Electrical transport in amorphous Se1−xSbx thin films

Amorphous Se_1–x Sb _x (x=0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) films of different thicknesses were prepared by the electron gun evaporation technique. Their structure was studied using reflection or transmission electron diffraction patterns. The d.c. electrical conductivity, thermoelectric power and magnetoresistance measurements, were made in the temperature range 80–300 K. These measurements confirm intrinsic conduction in the entire range of investigation, and were found to be independent of the film thickness. The effect of antimony impurity on electrical transport properties of selenium is understood in terms of the reduction of the Se₈ ring population.     

Compressive imaging system design using task-specific information

We present a task-specific information (TSI) based framework for designing compressive imaging (CI) systems. The task of target detection is chosen to demonstrate the performance of the optimized CI system designs relative to a conventional imager. In our optimization framework, we first select a projection basis and then find the associated optimal photon-allocation vector in the presence of a total photon-count constraint. Several projection bases, including principal components (PC), independent components, generalized matched-filter, and generalized Fisher discriminant (GFD) are considered for candidate CI systems, and their respective performance is analyzed for the target-detection task. We find that the TSI-optimized CI system design based on a GFD projection basis outperforms all other candidate CI system designs as well as the conventional imager. The GFD-based compressive imager yields a TSI of 0.9841 bits (out of a maximum possible 1 bit for the detection task), which is nearly ten times the 0.0979 bits achieved by the conventional imager at a signal-to-noise ratio of 5.0. We also discuss the relation between the information-theoretic TSI metric and a conventional statistical metric like probability of error in the context of the target-detection problem. It is shown that the TSI can be used to derive an upper bound on the probability of error that can be attained by any detection algorithm.     

Adaptive feature-specific imaging: a face recognition example

We present an adaptive feature-specific imaging (AFSI) system and consider its application to a face recognition task. The proposed system makes use of previous measurements to adapt the projection basis at each step. Using sequential hypothesis testing, we compare AFSI with static-FSI (SFSI) and static or adaptive conventional imaging in terms of the number of measurements required to achieve a specified probability of misclassification (Pe). The AFSI system exhibits significant improvement compared to SFSI and conventional imaging at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). It is shown that for M=4 hypotheses and desired Pe=10(-2), AFSI requires 100 times fewer measurements than the adaptive conventional imager at SNR= -20 dB. We also show a trade-off, in terms of average detection time, between measurement SNR and adaptation advantage, resulting in an optimal value of integration time (equivalent to SNR) per measurement.     

COMPARATIVE METABOLISM OF PHENANTHRO[3,4-B]THIOPHENE,PHENANTHRO[4,3-B]THIOPHENE AND THEIR CARBON ANALOG BENZO[C]PHENANTHRENE BY RAT LIVER MICROSOMES

Phenanthro[3,4-b]thiophene (P[3,4-b]T) and phenanthro[4,3-b]thiophene (P[4,3-b]T) are thiasters of weakly mutagenic benzo[c]phenanthrene (B[c]P). These polycyclic sulfur heterocycles (thia-PAHs) represent a group of chemicals which have been identified in cigarette smoke. P[3,4-b]T is a potent mutagen in Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100 in the presence of rat liver S9, whereas its isosteric isomer P[4,3-b]T is a nonmutagenic compound. In order to understand the mechanism underlying the differences in the mutagenic activity of P[3,4-b]T and P[4,3-b]T, we have investigated the metabolism of P[3,4-b]T, P[4,3-b]T, and their carbon analogue B[c]P by rat liver microsomes. The liver microsomes from rats treated with Aroclor 1254 metabolized P[3,4-b]T, P[3,4-b]T, and B[c]P at a rate nearly 7- to 9-fold greater than of the control liver microsomes. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the metabolites formed showed that B[c]P was metabolized almost exclusively to its dihydrodiols which comprised predominantly K-region diol as noted in the previous studies. Our preliminary studies on the metabolism of P[3,4-b]T, P[4,3-b]T and B[c]P by liver microsomes from control and Aroclor 1254-treated rats have shown a significant reduction in the formation of 6,7-diol (K-region diol) and 8,9-diol (diol with a bay-region double bond) of the two thia-PAHs compared to the formation of analogous 5,6-diol (K-region diol) and 3,4-diol (diol with a bay-region double bond) from B[c]P. Both P[3,4-b]T and P[4,3b]T produced a major, relatively nonpolar metabolite(s) (80–96% of total metabolites). These studies indicate that the highly mutagenic P[3,4-b]T is not metabolized to dihydrodiol with a bay-region double bond to any greater extent than the weakly or nonmutagenic B[c]P or P[4,3-b]T, suggesting that the metabolite(s) other than P[3,4-b]T8,9-diol is likely to be involved in the mutagenicity of P[3,4-b]T.     

Synthesis of Azide-Functionalized Hydroxyl-Terminated Polybutadiene

This article reports ways to functionalize hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) by azide groups to impart energetic properties to the polymer. Two different synthetic approaches were explored to synthesize azide-functionalized hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (azide-HTPB). The functionalized polymer was analyzed for structural confirmation and determination of important physical and thermal properties. Azide-HTPB obtained by azidation of 10% double bonds of HTPB showed viscosity of 11 Pa.s and a glass transition temperature of ?66°C.     

Synthesis of reduced graphene oxide–TiO2 nanoparticle composite systems and its application in hydrogen production

The utilization of solar energy for the conversion of water to hydrogen and oxygen has been considered to be an efficient strategy to solve crisis of energy and environment. Here, we report the synthesis of reduced graphene oxide–TiO₂ nanoparticle composite system through the photocatalytic reduction of graphite oxide using TiO₂ nanoparticles. Photoelectrochemical characterizations and hydrogen evolution measurements of these nanocomposites reveal that the presence of graphene enhances the photocurrent density and hydrogen generation rate. The optimum photocurrent density and hydrogen generation rate has been found to be 3.4 mA cm⁻² and 127.5 μmole cm⁻²h⁻¹ in 0.5 M Na₂SO₄ electrolyte solution under 1.5AM solar irradiance of white light with illumination intensity of 100 mW cm⁻². In graphene–TiO₂ nanocomposite, photogenerated electrons in TiO₂ are scavenged by graphene sheets and percolate to counter electrode to reduce H⁺ to molecular hydrogen thus increasing the performance of water-splitting reaction.     

Sesamol Treatment Reduces Plasma Cholesterol and Triacylglycerol Levels in Mouse Models of Acute and Chronic Hyperlipidemia

The active constituents of Sesamum indicum, sesamin and sesamolin, have already been explored for hypolipidemic action. In this study we have explored the anti-dyslipidemic activity of another active component and metabolite of sesamolin (sesamol), by using acute models of hyperlipidemia viz., a fat tolerance test, a tyloxapol-induced hyperlipidemia model and a chronic model of hyperlipidemia viz., a high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidemia model in Swiss albino mice. Sesamol (100 and 200 mg/kg) significantly (P < 0.05) decreased triacylglycerol absorption in the fat tolerance test by showing a dose-dependent decrease in triacylglycerol levels. The hypolipidemic effect of sesamol at 200 mg/kg was equivalent to 10 mg/kg of orlistat. In the tyloxapol-induced hyperlipidemia model, Sesamol at 200 mg/kg reversed the elevated levels of cholesterol and triacylglycerol compared with the tyloxapol group at 12 and 24 h, which indicates its probable effect on cholesterol synthesis. Chronic hyperlipidemia in mice was produced by feeding a high-diet, a mixture of cholesterol (2 % w/w), cholic acid (1 % w/w) and coconut oil 30 % (v/w) with standard powdered standard animal chow (up to 100 g). Niacin (100 mg/kg) and sesamol (100 mg/kg) significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the elevated body weight compared with the high fat diet control group. Elevated levels of cholesterol and triacylglycerol were significantly (P < 0.05) reversed by the sesamol (50 and 100 mg/kg), implying that it might reduce the absorption and increase the excretion of cholesterol as well.     

Hybrid mixture theory based moisture transport and stress development in corn kernels during drying: Validation and simulation results

The moisture transport and stress development mechanisms were elucidated for corn kernels using numerical solution of three-scale fluid transport equation. The 3D kernel structure was captured using micro-CT scanning and imported into finite elements package. The experimental drying profiles were predicted with reasonable accuracy (R² = 0.88-0.99 and CV = 3.5-9.5%). During simulations, the region with highest moisture content was observed to be away from the geometric center covering parts of soft-endosperm and germ. The high moisture flux was observed under the pericarp, in soft-endosperm toward top and in region connecting soft-endosperm and germ. The germ due to its lower moisture diffusivity in comparison to hard and soft endosperms, retained higher moisture and exhibited lower moisture flux. These observations agreed with previous magnetic resonance imaging based studies. Intermittent drying simulations indicated that fan on/off strategies with suitable time step-size would be a viable option for drying corn with lower stress-cracking and additional energy savings.     

Small Holders’ Irrigation—Problems and Options

The land holding sizes in developing countries has been declining under continuous population pressure and average holding size is less than 2 ha. Small holders’, however, were able to increase the land productivity and farm income by adopting the high yielding modern varieties of dominant food staples, supported by public sector investment for irrigation, but modern irrigation system and efficient modern technology has failed to meet the wide spread need for inexpensive, divisible system for small plots. The demand of the present scenario is to transform the technology-long viewed appropriate only for wealthier and large farm sizes—into a new form that’s hold greater promise and opportunity for small holders. This paper discusses about the irrigation problems faced by the small holders and describes few affordable irrigation techniques for row and plantation crops. This paper also describes a new irrigation technology developed by the authors that could be affordable by the small farmers and suitable for closely spaced crops which covers sizeable area on most of the small plots globally.     

Bioinspired Hydrogel Interferometer for Adaptive Coloration and Chemical Sensing

Living organisms ubiquitously display colors that adapt to environmental changes, relying on the soft layer of cells or proteins. Adoption of soft materials into an artificial adaptive color system has promoted the development of material systems for environmental and health monitoring, anti‐counterfeiting, and stealth technologies. Here, a hydrogel interferometer based on a single hydrogel thin film covalently bonded to a reflective substrate is reported as a simple and universal adaptive color platform. Similar to the cell or protein soft layer of color‐changing animals, the soft hydrogel layer rapidly changes its thickness in response to external stimuli, resulting in instant color change. Such interference colors provide a visual and quantifiable means of revealing rich environmental metrics. Computational model is established and captures the key features of hydrogel stimuli‐responsive swelling, which elucidates the mechanism and design principle for the broad‐based platform. The single material–based platform has advantages of remarkable color uniformity, fast response, high robustness, and facile fabrication. Its versatility is demonstrated by diverse applications: a volatile‐vapor sensor with highly accurate quantitative detection, a colorimetric sensor array for multianalyte recognition, breath‐controlled information encryption, and a colorimetric humidity indicator. Portable and easy‐to‐use sensing systems are demonstrated with smartphone‐based colorimetric analysis.