Structural and electrical properties of La-modified BiFeO3–BaTiO3 composites

In the present investigation, La-modified solid solutions of BiFeO₃ (BFO) and BaTiO₃ (BT) in different molar ratios [i.e., (Bi_0.5?x La _x Ba_0.5)(Fe_0.5Ti_0.5)O₃, with x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15)] have been synthesized using a solid-state reaction route. Structural and electrical properties of single phase (with minor secondary phase) of BFO–BT system have been studied in details to understand their ferroelectric and other properties. Preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis confirms the formation of a new system, which is different from that of its parent compounds. Substitution of a small amount BaTiO₃ into BiFeO₃ enhances dielectric and ferroelectric responses and reduces electrical leakage or tangent loss. The ac conductivity obeys Jonscher’s universal power law. The electrical behavior of the samples was investigated by impedance spectroscopy in a wide temperature range (25–525 °C) at different frequency (1 kHz–1 MHz). The impedance spectroscopy of the materials also confirms the origin of the relaxation mechanism in the system.     

Application of response surface methodology(RSM) for optimization of leaching parameters for ash reduction from low-grade coal

Coal is the world's most abundant energy source because of its abundance and relatively low cost. Due to the scarcity in the supply of high-grade coal, it is necessary to use low-grade coal for fulfilling energy demands of modern civilization. However, due to its high ash and moisture content, low-grade coal exerts the substantial impact on their consumption like pyrolysis, liquefaction, gasification and combustion process. The present research aimed to develop the efficient technique for the production of clean coal by optimizing the operating parameters with the help of response surface methodology. The effect of three independent variables such as hydrofluoric acid(HF) concentration(10–20% by volume), temperature(60–100 °C), and time(90–180 min), for ash reduction from the low-grade coal was investigated. A quadratic model was proposed to correlate the independent variables for maximum ash reduction at the optimum process condition by using central composite design(CCD) method. The study reveals that HF concentration was the most effective parameter for ash reduction in comparison with time and temperature. It may be due to the higher F-statistics value for HF concentration, which effects to large extent of ash reduction. The characterization of coal was evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) analysis and Field-emission scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray(FESEMEDX) analysis for confirmation of the ash reduction.     

Design and its state‐of‐the‐art of different shaped dielectric resonator antennas at millimeter‐wave frequency band

This review article provides an extensive literature survey on the research progress of dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) at millimeter‐wave frequency band that includes concepts of DRAs, their empirical formulae and design methodologies for different shaped DRAs at 60 GHz frequency band. The different shaped DRAs such as cylindrical, rectangular, hexagonal, and octagonal at 60 GHz are designed, simulated and analyzed using CST microwave studio solver. The ?10 dB impedance bandwidth of cylindrical, rectangular, hexagonal, and octagonal DRAs are 52.7 to 62.8 GHz, 57 to 62.2 GHz, 55.8 to 64.2 GHz, and 54.2 to 63.5 GHz, respectively. The idea behind getting broad impedance bandwidth is due to use of double‐layer substrate with different permittivity (ε_r1 = 4 and ε_r2 = 11.9). Empirical formulae are deduced for hexagonal and octagonal DRA, by studying the analogy of dielectric resonator geometry. Consequently, the mode of different shaped DRAs, that is, HEM₁₁₁ and TE₁₁₁ are investigated by the electric field and magnetic field distribution. With these analysis, a comprehensive research review over the period of the last two decades is carried for investigating various techniques, targeted to realized gain, circular polarization, and impedance bandwidth. Along with these analysis the state‐of‐the‐art at different shaped DRAs at mm‐wave frequency band are also reported.     

A Machine Learning Approach for Artifact Removal from Brain Signal

Electroencephalography (EEG), helps to analyze the neuronal activity of a human brain in the form of electrical signals with high temporal resolution in the millisecond range. To extract clean clinical information from EEG signals, it is essential to remove unwanted artifacts that are due to different causes including at the time of acquisition. In this piece of work, the authors considered the EEG signal contaminated with Electrocardiogram (ECG) artifacts that occurs mostly in cardiac patients. The clean EEG is taken from the openly available Mendeley database whereas the ECG signal is collected from the Physionet database to create artifacts in the EEG signal and verify the proposed algorithm. Being the artifactual signal is non-linear and non-stationary the Random Vector Functional Link Network (RVFLN) model is used in this case. The Machine Learning approach has taken a leading role in every field of current research and RVFLN is one of them. For the proof of adaptive nature, the model is designed with EEG as a reference and artifactual EEG as input. The peaks of ECG signals are evaluated for artifact estimation as the amplitude is higher than the EEG signal. To vary the weight and reduce the error, an exponentially weighted Recursive Least Square(RLS) algorithm is used to design the adaptive filter with the novel RVFLN model. The random vectors are considered in this model with a radial basis function to satisfy the required signal experimentation. It is found that the result is excellent in terms of Mean Square Error (MSE), Normalized Mean Square Error (NMSE), Relative Error (RE), Gain in Signal to Artifact Ratio (GSAR), Signal Noise Ratio(SNR), Information Quantity (IQ), and Improvement in Normalized Power Spectrum (INPS). Also, the proposed method is compared with the earlier methods to show its efficacy.     

Biorthogonality and para-orthogonality of $$R_I$$ polynomials

In this paper, a sequence of linear combination of \(R_{I}\) polynomials such that the terms in this sequence have a common zero is constructed. A biorthogonality relation arising from such a sequence is discussed. Besides, a sequence of para-orthogonal polynomials by removing the common zero using suitable conditions is obtained. Finally, a case of hypergeometric functions is studied with numerical observations to illustrate the results obtained.     

A pragmatic ensemble learning approach for effective software effort estimation

Innovations in Systems and Software Engineering - The immense increase in software technology has resulted in the convolution of software projects. Software effort estimation is fundamental to...     

Lanolin‐based organogels as a matrix for topical drug delivery

The current study deals with the development of lanolin‐based emulsion gels by hot emulsification method. Bright‐field, phase contrast, and fluorescent micrographs of the gels have shown the uniform distribution of circular water droplets in the formulations. Coalescence of water droplets was observed in gels containing higher proportion of water. Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometric studies indicated absence of Ln‐drug chemical interactions. X‐ray diffraction studies suggested an increase in amorphousness of the gels with the incorporation of water into the gel structure. The salicylic acid (SA), model drug, release from the gels was found to follow Higuchi kinetics. Krossmeyer–Peppas model fitting indicated non‐Fickian release of the drug. As the water content of the gels increased, there was a corresponding increase in the rate of release of the drug. The gels showed non‐Newtonian and thixotropic flow behavior. The gel to sol transition and melting temperatures of the gels were identified by differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) thermal analysis and falling ball method. DSC thermograms indicated an increase in thermal stability with the increase of water content in the gels. The gels showed sufficient spreadability and biocompatibility characteristics to be used as topical formulations. SA loaded gels showed good antimicrobial efficacy against Bacillus subtilis, a Gram‐positive bacterium. Based on the preliminary studies, the developed gels may be regarded as carriers in topical drug delivery. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Effects of surfactants on acrylonitrile polymerization initiated by a Cr(VI)–cyclohexanone redox system: A kinetic study

The polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) was kinetically studied with a Cr(VI)–cyclohexanone (CH) redox system as an initiator from 25 to 45° C in the presence of a surfactant. The rate of polymerization and the percentage of the monomer conversion increased as the concentration of the anionic surfactant [sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)] increased above its critical micelle concentration. However, the cationic surfactant (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) reduced the rate considerably at higher concentrations, whereas the nonionic surfactant (TX‐100) had no effect on the rate. The effects of the Cr(VI), CH, AN, and H⁺ concentrations and the ionic strength on the rates were also examined. The presence of 0.015M SDS reduced the overall activation energy of the polymerization by 5.55 kcal/mol with respect to that in the absence of the surfactant. With increasing SDS concentration, the viscosity‐average molecular weight also increased. A suitable mechanistic scheme was proposed for the polymerization process. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 1147–1153, 2004     

Acrylonitrile polymerization initiated by Ce(IV)–cyclohexanone redox system in presence of surfactant

The rate of polymerization of acrylonitrile, using the Ce(IV)–cyclohexanone redox system as an initiator, was studied kinetically, in the presence of 0.015M sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), over a temperature range of 25–45°C. The rate of polymerization (R_P), percentage of monomer conversion, and rate of Ce(IV) consumption (?R_Ce) were found to increase with the concentration of SDS, above its CMC. The effect of [AN], [Ce(IV)], [H⁺], and the ionic strength were also studied. The overall activation energies for the polymerization processes were computed to be 23.14 and 17.64 kcal/mol in the absence and presence of 0.015M SDS. A suitable kinetic mechanistic scheme for the free‐radical mechanism was proposed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2066–2072, 2003     

Sunflower Oil and Protein-based Novel Bigels as Matrices for Drug Delivery Applications—Characterization and in vitro Antimicrobial Efficiency

The current study deals with the characterization of sunflower oil- and protein-based bigels for drug delivery applications. Span-40 was used as an organogelator for the preparation of bigels. The bigels were characterized by microscopy, XRD, thermal, texture studies and impedance spectroscopy. The microscopic studies revealed that the droplets were apolar in nature (organogels), while the continuum phase was polar in nature (protein hydrogel matrix). Incorporation of the proteins improved the stability of the bigels. The release of the drugs followed diffusion kinetics. The bigels showed good antimicrobial efficiency against E.coli and were cytocompatible in presence of L929 cells.