Review: the latest advances in biomedical applications of chitosan hydrogel as a powerful natural structure with eye-catching biological properties

Journal of Materials Science - Chitosan is one of the natural cationic polymers with unique properties such as non-toxicity, biodegradability, biocompatibility, environmentally friendly that has...     

Synthesis,characterization and magnetic properties of polythiophene/SrFe12-x(ZrZn)0.5xO19 nanocomposite as a microwave absorber

Ferrites are an important group of magnetic materials which are used as absorbers. The incorporation of ferrite and conducting polymer achieves great enhancement in microwave absorption properties. The nanocomposites of hexagonal ferrites embedded by conducting polymers such as polypyrrole, polyaniline and polythiophene (PTH) have been paid much attention. In the present study, strontium hexagonal ferrite doped by Zr and Zn with the final formula of SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 considering x = 0.9 and embedded by PTH was produced to achieve a nanocomposite with the highest microwave absorbing ability. In this study, after synthesis of SrFe₁₂O₁₉(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 and PTH, the nanocomposite was prepared by in situ polymerization. Wrapping the ferrite particles and PTH chains could form nanocomposite properly, and therefore acceptable interactions were observable between SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19ferrite particles and PTH polymer chains in the composites. Assessing the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19, PTH, and PTH/SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 nanocomposite indicated that the PTH characteristic peak shifts slightly and its peak intensity reduces, which may be attribute to the coating of PTH polymer chains onto SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 particles. We revealed also lower magnetic properties in the obtained nanocomposite. The morphological assessment also suggested that PTH could effectively coat the SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 particles. The synergistic effect of SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 particle plus PTH leads to microwave absorption percentage higher than 95% by PTH/SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 nanocomposite. Overall, nanocomposite creating by coupling interaction between SrFe_12-x(ZrZn)_0.5xO19 particles (x = 0.9) and PTH can effectively lead to achieve the highest rate of absorption of electromagnetic waves.     

Mining fleet management systems: a review of models and algorithms

The objective of this paper is to review and document the mine fleet management systems’ models and algorithms. The purpose is to understand the algorithms behind the fleet management systems and the proposed academic solutions in this area to identify any gaps in the current literature and to open up opportunities to establish research questions that need to be addressed in an integrated simulation and optimisation operational planning research framework. In this paper, we review industrial fleet management systems and the main academic algorithms behind such systems. The fleet management systems are divided into three subsequently related problems to review: shortest path, production optimisation and real-time dispatching. Finally, the limitations of current algorithms for fleet management systems are documented in terms of mining practice feasibility and optimality of the solution on large-scale problems. The results of this literature review enable us to evaluate the logical links between major components of an integrated simulation and optimisation operational planning framework with current theory of fleet management systems.     

高速数据转换器接口

数据转换器的复杂性随着采样频率及精度的提高而增加。高性能的数据转换器规格的设定必须遵循严格的输入条件,以实现器件预期性能的最大化。一个颇具挑战性的输入条件是:对ADC输入模拟信号进行测量、驱动和接口连接。本文将探讨一些对高速ADC进行有效接口连接的技术,从而使ADC实现性能最佳化。     

Gazing Geometries: Modes of Design Thinking in Pre-Modern Central Asia and Persian Architecture

The architecture of the pre-modern Islamic world broadly identifies itself with geometric design. In erecting buildings, architects-engineers of the Islamic world utilized distinct modes of geometric projections vital to the spatial conception of the building. These representations identify three modes of design drawings: plans, revetments/vertical surfaces, and reflected ceiling plans. This paper will discuss these modes of drawings and their unique role in relation to the architectural “design thinking” traditions. Much has been examined regarding two-dimensional Islamic geometric patterns (girih), but little exists in terms of a comprehensive framework investigating various modes of geometric drawings in relation to formal, spatial, and tectonic conceptions of the architectural space. This paper fills a critical gap in the literature about Islamic architecture and examines this topic through primary resources and original pamphlets.     

In situ, noninvasive characterization of superhydrophobic coatings

Light scattering was used to measure the time-dependent loss of air entrapped within a submerged microporous hydrophobic surface subjected to different environmental conditions. The loss of trapped air resulted in a measurable decrease in surface reflectivity and the kinetics of the process was determined in real time and compared to surface properties, such as porosity and morphology. The light-scattering results were compared with measurements of skin-friction drag, static contact angle, and contact-angle hysteresis. The in situ, noninvasive optical technique was shown to correlate well with the more conventional methods for quantifying surface hydrophobicity, such as flow slip and contact angle.     

Detecting Threats in Star Graphs

In this paper, we consider the problem of searching a network for intruders. We propose a strategy for capturing the intruder in the popular interconnection topology, the star network. According to the proposed strategy, a team of collaborative software agents are responsible for capturing a hostile intruder (e.g. a virus). These agents asynchronously move along the network links and the intruder has the capability of escaping arbitrarily fast.     

Multifunctional Gadolinium‐Doped Mesoporous TiO2 Nanobeads: Photoluminescence,Enhanced Spin Relaxation,and Reactive Oxygen Species Photogeneration,Beneficial for Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment

Materials with controllable multifunctional abilities for optical imaging (OI) and magnetic resonant imaging (MRI) that also can be used in photodynamic therapy are very interesting for future applications. Mesoporous TiO₂ sub‐micrometer particles are doped with gadolinium to improve photoluminescence functionality and spin relaxation for MRI, with the added benefit of enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The Gd‐doped TiO₂ exhibits red emission at 637 nm that is beneficial for OI and significantly improves MRI relaxation times, with a beneficial decrease in spin–lattice and spin–spin relaxation times. Density functional theory calculations show that Gd³⁺ ions introduce impurity energy levels inside the bandgap of anatase TiO₂, and also create dipoles that are beneficial for charge separation and decreased electron–hole recombination in the doped lattice. The Gd‐doped TiO₂ nanobeads (NBs) show enhanced ability for ROS monitored via ^?OH radical photogeneration, in comparison with undoped TiO₂ nanobeads and TiO₂ P25, for Gd‐doping up to 10%. Cellular internalization and biocompatibility of TiO₂@x Gd NBs are tested in vitro on MG‐63 human osteosarcoma cells, showing full biocompatibility. After photoactivation of the particles, anticancer trace by means of ROS photogeneration is observed just after 3 min irradiation.     

Facile synthesis of polyoxometalate-based composite with doped ternary NiCoFe cations as electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

The construction of efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions (OER) to replace precious catalysts is a necessity to achieve economic production of hydrogen. Herein, we report an efficient tri-metallic electrocatalysts for the OER that is prepared by incorporate nickel, cobalt and iron cations on Triton X-100/phosphotungstic acid organic-inorganic composite without utilize any binders or energy consumer procedure. Considering to the synergy effect of simultaneous absorption of NiCoFe cations on composite substrate, the as-made tri-metallic catalyst exhibits excellent OER activity with a small overpotential of 210 and 330 mV at a current density of 10 and 100 mA cm^?2, respectively. Moreover, remarkable trends in electrocatalytic activity of mono-, bi- and tri-metallic electrocatalysts at low (10 mA) and high (100 mA) current density are observed. In addition, this new families of non-precious metal catalyst shows long-term durability in 1 M KOH.     

Preparation, Characterization and Photocatalytic Properties of Ba-Cd-Sr-Ti Doped Fe3O4 Nanohollow Spheres on Removal of Congo Red Under Visible-Light Irradiation

In this study, Ba-Cd-Sr-Ti doped Fe₃O₄ nanohollow spheres were successfully prepared via a simple solvothermal method. The crystal size, structure, morphology and elemental analysis of the as-prepared sample were investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, respectively. Magnetic hysteresis measurement was carried out on a vibrant sample magnetometer (VSM) showing the soft ferromagnetic property at room temperature. The synthesized nanohollow spheres were employed as a photocatalyst to study the photocatalytic degradation of dye contaminations. The UV-Vis results showed that the specimen could well catalyze the decolorizing of congo red (CR) solution and a removal efficiency of 99.5 % was obtained at pH 6. The optical characteristic of the products was studied by estimating the band-gap energy based on diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) which represented the doped magnetite with semiconductor metals to be more prone in the visible region as compared to UV region. Some factors such as initial dye concentration, pH, and contact time influencing the decomposition of CR were evaluated.