Surface and Interface Analyses of UHV Evaporated Nb/AlOx/Nb Tri-layers

We have prepared Nb thin films with e-beam evaporation under UHV conditions. Al thin films were deposited by resistive heating in the UHV chamber. The preparation of these films and the tri-layers of Nb/AlOx/Nb were intended for their use in Josephson junctions. The surface studies of these films were undertaken by using scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope in the non-contact mode, whilst the interface analysis was carried out by depth profiling using scanning Auger microprobe. These studies have revealed that Nb films grown on AlOx are smoother than the ones grown on Si. Further, it is seen that Al diffuses into Nb on both sides and that the interface is very broad. This intermixing of various materials results in the failure of the tri-layers when subjected to application in SQUIDs.     

Automatic melanoma detection and segmentation in dermoscopy images using deep RetinaNet and conditional random fields

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Melanoma is one of the major causes of death around the world and is also known as malignant skin cancer. Melanoma detection is possible at an early stage by...     

Characteristics of natural rubber hybrid composites based on marble sludge/carbon black and marble sludge/rice husk derived silica

This paper discusses an extensive overview of characterization of marble sludge (MS) with carbon black (CB) and rice husk derived silica (RHS) in hybrid natural rubber (NR) composite. Cure characteristics, mechanical and swelling properties of MS/CB and MS/RHS hybrid NR composite were investigated. As CB and RHS content increases in weight ratio of MS/CB and MS/RHS a decrease in scorch and cure time and increase in the torque, tensile, tear, modulus, hardness, crosslink density were observed, while elongation at break and swelling coefficient decreased. The aging behavior of corresponding hybrid composite materials was also evaluated at two different temperatures.     

Salt-induced modulation in inorganic nutrients, antioxidant enzymes, proline content and seed oil composition in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.)

BACKGROUND: Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) has gained considerable ground as a potential oil‐seed crop. However, its yield and oil production are adversely affected under saline conditions. The present study was conducted to appraise the influence of salt (NaCl) stress on yield, accumulation of different inorganic elements, free proline and activities of some key antioxidant enzymes in plant tissues as well as seed oil components in safflower. Two safflower accessions differing in salt tolerance (Safflower‐33 (salt sensitive) and Safflower‐39 (salt tolerant)) were grown under saline (150 mmol L^?1) conditions and salt‐induced changes in the earlier‐mentioned physiological attributes were determined. RESULTS: Salt stress enhanced leaf and root Na⁺, Cl^? and proline accumulation and activities of leaf superoxide dismutase, catalase and peroxidase, while it decreased K⁺, Ca²⁺ and K⁺/Ca²⁺ and Ca²⁺/Na⁺ ratios and seed yield, 100‐seed weight, number of seeds, as well as capitula, seed oil contents and oil palmitic acid. No significant effect of salt stress was observed on seed oil α‐tocopherols, stearic acid, oleic acid or linoleic acid contents. Of the two safflower lines, salt‐sensitive Safflower‐33 was higher in leaf and root Na⁺ and Cl^?, while Safflower‐39 was higher in leaf and root K⁺, K⁺/Ca²⁺ and Ca²⁺/Na⁺ and seed yield, 100‐seed weight, catalase activity, seed oil contents, seed oil α‐tocopherol and palmitic acid. Other attributes remained almost unaffected in both accessions. CONCLUSION: Overall, high salt tolerance of Safflower‐39 could be attributed to Na⁺ and Cl^? exclusion, high accumulation of K⁺ and free proline, enhanced CAT activity, seed oil α‐tocopherols and palmitic acid contents. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

An investigation on the influence of filler loading and compatibilizer on the properties of polypropylene/marble sludge composites

In this article, polypropylene reinforced marble sludge (PP/MS) was prepared, and the effects of MS loading and polypropylene-g-maliec anhydride (PP-g-MAH) as compatibilizer on density, melt flow index (MFI), and mechanical properties of PP/MS composite were investigated. Our studies show that tensile strength, flexural strength and tensile modulus increased with increasing the MS loading but tensile strength increased till 30 pph of MS further addition of MS in PP composites decreased the strength. The % elongation at break and Izod Impact Strength decreased with increasing of MS loading. Studies revealed that PP/MS composites containing PP-g-MAH enhance the properties compared to without compatibilizer.