Central motor conduction in motor neuron disease

Central motor conduction time (CMCT) to abductor digiti minimi (ADM) and tibialis anterior (TA) was measured in 21 patients of motor neuron disease (MND). In the upper limb, the motor pathways were inexcitable in 13 and central motor conduction time (CMCT-ADM) was prolonged in 7 sides. In the lower limbs the motor pathways were inexcitable in 10 and CMCT-TA was prolonged in 14 sides. The CMCT abnormalities did not follow a constant pattern but were randomly distributed and were asymmetric in the upper limbs in 7 and lower limbs in 3 patients. Asymmetric and randomly focal abnormalities in central motor conduction in our patients are consistent with asymmetric and focal neuronopathy in MND.     

Development of Apparels from Silk Waste and Pineapple Leaf Fiber

The degummed mulberry silk waste and eri silk waste were blended with degummed and bleached pineapple leaf fibers (PALF) at fiber stage in different proportions, and spun into yarn in a jute spinning system. The 90-tex blended yarn thus developed was analyzed for different physico-mechanical properties. Properties of fabric developed in a traditional handloom using 2/40-s cotton as warp and blended yarn as weft were also analyzed. The quality parameters, viz., tensile property, crease recovery, fabric cover, stiffness, drape, and thickness of the developed fabric, met essential apparel requirements. A comparative subjective evaluation of the fabric quality, viz., aesthetic appearance, luster, and texture, was made with the help of a group of people from different age, educational, and occupational background to examine its marketability; all respondents felt that appearance of PALF with silk waste was excellent. Texture and luster were found to be from medium to moderate. About 95% of respondents felt that fabric was crispy.     

Plasma-Sprayed Manganese-Containing Tricalcium Phosphate Coatings on Titanium

Inorganic Materials - Manganese-substituted tricalcium phosphates (TCPs), Ca3(PO4)2, containing 0–1.49 wt % manganese have been prepared by heterophase synthesis using mechanical activation....     

The Effect of Thermal Treatment Modes on the Structure and Corrosion Resistance of Plasma Coatings Made of Alloys Based on Nickel and Iron

Protection of Metals and Physical Chemistry of Surfaces - The structural state and corrosion resistance of the plasma coatings based on iron (FBKh6-2 alloy) and nickel (RW 12496 alloy from Castolin...     

Biobased hyperbranched shape‐memory polyurethanes: Effect of different vegetable oils

Hyperbranched polyurethanes were synthesized from poly(ε‐caprolactone) diol as a macroglycol, butanediol as a chain extender, a monoglyceride of a vegetable oil (Mesua ferrea, castor, and sunflower oils separately) as a biobased chain extender, triethanolamine as a multifunctional moiety, and toluene diisocyanate by a prepolymerization technique with the A₂ + B₃ approach. The structure of the synthesized hyperbranched polyurethanes was characterized by ¹H‐NMR and X‐ray diffraction studies. M. ferrea L. seed‐oil‐based polyurethane showed the highest thermal stability, whereas the castor‐oil‐based one showed the lowest. However, the castor‐oil‐based polyurethane exhibited the highest tensile strength compared to the other vegetable‐oil‐based polyurethanes. All of the vegetable‐oil‐based polyurethanes showed good shape fixity, although the castor‐oil‐based polyurethane showed the highest shape recovery. Thus, the characteristics of the vegetable oil had a prominent role in the control of the ultimate properties, including the shape‐memory behaviors, of the hyperbranched polyurethanes. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39579.     

Design and Uncertainty Evaluation of a Strain Measurement System

Strain measurement is very important in various industrial applications as well as different disciplines of science and technology for direct and indirect observations of certain parameters. Designing signal conditioning circuit is always a challenging and important task for satisfactory and reliable performance of a sensor as well as the system. The design and implementation details of a signal conditioning circuit of resistive sensor (strain gauge) for strain measurement are presented in this paper. Also the important aspects in designing a signal conditioning circuit for resistive sensor are presented and a novel method for the measurement of strain is discussed. Quarter bridge configuration with AC voltage excitation is used for the measurement along with the necessary circuitry to get a suitable and measurable output DC voltage. The measurement system is calibrated using a cantilever of stainless steel and the details of calibration are presented in the paper. The uncertainty associated with the measurement system is evaluated.     

Green synthesis of copper sulfide (CuS) nanostructures for heterojunction diode applications

Copper sulfide (CuS) rod shaped nanostructures with an average length 8 to 10 nm are synthesized through green chemical route using biodegradable starch as a capping agent under a nitrogen environment. Owing to the presence of a large number of glucose units linked by glycosidic bonds, starch can cap copper sulfide (CuS) nanoparticles. The preparation of CuS under nitrogen atmosphere produces fine quality CuS nanostructures by minimizing oxidation. XRD pattern reveals pure hexagonal covellite type CuS nanostructure with prime diffraction planes along (101), (102), (103), (006), (008), and (110) directions. The lattice parameters estimated as a?=?3.790 Å and c?=?16.51 Å. HRTEM studies show a well distribution of CuS nanorods. It shows prominent d-value of 0.28 nm corresponding to (103) hexagonal plane of CuS. The optical absorption extended up to 364 nm which is fairly blue shifted over bulk owing to the quantum confinement brought by starch. The photoluminescence emission is observed at 525 nm. The I–V measurements in planar geometry exhibit the linearity that reveals the ohmic behavior of carrier transport in CuS nanostructures. CuS nanostructures have been successfully used as effective p-type layer to fabricate sandwiched heterojunction devices with zinc chalcogenides (ZnO/ZnS and ZnS/ZnO) core/shell nanocomposites. The p-CuS/n-(zinc chalcogenides) heterojunction devices show good diode characteristics with an increase of ideality factor that may be attributed to surface defects and inhomogeneity in the barrier height. The photodetector also exhibits promising characteristics in terms of responsivity and quantum efficiency which are significant corresponding to material properties.

     

Experimental Study of Rewetting of a Superheated Plate with Structured Capillary-Porous Coating by Flowing Liquid Film

The experimental results on rewetting of the surface of a superheated vertical copper heater and a heater with a structured capillary-porous coating (applied by means of directed plasma spraying) by liquid nitrogen film are presented. It is shown that presence of the capillary-porous coating fundamentally influences the temperature variation and reduces the duration of overall plate cooling by more than three times. The high-speed videofilming of the transient processes was carried out and data on the character and structure of the rewetting front were obtained. Analysis of the synchronized measurements of the plate temperature and the high-speed video of transient processes shows that the higher cooling rate in the presence of structured capillary-porous coating is related to the development of intensive boiling in the rewetting front at sufficiently higher plate temperature.     

Optimizing process parameters for laser beam micro-marking using genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization

Laser micro-marking is an efficient technique for permanent marking and logo printing on materials. This study details the selection of an optimal parametric combination for laser micro-marking. In this work, markings were performed on Gallium Nitride (GaN) with varying the levels of marking parameters. The parameters considered in the present work are current (A), pulse frequency (Hz), and scanning speed (mm/sec). This experiment was designed using a “central composite design,” grounded in the response surface methodology. Mark intensity, which is a prominent response in laser marking, was considered the output response. The data interpretation involved analysis of variance (ANOVA) and mathematical modelling between the input parameters. It is essential to determine the relationship and significance of input-output variation. The interaction effect of various input parameters on mark intensity was also studied. Finally, two techniques, namely genetic algorithm (GA) and particle swarm optimization (PSO), were applied, and the optimal settings of input constraints were predicted.