Design of an Electromagnetic Frequency Tunned Antenna for Mobile Communications

Wireless Personal Communications - Current mobile communications technology relies heavily on efficient design of antennas, where the operational characteristics of the wireless communication...     

Inhibition of atmospheric corrosion of mild steel by sodium benzoate treatment

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of sodium benzoate as an inhibitor to slow down or prevent atmospheric corrosion/discoloration of the local mild steel during storage in the Arabian Gulf region. Test specimens were prepared from locally produced reinforcing steel products. The inhibitor solution was applied on steel specimens at a concentration of 100 mM for 1 day at room temperature. Wooden exposure racks were used to hold as-received and inhibitor-treated specimens during atmospheric exposure for different periods. Corrosion was evaluated through weight loss determination and electrochemical technique. As expected, the Arabian Gulf atmosphere was corrosive on the as-received local mild steel. On the other hand, treatment of steel with sodium benzoate lowered its corrosion rate during initial days of its exposure to atmosphere. However, atmospheric corrosion inhibition performance of sodium benzoate deteriorated with exposure time after 30 or more days of atmospheric exposure, and the corrosion rates of sodium benzoate-treated specimens reached that of the unprotected specimens at the end of 90 days of atmospheric exposure.     

HiSQL: A Front-end Query System for Historical Relational Databases

The paper describes a prototype system called HiSQL (Historical SQL) which extends the functionality of SQL in manipulating historical data, by providing functions for spatial and temporal processing. Conceptually the paper is divided into three parts: the first part deals with the design and architecture of the system; the second part introduces a case study (the defters); and the third part describes specific functions for spatial and temporal processing of serial documents. The paper concludes with a comparison between HiSQL and SQL and suggestions for further work. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Overexpression of amyloid precursor protein of Alzheimer's type in brains of intoxicated children

The coincidence of neuronal stress induced by intoxication and an overexpression of amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the brains of children was examined. Brains of ten children accidentally intoxicated by poisonous mushroom were studied by means of immunohistochemical methods using monoclonal antibodies generated against different domains of APP and glial cell markers. Overexpression of APP was found in the brain neurons of all intoxicated children. Neurons were immunopositive with the antibodies generated against the middle (amyloid beta protein) domain of APP. No extracellular deposits were found in the tissue. Our results provided, for the first time, the evidence that overexpression of APP concomitant with the neuronal stress is age-independent phenomenon appearing not only in the brain of adults but in very young individuals as well.     

Exact solution of elasto-plastic stresses in a metal-matrix composite beam of arbitrary orientation subjected to transverse loads

An analytical elasto-plastic stress analysis is presented for a metal-matrix composite beam of arbitrary orientation subjected to a single transverse force applied to the free end of the beam and a uniformly distributed load. The material is assumed to be perfectly plastic in the elasto-plastic solution. A composite consisting of stainless-steel-reinforced aluminum was produced for this work. Sample problems are given for various orientation angles. Elastic, elastoplastic and residual normal and shear stresses are calculated. The location of the elasto-plastic boundary of the beam is obtained according to the x coordinates of the beam.     

Superparamagnetic particle dynamics and mixing in a rotating capillary tube with a stationary magnetic field

The dynamics of superparamagnetic particles subject to competing magnetic and viscous drag forces have been examined with a uniform, stationary, external magnetic field. In this approach, competing drag and magnetic forces were created in a fluid suspension of superparamagnetic particles that was confined in a capillary tube; competing viscous drag and magnetic forces were established by rotating the tube. A critical Mason number was determined for conditions under which the rotation of the capillary prevents the formation of chains from individual particles. The statistics of chain length was investigated by image analysis while varying parameters such as the rotation speed and the viscosity of the liquid. The measurements showed that the rate of particle chain formation was decreased with increased viscosity and rotation speed; the particle dynamics could be quantified by the same dimensionless Mason number that has been demonstrated for rotating magnetic fields. The potential for enhancement of mixing in a bioassay was assessed using a fast chemical reaction that was diffusion-limited. Reducing the Mason number below the critical value, so that chains were formed in the fluid, gave rise to a modest improvement in the time to completion of the reaction.     

Maximization of total surface area of Pt-SnO<Subscript>2</Subscript>/Al<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript> catalyst by the Taguchi method

The maximization of the total surface area of Pt-SnO₂/Al₂O₃ catalyst was studied by using the Taguchi method of experimental design. The catalysts were prepared by sol-gel method. The effects of HNO₃, H₂O and aluminum nitrate concentrations and the stirring rate on the total surface area were studied at three levels of each. L₉ orthogonal array leading nine experiments was used in the experimental design. The parameter levels that give maximum total surface area were determined and experimentally verified. In the range of conditions studied it was found that, medium levels of HNO₃ and H₂O concentration and lower levels of aluminum nitrate concentration and stirring rate maximize the total surface area.     

Optimization-based cosmetic formulation: Integration of mechanistic model,surrogate model,and heuristics

Multiple functional and hard-to-quantify sensorial product attributes that can be satisfied by a large number of cosmetic ingredients are required in the design of cosmetics. To overcome this problem, a new optimization-based approach for expediting cosmetic formulation is presented. It exploits the use of a hierarchy of models in an iterative manner to refine the search for creating the highest-quality cosmetic product. First, a systematic procedure is proposed for optimization problem formulation, where the cosmetic formulation problem is defined, design variables are specified, and a set of models for sensorial perception and desired product properties are identified. Then, a solution strategy that involves iterative model adoption and two numerical techniques (i.e., generalized disjunctive programming reformulation and model substitution) is applied to improve the efficiency of solving the optimization problem and to find better solutions. The applicability of the proposed procedure and solution strategy is illustrated with a perfume formulation example.