Application of PDMS-based coating in drug delivery systems using PVP as channeling agent

PDMS derivatives have been extensively used as coating in controlled drug delivery systems in pharmaceutical area. The major advantages of these materials are facilitation of adjustment of desired drug release patterns, improvement of film formation and storage stability. In this study PDMS-based coating systems were designed and applied to acetaminophen tablets and their release was investigated from the PDMS-coated tablet dosage form as a drug model. Thus, a water emulsion of PDMS containing tetraethoxysilane as cross-linking agent and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as channeling agent was prepared. Then, a uniform smooth thin coating of PDMS was applied on acetaminophen tablets and in vitro acetaminophen release from PDMS-coated tablets was carried out with a homemade setup. The morphology of the coated surfaces was studied by SEM technique. The effect of PVP on the mechanical properties of PDMS film was investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis. It was found that, PVP increased the mechanical properties of PDMS. Compounding of polyethylene glycol (PEG) with PVP (1:1) as channeling agents was also studied and compared with PVPs-containing samples. Despite more channeling agent content in PEG–PVP samples, the drug release percentage was decreased.     

Steady-state analysis of quantized distributed incremental LMS algorithm without Gaussian restriction

In this paper, we analyze the steady-state performance of the distributed incremental least mean-square (DILMS) algorithm when it is implemented in finite-precision arithmetic. Our analysis in this paper does not consider any distribution of input data. We first formulate the update equation for quantized DILMS algorithm, and then we use a spatial-temporal energy conservation argument to derive theoretical expressions that evaluate the steady-state performance of individual nodes in the network. We consider mean-square error, excess mean-square error, and mean-square deviation as the performance criteria. Simulation results are generated by using two types of signals, Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributed signals. As the simulation results show, there is a good match between the theory and simulation.     

Optimising nanometric CMOS logic cells for low-power,low-energy,and noise margin

In this paper, we present a multi-objective optimisation technique for transistor sizing in the variation-prone nanometric complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) logic cells. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique, we have used the common figures-of-merit, such as power, energy, and static noise margin. By using examples of different logic cells, we have demonstrated how competing design goals can be tackled effectively. We show that concurrent improvements in multiple figures-of-merit are possible using the proposed method.     

Role of Photoinitiators in the UV Curing of Urethane Acrylate

Polymeric films were prepared under UV radiation with tetraacrylated urethane oligomer in combination with N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP) using a set of four photoinitiators (Irg 907, Irg 651, Irg 369, and Irg 184). The study evaluates optimum photoinitiator concentration and radiation dose. Various film properties such as gel content, swelling ratio in acetone, pendulum hardness, tensile strength, and elongation at break were determined. These formulated solutions were coated on wood substrates, and gloss and hardness of the film cured on the wood substrate were determined. Some of these properties are compared with those of the films cured on the glass plates. Irg 369 is found to be the best photoinitiator to produce better films, both on glass plate and on wood substrate.     

Effect of precipitation on the geological development of badlands in arid regions

The main objective of this paper was to study the effect of precipitation on the geological development of badlands in arid regions. Field observations and laboratory investigations were carried out to characterize the surface soils of the Avonlea badlands in southern Saskatchewan, Canada, which is currently experiencing a rapid development in infrastructure. Three distinct surface sediments were identified: an upper slope of cemented sandstone, a mid-slope on weathered mudrock and a relatively flat basal pediment. Each of these soils reacts differently to rainfall events. Precipitation results in grain size reduction which, together with the consistency limits, explains the water sensitivity of the soils; the fines increased by 16% in the cemented sandstone, 78% in the weathered mudrock and 33% in the basal pediment. Erosion susceptibility was highest in the basal pediment (2% clays) followed by cemented sandstone (cementation by 6% active clays) and then by weathered mudrock (cohesion due to the 40% clay).     

Automating the sizing of transistors in CMOS gates for low‐power and high‐noise margin operation

This paper presents an automatic method for sizing the transistors in CMOS gates. The method utilizes a feedback control system to efficiently optimize the transistor sizes in small and large fan‐in gates, with the primary goal of enhancing noise robustness (as characterized by the static noise margin). The gates retain their robustness under threshold‐voltage variations over a range of supply voltages. The optimized gates not only expend reduced power and energy, but also take up less area than the conventional ones. These multi‐faceted gains, however, do incur some performance loss. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tracking analysis of augmented complex least mean square algorithm

The augmented complex least mean‐square (ACLMS) algorithm is a suitable algorithm for the processing of both second‐order circular (proper) and noncircular (improper) signals. In this paper, we provide tracking analysis of the ACLMS algorithm in the non‐stationary environments. Using the established energy conservation argument, we derive a variance relation that contains moments that represent the effects of non‐stationary environment. We evaluate these moments and derive closed‐form expressions for the excess mean‐square error (EMSE) and mean‐square error (MSE). The derived expressions, supported by simulations, reveal that unlike the stationary case, the steady‐state EMSE, and MSE curves are not monotonically increasing functions of the step‐size parameter. We also use this observation to optimize the step‐size learning parameter. Simulation results illustrate the theoretical findings and match well with theory. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structural evolution and dopant occupancy preference of yttrium-doped potassium sodium niobate thin films

Sodium potassium niobate (KNN) is the most promising candidate for lead-free piezoelectric material, owing to its high Curie temperature and piezoelectric coefficients among the non-lead piezoelectric. Numerous studies have been carried out to enhance piezoelectric properties of KNN through composition design. This research studied the effects of yttrium concentrations and lattice site occupancy preference in KNN films. For this research, the yttrium-doped KNN thin films (mol% = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9) were fabricated using the sol-gel spin coating technique and had revealed the orthorhombic perovskite structures. Based on the replacement of Y³⁺ ions for K⁺/ Na⁺ ions, it was found that the films doped with 0.1 to 0.5 mol% of yttrium had less lattice strain, while films with more than 0.5 mol% of Y³⁺ ions had increased strain due to the tendency of Y³⁺ to occupy the B-site in the perovskite lattice. Furthermore, by analysing the vibrational attributes of octahedron bonding, the dopant occupancy at A-site and B-site lattices could be identified. O-Nb-O bonding was asymmetric and became distorted due to the B-site occupancy of yttrium dopants at high dopant concentrations of >0.5 mol%. Extra conduction electrons had resulted in better resistivity of 2.153× 10⁶ Ω at 0.5 mol%, while higher resistivity was recorded for films prepared with higher concentration of more than 0.5 mol%. The introduction of Y³⁺ improved the grain distribution of KNN structure. Further investigations indicated that yttrium enhances the surface smoothness of the films. However, at high concentrations (0.9 mol%), the yttrium increases the roughness of the surface. Within the studied range of Y³⁺ _, the film with 0.5 mol% Y³⁺ represented a relatively desirable improvement in dielectric loss, tan δ and quality factor, Q_m.     

Transient analysis of diffusion least‐mean squares adaptive networks with noisy channels

In this paper, we study the effect of noisy channels on the transient performance of diffusion adaptive network with least‐mean squares (LMS) learning rule. We first drive the update equation of diffusion LMS which incorporates the effects of noisy channels. Then, using the framework of fundamental weighted energy conservation relation, we derive closed‐form expressions for learning curves in terms of mean‐square deviation and excess mean‐square error. We also find the mean and mean‐square stability bounds of step‐size for diffusion LMS with noisy channels. We show that although noisy channels affect the performance of the diffusion LMS network, the stability bounds of the step‐size are the same form as in the ideal channels case. The derived closed‐form expressions are shown to provide a good match with values found by simulation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

General mixed mode I/II fracture criterion for wood considering T-stress effects

A general mixed mode I/II fracture criterion applicable to orthotropic materials with arbitrary oriented cracks with respect to the orthotropy axes is presented. Wasted energy in fracture process zone is considered based on the calculated damage properties for an elastic solid containing random distributed micro-cracks. This new criterion includes the effects of T-stress as a significant term in fracture of some specimens. The correctness and applicability of this criterion has been investigated for some wood specimens. Very good agreement is obtained from verification of results with experimental data.