Flexible poly(styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene) hybrid nanofibers for bioengineering and water filtration applications

Among the thermoplastic elastomers that play important roles in the polymer industry due to their superior properties, styrene-based species and polyurethane block copolymers are of great interest. Poly(styrene-ethylene-butadiene-styrene) (SEBS) as a triblock copolymer seems to have the potential to meet many demands in different applications due to various industrial requirements where durability, biocompatibility, breaking elongation, and interfacial adhesion are important. In this study, the SEBS triblock copolymer was functionalized with natural (Satureja hortensis, SH) and synthetic (nanopowder, TiO₂) agents to obtain composite nanofibers by electrospinning and electrospraying methods for use in biomedical and water filtration applications. The results were compared with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composite nanofibers, which are commonly used in these fields. Here, functionalized SEBS nanofibers exhibited antibacterial effect while at the same time improving cell viability. In addition, because of successful water filtration by using the SEBS composite nanofibers, the material may have a good potential to be used comparably to TPU for the application.     

Photoelectrocatalytic humic acid degradation kinetics and effect of pH,applied potential and inorganic ions

This study addresses the removal of humic acid (HA) dissolved in an aqueous medium by a photoelectrocatalytic process. UV₂₅₄ removal and the degradation of color (Vis₄₀₀) followed pseudo‐first order kinetics. Rate constants were 1.1 × 10^?1 min^?1, 8.3 × 10^?2 min^?1 and 2.49 × 10^?2 min^?1 (R² > 0.97) for UV₂₅₄ degradation and 1.7 × 10^?1 min^?1, 6.5 × 10^?2 min^?1 and 2.0 × 10^?2 min^?1 for color removal from 5 mg dm^?3, 10 mg dm^?3 and 25 mg dm^?3 HA respectively. Following a 2 h irradiation time, 96% of the color, 98% of the humic acid and 85% of the total organic carbon (TOC) was removed from an initial 25 mg dm^?3 HA solution in the photoanode cell. Photocatalytic removal on the same photoanode was also studied in order to compare the two methods of degradation. Results showed that the photoelectrocatalytic method was much more effective than the photocatalytic method especially at high pH values and with respect to UV₂₅₄ removal. The effect of other important reaction variables, eg pH, external potential and electrolyte concentration, on the photoelectrocatalytic HA degradation was also studied. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Using heuristic algorithms for capacity leasing and task allocation issues in telecommunication networks under fuzzy quality of service constraints

Nowadays, every firm uses telecommunication networks in different amounts and ways in order to complete their daily operations. In this article, we investigate an optimisation problem that a firm faces when acquiring network capacity from a market in which there exist several network providers offering different pricing and quality of service (QoS) schemes. The QoS level guaranteed by network providers and the minimum quality level of service, which is needed for accomplishing the operations are denoted as fuzzy numbers in order to handle the non-deterministic nature of the telecommunication network environment. Interestingly, the mathematical formulation of the aforementioned problem leads to the special case of a well-known two-dimensional bin packing problem, which is famous for its computational complexity. We propose two different heuristic solution procedures that have the capability of solving the resulting nonlinear mixed integer programming model with fuzzy constraints. In conclusion, the efficiency of each algorithm is tested in several test instances to demonstrate the applicability of the methodology.     

Biodegradable Microparticles for Simultaneous Detection of Counterfeit and Deteriorated Edible Products

In an era of globalized trade relations where food and pharmaceutical products cross borders effortlessly, consumers face counterfeit and deteriorated products at elevated rates. This paper presents multifunctional, biodegradable hydrogel microparticles that can provide information on the authenticity and the potential deterioration of the tagged food or pharmaceutical formulations. These microparticles integrate spatially patterned authenticity code with two sensors—the first one detects possible presence of pathogenic microbes through monitoring pH while the second one identifies products stored above optimal temperatures via optical monitoring of the microparticle degradation. Particles are synthesized from a biocompatible polymer and a photoinitiator, dextran modified with 2‐hydroxyethylmethacrylate and riboflavin, respectively, using a continuous, high throughput method stop‐flow lithography. The proposed synthesis approach also enables crosslinking with visible light bringing about additional flexibility to flow lithography. Model liquid and solid food and pharmaceutical products are successfully labeled with microparticles and the functionality of the sensors in aqueous solutions is demonstrated.     

Wear behavior of as-deposited and oxidized ternary (Zr,Hf)N coatings

In the present study, the tribological performance of ternary (Zr,Hf)N coatings, whose Hf content was varied between 0 and 21 wt pct, has been systematically examined in the as-deposited and oxidized conditions. Coatings were applied on AISI D2 tool steel plates by arc physical vapor deposition (PVD). Oxidation was conducted at 400 °C for times up to 12 hours in air. Wear tests revealed pronounced improvement in the wear resistance with increasing Hf content in the as-deposited coatings. Oxidation for 12 hours yielded more than a fourfold increase in wear resistance. The beneficial effect of Hf on wear resistance decreased upon oxidation.     

Sliding wear behaviour of ZrN and (Zr, 12 wt% Hf)N coatings

In the present study, the sliding wear resistances of ZrN and (Zr, 12 wt% Hf)N coatings deposited on a hardened AISI D2 tool steel by arc-physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique were examined by a ball-on-disc wear tester. Alloying of ZrN coating with 12 wt% Hf did not change the hardness significantly, but achieved an improvement on adhesion strength and dry sliding wear resistance against steel (AISI 52100-55HRC) and Al₂O₃ balls.     

Experimental study of a micro-scale sloped solar chimney power plant

Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology - Solar chimney power plants (SCPP) are structures that have the potential to generate a significant amount of electrical energy without harming the...     

Robust estimation in flat fading channels under bounded channel uncertainties

We investigate channel equalization problem for time-varying flat fading channels under bounded channel uncertainties. We analyze three robust methods to estimate an unknown signal transmitted through a time-varying flat fading channel. These methods are based on minimizing certain mean-square error criteria that incorporate the channel uncertainties into their problem formulations instead of directly using the inaccurate channel information that is available. We present closed-form solutions to the channel equalization problems for each method and for both zero mean and nonzero mean signals. We illustrate the performances of the equalization methods through simulations.     

Portable Infrared Spectrometer to Characterize and Differentiate Between Organic and Conventional Bovine Butter

The performance of a portable infrared system combined with pattern recognition to discriminate between organically and conventionally produced bovine butter samples as well as to predict the levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) were evaluated. Sixty butter (27 organic and 33 conventional) samples were used in this study. Bovine butter–fat were applied onto an attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR‐IR) accessory equipped with a five‐bounce ZnSe crystal set at 65 °C for spectral collection. In addition, ATR‐IR spectra of bovine butter were directly collected at room temperature to avoid phase separation. The fatty acid profile and the levels of CLA were determined using reference FAME‐GC‐FID analysis. SIMCA models showed well separated clusters that discriminated between organic and conventional bovine butters due to C=C trans bending out of the plane vibration modes band at 967 cm^?1. Additionally, strong PLSR models were developed to predict CLA levels using butter–fat and bovine butter spectra with SEP of 0.05 % and RPD of 4.7, indicating that the models are suitable for quality control applications. Portable IR technology offers the ability for “in situ” analysis of butters that is much less time consuming than current analytical practices for authentication and quality control efforts by the industry.