Biodegradable IPN hydrogel beads of pectin and grafted alginate for controlled delivery of diclofenac sodium

A novel diclofenac sodium (DS) loaded interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) beads of pectin and hydrolyzed polyacrylamide-graft-sodium alginate (PAAm-g-SA) was developed through ionotropic gelation and covalent cross-linking. The graft copolymer was synthesized by free radical polymerization under the nitrogen atmosphere followed by alkaline hydrolysis. The grafting, alkaline hydrolysis, and characterization of beads were confirmed by Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy. The crystalline structure of drug after encapsulation into IPN beads were evaluated by differential scanning colorimetry and X-ray diffraction analyses. DS encapsulation was up to 96.45 %. The effect of hydrolyzed graft copolymer/pectin ratios and glutaraldehyde concentration on drug release in acidic and phosphate buffer solutions were investigated. The release of drug was significantly increased with increase of pH. The release of drug depends on the extent of cross-linking. The results indicated that IPN beads of hydrolyzed PAAm-g-SA and pectin could be used for sustained release of DS.     

The effect of push and pull lot splitting approaches on lot traceability and material handling costs in stochastic flow shop environments

This study evaluates how the procedures followed in splitting job lots on the shop floor influence both material handling and lot integrity in stochastic flow shop environments. Former work has shown that lot splitting improves flow time and customer service performance, but with an increased number of transfers along with a corresponding increase in material handling costs. Physical lot integrity, which is important to lot tracing, has not been considered in prior literature. In order to overcome these limitations and address material handling concerns better, we define a new measure of performance called the lot integrity loss exposure (LILE). We use this and other measures to show that the traditional 'push' approach that has been followed in modelling lot splitting complicates lot traceability in the shop and leads to an excessive number of transfers. As an alternative, we propose a 'pull' approach in which an order is split between any successive pair of machines only on an as-needed basis. The push and pull approaches for lot splitting are compared under a range of conditions characterized by factors such as machine utilization levels within the shop, setup-to-processing time ratios, and number of splits created in job lots. Our results indicate that relative to the push approach, pull lot splitting helps significantly in reducing the number of transfers incurred and in maintaining a greater degree of physical lot integrity. At the same time, there is no significant difference in the two approaches with respect to improvements in flow time and customer service measures. Both the degree to which lot integrity is preserved, and the extent of savings in material handling that result from using the pull approach, are shown to be most pronounced under conditions characterized by high machine utilizations rates and setup-to-processing time ratios. Managerial implications of our study along with further research directions in this area are also discussed.     

Assessment of blood supply in superficial tissue by polarization-gated elastic light-scattering spectroscopy

We report the feasibility of monitoring both hemoglobin oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentration in the superficial layer of tissue using polarization-gated elastic light-scattering spectroscopy. We detail our analysis technique, the experimental validation of our analysis, and the detection of an early increase in blood supply to the superficial layer of colon tissue in human patients with colonic adenomas as well as in an animal model of colon carcinogenesis. To the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first evidence that polarization gating can be used as a spectroscopic tool to quantify hemoglobin concentration as well as oxygen saturation in the uppermost tissue layer.     

Fatigue and creep damage resistance of a thermal barrier coated superalloy for combustor liners in aero turbines

Fatigue testing of thermal barrier coated (TBC), bond coated only and bare Superni C263 superalloy was conducted at 800°C in air. Fatigue results reveal that the endurance limits for the TBC and bond coated substrate was substantially higher than that of the base alloy, while the opposite was found for high stress, low cyclic life times. It appears that the increase in endurance limit for the TBC and bond coated superalloy is due to load shifting to the bond coat, and the premature failure for these two materials is possibly due to high stress crack imitation/growth in the TBC/bond coat layers. In addition to fatigue, accelerated creep properties of thermal barrier coated (TBC) Superni C263 were evaluated. Creep results reveal that the life of the TBC composite under accelerated creep condition is substantially high compared to that of the bare substrate. The mode of fracture in the substrate at very high stresses was transgranular whereas that at low stresses was intergranular. Delamination of bond coat, oxidation of the substrate and spallation of the ceramic layer were evident at very high stress. It was evident that the substrate has negligible estimated rupture strength after 10,000 hours of service exposure.     

Analysis of transport processes with granular media using the constricted tube model

Four kinds of transport processes occurring in granular media were studied, using the recently formulated constricted tube model for media characteriza The problems considered were: (a) momentum transfer associated with the flow through the media; (b) convective mass transfer; (c) axial dispersion; and collection of aerosol particles in granular beds. Special emphasis was placed on the effect of the wall geometry of the constricted tube on the relevan relationships obtained from model predictions.     

Treatment of Acid Mine Drainage Using a Fly Ash Zeolite Column

Acid mine drainage (AMD) and fly ash from thermal power plants both pose substantial environmental problems in India. Fly ash from the Talcher super thermal power plant was converted into zeolite and used in a column to treat AMD from the abandoned Gorbi opencast mines (Singrauli coalfields, NCL). The pH of the mine water increased, and 100 % of the total hardness, Ca hardness, Mg hardness, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cd, Ni, and acidity were removed, along with 99 % of the Fe and 90 % of the Cu.     

Study of electrical and optical properties of Mn doped ZnS clusters

A simple, easy approach to the synthesis of manganese Mn doped zinc sulphide (ZnS) clusters is reported. The synthesis of Mn–ZnS clusters involved mixing and drying of zinc acetate, sodium sulphide and acrylic acid in appropriate ratio and adding Mn at proper conditions. These clusters were trapped in polyacrylic acid (PAA) to form PAA capping to provide stability. The clusters were characterized using high resolution SEM for morphological investigation; XRD for its crystalline nature; photoluminescence (PL) for optical characterization and electrical conductivity measurement. Clusters of Mn–ZnS were formed of the size ~ 10 nm.     

Synthesis,characterization, and swelling behavior evaluation of hydrogels based on Gum ghatti and acrylamide for selective absorption of saline from different petroleum fraction–saline emulsions

In this research article, the synthesis of Gum ghatti and acrylamide based superabsorbents under pressure with N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide as a crosslinker and an ascorbic acid–potassium persulfate redox pair as an initiator is reported. To study the impact of the different reaction variables on the water absorbance of the candidate polymer, different reaction parameters, including the reaction time, amount of solvent, pH of the medium, initiator ratio, pressure, and monomer and crosslinker concentrations, were optimized. The candidate polymer was characterized with different techniques, including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential thermal analysis, differential thermogravimetry, and X‐ray diffraction. The crosslinked product was found to be thermally more stable than the initial backbone. The swelling capacity of the synthesized polymer was investigated in deionized water as a function of time, temperature, and pH of the swelling medium. Moreover, the effects of the ionic strengths of different cations on the swelling capacity of the candidate polymer were studied with different salt solutions. The tendency of absorbency for these hydrogels in salt solutions was found to be in the following order: Na⁺ > Ba²⁺ > Fe³⁺ > Sn⁴⁺ for NaCl, BaCl₂, FeCl₃, and SnCl₄ salt solutions. Further, the candidate polymer was used for the selective absorption of saline water from different petroleum fraction–saline emulsions. The results showed that the saline absorption capacities of the hydrogels were 667, 610, 646, and 680% in kerosene–saline, diesel–saline, petrol–saline, and petroleum ether–saline emulsions, respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Optimizing medical data quality based on multiagent web service framework

One of the most important issues in e-healthcare information systems is to optimize the medical data quality extracted from distributed and heterogeneous environments, which can extremely improve diagnostic and treatment decision making. This paper proposes a multiagent web service framework based on service-oriented architecture for the optimization of medical data quality in the e-healthcare information system. Based on the design of the multiagent web service framework, an evolutionary algorithm (EA) for the dynamic optimization of the medical data quality is proposed. The framework consists of two main components; first, an EA will be used to dynamically optimize the composition of medical processes into optimal task sequence according to specific quality attributes. Second, a multiagent framework will be proposed to discover, monitor, and report any inconstancy between the optimized task sequence and the actual medical records. To demonstrate the proposed framework, experimental results for a breast cancer case study are provided. Furthermore, to show the unique performance of our algorithm, a comparison with other works in the literature review will be presented.