ANT-colony based disjoint set assortment in wireless sensor networks

Wireless Networks - Wireless sensor network (WSN) consists of small sized devices containing different sensors to monitor physical, environmental and medical conditions during surveillance of...     

Synthesis of amino-cosubstituted polyorganophosphazenes and fabrication of their nanoparticles for anticancer drug delivery

The development of safe drug carriers is cardinal in cancer therapy, which can target the cancer cells and release the loaded drug on-demand without damaging the healthy cells of the body. In our work, we synthesized three different biodegradable polymers, poly[(ethyl aminobezoate) (ethyl glycinato) phosphazenes] (PABGPs), in different mole ratio of side groups. The successful synthesis of these PABGPs was confirmed by ¹H NMR, ³¹P NMR, FT-IR, and gel permeation chromatography. These PABGPs were fabricated into drug (camptothecin, CPT, a hydrophobic anticancer drug) loaded nanoparticles. These drug-loaded nanoparticles showed good drug release behaviors under normal physiological conditions (pH 7.4 and temperature 37°C). These PABGPs-based nanoparticles may find their application as effective drug carriers for cancer therapy.     

Systematics study through scanning electron microscopy; a tool for the authentication of herbal drug Mentha suaveolens Ehrh

In all over the world, herbal drugs are usually adulterated with similar species or varieties due to incorrect identification. Most of herbal products devoid purity and quality, therefore an attempt was carried out to identify plant species and authenticate its herbal drug products from Mentha suaveolens. Microscopy tools provide an excellent platform to identify plants at species level. In this study, microscopic and pharmacokinetic parameters of M. suaveolens were observed. Plant species were collected from high diverse areas of Northern Pakistan. Macro and micro‐morphology including palynology and anatomical features were analyzed to study M. suaveolens. Species characteristics were studied, while implementing microscopic techniques for the delimitation and identification of the species. Traditionally Mentha species are used to cure several diseases that is, digestive disorders, respiratory disorders. Micromorphology (stem, leaves, flowers structure, length etc.), palynology (shape, size of pollen etc.), and anatomical characters (types of stomata, epidermal cell shape, and trichomes) were studied. Micromorphology and anatomical characters were of great interest and significance to discuss the taxonomy of the species. Taxonomic characters were studied to characterize and authenticate the species. The aim of the present study is to observe in detail the taxonomic identification of the species in term of morphology, palynology, and foliar epidermal anatomy for the correct identification along with their medicinal uses in the area.     

Superfluid-insulator transition in disordered boson systems

We review the localization problem in two dimensions for interacting bosons in a random potential. This problem is intimately related to the study of ⁴ He adsorbed in porous media, Josephson junction arrays, disordered superconducting films and vortex glasses. Using path integral Monte Carlo techniques, we find a superfluid, a localized or Bose glass insulator with gapless excitations, and (at commensurate densities) a Mott insulator with a finite gap to excitations.     

An Insight View on Synthetic Protocol,Surface Activity,and Biological Aspects of Novel Biocompatible Quaternary Ammonium Cationic Gemini Surfactants

In this study, we prepared a novel series of diester-functionalized cationic gemini surfactants (C_m-E2O2-C_m) containing ethylene oxide as a spacer with varying alkyl chain lengths and characterized by ¹H NMR, FT-IR, elemental analysis, and ESI-MS. The physicochemical properties of the geminis were explored by tensiometry, fluorescence, dye solubilization, and Krafft point. These geminis acquire superior surface activity than the conventional surfactants. Fluorescence spectroscopy analysis affirmed that the micropolarity and aggregation number of micelles diminished with increase in the alkyl chain length. These geminis represent a new group of amphiphiles of considerably high biodegradability, better cleavability, and low toxicity as assessed by BOD test, FT-IR analysis, and HC₅₀ analysis, respectively. They also showed significant level of antimicrobial activity toward some specified bacterial strains of Gram-positive and Gram-negative by using agar well diffusion method. Furthermore, the thermogravimetric analysis provided information regarding thermal stabilities of the newly synthesized gemini surfactants.     

Effects of Silicon on Growth,Yield and Fruit Quality of Cantaloupe under Drought Stress

Silicon - Silicon (Si) plays an important role in mitigating adverse effects of various biotic and abiotic stresses including drought. Polyhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of...     

Correction to: Bismuth Yttrium Oxide (Bi3YO6), A New Electrode Material For Asymmetric Aqueous Supercapacitors

Journal of Inorganic and Organometallic Polymers and Materials - The original version of this article unfortunately contained mistakes. In line 9 of the abstract, 5% should read as 2%. The...     

A multi-echelon production–inventory system with supply disruption

The article investigates an integrated multi-layer supply chain model consisting of supplier, manufacturer and retailer while supply disruption, machine breakdown, safety stock, maintenance breakdown occur simultaneously. At beginning of the production, manufacturer keeps some raw materials in stock received from second supplier at high price, as safety stock due to supply disruption of first supplier. Corrective maintenance is done immediately to restore its normal stage when machine breakdown occurs. Stock out situations at manufacturer and retailer are considered due to disruption of production for machine breakdown. The integrated expected costs of the chain in centralized (collaborating) and decentralized (Stakelberg approach) system are compared. A numerical example and its sensitivity analysis are provided to test feasibility of the model.     

Chaos based Zero-steganography algorithm

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Conventional steganography focuses on invisibility and undetectability, as the main concern is to make the algorithms immune to steganalysis. Zero-steg-anography...     

Eco-friendly electronics,based on nanocomposites of biopolyester reinforced with carbon nanotubes: a review

ABSTRACT

Fabrication of electronic materials from nanocomposite of biopolyesters reinforced with carbon nanotubes can be regarded as the effective alternative for conventional nanocomposites consisting of non-biodegradable polymers. Commercial availability of biopolyester-based nanocomposites is limited because of their high cost compared to other polymers, but the factor of their compostable nature is worthless for environmental protection. Such nanocomposites have potential applications in biodegradable sensors, EMI materials, etc. In this review, the current progress of biopolyester/CNTs nanocomposites in the field of biodegradable electronics is reviewed and also the impact of CNTs dispersion on electrical, thermal and mechanical properties of eco composites is stipulated.