Microscopic and spectroscopic characterization of rice and corn starch

Starch granules from rice and corn were isolated, and their molecular mechanism on interaction with α‐amylase was characterized through biochemical test, microscopic imaging, and spectroscopic measurements. The micro‐scale structure of starch granules were observed under an optical microscope and their average size was in the range 1–100 μm. The surface topological structures of starch with micro‐holes due to the effect of α‐ amylase were also visualized under scanning electron microscope. The crystallinity was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction patterns as well as second‐harmonic generation microscopy. The change in chemical bonds before and after hydrolysis of the starch granules by α‐ amylase was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Combination of microscopy and spectroscopy techniques relates structural and chemical features that explain starch enzymatic hydrolysis which will provide a valid basis for future studies in food science and insights into the energy transformation dynamics.     

A comparative study of microstructure and mechanical behavior of CO2 and diode laser deposited Cu–38Ni alloy

Cu–38Ni alloy was deposited on C71500 (Cu–30Ni) substrates by a laser-aided direct metal deposition technique using CO₂ and diode lasers. Structure–property relationships of deposited specimens were investigated by optical microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction techniques, and microhardness and tensile measurements. Laser-deposited specimens’ microstructures were primarily dendritic, forming columnar grains growing epitaxially from the substrate and subsequent layers along the preferred crystallographic growth. The grain growth pattern and grain size distribution was significantly different in both specimens. The lattice parameter of the solid solution phase was relatively larger in diode laser-formed specimen; CO₂ laser-formed specimens showed relatively higher but non-uniform hardness distribution whereas a very uniform hardness distribution was observed in diode laser formed specimens. Diode laser formed specimens showed higher tensile properties compared to CO₂ laser formed specimens which were comparable to C71500 substrates. Microstructure and mechanical behavior were explained based on laser processing parameters.     

Design and development of a safer non-invasive transungual drug delivery system for topical treatment of onychomycosis

Objective: The main objective of this study is to develop a safer non-invasive treatment for nail infections since the current treatment regimen has drawbacks like, incidence of systemic side-effects and higher cost. Proposed topical treatment on the other hand can drastically improve the situation, hence highly desirable. This work was undertaken with a hypothesis to develop a transungual microemulsion gel for topical treatment of onychomycosis.

Methods: Benzyl alcohol and isopropyl myristate were used as oil, Pluronic F68 as surfactant and ethanol as co surfactant, in double-distilled water and loading itraconazole as the model antifungal drug. Pseudo-ternary phase diagram was developed by titrating different ratios of total oil and water with total surfactant, and K_m ratio was fixed at 1:1. Microemulsion formulations were prepared based on the phase diagram and incorporated in gels by adding Carbopol 934P. Nail permeation enhancers like urea and salicylic acid were used to increase drug permeation through the nail plate. Parameters like drug loading, clarity, particle size distribution, drug entrapment efficiency (DEE), drug release profile, release kinetics and nail uptake were checked for the evaluation of the formulations.

Results: Complete release of drug from the formulation varied from 60 to 120?min. The optimized formulation had DEE of 92.75%, complete drug release in 60?min and highest nail uptake of 0.386%/mm² (39?µg of drug) with 5% urea as nail permeation enhancer.

Conclusion: The formulation may prove beneficial in safer treatment of onychomycosis.     

The effect of fluid inertia on the film pressure between two axially oscillating parallel circular plates with a viscoelastic lubricant

A viscoelastic incompressible fluid between two parallel circular plates separated by a small distance with sinusoidal axial vibration of the top plate including fluid inertia terms was considered. Flow phenomena were characterized by non-dimensional parameters such as the Reynolds number Re and the elastic number S. An iteration method was used to solve the non-linear equations. The effects of Re and S on the fluid pressure were studied.     

Scalable Aqueous Processing-Based Passive Daytime Radiative Cooling Coatings

Passive daytime radiative cooling (PDRC) can realize electricity-free cooling by reflecting sunlight and emitting heat to the cold space. Current PDRC designs often involve costly vacuum processing or a large quantity of harmful organic solvents. Aqueous and paint-like processing is cost-effective and environmentally benign, thereby highly attractive for green manufacturing of PDRC coatings. However, common polymers explored in PDRC are difficult to disperse in water, let alone forming porous structures for efficient cooling. Here, a simple “bottom-up” ball milling approach to create uniform microassembly of poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropene) nanoparticles is reported. The micro- and nanopores among secondary particles and primary particles substantially enhance light scattering and results in excellent PDRC performance. A high solar reflectance of 0.94 and high emittance of 0.97 are achieved, making the coating 3.3 and 1.7 °C cooler than commercial white paints and the ambient temperature, under a high solar flux of ≈1100 W m⁻². More importantly, the volatile organic compound content in the aqueous paint is only 71 g L⁻¹. This satisfies the general regulatory requirements, which are critical to sustainability and practical applications.     

Multi-channel Fusion Based Adaptive Gait Trajectory Generation Using Wearable Sensors

This paper presents a method to regenerate lower limb joint angle trajectories during gait cycle by judging human intention using wearable sensor system. Myoelectric signals from user are used to detect the intention of gait initiation and gait phases. Multi-channel redundant fusion technique is implemented to obtain a robust stride time and gait phase calculation algorithm. Joint trajectories corresponding to particular gait events and phases are regenerated using a Radial basis neural network. The network is trained with joint angle data measured by Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) from users with varying anthropomorphic features. Generated trajectory is adaptive to anthropomorphic as well as gait velocity variation. Contribution of this paper is in development of a wearable sensor system, multi-channel redundant fusion to calculate stride time and an adaptive gait trajectory generation algorithm. The proposed method of trajectory generation is used to regenerate lower limb joint motion in sagittal plane for wearable robotic devices like prosthesis and active lower limb exoskeleton.     

Characterization of Cenospheres Collected from Ash-pond of a Super Thermal Power Plant

Abstract

As received cenospheres obtained from Rihand Super Thermal Power Plant, Uttar Pradesh,India, were processed using sink float method. The solvent system consisted of 1% TEALS (Triethanolamine lauryl sulphate) in acetone. Further flotation of the float with the same solvent system led to another float. Various fractions thus obtained were characterized in respect of their chemical, mineralogical, and morphological properties. The float obtained from second flotation was richer in cenospheres, which are round and within a small size range. The residues obtained were broken spheres. Phase-mineralogical analysis has revealed mullite enrichment in the floats. Chemical composition of the various fractions does not indicate high concentration of harmful elements. SEM analysis leads to the conclusion that the cenospheres are essentially open-pore type. Based on such experimental observations, various potential uses have been suggested.     

Dynamic schedule execution in an agent based holonic manufacturing system

The present paper deals with the negotiation based task allocation to the resources for preparing dynamic scheduling in an agent based holonic control framework. The scheduling priority is developed by Multi Objective Optimization on the basis of Ratio Analysis (MOORA) technique under Fuzzy Multi Criteria Decision Making (FMCDM) environment considering several attributes. The well-known Contract Net Protocol (CNP) is followed for the purpose of task allocation by negotiation and cooperation, where message based communication is accomplished by eXtensible markup language (XML) using J2EE. Different Document Type Definitions (DTDs) are developed for intended applications. Necessary modifications in the scheduling arising out of changes in the volume-mix are made by a distributed cooperative problem-solving algorithm to meet the demand without violating the deadline. The algorithm is implemented using HTML code in front-end with Java Server Page (JSP) through Apache Tomcat 6.02 server. It is advocated that the cooperation based teamwork coupled with higher flexibility and agility is the key to success to remain unperturbed and provide reasonably good solution in the face of disturbances and stands superior to its hierarchical counterpart.     

Crosslinking of Isabgol husk polysaccharides for microspheres development and its impact on particle size,swelling kinetics and thermal behavior

The microspheres were prepared by emulsification method using glutaraldehyde as crosslinker. The effects of variables as temperature, concentration of Isabgol husk and glutaraldehyde, and nature of dispersing media were analyzed on microsphere-derived properties such as size distribution, surface morphology, and swelling kinetics. The nature of crosslinking and interaction of polysaccharides structure with glutaraldehyde  were assessed by thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy. The spherical and free flowing microspheres were obtained and a significant effect of process variables was observed on characteristics of formulations. The microspheres revealed their potential in the development of sustained release drug carriers for water soluble/insoluble drugs.