Nanofiber‐Directed Anisotropic Self‐Assembly of CdSe–CdS Quantum Rods for Linearly Polarized Light Emission Evidenced by Quantum Rod Orientation Microscopy

Hybrid soft materials composed of CdSe–CdS nanorods or “quantum rods” (QRs) and the fluorescent 2,3‐didecyloxyanthracene (DDOA) low molecular weight organogelator are obtained through self‐assembly. Spectroscopy, microscopy, and rheology studies show that the QRs and DDOA coassemble, thereby stabilizing the organogels. Depending on the QR load and excitation wavelength, single nanofibers (NFs) of the hybrid gel display either sharp polarized red luminescence (under green excitation), or dual perpendicularly polarized blue and red emissions (under UV excitation). Transmission electron microscopy, microspectroscopy, and quantum rod orientation microscopy (QROM) reveal that QRs align along the organogel NFs with order parameters reaching 76% and 87%. This paves the way for obtaining surfaces of QR/NF assemblies yielding sharp red linearly polarized emission. In addition, this work demonstrates that QRs can be used more generally to probe nanostructured soft materials, even nonemissive ones. QROM allows to establish maps of the orientation of single QRs dispersed onto or within a gel network by measuring the polarization of the emission of the individual QRs. As occurs within this work in which QRs and NFs interact, the orientation of each QR reveals information on the underlying nanostructure (such as surface striation, bundle formation, and helicity).     

Do green supply chain management initiatives impact stock prices of firms?

Although firms have been taking green supply chain management (GSCM) initiatives, it is not known whether they create value for firms. We analyze 104 announcements related to GSCM using an event study, and determine what causes statistically significant gain in stock prices for these firms. Manufacturing firms, firms with high R&D expenses, and early adopters show a strong increase in stock prices on the day of the announcement. At the same time, small firms, firms not well-known for taking green initiatives, as well as firms that are low in growth potential considerably surprise the market when they make such announcements.     

Approximability of the Firefighter Problem

We provide approximation algorithms for several variants of the Firefighter problem on general graphs. The Firefighter problem models the case where a diffusive process such as an infection (or an idea, a computer virus, a fire) is spreading through a network, and our goal is to contain this infection by using targeted vaccinations. Specifically, we are allowed to vaccinate at most a fixed number (called the budget) of nodes per time step, with the goal of minimizing the effect of the infection. The difficulty of this problem comes from its temporal component, since we must choose nodes to vaccinate at every time step while the infection is spreading through the network, leading to notions of “cuts over time”. We consider two versions of the Firefighter problem: a “non-spreading” model, where vaccinating a node means only that this node cannot be infected; and a “spreading” model where the vaccination itself is an infectious process, such as in the case where the infection is a harmful idea, and the vaccine to it is another infectious beneficial idea. We look at two measures: the MaxSave measure in which we want to maximize the number of nodes which are not infected given a fixed budget, and the MinBudget measure, in which we are given a set of nodes which we have to save and the goal is to minimize the budget. We study the approximability of these problems in both models.     

Built-in Self-test and Defect Tolerance in Molecular Electronics-based Nanofabrics

We propose a built-in self-test (BIST) procedure for nanofabrics implemented using chemically assembled electronic nanotechnology. Several fault detection configurations are presented to target stuck-at faults, shorts, opens, and connection faults in nanoblocks and switchblocks. The detectability of multiple faults in blocks within the nanofabric is also considered. We present an adaptive recovery procedure through which we can identify defect-free nanoblocks and switchblocks in the nanofabric-under-test. The proposed BIST, recovery, and defect tolerance procedures are based on the reconfiguration of the nanofabric to achieve complete fault coverage for different types of faults. We show that a large fraction of defect-free blocks can be recovered using a small number of BIST configurations. We also present simple bounds on the recovery that can be achieved for a given defect density. Simulation results are presented for various nanofabric sizes, different defect densities, and for random and clustered defects. The proposed BIST procedure is well suited for regular and dense architectures that have high defect densities.     

On computing mobile agent routes for data fusion in distributed sensor networks

The problem of computing a route for a mobile agent that incrementally fuses the data as it visits the nodes in a distributed sensor network is considered. The order of nodes visited along the route has a significant impact on the quality and cost of fused data, which, in turn, impacts the main objective of the sensor network, such as target classification or tracking. We present a simplified analytical model for a distributed sensor network and formulate the route computation problem in terms of maximizing an objective function, which is directly proportional to the received signal strength and inversely proportional to the path loss and energy consumption. We show this problem to be NP-complete and propose a genetic algorithm to compute an approximate solution by suitably employing a two-level encoding scheme and genetic operators tailored to the objective function. We present simulation results for networks with different node sizes and sensor distributions, which demonstrate the superior performance of our algorithm over two existing heuristics, namely, local closest first and global closest first methods.     

Epoxy resin–poly(ethyl methacrylate) interpenetrating polymer networks: Morphology,mechanical, and thermal properties

Full (interpenetrating networks (IPNs)) and semi-IPNs of the epoxy resin and poly(ethyl methacrylate) (PEMA) were prepared by the sequential mode of synthesis. These were characterized with respect to their mechanical properties, namely, tensile strength, elongation at break, modulus, and toughness. Thermal properties were studied by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetry. The morphological features were studied through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and polarized light microscopy. The effects of variation of the blend ratios on the above-mentioned properties were examined. There was a gradual decrease of modulus and tensile strength with consequent increases in elongation at break and toughness for both types of IPNs with increases in PEMA content. The weight retentions in the thermal decomposition of both the semi-IPNs and full IPNs were higher than the epoxy homopolymer. This enhancement was presumably related to the presence of the unzipped ethyl methacrylate monomer, which acted as radical scavengers in the epoxy degradation. An inward shift and lowering (with respect to pure epoxy) of the T_g of the IPNs was observed. The polarized light microscopy exhibits bimodal distribution of particle sizes. The fractography as studied by SEM shows change in fracture mechanics from shear yielding to crazing with increasing PEMA content. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 67:1051–1059, 1998     

CRISPR/Cas-Mediated Resistance against Viruses in Plants

CRISPR/Cas9 provides a robust and widely adaptable system with enormous potential for genome editing directed towards generating useful products. It has been used extensively to generate resistance against viruses infecting plants with more effective and prolonged efficiency as compared with previous antiviral approaches, thus holding promise to alleviate crop losses. In this review, we have discussed the reports of CRISPR/Cas-based virus resistance strategies against plant viruses. These strategies include approaches targeting single or multiple genes (or non-coding region) in the viral genome and targeting host factors essential for virus propagation. In addition, the utilization of base editing has been discussed to generate transgene-free plants resistant to viruses. This review also compares the efficiencies of these approaches. Finally, we discuss combinatorial approaches, including multiplexing, to increase editing efficiency and bypass the generation of escape mutants.     

Solvent Interesterification of Vegetable Oils III

Directed interesterification reaction in solvents of cottonseed, peanut and cottonseed containing peanut, sesame and safflower oils was investigated with special reference to the influence of amount of sodium methoxide catalyst, oil content in solvent, temperature during the reaction and the nature of solvent on the characteristics of the reaction. The parameters were first studied with cottonseed oil and the conditions that favoured the reaction were adopted for peanut oil and cottonseed oil mixtures.     

Application of mechano-chemical synthesis for protective coating on steel grinding media prior to ball milling of copper

One of the major sources of contamination during mechanical milling/alloying is from the surface erosion of the container and the grinding medium. This can either be prevented by using grinding medium and container of same material of the milled material or by adding a coating of the milled material on them. The paper describes the observations made during a mechano-chemical reaction, being used for coating the balls and vials in a planetary ball mill. Visual observation, XRD, optical micrography and EDS analysis were used to understand the progress of the reaction. Copper was successfully coated on the steel balls and vials. The method can easily be adopted in daily production purposes, prior to mechanical milling of a Cu-based powder for prevention of Fe contamination.     

Cutoff frequencies of transmission lines consisting of pair ofcylinders

The paper presents a method of evaluation of cutoff frequencies of higher-order modes of transmission line of parallel cylinders by transforming them into a parallel plate configuration using cotangent hyperbolic transformation. Application of the method of finite difference to the weighted Helmholtz equation leads to a set of simultaneous equations. The eigenvalues related to cutoff frequencies are determined from the characteristic equation expressed in terms of matrices obtained from the simultaneous equations. Numerical data are presented