Angular selective thin film glazing

Angular selective control of daylight, solar heat gain and visual performance is the aim of a variety of emerging technologies for windows, roof and wall glazing. Certain oblique thin metal and metal/insulator films on glass have transmittance as a unique function of direction of incidence and they are also spectrally selective. A variety of angular selective control options result according to choice of film materials covering one or a combination of (i) light and glare from high angles (ii) solar heat gain (iii) visual amenity (iv) glare from lower angles (iv) emittance control. They are thus able to be adapted by materials choice to the needs of different latitudes and window orientations. A new and simple way of categorizing performance will be presented.     

Metastable radicals and intrinsic chemiluminescence from soy proteins

Chemiluminescence from various powdered food proteins were examined without the addition of any external source of free radicals or luminescent agents. In the solid-state, soy and whey proteins produced more intrinsic chemiluminescence than casein, sodium caseinate, or egg albumin. However, when these same food proteins were hydrated, intrinsic chemiluminescence from soy proteins was about 4- to 8-times greater than other source proteins. Quenching the alkyl-radicals in the powdered soy proteins with hydrogen sulfide reduced the typical electron paramagnetic resonance spectra from soy proteins below detectable levels, and reduced the chemiluminescence from the hydrated soy proteins by about 65%. Antioxidants also reduced chemiluminescence in hydrated soy proteins by about 50% to 92%, with ellagic acid being the most effective. The reduction in chemiluminescence from both quenching radicals in the solid state, and by the addition of antioxidants to aqueous mixtures, indicate that the chemiluminescence produced when soy proteins are hydrated is a free radical catalyzed event. Based on the production of chemiluminescence, the radicals from soy protein were largely released within 30 min of hydration at 23 °C. Elevating the hydration temperatures increased chemiluminescence by as much as 280% at 70 °C, and decreased the half-life of the light-emitting reaction by about 9-fold. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: Levels of metastable radicals in powdered soy proteins typically range from to 10 to 100 times greater than free radicals from other food protein sources. This research focuses on the types of reactions these radicals catalyze when soy proteins are hydrated, and the radicals suddenly become reactive. The findings suggest that a portion of the energy released from metastable radicals when powdered soy proteins are hydrated is involved in the generation of chemically-induced light.     

Study on the nano-powder-mixed sinking and milling micro-EDM of WC-Co

Present study investigates the feasibility of improving surface characteristics in the micro-electric discharge machining (EDM) of cemented tungsten carbide (WC?CCo), a widely used die and mould material, using graphite nano-powder-mixed dielectric. In this context, a comparative analysis has been carried out on the performance of powder-mixed sinking and milling micro-EDM with view of obtaining smooth and defect-free surfaces. The surface characteristics of the machined carbide were studied in terms of surface topography, crater characteristics, average surface roughness (R _a) and peak-to-valley roughness (R _max). The effect of graphite powder concentration on the spark gap, material removal rate (MRR) and electrode wear ratio (EWR) were also discussed for both die-sinking and milling micro-EDM of WC?CCo. It has been observed that the presence of semi-conductive graphite nano-powders in the dielectric can significantly improve the surface finish, enhance the MRR and reduce the EWR. Both the surface topography and crater distribution were improved due to the increased spark gap and uniform discharging in powder-mixed micro-EDM. The added nano-powder can lower the breakdown strength and facilitate the ignition process thus improving the MRR. However, for a fixed powder material and particle size, all the performance parameters were found to vary significantly with powder concentration. Among the two processes, powder-mixed milling micro-EDM was found to provide smoother and defect-free surface compared to sinking micro-EDM. The lowest value of R _a (38?nm) and R _max (0.17???m) was achieved in powder-mixed milling micro-EDM at optimum concentration of 0.2?g/L and electrical setting of 60?V and stray capacitance.     

Coupled and decoupled stabilized mixed finite element methods for nonstationary dual-porosity-Stokes fluid flow model

In this paper, we propose and analyze two stabilized mixed finite element methods for the dual-porosity-Stokes model, which couples the free flow region and microfracture-matrix system through four interface conditions on an interface. The first stabilized mixed finite element method is a coupled method in the traditional format. Based on the idea of partitioned time stepping, the four interface conditions, and the mass exchange terms in the dual-porosity model, the second stabilized mixed finite element method is decoupled in two levels and allows a noniterative splitting of the coupled problem into three subproblems. Due to their superior conservation properties and convenience of the computation of flux, mixed finite element methods have been widely developed for different types of subsurface flow problems in porous media. For the mixed finite element methods developed in this article, no Lagrange multiplier is used, but an interface stabilization term with a penalty parameter is added in the temporal discretization. This stabilization term ensures the numerical stability of both the coupled and decoupled schemes. The stability and the convergence analysis are carried out for both the coupled and decoupled schemes. Three numerical experiments are provided to demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and applicability of the proposed methods.     

Ecofriendly Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Terrabacter humi sp. nov. and Their Antibacterial Application against Antibiotic-Resistant Pathogens

It is essential to develop and discover alternative eco-friendly antibacterial agents due to the emergence of multi-drug-resistant microorganisms. In this study, we isolated and characterized a novel bacterium named Terrabacter humi MAHUQ-38^T, utilized for the eco-friendly synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and the synthesized AgNPs were used to control multi-drug-resistant microorganisms. The novel strain was Gram stain positive, strictly aerobic, milky white colored, rod shaped and non-motile. The optimal growth temperature, pH and NaCl concentration were 30 °C, 6.5 and 0%, respectively. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence, strain MAHUQ-38^T belongs to the genus Terrabacter and is most closely related to several Terrabacter type strains (98.2%–98.8%). Terrabacter humi MAHUQ-38^T had a genome of 5,156,829 bp long (19 contigs) with 4555 protein-coding genes, 48 tRNA and 5 rRNA genes. The culture supernatant of strain MAHUQ-38^T was used for the eco-friendly and facile synthesis of AgNPs. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image showed the spherical shape of AgNPs with a size of 6 to 24 nm, and the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis revealed the functional groups responsible for the synthesis of AgNPs. The synthesized AgNPs exhibited strong anti-bacterial activity against multi-drug-resistant pathogens, Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Minimal inhibitory/bactericidal concentrations against E. coli and P. aeruginosa were 6.25/50 and 12.5/50 μg/mL, respectively. The AgNPs altered the cell morphology and damaged the cell membrane of pathogens. This study encourages the use of Terrabacter humi for the ecofriendly synthesis of AgNPs to control multi-drug-resistant microorganisms.     

A hybrid method based on P and P′ control chart for identifying hotspots

The terms “hotspots,” “blackspot,” or “high-risk” are normally used for an area on a road where the number of car accidents are far beyond the normal level and, more importantly, the causes of the incident always link to one or many specific reasons. Identifying these spots is helpful and may assist people in authority to implement corrective actions. To do the aforementioned, some decision-support tools could be useful since they enable us to monitor the indicators that may lead to a car accident, same as the procedure engineers use to control production lines in factories. In this regard, control charts are utilized to identify blackspots. Although the method is low cost, and provides quick detection and statistical reliability level and, more importantly, uses online applications; however, it advised that the rate quality control method could be used on roads with the same geometry and traffic conditions. This research develops a hybrid method, based on accident type, for improving rate quality control method to overcome the shortcomings. Furthermore, the suggested framework considers crash severity and traffic volume that have not been taken into account in the rate quality control method yet. The case study evaluates how this framework is successful to identify blackspots, and based on the result in the real environment, it reveals that the proposed method could detect and identify the hotspots.     

A review on the conventional,non-conventional,and hybrid micromachining of glass

Glass, commonly known as a brittle material, has the potential to be used in many applications in semiconductor, biomedical, mold manufacturing, opto-electronics, automobile and aerospace industries due to its superior mechanical strength and excellent wear and thermal resistance. This review article aims to present a comprehensive overview on the micromachining of difficult-to-cut glass materials. The article includes the state-of-the-art reviews on conventional, non-conventional and hybrid machining of various types of glass materials at micro-scale. A comparative analysis of various conventional and non-conventional micromachining processes used for machining glass is presented. Discussions on the current research trends and challenges in micromachining of glass have been included. Finally, recommendation for future research in the areas of glass micromachining has been provided.     

Copolymerization of poly(1‐naphthylamine) with aniline and o‐toluidine

The commercial use of polyaniline has been impeded by its intractable nature and insolubility. The use of substituted polyaniline has been attempted mainly to increase the processibility of polyaniline, but this approach usually results in the lowering of the conductivity. This study reports the synthesis of poly(1‐naphthylamine), a fused ring derivative of polyaniline, and its copolymers with aniline and o‐toluidine via a chemical polymerization method. Spectral, thermal, morphological, and conductivity studies were carried out to elucidate the influence of the incorporation of aniline and o‐toluidine units into poly(1‐naphthylamine). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

GABA: A Key Player in Drought Stress Resistance in Plants

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid involved in various physiological processes; it aids in the protection of plants against abiotic stresses, such as drought, heavy metals, and salinity. GABA tends to have a protective effect against drought stress in plants by increasing osmolytes and leaf turgor and reducing oxidative damage via antioxidant regulation. Guard cell GABA production is essential, as it may provide the benefits of reducing stomatal opening and transpiration and controlling the release of tonoplast-localized anion transporter, thus resulting in increased water-use efficiency and drought tolerance. We summarized a number of scientific reports on the role and mechanism of GABA-induced drought tolerance in plants. We also discussed existing insights regarding GABA’s metabolic and signaling functions used to increase plant tolerance to drought stress.