Annealing effects on the optical and morphological properties of ZnO nanorods on AZO substrate by using aqueous solution method at low temperature

Vertically aligned ZnO nanorods (NRs) on aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) substrates were fabricated by a single-step aqueous solution method at low temperature. In order to optimize optical quality, the effects of annealing on optical and structural properties were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence (PL), and Raman spectroscopy. We found that the annealing temperature strongly affects both the near-band-edge (NBE) and visible (defect-related) emissions. The best characteristics have been obtained by employing annealing at 400°C in air for 2 h, bringing about a sharp and intense NBE emission. The defect-related recombinations were also suppressed effectively. However, the enhancement decreases with higher annealing temperature and prolonged annealing. PL study indicates that the NBE emission is dominated by radiative recombination associated with hydrogen donors. Thus, the enhancement of NBE is due to the activation of radiative recombinations associated with hydrogen donors. On the other hand, the reduction of visible emission is mainly attributed to the annihilation of OH groups. Our results provide insight to comprehend annealing effects and an effective way to improve optical properties of low-temperature-grown ZnO NRs for future facile device applications.     

A clustered locally linear approach on face manifolds for pose estimation

Data points with small variations between them are assumed to lie close to each other on a smooth varying manifold in the feature space. Such data are hard to classify into separate classes . A sequence of face pose images with closely varying pose angles can be considered as such data. The pose angles when large enough create images that are largely differing from each other, and thus, the sequence of face images can be assumed to be on or near a nonlinear manifold. In this paper, we propose an unsupervised pose estimation method for face images based on clustered locally linear manifolds using discriminant analysis. We divide the data into multiple disjointed, locally linear and separable clusters. The problem of identifying which cluster to use is solved by dividing the entire process into two steps. The first step or projection using the entire smooth manifold identifies a rough region of interest. We use clustering techniques on entire data to form the pose-dependent classes which are then used to find the first set of discriminant functions. The second step or second projection uses trained cluster(s) from this neighbourhood to obtain a second set of discriminant functions. The idea behind such an approach is that the local neighbourhood would be linear and provide better between-class separation, and hence, the classification problem would now be simpler.     

Preparation of rice analogues using extrusion technology

Rice is considered as staple food in many parts of the world. An issue of concern is the breakage of rice kernels in milling processes, and these broken kernels are not generally accepted by consumers. These broken kernels can be mixed with some desired additives to improve their quality and extruded for the preparation of reconstituted rice kernels or rice analogues. Various studies have been conducted for the preparation of the rice analogues in the past few decades, and recently attempts have been made to fortify these analogues with protein, certain vitamins and minerals. The main features such as colour, shape, size, texture, and cooking characteristics and cooking time of these rice‐like grains can be tailored to the requirements of specific applications by modification of the extrusion parameters. Various organisations, such as Wuxi NutriRice Co. (DSM/Buhler) and China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporate (COFCO), Superlative Snacks Inc., Vigui and PATH, have utilised this technique to prepare fortified and reconstituted rice. Studies have shown that it is possible to improve the nutritional quality of rice by fortified rice analogues. This article reviews research results of the many approaches to the formation of fortified rice analogues by extrusion‐based technologies.     

Low complexity adaptation for SISO channel shortening equalizers

Since the days of Digital Subscriber Links (DSL), time domain equalizers (TEQ's) have been used to combat time dispersive channels in Multicarrier Systems. In this paper, we propose computationally inexpensive techniques to recompute TEQ weights in the presence of changes in the channel, especially over fast fading channels. The techniques use no extra information except the perturbation to the channel itself, and provide excellent approximations to the new TEQ weights. Adaptation methods for two existing Channel shortening algorithms are proposed and their performance over randomly varying, randomly perturbed channels is studied. The proposed adaptation techniques are shown to perform admirably well for small changes in channels for OFDM systems.     

Evaluation of leanness using fuzzy association rules mining

The modern manufacturing organizations are adopting lean manufacturing principles so as to eliminate wastes and streamline their processes. The evaluation of leanness gains vital importance. Multiple tools/techniques are available for ensuring leanness. Due to the impreciseness and vagueness associated with decision-making problems, fuzzy logic need to be used. Relational databases enable decision-making process. This article presents a study in which fuzzy association rules mining approach has been used for leanness evaluation of an Indian modular switches manufacturing organization. The experiences gained as a result of the conduct of the study indicated that leanness evaluation could be performed by the decision makers without any constraints.     

Quaternized poly(phenylene oxide) anion exchange membrane for alkaline direct methanol fuel cells in KOH‐free media

A series of anion exchange membrane (AEM) electrolytes with quaternary ammonium moiety are fabricated from poly (phenylene oxide) for its application in alkaline direct methanol fuel cells (ADMFCs). In the first step, poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) is successfully chloromethylated by substituting chloromethyl groups in the aryl position of polymer. In the second step, the chloromethylated PPO (CPPO) is further homogeneously quaternized and ion‐exchanged to form an AEM. From the second step, series of AEMs are prepared by changing the mole ratio of amine in relation to CPPO. The presence of quaternary ammonium group in the membrane was confirmed by elemental analysis. The fabricated membranes are subjected to cell polarization studies in ADMFCs, wherein quaternized poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene oxide) (CPPO:amine of 1:8) membrane exhibits higher peak power density of 3.5 mW cm^?2 when compared with the other ratios of CPPO:amine in the absence of KOH solution. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43693.     

Constructing porous ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposites for the detection of methane at low operating temperature

Journal of Porous Materials - Aimed at detecting methane (CH4) gas at low operating temperature, porous ZnO/SnO2 nanocomposites were constructed through a simple two-step method. Pure SnO2 with a...