One-step facile synthesis of poly(N-vinylcarbazole)-polypyrrole/graphene oxide nanocomposites: enhanced solubility,thermal stability and good electrical conductivity

Poly (N-vinylcarbazole)-polypyrrole/graphene oxide (PNVC-Ppy/GO) nanocomposites have been successfully prepared by one-step chemical oxidative polymerization using ferric chloride hexahydrate in the presence of dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid. The composite formation, morphology and the crystallinity of the composite have been characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, FESEM, and XRD, respectively. The incorporation of graphene oxide into the PNVC-Ppy matrix induces interaction between graphene oxide and PNVC-Ppy via hydrogen bonding and π–π* stacking. This π–π* stacking between the GO layers and PNVC-Ppy produces longer conjugation length leading to a higher solubility in organic solvents and enhanced electron mobility. The information of conjugation chain length and charge transfer capacity at the interface of the composite has been obtained from the Raman spectroscopy and photolumincience spectroscopy. The improved thermal stability and electrical d.c. conductivity (0.123?S/cm) of the resulting PNVC-Ppy/GO composite compared to the PNVC–Ppy copolymer (0.08?S/cm) is attributed to the incorporation of graphene oxide in the composite.     

Attenuative Effects of Fluoxetine and Triticum aestivum against Aluminum-Induced Alzheimer’s Disease in Rats: The Possible Consequences on Hepatotoxicity and Nephrotoxicity

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a chronic neurological illness that causes considerable cognitive impairment. Hepatic and renal dysfunction may worsen AD by disrupting β-amyloid homeostasis at the periphery and by causing metabolic dysfunction. Wheatgrass (Triticum aestivum) has been shown to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This work aims to study the effect of aluminum on neuronal cells, its consequences on the liver and kidneys, and the possible role of fluoxetine and wheatgrass juice in attenuating these pathological conditions. Method: Rats were divided into five groups. Control, AD (AlCl₃), Fluoxetine (Fluoxetine and AlCl₃), Wheatgrass (Wheatgrass and AlCl₃), and combination group (fluoxetine, wheatgrass, and AlCl₃). All groups were assigned daily to different treatments for five weeks. Conclusions: AlCl₃ elevated liver and kidney enzymes, over-production of oxidative stress, and inflammatory markers. Besides, accumulation of tau protein and Aβ, the elevation of ACHE and GSK-3β, down-regulation of BDNF, and β–catenin expression in the brain. Histopathological examinations of the liver, kidney, and brain confirmed this toxicity, while treating AD groups with fluoxetine, wheatgrass, or a combination alleviates toxic insults. Conclusion: Fluoxetine and wheatgrass combination demonstrated a more significant neuroprotective impact in treating AD than fluoxetine alone and has protective effects on liver and kidney tissues.     

Vibration modelling of structural networks using a hybrid finite element/wave and finite element approach

The vibration modelling of waveguide structures is considered. These structures comprise waveguides connected via joints. Traditionally, analytical models of the wave behaviour of such structures can be developed if they are simple (beams or rods connected at point joints, etc.). However, if the waveguides are of complicated constructions (truss-like, layered media, etc.) or the joints are complicated (e.g. of significant physical dimensions), obtaining the wave characteristics might be a formidable task. In this paper, such structures are modelled using a hybrid finite element/wave and finite element (FE/WFE) approach. The waveguides are modelled using the WFE method and thus their wave characteristics are obtained regardless of the complexity of their cross-section. The joints are modelled using standard FE, and the WFE and FE models are coupled to yield the scattering properties of the joints. The propagation and scattering models are assembled to describe the behaviour of the structure using relatively small models, while also providing information for other applications such as structure-borne sound, statistical energy analysis, etc. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the approach.     

Fabrication and characterization of polymer blends consisting of cationic polyallylamine and anionic polyvinyl alcohol

Thin sheets of polyallylamine (PAAm) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blend were prepared by employing solution casting technique for potential membranes application. The blends were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ¹H-NMR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and mechanical properties. The zeta potential, conductivity and rheological properties of PAAm/PVA blends were also studied. The FTIR spectrum reveals that the C–H asymmetric stretching vibration band of PVA at 2,928 cm^?1 disappeared in all the blend samples. Thermal stability of the blend membrane was better than pure polymers. The crystallinity of the PAAm/PVA blends was decreased, which may be due to the entanglement of PAAm in to PVA chains, which is also responsible for the improvement in the mechanical properties of the blends. Zeta potential decreases where as the conductivity increases as a function of temperature. Hydrophilicity is improved by addition of PVA to PAAm, which may be due to hydroxyl group of PVA. The blend solution shows non-Newtonian character of the liquid. By applying shear stress, increase in the effect of rarefaction was observed. The knowledge about the investigated parameters will be of vital importance for use of the blended material in membrane applications, especially where CO₂ separation is in focus. The membrane performance (separation properties) of the PAAm/PVA blended material is, however, not reported in the current article.     

GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulation response of parallel plate avalanche counter for fast neutrons detection

In the present study, GEANT4 based Monte Carlo codes have been employed to evaluate parallel plate avalanche counter (PPAC) response for fast neutron detection. In order to detect fast neutrons, a thin polyethylene layer is coated on the surface of the electrode of the PPAC. Neutrons entering the converter produce protons which enter the counter and are detected. Fast neutrons in the energy range of 4.0 MeV–20.0 MeV have been transported onto the PPAC surface using GEANT4 MC code. The performance of the PPAC counter has been evaluated by means of simulation by employing QGSP_BERT_HP and QGSP_BIC_HP physics lists. The detection efficiencies of polyethylene-coated PPAC are 1.69 × 10^?2 and 1.86 × 10^?2 using converter thickness of 1 mm and 2 mm, respectively. The obtained results are discussed in detail.     

Measurement of ablative laser propulsion parameters for aluminum, Co–Ni ferrite and polyurethane polymer

Laser ablation propulsion is a form of beam-powered propulsion in which a pulsed laser ablates a target material thus producing thrust. We report in this work the measurements of various parameters related to laser-induced micropropulsion in toluene diisocyanate-based polyurethane polymer, aluminum and Co–Ni ferrite. The targets were irradiated by a Q-switched pulsed Nd–YAG laser at 1064 nm (pulse duration 5 ns) under atmospheric conditions. A contact-free optical triangulation method was used to measure the laser ablation induced thrust in the samples. The measurements and calculations depict that Co–Ni ferrite is better in terms of critical propulsion parameters C _m and I _sp. It has been observed that the propulsion parameters depend on the energy per pulse of the incident laser beam.     

TiAlN coatings synthesised using a dense plasma focus system and varied focus shots

TiAlN coatings were synthesised by a 2.3 kJ pulsed plasma focus system. The effect of focus shots on crystallography, microstructure, surface morphology, roughness and hardness was investigated. The coating's crystallography and microstructure were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterisation. The XRD data showed that TiAlN coatings were crystallised in the cubic NaCl B1 structure with orientations in the (111), (200), (220) and (311) crystallographic planes. Texture coefficients showed a competition between (111) and (200) planes. The coatings surface morphology and thickness analyses were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM micrographs showed dense and uniformly spread film with fine-grained morphology with hardly any pit, hole and crater. The surface roughness and hardness of TiAlN coatings were investigated by atomic force microscopy and Vickers microhardness tester. Grain size and roughness were found to decrease, whereas thickness and hardness were found to increase, with increasing focus shots.     

C-NOT gate based on ultracold Rydberg atom interactions

The Rydberg states of neutral atoms are strongly polarisable and possess long lifetimes because of high energies which can lead to strong and long range dipole-dipole interactions.The energy levels corresponding to these states are shifted because of dipole-dipole interactions and can be used to block transitions of more than one excitation in the Rydberg regime.This reputed Rydberg blockade is obtained when the excitation is shifted out of resonance by these interactions.Electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT)is sensitive to a small detuning.At large distances,up to several micrometers,the interactions can interrupt the EIT consequence.Herein we investigate a novel scheme based on EIT and Rydberg blockade and performed a simulation of a controlled-NOT(C-NOT)quantum gate which is critical for quantum computation by using neutral atoms.     

Bianchi type I cosmology in generalized Saez–Ballester theory via Noether gauge symmetry

In this paper, we investigate the generalized Saez–Ballester scalar–tensor theory of gravity via Noether gauge symmetry (NGS) in the background of Bianchi type I cosmological spacetime. We start with the Lagrangian of our model and calculate its gauge symmetries and corresponding invariant quantities. We obtain the potential function for the scalar field in the exponential form. For all the symmetries obtained, we determine the gauge functions corresponding to each gauge symmetry which include constant and dynamic gauge. We discuss cosmological implications of our model and show that it is compatible with the observational data.     

The effects of running gravitational coupling on rotating black holes

In this work we investigate the consequences of running gravitational coupling on the properties of rotating black holes. Apart from the changes induced in the space-time structure of such black holes, we also study the implications to Penrose process and geodetic precession. We are motivated by the functional form of gravitational coupling previously investigated in the context of infra-red limit of asymptotic safe gravity theory. In this approach, the involvement of a new parameter \({\tilde{\xi }}\) in this solution makes it different from Schwarzschild black hole. The Killing horizon, event horizon and singularity of the computed metric is then discussed. It is noticed that the ergosphere is increased as \({\tilde{\xi }}\) increases. Considering the black hole solution in equatorial plane, the geodesics of particles, both null and time like cases, are explored. The effective potential is computed and graphically analyzed for different values of parameter \({\tilde{\xi }}\). The energy extraction from black hole is investigated via Penrose process. For the same values of spin parameter, the numerical results suggest that the efficiency of Penrose process is greater in quantum corrected gravity than in Kerr Black Hole. At the end, a brief discussion on Lense–Thirring frequency is also done.