Purification,structural data and biological properties of polysaccharide from Prunus amygdalus gum

This work demonstrates the efficiency of almond gum polysaccharides (AGPs) as bioactive compounds. AGPs were first extracted using H₂O₂, in the presence of NaOH, at different times and temperatures. The optimal extraction conditions were 4% H₂O₂ and 2 N NaOH, for 7 h at 50 °C, leading to an extraction yield of 58.2% (w/w). After a purification step, the retained AGPs were characterised using high‐performance liquid chromatography showing a molecular weight of 99.3 kDa. The monosaccharide composition of AGPs were assessed using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. AGPs were found to be a complex heteropolysaccharide with a repeating unit mainly composed of galactose, arabinose, xylose, mannose, rhamnose, and glucuronic acid with the respective ratios: 45:26:7:10:1:11. The acidic nature of the polysaccharide is due to the presence of glucuronic acid. Total antioxidant activity, free radical‐scavenging activity and reducing power assay of AGPs were investigated. The obtained results showed high antioxidant activities of AGPs. Furthermore, beyond 60 mg mL^?1, AGPs exhibited bacterial growth inhibition for five pathogenic strains: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus feacalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Salmonella typhimurium.     

New pulse mode neuro-fuzzy hardware architecture and application to image denoising

This paper focuses on a new digital architecture of pulse mode neuro-fuzzy system (PMNFS) with on-chip learning ability. The main purpose goal is to make use of the outstanding features of neuro-fuzzy in function approximation, and implement a reconfigurable architecture with on-chip learning on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) platform. Details of the whole design with on-chip learning solutions are given. As an application illustrating the efficiency and scalability of the proposed PMNFS, we have considered the approximation of image denoising, which is a very important step in image processing. Experimental results show great efficiency of the proposed method, outperforming other denoising techniques. It was also demonstrated that such a system is strongly adaptive and gives good restored images independently of the kind of noises. Owing to learning, such feature cannot be met with conventional denoising techniques. Design synthesis results on a virtex II PRO FPGA platform are presented. Comparisons with conventional techniques as well as neural ones show higher performances of the designed PMNFS.     

Acoustic emission characterization of damage in short hemp‐fiber‐reinforced polypropylene composites

This article aims at investigating the effects of hygrothermal aging on the damage mechanisms of short white Hemp Fiber Reinforced Polypropylene (HFRP) composites with various fiber contents (10, 20, 30, and 40 wt%). Injected molded specimens were subjected to hygrothermal aging with a relative humidity of 80% and two temperatures, 25 and 50°C. The water absorption and its effect on tensile properties of HFRP composites were investigated. The Acoustic Emission (AE) technique combined with scanning electron microscopy observations was used to identify microstructural damage events leading to overall failure of the HFRP composites. This identification according to hemp‐fiber content and hygrothermal aging was made with an unsupervised method based on a statistical multi‐variable analysis (k‐means algorithm). The AE results indicate that the quality of fiber‐matrix interface plays a major role in the damage process of HFRP composites, shown by the number of AE signals induced by the interface failure and their amplitude ranges. POLYM. COMPOS. 37:1101–1112, 2016. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Using microchannels to cool microprocessors: a transmission-line-matrix study

As microprocessors components density and clock frequency increase, so do heat dissipation. The heat results from Joule effect due to leakage currents in the components area or active region. This region is only few microns thick and can quickly reach destructing temperatures if heat is not quickly removed. On this critical issue depends the system reliability. The active region is separated from the ventilated heat sink by a silicon substrate and a metal integrated heat spreader, both hundreds of microns thick. This interface region is the microprocessor's heat transfer plate where heat exchange is achieved by conduction. Because of the localized heat source, the thermal spreading resistance of the interface region can be high. A novel way of spreading heat in that region is the use of microchannel arrays where an appropriate thermal compound or a phase change liquid can be trapped to increase heat transfer by conduction or to create micro-heat-pipes. Traditional cooling methods, with conventional and well optimised heat sinks, can then be used with less burden.In this paper, the Transmission-Line-Matrix (TLM) technique is used to simulate the effect of microchannels on the temperature distribution in the active region. To minimize the interface heat resistance various microchannel and patterns are examined. In this part of the work, the microchannels are filled with the heat spreader material copper or aluminium. The results show an improved thermal transient behaviour and a reduced active region temperature in steady state.     

Thermal behavior Spice study of 6H-SiC NMOS transistors

Silicon carbide is a material that is undergoing major advances associated with a broad scope in the field of electronics. The main properties of silicon carbide such as its high thermal conductivity and high band gap make it a material suitable for use in high-temperature and high-power applications. In this Spice study, the thermal behavior of 6H-SiC NMOS transistors is analyzed through their conductance and transconductance changes with temperature in the range −200 to 700 °C. The performances in two basic applications, current mirrors and differential amplifiers, are compared to similar circuits with silicon transistors. The results show that the 6H-SiC NMOS transistors can be used up to 700 °C, while those based on silicon transistors are limited to around 160 °C.