Effect of 100 KeV Ar+ ion beam irradiation on ZnO thin films – Influence of morphology vis-a-vis electrode/electrolyte interface and its impact on photoelectrochemical water splitting

The present study attempts quantitative determination of changes in the morphological surface features viz. fractal dimension, lower and upper cut off length scale through Power Spectral Density analysis prior to and after irradiation of 100 KeV Ar⁺ ion beam at incidence angles of 0°, 40° and 60° on ZnO thin films. All the unirradiated and irradiated samples are subjected to photoelectrochemical characterization and a correlation between photoelectrochemical performance and morphological parameters is established. Sample irradiated at 40° angle at the fluence of 5 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm² is found to possess maximum fractal dimension of 2.72, lower and upper cut off length scale of 3.16 nm and 63.00 nm respectively. This sample exhibits maximum photocurrent density of 3.19 mA/cm² and applied bias photon-to-current efficiency of 1.12% at 1.23 V/RHE. Hydrogen gas collected for duration of 1 h for the same sample was ~4.83 mLcm^?2.     

A Novel High Nitrogen Steel Powder Designed for Minimized Cr2N Precipitations

High nitrogen steels provide excellent mechanical properties and corrosion resistance but are prone to form precipitates which adversely affect the corrosion resistance and toughness. High nitrogen steel powders currently available in the market are not claimed to be precipitate free. It is critical to avoid these precipitates while retaining nitrogen in the dissolved form to realize the value of these powder alloys. However, retaining high level of dissolved nitrogen in steel powder during melt atomization process is very challenging. Instead, solid-state dissolution of nitrogen into the powder alloy followed by rapid cooling may provide a convenient approach to avoid precipitate formation compared to traditional melt processing. This study presents a solution treatment approach to achieve elevated dissolved nitrogen levels (~ 0.4 wt pct) in Fe–Mn–Cr powder alloy with negligible precipitation of nitrides. The influence of starting material, holding time, temperature and cooling rate on the resulting microstructure is presented. A fully austenite matrix with high dissolved nitrogen content resulted in powders with desired mechanical properties.

     

Biodegradable polymers: An update

The use of polymeric materials for the administration of pharmaceuticals, and as biomedical devices has increased dramatically. This review focuses on synthetic biodegradable polymers of current interest for medical use, based on ester and anhydride bonds. Special attention is given to factors affecting biodegradation, including: polymer structure, morphology, molecular weight, radiation, and chemical treatment, as well as the effects of drugs and plasticizers added to the polymer mass. The toxicity and biocompatibility of the polymers and their current and future applications in medicine are also briefly reviewed.     

Alkaline peroxide generation using a novel perforated bipole trickle-bed electrochemical reactor

A novel perforated bipole trickle-bed electrochemical reactor is investigated for the electro-synthesis of alkaline peroxide. The process uses a relatively simple cell configuration in which a single electrolyte flows with oxygen gas in a flow-by graphite felt cathode, sandwiched between a micro-porous diaphragm and a perforated bipolar electrode plate. The graphite felt cathodes are 120 mm high by 25 mm wide and have a thickness of 3.2 mm. The reactor is operated at current densities in the range 1–5 kA m⁻², ca. 800 kPa (abs) pressure and temperature (In/Out) 20–45 °C with one and two-cells. The reactor shows good performance (current efficiency ∼78% at 2 kA m⁻² and a specific energy of 5 kWh per kg of peroxide generated) with peroxide concentrations from 0.02 to 0.15 M in 1 M NaOH.     

Random arithmetic formulas can be reconstructed efficiently

Informally stated, we present here a randomized algorithm that given black-box access to the polynomial f computed by an unknown/hidden arithmetic formula ? reconstructs, on the average, an equivalent or smaller formula \({\hat{\phi}}\) in time polynomial in the size of its output \({\hat{\phi}}\) . Specifically, we consider arithmetic formulas wherein the underlying tree is a complete binary tree, the leaf nodes are labeled by affine forms (i.e., degree one polynomials) over the input variables and where the internal nodes consist of alternating layers of addition and multiplication gates. We call these alternating normal form (ANF) formulas. If a polynomial f can be computed by an arithmetic formula μ of size s, it can also be computed by an ANF formula ?, possibly of slightly larger size s ^O(1). Our algorithm gets as input black-box access to the output polynomial f (i.e., for any point x in the domain, it can query the black box and obtain f(x) in one step) of a random ANF formula ? of size s (wherein the coefficients of the affine forms in the leaf nodes of ? are chosen independently and uniformly at random from a large enough subset of the underlying field). With high probability (over the choice of coefficients in the leaf nodes), the algorithm efficiently (i.e., in time s ^O(1)) computes an ANF formula \({\hat{\phi}}\) of size s computing f. This then is the strongest model of arithmetic computation for which a reconstruction algorithm is presently known, albeit efficient in a distributional sense rather than in the worst case.     

Local calibration of rigid pavement performance models using resampling methods

The performance prediction models in the Pavement-ME design software are nationally calibrated using in-service pavement material properties, pavement structure, climate and truck loadings, and performance data obtained from the Long-Term Pavement Performance programme. The nationally calibrated models may not perform well if the inputs and performance data used to calibrate those do not represent the local design and construction practices. Therefore, before implementing the new M-E design procedure, each state highway agency (SHA) should evaluate how well the nationally calibrated performance models predict the measured field performance. The local calibrations of the Pavement-ME performance models are recommended to improve the performance prediction capabilities to reflect the unique conditions and design practices. During the local calibration process, the traditional calibration techniques (split sampling) may not necessarily provide adequate results when limited number of pavement sections are available. Consequently, there is a need to employ statistical and resampling methodologies that are more efficient and robust for model calibrations given the data related challenges encountered by SHAs. The main objectives of the paper are to demonstrate the local calibration of rigid pavement performance models and compare the calibration results based on different resampling techniques. The bootstrap is a non-parametric and robust resampling technique for estimating standard errors and confidence intervals of a statistic. The main advantage of bootstrapping is that model parameters estimation is possible without making distribution assumptions. This paper presents the use of bootstrapping and jackknifing to locally calibrate the transverse cracking and IRI performance models for newly constructed and rehabilitated rigid pavements. The results of the calibration show that the standard error of estimate and bias are lower compared to the traditional sampling methods. In addition, the validation statistics are similar to that of the locally calibrated model, especially for the IRI model, which indicates robustness of the local model coefficients.     

Development and gamma-scintigraphy study of Hibiscus rosasinensis polysaccharide-based microspheres for nasal drug delivery

Objective: This work describes the application of natural plant polysaccharide as pharmaceutical mucoadhesive excipients in delivery systems to reduce the clearance rate through nasal cavity.

Methods: Novel natural polysaccharide (Hibiscus rosasinensis)-based mucoadhesive microspheres were prepared by using emulsion crosslinking method for the delivery of rizatriptan benzoate (RB) through nasal route. Mucoadhesive microspheres were characterized for different parameters and nasal clearance of technetium-99m (^99mTc)-radiolabeled microspheres was determined by using gamma-scintigraphy.

Results: Their Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies showed that the drug was stable during preparation of microspheres. Aerodynamic diameter of microspheres was in the range 13.23?±?1.83–33.57?±?3.69?µm. Change in drug and polysaccharide ratio influenced the mucoadhesion, encapsulation efficiency and in-vitro release property. Scintigraphs taken at regular interval indicate that control solution was cleared rapidly from nasal cavity, whereas microspheres showed slower clearance (p?Conclusion: Natural polysaccharide-based microspheres achieved extended residence by minimizing effect of mucociliary clearance with opportunity of sustained delivery for longer duration.