Application Oriented Multi Criteria Optimization in WSNs Using on AHP

With the increasing number and variety of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) applications the need to define a suitable protocol design model that fits their specific requirements and operation has become even more pressing. The traditional methods and the well known OSI layered model prove to be inadequate for WSNs. Utilizing cross layer interactions on the other hand leads to increased efficiency in operation and prolonging the network lifetime. Similarly, proper optimization can even further add to improving the performance and reducing energy consumption in WSN. However there is no common ground to compare the suggested solutions or there is no well defined methodology for determining the optimization parameters for each specific case. In this paper we discuss two major issues: the first one is definition of optimization parameters for WSN and check for their consistency, the second one is how the suggested approach can be incorporated in a cross layer framework to provide adaptivity to different application requirements while maximizing the network performance and prolonging the network lifetime.     

Effects of nitrobenzene concentrations and hydraulic retention time on the treatment of nitrobenzene in sequential anaerobic baffled reactor and continuously stirred tank reactor system.

The effects of increasing nitrobenzene (NB) concentrations and hydraulic retention time (HRT) on the performance of anaerobic baffled reactor (ABR) and aerobic completely stirred tank reactor (CSTR) were studied. In the first step the NB concentration was increased from 30 to 700 mg/L at constant COD and flowrates. Maximum COD removal efficiencies in ABR varied between 88-92% as NB concentrations increased from 30 to 210 mg/L. After this dose, COD removal efficiency decreased to 85 and 79% at NB concentrations of 550 and 700 mg/L, respectively. Removal efficiencies of NB were nearly 100% for all NB concentrations in ABR reactor effluent. In the second step, COD and NB concentrations were kept constant while HRT decreased from 10.38 days to 1 day. As HRT decreased from 10.38 to 2.5 days the COD removal efficiencies in the anaerobic and anaerobic/aerobic reactor effluents were 92-94% and 97-98%, respectively. As HRT decreased from 2.5 days to 1 day COD removal efficiencies in the anaerobic and anaerobic/aerobic reactor effluents decreased to 83 and 95%, respectively. This study showed that HRT is a more important operation parameter than increasing NB concentration in ABR/CSTR sequential reactor system. Although ABR/CSTR system exhibited good COD and NB removal efficiencies, the lower HRTs slightly decreased the removal efficiencies compared to increasing NB concentration.     

Supercritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> extraction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alkanna</Emphasis> species and investigating functional characteristics of alkannin-enriched yoghurt during storage

Alkannin is a potent pharmaceutical substance with a wide spectrum of biological activities. In the scope of this study, supercritical CO₂ extraction and sonication with hexane were applied to various Alkanna species, which were then subjected to hydrolysis. Total alkannins were quantified by HPLC/DAD and incorporated into yoghurt. Viscosities, pH values and microbial analyses were reported at 7 days of intervals for 21 days of storage. A. tinctoria possessed the highest amounts of alkannins and total phenols (686.3 mg GAE/g extract). The results revealed no significant changes in pH values (4.1–4.0), viable counts of Streptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus (80–150 × 10⁶ cfu g⁻¹) and slightly lower viscosities of enriched yoghurts (8,250–6,750 cPs) compared with the control (4.15–4.0; 110–105 × 10⁶ cfu g⁻¹; 12,600–11,310 cPs) during storage. However, viable counts of Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus of enriched yoghurts (87 × 10³ cfu g⁻¹) were much better than the control (191 × 10³ cfu g⁻¹), indicating a significant decrease in post acidification and generation of bitter peptides. Among the species investigated, A. tinctoria is the most promising source, obtained at higher yields via supercritical fluid extraction technology as a green alternative to solvent extraction and thus can be utilized at industrial scale in order to develop yoghurt products with improved health benefits.     

Synthesis and photopolymerizations of new phosphonated methacrylates from alkyl α‐hydroxymethacrylates and glycidyl methacrylate

Novel aromatic mono‐ and di(phosphonate) or phosphonic acid monomers for use in dental composites were synthesized. Synthesis of monomer 1a involved three steps: (i) reaction of t‐butyl α‐bromomethacrylate (t‐BuBMA) and Bisphenol A, (ii) conversion to diacid chloride derivative using thionyl chloride, (iii) reaction of diacid chloride with diethyl (2‐hydroxyphenyl) phosphonate. Monomer 2a was synthesized from the reaction of 2‐chloromethacryloyl chloride and diethyl (2‐hydroxyphenyl) phosphonate. Synthesis of monomer 3a involved reaction of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) with diethyl (2‐hydroxyphenyl) phosphonate. Hydrolysis of the phosphonate groups of monomers 1a and 2a with trimethylsilyl bromide (TMSBr) gave monomers 1b and 2b with phosphonic acid functionality, which is intended to improve binding ability of dental composites. The homopolymerization and copolymerization behaviors of the synthesized monomers with (Bis‐GMA) were investigated using photodifferential scanning calorimetry at 40°C with 2,2′‐dimethoxy‐2‐phenyl acetophenone as photoinitiator. The interaction of the monomer 1b with hydroxyapatite (HAP) was investigated using Fourier transform infrared technique. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Chromium speciation by solid phase extraction on Dowex M 4195 chelating resin and determination by atomic absorption spectrometry

A solid phase extraction procedure has been established for chromium speciation in natural water samples prior to determination by atomic absorption spectrometry. The procedure is based on the solid phase extraction of the Cr(VI)- Dowex M 4195 chelating resin. After oxidation of Cr(III) to Cr(VI) by using H2O2, the presented method was applied to the determination of the total chromium. The level of Cr(III) is calculated by difference of total chromium and Cr(VI) levels. The procedure was optimized for some analytical parameters including pH, eluent type, flow rates of sample and eluent, matrix effects, etc. The presented method was applied for the speciation of chromium in natural water samples with satisfactory results (recoveries >95%, RSDs <10%). In the determinations of chromium species, flame atomic absorption spectrometer was used. The results were checked by using NIST SRM 2711 Montana soil and GBW 07603 Bush branched and leaves.     

Bubbly cavitating flow generation and investigation of its erosional nature for biomedical applications

This paper presents a study that investigates the destructive energy output resulting from hydrodynamic bubbly cavitation in microchannels and its potential use in biomedical applications. The research performed in this study includes results from bubbly cavitation experiments and findings showing the destructive effects of bubbly cavitating flow on selected solid specimens and live cells. The bubbles generated by hydrodynamic cavitation are highly destructive at the surfaces of the target medium on which they are carefully focused. The resulting destructive energy output could be effectively used for biomedical treatments, such as destroying kidney stones (renal calculi) or killing cancer cells. Motivated by this potential, the cavitation damage to cancerous cells and material removal from chalk pieces (which possess similar material properties as some kidney stones) was investigated. Our results showed that cavitation could induce damage both on chalk pieces and leukemia/lymphoma cells. We discovered that hydrodynamic cavitation exposure had early and delayed effects on cancer cell survival. Hence, the potential of hydrodynamic bubbly cavitation generated at the microscale for biomedical treatments was revealed using the microchannel configuration as a microorifice (with an inner diameter of 147 μm and a length of 1.52 cm), which acts as the source of bubbly cavitating flows.     

橡子单宁的提取优化及其在皮革中的应用

优化了从橡子中提取单宁的最佳工艺参数,并考察其鞣制性能。研究了溶剂/原料比(20~100mL/g)、时间(2~10h)和混合溶剂比(甲醇-水)(0~100%)对提取率、单宁含量和单宁总量的影响。将最佳优化条件下提取出的橡椀单宁应用于皮革鞣制中,并测定鞣革的填充系数(%)和收缩温度(Ts)。优化的提取参数如下:溶剂/原料比为100mL/g,提取时间为6h,混合溶剂比为62%甲醇-38%水。采用提取出的单宁鞣后成革的填充系数为57.81%,收缩温度为75.5℃,远好于市售橡椀单宁鞣革(52.83%,73℃),凸显出优化过程的重要性。表明使用提取出的橡椀单宁作为植物鞣剂应用于皮革工业中,鞣制效果令人满意。