Rayleigh-Lamb Waves in Transversely Isotropic Thermoelastic Diffusive Layer

Propagation of plane harmonic thermoelastic diffusive waves in a homogeneous, transversely isotropic, thin elastic layer of finite width is studied, in the context of the theory of coupled thermoelastic diffusion. According to the characteristic equation, three quasi-longitudinal waves, namely, quasi-elastodiffusive (QED) mode, quasi-mass diffusion (QMD) mode, and quasi-thermodiffusive (QTD) mode can propagate in addition to quasi-transverse waves (QSV) mode and the purely quasi-transverse motion (QSH) mode, which is not affected by thermal and diffusion vibrations, gets decoupled from the rest of the motion of wave propagation. The secular equations corresponding to the symmetric and skew symmetric modes of the layer are derived. The amplitudes of displacements, temperature change, and concentration for symmetric and skew symmetric modes of vibration of the layer are computed numerically. Anisotropy and diffusion effects on the phase velocity, attenuation coefficient, and amplitudes of displacements, temperature change, and concentration are presented graphically in order to illustrate and compare the results analytically. Some special cases of the frequency equation are also deduced and compared with the existing results.     

Non‐Newtonian and thermal effects in constant flow valve compensated symmetric hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing

Every high speed machine, demanding high level of perfection, can operate successfully through a precise design of bearings. Such a design can be formulated after carefully studying both static and dynamic characteristics of the journal bearing. The present paper described the study of static and dynamic performance of a hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing system compensated with constant flow valve restrictor by considering the combined influence of thermal effects and non‐Newtonian behaviour of the lubricant. The variation of the viscosity due to the non‐Newtonian behaviour of the lubricant and temperature rise has been considered in the study. The numerical solution of the generalized Reynolds equation governing the flow of the lubricant, having variable viscosity along with the energy and heat conduction equations, was obtained using finite element method. The non‐Newtonian lubricant has been assumed to follow the cubic shear stress law. The study included the performance of a double row symmetric hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing configuration containing 12 holes per row. The results presented in this paper indicate that change in viscosity of lubricant affects the performance of the hole‐entry hybrid journal bearing system quite significantly. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of glycidyl methacrylate on the physical properties of wood–polymer composites

Chemical modification of pinewood was carried out by impregnating the wood with styrene as the impregnating monomer and in combination with a crosslinking monomer glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). Polymerization was carried out by catalyst heat treatment. Dimensional stability in terms of antiswell efficiency was determined and improved on treatment with polymer. Water uptake percentage was also improved for styrene‐GMA treated wood samples over styrene treated or untreated wood samples. Mechanical properties such as bending strength measured in terms of modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture of polymer‐treated samples showed an improvement over untreated ones. Treatment also resulted an improvement in compressive strengths. Thermal properties of the wood samples were evaluated by thermogravimetric analyzer and differential scanning calorimeter. Biodegradability of the treated and untreated wood samples was determined and improvement was obtained on treatment. As a whole, styrene‐GMA treated wood samples showed more improvement over untreated or styrene‐treated samples. POLYM. COMPOS., 28:1–5, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Antimicrobial Ionic Liquid-Based Materials for Biomedical Applications

Excessive and unwarranted administration of antibiotics has invigorated the evolution of multidrug-resistant microbes. There is, therefore, an urgent need for advanced active compounds. Ionic liquids with short-lived ion-pair structures are highly tunable and have diverse applications. Apart from their unique physicochemical features, the newly discovered biological activities of ionic liquids have fascinated biochemists, microbiologists, and medical scientists. In particular, their antimicrobial properties have opened new vistas in overcoming the current challenges associated with combating antibiotic-resistant pathogens. Discussions regarding ionic liquid derivatives in monomeric and polymeric forms with antimicrobial activities are presented here. The antimicrobial mechanism of ionic liquids and parameters that affect their antimicrobial activities, such as chain length, cation/anion type, cation density, and polymerization, are considered. The potential applications of ionic liquids in the biomedical arena, including regenerative medicine, biosensing, and drug/biomolecule delivery, are presented to stimulate the scientific community to further improve the antimicrobial efficacy of ionic liquids.     

Kinetics and performance evaluation of microbial fuel cell supplied with dairy wastewater with simultaneous power generation

Due to the growing demand for energy in the present-day world, it is obligatory to look for alternative sources of renewable energy. The derivation of power from microbial fuel cells (MFCs) has developed at the vanguard of the alternative source of renewable energy through the concomitant treatment of wastewater. Hence, the process development of MFC is obligatory for creating a sustainable source of renewable energy through the treatment of wastewater. To that end, an attempt was taken in the present study for sustainable power generation from single chamber microbial fuel cell (SCMFC) using Pseudomonas aeruginosa-MTCC-7814. The experiments were carried out in a batch process for 15 days with real dairy wastewater (RDW) having initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 8000 mg/L. The open-circuit voltage (OCV) found after 72 h of batch operation was 658 mV, which was maximum within the batch operation. The columbic efficiency (CE) of the batch process was found to be 46.59%. The maximum specific growth rate (μ_max) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa-MTCC-7814 was found to be 0.432 day^?1 during batch operation. However, saturation constant (Ks) and inhibition coefficient (K_i) were calculated as 608.74 mg/L, and 6582 mg/L, respectively. The maximum current density (I_max) and saturation constant (K_c) predicted from batch kinetics study were 132 mA/m² and 321 mg/L, respectively, which has resemblance with the data obtained from experiments. The maximum current density and power density from experiments were found to be 161 mA/m² and 34.82 mW/m², respectively. Results showed that a higher power density and current density values were obtained from the present study as compared to the earlier reports that utilized wastewater as the substrate for the MFC. Thus, the study suggests that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, (MTCC-7814) can be used as a promising biocatalyst in MFC for sustainable power generation through the utilization of wastewater treatment.     

An M/M/1 ∞ queueing system with feedback

For a continuous time M/M/1 queueing system with feedback, explicit probabilities of exactly i arrivals and j departures and the marginal probabilities of exactly i arrivals and j departures are obtained by solving the difference equations recursively. Particular cases of interest are obtained.     

A two-phase procedure for the study of computer network reliability in automated manufacturing systems

This paper presents a mathematical model for analyzing computer networks in production systems. The manufacturing facility, which is considered to be the main part of a production system is controlled by a computer network. Every station within a production system is assumed to have a computer and a network interface unit (NIU) as part of the overall computer network. For the system to remain operational, the computer network along with the manufacturing facilities should be extremely reliable. In this paper, we studied the reliability of the former, the computer network. The manufacturing facility is assumed to be reliable. Since every station must be operational for the whole system to function, failure in any network unit (computer of NIU) will halt the system production. For such systems the topology is logically equivalent to that of a system whose stations are connected in series. Hence, series reliability formulae is appropriate for these systems. In other systems, back-up (or stand-by) units are added to the computer and/or to the NIU to enhance the reliability. We consider our model to be a generic one because the reliability analysis it uses is independent of the network topology. It assumes constant failure rates for network components and uses a two-pass procedure in determining the effect of network reliability on the total system cost. A case study is presented to illustrate the importance of reliability considerations during the network design phase. Our analysis of the network reliability reveals that, in most cases, the incremental cost due to network failures will justify the additional units.     

Evaluation of standard thermodynamic parameters for the sorption of n-hexane and methanol in zeolites

Adsorption isotherms for n-hexane and methanol in mordenite and ZSM5 in the temperature range from 323 K to 473 K were found to be of type 1. The adsorbate-adsorbent interaction (C₁) and adsorbate-adsorbate interaction (C₂) wee computed according to Bradley and Wilkins model, whereas the Rees and Williams model predicts the adsorption characteristics. Finally, the thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG^o, ΔS^o, ΔH^o, K, K⁺ have been evaluated for the sorption of n-hexane in mordenite and ZSM5.     

Design and Evaluation of a Rotating Basket-Paddle Dissolution Apparatus

The rotating basket-paddle dissolution apparatus is a combination of the USP/NF rotating basket and rotating paddle. A comparative dissolution study was performed utilizing this new apparatus and the two USP/NF apparatus at various stirring speeds using non-disintegrating oxalic acid tablets and disintegrating aspirin tablets. The amount of drug released using the new apparatus was significantly higher than the rotating basket but significantly lower than the rotating paddle at each of the stirring speeds studied. The results obtained using this new apparatus were highly reproducible compared to the USP/NF apparatus.     

Accreditation in managed behavioral health care: an interview with Mary Cesare-Murphy and Claire Sharda. Interview by Gary J. Mihalik

Accreditation of managed behavioral health care organizations is being driven by the demands of multiple stakeholders in the health care industry. Accreditation is expensive-both in terms of the direct and indirect costs of preparation and survey but also in terms of the consequences of failure. Though accreditation is a new expectation for the managed behavioral health care field, it is unlikely that the major organizations in the industry will have the years to achieve accreditation that the nonbehavioral managed care field enjoyed. This article explores, in an interview format, the managed behavioral health care accreditation programs of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations and the National Committee for Quality Assurance.