Search results for: Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS).

Authors: Petr Teply

Abstract:

The New Basel Capital Accord (Basel II) influences how financial institutions around the world, and especially European Union institutions, determine the amount of capital to reserve. However, as the recent global crisis has shown, the revision of Basel II is needed to reflect current trends, such as increased volatility and correlation, in the world financial markets. The overall objective of Basel II is to increase the safety and soundness of the international financial system. Basel II builds on three main pillars: Pillar I deals with the minimum capital requirements for credit, market and operational risk, Pillar II focuses on the supervisory review process and finally Pillar III promotes market discipline through enhanced disclosure requirements for banks. The aim of this paper is to provide the historical background, key features and impact of Basel II on financial markets. Moreover, we discuss new proposals for international bank regulation (sometimes referred to as Basel III) which include requirements for higher quality, constituency and transparency of banks' capital and risk management, regulation of OTC markets and introduction of new liquidity standards for internationally active banks.

Keywords: Basel II, Basel III, risk management, bank regulation

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Authors: N. Nagabhushana Ramesh, Kalley Harinarayana, T. Raghavender Reddy, B. Balu Naik

Abstract:

Electro Discharge Sawing is a hybrid process combining the features of SEDM and ECM. Its major characteristic is extremely fast erosion rate compare to either of the above processes. This paper brings out its relative feature of SEDM and EDS about their erosion rates, surface roughness, and morphology of machined surfaces.

Keywords: Electro Chemical Machining (ECM), Electro Discharge Sawing (EDS), Sinking Electro Discharge Machining (SEDM).

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Authors: Masaki Yamaguchi, Akira Ito, Noriaki Okamoto, Yoshinori Kawabe, Masamichi Kamihira

Abstract:

Heat-inducible gene expression vectors are useful for hyperthermia-induced cancer gene therapy, because the combination of hyperthermia and gene therapy can considerably improve the therapeutic effects. In the present study, we developed an enhanced heat-inducible transgene expression system in which a heat-shock protein (HSP) promoter and tetracycline-responsive transactivator were combined. When the transactivator plasmid containing the tetracycline-responsive transactivator gene was co-transfected with the reporter gene expression plasmid, a high level of heat-induced gene expression was observed compared with that using the HSP promoter without the transactivator. In vitro evaluation of the therapeutic effect using HeLa cells showed that heat-induced therapeutic gene expression caused cell death in a high percentage of these cells, indicating that this strategy is promising for cancer gene therapy.

Keywords: Inducible gene expression, Gene therapy, Hyperthermia, Heat shock protein, Tetracycline transactivator.

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Authors: S. Varnagiris, M. Urbonavicius, S. Tuckute, M. Lelis, K. Bockute

Abstract:

Amongst many water purification techniques, TiO₂ photocatalysis is recognized as one of the most promising sustainable methods. It is known that for photocatalytical applications anatase is the most suitable TiO₂ phase, however heterojunction of anatase/rutile phases could improve the photocatalytical activity of TiO₂ even further. Despite the relative simplicity of TiO₂ different synthesis methods lead to the highly dispersed crystal phases and photocatalytic activity of the corresponding samples. Accordingly, suggestions and investigations of various innovative methods of TiO₂ synthesis are still needed. In this work structural and photocatalytical properties of TiO₂ films deposited by the unconventional method of simultaneous co-sputtering from two magnetrons powered by pulsed-Direct Current (pDC) and Radio Frequency (RF) power sources with negative bias voltage have been studied. More specifically, TiO₂ film thickness, microstructure, surface roughness, crystal structure, optical transmittance and photocatalytical properties were investigated by profilometer, scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope, X-ray diffractometer and UV-Vis spectrophotometer respectively. The proposed unconventional two magnetron co-sputtering based TiO₂ film formation method showed very promising results for crystalline TiO₂ film formation while keeping process temperatures below 100 °C. XRD analysis revealed that by using proper combination of power source type and bias voltage various TiO₂ phases (amorphous, anatase, rutile or their mixture) can be synthesized selectively. Moreover, strong dependency between power source type and surface roughness, as well as between the bias voltage and band gap value of TiO₂ films was observed. Interestingly, TiO₂ films deposited by two magnetron co-sputtering without bias voltage had one of the highest band gap values between the investigated films but its photocatalytic activity was superior compared to all other samples. It is suggested that this is due to the dominating nanocrystalline anatase phase with various exposed surfaces including photocatalytically the most active {001}.

Keywords: Films, magnetron co-sputtering, photocatalysis, TiO2.

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Authors: Augustine Chioma Affam, Shamsul Rahman M. Kutty, Malay Chaudhuri

Abstract:

The feasibility of employing solar radiation for enhanced Fenton process in degradation of combined chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and chlorothalonil pesticides was examined. The effect of various operating conditions of the process on biodegradability improvement and mineralization of the pesticides were also evaluated. The optimum operating conditions for treatment of aqueous solution containing 100, 50 and 250 mg L-1 chlorpyrifos cypermethrin and chlorothalonil, respectively were observed to be H2O2/COD molar ratio 2, H2O2/Fe2+ molar ratio 25 and pH 3. Under the optimum operating conditions, complete degradation of the pesticides occurred in 1 min. Biodegradability (BOD5/COD) increased from zero to 0.36 in 60 min, and COD and TOC removal were 74.19 and 58.32%, respectively in 60 min. Due to mineralization of organic carbon, decrease in ammonia-nitrogen from 22 to 4.3 mg L-1 and increase in nitrate from 0.7 to 18.1 mg L-1 in 60 min were recorded. The study indicated that solar photo-Fenton process can be used for pretreatment of chlorpyrifos, cypermethrin and chlorothalonil pesticides in aqueous solution for further biological treatment.

Keywords: Chlorpyrifos, Cypermethrin, Chlorothalonil, Solar photo-Fenton

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Authors: Young Sik Kim, Tae Kwon Ha

Abstract:

Effect of Zn addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn alloys with Zn contents from 6 to 10 weight percent was investigated in this study. Through calculation of phase equilibria of Mg-Zn alloys, carried out by using FactSage® and FTLite database, solution treatment temperature was decided as temperatures from 300 to 400oC, where supersaturated solid solution can be obtained. Solid solution treatment of Mg-Zn alloys was successfully conducted at 380oC and supersaturated microstructure with all beta phase resolved into matrix was obtained. After solution treatment, hot rolling was successfully conducted by reduction of 60%. Compression and tension tests were carried out at room temperature on the samples as-cast, solution treated, hot-rolled and recrystallized after rolling. After solid solution treatment, each alloy was annealed at temperatures of 180 and 200oC for time intervals from 1 min to 48 hrs and hardness of each condition was measured by micro-Vickers method. Peak aging conditions were deduced as at the temperature of 200oC for 10 hrs. By addition of Zn by 10 weight percent, hardness and strength were enhanced.

Keywords: Mg-Zn alloy, Heat treatment, Microstructure, Mechanical properties, Hardness.

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Authors: N. P. Singh, Brahmjit Singh

Abstract:

CDMA cellular networks support soft handover, which guarantees the continuity of wireless services and enhanced communication quality. Cellular networks support multimedia services under varied propagation environmental conditions. In this paper, we have shown the effect of characteristic parameters of the cellular environments on the soft handover performance. We consider path loss exponent, standard deviation of shadow fading and correlation coefficient of shadow fading as the characteristic parameters of the radio propagation environment. A very useful statistical measure for characterizing the performance of mobile radio system is the probability of outage. It is shown through numerical results that above parameters have decisive effect on the probability of outage and hence the overall performance of the soft handover algorithm.

Keywords: CDMA, Correlation coefficient, Path loss exponent, Probability of outage, Soft handover.

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Authors: M. A. Talha, M. Osman Gani, M. Ferdows

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the study of two dimensional magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) steady incompressible viscous Williamson nanofluid with exponential internal heat generation containing gyrotactic microorganism over a stretching sheet. The governing equations and auxiliary conditions are reduced to a set of non-linear coupled differential equations with the appropriate boundary conditions using similarity transformation. The transformed equations are solved numerically through spectral relaxation method. The influences of various parameters such as Williamson parameter γ, power constant λ, Prandtl number P_r, magnetic field parameter M, Peclet number P_e, Lewis number Le, Bioconvection Lewis number Lb, Brownian motion parameter Nb, thermophoresis parameter Nt, and bioconvection constant σ are studied to obtain the momentum, heat, mass and microorganism distributions. Moment, heat, mass and gyrotactic microorganism profiles are explored through graphs and tables. We computed the heat transfer rate, mass flux rate and the density number of the motile microorganism near the surface. Our numerical results are in better agreement in comparison with existing calculations. The Residual error of our obtained solutions is determined in order to see the convergence rate against iteration. Faster convergence is achieved when internal heat generation is absent. The effect of magnetic parameter M decreases the momentum boundary layer thickness but increases the thermal boundary layer thickness. It is apparent that bioconvection Lewis number and bioconvection parameter has a pronounced effect on microorganism boundary. Increasing brownian motion parameter and Lewis number decreases the thermal boundary layer. Furthermore, magnetic field parameter and thermophoresis parameter has an induced effect on concentration profiles.

Keywords: Convection flow, internal heat generation, similarity, spectral method, numerical analysis, Williamson nanofluid.

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Authors: M. Chumburidze, D. Lekveishvili

Abstract:

We have considered the harmonic oscillations and general dynamic (pseudo oscillations) systems of theory generalized Green-Lindsay of couple-stress thermo-elasticity for isotropic, homogeneous elastic media. Approximate solution of some mixed boundary value problems for finite domain, bounded by the some closed surface are constructed.

Keywords: The couple-stress thermo-elasticity, boundary value problems.

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Authors: Ahmed H. El-Masry, Mohamed A. Dabaon, Tarek F. El-Shafiey, Abd El-Hakim A. Khalil

Abstract:

An experimental study was performed to investigate the behavior and strength of proposed technique to connect reinforced concrete (RC) beam to steel or composite columns. This approach can practically be used in several types of building construction. In this technique, the main beam of the frame consists of a transfer part (part of beam; Tr.P) and a common reinforcement concrete beam. The transfer part of the beam is connected to the column, whereas the rest of the beam is connected to the transfer part from each side. Four full-scale beam-column connections were tested under static loading. The test parameters were the length of the transfer part and the column properties. The test results show that using of the transfer part technique leads to modify the deformation capabilities for the RC beam and hence it increases its resistance against failure. Increase in length of the transfer part did not necessarily indicate an enhanced behavior. The test results contribute to the characterization of the connection behavior between RC beam - steel column and can be used to calibrate numerical models for the simulation of this type of connection.

Keywords: Composite column, reinforced concrete beam, Steel Column, Transfer Part.

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Authors: Taqi Zahid Butt, Tanveer Ahmad Tabish

Abstract:

Martensitic stainless steels have been extensively used for their good corrosion resistance and better mechanical properties. Heat treatment was suggested as one of the most excellent ways to this regard; hence, it affects the microstructure, mechanical and corrosion properties of the steel. In the current research work the microstructural changes and corrosion behavior in an AISI 420A stainless steel exposed to temperatures in the 980-1035oC range were investigated. The heat treatment is carried out in vacuum furnace within the said temperature range. The quenching of the samples was carried out in oil, brine and water media. The formation and stability of passive film was studied by Open Circuit Potential, Potentiodynamic polarization and Electrochemical Scratch Tests. The Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy results simulated with Equivalent Electrical Circuit suggested bilayer structure of outer porous and inner barrier oxide films. The quantitative data showed thick inner barrier oxide film retarded electrochemical reactions. Micrographs of the quenched samples showed sigma and chromium carbide phases which prove the corrosion resistance of steel alloy.

Keywords: Martensitic stainless steel corrosion, microstructure, vacuum furnace.

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Authors: R. Ziaie Moayed, A. Mahigir

Abstract:

Stone column technique has been successfully employed to improve the load-settlement characteristics of foundations. A series of finite element numerical analyses of harmonic dynamic loading have been conducted on strengthened raft footing to study the effects of single and group stone columns on settlement of circular footings. The settlement of circular raft footing that improved by single and group of stone columns are studied under harmonic dynamic loading. This loading is caused by heavy machinery foundations. A detailed numerical investigation on behavior of single column and group of stone columns is carried out by varying parameters like weight of machinery, loading frequency and period. The result implies that presence of single and group of stone columns enhanced dynamic behavior of the footing so that the maximum and residual settlement of footing significantly decreased. 

Keywords: Finite element analysis, harmonic loading, settlement, stone column.

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Authors: Mazidah Tajjudin, Mohd Hezri Fazalul Rahiman, Norhashim Mohd Arshad, Ramli Adnan

Abstract:

In process control applications, above 90% of the controllers are of PID type. This paper proposed a robust PI controller with fractional-order integrator. The PI parameters were obtained using classical Ziegler-Nichols rules but enhanced with the application of error filter cascaded to the fractional-order PI. The controller was applied on steam temperature process that was described by FOPDT transfer function. The process can be classified as lag dominating process with very small relative dead-time. The proposed control scheme was compared with other PI controller tuned using Ziegler-Nichols and AMIGO rules. Other PI controller with fractional-order integrator known as F-MIGO was also considered. All the controllers were subjected to set point change and load disturbance tests. The performance was measured using Integral of Squared Error (ISE) and Integral of Control Signal (ICO). The proposed controller produced best performance for all the tests with the least ISE index.

Keywords: PID controller, fractional-order PID controller, PI control tuning, steam temperature control, Ziegler-Nichols tuning.

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Authors: E. Danso-Boateng

Abstract:

The effects of enzyme action and heat pretreatment on oil extraction yield from sunflower kernels were analysed using hexane extraction with Soxhlet, and aqueous extraction with incubator shaker. Ground kernels of raw and heat treated kernels, each with and without Viscozyme treatment were used. Microscopic images of the kernels were taken to analyse the visible effects of each treatment on the cotyledon cell structure of the kernels. Heat pretreated kernels before both extraction processes produced enhanced oil extraction yields than the control, with steam explosion the most efficient. In hexane extraction, applying a combination of steam explosion and Viscozyme treatments to the kernels before the extraction gave the maximum oil extractable in 1 hour; while for aqueous extraction, raw kernels treated with Viscozyme gave the highest oil extraction yield. Remarkable cotyledon cell disruption was evident in kernels treated with Viscozyme; whereas steam explosion and conventional heat treated kernels had similar effects.

Keywords: Enzyme-assisted aqueous and hexane extraction, heatpretreatment, sunflower cotyledon structure, sunflower oil extraction

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Authors: S. Potivichayanon, T. Sungmon, W. Chaikongmao, S. Kamvanin

Abstract:

Production of biogas from bakery waste was enhanced by additional bacterial cell. This study was divided into 2 steps. First step, grease waste from bakery industry-s grease trap was initially degraded by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The concentration of byproduct, especially glycerol, was determined and found that glycerol concentration increased from 12.83% to 48.10%. Secondary step, 3 biodigesters were set up in 3 different substrates: non-degraded waste as substrate in first biodigester, degraded waste as substrate in secondary biodigester, and degraded waste mixed with swine manure in ratio 1:1 as substrate in third biodigester. The highest concentration of biogas was found in third biodigester that was 44.33% of methane and 63.71% of carbon dioxide. The lower concentration at 24.90% of methane and 18.98% of carbon dioxide was exhibited in secondary biodigester whereas the lowest was found in non-degraded waste biodigester. It was demonstrated that the biogas production was greatly increased with the initial grease waste degradation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Keywords: Biogas production, carbon dioxide, methane, Pseudomonas aeruginosa

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Authors: Nobue T. Ellis

Abstract:

This preliminary study attempts to see if a learning environment influences instructor’s teaching strategies and learners’ in-class activities in a foreign language class at a university in Japan. The class under study was conducted in a computer room, while the majority of classes of the same course were offered in traditional classrooms without computers. The study also sees if the unplanned blended learning environment, enhanced, or worked against, in achieving course goals, by paying close attention to in-class artefacts, such as computers. In the macro-level analysis, the course syllabus and weekly itinerary of the course were looked at; and in the microlevel analysis, nonhuman actors in their environments were named and analyzed to see how they influenced the learners’ task processes. The result indicated that students were heavily influenced by the presence of computers, which lead them to disregard some aspects of intended learning objectives.

Keywords: Computer-assisted language learning, actor-network theory, English as a foreign language, task-based teaching.

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Authors: M. A. Tayfun, M. A. Alkhalidi

Abstract:

The exact theoretical expression describing the probability distribution of nonlinear sea-surface elevations derived from the second-order narrowband model has a cumbersome form that requires numerical computations, not well-disposed to theoretical or practical applications. Here, the same narrowband model is reexamined to develop a simpler closed-form approximation suitable for theoretical and practical applications. The salient features of the approximate form are explored, and its relative validity is verified with comparisons to other readily available approximations, and oceanic data.

Keywords: Ocean waves, probability distributions, second-order nonlinearities, skewness coefficient, wave steepness.

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Authors: T. Arudchelvam, W. W. E. N. Fernando

Abstract:

Mobile phone has become as an essential thing in our life. Therefore, security is the most important thing to be considered in mobile communication. Short message service is the cheapest way of communication via the mobile phones. Therefore, security is very important in the short message service as well. This paper presents a method to maintain the security at user level. Different types of encryption methods are used to implement the user level security in mobile phones. Caesar cipher, Rail Fence, Vigenere cipher and RSA are used as encryption methods in this work. Caesar cipher and the Rail Fence methods are enhanced and implemented. The beauty in this work is that the user can select the encryption method and the key. Therefore, by changing the encryption method and the key time to time, the user can ensure the security of messages. By this work, while users can safely send/receive messages, they can save their information from unauthorised and unwanted people in their own mobile phone as well.

Keywords: SMS, user level security, encryption, mobile communication.

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Authors: Simon E. Uguru, Victor E. Idigo, Obinna S. Oguejiofor, Naveed Nawaz

Abstract:

As the deployment of the Fifth Generation (5G) mobile communication networks take shape all over the world, achieving spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, and dealing with interference are among the greatest challenges encountered so far. The aim of this study is to mitigate inter-cell interference (ICI) in a multi-cell multi-antenna system while maximizing the spectral efficiency of the system. In this study, a system model was devised that showed a miniature representation of a multi-cell multi-antenna system. Based on this system model, a convex optimization problem was formulated to maximize the spectral efficiency of the system while mitigating the ICI. This optimization problem was solved using CVX, which is a modeling system for constructing and solving discipline convex programs. The solutions to the optimization problem are sub-optimal coordinated beamformers. These coordinated beamformers direct each data to the served user equipments (UEs) in each cell without interference during downlink transmission, thereby maximizing the system-wide spectral efficiency.

Keywords: coordinated beamforming, convex optimization, inter-cell interference, multi-antenna, multi-cell, spectral efficiency

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Authors: N. Namviriyachote, N. Bang, P. Aramwit

Abstract:

Silk sericin (SS) is a glue-like protein from silkworm cocoon. With its outstanding moisturization and activation collagen synthesis properties, silk protein is applied for wound healing. Since wound dressing in film preparation can facilitate patients- convenience and reduce risk of wound contraction, SS and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) films were prepared with various concentrations of SS. Their physical properties such as surface density, light transmission, protein dissolution and tensile modulus were investigated. The results presented that 3% SS with 2% PVA is the best ingredient for SS film forming.

Keywords: Sericin, silk protein, film, wound healing.

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Authors: Rose Mbugua, Ramadhan Wanjala, Julius Ndambuki

Abstract:

Natural admixtures provide concrete with enhanced properties but their processing end up making them very expensive resulting in increase to cost of concrete. In this study the effect of Gum from Acacia Karroo (GAK) as set-retarding admixture in cement pastes was studied. The possibility of using GAK as water reducing admixture both in cement mortar concrete was also investigated. Cement pastes with different dosages of GAK were prepared to measure the setting time using different dosages. Compressive strength of cement mortars with 0.7, 0.8 and 0.9% weight of cement and w/c ratio of 0.5 were compared to those with water cement (w/c) ratio of 0.44 but same dosage of GAK. Concrete samples were prepared using higher dosages of GAK (1, 2 and 3% wt of cement) and a water bidder (w/b) of 0.61 were compared to those with the same GAK dosage but with reduced w/b ratio. There was increase in compressive strength of 9.3% at 28 days for cement mortar samples with 0.9% dosage of GAK and reduced w/c ratio.

Keywords: Compressive strength, Gum Acacia Karroo, retarding admixture, setting time, water-reducing admixture.

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Authors: Ravinesh C. Deo

Abstract:

This article investigates through experiments the flow characteristics of plane jets from sharp-edged orifice-plate, beveled-edge and radially contoured nozzle. The first two configurations exhibit saddle-backed velocity profiles while the third shows a top-hat. A vena contracta is found for the jet emanating from orifice at x/h » 3 while the contoured case displays a potential core extending to the range x/h = 5. A spurt in jet pressure on the centerline supports vena contracta for the orifice-jet. Momentum thicknesses and integral length scales elongate linearly with x although the growth of the shear-layer and large-scale eddies for the orifice are greater than the contoured case. The near-field spectrum exhibits higher frequency of the primary eddies that concur with enhanced turbulence intensity. Importantly, highly “turbulent” state of the orifice-jet prevails in the far-field where the spectra confirm more energetic secondary eddies associated with greater flapping amplitude of the orifice-jet.

Keywords: Orifice, beveled-edge-orifice, radially contoured nozzle, plane jets.

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Authors: J. Silva, P. Arezes, R. Schierl, N. Costa

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In order to study environmental contamination by cytostatic drugs in Portugal hospitals, sampling campaigns were conducted in three hospitals in 2015 (112 samples). Platinum containing drugs and fluorouracil were chosen because both were administered in high amounts. The detection limit was 0.01 pg/cm² for platinum and 0.1 pg/cm² for fluorouracil. The results show that spills occur mainly on the patient`s chair, while the most referenced occurrence is due to an inadequately closed wrapper. Day hospitals facilities were detected as having the largest number of contaminated samples and with higher levels of contamination.

Keywords: Antineoplastic, drugs, exposure, surface.

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Authors: Dehong Li, Yuchen Chen, Alireza Kaboorani, Denis Rodrigue, Xiaodong (Alice) Wang

Abstract:

Utilizing solar energy for thermal energy storage has emerged as an appealing option for lowering the amount of energy that is consumed by buildings. Due to their high heat storage density, non-corrosive and non-polluting properties, alcohols can be a good alternative to petroleum-derived paraffin phase change materials (PCMs). In this paper, ternary eutectic PCMs with suitable phase change temperatures were designed and prepared using lauryl alcohol (LA), cetyl alcohol (CA), stearyl alcohol (SA) and xylitol (X). The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) results revealed that the phase change temperatures of LA-CA-SA, LA-CA-X, and LA-SA-X were 20.52 °C, 20.37 °C, and 22.18 °C, respectively. The latent heat of phase change of the ternary eutectic PCMs were all stronger than that of the paraffinic PCMs at roughly the same temperature. The highest latent heat was 195 J/g. It had good thermal energy storage capacity. The preparation mechanism was investigated using Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and it was found that the ternary eutectic PCMs were only physically mixed among the components. Ternary eutectic PCMs had a simple preparation process, suitable phase change temperature, and high energy storage density. They are suitable for low-temperature architectural packaging applications.

Keywords: Thermal energy storage, buildings, phase change materials, alcohols.

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Authors: Ploysai Ohama, Nattida Tumpat

Abstract:

Natural dye extracted from Caesalpinia sappan Linn. was applied to a cotton fabric and silk yarn by dyeing process. The dyestuff component of Caesalpinia sappan Linn. was extracted using water and ethanol. Analytical studies such as UV–VIS spectrophotometry and gravimetric analysis were performed on the extracts. Brazilein, the major dyestuff component of Caesalpinia sappan Linn. was confirmed in both aqueous and ethanolic extracts by UV–VIS spectrum. The color of each dyed material was investigated in terms of the CIELAB (L*, a* and b*) and K/S values. Cotton fabric dyed without mordant had a shade of reddish-brown, while those post-mordanted with aluminum potassium sulfate, ferrous sulfate and copper sulfate produced a variety of wine red to dark purple color shades. Cotton fabric and silk yarn dyeing was studied using aluminum potassium sulfate as a mordant. The observed color strength was enhanced with increase in mordant concentration.

Keywords: Natural dyes, Plant materials, Dyeing, Mordant.

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Authors: D. Jasikova, M. Kotek, V. Kopecky

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The aim of this article is the measurement of the basic characteristic of superhydrophobic surfaces using high speed shadowgraphy. Here we describe the novel patented system for the industrial production of superhydrophobic surfaces. These surfaces were investigated with two optically based measurement methods: impinging drop and inclined wall. The results of the visualization and analysis help to state the suitable sample with superhydrophobic properties for mathematic simulation.

Keywords: Antipearl effect, contact angle, hydrophobic, impinging drop, inclined wall, measurement, plasma, shadowgraphy, superhydrophobic surface.

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Authors: Francisco Lobo

Abstract:

Kant’s household theory of human dignity as a common feature of all rational beings is the starting point of any intellectual endeavor to unravel the implications of this normative notion. Yet, it is incomplete, as it neglects considering the importance of the singularity or uniqueness of the individual. In a first, deconstructive stage, this paper describes the Kantian account of human dignity as one among many conceptions of human dignity. It reads carefully into the original wording used by Kant in German and its English translations, as well as the works of modern commentators, to identify its shortcomings. In a second, constructive stage, it then draws on the theories of Aristotle, Alexis de Tocqueville, John Stuart Mill, and Hannah Arendt to try and enhance the Kantian conception, in the sense that these authors give major importance to the singularity of the individual. The Kantian theory can be perfected by including elements from the works of these authors, while at the same time being mindful of the dangers entailed in focusing too much on singularity. The conclusion of this paper is that the Kantian conception of human dignity can be enhanced if it acknowledges that not only morality has dignity, but also the irreplaceable human individual to the extent that she is a narrative, original creature with the potential to act morally.

Keywords: Commonality, dignity, Kant, singularity.

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Authors: N. H. Abd Raof, H. Abu Hassan, S.K. Mohd Bakhori, S. S. Ng, Z. Hassan

Abstract:

Quaternary InxAlyGa1-x-yN semiconductors have attracted much research interest because the use of this quaternary offer the great flexibility in tailoring their band gap profile while maintaining their lattice-matching and structural integrity. The structural and optical properties of InxAlyGa1-x-yN alloys grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) is presented. The structural quality of InxAlyGa1-x-yN layers was characterized using high-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD). The results confirm that the InxAlyGa1-x-yN films had wurtzite structure and without phase separation. As the In composition increases, the Bragg angle of the (0002) InxAlyGa1-x-yN peak gradually decreases, indicating the increase in the lattice constant c of the alloys. FWHM of (0002) InxAlyGa1-x-yN decreases with increasing In composition from 0 to 0.04, that could indicate the decrease of quality of the samples due to point defects leading to non-uniformity of the epilayers. UV-VIS spectroscopy have been used to study the energy band gap of InxAlyGa1-x-yN. As the indium (In) compositions increases, the energy band gap decreases. However, for InxAlyGa1-x-yN with In composition of 0.1, the band gap shows a sudden increase in energy. This is probably due to local alloy compositional fluctuations in the epilayer. The bowing parameter which appears also to be very sensitive on In content is investigated and obtained b = 50.08 for quaternary InxAlyGa1-x-yN alloys. From photoluminescence (PL) measurement, green luminescence (GL) appears at PL spectrum of InxAlyGa1-x-yN, emitted for all x at ~530 nm and it become more pronounced as the In composition (x) increased, which is believed cause by gallium vacancies and related to isolated native defects.

Keywords: HRXRD, nitrides, PL, quaternary, UV-VIS.

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Authors: Roopam Gaur, K. Chandramani Singh, Radhapiyari Laishram

Abstract:

In order to produce lead free piezoceramics with optimum piezoelectric and dielectric properties, KNN modified with Li+ (as an A site dopant) and Sb5+ (as a B site dopant) (K0.49Na0.49Li0.02) (Nb0.96Sb0.04) O3 (referred as KNLNS in this paper) have been synthesized using solid state reaction method and conventional sintering technique. The ceramics were sintered in the narrow range of 1050°C-1090°C for 2-3 h to get precise information about sintering parameters. Detailed study of dependence of microstructural, dielectric and piezoelectric properties on sintering conditions was then carried out. The study suggests that the volatility of the highly hygroscopic KNN ceramics is not only sensitive to sintering temperatures but also to sintering durations. By merely reducing the sintering duration for a given sintering temperature we saw an increase in the density of the samples which was supported by the increase in dielectric constants of the ceramics. And since density directly or indirectly affects almost all the associated properties, other dielectric and piezoelectric properties were also enhanced as we approached towards the most suitable sintering temperature and duration combination. The detailed results are reported in this paper.

Keywords: Piezoceramics, Conventional Sintering, KNN, Lead Free.

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Authors: F. Kashanian, M. M. Masoudi, A. Akbari, A. Shamloo, M. R. Zand, S. S. Salehi

Abstract:

Nano-sized materials present new opportunities in biology and medicine and they are used as biomedical tools for investigation, separation of molecules and cells. To achieve more effective cancer therapy, it is essential to select cancer cells exactly. This research suggests that using the antibody-functionalized nontoxic Arginine-doped magnetic nanoparticles (A-MNPs), has been prosperous in detection, capture, and magnetic separation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in tumor tissue. In this study, A-MNPs were synthesized via a simple precipitation reaction and directly immobilized Ep-CAM EBA-1 antibodies over superparamagnetic A-MNPs for Mucin BCA-225 in breast cancer cell. The samples were characterized by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), FT-IR spectroscopy, Tunneling Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). These antibody-functionalized nontoxic A-MNPs were used to capture breast cancer cell. Through employing a strong permanent magnet, the magnetic separation was achieved within a few seconds. Antibody-Conjugated nontoxic Arginine-doped Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles have the potential for the future study to capture CTCs which are released from tumor tissue and for drug delivery, and these results demonstrate that the antibody-conjugated A-MNPs can be used in magnetic hyperthermia techniques for cancer treatment.

Keywords: Tumor tissue, antibody, magnetic nanoparticle, CTCs capturing.

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