Insights into discrepancy in power generation among glucose and malate grown Rubrivivax benzoatilyticus JA2 microbial fuel cells

In this study, Rubrivivax benzoatilyticus JA2^T (=ATCC BAA-35^T = JCM 13220^T = MTCC 7087^T), an anoxygenic photosynthetic bacterium, was subjected to altered conditions and observed for changes in power outcome in the two chambered microbial fuel cells (MFCs), the basis of which was established using metabolomic studies. This is an extension to our previous studies, which showed that, under photo heterotrophic conditions, glucose in the form of a solitary carbon resource in minimal media, caused the strain JA2 to exhibit altered growth rates, progressive loss of pigmentation and reduced cell size (3–4 μm), compared to malate grown cells (6–7 μm). When R. benzoatilyticus JA2 cells were grown in malate bio-anodes, they presented higher potentials (289.22 ± 4.6 mV or 436.22 OCV per mg dry weight) compared to glucose bioanodes (163 ± 5.5 mv or 188.98 OCV per mg dry weight). Insights from the metabolomic footprints and fingerprints have revealed differential regulation of key components in the central metabolic pathway such as fumarate, citrate and succinate, which are significantly increased in malate grown bio anodes. Strain JA2 cells when grown with malate as substrate are densely grown on the electrodes and exhibited reduced size, when observed under SEM, which contrasts with control cells grown on malate broth. The artificial selection pressure of the MFC and the different metabolic pathways followed by these bacteria are the reasons for such discrepancy in the power production by the strain JA2. These adaptations may indicate survival advantage during the electron transfer and growth in bio anodes. The study throws light on what types of effluents would be more suitable as substrates for R. benzoatilyticus JA2 microbial fuel cells.     

Water Seepage Mapping in an Underground Coal-Mine Barrier Using Self-potential and Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Mine Water and the Environment - Seepage of water through an underground coal-mine barrier is a common indicator of a potential hydrogeological hazard. The Jharia coalfield has witnessed several...     

Rare earth (RE) doped phosphors and their emerging applications: A review

The evolution of luminescent materials has witnessed rapid advancement in research and development. Solid inorganic light-emitting materials or phosphors are the optoelectronic material of the 21st century because of their power-efficient potential over various illumination sources, eco-friendliness and resourceful display perspectives. The inorganic phosphors have been extensively explored to meet the demand of low voltage stimulated lighting sources owing to increased global energy consumption. Due to environmental friendliness, advantages long lifetime, lower energy consumption, reliability and high luminous efficiency, modern white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) have replaced less effective incandescent and mercury-enclosing conventional fluorescent lighting sources. This review highlights the developments in preparation, luminescence and potential perceptions of rare-earth activated phosphors for solid-state lighting technologies. The role of RE ions as an activator as well as a sensitizer in doped materials and possible transitions within their energy levels are reviewed in detail. The paper reviews the substantial influence of host lattices such as aluminate, oxide, phosphate, silicate, sulfide, etc on the optical transitions of doped RE ions. Studies on the advancement into the design of novel phosphors are very crucial as they will provide an opportunity to boom prospects in the course of promising applications. The sustainable energy facilities include clean technologies providing a cheaper lighting source which can produce significant indirect economic benefits via limiting the deforestation and use of scrubbing technology to mitigate air pollution.     

B-GWO based multi-UAV deployment and power allocation in NOMA assisted wireless networks

Wireless Networks - Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) deployed as flying base stations is a promising technology for enhancing the quality of service (QoS) and quick recovery from unexpected damages...     

Characterization and selection of suitable grades of lactose as functional fillers for capsule filling: part 1

The purpose of this work is to characterize thermal, physical and mechanical properties of different grades of lactose and better understand the relationships between these properties and capsule filling performance. Eight grades of commercially available lactose were evaluated: Pharmatose 110?M, 125?M, 150?M, 200?M, 350?M (α-lactose monohydrate), AL (anhydrous lactose containing ～80% β-AL), DCL11 (spray dried α-lactose monohydrate containing ～15% amorphous lactose) and DCL15 (granulated α-lactose monohydrate containing ～12% β-AL). In this study, different lactose grades were characterized by thermal, solid state, physical and mechanical properties and later evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA) to assess the inter-relationships among some of these properties. The lactose grades were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), moisture sorption/desorption isotherms, particle size distribution; the flow was characterized by Carr Index (CI), critical orifice diameter (COD) and angle of friction. Plug mechanical strength was estimated from its diametric crushing strength. The first and second principal components (PC) captured 47.6% and 27.4% of variation in the physical and mechanical property data, respectively. The PCA plot grouped together 110?M, AL, DCL11 and DCL15 on the one side of plot which possessed superior properties for capsule formulation and these grades were selected for future formulation development studies (part II of this work).     

Solid‐state NMR study of spin finish of thermally treated PAN and PAN/CNT precursor fibers

Dry‐jet wet‐spun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PAN/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) precursor fibers coated by spin finishes were characterized using the solid‐state ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance technique. Series of fiber samples were prepared upon thermal treatment at different temperatures (room temperature to 180°C). Using the Hahn echo sequence, relatively mobile components were identified and the effect of the heat treatment on those components was studied. It was observed that the mobile components are mainly the spin finishes. Heat treatment caused loss of one of the spin finishes (Type B) to a great extent (～80%), whereas the other two spin finishes (Type A and Type C) were more stable. Additional information regarding the change in molecular mobility due to heat treatment was obtained by the spin‐lattice relaxation time ( T₁ ) analysis. It was found that the presence of CNT affects the T₁ relaxation time of the polymer in the composite fiber, however, that of relatively mobile components remains unaffected. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40734.     

Preparation and functional evaluation of agarose derivatives

A facile microwave‐assisted one‐pot synthesis of sodium carboxymethylagarose and calcium carboxymethylagarose from Gracilaria dura agarose (Ag) has been described. The process is user friendly, and the highest degree of substitution was obtained within 15 min compared with the conventional method, which requires more than 3 h. Solubility and gelling behavior of the modified Ag products were found to be dependent on degree of substitution of the products. The characterizations were done by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ¹H‐ and ¹³C‐nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, Inductively coupled plasma spectrophotometry (ICP), rheology, conductometer analysis, and DNA gel electrophoresis. These agarose derivatives were easily soluble in water and exhibited low thermal hysteresis, improved conductivity, and improved the DNA resolution ability of the parent G. dura Ag hydrogels. These hydrogels may have potential applications in the areas including electrochemical devices, microbiology, biomedical, and pharmaceuticals fields. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40630.     

Hydroisomerization of n-hexadecane over Brønsted acid site tailored Pt/ZSM-12

Hydroisomerization of n-hexadecane is performed over ZSM-12 framework having tailored Brønsted acidity to investigate the effect in terms of product selectivity and yield. For this purpose, pure phase of ZSM-12 (bulk molar ratio Si/Al ~ 60) has been synthesized using TEABr as a structure directing agent. The framework Brønsted acidity is tailored with group II elements (M) viz. Ca, Ba and Mg, by means of ion-exchange method. The samples so prepared have been characterized for phase purity, textural parameters, morphology by employing powder X-ray diffraction, nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherm measurement at 77 K, and scanning electron microscopy technique, respectively. Similarly, % metal exchange is estimated using inductively coupled plasma technique. The quantification of Brønsted acidity for H⁺–M⁺⁺–ZSM-12 samples has been estimated by means of ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH₃-TPD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of ammonia (NH₃-FTIR). The well characterized H⁺–M⁺⁺–ZSM-12 samples were loaded with Platinum (Pt, 0.5 wt%) and subjected to hydroisomerization of n-hexadecane using an up-flow fixed bed reactor to verify the effect of process parameters like temperature and WHSV. Pt/H⁺–Ba²⁺–ZSM-12 with tailored Brønsted acidity in the range of about 25 % demonstrated the optimum performance among all the catalysts with an increased isomer selectivity and yield (89.2 and 80.3 %, respectively) by about 4 wt% at a conversion level of about 90 % compared to Pt/H⁺–ZSM-12 framework at 568 K. Such enhancement in isomer selectivity and yield is found to be significant from commercial application point of view. Based on the obtained trend, the potential benefits of implementation of Pt/H⁺–Ba²⁺–ZSM-12 (bulk molar ratio Si/Al ~ 60) framework for cold flow property improvement of ‘bio-ATF’ have been envisaged.