Rewarding brain stimulation: Role of tegmental cholinergic neurons that activate dopamine neurons.

Cholinergic neurons of the pedunculopontine nucleus (Ch5) are believed to monosynaptically excite ventral tegmental dopamine neurons. Muscarinic blockers injected near dopamine cells block the rewarding effect of hypothalamic or dorsal tegmental rewarding brain stimulation (RBS) in rats. Because Ch5 cells are inhibited by muscarinic agonists, muscarinic drugs were injected unilaterally near Ch5 neurons to inhibit or disinhibit them. Carbachol raised thresholds for hypothalamic self-stimulation bilaterally by over 400%, whereas scopolamine reduced thresholds by 20–80%. Pretreatment with either carbachol or scopolamine blocked the effect of the other drug, which suggests that both acted through the same receptors near Ch5 cells. Therefore, activation of Ch5 neurons is critical for hypothalamic RBS. A mechanism for the involvement of Ch5 neurons in drug rewards and antimuscarinic psychosis is also proposed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preparation and characterization of higher degree‐deacetylated chitosan‐coated magnetic adsorbent for the removal of chromium(VI) from its aqueous mixture

Chitosan (90% deacetylated) coated magnetic adsorbent prepared by coprecipitation method to remove Cr(VI) from its aqueous solution. The experimental studies depicts that the predominant option for removal of Chromium by adsorption from its aqueous phase using Magnetic‐Chitosan (MC). The subsequent physical, chemical, and magnetic properties of MC were characterized by X‐ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, vibrating sample magnetometer. The influence of batch process parameters such as contact time, initial concentration, pH, and coexisting anions were investigated. The Box‐Behnken experimental design in response surface methodology was performed to design the experiment optimal operating conditions. The maximum percentage reduction of Cr(VI) is 96.3 that was obtained by magnetic chitosan with the optimal operating conditions of 149.53 mg/L at pH of 5.32 at the contact time of 80 min and at the temperature of 303 K. The average diameter of the magnetic chitosan was calculated from X‐ray diffractometer analysis as 24.5 nm. The equilibrium adsorption isotherm models such as Langmuir and Freundlich and the adsorption kinetics such as pseudo first order, pseudo second order and intra‐particle diffusion kinetic model were analyzed. The experimental data's suited for the best fit with the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo first order kinetic model. It also revealed that Cr(VI) adsorption on MC is intrinsically exothermic and spontaneous. The magnetic chitosan was also used to investigate for the removal of Cr(VI) from the real water sources such as surface, underground, and tannery wastewater. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45878.     

Substrate Evolution to Microstructural and Optoelectrical Properties of Evaporated CdS Thin Films Correlated with Elemental Composition

A typical high-e fficiency solar cell device needs the best lattice matching between different constituent layers to mitigate the open-circuit voltage loss. In the present work, the physical properties of CdS thin films are investigated where films with 100 nm thickness were fabricated on the different types of substrates viz. soda–lime glass, indium-doped tin oxide(ITO)-and fl uorine-doped tin oxide(FTO)-coated glass substrates, and silicon wafer using electron beam evaporation. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed that deposited thin films showed cubic phase and had(111) as predominant orientation where the structural parameters were observed to be varied with nature of substrates. The ohmic behaviour of the CdS films was disclosed by current–voltage characteristics, whereas the scanning electron microscopy micrograph revealed the uniform deposition of the CdS films with the presence of round-shaped grains. The elemental analysis confirmed the CdS films deposition where the Cd/S weight percentage ratio was changed with nature of substrates. The direct energy band gap was observed in the 1.63–2.50 eV range for the films grown on different substrates. The investigated properties of thin CdS layers demonstrated that the selection of substrate(in terms of nature) during device fabrication plays a crucial role.     

Effect of irradiation on Salmonella survival and quality of 2 varieties of whole green onions

Abstract: Two varieties of green onions, Banner and Baja Verde, were inoculated with a cocktail of 3 Salmonella strains using dip and spot inoculation and irradiated at 0, 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 kGy using electron beam. Salmonella survivors were enumerated using a XLD underlay/TSAYE overlay plating method. The D values were in the range of 0.26 to 0.32 kGy depending on variety but not on the method of inoculation. This indicated that a 5‐log reduction of Salmonella can be achieved at a dose of 1.6 kGy. For the quality study, both varieties of green onions were irradiated at 0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 kGy and evaluated for changes in microbial counts, color, texture, and visual quality during storage at 4 °C. Irradiation reduced total plate counts and psychrotrophs by 3 logs. Although the counts increased during storage, they did not exceed the initial counts of control. No significant difference was observed in color and texture between irradiated samples and control. The control maintained good visual quality for about 13 d as compared to 15 d for 1.5 and 2.5 kGy samples. The 2.0 kGy samples maintained good visual quality for 17 d suggesting that irradiation can increase shelf life by reducing spoilage microorganisms but higher doses can be detrimental to quality. At the dose levels required to achieve a 5‐log reduction in Salmonella, the shelf life of whole green onion can be extended. This study shows that irradiation can be used to enhance safety without adverse effects on quality.     

Non-invasive mixing time estimation in unbaffled stirred tank: An ultrasonic approach

Estimation of mixing time is an essential aspect in characterization of stirred tanks. In this work, we report a novel, non-invasive technique to estimate mixing time in an unbaffled stirred tank using a contact type ultrasonic sensor. Variation in speed of sound in stirred tank is measured by ultrasound and is used to determine the mixing time of solutions. A sensing time of 16.6 ms (~60 Hz) is achieved which leads to an estimation of the mixing process dynamics under forced vortex conditions. The method is validated against colorimetric technique using a dye. The technique is thereafter used to determine mixing time under different operating (impeller speed) and geometrical (impeller design, vessel diameter, and off-bottom clearance) conditions. Though the results presented are specific to unbaffled stirred tank, the method reported is general and can be used in any kind of stirred tank.     

Low‐Dose Irradiation Can be Used as a Phytosanitary Treatment for Fresh Table Grapes

Grapes (Vitis vinifera var. Sugraone and Vitis labrusca var. Crimson Seedless) were treated with 400, 600, and 800 Gy and the effects on physicochemical factors were measured alongside sensory testing during 3 wk of storage. Significant changes in texture and color with irradiation and age were measured but little visual difference was seen between control and irradiated grapes. However, age had a greater effect on firmness than irradiation for Sugraone grapes. Irradiation did not significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affect the SSC/TA ratio, which increased during storage. The trained panel detected significant changes in the berry texture and rachis color but rated sweetness and flavor significantly higher (P ≤ 0.05) for irradiated Sugraone as compared to the control. Consumers liked both the untreated and 800 Gy treated Sugraone grapes, but liked the untreated grapes more for texture (P ≤ 0.05). However, there was no difference in liking between irradiated (600 Gy or 800 Gy) and control samples of Crimson Seedless for any attribute. The results show that there are varietal differences in response to irradiation but the overall maintenance in quality of irradiated grapes during 3 wk of storage indicates that irradiation can serve as a viable phytosanitary treatment.     

A novel multicarrier index keying-aided non-orthogonal multiple access systems in presence of uncertain channel state information

This paper investigates the performance of novel multicarrier index keying-aided non-orthogonal multiple access (MCIK-NOMA) system. Unlike the classical scheme, the proposed system sends the information through both index domain and constellation domain symbols thereby increases the spectral efficiency. The impact of channel state information (CSI) uncertainty on the system's performance is investigated. More specifically, the performance of MCIK-NOMA under three different CSI conditions is analyzed: perfect CSI, MMSE-based variable CSI, and fixed CSI uncertainty. This paper also discusses the optimum power difference needed for the successful separation of symbols at the SIC receiver by alternating the power ratio in the proposed system. The influence of selecting different active subcarriers and modulation techniques on the system's performance is studied in detail. The simulation results show that the proposed system achieves better BER and spectral efficiency and outperforms the existing systems.     

A review of prospects and challenges of photocatalytic decomposition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) under humid environment

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are harmful for humans and the surrounding ecosystem. Emissions from these pollutants have caused a significant reduction in air quality, which has an effect on people's health. Alkanes, alkenes, alcohols, aromatics, and other VOC pollutants have all been broken down by TiO₂ photocatalytic processes. Due to several operating inefficiencies and deactivation issues in humid environments, the practical application of photocatalysis has not been realized on a broader scale. The effectiveness of photo-oxidation of VOCs is impacted by a variety of environmental conditions. In the photocatalytic oxidation of the VOCs, relative humidity (RH) is critical. Therefore, it is important to review the recent findings on how humidity affects the photocatalytic breakdown of VOCs in air. To satisfy this need, this work provides a critical review of the related literature with focus on the fundamentals of photocatalysis, photocatalytic degradation of air pollutants, and the influence of humidity on the photocatalytic process degradation for selected air pollutants. It also highlights the kinetic models and typical photocatalytic reactor and supports for VOC removal.     

UAV-IoT collaboration: Energy and time-saving task scheduling scheme

UAVs are capable of providing significant potential to IoT devices through sensors, cameras, GPS systems, and so forth. Therefore, the smart UAV-IoT collaborative system has become a current hot research topic. However, other concerns require in-depth investigation and study, such as resource allocation, security, privacy preservation, trajectory optimization, intelligent decision-making, energy harvesting, and so forth. Here, we suggest a task-scheduling method that splits IoT devices into distinct clusters based on physical proximity and saves time and energy. Cluster heads can apply an auto regressive moving average (ARMA) model to predict intelligently the timestamp of the arrival of the next task and associated estimated payments. Based on the overall expected payment, a cluster head can smartly advise the UAV about its time of next arrival. According to the findings of the simulation, the proposed ETTS algorithm significantly outperforms Task TSIE and TDMA-WS in terms of energy use (67%) and delays (36%).