Nanoenergetic Composites of CuO Nanorods,Nanowires, and Al‐Nanoparticles

This paper reports on the synthesis of the nanoenergetic composites containing CuO nanorods and nanowires, and Al‐nanoparticles. Nanorods and nanowires were synthesized using poly(ethylene glycol) templating method and combined with Al‐nanoparticles using ultrasonic mixing and self‐assembly methods. Poly(4‐vinylpyridine) was used for the self‐assembly of Al‐nanoparticles around the nanorods. At the optimized values of equivalence ratio, sonication time, and Al‐particle size, the combustion wave speed of 1650 m s⁻¹ was obtained for the nanorods‐based energetics. For the composite of nanowires and Al‐nanoparticles the speed was increased to 1900 m s⁻¹. The maximum combustion wave speed of 2400 m s⁻¹ was achieved for the self‐assembled composite, which is the highest known so far among the nanoenergetic materials. It is possible that in the self‐assembled composites, the interfacial contact between the oxidizer and fuel is higher and resistance to overall diffusional process is lower, thus enhancing the performance.     

Role of Zinc (Zn) in Human Reproduction: A Journey from Initial Spermatogenesis to Childbirth

Zinc (Zn), the second-most necessary trace element, is abundant in the human body. The human body lacks the capacity to store Zn; hence, the dietary intake of Zn is essential for various functions and metabolism. The uptake of Zn during its transport through the body is important for proper development of the three major accessory sex glands: the testis, epididymis, and prostate. It plays key roles in the initial stages of germ cell development and spermatogenesis, sperm cell development and maturation, ejaculation, liquefaction, the binding of spermatozoa and prostasomes, capacitation, and fertilization. The prostate releases more Zn into the seminal plasma during ejaculation, and it plays a significant role in sperm release and motility. During the maternal, labor, perinatal, and neonatal periods, the part of Zn is vital. The average dietary intake of Zn is in the range of 8–12 mg/day in developing countries during the maternal period. Globally, the dietary intake of Zn varies for pregnant and lactating mothers, but the average Zn intake is in the range of 9.6–11.2 mg/day. The absence of Zn and the consequences of this have been discussed using critical evidence. The events and functions of Zn related to successful fertilization have been summarized in detail. Briefly, our current review emphasizes the role of Zn at each stage of human reproduction, from the spermatogenesis process to childbirth. The role of Zn and its supplementation in in vitro fertilization (IVF) opens opportunities for future studies on reproductive biology.     

Amorphous Cobalt-Boron Alloy Electrodeposition and Dissolution

Co-B alloy has been deposited on steel from an alkaline citrate bath. Uniform deposits have been obtained in the current density range of 8–15 Adm ^?2.Cvclic voltammetric studies on platinum from this bath reveal that the cobalt citrate complexes undergo stepwise electronation with the participation of hydroxyl ions. The borates undergo reduction to boron in the alloy deposition. The hydrogen evolution reaction has been found to be hindered by cobalt and borate ions. Stripping voltammetric curves on the alloy film suggest the dissolution of cobalt from a cobalt rich phase.     

Evaluation of surfactant-aided degumming of vegetable oils by membrane technology

The first step in the process of vegetable oil refining is degumming, in which phospholipids and mucilaginous gums are removed that otherwise result in a low-grade oil. A membrane process is remarkably simple yet potentially offers many advantages in degumming. Studies were conducted on surfactant-aided membrane degumming with soybean and rapeseed oils in a magnetically stirred flat membrane batch cell with different types of microfiltration membranes. The reduction of phospholipids in soybean oil was in the range of 85.8–92.8% during the membrane process. The phosphorus content of membrane permeates of soybean oil was in the range of 20–58 mg/kg. Crude rapeseed oil contained higher amount of nonhydratable phospholipids and hence resulted in lower reduction in phospholipids, in the range of 66.4–83.2%. Addition of hydratable phospholipids could improve the efficiency of degumming in the membrane process without using any electrolyte, resulting in improvement of quality as well as quantity of the phospholipids.     

Open dumping site in Asian developing countries: a potential source of polychlorinated dibenz-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans

Open landfill dumping areas for municipal wastes in Asian developing countries have recently received particular attention with regard to environmental pollution problems. Because of the uncontrolled burning of solid wastes, elevated contamination by various toxic chemicals including dioxins and related compounds in these dumping sites has been anticipated. In this study, concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in soils from dumping sites in the Philippines, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam. Residue concentrations of PCDD/Fs and coplanar PCBs in dumping site soils were apparently greater than those in soils collected in agricultural or urban areas far from dumping sites, suggesting that dumping sites are potential sources of PCDD/Fs and related compounds. Observed PCDD/F concentrations in soils from dumping sites in the Philippines and Cambodia were comparable or higher than those reported for dioxin-contaminated locations in the world (e.g., near the municipal waste incinerators and open landfill dumping sites). Homologue profiles of PCDD/Fs in dumping site soils from the Philippines and, to a lesser extent, from Cambodia and India reflected patterns of samples representing typical emissions, while profiles of agricultural or urban soils were similar to those of typical environmental sinks. This result suggests recent formation of PCDD/Fs in dumping site areas and that open dumping sites are a potential source of dioxins in Asian developing countries. Uncontrolled combustions of solid wastes by waste pickers, generation of methane gas, and low-temperature burning can be major factors for the formation of dioxins in dumping sites. Elevated fluxes of PCDD/Fs to soils in dumping sites were encountered in the Philippines, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam-Hanoi, and these levels were higher than those reported for other countries. Considerable loading rates of PCDD/Fs in the dumping sites of these countries were observed, ranging from 20 to 3900 mg/yr (0.12-35 mg TEQ/yr). PCDD/F concentrations in some soil samples from the Philippines, Cambodia, India, and Vietnam-Hanoi exceeded environmental guideline values, suggesting potential health effects on humans and wildlife living near these dumping sites. The estimated intakes of dioxins via soil ingestion and dermal exposure for children were higher than those for adults, suggesting greater risk of dioxin exposure for children in dumping sites. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on PCDD/Fs contamination in open dumping sites of Asian developing countries. On the basis of the result of this study, we have addressed a new environmental issue that open dumping sites are potential sources of PCDD/Fs and related compounds, and dioxin contamination in dumping sites may become a key environmental problem in developing countries.     

Economics of solar air pre-heating in south Indian tea factories: a case study

Tea processing is an energy intensive operation requiring both thermal and electrical energy. Hot air at a temperature of 100–130°C for tea drying and withering has been obtained in the past by burning coal or firewood. Over the last four years, roof integrated solar air heating systems have been introduced in some of the tea factories of south India, as a partial energy source. This paper aims to present the economical analysis of one such system: a 212 m² collector area system that has been in operation for 2.75 yr. The system has reduced specific fuel consumption for tea production from 0.932 to 0.71 kg/kg dmt (drier mouth tea), which represents a fuel savings of approximately 25%. The economic analysis considered the annual investment cost and return cost and included concessions offered by the Government. It shows a payback period of from two to four years, depending upon whether the company is profit making or non-profit making. This work has helped to establish the economic viability of this method.     

Cell‐Tethered Ligands Modulate Bone Remodeling by Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts

The goals of the present study are to establish an in vitro co‐culture model of osteoblast and osteoclast function and to quantify the resulting bone remodeling. The bone is tissue engineered using well‐defined silk protein biomaterials in 2D and 3D formats in combination with human cells. Parathyroid hormone (PTH) and glucose‐dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) are selected because of their roles in bone remodeling for expression in tethered format on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). The cell‐modified biomaterial surfaces are reconstructed from scanning electron microscopy images into 3D models for quantitative measurement of surface characteristics. Increased calcium deposition and surface roughness are found in 3D surface models of silk protein films remodeled by co‐cultures containing tethered PTH, and decreased surface roughness is found for the films remodeled by tethered GIP co‐cultures. Increased surface roughness is not found in monocultures of hMSCs expressing tethered PTH, suggesting that osteoclast‐osteoblast interactions in the presence of PTH signaling are responsible for the increased mineralization. These data point towards the design of in vitro bone models in which osteoblast‐osteoclast interactions are mimicked for a better understanding of bone remodeling.     

A cross-layer design: energy efficient multilevel dynamic feedback scheduling in wireless sensor networks using deadline aware active time quantum for environmental monitoring

Recently, Packet scheduling plays a vital role in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs). The major key challenges include delay, packet dropping, energy consumption and lifetime due to constraints in energy and computing resources. All the research works on packet scheduling scheme in WSN uses only First Come First Served (FCFS) and Dynamic Multilevel Priority (DMP) schemes. FCFS works based on packet arrival time, it leads to starvation and high processing overhead for real-time packets. DMP works in multilevel with dynamic priority reduces the transmission overhead and bandwidth; it consumes more resources for real-time task leads to deadlock. To solve these problems, this work presents Multilevel Dynamic Feedback Scheduling (MDFS) algorithm. The sensor node classifies the emergency and normal data into three different ready queues named as high, medium and low priority, respectively. The queues are connected with a feedback mechanism; each packet from the sensor node has its own time quantum value based on the deadline. The updated time quantum value is compared with the boundary value of the queues, depends on the updated value the data packets are moved between queues with help of feedback mechanism. The simulation result proves that the projected MDFS outperforms in WSN environment.     

A simple finite-difference frequency-domain (FDFD) algorithm for analysis of switching noise in printed circuit boards and packages

Simultaneous switching noise (SSN) compromises the integrity of the power distribution structure on multilayer printed circuit boards (PCB). Several methods have been used to investigate SSN. These methods ranged from simple lumped circuit models to full-wave (dynamic) three-dimensional Maxwell equations simulators. In this work, we present an efficient and simple finite-difference frequency-domain (FDFD) based algorithm that can simulate, with high accuracy, the capacity of a PCB board to introduce SSN. The FDFD code developed here also allows for simulation of real-world decoupling capacitors that are typically used to mitigate SSN effects at sub 1 GHz frequencies. Furthermore, the algorithm is capable of including lumped circuit elements having user-specified complex impedance. Numerical results are presented for several test boards and packages, with and without decoupling capacitors. Validation of the FDFD code is demonstrated through comparison with other algorithms and laboratory measurements.