Suppression of the α → β-nickel hydroxide transformation in concentrated alkali: Role of dissolved cations

The presence of dissolved cations such as Al and Zn in alkaline electrolyte (6 M KOH) suppresses the -nickel hydroxide transformation. The uptake of Al (10 mol%) and Zn (30 mol%) exhibited by the active material likely stabilizes the -phase. Dissolved Al is deleterious to the performance of the nickel hydroxide electrode, whereas, dissolved Zn enhances the specific discharge capacity of nickel hydroxide by approximately 25% showing that the mode of metal uptake is different in the two cases.     

Hybrid Metaheuristics Web Service Composition Model for QoS Aware Services

Recent advancements in cloud computing (CC) technologies signified that several distinct web services are presently developed and exist at the cloud data centre. Currently, web service composition gains maximum attention among researchers due to its significance in real-time applications. Quality of Service (QoS) aware service composition concerned regarding the election of candidate services with the maximization of the whole QoS. But these models have failed to handle the uncertainties of QoS. The resulting QoS of composite service identified by the clients become unstable and subject to risks of failing composition by end-users. On the other hand, trip planning is an essential technique in supporting digital map services. It aims to determine a set of location based services (LBS) which cover all client intended activities quantified in the query. But the available web service composition solutions do not consider the complicated spatio-temporal features. For resolving this issue, this study develops a new hybridization of the firefly optimization algorithm with fuzzy logic based web service composition model (F3L-WSCM) in a cloud environment for location awareness. The presented F3L-WSCM model involves a discovery module which enables the client to provide a query related to trip planning such as flight booking, hotels, car rentals, etc. At the next stage, the firefly algorithm is applied to generate composition plans to minimize the number of composition plans. Followed by, the fuzzy subtractive clustering (FSC) will select the best composition plan from the available composite plans. Besides, the presented F3L-WSCM model involves four input QoS parameters namely service cost, service availability, service response time, and user rating. An extensive experimental analysis takes place on CloudSim tool and exhibit the superior performance of the presented F3L-WSCM model in terms of accuracy, execution time, and efficiency.     

Studies for Wear Property Correlation for Carbon Fabric-Reinforced PES Composites

Polyethersulfone (PES) composites were developed with carbon fabric (CF). Cold remote nitrogen oxygen plasma (CRNOP) treatment was employed to the CF to incorporate functional groups and promote fiber–matrix adhesion. This study includes the effect of PES melt flow index (MFI) on the wettability of CF and its influence on fretting wear performance. Evaluations of fretting wear properties of composites led to the conclusion that the CRNOP treatment proved beneficial to enhance performance properties significantly. Polymer MFI and treatment to CF proved to be the decisive parameters for controlling performance of composites apart from operating parameters. Perforations on the treated carbon fiber, evidently observed by FESEM, improved the fiber–matrix adhesion, and hence the performance properties. Artificial neuron network (ANN) was used for prediction of the wear behavior of composites.     

Uncertainty quantification via bayesian inference using sequential monte carlo methods for CO2 adsorption process

This work presents the uncertainty quantification, which includes parametric inference along with uncertainty propagation, for CO₂ adsorption in a hollow fiber sorbent, a complex dynamic chemical process. Parametric inference via Bayesian approach is performed using Sequential Monte Carlo, a completely parallel algorithm, and the predictions are obtained by propagating the posterior distribution through the model. The presence of residual variability in the observed data and model inadequacy often present a significant challenge in performing the parametric inference. In this work, residual variability in the observed data is handled by three different approaches: (a) by performing inference with isolated data sets, (b) by increasing the uncertainty in model parameters, and finally, (c) by using a model discrepancy term to account for the uncertainty. The pros and cons of each of the three approaches are illustrated along with the predicted distributions of CO₂ breakthrough capacity for a scaled‐up process. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 3352–3368, 2016     

Synthesis of Self-Healing Bio-Based Tannic Acid-Based Methacrylates By Thermoreversible Diels–Alder Reaction

This investigation reports the effective use of the Diels–Alder (DA) click reaction in the preparation of self-healing bio-based dendritic methacrylates having reactive furfuryl functionality. Bio-based methacrylates were synthesized by modifying tannic acid with glycidyl methacrylate and furfuryl functionality was introduced by atom transfer radical polymerization with varied amount of furfuryl methacrylate monomer. The thermoreversible network was successfully achieved by DA and retro-DA reaction between the furfuryl groups and a bifunctional maleimide crosslinker, bismaleimide. This process was studied by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and solvent exposure tests. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis was used to determine the endothermic retro-DA reaction in the DA adduct. The self-healing property of the above crosslinked material was demonstrated by monitoring the repair of a scratch in the polymer film upon heating and cooling. This was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60:140–150, 2020. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

The Fight against Cancer by Microgravity: The Multicellular Spheroid as a Metastasis Model

Cancer is a disease exhibiting uncontrollable cell growth and spreading to other parts of the organism. It is a heavy, worldwide burden for mankind with high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, groundbreaking research and innovations are necessary. Research in space under microgravity (µg) conditions is a novel approach with the potential to fight cancer and develop future cancer therapies. Space travel is accompanied by adverse effects on our health, and there is a need to counteract these health problems. On the cellular level, studies have shown that real (r-) and simulated (s-) µg impact survival, apoptosis, proliferation, migration, and adhesion as well as the cytoskeleton, the extracellular matrix, focal adhesion, and growth factors in cancer cells. Moreover, the µg-environment induces in vitro 3D tumor models (multicellular spheroids and organoids) with a high potential for preclinical drug targeting, cancer drug development, and studying the processes of cancer progression and metastasis on a molecular level. This review focuses on the effects of r- and s-µg on different types of cells deriving from thyroid, breast, lung, skin, and prostate cancer, as well as tumors of the gastrointestinal tract. In addition, we summarize the current knowledge of the impact of µg on cancerous stem cells. The information demonstrates that µg has become an important new technology for increasing current knowledge of cancer biology.     

Medium-access control protocols for WDM-based optical access networks with passive-star clusters interconnected by a backbone ring

This paper investigates the performance of medium access control (MAC) protocols in a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) based optical access network consisting of a backbone ring interconnecting several passive-star-based clusters of optical networking units (ONUs) at customer premises. Each cluster is connected to the backbone through an access node (AN). A scheduler located in each AN, executes two MAC protocols, one for the intracluster traffic and the other for the intercluster traffic. In order to maintain the quality of service, the scheduler in the AN employs, priority-based queuing for the intercluster traffic on pre-assigned wavelengths. For controlling the intracluster traffic, the scheduler employs pre-transmission coordination with ranging and look-ahead functionalities in the MAC protocol. The performance of MAC protocol for intracluster traffic is evaluated through event-driven simulation, while for intercluster traffic the MAC performance is evaluated through analytical modeling of the queuing system employing two dynamic bandwidth management schemes. Performance of the intracluster MAC protocol is shown to be improved by novel use of subcarrier multiplexing on the wavelength used for the control packet transmission. A comparative study of the two intercluster schemes in terms of end-to-end delay is carried out, to understand the effect of priority queuing on the real-time and non-real-time service packets.     

Will capacity building training interventions given to street food vendors give us safer food?: A cross-sectional study from India

Successful food hygiene training and the consent of safe food handling practices learnt during training are critical elements in the control of food-borne illnesses throughout the world. It is true for food handlers and vendors belonging to all sectors. But, it is all the more urgent for street vendors because they are more exposed to environmental hazards and are predominantly from much weaker socio-economic backgrounds and yet cater to the general mass. Using a cross-sectional study design a sample of 80 street food vendors were selected and provided with training to evaluate the existing Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) regarding food safety and hygiene and the change of the same after training interventions. Responses regarding KAP on food safety and hygiene before and after training revealed that there was a significant change in their perception to food safety knowledge and also practices. The knowledge level of the food vendors increased from an average 24.35%–66.2% after training interventions. The overall performance rating of full adoption of good hygiene practices by the vendors ranged from 37.5% to 50.8% in post-training period.