Properties and Performance of Cation-Doped Ceria Electrolyte Materials in Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Applications

Cation-doped CeO₂ electrolyte has been evaluated in single-cell and short-stack tests in solid oxide fuel cell environments and applications. These results, along with conductivity measurements, indicate that an ionic transference number of ∼0.75 can be expected at 800°C. Single cells have shown a power density >350 mW/cm². Multicell stacks have demonstrated a peak performance of >100 mW/cm² at 700°C using metallic separators.     

Active learning for on-road vehicle detection: a comparative study

In recent years, active learning has emerged as a powerful tool in building robust systems for object detection using computer vision. Indeed, active learning approaches to on-road vehicle detection have achieved impressive results. While active learning approaches for object detection have been explored and presented in the literature, few studies have been performed to comparatively assess costs and merits. In this study, we provide a cost-sensitive analysis of three popular active learning methods for on-road vehicle detection. The generality of active learning findings is demonstrated via learning experiments performed with detectors based on histogram of oriented gradient features and SVM classification (HOG–SVM), and Haar-like features and Adaboost classification (Haar–Adaboost). Experimental evaluation has been performed on static images and real-world on-road vehicle datasets. Learning approaches are assessed in terms of the time spent annotating, data required, recall, and precision.     

Miscibility and fracture toughness of thermoplastic polyurethane/poly(vinyl chloride)/nitrile rubber ternary blends with special reference to the blend composition

Ternary blends of thermoplastic polyurethane and a poly(vinyl chloride)/nitrile rubber blend were investigated in this work. The blends, with weight ratios of 100/0, 80/20, 40/60, 60/40, 80/20, and 0/100, were prepared via melt blending. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the blends with ratios of 20/80 and 80/20 were miscible, whereas the 40/60 and 60/40 blends were partially miscible. IR spectroscopy studies showed shifts in the peaks due to specific interactions in the blends. The blends showed degradation behavior between the blend components. The fracture toughness was investigated with the J‐integral by the locus method; the components and the miscible blends had good fracture toughness, whereas the other blends had lower toughness. Similar behavior was observed for the tensile properties. Scanning electron microscopy studies showed the morphological variations in the blends. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 1763–1770, 2005     

Biosynthesised silver and copper nanoformulation as foliar spray to control bird's eye spot disease in tea plantations

Tea leaves have economic importance in preparation of the popular beverage of the world “tea”. Bird’s eye spot disease of tea leaves creates significant revenue loss in tea trade of many tea plant cultivating countries. Management of this disease by silver (AgNps) and copper (CuNps) nanoparticles that are biosynthesised by efficient antagonists was studied. The biocontrol agents like Pseudomonas fluorescens, Trichoderma atroviride and Streptomyces sannanensis were evaluated for nanoparticle synthesis against Cercospora theae isolates namely KC10, MC24 and VC38. Initially, the freshly prepared extracellular AgNps showed high disease control (59.42 – 79.76%), but the stability of antagonistic property in stored nanoparticles were significantly high in CuNps (58.71 – 73.81%). Greenhouse studies on various treatments imposed also showed reduced disease incidence percentage of 13.4, 7.57 and 10.11% when treated with CuNps synthesized by P. fluorescens, T. atroviride and S. sannanensis respectively. Various treatment schedule in fields suggested the use of Bionanocopper@1.5 ppm for highest yield (3743 kg/ha) with 66.1% disease prevention. The results suggest the use of biosynthesised CuNps using Streptomyces sannanensis for controlling the tea plant pathogens causing foliar disease with higher stability in releasing the antagonistic activity during sporadic disease incidence of bird’s eye spot disease in tea plants.Inspec keywords: silver, copper, crops, plant diseases, nanoparticles, air pollution, agrochemicals, nanobiotechnologyOther keywords: biosynthesised silver, biosynthesised copper, nanoformulation, foliar spray, bird eye spot disease control, tea plantations, tea leaves, economic importance, revenue loss, tea trade, tea plant cultivating countries, silver nanoparticles, AgNps, copper nanoparticles, CuNps, biocontrol agents, nanoparticle synthesis, Cercospora theae isolates, KC10, MC24, VC38, greenhouse studies, antagonistic property, P. fluorescens, T. atroviride, S. sannanensis, fungicides, synthetic nanomaterials, bionanomaterials, disease prevention, green leaf yield, BionanoCu, tea plant pathogens, foliar disease     

Structural,morphological, optical and electrical properties of CdS thin films simultaneously doped with magnesium and chlorine

CdS thin films simultaneously doped with Mg and Cl at different doping concentrations (0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 at%) were prepared on glass substrates by spray pyrolysis technique using perfume atomizer at 400 °C. The effect of Mg and Cl doping concentration on the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the deposited films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy, UV–Vis spectroscopy and dc electrical measurements, respectively. XRD analysis showed that the undoped and doped CdS films exhibit hexagonal structure with a preferential orientation along the (0 0 2) plane. The 2θ angle position of the (0 0 2) peak of the doped films was shifted towards a higher angle with increasing Mg and Cl concentration. The UV–Vis–NIR absorption spectra of Mg and Cl doped thin films are measured and classical Tauc approach was employed to estimate their band gap energies. The increase in band gap energy from 2.46 to 2.73 eV with the reduction in crystallite size supports quantum size effect. Raman spectra implied that more defects existed in the doped samples. Electrical studies showed that all the films have resistivity in the order of 10¹ Ω-cm and the CdS film with 6 at% Mg and Cl concentration has a minimum resistivity of 1.332 × 10¹ Ω-cm.     

Intelligent System Application to Monitor the Smart City Building Lighting

A smart city incorporates infrastructure methods that are environmentally responsible, such as smart communications, smart grids, smart energy, and smart buildings. The city administration has prioritized the use of cutting-edge technology and informatics as the primary strategy for enhancing service quality, with energy resources taking precedence. To achieve optimal energy management in the multidimensional system of a city tribe, it is necessary not only to identify and study the vast majority of energy elements, but also to define their implicit interdependencies. This is because optimal energy management is required to reach this objective. The lighting index is an essential consideration when evaluating the comfort indicators. In order to realize the concept of a smart city, the primary objective of this research is to create a system for managing and monitoring the lighting index. It is possible to identify two distinct phases within the intelligent system. Once data collection concludes, the monitoring system will be activated. In the second step, the operation of the control system is analyzed and its effect on the performance of the numerical model is determined. This evaluation is based on the proposed methodology. The optimized results were deemed satisfactory because they maintained the brightness index value (79%) while consuming less energy. The intelligent implementation system generated satisfactory outcomes, which were observed 1.75 times on average.     

A mannose-binding protein from the cell surface of flocculent Saccharomyces cerevisiae (NCIM 3528): its role in flocculation

A cell surface lectin was isolated and purified to homogeneity from the cell walls of a highly flocculent strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (NCIM 3528) by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, phenyl Sepharose and Sephacryl S-300. It showed a molecular mass of 40 kDa on SDS-PAGE. It is an acidic protein with a pI of 4.0 and contains 44% hydrophobic amino acids. The N-terminal sequence up to 10 amino acid residues showed at least 70% homology with the predicted N-terminal sequence of the putative FLO1 as well as FLO5 gene products. The mannose-binding nature of the lectin was indicated by its high affinity and specificity towards the branched trisaccharide of mannose, a ligand which also inhibits the flocculation of yeast cells. Immunofluorescence studies confirmed the presence of lectin on the yeast cell surface and lectin-specific IgGs prevented flocculation of the cells. This cell surface mannose-specific lectin probably plays an important role in flocculation, with the branched trimannoside on the cell wall being the apparent carbohydrate receptor. The N-terminal sequence data gives a primary indication that the lectin could be a product of one of the FLO genes.