Phase change and cooling characteristics of microjets measured using microcantilever heaters

This paper reports novel microcantilever metrology tools to investigate free microjets emanating from a micromachined nozzle of diameter 10 μm. Microcantilevers with an integrated resistive heater-thermometer were used to study microjet cooling and phase change characteristics. While the microcantilever heater was aligned to and impinged upon by hydrocarbon microjets, the heater temperature was modulated by a constant voltage source. Successive heating and cooling cycles captured the microjet phase change hysteresis properties. When the microcantilever heater temperature was controlled, it was possible to construct a full boiling curve. Measurements were made on microjets of butane, hexane, and octane. The convective heat fluxes accompanied by microjet impingement boiling were 2.9–7.6 kW/cm² for heater temperatures of 25–350 °C. Overall, the techniques reported herein show promise for characterizing microscale jet flows.     

Synthesis and characterization of cetirizine‐containing,pH‐sensitive acrylic acid/poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels

In this study, interpenetrated acrylic acid (AA)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels were prepared by free‐radical polymerization with N,N‐methylene bisacrylamide (MBAAm) as a crosslinker. The basic structural parameters, such as the molecular weight between crosslinks, volume interaction parameter, number of crosslinks, Flory–Huggins solvent interaction parameter, and diffusion coefficient, were calculated. Cetirizine dihydrochloride was loaded as a model drug in selected samples. The prepared hydrogels were evaluated for swelling, sol–gel fraction, and porosity. The swelling of the AA/PVA hydrogels was found to be directly proportional to the pH, that is, 1.2–7.5, depending on composition. The percentage of cetirizine hydrochloride was found to be directly proportional to the buffer pH and was at its maximum at pH 7.5, that is, 90–95%, and its lowest at pH 1.2, that is, 20–30%. The gel fraction increased with increasing concentration of AA and MBAAm, whereas the porosity showed the same response with AA, but an inverse relationship was observed with MBAAm. The drug‐release data were fitted into various kinetics models, including the zero‐order, first‐order, Higuchi, and Peppas models, which showed non‐Fickian diffusion. The prepared hydrogels were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and no interaction was found among the polymer ratio and the drug. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43407.     

The effect of Sr concentration on bioactivity and biocompatibility of sol–gel derived glasses based on CaO–SrO–SiO2–P2O5 quaternary system

In the present study, sol–gel derived glasses based on CaO–SrO–SiO₂–P₂O₅ system were prepared and the effect of Sr concentration on in vitro bioactivity and cellular properties of the glasses were investigated. SrO was substituted for CaO in the glass formula up to 10 mol% and in vitro bioactivity of the samples was evaluated by soaking them in simulated body fluid followed by structural characterization using XRD, FTIR and SEM techniques. The effects of various glass compositions on proliferation and differentiation of osteoblastic cells were also evaluated. The results showed that the substitution of Sr for Ca in the glass composition retarded formation of apatite layer onto the glass surfaces. Morphologies of the apatite layers were also different in which abundance of the crystals decreased with increasing Sr concentration. The bioactive glasses did not exert cytotoxic effect on the cells, however the proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of the cells on the samples containing low doses of Sr were higher than those of control and the samples with high dose of Sr. Glass specimen with 5 mol% of Sr exhibited appropriate bioactivity with optimal cell proliferation and ALP activity.     

Genes and Longevity of Lifespan

Aging is a complex process indicated by low energy levels, declined physiological activity, stress induced loss of homeostasis leading to the risk of diseases and mortality. Recent developments in medical sciences and an increased availability of nutritional requirements has significantly increased the average human lifespan worldwide. Several environmental and physiological factors contribute to the aging process. However, about 40% human life expectancy is inherited among generations, many lifespan associated genes, genetic mechanisms and pathways have been demonstrated during last decades. In the present review, we have evaluated many human genes and their non-human orthologs established for their role in the regulation of lifespan. The study has included more than fifty genes reported in the literature for their contributions to the longevity of life. Intact genomic DNA is essential for the life activities at the level of cell, tissue, and organ. Nucleic acids are vulnerable to oxidative stress, chemotherapies, and exposure to radiations. Efficient DNA repair mechanisms are essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity, damaged DNA is not replicated and transferred to next generations rather the presence of deleterious DNA initiates signaling cascades leading to the cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. DNA modifications, DNA methylation, histone methylation, histone acetylation and DNA damage can eventually lead towards apoptosis. The importance of calorie restriction therapy in the extension of lifespan has also been discussed. The role of pathways involved in the regulation of lifespan such as DAF-16/FOXO (forkhead box protein O1), TOR and JNK pathways has also been particularized. The study provides an updated account of genetic factors associated with the extended lifespan and their interactive contributory role with cellular pathways.     

Real-time facial feature localization by combining space displacement neural networks

We present in this paper a new facial feature localizer. It uses a kind of auto-associative neural network trained to localize specific facial features (like eyes and mouth corners) in orientation-free face-images (i.e. images where faces are rotated in-plane and out-of-plane). To increase localization accuracy, two extensions are presented. The first one uses space displacement neural networks instead of classical, fully-connected networks. The second one combines several specialized networks trained to deal with each face orientation. A gating network is then used for combination. Finally, a two stage localizer is presented, which increases speed. Thorough evaluation is performed; including sensitivity to identity, noise and occlusions. The mean localization error (estimated on more than 4000 test images) is about 15% and the system can perform 40 images/s.     

Unsteady-State Inverse Chlorine Modeling in Pipe Networks

A model that directly determines the required source concentration(s) to meet specified chlorine residuals at selected nodes is developed for unsteady flows. The model considers even, over-, and underdetermined cases in which the number of available equations is equal to, greater than, or less than the number of unknowns, respectively. The model computes the unsteady-state flows and chlorine concentrations in the system first. Then it utilizes the inverse method to determine the required source concentration(s) so that specified residuals at selected nodes match the calculated ones. To verify the model, chlorine concentrations computed by the forward method are input to the inverse model to determine the source concentration(s) in two hypothetical networks. Results show that the model computed accurately the source concentrations for the even and the overdetermined cases, but the results were less than satisfactory for the underdetermined case.     

Applying Minimum Night Flow to Estimate Water Loss Using Statistical Modeling: A Case Study in Kinta Valley, Malaysia

Minimum night flow (MNF) is a common method used to evaluate water loss in a water network. In 2010, the average percentage of non-revenue water for the state of Perak in Malaysia was 29.4 %, a figure which resulted in major financial, supply, and pressure losses, as well as excessive energy consumption. In this study, a statistical analysis of the water distribution network and a modeling of MNF were carried out to estimate water loss in Kinta Valley, Perak. Flow and pressure for 361 zones were monitored for 24 h using PrimeWorks software (version: 1.5.57.0). Thirty study zones were randomly selected from 361 zones. MNF was screened within the time band of 1:00 am to 5:00 am. A total of 20 factors for physical, hydraulic, and operational variables were selected and correlated with MNF (L/s). Multiple linear regression was used as a statistical technique to determine factors that contributed to MNF (L/s). Consequently, pipe length (m) and pipe age (year) were the main contributors to MNF (L/s). The statistical model was finalized with R-Sq 0.706 and then improved to R-Sq 0.779. Results of the study revealed that 84.9 % of MNF frequencies for the 30 study areas were found at the time band 2:15 am to 4:15 am; therefore, the mean MNF for each zone in 2010 was determined to be between 1:00 am and 5:00 am. Statistical analyses showed that number of connections, total length of pipe, weighted mean of age of pipe, and type of pipe (100 mm asbestos cement) contributed to MNF. Moreover, approximately 97.5 % of registered repairs were conducted on pipes with small diameters of less than or equal to 50 mm. Pipes within this size range are usually used as service pipes and service connections.     

Green fabricated CuO nanobullets via Olea europaea leaf extract shows auspicious antimicrobial potential

In present investigation, copper oxide (CuO) nanostructures have been prepared via green chemistry. Olea europaea leaf extract act as strong chelating agent for tailoring physical as well as bio‐medical characteristics of CuO at the nano‐size. Physical characterisation such as scanning electron microscope analysis depicts the formation of homogenised spherical shape nanoparticles (NPs) with average size of 42 nm. X‐ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy further confirmed the crystalline pure phase and monoclinic structure. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) testing is performed to evaluate the relative concentration of bioactive molecules in the O. europaea leaf extract. From HPLC results capping action of organic molecules around CuO‐NPs is hypothesised. The antimicrobial potency of biosynthesised CuO‐NPs have been evaluated using colony forming unit (CFU) counting assay and disc diffusion method which shows a significant zone of inhibition against bacterial and fungal strains may be highly potential for future antimicrobial pharmaceutics. Furthermore, reduction of various precursors by plant extract will reduce environmental impact over chemical synthesis.Inspec keywords: copper compounds, antibacterial activity, biochemistry, nanoparticles, nanomedicine, biomedical materials, chromatographyOther keywords: CuO, size 42 nm, chemical synthesis, antimicrobial pharmaceutics, bacterial strain, fungal strain, disc diffusion method, colony forming unit counting assay, biosynthesised CuO‐NP, bioactive molecules, high‐performance liquid chromatography testing, monoclinic structure, crystalline pure phase, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, homogenised spherical shape nanoparticles, scanning electron microscope analysis, CuO biomedical characteristics, chelating agent, green fabricated CuO nanobullets, green chemistry, copper oxide nanostructures, antimicrobial potential, Olea europaea leaf extract     

Optimization of Lipase Production by Response Surface Methodology and Its Application for Efficient Biodegradation of Polyester vylon-200

Catalysis Letters - Lipase-mediated polymer degradation is a robust alternative approach to conventional methods due to biocompatibility and mild conditions. In the present study, response surface...