CNTFET based voltage differencing current conveyor low power and universal filter

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing - This paper presents carbon nanotube field effect transistor (CNTFET) implementation of voltage differencing current conveyor (VDCC). We propose...     

Modeling of the Magnetization and Magnetocaloric Effect in Ni2MnGa Heusler Alloy with the Effective Field Theory

Journal of Low Temperature Physics - This study modeled and investigated the magnetocaloric effect in Ni2MnGa Heusler alloy characterized by its magnetic entropy change (ΔSm) and its...     

A protein which masks galactose receptor mediated phage susceptibility in Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis MPL56

A 28.5-kb plasmid, isolated from Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis MPL56, causes complete inhibition of four lactococcal phages. Cell wall characteristics of wild-type strain MPL56 were compared with its 28.5 kb plasmid-cured, phage-sensitive derivative MPL56-22. After proteolytic enzyme treatments, adsorption of phages occurred at high levels, an example is 94.6–98.5% in MPL56 cells. Analysis of cell wall extracts of MPL56-22 by sodium dodecyl sulphate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) indicated that the only difference between strains was the 55.4 kDa band in protein patterns of MPL56. Adsorption of the four phages was completely inhibited when MPL56-22 cells were subjected to SDS, Triton-X-100, HCl and NaOH treatments. Lectins that were specific for glucose/mannose and N-acetylglucosamine did not prevent adsorption of phages in cell wall extracts of MPL 56-22. However a lectin specific for galactose (MCA; Momordica charantia ) completely inhibited adsorption of these phages in cell wall extracts of MPL56-22. HPLC patterns of cell wall carbohydrates of MPL56-22 and its HCl treated preparations showed that the most prevalent difference was the galactose on untreated MPL56-22 cell wall chromatograms.     

Design of a Commercial Hybrid VTOL UAV System

For the last four decades Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) have been extensively used for military operations that include tracking, surveillance, active engagement with weapons and airborne data acquisition. UAVs are also in demand commercially due to their advantages in comparison to manned vehicles. These advantages include lower manufacturing and operating costs, flexibility in configuration depending on customer request and not risking the pilot on demanding missions. Even though civilian UAVs currently constitute 3 % of the UAV market, it is estimated that their numbers will reach up to 10 % of the UAV market within the next 5 years. Most of the civilian UAV applications require UAVs that are capable of doing a wide range of different and complementary operations within a composite mission. These operations include taking off and landing from limited runway space, while traversing the operation region in considerable cruise speed for mobile tracking applications. This is in addition to being able traverse in low cruise speeds or being able to hover for stationary measurement and tracking. All of these complementary and but different operational capabilities point to a hybrid unmanned vehicle concept, namely the Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs. In addition, the desired UAV system needs to be cost-efficient while providing easy payload conversion for different civilian applications. In this paper, we review the preliminary design process of such a capable civilian UAV system, namely the TURAC VTOL UAV. TURAC UAV is aimed to have both vertical take-off and landing and Conventional Take-off and Landing (CTOL) capability. TURAC interchangeable payload pod and detachable wing (with potential different size variants) provides capability to perform different mission types, including long endurance and high cruise speed operations. In addition, the TURAC concept is to have two different variants. The TURAC A variant is an eco-friendly and low-noise fully electrical platform which includes 2 tilt electric motors in the front, and a fixed electric motor and ducted fan in the rear, where as the TURAC B variant is envisioned to use high energy density fuel cells for extended hovering time. In this paper, we provide the TURAC UAV’s iterative design and trade-off studies which also include detailed aerodynamic and structural configuration analysis. For the aerodynamic analysis, an in-house software including graphical user interface has been developed to calculate the aerodynamic forces and moments by using the Vortex Lattice Method (VLM). Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) studies are performed to determine the aerodynamic effects for various configurations For structural analysis, a Finite Element Model (FEM) of the TURAC has been prepared and its modal analysis is carried out. Maximum displacements and maximal principal stresses are calculated and used for streamlining a weight efficient fuselage design. Prototypes have been built to show success of the design at both hover and forward flight regime. In this paper, we also provide the flight management and autopilot architecture of the TURAC. The testing of the controller performance has been initiated with the prototype of TURAC. Current work focuses on the building of the full fight test prototype of the TURAC UAV and aerodynamic modeling of the transition flight.     

Competitive removal of Pb2+, Cd2+, and Zn2+ by poly(acrylamide‐co‐maleic acid) hydrogels/differential pulse polarographic determination

Poly(acrylamide‐co‐maleic acid) [P(AAm/MA)] hydrogels, with various compositions, were prepared from ternary mixtures of acrylamide (AAm)/maleic acid (MA)/water by using ⁶⁰Co γ‐rays. The effect of composition of these hydrogels, on the competitive removal of Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Zn²⁺ ions from aqueous solution, was investigated. The hydrogel compositions and their adsorption behaviors were determined by use of differential pulse polarography, a very sensitive electroanalytical technique. It was observed that the external stimuli of pH, temperature, and ionic strength have an important role on the adsorption. The increments of MA content in P(AAm/MA) hydrogels caused a significant increase in the adsorption these ions. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 2401–2406, 2004     

Morphology evolution of immiscible LDPE/PVC blends in the presence of compatibilizer and phase dispersant

Phase dispersion and coalescence in low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)/polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (70/30) blends influenced by compatibilizer and phase dispersant was studied. It was found that the morphology evolution of blends is sensitive to not only processing conditions (shear strength and mixing time) but also the added compatibilizer or phase dispersant. In our conditions, the stable phase morphology of each blend is obtained after mixing 15–25 min. In addition, the dispersed PVC phase in blends is easy to aggregate when the mixing rotor speed changed from high to low for the binary blends. As a compatibilizer, chlorided polyethylene (CPE) or nitrile rubber (NBR) can stabilize the morphology and hinder the coalescence of the dispersed PVC phase when added to the blends. However, the phase dispersant butadiene rubber (BR) or styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) could not stabilize the phase structure, although it could accelerate phase dispersion. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 763–772, 2004     

Preparation and characterization of novel poly(glycidyl methacrylate) beads carrying amidoxime groups

Poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) beads with an average size of 350 μm were synthesized by suspension polymerization technique. The PGMA beads were first modified with iminodiacetonitrile (IDAN). Then, the IDAN‐modified beads were subsequently modified by hydroxylamine. The IDAN modification and the conversion of the nitrile groups to amidoxime were followed by FT‐IR spectroscopy. The surface morphology and thermal behavior of the PGMA and its modified forms were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis techniques, further confirming modification and amidoximation. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

(BaTiO3)1-x + (Co0.5Ni0.5Nb0.06Fe1.94O4)x nanocomposites: Structure,morphology, magnetic and dielectric properties

Two phase-based nanocomposites consisting of dielectric barium titanate (BaTiO₃ or BTO) and magnetic spinel ferrite Co_0.5Ni_0.5Nb_0.06Fe_1.94O₄ (CNNFO) have been synthesized through solid state route. Series of (BaTiO₃)_1-x + (Co_0.5Ni_0.5Nb_0.06Fe_1.94O₄)_x nanocomposites with x content of 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 were considered. The structure has been examined via X-rays diffraction (XRD) and indicated the occurrence of both perovskite BTO and spinel CNNFO phases in various nanocomposites. A phase transition from tetragonal BTO structure to cubic structure occurs with inclusion of CNNFO phase. The average crystallites size of BTO phase decreases, whereas that for the CNNFO phase increases with increasing x in various nanocomposites. The morphological observations revealed that the porosity is highly reduced, and the connectivity between grains is enhanced with increasing x content. The optical properties have been investigated by UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. The deduced band gap energy (E_g) value is found to reduce with increasing the content of spinel ferrite phase. The magnetic as well as the dielectric properties were also investigated. The analysis showed that CNNFO ferrite phase greatly affects the magnetic properties and dielectric response of BTO material. The obtained findings can be useful to enhance the performances of magneto-dielectric composite-based systems.     

Fabrication of co-PVDF/modacrylic/SiO2 nanofibrous membrane: Composite separator for safe and high performance lithium-ion batteries

Highly porous free-standing co-poly(vinylidene fluoride)/modacrylic/SiO₂ nanofibrous membrane was developed using electrically-assisted solution blow spinning method. The performance and the potential of the membrane as a lithium-ion battery separator were investigated. The addition of modacrylic enhanced the solution spinnability that resulted in defect-free membranes. Moreover, the presence of modacrylic enhanced the dimensional and thermal stabilities, while the addition of hydrophilic SiO₂ nanoparticle enhanced both mechanical property and ionic conductivity. Combustion test results illustrated that the presence of modacrylic provide flame retarding property over a set of different polymeric-based membranes. Electrochemical performance results showed that the developed membrane can increase the battery capacity compared with the commercial separator.