A Dual-Band Printed Antenna Design Based on Annular Koch Snowflake Slot Structure

Wireless Personal Communications - The design of a fractal based slot antenna, to serve the dual-band communication applications, is proposed in this paper. The structure of the proposed antenna is...     

Self-embedding framework for tamper detection and restoration of color images

Multimedia Tools and Applications - The present era is paving huge expansion to the transmission of digital data in fields like health, military intelligence, scientific research, and publication...     

Insights from NMR Spectroscopy into the Conformational Properties of Man‐9 and Its Recognition by Two HIV Binding Proteins

Man₉GlcNAc₂ (Man‐9) present at the surface of HIV makes up the binding sites of several HIV‐neutralizing agents and the mammalian lectin DC‐SIGN, which is involved in cellular immunity and trans‐infections. We describe the conformational properties of Man‐9 in its free state and when bound by the HIV entry‐inhibitor protein microvirin (MVN), and define the minimum epitopes of both MVN and DC‐SIGN by using NMR spectroscopy. To facilitate the implementation of 3D ¹³C‐edited spectra to deconvolute spectral overlap and to determine the solution structure of Man‐9, we developed a robust expression system for the production of ¹³C,¹⁵N‐labeled glycans in mammalian cells. The studies reveal that Man‐9 interacts with HIV‐binding proteins through distinct epitopes and adopts diverse conformations in the bound state. In combination with molecular dynamics simulations we observed receptor‐bound conformations to be sampled by Man‐9 in the free state, thus suggesting a conformational selection mechanism for diverse recognition.     

Scattering by a magnetized plasma-coated topological insulator cylinder

In the present paper, the scattering characteristics of a magnetized plasma-coated topological insulator cylinder are formulated and analysed graphically. Field equations at each interface are expanded in terms of cylindrical wave vector functions by imposing extended classical wave-scattering theory. By applying the boundary conditions, scattering matrices are obtained in terms of scattered and transmitted coefficients. The obtained results are also compared with published results to display the accuracy of the present formulation under some special conditions. Changes in the bistatic echo widths of the topological insulator cylinder are also recorded by varying the anisotropic plasma parameters (i.e., the applied magnetic field, plasma density and effective collisional frequency).     

Open innovation in software engineering: a systematic mapping study

Open innovation (OI) means that innovation is fostered by using both external and internal influences in the innovation process. In software engineering (SE), OI has existed for decades, while we currently see a faster and broader move towards OI in SE. We therefore survey research on how OI takes place and contributes to innovation in SE. This study aims to synthesize the research knowledge on OI in the SE domain. We launched a systematic mapping study and conducted a thematic analysis of the results. Moreover, we analyzed the strength of the evidence in the light of a rigor and relevance assessment of the research. We identified 33 publications, divided into 9 themes related to OI. 17/33 studies fall in the high–rigor/high–relevance category, suggesting the results are highly industry relevant. The research indicates that start-ups have higher tendency to opt for OI compared to incumbents. The evidence also suggests that firms assimilating knowledge into their internal R&D activities, have higher likelihood of gaining financial advantages. We concluded that OI should be adopted as a complementary approach to facilitate internal innovation and not to substitute it. Further research is advised on situated OI strategies and the interplay between OI and agile practices.     

Effect of structural nonlinearity on probabilistic risk assessment of offshore wind turbine including inelastic soil medium

This research intends to evaluate the influence of structural nonlinearity on the seismic risk of an offshore wind turbine with respect to linear analysis. The structural nonlinearity is presented into the structure, as materially nonlinear, by calibrating plastic hinge at the end of the elastic beam-element of the structure. To guarantee ideal circumstance for seismic analysis, this study includes inelastic soil stratum by using an equivalent linear approach. Monte Carlo simulation is performed by means of seismic vulnerability of the structural system. The research presents a study of a large amount of simulation over the nonlinear and linear structures considering the random character of basic variables of soil under selective earthquakes. The earthquakes having different source-to-site (STS) distances ranging from 7 to 145?km have consistency with the soil parameters. This rigorous implementation is done to accomplish site-specific dynamic analysis. Illustrative results obtained from nonlinear and linear dynamic analysis are compared. The overall finding shows that the nonlinear structure produces highest estimated uncertainty compared to the linear structure. Another termination can be addressed that the earthquake with less STS distance (7.29?km) causes the highest level of destruction to the structure.     

Enzymatic Treatment of Pigment Prints

Extending from our previous work on applications of biotechnology in textile wet processing, this article reports the impact of post-biopolishing on the performance properties of pigment-printed cellulosic fabrics. The data demonstrate that the extent of enzymatic attack is determined by the nature of the cellulase enzyme, the depth of pigment prints, the nature of the cellulosic substrate, the fabric structure, and the finishing formulation contents. Furthermore, the loss in weight, the decrease in the depth of shade, and the improvement in softness degree of the biopolished pigment prints follow the descending orders:

Acid cellulases > Acid cellulases/softener > Neutral cellulase > None, None > Neutral cellulase > Acid cellulases/softener > Acid cellulases, and

Acid cellulases/softener > Acid cellulases > Neutral cellulase >> None, respectively.

The effect of enzymatic treatment on the fastness properties of the treated pigment prints were also investigated.     

Study of adhesion characteristics of different bitumen–aggregate combinations using bitumen bond strength test

The resistance of asphalt pavements to traffic loading and environmental deterioration depends on the mechanical coupling of the selected bitumen–aggregate material, bitumen–aggregate interfacial properties, and cohesion of bitumen. Studies have shown that bitumen–aggregate bond strength strongly depends on the composition of the two components, and the extent of exposure to moisture. For satisfactory performance of bituminous pavements, there is a need to choose suitable combinations of bitumen and aggregate materials. This paper evaluates the adhesion of different bitumen–aggregate combinations in dry and wet conditions in the form of pull-off tensile strength using bitumen bond strength (BBS) test. Tests were carried out after conditioning the selected combinations for 24, 48, and 72 h. The results indicated that the bond strength reduces with the passage of time for the samples exposed to moisture while it increases if samples are left in the dry condition. Results show that the strength values are also affected by the aggregates’ nature. Samples containing basic aggregates showed good results in comparison to the acidic aggregates under moisture conditioning. Significance of aggregates type, bitumen type, curing condition, and curing time on pull-off tensile strength of bitumen–aggregate samples was also studied. Curing condition showed maximum significance on bond strength.     

The interplay between the fragility and mechanical properties of styrene–butadiene rubber composites with unmodified and modified sago seed shell powder

Reinforcing rubber with natural fillers from agrarian wastes is a new area of interest in developing rubber composite technologies. Lignocellulosic material from sago seed shell is one of the important promising natural fillers having 37% cellulose used to reinforce styrene–butadiene rubber (SBR) for enhancing its mechanical properties. Moreover, chemically or physically modified natural fillers play a significant role in enhancing the properties of SBR like morphological, thermal, and electrical characteristics. In this investigation, the changes encountered in molecular mobility, glassy dynamics, thermal stability, flexibility, and tensile strength of SBR on reinforcing with unmodified and modified sago seed shell powder were studied using broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in conjunction with thermogravimetric analysis, and mechanical properties. BDS has been successfully employed to investigate the relaxation phenomena and glass/rubbery transition in SBR, as well as its composites with unmodified and modified sago seed shell powder over the frequency (10⁻¹ to 10⁷ Hz) and wide temperature range (−100 to 150°C). Experimental data were analyzed in terms of electric modulus formalism and were suited well with the Havriliak Nigami equation. The incorporation of filler and its nature (unmodified or modified it with polyaniline, PANI) greatly influenced the morphological pattern, miscibility, and mode of interaction with the rubber matrix of SBR, which owed a path to diverse charge transport mechanism in the composites. The mechanical properties of all the composites were in good correlation with the steepness index obtained from BDS. The tensile strength, tear strength, and hardness of SBR increased slightly on loading with unmodified cellulose, whereas with modified cellulose causes substantial enhancement in its tensile strength.     

Sea Turtle Foraging and Hydrozoan Optimization Algorithm-based NLOS Node Positioning Scheme for Reliable Data Dissemination in Vehicular Ad hoc Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - Wireless sensor networks have become one of the prominent and persuasive methods for surveillance of inaccessible physical areas and are employed in innumerable...