$$H_{\infty }$$ Performance Analysis of 2D Continuous Time-Varying Delay Systems

This paper deals with the problem of \(H_{\infty }\) performance analysis of 2D continuous time-varying delay systems described by Roesser model. Using a simple Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional, a new delay-dependent stability criterion is derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities. The obtained result is then extended to the problem of \(H_{\infty }\) performance analysis. Several examples are provided in order to illustrate the effectiveness of our results.     

Chitosan-based bioglass composite for bone tissue healing : Oxidative stress status and antiosteoporotic performance in a ovariectomized rat model

Tissue engineering has opened up a new therapeutic avenue promising a revolution in regenerative medicine. Considerable attention has been given to chitosan composite materials and their applications in the field of the bone graft substitutes. We evaluated the antioxidative properties of chitosan-doped bioactive glass (BG-CH) with 17 wt% chitosan, and their applications in the guided bone regeneration. BG-CH was produced by a freeze-drying process and implanted in the femoral condyles of ovariectomized rats. Grafted bone tissues were carefully removed to evaluate the oxidative stress analysis, histomorphometric profile and mineral bone distribution by using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). A significant decrease of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs) was observed after BG-CH implantation. Superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities significantly increased in ovariectomized group implanted with chitosan-doped bioactive glass (OVXBG-CH) as compared to ovariectomized group implanted with bioactive glass (OVX-BG). The histomorphometric analysis showed that bone/tissue volume (BV/TV), osteoblast number (N.Ob) and osteoblast surface/bone surface (Ob.S/BS) were significantly higher in OVX-BG-CH group than in OVX-BG group. On the other hand, a rise in Ca and P ion concentrations in the implanted microenvironment was shown to lead to the formation/deposition of Ca-P phases. Trace elements such as Sr and Fe were detected in the newly formed bone and involved in bone healing. These results suggested that BG-CH composites could become clinically useful as a therapeutic and implantable material.     

Vapor sensing performances of PVDF nanocomposites containing titanium dioxide nanotubes decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Inorganic nanocarbon hybrid materials are good alternatives for superior electrochemical performance and specific capacitance to their traditional counterparts. Nanocarbons act as a good template for the growth of metal nanoparticles on it and their hybrid combinations enhance the charge transport and rate capability of electrochemical materials without sacrificing the specific capacity. In this study, titanium dioxide nanotubes (TNT) are synthesized hydrothermally in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) where the latter acts as base template material for the metal oxide nanotube growth. The MWCNT–TNT hybrid material possesses very high dielectric strength and this is used to enhance the dielectric property of the polymer polyvinyledene fluoride (PVDF). Solution mixing was used to prepare the PVDF/MWCNT–TNT nanocomposites by varying the filler concentrations from 0.5 to 2.5 wt%. Excellent vapor sensing was noticed for the PVDF nanocomposites with different rate of response towards commonly used laboratory solvents. The composites and the fillers were characterized for its morphology and structural properties using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction studies and infrared spectroscopy. Vapor sensing was measured as relative resistance variations against the solvent vapors, and the dielectric properties of the composites were measured at room temperature during the frequency 10²–10⁷ Hz. Experimental results revealed the influence of filler synergy on the properties of PVDF and the enhancement in the solvent vapor detectability and dielectric properties reflects the ability of these composite films in flexible vapor sensors and in energy storage.     

Polyoxometalates/polymer composites for the photodegradation of bisphenol-A

Nowadays water scarcity represents a threat for human and living beings. Therefore, to satisfy the demands of people for clean and safe water, new technologies for wastewater treatment have been developed. Thus, photocatalysis has emerged as a green chemical approach for such treatment. In this context, new polyoxometalate (POM)/polymer composites with relevant photocatalytic properties have been developed via an easy and cheap photopolymerization process upon mild visible light irradiation at 405 nm. This fruitful association between POM and polymer allowed the obtention of shaped materials facile to collect and reuse at the end of the photocatalytic treatment avoiding then the usual time-consuming regeneration methods. The prepared photocomposites displayed excellent photocatalytic performance for the removal of bisphenol-A from water under different sources of irradiation. Hence, 100%, 88%, and 50% of this model compound were decomposed by the phosphomolybdic composite under just 90 min of UV lamp, solar and LED@375 nm irradiations, respectively. The effectiveness of these developed photocatalysts towards the degradation of other organic compounds, as well as the degradation mechanism based on the generation of highly reactive chemicals such as ^•OH radicals promoting the degradation were already reported. Bisphenol-A degradation pathway and the identification of the photoproducts were discussed using mass spectroscopy technique. Therefore, this paper highlighted the photocatalytic efficiency of the new manufactured materials for the photodegradation of the bisphenol-A, thus expanding their application fields, under different sources of irradiation and under pure solar irradiation which make their applications more interesting and less energy consuming.     

Fabrication and characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol)—Glycerol—Spinel ferrites flexible membranes

Polymer membranes of ferrites nanoparticles, glycerol, and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) were fabricated using a solution casting method. Spinel ferrites nanoparticles, CuFe₂O₄ or ZnFe₂O₄, and glycerol were used as dopants to control the membranes' electrical conductivity. The morphology, composition, and interaction between PVA and the dopants were investigated byscanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differentialscanning calorimeter (DSC), and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Electrical characterization of the membranes was conducted by impedance spectroscopy using frequencies between 1 and 10⁶ Hz and variable temperatures. The results revealed a negative temperature coefficient of the resistance of the membranes. Additionally, membranes with ZnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles exhibit higher electrical impedance than those with CuFe₂O₄ nanoparticles. Therefore, electrical conductivity could be controlled using a suitable dopant's composition and concentration. The membranes presented in this study exhibit semiconducting properties, thus, they have potentials to be utilized in multiple applications including the flexible organic-based device. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48821.     

Fabrication and characterization of flexible ruthenium oxide-loaded polyaniline/poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers

Polyaniline/poly(vinyl alcohol)/ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) composite nanofibers were produced by electrospinning technique. Hydrous ruthenium chloride was used as a precursor at different concentrations, and the samples were annealed at 200°C. The morphology of the nanofibers was investigated by scanning electron microscopy. The average diameter of the produced nanofibers is between 200 and 300 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used for the investigation of the vibration modes and structure of the samples. Differential scanning calorimeter, and thermal gravimetric analysis up to 400°C revealed the crystallinity degree and thermal stability of the samples. Impedance spectroscopy for the samples with capacitor structure was conducted as function of RuO₂ concentration and temperature. The tests revealed the decrease of electrical resistivity and activation energy with increasing RuO₂ concentration for the as-prepared samples, while the annealed samples showed lower activation energy values of ~0.1 eV with increasing the concentration of RuO₂. The electrical properties of the fabricated composite nanofibers could be controlled that make them suitable to be utilized in devices for energy storage applications.     

Statistical Study of Edges in TV Pictures

The present study is devoted to the statistical analysis of edges in still monochrome TV pictures. The visual information carried by the edges is especially important both for image interpretation and for subjective image quality evaluation. Statistical knowledge on edges is helpful to improve image coding techniques significantly as well as processing techniques for scene analysis. After an introduction on nonstationary local statistical models, we describe the parameters of edges and the methods used to measure them. Statistical data collected on these parameters are then presented. The data concern orientation, edge length, edge width, runlength between edges and edge slope probability distributions as well as the measure of orientation continuity along an edge and the relative frequencies of edge pixels and contrasted isolated pixels.     

Underdetermined blind source separation technique based on speech features extraction

This paper presents a new time–frequency approach for recovering source contribution to two convolutive mixtures. The separation task is performed on two steps: Each mixture is clustered into voiced/unvoiced frames, and then the predominant source in each time frequency bin is identified through a specific weight function which is based on sources’ excitation characteristics extraction. We investigate the performance of the proposed approach in the underdetermined context using objective quality measures. Results for separating three and four speech sources in a live recorded mixture show the superiority of the proposed method in rejecting artifacts over existing convolutive separation techniques.