Environment-friendly and cost-effective solution for flexible packaging printing process by advancement in engraving process

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - Organic solvents have been commonly used in the printing process for a long time in gravure printing applications. Using organic solvents in...     

Effect of hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers on permeation of S-amlodipine besylate through intercalated polymeric transdermal matrix: 3(2) designing,optimization and characterization

Objective: Innovation in material science has made it possible to fabricate a pharmaceutical material of modifiable characteristics and utility, in delivering therapeutics at a sustained/controlled rate. The objective of this study is to design and optimize the controlled release transdermal films of S-Amlodipine besylate by intercalating hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers.

Methods: 3(2) factorial design and response surface methodology was utilized to prepare formulations by intercalating the varied concentration of polymers(A) and penetration enhancer(B) in solvent. The effect of these independent factors on drug release and flux was investigated to substantiate the ex-vivo, stability and histological findings of the study.

Results: FTIR, DSC revealed the compatibility of drug with polymers; however, the semicrystallinity in drug was observed under PXRD. SEM micrographs showed homogeneous dispersion and entanglement of drug throughout the matrix. Results from the permeation study suggested the significant effect of factors on the ex vivo permeation of drug. It was observed that drug release was found to be increased with an increase in hydrophilic polymer concentration and PE. The formulations having polymers (EC:PVPK-30) at 7:3 showed maximum drug release with highest flux (102.60?±?1.12?µg/cm²/h) and permeability coefficient (32.78?±?1.38?cm/h). Significant effect of PE on lipid and protein framework of the skin was also observed which is responsible for increased permeation. The optimized formulation was found to be stable and showed no-sign of localized reactions, indicating safety and compatibility with the skin.

Conclusion: Thus, results indicated that the prepared intercalated transdermal matrix can be a promising nonoral carrier to deliver effective amounts of drug.     

Low-cost sound-based localization using programmable mixed-signal systems-on-chip

There have been extensive theoretical studies on sound-based localization using both, a pair of microphones and microphone arrays. In contrast, there has been much less work on implementing and experimenting sound-based localization realized as customized electronic designs. This paper presents a low-cost implementation of the sound-based localization method proposed in Halupka et al. [11]. A new method called wave counting is proposed in this paper, as an alternative to the Maximum Likelihood procedure used in [11]. The implementation uses PSoC programmable mixed-signal embedded system-on-chip, which incorporates microcontroller, on-chip SRAM and flash memory, programmable digital blocks, and programmable analog blocks, all integrated on the same chip. The paper presents an extensive set of experiments to characterize the quality of localization using the proposed low-cost design.     

Transient free convective flow through a vertical cylinder filled with a porous material

This article aims to explore the impressive impact of emerging parameters on transient fully evolved free convective flow inside a vertical cylinder containing a porous material. The mathematical formulation of the model related to the considered physical circumstance is presented under compatible boundary conditions. Closed‐form solutions are received for the velocity field, the temperature distribution, mass flux, skin friction, and the Nusselt number in terms of Bessel functions and modified Bessel functions of the first kind. Impressive effects of parameters such as the Darcy number $Da$, Prandtl number $\text{Pr}$, viscosity ratio $M$, and also time $t$ on both the velocity and temperature distribution have been explored employing graphs and tables. It is irradiated by analysis that flow erection, heat transfer rate, skin friction, and mass flux are admirably impacted by the Prandtl number, the Darcy number, viscosity ratio parameter, and time. It is found that both the velocity and temperature field profiles rise with the rising value of time and ultimately attain their steady state. Moreover, the Prandtl number and the viscosity ratio parameter reduce the velocity profiles, while the reverse phenomenon occurs with the Darcy number.     

Structural and electronic properties of lead nanowires: Ab-initio study

Ab-initio self-consistent study has been performed to analyze the stability of lead nanowires in its six stable configurations like linear, zigzag, triangular, ladder, square and dumbbell. In the present study, the lowest energy structures have been analyzed under the revised Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (revPBE) parameterization of generalized gradient approximation (GGA) potential. The two-atom zigzag shaped atomic configuration with highest binding energy and lowest total energy has been confirmed as the most stable structure out of the six atomic configurations. The electronic band structure and density of states have been discussed in detail with a remarkable observation in case of three-atom triangular lead nanowire having a very small band gap while other configurations are found to be metallic. Bulk modulus, pressure derivatives and lattice parameters for different lead nanowires have also been computed and discussed.     

Application of Fuzzy Logic to Estimate Flow of Methane for Energy Generation at a Sanitary Landfill

This paper proposes the use of a multicriteria assessment technique to evaluate the methane flow during gas extraction from a sanitary landfill. A number of parameters determine the gas generation and the feasibility for its extraction from a landfill. These parameters form a complex set of information with unknown mathematical interrelationships making potential gas flow evaluations difficult and elusive. In addition, the data available for a particular landfill are very often imprecise, uncertain, or subjective, making it even more difficult to evaluate the potential for gas extraction without conducting pilot tests. The method proposed in this paper uses fuzzy composite programming that allows for the use of imprecise information. A landfill gas potential index has been defined, which can be determined by easily obtainable climatological, geological, and landfill parameters. The landfill gas (LFG) potential index is related to the landfill gas flow using an empirical equation. The LFG potential model was calibrated and verified using data obtained from 61 landfills where gas extraction is being conducted. A sensitivity analysis was done to study the impact of variations in the input data on model output.     

Numerical Modeling of Viscoelastic Stress Relaxation During Glass Lens Forming Process

With the recent advances in numerical simulation capabilities and computing technology, finite element method (FEM) can be applied to predict the performance of a precision aspherical lens molding process. In this paper, various stages of the lens molding process have been modeled using a commercial FEM code MSC MARC. Stress relaxation effect during the forming stage has been incorporated into the numerical model by using a generalized Maxwell model. Successful comparison of the predicted results has been made with the experimental data. The various aspects of the simulation that would enable a more realistic modeling of the process have been identified for future research.     

Free-Space Optical Communications for Next-generation Military Networks

There is a continuing need for increased capacity for military applications, especially in network-centric operational concepts that promote the use of information as fundamental for gaining superiority on the battlefield. As an example, the access to, and distribution of, sensor data is a major tenet of network-centric warfare and yet radio frequency (RF) links will struggle to provide the needed capacity. Free-space optical communications (FSOC) has the potential to meet these emerging military needs by offering dramatic increases in capacity. However, there are many technical challenges al multiple layers of the communications protocol stack. This article describes these challenges and discusses some mitigation approaches to provide a path to realizing this capability on the battlefield