The crossflow piston bed

The moving piston bed is a device for producing washed crystals from a slurry feed. Necessary for predicting the quality of a conceptual bed geometry is an evaluation method which accurately reveals the flow patterns in the dynamic system. The electrical analog method serves as a versatile guide to an evolutionary development of improved designs.All beds with a submerged drainage port have, for a given geometry, a unique relationship between loss of displacement fluid and rate of bed advance. The hydraulic diagram is unchanged, by the magnitude of applied forces. For rating productive capacity the use of gravity forces as a reference standard is recommended.A crossflow design is developed that predicts a productive rate over three times that achievable by downflow washing.     

Cyclophosphamide induced nail pigmentation

Cyclophosphamide therapy may occasionally cuase black pigmentation of the nails. We report five cases with this side effect and review the data on eleven cases in the literature. These changes start in the proximal nail beds and progress distally; on withdrawal of cyclophosphamide, clearing of the nail pigmentation proceeds in a similar fashion. The development of the nail pigmentation does not bear any relation to the primary condition for which cyclophosphamide was prescribed. The dose of the drug before the onset of pigmentation ranged from 1.2 to 12.3 g; the duration of treatment ranged from 10 days to 26 weeks. The mechanism of the nail pigmentation is unknown.     

Processing of nimesulide-PEG 400-PG-PVP solid dispersions: preparation,characterization, and in vitro dissolution

The objective of this investigation was to study the influence of dissolution enhancers such as polyethylene glycol 400, propylene glycol, polyvinylpyrrolidone K30, sodium lauryl sulfate, and Tween 80 on in vitro dissolution of a model active pharmaceutical material--nimesulide. Preliminary studies were conducted using a physical blend of nimesulide, and the adjuvants and solid dispersions were prepared using solvent evaporation and cogrinding methods. Aqueous solution of adjuvants was first triturated with nimesulide, followed by mixing with lactose and microcrystalline cellulose, and finally water was evaporated under vacuum in a cogrinding method. A 33 factorial design was adopted in a cogrinding method using the concentration of polyethylene glycol 400, propylene glycol, and polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 as independent variables. Tween 80 and sodium lauryl sulfate were added in all the batches. Full and reduced models were evolved for different dependent variables. The reduced models were validated using two checkpoints. Angle of repose < 35 degrees, percentage of drug released in 30 min (Q30) > 40%, 45 min (Q45) > 50%, and 120 min (Q12) > 60% were used as constraints for the selection of an optimized batch. Contour plots are presented for the selected dependent variables. Polyvinylpyrrolidone was found to be more effective in increasing the drug dissolution, compared with polyethylene glycol 400 and propylene glycol. The granule flow was adversely affected when high levels of liquid adjuvants were used in formulations. Wettability study was conducted to measure wetting time for pure drug and the optimized batch. Improved drug dissolution was attributed to improved wetting and the solubilizing effect of adjuvants from the pseudosolid dispersions of nimesulide. Significant improvement in drug dissolution was observed (Q120 = 70%), compared with pure drug powder (Q120 = 15%). In conclusion, dissolution of nimesulide can be modulated using an appropriate blend of pharmaceutical adjuvants.     

Screened Optical-Phonon Pairing Mechanism in Electron Doped Cuprates

An effective two-dimensional dynamic interaction is developed which incorporates screening of electrons by plasmons and by optical phonons to discuss the nature of the pairing mechanism leading to superconductivity in layered electron doped cuprates. The system is treated as an ionic solid containing layers of electrons as carriers and a model dielectric function is set up which fulfils the appropriate sum rules on the electronic and ionic polarizabilities. Estimate of the Coulomb pseudo-potential (*=0.24), describing the screening effects on superconductivity is due to reduced electron density and large value of the optical dielectric constant as well the effective mass of electrons. The electron–phonon coupling constant () is evaluated as 1.5 which infers strong strength of coupling. Following strong coupling theory, the superconducting transition temperature of optimally doped Nd–Ce–CuO is estimated as 30 K and the energy gap ratio is larger than the BCS value. The isotope exponent, coherence length and magnetic penetration depth are also estimated. The implications of the model and its analysis are discussed.     

Aligned conical carbon nanotubes

Aligned conical carbon nanotubes (CCNTs) have been synthesized on catalyst-coated Si (100) substrates by a D.C. plasma-assisted hot filament chemical vapor deposition process. The same technique under slightly different deposition conditions has been used to grow aligned conventional carbon nanotubes. The conical shape is due to secondary graphitic growth on the main nanotube. This growth results in the formation of a series of inverted lampshade-type structures stacked over each other, which gives the CNT the appearance of a cone. The CCNT structures are typically 2 m at the base with an inner diameter of 100 nm and 2000 nm long. Patterned growth, e.g., arrays of 6 m × 6 m square, has been achieved. Field emission from CCNTs for use in flat panel displays is also reported.     

Viscosities of Nonelectrolyte Liquid Mixtures Containing Acrylonitrile

The measurements of viscosity are reported for seven binary mixtures of acrylonitrile (AN) with ethanenitrile (EN), methyl acetate (MA), ethyl acetate (EA), n-butyl acetate (BA), dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylacetamide (DMA), and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) at 303.15 K temperature. The viscosity data have been correlated with the equations of Grunberg and Nissan; Hind, McLaughlin, and Ubbelohde; Tamura and Kurata; Katti and Chaudhri; McAllister; Heric and Brewer; and of Auslaender. The relations between the viscosity deviations , excess Gibbs energy of activation G*^E of viscous flow, and the intermolecular interaction in these mixtures are discussed.     

Topographic and phase-contrast imaging in atomic force microscopy

Phase-contrast imaging in the tapping mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a powerful method in surface characterization. This method can provide fine details about rough surfaces, which are normally obscured in topographic imaging. To illustrate some of the capabilities of phase-contrast imaging, AFM studies of Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 (PZT) films were carried out. Phase-contrast imaging revealed fine details of their microstructures, including grain boundaries, triple junctions and twinning, which could not be detected by topographic imaging. The studies showed that phase-contrast imaging is capable of providing superior information about surface characteristics when compared to the standard topographic imaging.     

High-fidelity bilateral teleoperation systems and the effect of multimodal haptics.

In master-slave teleoperation applications that deal with a delicate and sensitive environment, it is important to provide haptic feedback of slave/environment interactions to the user's hand as it improves task performance and teleoperation transparency (fidelity), which is the extent of telepresence of the remote environment available to the user through the master-slave system. For haptic teleoperation, in addition to a haptics-capable master interface, often one or more force sensors are also used, which warrant new bilateral control architectures while increasing the cost and the complexity of the teleoperation system. In this paper, we investigate the added benefits of using force sensors that measure hand/master and slave/environment interactions and of utilizing local feedback loops on the teleoperation transparency. We compare the two-channel and the four-channel bilateral control systems in terms of stability and transparency, and study the stability and performance robustness of the four-channel method against nonidealities that arise during bilateral control implementation, which include master-slave communication latency and changes in the environment dynamics. The next issue addressed in the paper deals with the case where the master interface is not haptics capable, but the slave is equipped with a force sensor. In the context of robotics-assisted soft-tissue surgical applications, we explore through human factors experiments whether slave/environment force measurements can be of any help with regard to improving task performance. The last problem we study is whether slave/environment force information, with and without haptic capability in the master interface, can help improve outcomes under degraded visual conditions.     

Development of a 60 Hz Power Standard Using SNS Programmable Josephson Voltage Standards

We are implementing a new standard for 60 Hz power measurements based on precision sinusoidal reference voltages from two independent programmable Josephson voltage standards (PJVS): one for voltage and one for current. The National Institute of Standards and Technology PJVS systems use series arrays of Josephson junctions to produce accurate quantum-based DC voltages. Using stepwise-approximation synthesis, the PJVS systems produce sinewaves with precisely calculable RMS voltage and spectral content. We present measurements and calculations that elucidate the sources of error in the RMS voltage that are intrinsic to the digital-synthesis technique and that are due to the finite rise times and transients that occur when switching between the discrete voltages. Our goal is to reduce all error sources and uncertainty contributions from the PJVS synthesized waveforms to a few parts in 10 ⁷ so that the overall uncertainty in the AC-power standard is a few parts in 10⁶     

Land surface temperature variation in relation to vegetation type using MODIS satellite data in Gujarat state of India

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) has provided an improved capability for moderate resolution land surface monitoring and for studying surface temperature variations. Surface temperature is a key variable in the surface energy balance. To investigate the temporal variation of surface temperature in relation to different vegetation types, MODIS data from 2000–04 were used, especially in the reproductive phase of crops (September–October). The vegetation types used for this study were agriculture in desert areas, rainfed agriculture, irrigated agriculture, and forest. We found that among the different vegetation types, the desert‐based agriculture showed the highest surface temperature followed by rainfed agriculture, irrigated agriculture, and forest. The variation in surface temperature indicates that the climatic variation is mostly determined by the different types of vegetation cover on the Earth's surface rather than rapid climate change attributable to climatic sources. The mean land surface temperature (LST) and air temperature (T _a) were plotted for each vegetation type from September to October during 2000 and 2004. Higher temperatures were observed for each vegetation type in 2000 as compared to 2004 and lower total rainfall was observed in 2000. The relationship between MODIS LST and T _a measurements from meteorological stations was established and illustrated that years 2000 and 2004 had a distinct climatic variability within the time‐frame in the study area. In all test sites, the study found that there was a high correlation (r = 0.80–0.98) between LST and T _a.