Spark plasma sintering of a lunar regolith simulant: effects of parameters on microstructure evolution,phase transformation,and mechanical properties

The spark plasma sintering (SPS) process is a potentially effective in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology for consolidating lunar regolith in order to produce structural components for future space exploration. This study examined the fundamental mechanisms of the effects of SPS conditions on microstructure evolution, phase transformation, and mechanical properties. For this purpose, a lunar regolith simulant (FJS-1) was selected and sintered for a total of 16 cases based on four primary SPS testing parameters: temperature, applied external pressure, dwell time, and heating rate. The Taguchi design method was used to examine the effects and sensitivity of each testing parameter. Laboratory tests were conducted in multiple length scales, including density, porosity, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy aided by energy-dispersive spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, nanoindentation, and strength testing (in both compressive and flexural). Taguchi analysis results of SPS parameters and sintering mechanism discussion indicated that the sintering temperature is the dominant factor changing microstructure heterogeneity and densification during the SPS process. The contribution of applied pressure to the surface and the grain boundary diffusion rate and the nucleation rate indicated that the applied pressure may have enhanced both phase transformation and homogeneity during the sintering process. Strength of the sintered samples were approximately 10 times greater than those of a typical plain concrete. The collective results indicate that the SPS technology, a potentially viable ISRU method, can be used to produce property-specific and application-targeted building components on the lunar surface.     

A delay model and optimization method of a low-power BiCMOS logiccircuit

A new delay model and optimization method is proposed for a low-power BiCMOS driver. A transient overdrive, base directly-tied complementary BiCMOS logic circuit operates faster than conventional BiCMOS and CMOS circuits for supply voltage down to 1.5 V by using a speed-power-area optimization approach. An analytical delay expression is derived for the first time for a full-swing BiCMOS circuit with short-channel effects. The circuit is simulated with a HSPICE model using 0.8-μm BiCMOS technology with a 6-GHz n-p-n and a 1-GHz p-n-p transistor. The simulation results have verified the analytical results and demonstrated that the circuit can work up to 200 MHz operating frequency for a load capacitance of 1 pF at 1.5 V of supply voltage     

Characterization and comparison of merozoite antigens of different Babesia canis isolates by serological and immunological investigations

Merozoites of four Babesia canis isolates from Hungary, France, Africa, and Egypt were purified. Antigens were compared in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by immunoblotting. In the ELISA, antigen from the highly pathogenic isolate from Hungary showed the highest sensitivity for homologous and heterologous immune sera. This was confirmed by immunoblotting. Protein bands of the Hungarian isolate were strongly recognized by all B. canis immune sera, whereas the antigens from the other isolates showed only weak reactions with homologous and heterologous immune sera. Significant was a protein band of about 12 kDa appearing in all pathogenic isolates from Hungary, France, and South Africa but not in the apathogenic Egyptian isolate. This protein band may determine the virulence. For serological tests, the B. canis isolate from Hungary seems to be the one most suitable for detection of even mild infections.     

Assessment of a microgranite source rock for use in concrete

A microgranite, showing varying degrees of weathering with depth, has been investigated as a source of concrete aggregate for dam construction. Diamond drilled cores and percussion drilled samples, taken to 40 m depth, were used for mineralogical, petrological, and methylene blue dye adsorption (MBA) studies and for measurement of drying shrinkage in order to assess the influence of deleterious secondary minerals, largely swelling clays, on the dimensional stability of the rock. A highly significant correlation between MBA and drying shrinkage indicated that samples which had MBA values less than 1.5 mL/g would produce concrete shrinkages acceptable for structural purposes.     

A versatile time-domain Reed-Solomon decoder

A versatile Reed-Solomon (RS) decoder structure based on the time-domain decoding algorithm (transform decoding without transforms) is developed. The algorithm is restructured, and a method is given to decode any RS code generated by any generator polynomial. The main advantage of the decoder structure is its versatility, that is, it can be programmed to decode any Reed-Solomon code defined in Galois field (GF) 2^m with a fixed symbol size m. This decoder can correct errors and erasures for any RS code, including shortened and singly extended codes. It is shown that the decoder has a very simple structure and can be used to design high-speed single-chip VLSI decoders. As an example, a gate-array-based programmable RS decoder is implemented on a single chip. This decoder chip can decode any RS code defined in GF (2⁵) with any code word length and any number of information symbols. The decoder chip is fabricated using low-power 1.5-μ, two-layer-metal, HCMOS technology     

Beam search for sequencing point operations in flat plate manufacturing

This paper considers point operations problems in which several operations need to be performed at pre-specified locations on a flat plate, by a CNC machine. This paper develops a new procedure based on beam search methodology. The proposed method was tested using real data. The results show that the proposed method provides superior results over the current procedure used by an Australian company. The method significantly reduces the non-value added (travel+changeover) time.     

Integrated Material Planning and Operations Scheduling (IMPOS)

This paper presents an Integrated approach for Material Planning and finite Operations Scheduling (IMPOS). The approach assumes the existence of a system that provides a relative priority measure for customer orders, based on a predetermined set of factors including--but not limited to--due dates. Orders are sequenced on descending order of the priority measures to form the Master Production Sequence (MPS) list. Starting from the top of the MPS list, orders are planned one at a time, by determining their respective quantity requirements first. The next phase schedules the requirements by time allocation of the available finite resources to their operational requirements. The IMPOS approach attempts to reduce production lead times during its finite scheduling procedure through analysis of the details of each operation in conjunction with other associated operations and the ordering policy applied. Generating finite schedules quickly enables IMPOS to handle effectively the dynamic behaviour of the manufacturing environment. The approach is detailed and exemplified.     

Super Magnetic Niosomal Nanocarrier as a New Approach for Treatment of Breast Cancer: A Case Study on SK-BR-3 and MDA-MB-231 Cell Lines

In the present study, a magnetic niosomal nanocarrier for co-delivery of curcumin and letrozole into breast cancer cells has been designed. The magnetic NiCoFe₂O₄ core was coated by a thin layer of silica, followed by a niosomal structure, allowing us to load letrozole and curcumin into the silica layer and niosomal layer, respectively, and investigate their synergic effects on breast cancer cells. Furthermore, the nanocarriers demonstrated a pH-dependent release due to the niosomal structure at their outer layer, which is a promising behavior for cancer treatment. Additionally, cellular assays revealed that the nanocarriers had low cellular uptake in the case of non-tumorigenic cells (i.e., MCF-10A) and related high viability but high cellular uptake in cancer cell lines (i.e., MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3) and related low viability, which is evidenced in their high cytotoxicity against different breast cancer cell lines. The cytotoxicity of the letrozole/curcumin co-loaded nanocarrier is higher than that of the aqueous solutions of both drugs, indicating their enhanced cellular uptake in their encapsulated states. In particular, NiCoFe₂O₄@L-Silica-L@C-Niosome showed the highest cytotoxicity effects on MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 breast cancer cells. The observed cytotoxicity was due to regulation of the expression levels of the studied genes in breast cancer cells, where downregulation was observed for the Bcl-2, MMP 2, MMP 9, cyclin D, and cyclin E genes while upregulation of the expression of the Bax, caspase-3, and caspase-9 genes was observed. The flow cytometry results also revealed that NiCoFe₂O₄@L-Silica-L@C-Niosome enhanced the apoptosis rate in both MDA-MB-231 and SK-BR-3 cells compared to the control samples. The findings of our research show the potential of designing magnetic niosomal formulations for simultaneous targeted delivery of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic drugs into cancer cells in order to enhance their synergic chemotherapeutic effects. These results could open new avenues into the future of nanomedicine and the development of theranostic agents.     

Carbon nanotube-reinforced composites: frequency analysis theories based on the matrix stiffness

Strong and versatile carbon nanotubes are finding new applications in improving conventional polymer-based fibers and films. This paper studies the influence of matrix stiffness and the intertube radial displacements on free vibration of an individual double-walled carbon nanotube (DWNT). For this, a double elastic beam model is presented for frequency analysis in a DWNT embedded in an elastic matrix. The analysis is based on both Euler–Bernoulli and Timoshenko beam theories which considers shear deformation and rotary inertia and for both concentric and non-concentric assumptions considering intertube radial displacements and the related internal degrees of freedom. New intertube resonant frequencies and the associated non-coaxial vibrational modes are calculated. Detailed results are demonstrated for the dependence of resonant frequencies and mode shapes on the matrix stiffness. The results indicate that internal radial displacement and surrounding matrix stiffness could substantially affect resonant frequencies especially for longer double-walled carbon nanotubes of larger innermost radius at higher resonant frequencies, and thus the latter does not keep the otherwise concentric structure at ultrahigh frequencies. Therefore, depending on the matrix stiffness, for carbon nanotubes reinforced composites, different analysis techniques should be used while the aspect ratio of carbon nanotubes has a little effect on the analysis theory which should be selected.     

Weldability of Ferritic Ductile Cast Iron Using Full Factorial Design of Experiment简

The weldability of a ferritic ductile cast iron was investigated as a function of different consumables and welding conditions. A 23 full factorial experimental design was used to analyze the effect of factors and their interac- tions on ultimate tensile strength of weldments. The shielded metal arc welding （SMAW） process was used with two types of consumables （E7018 and ENi-CI） under eight different conditions using as-cast samples. The microstructur- al evolution and fracture mechanisms were investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, respectively. The hardness, tensile and impact tests were also performed to determine the weld quality. Based on experiment design, preheat, consumable, cooling condition, preheat cooling and preheat-consumable inter- actions were significant factors. Preheat is the most effective factor and in the case of E7018, preheat and cooling conditions were the most sensible factors. It was found that buttering was the most appropriate welding method for ferritic ductile cast iron.