Structural development and magnetic phenomenon in Zn–Cr–Fe multi oxide nano-crystals

The Cr³⁺ ions doped multi-oxide ZnFe_2−xCr_xO₄ ferrite nanoparticles have been synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method. Site occupancies of Zn²⁺, Cr³⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions were analyzed using X-ray diffraction data and Buerger's method. The effect of the constituent phase variation on the magnetic hysteresis behavior was examined by saturation magnetization which decreases with the increase in Cr³⁺ content in place of Fe³⁺ ions at octahedral B-site. Typical blocking temperature (T_B) around 90 K was observed by zero field cooling and field cooling magnetization study. Room temperature Mössbauer spectra show two paramagnetic doublets (tetrahedral and octahedral sites). The isomer shifts of both doublets decrease whereas quadrupole splitting and relative area of tetrahedral A-site increases with increasing Cr³⁺ substitution. The dielectric constant (measured on compositions x=0, 0.4, 0.8 and 1.0) increases when the temperature increases as in the semiconductor. This behavior is attributed to the hopping of electrons between Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺ ions with a thermal activation.     

Green synthesis of anisotropic gold nanoparticles using hordenine and their antibiofilm efficacy against Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a notorious pathogen that causes biofilm aided infections in patients with cystic fibrosis and burn wounds, resulting in significant mortality in immunocompromised individuals. This study reports a novel one‐step biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles using phytocompound, hordenine (HD), as a reducing and capping agent. The synthesis of the anisotropic hordenine‐fabricated gold nanoparticles (HD‐AuNPs) with an average particle size of 136.87 nm was achieved within 12 h of incubation at room temperature. Both HD and HD‐AuNPs exhibited significant antibiofilm activity against P. aeruginosa PAO1, although greater biofilm inhibition was observed for the nanoparticles as compared to hordenine alone. In the microtitre plate assay and tube method, the nanoparticles significantly inhibited the biofilm formation by 73.69 and 78.41%, respectively. The exopolysaccharide production by the test pathogen was arrested by 68.46% on treatment with the nanoparticles. Further, the effect of HD and HD‐AuNPs on the biofilm architecture of P. aeruginosa was revealed by light and confocal laser‐scanning microscopy micrographs. The overall results of this study suggested the synergistic antibiofilm effect of AuNPs and HD for the treatment of chronic bacterial infections caused by biofilms forming pathogens.Inspec keywords: molecular biophysics, biochemistry, gold, nanoparticles, nanofabrication, microorganisms, organic compounds, particle size, nanobiotechnologyOther keywords: green synthesis, anisotropic gold nanoparticles, hordenine, antibiofilm efficacy, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, pathogen, cystic fibrosis, burn wounds, one‐step biosynthesis, phytocompound, reducing agent, capping agent, particle size, microtitre plate assay, tube method, confocal laser‐scanning microscopy micrographs, Au     

Reliability Analysis of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks Using Universal Generating Function

The proliferation of the wireless network over the last decade is one of the significant drivers for the increased deployment of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) in the battle field. It is not practically possible to build a fixed wired network infrastructure in battle field. But it is possible to create a mobile wireless network infrastructure because of the mobility of the soldiers. MANET is justified by the possibility of building a network where no infrastructure exists. MANET with group communication applications and multicasting can highly benefit from a networking environment such as military and emergency uses. In such applications, the used ad hoc networks need to be reliable and secure. In recent years, a specific technique called the universal generating function technique (UGFT) has been applied to determine the network reliability. The UGFT is based on an approach that is closely connected to generating functions that are widely used in probability theory. This work devotes to assess the MANET reliability using the UGFT. Reliability of the MANET is defined as the probability that the transformed message from the source can be passed successfully through the MANET and reached the target without any delay. Two kinds of UGFs are discussed in this work, and an algorithm has been proposed to execute the system reliability. This UGFT is illustrated with a case study in a battlefield environment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magneto-transport and Magnetic Susceptibility of SmFeAsO1−x F x (x=0.0 and 0.20)

We report superconductivity in the SmFeAsO_1?x F _x for the x=0.2 system being synthesized using the single step solid state reaction route. Rietveld analysis of room temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) data shows the studied samples, SmFeAsO_1?x F _x with x=0.0 and x=0.2, are crystallized in a single phase tetragonal structure with space group P4/nmm. The resistivity measurement shows superconductivity for the x=0.20 sample with T _c (onset) ～51.7 K. The upper critical field, [H _c2(0)] is estimated ～3770 kOe by Ginzburg–Landau (GL) theory. Broadening of superconducting transition in magnetotransport is studied through thermally activated flux flow in an applied field up to 130 kOe. The flux flow activation energy (U/k _B ) is estimated ～1215 K for 1 kOe field. Magnetic measurements exhibited bulk superconductivity with lower critical field (H _c1) of ～1.2 kOe at 2 K. In the normal state, the paramagnetic nature of compound confirms no trace of magnetic impurity, which orders ferromagnetically. AC susceptibility measurements have been carried out for SmFeAsO_0.80F_0.20 sample at various amplitude and frequencies of applied AC drive field. The intergranular critical current density (J _c ) is estimated. Specific heat [C _p (T)] measurement showed an anomaly at around 140 K due to the SDW ordering of Fe, followed by another peak at 5 K corresponding to the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering of Sm⁺³ ions in the SmFeAsO compound. Interestingly, the change in entropy (marked by the C _p transition height) at 5 K for Sm⁺³ AFM ordering is heavily reduced in the case of the superconducting SmFeAsO_0.80F_0.20 sample.     

Residual U-Network for Breast Tumor Segmentation from Magnetic Resonance Images

Breast cancer positions as the most well-known threat and the main source of malignant growth-related morbidity and mortality throughout the world. It is apical of all new cancer incidences analyzed among females. Two features substantially influence the classification accuracy of malignancy and benignity in automated cancer diagnostics. These are the precision of tumor segmentation and appropriateness of extracted attributes required for the diagnosis. In this research, the authors have proposed a ResU-Net (Residual U-Network) model for breast tumor segmentation. The proposed methodology renders augmented, and precise identification of tumor regions and produces accurate breast tumor segmentation in contrast-enhanced MR images. Furthermore, the proposed framework also encompasses the residual network technique, which subsequently enhances the performance and displays the improved training process. Over and above, the performance of ResU-Net has experimentally been analyzed with conventional U-Net, FCN8, FCN32. Algorithm performance is evaluated in the form of dice coefficient and MIoU (Mean Intersection of Union), accuracy, loss, sensitivity, specificity, F1score. Experimental results show that ResU-Net achieved validation accuracy & dice coefficient value of 73.22% & 85.32% respectively on the Rider Breast MRI dataset and outperformed as compared to the other algorithms used in experimentation.     

Heat transfer in micropolar boundary layer flow near a stagnation point

Using the micropolar theory, a set of boundary layer equations are obtained for the two dimensional flow of an incompressible micropolar fluid near a stagnation point. The boundary conditions of isothermal and insulated wall are taken with VISCOUS DISSIPATION effects. Numerical results for the temperature distribution has been shown graphically for different values of the material parameters and Prandtl number.     

Numerical solution of heat transfer in micropolar fluid flow in a channel with porous walls

Using the basic equations of heat conducting micropolar fluid, heat transfer through a channel of porous walls has been studied. The temperature distribution is obtained for different values of suction parameter $\text{S}$, convective parameter $\text{E}$ and micropolar parameter $\text{R}$.     

Characterization of Nano-Particle Co<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Zn<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> Synthesized Using Alove Vera Gel

Nano-particle Co_1?x Zn _x Fe₂O₄ (x = 0.0, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.0) samples were prepared via combustion route using Alove Vera Gel. XRD, IR, and SAED analysis represents single-phase formation of ferrite samples, and nano-sizes of the particles in the range of 6 to 13 nm were confirmed using XRD data and TEM images. Decrease in lattice constant with increasing Zn content reflects formation of compositionally homogeneous samples. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss study showed promising results. The room temperature Mossbauer spectrum showed mixed superparamagnetic and ordered ferromagnetic behavior. The possible modification in the cation distributions was seen in the nano-particle ZnFe₂O₄ sample obtained in the present work compared to conventional bulk samples.