A Tri-Band Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) to Diplex Widely Separated Bands for Millimeter Wave Remote Sensing

A substrate-backed frequency selective surface (FSS) is presented for diplexing the widely separated frequency spectrum centered at 55, 89, and 183 GHz with varying bandwidth for spatial separation in the quasi-optical feed network of the millimeter wave sounder. A unit cell composed of a crossed dipole integrated with a circular ring and loaded inside a square ring is optimized for tri-band frequency response with transmission window at 89 GHz and rejection windows at 55 and 183 GHz. The reflection and transmission losses predicted for the optimized unit cell (728 μm?×?728 μm) composed of dissimilar resonant shapes is less than 0.5 dB for transverse electric (TE) and transverse magnetic (TM) polarizations and wide angle of incidence (0°–45°). The FSS is fabricated on a 175-μm-thick quartz substrate using microfabrication techniques. The transmission characteristics measured with continuous wave (CW) terahertz transmit receive system are in good agreement with the numerical simulations.     

Phytofabrication of silver nanoparticles using Bacopa monnieri leaf extract and its antibacterial activity as well as oxidative stress‐induced apoptosis of lung cancer

The biological method for synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using Bacopa monneri leaves and its anti‐proliferation against human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (A549) was studied. The AgNPs synthesis was determined by an ultraviolet–visible spectrum and was confirmed primarily by the colour change and surface plasmon resonance was observed at 450 nm and its reduction of functional groups stretched in AgNPs was identified by Fourier transform infrared and the crystalline nature of AgNPs was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction. The structural morphology of the AgNPs was found to be spherical and polygonal shape and size (> 35 nm) were determined by field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis and its purity was identified by energy dispersive analysis of X‐rays (EDAX). A further, antibacterial activity of biosynthesised AgNPs against Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria was assessed. The cytotoxic effect of synthesised AgNPs was analysed against human lung adenocarcinoma cells by 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. The GI₅₀ was found to be 20 µg/ml at 24 h incubation. The apoptosis cells containing condensate and marginalised chromatin stages were analysed by propidium iodide staining and DNA damage was observed in A549 treated cells. The present study strongly emphasised that the bioactive molecule‐coated AgNPs could have potential for biomedical applications and significant anticancer effects against human lung adenocarcinoma cells.Inspec keywords: antibacterial activity, biomedical materials, lung, cancer, oxidation, nanoparticles, silver, nanofabrication, nanomedicine, cellular biophysics, ultraviolet spectra, visible spectra, surface plasmon resonance, Fourier transform infrared spectra, X‐ray diffraction, particle size, field emission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X‐ray chemical analysis, microorganisms, toxicology, DNA, molecular biophysics, molecular configurationsOther keywords: silver nanoparticles, phytofabrication, Bacopa monnieri leaf extract, antibacterial activity, oxidative stress‐induced apoptosis, biological method, antiproliferation, human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549, AgNPs synthesis, ultraviolet‐visible spectrum, colour change, surface plasmon resonance, stretched functional groups, Fourier transform infrared spectra, crystalline nature, X‐ray diffraction, geometric spherical shape, polygonal shape, field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis, EDAX, biosynthesised AgNPs, gram negative bacteria, gram positive bacteria, cytotoxic effect, 3‐(4,5‐dimethylthiazol‐2‐yl)‐2,5‐diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, incubation, apoptosis cells, condensate, marginalised chromatin stages, propidium iodide staining, DNA damage, A549 treated cells, bioactive molecule‐coated AgNPs, biomedical applications, anticancer effects, time 24 h, Ag     

Evaluation of hydroxyapatite coatings on borate passivated 316L SS in Ringer's solution

Surgical grade stainless steel (316L SS) is one of the widely used implant material in orthopedic surgeries. But often the release of metal ions is evidenced from the implants and subsequently a second surgery is required to remove the implant material. One way to control this release of metal ions is to coat the implant material with a biocompatible material like hydroxyapatite. In this paper we have reported a successful coating of hydroxyapatite over borate passivated 316L SS by a dip coating method. The coatings were characterized by electrochemical techniques such as potentiodynamic polarization, electrochemical impedance and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Also X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopic (SEM) studies were performed to confirm the quality of the coatings. Results of accelerated leach out characteristics by inductively coupled plasma–atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP–AES) and the evaluation of shear strength are also presented to support the corrosion resistant nature of the coatings. The enhanced bio-resistivity of the as-formed HAP coatings on passivated 316L SS is attributed to the protective passive layer formed by borate buffer solution at selected potentials.     

Plasma treated fabrics coated with naturally derived Ag‐NPs for biomedical application

Ethnic value of many known plants are underexploited for medicinal application besides their proven traditional qualities. One such plant known for wound healing is Tridax procumbens. This plant has wound healing property and is commercially unexploited. Silver nanoparticle (Ag‐NP) were synthesized using this plant extracts using different solvents (methanol, ethyl acetate and aqueous), which exhibit resonance at 426, 424 and 418 nm, respectively. This plant‐mediated Ag‐NPs have strong anti‐bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus subtilis with methanol extract. Further instance, elemental composition was confirmed by energy dispersive X‐ray analysis and particle size ranges were observed at 80–200 nm with spherical shape nanoparticles by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis. The biocompatibility of Ag‐NPs was assessed using fibroblast cell line (L929) by MTT assay with 109.35 µg IC₅₀ value. The oxygen plasma treated and non‐treated bamboo spunlaced nonwoven fabrics were coated with the Ag‐NPs by exhaust method. Contact angle and water retention revealed significant difference in absorption ability of plasma treated fabric. Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of Ag‐NPs in plasma coated fabrics. The fabricated cloth was studied for anti‐microbial and microbial penetration ability.Inspec keywords: solvents (industrial), organic compounds, woven composites, field emission scanning electron microscopy, plasma materials processing, contact angle, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray diffraction, fabrics, biomedical materials, wounds, silver, nanoparticles, particle size, nanofabrication, thermal analysis, antibacterial activity, microorganisms, X‐ray chemical analysisOther keywords: biomedical application, ethnic value, medicinal application, wound healing property, silver nanoparticle synthesis, methanol, ethyl acetate, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pyogenes, Klebsiella pneumonia, nonwoven fabrics, field emission scanning electron microscopy, plasma coated fabrics, fabricated cloth, solvents, antibactericidal activity, Staphylococcus aureus, particle size, transmission electron microscopy, oxygen plasma treatment, bamboo material, Tridax procumbens extracts, Serratia marcescens, Bacillus subtilis, elemental composition, energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, scanning electron microscopy, material biocompatibility, fibroblast cell line, exhaust method, contact angle, water retention, absorption ability, antimicrobial property, microbial penetration ability, size 424.0 nm, size 418.0 nm, size 80.0 nm to 200.0 nm, size 426.0 nm, Ag     

Effect of divalent cation substitution in the magnetoplumbite structured BaFe12O19 system

Synthesis of magnetically ordered barium hexaferrite powders and the adjustment of magnetic properties for perpendicular magnetic recording media are realized through substitution of divalent cation (Ca) in the BaFe₁₂O₁₉ system. The Ca²⁺ substituted Ba_1?xCa_xFe₁₂O₁₉ (where x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2) compounds have been prepared through solid state reaction technique. The powder X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that all the prepared compounds crystallized in magnetoplumbite hexagonal structure and the flat hexagonal platelet morphology of the crystallites was identified through scanning electron microscopy. The formation of magnetoplumbite structured Ba_1?xCa_xFe₁₂O₁₉ system due to mechanical activation was supported by micro-Raman measurements. Both pure and Ca substituted BaFe₁₂O₁₉ compounds exhibit sharp intense peaks which reveals defect free environment in the crystal lattice. From the room temperature magnetization studies, it was observed that the saturation magnetization (M_S) and remanent magnetization (M_R) values drastically decreases for the Ba_0.95Ca_0.05Fe₁₂O₁₉ compound which may be due to the existence of spin canting effect and leads to the reduction of super exchange fields. The increase in M_S and M_R values for the Ba_0.9Ca_0.1Fe₁₂O₁₉ and Ba_0.85Ca_0.15Fe₁₂O₁₉ compounds could be attributed to the enhanced hyperfine fields at 12k and 2b sites due to the strengthening of Fe³⁺–O–Fe³⁺ super exchange interactions. A large reduction in the coercivity value from 3,090 to 1,548 Gauss may be attributed to the fall in magneto crystalline anisotropy. The high temperature magnetization studies infer that while increasing substitution level of Ca in the BaFe₁₂O₁₉ system results in decreasing trend in Curie temperature. The room temperature dielectric measurement shows that the incorporation of Ca²⁺ in the BaFe₁₂O₁₉ system results with increase in the dielectric constant and this case substantiates the space charge polarization. The magnetically ordered BaFe particulate having higher saturation and low coercivity values with superior magnetic and dielectric behaviour exhibiting the possibility for future high-recording-density storage products.     

Statistical optimization of anticholesterolemic drug lovastatin production by the red mold Monascus purpureus

Lovastatin (HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors), is an important anticholesterolemic drug which inhibits the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate in the biosynthesis of cholesterol. Plackett–Burman statistical screening of 12 media components and subsequent optimization of significant parameters by response surface methodology for the biotechnological production of lovastatin by Monascus purpureus MTCC 369 was studied. In this study, the statistical analysis of Plackett–Burman experimental results showed that the medium components glucose, peptone, MnSO₄·H₂O, NaCl and NH₄Cl as the significant components influencing the lovastatin production. The most significant medium components, glucose, peptone and MnSO₄·H₂O which have confidence level of more than 95% were further optimized using a full factorial central composite design of the response surface methodology. Maximum lovastatin production of 97.5 mg l^?1 was obtained after 14 days of fermentation period in the optimized medium containing, glucose, 52.61 g l^?1 peptone, 16.65 g l^?1; NH₄Cl, 1 g l^?1; KH₂PO₄, 1 g l^?1; yeast extract, 3 g l^?1; K₂HPO₄, 1 g l^?1; KNO₃, 0.5 g l^?1; MgSO₄·7H₂O, 0.2 g l^?1; MnSO₄·H₂O, 0.418 g l^?1; NaCl, 0.5 g l^?1; CaCl₂·2H₂O, 0.1 g l^?1 and FeSO₄·7H₂O, 0.001 g l^?1 at 30 °C and 120 rpm. The production of lovastatin by M. purpureus MTCC 369 in the optimized medium was found to be four times higher than the basal medium in the submerged fermentation. The statistical experimental design serves as an efficient tool for screening large number of variables with minimum number of experiments and optimizing the significant variables for enhancing the production of lovastatin.     

Combustion synthesis and characterization of Ba<Subscript>2</Subscript>NdSbO<Subscript>6</Subscript> nanocrystals

Nanocrystalline Ba₂NdSbO₆, a complex cubic perovskite metal oxide, powders were synthesized by a self-sustained combustion method employing citric acid. The product was characterized by X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The as-prepared powders were single phase Ba₂NdSbO₆ and a mixture of polycrystalline spheroidal particles and single crystalline nanorods. The Ba₂NdSbO₆ sample sintered at 1500°C for 4 h has high density (∼ 95% of theoretical density). Sintered nanocrystalline Ba₂NdSbO₆ had a dielectric constant of ∼ 21; and dielectric loss = 8 × 10⁻³ at 5 MHz.     

3D numerical modeling of Quantum Dot using homotopy analysis

The 3D numerical modeling of nanoscale InGaAs quantum dot is developed and the characteristics of the device are presented. The exact potential and energy profile of the Quantum Dot are computed by obtaining the solution of 3D Poisson and Schrodinger equations using homotopy analysis. The dark current is estimated by considering the Quantum Dot density, applied voltage, length of quantum dot array, number of quantum dot array and temperature. The results obtained show that the dark current is strongly influenced by Quantum Dot density and applied voltage. The developed model is physics based one and overcomes the limitations of the existing analytical models. The model is validated by comparing the results obtained with the existing models.     

Control of chaos in SEPIC DC-DC converter

DC-DC converters are widely used in power electronic systems where there is a need for stabilizing a given dc voltage to a desired value. It has been reported that DC-DC converters exhibit different non-linear phenomena including bifurcations, quasi-periodicity and chaos under both voltage mode and current mode control schemes. In this work, current mode controlled SEPIC converter operating in continuous conduction mode is considered and by varying the reference current I_ref, the converter exhibits chaos. It has been observed that the system changes from a stable buck-like operation to an unstable boost-like operation by varying I_ref. Bifurcation diagram is plotted for control signal and capacitor voltage with I_ref as bifurcation parameter. Resonant parametric perturbation control technique has been applied to suppress chaos. Effects of phase shift and frequency mismatch are also analyzed. With phase shift, control power required for suppressing chaos has been reduced. Also intermittent chaotic stages are suppressed with the effect of frequency mismatch at the expense of increasing control power. The stability analysis in SEPIC converter is performed by means of discrete model and is validated through the simulated and experimental results.