Theoretical and practical investigations of copper ion selective electrode with polymeric membrane based on N,N′-(2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diyl)-bis(dihydroxyacetophenone)

A novel ion-selective poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) membrane sensor for Cu²⁺ ions based on N,N′-(2,2-dimethylpropane-1,3-diyl)-bis(dihydroxyacetophenone) (NDHA) as a new ionophore was prepared and studied. The best performance was observed for the membrane composition, including 30:65:1:4 (wt%) = PVC:DBP:KTpClPB:NDHA. The electrode showed a good Nernstian slope of 30.0 ± 0.5 mV/decade in a wide linear range activity of 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ to 1.0 × 10⁻² mol dm⁻³ Cu(NO₃)₂ with limit of detection 2.5 × 10⁻⁷. Sensor exhibited a fast response time (t_95% < 10 s) and could be used for about 4 months in the pH range of 3.0–7.4. The proposed potentiometric sensor was found to work satisfactorily in partially non-aqueous media up to 30 (vol%) content of methanol, ethanol and acetone. Applications of this electrode for the determination of copper in real samples, and as an indicator electrode for potentiometric titration of Cu²⁺ ion using EDTA, were reported. In order to predict the extraction ability of NDHA for different metallic ions, the complexes [M(NDHA)] and [M(H₂O)₆] (where M = Cu²⁺, Co²⁺, Hg²⁺, Pb²⁺, Ag⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, Mn²⁺, Zn²⁺, Cd²⁺, K⁺ and Al³⁺) were investigated using ab initio theoretical calculations. The metal binding capability was evaluated using the binding energy. Results of our study could be useful for prediction of the extraction power of this Schiff base and could play a guiding role in planning experiments.     

On the realization of the current controlled current-mode amplifier using the current controlled conveyor

The current controlled current-mode amplifier proposed by Fabre et al. (1996, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems—I, 43, 82) is reanalysed to show that it can work not only under small signal conditions, as suggested by Fabre et al., but also under large signal conditions. Simulation results which confirm the theory presented are included.     

Coatings against corrosion and microbial adhesion

A systematic study on anti‐corrosion and anti‐fouling effect of hydrophobic Langmuir–Blodgett and self‐assembled molecular layers deposited on metal surfaces, as well as anti‐microbial adhesion properties of coatings with biocide is presented. Both types of efficiencies produced by LB films are enhanced by Fe³⁺ ions built in the molecular film. The quaternary ammonium type biocide embedded into the cross‐linked gelatin decreased significantly the microbial adhesion, the biofilm formation.     

Formation and Characterization of Titanium Modif Aluminide Coatings on IN738LC

HISTORICALLY superalloys have been used in gasturbine applications with a protective coating to combatoxidation problems in aero engines and hot corrosionproblems in industrial and marine engines.Theprotective coatings used are predominantly of thediffusion type produced by variety of techniques suchas pack cementation,chemical vapor deposition,slurryfusion and hot dipping[1,2].The purpose of this typeof coatings is to increase the amount of Al at thesurface of a component,so that a protec…     

Memory for emotional trait adjectives in clinically depressed youth

An experiment was conducted to examine memory for emotional trait adjectives in depressed children and adolescents. Two groups of children and adolescents, clinically depressed participants and non-clinical controls, were compared on computerized versions of recall and recognition memory tasks. Three groups of words (positive trait adjectives, negative trait adjectives, and categorized neutral words) were used in the experiment. Results showed that the depressed group recalled significantly more negative adjectives than positive adjectives, whereas the control group recalled the same number of positive and negative adjectives. This effect was predicted by the association between age and level of depression, with the depression-related bias becoming stronger with age. Signal detection analysis revealed that the depressed group did not show any bias in the recognition task. The findings are discussed with respect to cognitive theories of depression with consideration of the developmental implications.     

Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection flow on a sphere with uniform heat flux in presence of heat generation

Summary Magnetohydrodynamic natural convection boundary layer flow on a sphere with uniform heat flux in presence of heat generation has been investigated in this paper. The governing boundary layer equations are transformed into a non-dimensional form and the resulting nonlinear system of partial differential equations is then solved numerically by two distinct efficient methods, namely (i) implicit finite difference method together with the Keller box scheme and (ii) perturbation or series solution technique. The results of the surface shear stress in terms of local skin friction and the rate of heat transfer in terms of local Nusselt number, velocity distribution as well as temperature distribution are shown graphically for a selection of parameter sets consisting of the heat generation parameter and the magnetic parameter.     

Co-precipitation synthesis and AC conductivity of Sn0.94Zn0.04O2 nanoparticles,using impedance spectroscopy

The co-precipitation method is used for the preparation of Sn_0.94Zn_0.04O₂ nanoparticles. The formation of typical rutile-type was confirmed by X-ray diffraction studies, and it was found to be a tetragonal phase at room temperature. In addition, the complex measurement has been investigated in the temperature range 473–713 K and in the frequency range 200 Hz–5 MHz. The results have been analyzed in the complex plane formalism and suitable equivalent circuits have been proposed in different regions. The direct current conductivity shows typical Arrhenuis behavior, when observed as a function of temperature. The modulus plots can be characterized by the empirical Kohlrausch–Williams–Watts function: Φ(t) = exp [(?t/τ)^β]. The near value of activation energies obtained from the analyses of modulus and conductivity data confirms that the transport is through ion hopping mechanism in the investigated materials.     

Hybrid Fractal-Wavelet Method for Multi-Channel EEG Signal Compression

In this paper, a hybrid method is proposed for multi-channel electroencephalograms (EEG) signal compression. This new method takes advantage of two different compression techniques: fractal and wavelet-based coding. First, an effective decorrelation is performed through the principal component analysis of different channels to efficiently compress the multi-channel EEG data. Then, the decorrelated EEG signal is decomposed using wavelet packet transform (WPT). Finally, fractal encoding is applied to the low frequency coefficients of WPT, and a modified wavelet-based coding is used for coding the remaining high frequency coefficients. This new method provides improved compression results as compared to the wavelet and fractal compression methods.     

A nondominated ranked genetic algorithm for bi-objective single machine preemptive scheduling in just-in-time environment

Motivated by just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing, we study the bi-objective scheduling problem of minimizing the total weighted earliness and the number of tardy jobs on a single machine, in which machine idle time and preemption are allowed. The problem is known to be NP-hard. In this paper, we propose a new mathematical model, with nonlinear terms and integer variables which cannot be solved efficiently for medium- and large-sized problems. A method combining the new ranked-based roulette wheel selection algorithm with Pareto-based population ranking algorithm, named nondominated ranking genetic algorithm (NRGA), has been presented to find nondominated solutions in a reasonable time. Various operators and parameters of the proposed algorithm are reviewed to calibrate the algorithm by means of the Taguchi method. A number of numerical examples are solved to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The solutions obtained via NRGA are compared against solutions obtained via ε-constraint method in small-sized problems. Experimental results show that the proposed NRGA is competitive in terms of the quality and diversity of solutions in medium- and large-sized problems.