Middleware Technologies for Smart Wireless Sensor Networks towards Internet of Things: A Comparative Review

Wireless Personal Communications - Internet of Things (IoT) offers complex networks of connected devices, which are used to serve in the real-time environment. Interestingly, Wireless Sensor...     

Synthesis and characterisation of copolyesters from poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(hexamethylene terephthalate)

Copolyesters containing poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(hexamethylene terephthalate) (PHT) were prepared by a melt condensation reaction. The copolymers were characterised by infrared spectroscopy and intrinsic viscosity measurements. The density of the copolyesters decreased with increasing percentage of PHT segments in the backbone. Glass transition temperatures (T_g). melting points (T_m) and crystallisation temperatures (T_c) were determined by differential scanning calorimetry. An increase in the percentage of PHT resulted in decrease in T_g, T_m and T_c. The as-prepared copolyesters were crystalline in nature and no exotherm indicative of cold crystallisation was observed. The relative thermal stability of the polymers was evaluated by dynamic thermogravimetry in a nitrogen atmosphere. An increase in percentage of PHT resulted in a decrease in initial decomposition temperature. The rate of crystallisation of the copolymers was studied by small angle light scattering. An increase in percentage of PHT resulted in an increase in the rate of crystallisation.     

Effect of process parameters on impact strength of Al-7% Si alloy castings produced by VAEPC process

The castings produced by the evaporative pattern casting (EPC) process have blow holes. The blow holes in EPC castings are because of the non-escape of the gas produced as a result of burning of polystyrene pattern in the sand mold. To overcome the problem of blow holes, the EPC process is combined with the vacuum (V)- process. The vacuum applied to EPC mold draws the decomposed gases and improves the casting quality produced by the EPC process. The developed hybrid process has been termed as the vacuum assisted evaporative pattern casting (VAEPC) process. The objective of this paper to investigates the effect of process parameters, i.e, degree of vacuum, pouring temperature, grainfineness number, amplitude of vibration and time of vibration on the impact strength of Al-7% Si alloy castings in VAEPC process. In order to evaluate the effect of selected process parameters, the response surface methodology (RSM) is used to formulate a mathematical model which correlates the independent process parameters with the desired impact strength. The central composite rotatable design has been used to conduct the experiments. The results indicate that the impact strength decreases with increases in the grainfineness number and pouring temperature. Whereas, it has an inverse relationship with amplitude of vibration, time of vibration and degree of vacuum. The best value of impact strength (2.34 N/mm²) has been obtained at 400 mm Hg degree of vacuum imposed, 650°C as pouring temperature, 60 as sand grainfineness number, 460 μm as amplitude of vibration, and 70 s as time of vibration.     

Performance of combined cobalt—nickel—zirconia and HZSM-5 catalyst systems for carbon monoxide hydrogenation

The synthesis of hydrocarbons via hydrogenation of carbon monoxide was investigated over cobalt—nickel—zirconia catalysts of various compositions in combination with zeolite HZSM-5 in “mixed bed” and “follow bed” arrangements. These combinations resulted in the formation of aromatics in amounts as high as 30-35 wt% under relatively mild operating conditions (1 atm, 250–280°C). Although the olefinicity of C₂ and C₃ fractions in the product stream was higher in the mixed bed compared to the follow bed arrangement, the selectivities to aromatics were comparable in the two bed arrangements. The aromatic selectivity was found to be sensitive to operating conditions. The formation of aromatics was favored at high HZSM-5/metal catalyst ratios, low space velocities and high reaction temperatures. The product distributions obtained using various metal/zeolite bifunctional catalysts have been discussed.     

In Situ Performance Testing of Deteriorating Water Tanks for Durability Assessment

Reports of failure of existing concrete structures due to a lack of durability, rather than a deficiency in structural strength, has made concrete technologists, engineers, and researchers focus research on the parameters influencing durability performance with respect to time. Systematic performance monitoring, with respect to chosen durability parameters of existing concrete structures, will decide the direction of future research in this area. Inferences based on laboratory simulations and testing need to be confirmed by in situ field measurements and studies. In situ condition rating and performance monitoring surveys have been conducted by many researchers, scientists, and professional associations, and reported in literature. Inferences of few such studies are summarized and discussed. Deterioration of concrete structures constructed in recent times is observed at relatively faster rates, and has been mainly attributed to cracking. Cracking is associated with the use of faster-hydrating portland cements with increased fineness and the tricalcium silicate (C3S) content to support the high speed of modern construction. In the present research, a case study of deteriorated water tank structures situated in the semitropical region of India is presented. Some selected parameters—such as concrete cover, carbonation depth, chloride concentration, compressive strength, etc. which influence long term durability of structures—have been measured.     

Preliminary<Emphasis Type="Italic">in vitro</Emphasis> and<Emphasis Type="Italic">in vivo</Emphasis> characterizations of a sol-gel derived bioactive glass-ceramic system

This study investigates quantitatively and qualitatively the sol-gel derived bioactive glass-ceramic system (BGS)—apatite-wollastonite (AW) type granules in the size range of 0.5–1 mm, as an effective graft material for bone augmentation and restoration. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) of the sintered granules revealed the rough material surface with micropores in the range 10–30 μm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern of the granules revealed the presence of crystalline phases of the hydroxyapatite and wollastonite, and the functional groups of the silicate and phosphates were identified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Thein vitro cell culture studies with L929 mouse fibroblast cell line showed very few cells adhered on the BGS disc after 24 h. This could be due to the highly reactive surface of the disc concomitant with the crystallization but not due to the cytotoxicity of the material, since the cellular viability (MTT assay) with the material was 80‰ Cytotoxicity and cytocompatibility studies proved that the material was non-toxic and biocompatible. After 12 weeks of implantation of the BGS granules in the tibia bone of New Zealand white rabbits, the granules were found to be well osteointegrated, as observed in the radiographs. Angiogram with barium sulphate and Indian ink after 12 weeks showed the presence of microcapillaries in the vicinity of the implant site implicating high vascularity. Gross observation of the implant site did not show any inflammation or necrosis. SEM of the implanted site after 24 weeks revealed good osteointegration of the material with the newly formed bone and host bone. New bone was also observed within the material, which was degrading. Histological evaluation of the bone healing with the BGS granules in the tibial defect at all time intervals was without inflammation or fibrous tissue encapsulation. After 2 weeks the new bone was observed as a trabeculae network around the granules, and by 6 weeks the defect was completely closed with immature woven bone. By 12 weeks mature woven bone was observed, and new immature woven bone was seen within the cracks of the granules. After 24 weeks the defect was completely healed with lamellar bone and the size of the granules decreased. Histomorphometrically the area percentage of new bone formed was 67.77% after 12 weeks and 63.37% after 24 weeks. Less bone formation after 24 weeks was due to an increased implant surface area contributed by the material degradation and active bone remodeling. The osteostimulative and osteoconductive potential of the BGS granules was established by tetracycline labelling of the mineralizing areas by 2 and 6 weeks. This sol-gel derived BGS granules proved to be bioactive and resorbable which in turn encouraged active bone formation.     

LabVIEW嵌入式技术：嵌入式设计需求的迁移

很多因素导致设计的复杂性增加，而且这种增长趋势还在继续。10年前，一个嵌入式系统平均只有100000行代码。到2001年，这个数字超过了100万，到今天，甚至远远超过500万。由于硅芯片变得越来越经济高效，开发人员正在转向32位微处理器单元（MPU）。市场研究公司Venture Development Corporation（VDC）的一项调查显示，在今后两年将有61％的被调查者采用32位MPU，因为硬件成本不再是决定性的因素。此外，嵌入式设计的需求在很多不同的应用领域都在增长。例如，多媒体正在促进更多面向数字信号处理系统的应用；汽车通信系统需要高性能的处理能力；工业机器和传感器需要嵌入式控制，这些需求使工程师和科学家，或领域专家，或非典型DSP开发人员，寻求不同的方法来对嵌入式系统编程。随着这些不断增长的复杂性，传统的嵌入式系统的开发方法已经不能满足需求。例如，基于文本的面向对象的设计工具不能提供有效的建模方法，尤其是在有时间和并行性要求的时候。     

Effect of dopants on the low temperature microwave dielectric properties of Ba(Zn1/3Ta2/3)O3 ceramics

Ba(Zn_1/3Ta_2/3)O₃ has been prepared with different dopants that gave best microwave dielectric properties at room temperature. Effects of different dopants on the low temperature microwave dielectric properties of BZT were investigated. With decrease in temperature, loss tangent was found to decrease marginally and then increase at temperatures lower than 100 K. Increase in loss factor at lower temperatures were found to be less for dopants with smaller ionic radii. Dielectric constant was found to be almost independent of temperature. Temperature coefficient of resonant frequency slowly decreased from a positive value to negative value when temperature was lowered. Temperature at which τ_f becomes zero was found to vary for different dopants. There is a temperature stable region for tanδ, ɛ_r and τ_f which varies for different dopants.