Natural rubber (Hevea Brasiliensis)-based quasi-solid electrolyte as a potential candidate for arresting recombination and improving performance in aqueous dye-sensitized solar cells

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - We successfully fabricated dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) employing a quasi-solid state electrolyte based on pristine insulator natural...     

Performance of different fermentation methods and the effect of their duration on the quality of raw cocoa beans

This study aims to compare the effect of three cocoa fermentation methods and their duration on raw cocoa quality. Results showed a decrease in percentage of physical quality defects on fermentation method. Cocoa fermented for 4 days presented higher percentage of purple beans reached 45% and about 10% of slaty beans than cocoa fermented for 6 days whatever the process. Fermentation duration did not influence the mouldy beans that were around 1%. Formation of brown beans increased from 16% to 50% depending on the fermentation duration and process. Using wooden boxes allowed higher percentage of 77%–90% brown beans than others materials. Acidity of cocoa decreased on fermentation duration but beans treated in boxes were significantly (P = 0.05) acidic from 1.40 and 3.07 meq of NaOH g^?1. Fungal population did not vary in number depending both on the duration and the fermentation method with rates that ranged from 3.32 × 10⁷ to 8.63 × 10⁷ CFU g^?1.     

Poly[(3‐hydroxybutyrate)‐co‐(3‐hydroxyvalerate)]/layered double hydroxide nanocomposites

BACKGROUND: The thermomechanical performance of poly[(3‐hydroxybutyrate)‐co‐(3‐hydroxyvalerate)] (PHBV) is associated with its crystallization. Enhanced nucleation using a stearate‐functionalized synthetic layered double hydroxide (LDH) presents a potential solution. RESULTS: PHBV crystallization varied with concentration of LDH. At lower LDH concentration, thermal history‐induced cold crystallization was present. The extent of this order–disorder transition decreased with increasing LDH concentration and was completely eliminated at 7 wt% LDH. PHBV did not have a melt recrystallization peak but the introduction of LDH resulted in an increasingly pronounced melt recrystallization with increasing LDH concentration. Polarized optical microscopy coupled with differential scanning calorimetry and wide angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis indicated increased lamella thickness in the nanocomposites compared to pure PHBV. WAXD and transmission electron microscopy showed that the nanocomposites had an intercalated but aggregated dispersion. CONCLUSION: The concentration of nanofiller provides unique effects in PHBV. Mechanical performance was found to scale with composition as determined using dynamic mechanical analysis and tensile testing. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Prevalence of nocardiosis in an area of endemic tuberculosis

OBJECTIVE: To assess the quantity and nature of the proteins that adsorb to hydrocephalus shunt catheters after implantation, and to determine whether sufficient could accumulate to obstruct the catheter. DESIGN: Elution of proteins from 102 explanted shunt catheters, with protein assay and electrophoresis of the eluate, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the catheters. RESULTS: The amount of protein elutable was extremely low, and significant protein, apart from a thin film, was not found on SEM. Qualitative analysis disclosed that most of the adsorbed protein was albumin. CONCLUSIONS: Protein deposition on hydrocephalus catheters does not occur in sufficient quantities to cause catheter obstruction.     

A strain-energy-density-based lifetime prediction model for notched specimens: Polycarbonate under thermal fatigue

Polycarbonate is more and more extensively used in engineering because of its good mechanical properties. Pieces of polycarbonate are used in environments with variable temperature, especially in electronic devices. Thermal stresses could become important and, for this reason, the effects of thermal stresses must be taken into account in designing these pieces. We propose a method for the prediction of the life of notched specimens based on the density of dissipated strain energy. The laws of behavior of polycarbonate at various temperatures are determined, and the fatigue tests performed on smooth specimens give the laws of thermal fatigue of the material. The fatigue tests on notched specimens and finite-element-method computations enable us to establish the relationship between the stress concentration factor, the density of strain energy dissipated at the notch roots, and the density of nominal strain energy. A life-prediction model is proposed and discussed. Laboratory of Mechanical Reliability, Metz University, Metz, France. Published in Problemy Prochnosti, No. 6, pp. 32–42, November–December, 1998.     

Correction to: Natural rubber (Hevea Brasiliensis)-based quasi-solid electrolyte as a potential candidate for arresting recombination and improving performance in aqueous dye-sensitized solar cells

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics - A correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-06180-2     

Analysis of diffraction gratings by using an edge element method

Typically the grating problem is formulated for TE and TM polarizations by using, respectively, the electric and magnetic fields aligned with the grating wall and perpendicular to the plane of incidence, and this leads to a one-field-component problem. For some grating profiles such as metallic gratings with a triangular profile, the prediction of TM polarization by using a standard finite-element method experiences a slower convergence rate, and this reduces the accuracy of the computed results and also introduces a numerical polarization effect. This discrepancy cannot be seen as a simple numerical issue, since it has been observed for different types of numerical methods based on the classical formulation. Hence an alternative formulation is proposed, where the grating problem is modeled by taking the electric field as unknown for TM polarization. The application of this idea to both TE and TM polarizations leads to a two-field-component problem. The purpose of the paper is to propose an edge finite-element method to solve this wave problem. A comparison of the results of the proposed formulation and the classical formulation shows improvement and robustness in the new approach.     

Multi-height phase recovery combined with Fast Iterative Shrinkage-Thresholding Algorithm to handle phase microspheres from complex diffracted field in inline holography

ABSTRACT

We describe in this work an approach that individually combines constant initialization, free-space backpropagation, transport of intensity equation (TIE) and multi-height phase recovery with Fast Iterative Shrinkage-Thresholding Algorithm (FISTA) to predict reconstruction of the phase microspheres from diffracted field measurements. We incorporate appropriate initialization and regularization to reconstruct unknown phase microspheres (transparent objects).     

A Fitted L-Multi-Point Flux Approximation Method for Pricing Options

Computational Economics - In this paper, we introduce a special kind of finite volume method called Multi-Point Flux Approximation method (MPFA) to price European and American options in two...