Microfluidic modeling and simulation of flow in membrane microreactors

We study the development of a mathematical model that describes isothermal microfluidic steady flow in a membrane microreactor, i.e., a silicon microreactor that houses a permeable membrane in one wall. The model employs the Navier-Stokes equation with appropriate boundary conditions for fluid permeation through the membrane and velocity slip at the walls to account for high Knudsen number. The model equations are solved analytically using finite Fourier transforms. The model solution is used to evaluate the effect of fluid permeation through the membrane and the Knudsen number on the velocity profile and pressure drop. For the simplified cases of no permeation and/or no slip, the derived solution is in excellent agreement with published experimental and theoretical results available in the literature. The utility of the model is illustrated by applying the results to a membrane microseparator used to separate hydrogen from the other effluents in a microreformer.     

Subcarrier grouping with environmental sensing for MIMO‐OFDM systems over correlated double‐selective fading channels

Multiple‐Input, Multiple‐Output (MIMO)‐orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is a promising technique in 5G wireless communications. In high‐mobility scenarios, the transmission environments are time‐varying and/or the relative moving velocity between the transmitter and receiver is also time‐varying. In the literature, most of previous works mainly focused on fixed subcarrier group size and precoded the MIMO signals with unitary channel state information. In this way, the subcarrier grouping may naturally lead to big loss of channel capacity in high‐mobility scenarios because of the channel state information difference on the subcarriers in each group. To employ the MIMO‐OFDM technique, adaptive subcarrier grouping scheme may be an efficient way. In this paper, we first consider MIMO‐OFDM systems over double‐selective i.i.d. Rayleigh channels and investigate the quantitative relation between subcarrier group size and capacity loss theoretically. With developed theoretical results, we also propose an adaptive subcarrier grouping scheme to satisfy the preset capacity loss threshold by adjusting grouping size with the sensed environmental information and mobile velocity. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that to achieve a better system capacity, a sparse scattering, lower signal‐to‐noise ratio, and lower velocity as well as properly large antenna number are matched with larger subcarrier group size. One important observation is that if the antenna number is too large and higher than a threshold, which will not bring any additional gain to the subcarrier grouping. That is, the system capacity loss will converge to a lower bound expeditiously with respect to antenna number, which is given in theory also. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel composite sandwich structure from green materials: Mechanical,physical, and biological evaluation

Flax and Jute fabrics were used as reinforcements with polyester resin to form composite skins while poplar particleboard was used as a core for making composite sandwich structures by applying vacuum assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) technique. Mechanical, physical, and biological properties of these novel composite sandwich structures were evaluated. The results showed that the proposed engineered panels have superior mechanical properties that are suitable for different structural applications compared with conventional particleboards. When compared with the control panels, significant enhancement on Modulus of elasticity (MOE) and Modulus of rupture (MOR) were achieved. On the other hand, the results indicated that the proposed panel composites exhibit better dimensional stability compared with poplar particleboard control panels. In addition, the proposed composite sandwich structures proved resistant against the decay fungi after 12 weeks of fungal exposure. Obviously, the developed composite panels could be used in a wide variety of applications. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42253.     

Development of Potent Adenosine Monophosphate Activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) Activators

Previously, we reported the identification of a thiazolidinedione‐based adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) activator, compound 1 (N‐[4‐({3‐[(1‐methylcyclohexyl)methyl]‐2,4‐dioxothiazolidin‐5‐ylidene}methyl)phenyl]‐4‐nitro‐3‐(trifluoromethyl)benzenesulfonamide), which provided a proof of concept to delineate the intricate role of AMPK in regulating oncogenic signaling pathways associated with cell proliferation and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in cancer cells. In this study, we used 1 as a scaffold to conduct lead optimization, which generated a series of derivatives. Analysis of the antiproliferative and AMPK‐activating activities of individual derivatives revealed a distinct structure–activity relationship and identified 59 (N‐(3‐nitrophenyl)‐N′‐{4‐[(3‐{[3,5‐bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]methyl}‐2,4‐dioxothiazolidin‐5‐ylidene)methyl]phenyl}urea) as the optimal agent. Relative to 1 , compound 59 exhibits multifold higher potency in upregulating AMPK phosphorylation in various cell lines irrespective of their liver kinase B1 (LKB1) functional status, accompanied by parallel changes in the phosphorylation/expression levels of p70S6K, Akt, Foxo3a, and EMT‐associated markers. Consistent with its predicted activity against tumors with activated Akt status, orally administered 59 was efficacious in suppressing the growth of phosphatase and tensin homologue (PTEN)‐null PC‐3 xenograft tumors in nude mice. Together, these findings suggest that 59 has clinical value in therapeutic strategies for PTEN‐negative cancer and warrants continued investigation in this regard.     

Soft chemistry preparation of layered Al0.3V2O5·5H2O

A novel layered compound Al_0.3V₂O₅·5H₂O was successfully prepared and characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, Thermal analysis, scanning and transmission electron microscopes. The new layered Al_0.3V₂O₅·5H₂O has like-nanowires shape and the layered structure was stable until 400 °C. At higher temperature (500 °C), it decomposes to orthorhombic Al_xV₂O₅ and triclinic AlVO₄.     

A crystal-tolerant fully integrated CMOS low-IF dual-band GPS receiver

This paper presents the design of a dual-band L1/L2 GPS receiver, that can be easily integrated in portable devices (mainly GSM mobile phones). For the ease of integration with GSM wireless systems the receiver can tolerate most of the common GSM crystals, besides the GPS crystals, this will eliminate the need to use another crystal on board. A new frequency plan is presented to satisfy this requirement. A low-IF receiver architecture is used for dual-band operation with analog on-chip image rejection. The receiver is composed of a narrow-band LNA for each band, dual down-conversion mixers, a variable-gain channel filter, a 2-bit analog-to-digital converter, and a fully integrated frequency synthesizer including an on-chip VCO and loop filter. The complex filter can accept IF frequency variation of 10% around 4.092 MHz which allows the use of the commonly used 10/13/26 MHz GSM crystals and all the GPS crystals. The synthesizer generates the LO signals for both L1/L2 bands with an average phase noise of −95 dBc/Hz. The receiver exhibits maximum gain of 112 and 115 dB, noise figures of 4 and 3.6 dB, and input compression points of −76 and −79 dBm for L1 and L2, respectively. An on-chip variable-gain channel filter provides IF image rejection greater than 25 dB and gain control range over 80 dB. The receiver is designed in 0.13 μm CMOS technology and consumes 18 mW from a 1.2-V supply.     

Rosemary (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rosmarinus officinalis</Emphasis>) oil: composition and functionality of the cold-pressed extract

The aim of this work was to investigate cold-pressed rosemary oil (RO) for its lipid classes, subclasses, fatty acid composition, tocochromanols and total phenolics amount. Antiradical activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH^?) and galvinoxyl radicals, antioxidant activity, as measured by the Rancimat test, as well as antimicrobial activity against food-borne bacteria, and dermatophytic fungi of RO were evaluated. In RO, the amount of neutral lipids was highest (ca. 86%), followed by phospholipids (0.92%) and glycolipids (0.88%). The percentages of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids were 41.7, 42.3, and 15.8%, respectively. Linoleic acid (41.7%) and oleic acid (41.2%) were the major fatty acids while linolenic acid accounted for 1.3% of total fatty acids. The following tocochromanols were detected: α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocopherols, which accounted for 291, 22, 1145, and 41 mg/100 g oil, respectively, as well as α-, β-, γ- and δ-tocotrienols, which accounted for 18, 12, 29, and 158 mg/100 g oil, respectively. RO also contained high levels of phenolic compounds (7.2 mg GAE/g). After 60 min of reaction with free radicals, 67% of DPPH^? and 55% of galvinoxyl radicals were quenched by RO. Rancimat test showed that blending RO with sunflower oil increased the induction period (IP) for blends. The IP of the RO: sunflower oil blend (1:9, v/v) was 390 min, and RO: sunflower oil blend (2:8, v/v) was longer (540 min). RO exhibited high antimicrobial potential against food-borne pathogenic bacteria (E. coli, S. enteritidis, and L. monocytogenes) and high antifungal potential against dermatophyte fungi (T. mentagrophytes, and T. rubrum). RO had unique high level of γ-tocopherol, which is a scavenger of reactive nitrogen species making it a promising material in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical applications.     

Induction Motors Broken Rotor Bars Diagnosis Through the Discrete Wavelet Transform of the Instantaneous Reactive Power Signal under Time-varying Load Conditions

Abstract—In this article, a method based on the application of the discrete wavelet transform to the instantaneous reactive power signal, for diagnosing the occurrence of broken rotor bars in induction motors operating under time-varying load conditions, is presented. This method is based on the decomposition of the instantaneous reactive power signal, from which wavelet approximation and detail coefficients are extracted. The energy evaluation of known bandwidths permits to de?ne a fault severity factor. This method has been tested through the simulation of an induction motor using a mathematical model based on the winding-function approach. These simulation results are complemented by experimental tests conducted on an induction motor with several faulty rotors that can be interchanged and both simulation and experimental results have shown the effectiveness of the proposed method for broken rotor bars diagnosis in induction motors even under time-varying load conditions.