Morphological,Dynamic Mechanical,Creep and Weathering Behavior of Carbon Nanotube-Reinforced 50/50 ASA/Zn-Ionomer Blend

The nanocomposite of 50/50 acrylonitrile styrene acrylate/Zn-ionomer blend uses varying weight ratios (0.5–5.0%) of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The morphological, thermal, thermomechanical, and creep behavior along with metal adhesion were evaluated. The phase-separated surface morphology of the blend formed non-uniform microscale nanotube dispersion and resulted in nanotube network formation at 1 wt%. Lowest creep compliance and increased complex modulus were found at 1 wt% nanotube loading. The presence of weather resistant acrylonitrile styrene acrylate and carbon nanotubes made the nanocomposite excellent weather resistant.     

Biclustering neighborhood-based collaborative filtering method for top-n recommender systems

Knowledge and Information Systems - We propose a novel collaborative filtering method for top- $$n$$ recommendation task using bicustering neighborhood approach. Our method takes advantage of local...     

Comparison of solar radiation data sources for design and performance appraisal of CSP systems in India

The choice of a solar radiation data source is expected to have a significant impact on the predicted performance of a concentrating solar power (CSP) system and consequently on its technical and financial feasibility. In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyse the effect of choice of various solar radiation data sources on the predicted performance of a CSP system at 13 different locations in 5 different climatic zones of India. It was observed that there is significant variation in the amount of annual electricity output obtained for various locations using different solar radiation data sources resulting in variations in levelised cost of electricity. For a 50-MW parabolic trough-based CSP plant located in Jaisalmer, the estimated value of annual electricity output varies from 63 to 124?GWh. For a CSP plant based on the central tower receiver technology, the corresponding range is from 106 to 145?GWh.     

Self-assembled trehalose amphiphiles as molecular gels: A unique formulation to wax-free cosmetics

Trehalose has been used as an emollient and antioxidant in cosmetics. We aimed to explore trehalose amphiphiles as oil structuring agents for the preparation of gel-based lip balms as part of wax-free cosmetics. This article describes the synthesis of trehalose fatty acyl amphiphiles and their corresponding oleogel-based lip balms. Trehalose dialkanoates were synthesized by esterifying the two primary hydroxyls of trehalose with fatty acids (C4-C12) using a facile, regioselective lipase catalysis. The gelation potential of as-synthesized amphiphiles was evaluated in organic solvents and vegetable oils. Stable oleogels were subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal (DSC), and rheological studies and further used for the preparation of lip balms. Trehalose dioctanoate (Tr8), trehalose didecanoate (Tr10) were found to be super gelators as their minimum gelation concentration is ≤0.2 wt%. XRD studies revealed their hexagonal columnar molecular packing while forming the fibrillar networks. Rheometry proved that the fatty acyl chain length of amphiphiles can influence the strength and flow properties of oleogels. Further rheometry (at 25, 37, and 50 °C) and DSC studies have validated that Tr8- and Tr10-based oleogels are stable for commercial applications. Tr8- and Tr10-based olive oil oleogels were used for the preparation of lip balms. The preliminary results suggested that the cumulative effect of trehalose's emolliency and vegetable oil gelling nature can be achieved with trehalose amphiphiles, specifically, Tr8 and Tr10. This study has also demonstrated that Tr8- and Tr10-based lip balms can be used as an alternative to beeswax and plant wax lip balms, indicating their huge potential to succeed as a new paradigm to formulate wax-free cosmetics.     

Negative and positive persistent photoconductance in graphene

Persistent photoconductance, a prolonged light-induced conducting behavior that lasts several hundred seconds, has been observed in semiconductors. Here we report persistent negative photoconductance and consecutive prominent persistent positive photoconductance in graphene. Unusually large yields of negative PC (34%) and positive PC (1652%) and remarkably long negative transient response time (several hours) were observed. Such high yields were reduced in multilayer graphene and were quenched under vacuum conditions. Two-dimensional metallic graphene strongly interacts with environment and/or substrate, causing this phenomenon, which is markedly different from that in three-dimensional semiconductors and nanoparticles.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Imidazopyridine–Oxindole Conjugates as Microtubule‐Targeting Agents

A library of imidazopyridine–oxindole conjugates was synthesised and investigated for anticancer activity against various human cancer cell lines. Some of the tested compounds, such as 10 a , 10 e , 10 f , and 10 k , exhibited promising antiproliferative activity with GI₅₀ values ranging from 0.17 to 9.31 μM . Flow cytometric analysis showed that MCF‐7 cells treated by these compounds arrested in the G₂/M phase of the cell cycle in a concentration‐dependent manner. More particularly, compound 10 f displayed a remarkable inhibitory effect on tubulin polymerisation. All the compounds depolarised mitochondrial membrane potential and caused apoptosis. These results are further supported by the decreased phosphorylation of Akt at Ser473. Studies on embryonic development revealed that the lead compounds 10 f and 10 k caused delay in the development of zebra fish embryos. Docking of compound 10 f with tubulin protein suggested that the imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridine moiety occupies the colchicine binding site of tubulin.