Buckling and mechanical instability of ZnO nanorods grown on different substrates under uniaxial compression

Mechanical instability and buckling characterization of vertically aligned single-crystal ZnO nanorods grown on different substrates including Si, SiC and sapphire (α-Al(2)O(3)) was done quantitatively by the nanoindentation technique. The nanorods were grown on these substrates by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method. The critical load for the ZnO nanorods grown on the Si, SiC and Al(2)O(3) substrates was found to be 188, 205 and 130?μN, respectively. These observed critical loads were for nanorods with 280?nm diameters and 900?nm length using Si as a substrate, while the corresponding values were 330?nm, 3300?nm, and 780?nm, 3000?nm in the case of SiC and Al(2)O(3) substrates, respectively. The corresponding buckling energies calculated from the force displacement curves were 8.46 × 10(-12), 1.158 × 10(-11) and 1.092 × 10(-11)?J, respectively. Based on the Euler model for long nanorods and the J B Johnson model (which is an extension of the Euler model) for intermediate nanorods, the modulus of elasticity of a single rod was calculated for each sample. Finally, the critical buckling stress and strain were also calculated for all samples. We found that the buckling characteristic is strongly dependent on the quality, lattice mismatch and adhesion of the nanorods with the substrate.     

Coating of stainless steel and titanium bipolar plates for anticorrosion in PEMFC: A review

Anticorrosion coating for stainless steel (SS) and titanium bipolar plates were evaluated to improve the corrosion resistance and electrical conductivity in PEMFC. The PEMFC offers clean and environmentally friendly usage in electrical power systems. The bipolar plates contribute 60%–80% of the total components of PEMFC stack with electrical conductivity >100 S cm^?1. Therefore, high conductivity and corrosion resistance are observed for long-term operations in PEMFC. Recent works has developed the cost-effective and feasible alternative materials to replace graphite bipolar plates. Metallic materials, such as SS and titanium, possess good electrical conductivity but poor corrosion resistance. Coating of SS and titanium bipolar plates can improve the corrosion resistance of metallic bipolar plates. Excellent performance of bipolar plates was recorded by using NbC coating for stainless steel materials. The ICR value using plasma surface alloying method was 8.47 mΩ cm² with a low current density (I_corr) between 0.051 and 0.058 μA cm^?2. The criteria for both current densities (<1 μA cm^?2) and electrical conductivity (<10 mΩ cm²) met the DOE's 2020 technical targets. In addition, conventional air brush method can be used for fabricating multilayer coatings onto substrates because it is self-cleaning, low cost and offers high volume and large area production. Vapor deposition method, a highly advanced coating technology using PVD, suitable for coating bipolar plates because it is environmentally friendly and can be used in high temperatures, producing materials with good impact strength and excellent abrasion resistance. PEMFC cost is still too high for large scale commercialization, which is the cost of raw material and processing to allow fabrication of thinner plates contributes substantially to the total PEMFC cost. Some future works on fuel cell anticorrosion research with reasonable coating method is suggested to reduce the cost in order to facilitate the move toward commercialization especially for SS and titanium bipolar plates.     

The effect of magnetic and optic field in water electrolysis

Hydrogen production via water electrolysis was studied under the effect of magnetic and optical field. A diode solid state laser at blue, green and red were utilized as optical field source. Magnetic bar was employed as external magnetic field. The green laser has shown a greatest effect in hydrogen production due to its non-absorbance properties in the water. Thus its intensity of electrical field is high enough to dissociation of hydronium and hydroxide ions during orientation toward polarization of water. The potential to break the autoprotolysis and generate the auto-ionization is the mechanism of optical field to reveal the hydrogen production in water electrolysis. The magnetic field effect is more dominant to enhance the hydrogen production. The diamagnetic property of water has repelled the present of magnetic in water. Consequently the water splitting occurs due to the repulsive force induced by the external magnetic field. The magnetic distributed more homogenous in the water to involve more density of water molecule. As a result hydrogen production due to magnetic field is higher in comparison to optical field. However the combination both fields have generated superior effect whereby the hydrogen yields nine times higher in comparison to conventional water electrolysis.     

Non-Newtonian laminar pulsating heat and fluid flow in plane duct

In the present study, laminar pulsating power-law momentum and heat transfer in a uniformly heated plane duct is studied analytically. Assuming that fully developed conditions exist both hydrodynamically and thermally, a perturbation series method is utilized to derive analytical solutions for the momentum and energy balance equations, and the amplitude is prescribed as the perturbation parameter. For varying values of the power-law index ( $n$), representing pseudoplastic, Newtonian, and dilatant fluids, effects of dimensionless amplitude ( $ϵ$) and frequency ( $F$) on periodic and period-averaged friction factor and Nusselt number are obtained. The results obtained for Newtonian fluid are shown to be in good harmony with the corresponding findings in the open literature.     

In vitro antioxidant and in vivo xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities of Pandanus amaryllifolius in potassium oxonate‐induced hyperuricemic rats

Xanthine oxidase (XO) plays an important role in the regulation of uric acid and prevents it from being overproduced as in hyperuricemia disease. The combined effects of antioxidant and xanthine oxidase inhibitor would become a promising approach for hyperuricemia treatment. In this research, the antioxidant and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activities of Pandanus amaryllifolius leaf were evaluated. The leaf water extract (PA‐W) showed highest total phenols, and petroleum ether extract (PA‐PE) showed highest total flavonoids contents. The antioxidant activity of DPPH, metal chelating and hydrogen peroxide was highest in PA‐W extract. The treatment of PA‐W extract at 1000 mg kg^?1 body weight in potassium oxonate‐induced hyperuricemic rats showed significant (P < 0.001) decrease in serum uric acid level by 85% and XO activity by 64%, respectively, as compared to the hyperuricemic rats. In conclusion, the P. amaryllifolius possess the dual effect of antioxidant and XO inhibition as potential therapeutic agents in the hyperuricemia treatment.     

Dual Activity BLEG-1 from Bacillus lehensis G1 Revealed Structural Resemblance to B3 Metallo-β-Lactamase and Glyoxalase II: An Insight into Its Enzyme Promiscuity and Evolutionary Divergence

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are class B β-lactamases from the metallo-hydrolase-like MBL-fold superfamily which act on a broad range of β-lactam antibiotics. A previous study on BLEG-1 (formerly called Bleg1_2437), a hypothetical protein from Bacillus lehensis G1, revealed sequence similarity and activity to B3 subclass MBLs, despite its evolutionary divergence from these enzymes. Its relatedness to glyoxalase II (GLXII) raises the possibility of its enzymatic promiscuity and unique structural features compared to other MBLs and GLXIIs. This present study highlights that BLEG-1 possessed both MBL and GLXII activities with similar catalytic efficiencies. Its crystal structure revealed highly similar active site configuration to YcbL and GloB GLXIIs from Salmonella enterica, and L1 B3 MBL from Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. However, different from GLXIIs, BLEG-1 has an insertion of an active-site loop, forming a binding cavity similar to B3 MBL at the N-terminal region. We propose that BLEG-1 could possibly have evolved from GLXII and adopted MBL activity through this insertion.     

Conductivity enhancement by controlled percolation of inorganic salt in multiphase hexanoyl chitosan/polystyrene polymer blends

Hexanoyl chitosan and polystyrene blends are immiscible by the elucidation of the glass transition temperature (T_g) as well as the viscometric and morphological analyses. Selective localization of the lithium salt in hexanoyl chitosan phase as the percolation pathway enhanced the conductivity in the blends as compared to the neat hexanoyl chitosan. The ionic conductivity of a polymer electrolyte is described by σ = enμ. Thus, estimation of charge carrier density (n) and mobility (μ) is important in order to assess the performance. In this work, these parameters are calculated using impedance spectroscopy and FTIR.     

Review of Dendritic Cells,Their Role in Clinical Immunology,and Distribution in Various Animal Species

Dendritic cells (DCs) are cells derived from the hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) of the bone marrow and form a widely distributed cellular system throughout the body. They are the most efficient, potent, and professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of the immune system, inducing and dispersing a primary immune response by the activation of naïve T-cells, and playing an important role in the induction and maintenance of immune tolerance under homeostatic conditions. Thus, this review has elucidated the general aspects of DCs as well as the current dynamic perspectives and distribution of DCs in humans and in various species of animals that includes mouse, rat, birds, dog, cat, horse, cattle, sheep, pig, and non-human primates. Besides the role that DCs play in immune response, they also play a pathogenic role in many diseases, thus becoming a target in disease prevention and treatment. In addition, its roles in clinical immunology have also been addressed, which include its involvement in transplantation, autoimmune disease, viral infections, cancer, and as a vaccine target. Therefore, based on the current knowledge and understanding of the important roles they play, DCs can be used in the future as a powerful tool for manipulating the immune system.