Application of artificial neural network for prediction of particle size in pharmaceutical cocrystallization using mechanochemical synthesis

Neural Computing and Applications - Milling by mechanical means is vital unit operation in pharmaceutical processing which can be used for controlling particle size reduction. This approach can be...     

Thermally stable and durable superhydrophobic surfaces on stainless steel sheets with microholes via acid pretreatment and modification with self-assembled monolayers

Microfluidics and Nanofluidics - Single-cell nucleic acid analysis aims at discovering the genetic differences between individual cells which is well known as the cellular heterogeneity. This...     

Value addition to frozen yoghurt through the use of orange peel solids as flavour adjunct

Frozen yoghurt rich in β-carotene and dietary fibre was developed through incorporation of orange peel products. The suitability of two forms of peel viz., candied orange peel (COP) and orange peel powder (OPP), was studied as flavour adjunct in frozen yoghurt. The medium-fat frozen yoghurt mix was prepared by blending yoghurt base with ice cream mix (25:75, w/w). COP and OPP were used as flavour adjuncts at levels of 8.0 and 2.5% by weight of mixes, respectively. The control (C) frozen yoghurt was devoid of the fruit peel. Incorporation of peel solids yielded frozen yoghurts which had markedly higher protein, carbohydrates, ash and total solids content. OPP used at 2.5% level was preferred over use of COP at 8.0% level as a valued ingredient in the preparation of ‘medium-fat orange frozen yoghurt’. Such product had superior total sensory score when compared to the rest of the samples. The recommended frozen yoghurt was higher in terms of β-carotene and dietary fibre by 37.20 and 240.0%, respectively, compared to control product.     

Studies on a terephthalic acid and dihydroxydiphenyl sulfone liquid crystalline copolymer and its composites with different thermoplastics

A liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) was synthesized by an interfacial polycondensation reaction at room temperature from terephthaloyl chloride and p,p′-dihydroxydiphenyl sulfone. The LCP synthesized was so stable and molecularly rigid that it did not show any phase transition until it degraded at about 320°C. Composites of the LCP with polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS), and sulfonated polystyrene (SPS) were formed by compression molding at a temperature at which the thermoplastic matrix was in the melt state. They were thermally analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry. Tensile specimens were cut from the compression-molded plates, and mechanical tests were performed. The morphology of the material systems was studied by performing scanning electron microscopy analysis on cryogenically fractured specimens. For LCP/PS and LCP/SPS systems, a sharp two-phase morphology was formed, which suggested poor interfacial adhesion. The tensile strength of both systems decreased with LCP addition. The LCP/PC system also revealed a two-phase morphology; however, the interfaces between the LCP domains and the PC matrix were not so well defined, showing better interfacial adhesion than the two previous systems studied. Stronger bonding between the LCP and PC resulted in a significant improvement in the mechanical behavior of PC by LCP addition. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 645–652, 1997     

An OSPF topology server: design and evaluation

In large scale, operational Internet protocol networks, creating timely, accurate and network-wide views of the intradomain topology is a fundamental problem. Topical network backbones consist of hundreds of routers, which establish routing adjacencies with one another through static configuration and dynamic routing protocols, such as open shortest path first (OSPF). We describe the design of an OSPF topology server which tracks intradomain topology, by passively and safely listening into OSPFs reliable flooding mechanism, or by pushing and pulling information from the routers via the simple network management protocol. We provide a detailed evaluation and comparison of the two approaches in terms of operational issues, reliability and timeliness of information     

Thermal and mechanical properties of hemp fabric-reinforced nanoclay–cement nanocomposites

The influence of nanoclay on thermal and mechanical properties of hemp fabric-reinforced cement composite is presented in this paper. Results indicate that these properties are improved as a result of nanoclay addition. An optimum replacement of ordinary Portland cement with 1 wt% nanoclay is observed through improved thermal stability, reduced porosity and water absorption as well as increased density, flexural strength, fracture toughness and impact strength of hemp fabric-reinforced nanocomposite. The microstructural analyses indicate that the nanoclay behaves not only as a filler to improve the microstructure but also as an activator to promote the pozzolanic reaction and thus improve the adhesion between hemp fabric and nanomatrix.