Specific heavy metal ion recovery with ion‐imprinted cryogels

In this study, the functional monomers, N‐methacryloyl‐l ‐aspartic acid and N‐methacryloyl‐l ‐cysteine were synthesized through a reaction between appropriate amino acids and methacryloyl chloride. Then, Pb(II) or Cd(II) ion‐imprinted 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate based cryogels were prepared by free radical polymerization method under partially frozen conditions. Following the characterization of matrices, adsorption of heavy metal ions was examined in batch mode from aqueous solution considering several parameters affecting the adsorption performance. The actual adsorption capacities were 44.5, 65.3, and 86.7 mg/g for Cd‐1, Cd‐2, and Cd‐3 cryogels meanwhile those were 41.9, 86.3, and 122.7 mg/g for Pb‐1, Pb‐2, and Pb‐3 cryogels, respectively at optimum pH: 5.5. By increasing temperature, adsorption capabilities of both cryogels were inhibited because of the electrostatic nature of coordinated covalent bonds and collapsing of coordination spheres. The adsorption process was very fast, the equilibrium adsorption was achieved in about 60 min, which was directly related to macroporous structure and interconnected flow‐channels of cryogels. Kinetics and adsorption isotherms were also studied. Langmuir isotherms and pseudo‐second order kinetic model were well suited to adsorption data, which also indicated that the process occurred without any diffusion restrictions or steric hindrances. Finally, the competitive adsorption studies were performed using multi‐ion containing synthetic wastewater to show whether the cryogels developed are suitable for specific heavy metal recycling or not. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43095.     

The effect of skin penetration enhancers on the transdermal delivery of pyridostigmine bromide

In vitro skin penetration studies of pyridostigmine bromide through human cadaver skin were conducted using a diffusion cell with constant hydrodynamic conditions. The results indicate that the drug penetrates poorly through human cadaver skin. However, skin penetration enhancers such as sodium oleate, sodium lauryl sulfate, n-decyl methyl sulfoxide, and N,N-dimethyldodecylamine-N-oxide substantially enhanced the permeability coefficient of the drug through human cadaver skin. The penetration enhancement of pyridostigmine bromide could be due to increased partitioning of the drug in the skin or due to the decreased tortuosity of the porous pathway in the stratum corneum.     

Communicating over nonstationary nonflat wireless channels

We develop the concept of joint time-frequency estimation of wireless channels. The motivation is to optimize channel usage by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) after demodulation while keeping training overhead at a moderate level. This issue is important for single-input single-output (SISO) and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems but particularly so for the latter. Linear operators offer a general mathematical framework for symbol modulation in channels that vary both temporally and spectrally within the duration and bandwidth of one symbol. In particular, we present a channel model that assumes first-order temporal and spectral fluctuations within one symbol or symbol block. Discrete prolate spheroidal sequences (Slepian sequences) are used as pulse-shaping functions. The channel operator in the Slepian basis is almost tridiagonal, and the simple intersymbol interference pattern can be exploited for efficient and fast decoding using Viterbi's algorithm. To prove the concept, we use the acoustic channel as a meaningful physical analogy to the radio channel. In acoustic 2 /spl times/ 2 MIMO experiments, our method produced estimation results that are superior to first-order time-only, frequency-only, and zeroth-order models by 7.0, 9.4, and 11.6 db. In computer simulations of cellular wireless channels with realistic temporal and spectral fluctuations, time-frequency estimation gains us 12 to 18 db over constant-only estimation in terms of received SNR when signal-to-receiver-noise is 10 to 20 db. The bit error rate (BER) decreases by a factor of two for a binary constellation.     

Variations on optimal and suboptimal handoff control for wirelesscommunication systems

The design of handoff algorithms for cellular communication systems based on signal-strength measurements is addressed. The system is modeled using a hybrid framework: a mixture of continuous state and discrete event systems. The handoff problem is formulated as an optimization problem to control the switchings within the discrete event system. Performance is evaluated as a function of the expected number of handoffs, the expected handoff delay, and the expected number of signal degradations. A signal degradation occurs when the signal level falls below a threshold. The cost of handoff delay is explicitly specified, in contrast to prior work. Various optimization problems are posed to trade off between these quantities. Based on the optimal solutions which are obtained through dynamic programming, suboptimal versions are proposed for ease of implementation. The performance of the suboptimal algorithm which trades off between the expected number of handoffs and the expected number of signal degradations is improved through the use of signal averaging; however, this algorithm suffers from excessive handoff delay. Therefore, the tradeoff between handoff delay and number of handoffs is considered. The corresponding suboptimal algorithm provides nearly one handoff and almost no delay, which is ideal if call quality is also good. Finally, an algorithm which is a combination of the two previous algorithms is explored     

A novel method for synthesis of α-Si3N4 nanowires by sol–gel route

Silicon nitride (Si₃ N₄) nanowires have been prepared by carbothermal reduction followed by the nitridation (CTRN) of silica gel containing ultrafine excess carbon obtained by the decomposition of dextrose over the temperature range of 1200–1350 °C. This innovative process involves repeated evacuation followed by purging of nitrogen gas so that the interconnected nanopores of the gel are filled with nitrogen gas prior to heat treatment. During heat treatment at higher temperatures, the presence of nitrogen gas in the nanopores of the gel starts the CTRN reaction simultaneously throughout the bulk of the gel, leading to the formation of Si₃ N₄ nanowires. The in situ generated ultrafine carbon obtained by the decomposition of dextrose decreases the partial pressure of oxygen in the system to stabilize the nanowires. The nanowires synthesized by this process are of ∼500 nm diameter and ∼0.2 mm length. The product was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray analysis (EDX), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared (IR) spectra.     

Properties of YIG-based magnetic glass-ceramics with different nucleating agents

The effect of bismuth, silver oxide and palladium on the crystallization of yttrium iron garnet in Na₂O-SiO₂-Y₂O₃-Fe₂O₃ glass-ceramics has been investigated by X-ray diffraction thermal analysis, magnetic measurements and optical microscopy. It is found that the magnetic properties of these glass-ceramics can be altered significantly by a change in the nucleating agents and the heat treatment schedule. This behaviour is explained on the basis of the microstructure and the volume fraction of the different magnetic phases crystallized within the glasses.     

Mechanical behaviour of Ti<Subscript>5</Subscript>Si<Subscript>3</Subscript> based alloys and composites

The demand for materials to be used in the components operating above 1100°C in advanced aero-engines drives the development of the silicide-based intermetallic alloys and composites, including the titanium silicides. The mechanical behaviour of Ti₅Si₃ and its composites has been reviewed with emphasis on the microstructure-property relationships. It is found that the grain size is a critical parameter, and smaller grain sizes are desirable for reducing the magnitude of internal residual stress caused by the crystallographic anisotropy in coefficients of thermal expansion. The reduction in grain size leads to significant improvement in hardness, room temperature flexural strength and fracture toughness. On the other hand, the high temperature strength observed at slow strain rates and creep resistance are higher in the samples with the coarser grain sizes. Further improvements in the strength, fracture toughness and high temperature creep resistance are possible, either through the development of multiphase alloys, or by the use of ceramic reinforcements in composites.     

Performance of linear reduced-rank multistage receivers for DS-CDMA in frequency-selective fading channels

The performance of a set of linear reduced-rank multistage filter banks is studied in the context of multiuser detection for direct-sequence (DS) code-division multiple-access (CDMA) systems. The set of filter banks under consideration is comprised of the minimum mean-square error (MMSE), the minimum output energy (MOE), the best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE), and the maximum-likelihood (ML) detector. Based on a common framework for the multistage implementations of the aforementioned filter banks, the signal-to-interference plus noise ratios (SINRs) and bit-error rates (BERs) of these reduced-rank filter banks are studied for multipath Rayleigh-fading channels. A generic BER formula is provided for coherent detection and noncoherent differential detection schemes constructed under this common framework. Analysis shows that all of these performance measures are characterized by a kernel matrix K/sub mmse/ whose trace forms the output SINR of the MMSE filter bank. Through investigating the recursive structure of K/sub mmse/, the output SINRs are proven to be monotonically increasing with the number of stages and upper-bounded by a number equal to the paths of the desired user's channel. The condition for asymptotically achieving this upper bound is also provided, which leads to the notion of effective user capacity of linear reduced-rank multiuser detection as well as serves as a test for the existence of a BER floor for coherent detection. In addition, the channel mismatch due to differential detection is also shown to yield a BER floor for noncoherent detection. Based on this analysis, a simple yet effective rule for choosing the number of stages is provided for both coherent and noncoherent linear multistage multiuser detection.     

Messungen und Vorausberechnungen der Wasserstofflöslichkeiten in flüssigen ternären Eisen-Kobalt-Molybdän-Legierungen

Die Wasserstofflöslichkeiten in flüssigen ternären Eisen-Kobalt-Molybdän-Legierungen werden nach der Sievertsschen Methode bestimmt. Die isothermen Konzentrationsabhängigkeiten der experimentell ermittelten Wasserstofflöslichkeiten werden mit bereits veröffentlichten empirischen Gleichungen nach einer Ausgleichsrechnung nach Gauß-Jordan beschrieben. Die experimentellen Daten werden als isotherme Flächen perspektivisch dargestellt. Der Molybdänzusatz erniedrigt die Wasserstofflöslichkeiten in flüssigen ternären Eisen-Kobalt-Molybdän-Legierungen über den gesamten untersuchten Konzentrationsbereich (Stoffmengengehalt bis max. 35% Molybdän). Bei konstanter Legierungskonzentration steigt die Wasserstofflöslichkeit mit zunehmender Temperatur an. Die Konzentrationsabhängigkeiten der Wirkungskoeffizienten, Lösungsenthalpien und -entropien des Wasserstoffs werden aus den Koeffizienten des Wasserstofflöslichkeitspolynoms ermittelt und ebenfalls als isotherme Fläche perspektivisch dargestellt. Die Anwendung des ?Central Atoms?-Modells erlaubt die Vorausberechnung der Konzentrationsabhängigkeit der Wasserstofflöslichkeiten in flüssigen Eisen-Kobalt-Molybdän-Legierungen (Stoffmengengehalt bis max. 35% Molybdän) aus den experimentellen Wasserstofflöslichkeiten nur zweier binärer Randsysteme, wie Eisen-Kobalt und Eisen-Molybdän oder Kobalt-Eisen und Kobalt-Molybdän.