Bioaugmentation of floating treatment wetlands for the remediation of textile effluent

This pilot study evaluated the effects of bacterial augmentation on the efficiency of floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) to remediate textile wastewater. Two wetland plants, Phragmites australis and Typha domingensis, were used to develop FTWs, which were then augmented with a bacterial consortium of three strains (Acinetobacter junii, Pseudomonas indoloxydans, and Rhodococcus sp.). Results showed that both plant species removed colour, organic matter, toxicity, and heavy metals from textile wastewater and their removal efficiency was further enhanced by augmentation with bacteria. The maximum removal efficiencies of colour, COD and BOD after an 8‐day period were 97, 87 and 92%, respectively, by FTWs carrying P. australis inoculated with the bacterial consortium. Furthermore, the same combination showed 87–99% reduction of heavy metals in the textile wastewater as well. These results indicate that FTWs can be used for the treatment of textile effluent and their working efficiency can be improved by plant‐bacterial synergism.     

Platinum on nitrogen doped graphene and tungsten carbide supports for ammonia electro-oxidation reaction

Ammonia electrooxidation reaction involving multistep electron-proton transfer is a significant reaction for fuel cells, hydrogen production and understanding nitrogen cycle. Platinum has been established as the best electrocatalyst for ammonia oxidation in aqueous alkaline media. In this study, Pt/nitrogen-doped graphene (NDG) and Pt/tungsten monocarbide (WC)/NDG are synthesized by a wet chemistry method and their ammonia oxidation activities are compared to commercial Pt/C. Pt/NDG exhibits a specific activity of 0.472 mA∙cm^–2, which is 44% higher than commercial Pt/C, thus establishing NDG as a more effective support than carbon black. Moreover, it is demonstrated that WC as a support also impacts the activity with further 30% increase in comparison to NDG. Surface modification with Ir resulted in the best electrocatalytic activity with Pt-Ir/WC/NDG having almost thrice the current density of commercial Pt/C. This work adds insights regarding the role of NDG and WC as efficient supports along with significant impact of Ir surface modification.     

An improved strategy for skin lesion detection and classification using uniform segmentation and feature selection based approach

Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer with highest mortality rate. However, the annihilation in early stage implies a high survival rate therefore, it demands early diagnosis. The accustomed diagnosis methods are costly and cumbersome due to the involvement of experienced experts as well as the requirements for highly equipped environment. The recent advancements in computerized solutions for these diagnoses are highly promising with improved accuracy and efficiency. In this article, we proposed a method for the classification of melanoma and benign skin lesions. Our approach integrates preprocessing, lesion segmentation, features extraction, features selection, and classification. Preprocessing is executed in the context of hair removal by DullRazor, whereas lesion texture and color information are utilized to enhance the lesion contrast. In lesion segmentation, a hybrid technique has been implemented and results are fused using additive law of probability. Serial based method is applied subsequently that extracts and fuses the traits such as color, texture, and HOG (shape). The fused features are selected afterwards by implementing a novel Boltzman Entropy method. Finally, the selected features are classified by Support Vector Machine. The proposed method is evaluated on publically available data set PH2. Our approach has provided promising results of sensitivity 97.7%, specificity 96.7%, accuracy 97.5%, and F‐score 97.5%, which are significantly better than the results of existing methods available on the same data set. The proposed method detects and classifies melanoma significantly good as compared to existing methods.     

Structural,viscoelastic, and vulcanization study of sponge ethylene–propylene–diene monomer composites with various carbon black loadings

In this article, we report the effect of various carbon nanoparticle concentrations on the structural, curing, tan δ, viscosity variation during vulcanization, thermal, and mechanical characteristics of ethylene–propylene–diene monomer polymer sponge composites. The purpose of this study was to develop high‐strength, foamy‐structure polymer composites with an optimum filler to matrix ratio for advanced engineering applications. We observed that the structural, vulcanization, viscoelastic, and mechanical properties of the fabricated composites were efficiently influenced with the progressive addition of carbon content in the rubber matrix. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39423.     

Cure characterization of Cycom 977‐2A carbon/epoxy composites for quickstep processing

In this effort, Quickstep, a relatively a new technique, have been employed for manufacturing of composite materials. The cure schedule provided by a prepreg manufacturer is usually designed for autoclave or other traditional processing techniques and thermosetting resin systems are formulated for ramp rate curing 2–3 K min^?1. While in case of Quickstep processing, ramp rates of 15 K min^?1 can be achieved, thus changing the chemorheology of resin. The cure process of 977‐2A carbon/epoxy composites was evaluated for Quickstep processing using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical and thermal analysis, and Fourier transformed infrared and results were compared with cure cycle employed for autoclave curing. Optimum hold time for Quickstep processing at upper curing temperature (180°C) was determined using DSC. The hold time of 120 min at 180°C was found to be suitable for Quickstep cure cycle, producing a panel of similar degree of cure to that achieved through autoclave processing schedule. Final degree of cure was dependent on time spent at upper cure temperature and slightly on initial steps of the cure cycle which was used to control the resin flow, fiber wetting, and void removal. Quickstep processed samples exhibited higher T_g and crosslink density and similar molecular network structure to the autoclave cured samples. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:887–898, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Structural and magnetic properties of Pr–Ni substituted Ca0.5Ba0.5Fe12O19 hexa-ferrite nanoparticles

Effect of Pr–Ni substitution on structural and magnetic properties of Ca_0.5Ba_0.5−xPr_xNi_yFe_12−yO₁₉ (x=0.00–0.10 and y=0.00–1.00) prepared by the sol–gel auto combustion method were investigated. The XRD analysis confirmed the single phase M-type hexa-ferrite structure. The lattice parameters were found to increase as Pr–Ni content increases, which is attributed to the ionic size of the implicated cations. The Pr–Ni seems to be completely soluble in the lattice. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the grain size decreases with increase of Pr–Ni substitution. The coercivity and remanent magnetization ranges from 1511 to 1925 (Oe) and 21.4 to 26.5 (emu/g), respectively. The coercivity values of all the samples fall in the range of M-type hexa-ferrites.     

Characterization of Ba4.5Re9Ti18O54 (Re = La,Nd) microwave dielectric ceramics

Ba_4.5Re₉Ti₁₈O₅₄ (Re = La, Nd) ceramics were prepared via a solid state mixed oxide route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed the formation of the major Ba_4.5Re₉Ti₁₈O₅₄ phase along with rutile (TiO₂) as a secondary phase. Rietveld structure refinement of the recorded XRD data confirmed that the crystal structure of Ba_4.5Nd₉Ti₁₈O₅₄ (BNT) was orthorhombic (Pnma) with unit cell parameters a = 22.3412 Å, b = 7.6824 Å and c = 12.1952 Å. Ba_4.5La₉Ti₁₈O₅₄ (BLT) exhibited high relative permittivity (95.6), low quality factor (2,102 GHz) and a high temperature coefficient of resonance frequency (+352 ppm/°C). The substitution of Nd for La caused a decrease in both the relatively permittivity and temperature coefficient of resonance frequency to 84.2 and 167 ppm/°C respectively and an increase in quality factor to 8,007 GHz. Raman spectroscopic analysis revealed that lattice defects may be responsible for the observed decrease in quality factor of BLT ceramics in comparison to BNT. The Raman shifts at 533.5 and 613.6 cm^?1, related to Ti–O bond stretching, decreased for BNT ceramics, which may be a possible reason for the observed decrease in relative permittivity.     

Performance of microwave synthesized dual solvent dope solution and lithium bromide additives on poly(ethersulfone) membranes

BACKGROUND: Generally the fabrication of polymeric membranes is a complicated and expensive process since it involves several steps. The preliminary preparation steps involve polymer drying and dissolution and is very time consuming and expensive. Currently, conventional electrothermal heating (CEH) is used to dissolve polyethersulfone in an aprotic solvent for membrane fabrication. Usually CEH requires 6 to 8 h at temperatures of 80 to 95 °C. This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of polyethersulfone (PES) asymmetric ultrafiltration membrane made from microwave (MW) synthesis casting solution consisting of various compositions of double solvents and lithium bromide (LiBr) additive. RESULTS: Homogeneous dual solvent dope solutions prepared via microware irradiation took only 1 h instead of the 7 h when prepared using CEH. The results also revealed that the membrane permeation and rejection rates, pore size and porosity were dependent on the ratio of LiBr to acetone. Membranes with LiBr kept at 2 and 3 wt% exhibited both high rejection and permeation rates with minimum pore sizes of 1.067 and 1.214 nm respectively. The presence of LiBr and the occurrence of chain scission were elucidated using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy while its hydrophilic property was confirmed by water absorption and contact angle measurements. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the microwave technique is capable of producing 1 L membrane solutions in less than 1 h. The membranes prepared from the microwave solutions show good rejection and permeation rates. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of precipitation on the geological development of badlands in arid regions

The main objective of this paper was to study the effect of precipitation on the geological development of badlands in arid regions. Field observations and laboratory investigations were carried out to characterize the surface soils of the Avonlea badlands in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, which is currently experiencing a rapid development in infrastructure. Three distinct surface sediments were identified: an upper slope of cemented sandstone, a mid-slope on weathered mudrock and a relatively flat basal pediment. Each of these soils reacts differently to rainfall events. Precipitation results in grain size reduction which, together with the consistency limits, explains the water sensitivity of the soils; the fines increased by 16% in the cemented sandstone, 78% in the weathered mudrock and 33% in the basal pediment. Erosion susceptibility was highest in the basal pediment (2% clays) followed by cemented sandstone (cementation by 6% active clays) and then by weathered mudrock (cohesion due to the 40% clay).