Reactive pozzolana from Indian clays—their use in cement mortars

Studies were undertaken to produce reactive pozzolana i.e. metakaolin from four kaolinitic clays collected from different sources in India. The metakaolin produced from these clays at 700-800 °C show lime reactivity in between 10.5 to 11.5 N/mm² which is equivalent to commercially available calcined clay Metacem-85. The microstructure of the metakaolin has been reported. The effect of addition of metakaolin up to 25% in the Portland cement mortars was investigated. An increase in compressive strength and decrease of porosity and pore diameter of cement mortars containing metakaolin (10%) was noted over the cement mortars without metakaolin. The hydration of metakaolin blended cement mortars was investigated by differential thermal analysis (DTA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The major hydraulic products like C-S-H and C₄AH₁₃ have been identified. Durability of the cement mortars with and without metakaolin was examined in different sulphate solutions. Data show better strength achievement in cement mortars containing 10% MK than the OPC mortars alone.     

Stiction – definition, modelling, detection and quantification

Stiction or high static friction is a common problem in spring-diaphragm type control valves, which are widely used in the process industry. Recently, there have been many attempts to understand, define, model and detect stiction in control valves. There are several methods for detecting stiction, but quantification of the actual amount of stiction still remains a challenge. This paper discusses briefly the definition and modelling of stiction. Then it demonstrates a new method to detect and quantify the actual amount of valve stiction using routine operating data. The proposed method is completely data-driven. No additional excitation or experimentation of the plant is required.     

Learning rules of a card game from video

This paper presents a framework for automatically learning rules of a simple game of cards using data from a vision system observing the game being played. Incremental learning of object and protocol models from video, for use by an artificial cognitive agent, is presented. iLearn??a novel algorithm for inducing univariate decision trees for symbolic datasets is introduced. iLearn builds the decision tree in an incremental way allowing automatic learning of rules of the game.     

Recent development and challenges of multifunctional structural supercapacitors for automotive industries

In the last decades, fuel scarcity and increasing pollution level pave the way for an extensive interest in alternatives to petroleum‐based fuels such as biodiesel, solar cells, lithium ion batteries, and supercapacitors. Among them, structural supercapacitors have been considered as promising candidates for automotive industries in present time. Herein, the use of carbon fiber‐based supercapacitors in automotive applications is reviewed. Carbon fiber is an excellent candidate for vehicle body applications, and its composites could be widely used in the development of supercapacitors that could provide both structural and energy storage functions. Different surface modification processes of the carbon fiber electrode to enhance the electrochemical as well as mechanical performances are discussed. The advantages of the glass fiber separator and its comparison with other types of dielectric media have been incorporated. The synthesis procedures of the multifunctional solid polymer electrolyte and its significance have been also elaborated. The fabrication process, component selection, limitations, and future challenges of these supercapacitors are briefly assimilated in this review. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Feature Selection for Recognition of Online Handwritten Bangla Characters

Feature selection through optimization techniques provides an interesting approach to minimize computational time with enhanced prediction capability, and     

Food Fortification and Supplement Use—Are There Health Implications?

Dietary supplements are a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S., and their use is increasing exponentially. Additionally, many foods and beverages are increasingly being fortified with single or multiple vitamins and minerals. Consequently, nutrient intakes are exceeding the safe limits established by the Institute of Medicine. In this paper, we examine the benefits and drawbacks of vitamin and mineral supplements and increasing consumption of fortified foods (in addition to dietary intake) in the U.S. population. The pros and cons are illustrated using population estimates of folic acid, calcium, and vitamin D intake, highlighting concerns related to overconsumption of nutrients that should be addressed by regulatory agencies.     

Separation of acetic acid from dilute aqueous solution by nanofiltration membrane

NF membranes have been prepared from α, β, γ‐cyclodextrin (CD) composite with polysulfone and characterized by pore size, thickness, pure water permeability, contact angle measurement and membrane morphology study. The permeation performances of the prepared membranes have been tested for separation of acetic acid from dilute aqueous solution. Effect of concentration, pressure, flow rate on flux and rejection have been calculated and interpreted. Different permeation models have been tested for experimental values and validated by comparing the values with the experimental data. It has observed that in β‐CD membranes 99% recovery of acetic acid from aqueous solution has been obtained and found to be the best membrane for separation of acetic acid from dilute solution. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40537.     

Land surface temperature variation in relation to vegetation type using MODIS satellite data in Gujarat state of India

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) has provided an improved capability for moderate resolution land surface monitoring and for studying surface temperature variations. Surface temperature is a key variable in the surface energy balance. To investigate the temporal variation of surface temperature in relation to different vegetation types, MODIS data from 2000–04 were used, especially in the reproductive phase of crops (September–October). The vegetation types used for this study were agriculture in desert areas, rainfed agriculture, irrigated agriculture, and forest. We found that among the different vegetation types, the desert‐based agriculture showed the highest surface temperature followed by rainfed agriculture, irrigated agriculture, and forest. The variation in surface temperature indicates that the climatic variation is mostly determined by the different types of vegetation cover on the Earth's surface rather than rapid climate change attributable to climatic sources. The mean land surface temperature (LST) and air temperature (T _a) were plotted for each vegetation type from September to October during 2000 and 2004. Higher temperatures were observed for each vegetation type in 2000 as compared to 2004 and lower total rainfall was observed in 2000. The relationship between MODIS LST and T _a measurements from meteorological stations was established and illustrated that years 2000 and 2004 had a distinct climatic variability within the time‐frame in the study area. In all test sites, the study found that there was a high correlation (r = 0.80–0.98) between LST and T _a.     

Iron(III)-mediated ATRP systems of n-docosyl acrylate with AIBN and BPO

Well-defined poly(n-docosyl acrylate) (PDA) with narrow molecular weight distribution has been synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and reverse ATRP of n-docosyl acrylate (DA) at 80 °C in N,N-dimethylformamide using the carbon tetrabromide/FeCl₃/2,2′-bipyridine (bpy) initiation system in the presence of 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as the source of reducing agent. The rates of polymerization for both the systems exhibit first-order kinetics with respect to the monomer, however, peroxide-initiated system shows slow rate of polymerization as compared to the azo-system. The effect of various reaction parameters on number average molecular weight (M _n ) and molecular weight distribution (M _w/M _n ) have been investigated. The resulting PDA that obtained in presence of AIBN and BPO systems has been compared for both the conventional and reverse ATRP. The reverse ATRP initiated by peroxides behaves differently than that of the azo initiators. In reverse ATRP with BPO, the rate of polymerization (R _p) has been significantly increased with the increase of BPO resulting higher M _n and broader M _w/M _n . The reverse ATRP of DA did not exhibit living characteristics with BPO system. PDA has been characterized by GPC, FTIR, and NMR spectroscopy.