Bifunctional Carbon Nanotubes by Sidewall Protection

A vertically aligned array of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) impregnated with polystyrene is utilized to independently functionalize each end of the MWCNTs. The presence of the polystyrene matrix prevents sidewall oxidation of the CNTs, resulting in carboxylate derivatization at the CNT tips during processing via plasma oxidation. The membrane is subsequently dissolved in toluene, resulting in a suspension of CNTs with carboxylate‐derivatized tips. The CNT tips are further functionalized using carbodiimide‐mediated linking of carboxylate at the CNT tips with an amine of 2‐aminoethanethiol. This treatment results in thiol functionality and Fourier‐transform infrared (FT‐IR) studies confirm amide‐bond formation. Gold nanoparticles that are readily observed using transmisison electron microscopy (TEM) are then covalently linked to the thiol functional groups. Estimates of the average nanoparticle density are observed to decrease from ～ 526 particles μm^–1 near the CNT tips to negligible values (< 7 particles μm^–1) at locations beyond 700 nm from the CNT tips. This is consistent with a membrane geometry where CNTs tips are above the polystyrene surface owing to differing oxidation rates. Bifunctional CNTs (with different chemical functionality at either end of each CNT) is achieved by thiol functionalization on only one side of the oxidized CNT membrane floating on top of a 2‐aminoethanethiol functionalization reaction solution. After dissolution of the polystyrene matrix, TEM analysis shows gold‐nanoparticle decoration at the thiol‐functionalized end of the CNT.     

Ca Substituted PbTiO3 Thin Films for Infrared Detectors

Crack free Ca substituted PT thin films have been deposited on ITO coated 7059 glass substrates by sol gel technique and crystallized at 650C. Characterization of these films by X-ray diffraction show that the films exhibit tetragonal structure with perovskite phase. AFM, hysteresis, dielectric relaxation and pyroelectric studies have been carried out. The pyroelectric figures of merit of the films have been calculated. Our investigations show that these films are expected to give high infrared detector performance due to its high pyroelectric coefficient (43 nC/cm²K), high voltage responsivity (2340 Vcm²/J) and detectivity(3 × 10^{– 5} Pa^{– 1/2}) along with small value of dielectric constant (83) and loss tangent (0.04).     

On tracking performance in bilateral teleoperation

This paper addresses the problem of steady-state position and force tracking in bilateral teleoperation. Passivity-based control schemes for bilateral teleoperation provide robust stability against network delays in the feedback loop and velocity tracking, but do not guarantee steady-state position and force tracking in general. Position drift due to data loss and offset of initial conditions is a well-known problem in such systems. In this paper, we introduce a new architecture, which builds upon the traditional passivity-based configuration by using additional position control on both the master and slave robots, to solve the steady-state position and force-tracking problem. Lyapunov stability methods are used to establish the range of the position control gains on the master and slave sides. Experimental results using a single-degree-of-freedom master/slave system are presented, showing the performance of the resulting system.     

Bioavailability assessment of oral coenzyme Q10 formulations in dogs

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the bioavailability of three coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) formulations in dogs using an open, randomized, multiple-dose crossover design. The formulations included a powder-filled capsule (A, control) and two soft gelatin formulations (Q-Gel as the water-miscible form of CoQ10, B and Q-Nol as the water-miscible form of ubiquinol, the reduced form of CoQ10, C). Formulations were evaluated in pairs, allowing a washout period of 14 days prior to crossing over. Blood samples were collected from each animal prior to dosing to determine the endogenous plasma CoQ10 concentrations. Serial blood samples were collected for 72 hr and plasma CoQ10 concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Plasma concentration-time profiles were corrected for endogenous CoQ10 concentrations. Results showed that the relative bioavailabilities of formulations B and C were approximately 3.6 and 6.2-fold higher than that of control formulation A. The AUC(microgram.hr/mL) +/- SD, Cmax(microgram/mL) +/- SD, and Tmax(hr) +/- SD for formulations A, B, and C were 1.695 +/- 0.06, 6.097 +/- 0.08, and 10.510 +/- 0.10; 0.096 +/- 0.035, 0.169 +/- 0.038, and 0.402 +/- 0.102; and 4.2 +/- 1.48, 4.1 +/- 1.57, and 4.5 +/- 0.58, respectively. While no significant differences were observed between Tmax values of the three formulations, the AUC and Cmax values for formulations B and C were significantly higher than those of the control (p < 0.05). The present investigation demonstrates that soft gelatin capsules containing water-miscible CoQ10 formulations B (Q-Gel) and C (Q-Nol) are superior to powder-filled formulations with regard to their biopharmaceutical characteristics.     

Double preference relations for generalised belief change

Many belief change formalisms employ plausibility orderings over the set of possible worlds to determine how the beliefs of an agent ought to be modified after the receipt of a new epistemic input. While most such possible world semantics rely on a single ordering, we investigate the use of an additional preference ordering—representing, for instance, the epistemic context the agent finds itself in—to guide the process of belief change. We show that the resultant formalism provides a unifying semantics for a wide variety of belief change operators. By varying the conditions placed on the second ordering, different families of known belief change operators can be captured, including AGM belief contraction and revision, Rott and Pagnucco's severe withdrawal, the systematic withdrawal of Meyer et al., as well as the linear liberation and σ-liberation operators of Booth et al. Our approach also identifies novel classes of belief change operators worthy of further investigation.     

Total variation, adaptive total variation and nonconvex smoothly clipped absolute deviation penalty for denoising blocky images

The total variation-based image denoising model has been generalized and extended in numerous ways, improving its performance in different contexts. We propose a new penalty function motivated by the recent progress in the statistical literature on high-dimensional variable selection. Using a particular instantiation of the majorization-minimization algorithm, the optimization problem can be efficiently solved and the computational procedure realized is similar to the spatially adaptive total variation model. Our two-pixel image model shows theoretically that the new penalty function solves the bias problem inherent in the total variation model. The superior performance of the new penalty function is demonstrated through several experiments. Our investigation is limited to “blocky” images which have small total variation.     

Structured lipids from rice bran oil and stearic acid using immobilized lipase from Rhizomucor miehei

The major objective of the present study was to prepare structured lipids rich in stearic acid from rice bran oil (RBO) using immobilized lipase (IM 60) from Rhizomucor miehei. The effects of incubation time and temperature, substrate molar ratio, and enzyme load on incorporation of stearic acid were studied. Acidolysis reactions were performed in hexane. Pancreatic lipase‐catalyzed sn‐2 positional analysis and tocopherol analyses were performed before and after enzymatic modification. The kinetics of the reaction was studied and maximum incorporation of stearic acid was observed at 6 h, at 37 °C, when the triacylglycerol and stearic acid molar ratio was maintained at 1 : 6 and the enzyme concentration was 10% of total substrates weight. Stearic acid in RBO after acidolysis was increased from 2.28 to 48.5%, with a simultaneous decrease in palmitic, oleic and linoleic acids. HPLC analysis of tocopherols and tocotrienols was carried out and their content in modified RBO was not significantly affected compared to that of native RBO. The oryzanol content of the modified RBO was reduced from 1.02 to 0.68%. Melting and crystallizing characteristics of the modified fat were studied using differential scanning calorimetry. The total solid fat content at 25 °C increased from 26.12 to 34.8% with an increase in stearic acid incorporation into RBO from 38 to 48%, but it was comparatively less than for cocoa butter and vanaspati. However, the modified RBO completely melted at 37 °C and was useful as plastic fat for various culinary purposes, bakery and confectionary applications. The results of the present study indicated that structured lipids prepared from RBO rich in stearic acid retained their beneficial nutraceuticals; in addition, they do not contain any trans fatty acids.     

Comparative antioxidant effects of beta-adrenoceptor blockers, calcium antagonists and U-74500A against iron-dependent lipid peroxidation in murine ventricular microsomal membranes

Recently we have shown that ACE inhibitors and platelet activating factor antagonists inhibit iron-dependent lipid peroxidation in murine ventricular membranes and possess beneficial effects on ischemia and ischemia reperfusion-induced myocardial injury, which has been ascribed to their capacity to scavenge or impair oxygen free radical generation. In the present study we investigated the effects of beta-adrenoceptor blockers and calcium antagonists on iron-dependent lipid peroxidation (LPO) in murine ventricular membranes and compared them with the lazaroid U-74500A, a potent antioxidant. Fe(2+)-vitamin C induced LPO in a concentration- and time-dependent manner, measured as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formation. Pretreatment of ventricular membranes with gallopamil, verapamil, propranolol and metaprolol at concentrations of 5 microM and higher inhibited Fe(2+)-vitamin C-induced LPO in a concentration-dependent manner with IC50 values of 192.8-208.3 microM; however, they were less potent than U-74500A (IC50 6.8 microM). In contrast, atenolol, timolol, diltiazem and nifedipine inhibited LPO at very high concentrations with IC50 values of 864.5-971.5 microM. Inhibition of LPO may not be due to the drugs' classical pharmacological actions, but rather to their characteristic chemical structures or physicochemical interactions with biological membranes. In view of the pathological importance of LPO in cardiac ischemic injury, inhibition of LPO by gallopamil, verapamil, propranolol and metaprolol may provide additional cardioprotective activity and thus reinforces their beneficial effects in the treatment of ischemic heart disease.