Study on Ambient Air Quality of Megacity Delhi,India During Odd–Even Strategy

State Government of Delhi had adopted odd–even scheme on vehicles plying in megacity Delhi to understand and improve the air quality of Delhi. To understand the effect of odd–even scheme on the concentration of pollutants, we have analysed the concentrations of chemical constituents [organic carbon, elemental carbon, water soluble inorganic components, trace elements and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition (δ¹³C_TC) and N (δ¹⁵N_TN)] of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ along with mixing ratios of trace gases (NO _x , CO, SO₂ and NH₃) data collected at an urban site of megacity Delhi during first phase (Phase-I: winter 2016) and second phase (Phase-II: summer 2016). During the Phase-I of the scheme, mass concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were changed by ?13 and ?5%, respectively, whereas, concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were changed by +18 and +16%, respectively during the Phase-II as compared to before the implementation of the scheme. The analysis of chemical constituents of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ reveals that the odd–even strategy marginally changed the concentrations (markers) of vehicular emission. During both the phases, mixing ratios of trace gases (NO _x , CO, SO₂ and NH₃) were reduced non-significantly during the odd–even scheme as compared to before the implementation of the scheme.     

An integrative product line redesign approach for modular engineering products within a competitive market space: a multi-objective perspective

The purpose of this research is to aid enterprises to redesign their existing product line from the standpoint of two critical competitive dimensions i.e. time to market (TTM) and market share. An integrative methodology for product line redesign is evolved that sews together aspects related to product functionality, modularity and competitive market segments. Firstly, the existing level functionality of a multi-modular product is established employing the functional analysis systems technique for the given manufacturer under consideration and other market players. Thereafter, product premium and TTM functions for respective modules in terms of the linear relationships are established. Further, a detailed mathematical model is evolved where the two objective functions related to minimisation of TTM and maximisation of the product premium are formulated. The constraints in the devised optimisation model pertain to market segment, product profile, engineering design and non-negativity and integrality considerations. Finally, employing the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), the devised model is solved that yields a number of Pareto-optimal redesigned products for the three market segments under consideration. Analysis of the results yields several managerial insights that are discussed. The devised framework is illustrated employing a real-life case of Black and Decker’s power tool product line.     

A smart LPG sensor based on chemo-bio synthesized MgO nanostructure

The present work reports the synthesis of magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgO NP’s) using A. barbadensis Mill (aloe vera) as the stabilizer by green synthesis approach as well as solution-combustion method. The morphological, structural and optical properties of synthesized MgO NP’s were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The characterization results show the fibrous shaped porous structure of synthesized MgO NP’s with size range of 2–25 nm. The as-synthesized MgO NP’s were subjected to sensing of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) having different concentration ranges (400–1000 ppm) and different operating temperatures along with dynamic characteristics. The sensor exhibits high selectivity and sensitivity towards LPG.     

Design of a rectangular waveguide to cylindrical cavity mode launcher for TE011 mode with maximum quality‐factor

This article presents the design of a mode launcher for launching TE₀₁₁ mode in a cylindrical cavity. In the given design, TE₀₁₁ mode is excited from the top wall of the cylindrical cavity using a rectangular waveguide. This type of top wall excitation of the cavity has been used keeping in view the application of the proposed launcher in coupling analysis of a coaxial magnetron. The proposed design is verified by launching TE₀₁₁ mode in a cylindrical cavity, which is designed to operate at 9.3 GHz with the maximum quality factor. The value of quality factor obtained analytically is 31 030 and the same is verified by comparing it with simulation results obtained from CST and HFSS. Return loss and insertion loss of the mode launcher are obtained as 40.24 and 0.12 dB at 9.3 GHz, respectively. The frequency tunability of the cavity is also studied by changing the length of the cavity by making the bottom wall movable and a tuning range of 200 MHz is achieved. Performance of the top wall excitation is also compared with the conventional TE₀₁₁ mode excitation from the rectangular waveguide through the side wall of the cavity, and both are in good agreement.     

Manifestation of Flexible p–i–n Solar Cells Fabricated Using HWCVD in WSN Application

Wireless Personal Communications - The wireless sensor network (WSN) consist of battery-powered sensor nodes which are self-configured and are deployed for monitoring several physical or...     

Synthesis,Biological Evaluation and Molecular Modeling Studies of Propargyl‐Containing 2,4,6‐Trisubstituted Pyrimidine Derivatives as Potential Anti‐Parkinson Agents

Monoamine oxidase B (MAO‐B) inhibitors are potential drug candidates for the treatment of various neurological disorders including Parkinson's disease. A total of 20 new propargyl‐containing 2,4,6‐trisubstituted pyrimidine derivatives were synthesized and screened for MAO inhibition using Amplex Red assays. All the synthesized compounds were found to be reversible and selective inhibitors of the MAO‐B isoform at sub‐micromolar concentrations. MVB3 was the most potent MAO‐B inhibitor with an IC₅₀ value of 0.38±0.02 μμ , whereas MVB6 (IC₅₀=0.51±0.04 μμ ) and MVB16 (IC₅₀=0.48±0.06 μμ ) were the most selective for MAO‐B with a selectivity index of more than 100‐fold. In cytotoxic studies, these compounds were found to be nontoxic to human neuroblastoma SH‐SY5Y cells at concentrations of 25 μm . MVB6 was found to decrease the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species to 68 % at 10 μm concentration, whereas other compounds did not produce significant changes in reactive oxygen species levels. In molecular modeling studies, MVB3 displayed strong binding affinity for the MAO‐B isoform with a dock score of ?10.45, in agreement with the observed activity. All the compounds fitted well in the hydrophobic cavity of MAO‐B. Thus, propargyl‐substituted pyrimidine derivatives can be promising leads in the development of potent, selective and reversible MAO‐B inhibitors for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.     

The weakest t-norm based intuitionistic fuzzy fault-tree analysis to evaluate system reliability

In this paper, a new approach of intuitionistic fuzzy fault-tree analysis is proposed to evaluate system reliability and to find the most critical system component that affects the system reliability. Here weakest t-norm based intuitionistic fuzzy fault tree analysis is presented to calculate fault interval of system components from integrating expert's knowledge and experience in terms of providing the possibility of failure of bottom events. It applies fault-tree analysis, α-cut of intuitionistic fuzzy set and T(ω) (the weakest t-norm) based arithmetic operations on triangular intuitionistic fuzzy sets to obtain fault interval and reliability interval of the system. This paper also modifies Tanaka et al.'s fuzzy fault-tree definition. In numerical verification, a malfunction of weapon system "automatic gun" is presented as a numerical example. The result of the proposed method is compared with the listing approaches of reliability analysis methods.     

Flexible Hybrid Electronics: Direct Interfacing of Soft and Hard Electronics for Wearable Health Monitoring

The interfacing of soft and hard electronics is a key challenge for flexible hybrid electronics. Currently, a multisubstrate approach is employed, where soft and hard devices are fabricated or assembled on separate substrates, and bonded or interfaced using connectors; this hinders the flexibility of the device and is prone to interconnect issues. Here, a single substrate interfacing approach is reported, where soft devices, i.e., sensors, are directly printed on Kapton polyimide substrates that are widely used for fabricating flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs). Utilizing a process flow compatible with the FPCB assembly process, a wearable sensor patch is fabricated composed of inkjet‐printed gold electrocardiography (ECG) electrodes and a stencil‐printed nickel oxide thermistor. The ECG electrodes provide 1 mVp–p ECG signal at 4.7 cm electrode spacing and the thermistor is highly sensitive at normal body temperatures, and demonstrates temperature coefficient, α ≈ –5.84% K^–1 and material constant, β ≈ 4330 K. This sensor platform can be extended to a more sophisticated multisensor platform where sensors fabricated using solution processable functional inks can be interfaced to hard electronics for health and performance monitoring, as well as internet of things applications.     

Humidity sensor properties of hydrothermally grown rutile-TiO2 microspheres on interdigital electrodes (IDEs)

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - Rutile-TiO2 microspheres were synthesized by the single-step hydrothermal method and were subsequently annealed in an argon environment at...