries. Energy demand has been increasing day by day at a high rate. So, it is necessary to find an alternative solution that is eco-friendly. Biodiesel can be the alternative solution for this problem. The main purpose of this paper is to test the engine performance and emission parameters of a diesel engine using pure cinnamon oil blended with diesel and using cerium oxide as a catalyst. The parameters measured are brake power, brake thermal efficiency, specific fuel conception, CO₂, CO, NO_x and HC.     

Spectral characterization and ASTER-based lithological mapping of an ophiolite complex: A case study from Neyriz ophiolite, SW Iran

The Neyriz ophiolite occurs along the Zagros suture zone in SW Iran, and is part of a 3000-km obduction belt thrusting over the edge of the Arabian continent during the late Cretaceous. This complex typically consists of altered dunites and peridotites, layered and massive gabbros, sheeted dykes and pillow lavas, and a thick sequence of radiolarites. Reflectance and emittance spectra of Neyriz ophiolite rock samples were measured in the laboratory and their spectra were used as endmembers in a spectral feature fitting (SFF) algorithm. Laboratory spectral reflectance measurements of field samples showed that in the visible through shortwave infrared (VNIR-SWIR) wavelength region the ultramafic and gabbroic rocks are characterized by ferrous-iron and Fe, MgOH spectral features, and the pillow lavas and radiolarites are characterized by spectral features of ferric-iron and AlOH. The laboratory spectral emittance spectra also revealed a wide wavelength range of SiO spectral features for the ophiolite rock units. After continuum removal of the spectra, the SFF classification method was applied to the VNIR + SWIR 9-band stack, and to the 11-band data set of SWIR and TIR data sets of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor, using field spectra as training sets for evaluating the potential of these data sets in discriminating ophiolite rock units. Output results were compared with the geological map of the area and field observations, and were assessed by the use of confusion matrices. The assessment showed, in terms of kappa coefficient, that the SFF classification method with continuum removal applied to the SWIR data achieved excellent results, which were distinctively better than those obtained using VNIR + SWIR data and TIR data alone.     

Controller design and performance evaluation for deadlock avoidance in automated flexible manufacturing cells

In this paper, the design of a deadlock avoidance controller is described. The uncontrolled system is modeled using colored Petri nets. The system controller is based on a restrictive (not maximally permissive) deadlock avoidance policy to resolve deadlocks and control the real-time resource allocation decisions in the system. Performance evaluation of systems controlled by not maximally permissive algorithms is essential in determining the applicability and effectiveness of the control algorithms. The performance of the controlled system is compared with performance of optimal control policies to quantify the effects of the restrictiveness of the deadlock avoidance policy on system performance.     

Pharmaceutical applications of hot-melt extrusion: part I

Interest in hot-melt extrusion techniques for pharmaceutical applications is growing rapidly with well over 100 papers published in the pharmaceutical scientific literature in the last 12 years. Hot-melt extrusion (HME) has been a widely applied technique in the plastics industry and has been demonstrated recently to be a viable method to prepare several types of dosage forms and drug delivery systems. Hot-melt extruded dosage forms are complex mixtures of active medicaments, functional excipients, and processing aids. HME also offers several advantages over traditional pharmaceutical processing techniques including the absence of solvents, few processing steps, continuous operation, and the possibility of the formation of solid dispersions and improved bioavailability. This article, Part I, reviews the pharmaceutical applications of hot-melt extrusion, including equipment, principles of operation, and process technology. The raw materials processed using this technique are also detailed and the physicochemical properties of the resultant dosage forms are described. Part II of this review will focus on various applications of HME in drug delivery such as granules, pellets, immediate and modified release tablets, transmucosal and transdermal systems, and implants.     

Screening of β1- and β2-Adrenergic Receptor Modulators through Advanced Pharmacoinformatics and Machine Learning Approaches

Cardiovascular diseases (CDs) are a major concern in the human race and one of the leading causes of death worldwide. β-Adrenergic receptors (β1-AR and β2-AR) play a crucial role in the overall regulation of cardiac function. In the present study, structure-based virtual screening, machine learning (ML), and a ligand-based similarity search were conducted for the PubChem database against both β1- and β2-AR. Initially, all docked molecules were screened using the threshold binding energy value. Molecules with a better binding affinity were further used for segregation as active and inactive through ML. The pharmacokinetic assessment was carried out on molecules retained in the above step. Further, similarity searching of the ChEMBL and DrugBank databases was performed. From detailed analysis of the above data, four compounds for each of β1- and β2-AR were found to be promising in nature. A number of critical ligand-binding amino acids formed potential hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Finally, a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation study of each molecule bound with the respective target was performed. A number of parameters obtained from the MD simulation trajectories were calculated and substantiated the stability between the protein-ligand complex. Hence, it can be postulated that the final molecules might be crucial for CDs subjected to experimental validation.     

Anionic Clays as Potential Slow-Release Fertilizers: Nitrate Ion Exchange

Several nitrate containing anionic clays were synthesized at different temperatures and the kinetics of NO₃ ^– release were determined to test their suitability as slow-release N fertilizers. A sample (Mg:Al = 2:1) synthesized at 60°C with smaller particle size released 75, 86 and 100% of its NO₃ ^– in 1, 3 and 7 days, respectively when equilibrated with a simulated soil solution. On the other hand, the 175°C/2 hrs sample with larger particle size released 65, 77 and 84% of its nitrate in 1, 3 and 7 days, respectively. Another anionic clay (synthesized at 175°C/24 hrs) of higher charge density (Mg:Al = 2:1) containing NO₃ ^– was equilibrated with a 0.012 N NaCl or Na₂CO₃ to test the role of different anions in releasing the NO₃ ^– anion from the interlayers. The results showed that Cl^– released more NO₃ ^– than did CO₃ ^2– from this anionic clay after all the treatment times probably as a result of the CO₃ ^2– anion blocking the release of NO₃ ^– from the interior of the crystals. When a lower charge density (Mg:Al = 3:1) sample (synthesized at 175°C/48 hrs) was equilibrated with 0.02N solution of anions the release of nitrate was as follows: Cl^– < F^– < SO₄ ⁼ CO₃ ^2–. These results suggest that the divalent SO₄ ⁼ and CO₃ ^2– anions are more effective in the release of NO₃ ^– from this lower charge density anionic clay. Time-resolved structural analysis of NO₃ ^– exchange with CO₃ ^2– in the above anionic clay using synchrotron x-ray diffraction showed that ion exchange is rapid because of small crystal size and lower charge density. Thus the release of NO₃ ^– from anionic clays is an interplay among the type of anions present in soil solution, their concentration, pH of soil solution, the charge density and crystal size of anionic clay etc.     

Nanocomposite route to the stabilization of porous ϑ-alumina

Stabilization of -alumina phase by silica was studied in nanocomposite (diphasic) alumina-silica gels by XRD and BET surface areas measurements. Five wt.% of silica (22 nm particles) increased the crystallization temperature of to -alumina by about 100°C from boehmite (10 nm particles) derived alumina. Stabilization of -alumina was caused by the formation of intimate contact (Al-O-Si) between components by diffusion of silica into the defect alumina structure.Also with the Department of Agronomy.     

Passive range estimation for rotorcraft low-altitude flight

The automation of rotorcraft low-altitude flight presents challenging problems in control, computer vision, and image understanding. A critical element in this problem is the ability to detect and locate obstacles, using on-board sensors, and to modify the nominal trajectory. This requirement is also necessary for the safe landing of an autonomous lander on Mars. This paper examines some of the issues in the location of objects, using a sequence of images from a passive sensor, and describes a Kalman filter approach to estimate range to obstacles. The Kalman filter is also used to track features in the images leading to a significant reduction of search effort in the feature-extraction step of the algorithm. The method can compute range for both straightline and curvilinear motion of the sensor. An experiment is designed in the laboratory to acquire a sequence of images along with the sensor motion parameters under conditions similar to helicopter flight. The paper presents range estimation results using this imagery.     

Assessment of Soil Moisture Dynamics of the Nebraska Sandhills Using Long-Term Measurements and a Hydrology Model

Soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and other major water balance components were investigated for six Nebraska Sandhills locations during a 6 year period (1998–2004) using a hydrological model. Annual precipitation in the study period ranged from 330 to 580?mm. Soil moisture was measured continuously at 10, 25, 50, and 100?cm depth at each site. Model estimates of surface (0–30?cm), subsurface (30–91?cm), and root zone (0–122?cm) soil moisture were generally well correlated with observed soil moisture. The correlations were poorest for the surface layer, where soil moisture values fluctuated sharply, and best for the root zone as a whole. Modeled annual estimates of evapotranspiration and drainage beneath the rooting zone showed large differences between sites and between years. Despite the Sandhills’ relatively homogeneous vegetation and soils, the high spatiotemporal variability of major water balance components suggest an active interaction among various hydrological processes in response to precipitation in this semiarid region.     

Laser power coupling efficiency in conduction and keyhole welding of austenitic stainless steel

Laser welding of thin sheets of AISI 304 stainless steel was carried out with high power CW CO₂ laser. The laser power utilized in the welding process was estimated using the experimental results and the dimensionless parameter model for laser welding; and also the energy balance equation model. Variation of laser welding efficiency with welding speed and mode of welding was studied. Welding efficiency was high for high-speed conduction welding of thin sheets and also in keyhole welding process at high laser powers. Effect of pre-oxidization of the surface and powder as filler material on laser power coupling is also reported. The paper also discusses effect of microstructure on the cracking susceptibility of laser welds.