Ionic studies of sodium alginate isolated from Sargassum terrarium (brown algea) karachi coast with 2,1-electrolyte

Physical and chemical analysis of the polysaccharide isolated from Sargassum Terarrium (brown algae) of Karachi coast showed characteristics of the sodium alginate. Optical rotations and sulphated ash content were found and FTIR spectra showed a sharp and strong absorption band at 1600 cm^?1 representing carboxylate ion which conforms high uronic acid content of the product. The viscosities of aqueous 0.1% sodium alginate solution were measured in the presence of copper II chloride (CuCl₂). The viscosities were found to be increased with the increase in the concentration of electrolyte. Viscosities were also found affected with temperature. ‘A’ and ‘B’ coefficients of Jones–Dole equation were evaluated. The increase in positive values of ‘B’ coefficient with the rise of temperature led to conclusion that given electrolyte in 0.1% aqueous sodium alginate solution behaves as structure maker. Thermodynamic parameters regarding to activated state like energy of activation E_η, change in free energy of activation ΔG_η and change of entropy of activation ΔS_η were also evaluated. Straight-line plots of log η versus 1/T observed with positive slopes show the effect of temperature on the viscosities of solutions. Energy of activation (E_η) was found to be decreased with the rise of temperature. Change in free energy of activation (ΔG_η) was also found to be increased with increase in concentrations of electrolyte and also with rise of temperature. The values of change in entropy of activation (ΔS_η) were also calculated. Negative values of ΔS_η were found to be increased with increase in concentration of electrolyte and also with rise of temperature.     

Modeling and optimizing of sonochemical degradation of Basic Blue 41 via response surface methodology

The nanocatalyst-assisted sonodegradation of Basic Blue 41 (BB41) dye in aqueous medium was modeled and optimized using response surface method (RSM) based on Box-Behnken design. The studied variables included pH, initial dye concentration, H₂O₂ concentration and sonolysis time while each factor varied at three levels: Low level (−1), Medium level (0) and High level (+1). The ultrasound -assisted degradation was well described by developing quadratic model with correlation value squared (R²) of 0.9114. Factor effects along with interaction effects were evaluated. The graphical optimization step was conducted to achieve the best experimental condition in dye removal. pH, H₂O₂ concentration and initial dye concentration of the reaction were investigated. It was recognized that at lower pH values the dye removal rate decreased. However, dye removal rate increased (82.5%) by increasing the concentration of H₂O₂ and by lowering the initial dye concentration.      

Investigation of metal absorption and antibacterial activity on cotton fabric modified by low temperature plasma

In this work, the silver particle absorption and antibacterial activity of cotton fabric when modified by low temperature plasma were investigated. The modification consisted of plasma pre-functionalization followed by one-step wet treatment with silver nitrate solution. Oxygen and nitrogen were used as the working gases in the system, and the results were compared. The results showed that nitrogen plasma-treated samples can absorb more silver particles than oxygen-treated samples, and thus the antibacterial activity of the samples in this case, which was analyzed by the counting bacteria test, was increased considerably.     

Nanotechnology in the public eye: the case of Iran,as a developing country

Using survey data, public awareness of and attitudes toward nanotechnology are examined in Iran (N = 759). Iran is a developing country with a national nanotechnology action plan for a ten year period starting from 2003 and has been active in the field of research and development of nanotechnology meanwhile. First, the results show that majority of people are still not familiar with nanotechnology and perceived risks posed by this technology are not considered to be a lot and most people feel its benefits outweigh the risks. The emotions toward this technology are of a hopeful and positive nature and this technology is looked upon favorably in Iran. In particular, our results reveals that although the level of trust is high specially in scientists to communicate the risks with the public, there are a great number who just have some trust not quite a lot of it. Knowing that it is a hard and time-consuming effort to manage a nation’s view on nanotechnology, extensive research as well as collaboration with other countries is needed to effectively communicate the risks in time.     

ZL-amenability and characters for the restricted direct products of finite groups

Let G   be a restricted direct product of finite groups _{Gi}i∈I${\{G_i\}}_{i\in I}$, and let Z?¹(G)${\mathrm{Z}?}^1(G)$ denote the centre of its group algebra. We show that Z?¹(G)${\mathrm{Z}?}^1(G)$ is amenable if and only if _Gi$G_i$ is abelian for all but finitely many i  , and characterize the maximal ideals of Z?¹(G)${\mathrm{Z}?}^1(G)$ which have bounded approximate identities. We also study when an algebra character of Z?¹(G)${\mathrm{Z}?}^1(G)$ belongs to _c0$c_0$ or ?^p${?}^p$ and provide a variety of examples.     

A study on melt grafting of maleic anhydride onto low‐density polyethylene and its blend with polyamide 6

Graft copolymerization of low‐density polyethylene (LDPE) with a maleic anhydride (MAH) was performed using intermeshing corotating twin‐screw extruder in the presence of benzoyl peroxide (BPO). The LDPE/polyamide 6 (PA6) and LDPE‐g‐MAH/PA6 blends were prepared in a corotating twin‐screw extruder. The melt viscosity of the grafted LDPE was measured by a capillary rheometer. The grafted copolymer was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microcopy (SEM). The influence of the variation in temperature, BPO and MAH concentration, and temperature on the grafting degree and on the melt viscosity was studied. The grafting degree increased appreciably up to about 0.45 phr and then decreased continuously with an increasing BPO concentration. According to the FTIR analysis, it was found that the amount of grafted MAH on the LDPE chains was ～5.1%. Thermal analysis showed that melting temperature of the graft copolymers decreases with increasing grafting degree. In addition to this, loss modulus (E″) of the copolymers first increased little with increasing grafting and then obviously decreased with increasing grafting degree. Furthermore, the results revealed that the tensile strength of the blends increased linearly with increasing PA6 content. The results of SEM and mechanical test showed that the blends have good interfacial adhesion and good stability of the phase structure, which is reflected in the mechanical properties. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 267–275, 2010     

Squeezed flow and heat transfer over a porous surface for viscous fluid

Flow and heat transfer over a permeable sensor surface placed in a squeezing channel is analyzed. A constant transpiration through the sensor surface is assumed. Locally non-similar momentum and energy equations are solved by three different methods, against the transpiration parameter τ, for different values of the squeezing parameter b, and Prandtl number Pr. From the investigation, it is found that when the channel being squeezed, the skin-friction reduces but the heat transfer coefficient increases. Increase in the value of the squeezing parameter onsets reverse flow at the sensor surface when fluid is being injected and the affect is enhanced with the increase of injection through the surface. It is further observed that increase of suction of fluid through the sensor thins the thermal and the momentum boundary layer regions, whereas injection of fluid leads to thickening of both the thermal and the momentum boundary layer regions. Heat transfer from the surface of the sensor increases with the increase of the value of Pr for the entire range of surface mass-flux parameter τ. M. A. Hossain is on leave of absence from University of Dhaka.     

Analytic method for solving coupled nonlinear Schroedinger equations with oscillating terms describing polarized soliton oscillations

Using a variational method, a new model of the nonlinear propagation of optical solitons generated from semiconductor lasers through lossy elliptically low birefringent fiber, is presented within the framework of a system of coupled nonlinear Schroedinger (CNLS) equations with oscillating terms. This analytic model demonstrates polarized soliton oscillations in a lossy elliptically low birefringent optical fiber.     

Landau damping of ion-acoustic waves with simultaneous effects of non-extensivity and non-thermality in the presence of hybrid Cairns-Tsallis distributed electrons

The dispersion properties and Landau damping rate of ion-acoustic waves (IAWs) with the hybrid Cairns-Tsallis distributed (CTD) electrons and Maxwellian ions are investigated using the plasma kinetic model based on Vlasov-Poisson's equations. For both super-extensive (q < 1) and sub-extensive (q > 1) plasmas, the dielectric response function, real frequency, and Landau damping rate of IAWs are derived. By taking the effect of θ_{i, e} (ion-to-electron temperature ratio) into account, it is found that with the increase of ion temperature, the real frequency and wave dispersion effects increase as well (for both super-extensive and sub-extensive cases). Exploring the properties of the Landau damping rate of IAWs with the simultaneous presence of non-thermal parameter α and non-extensive parameter q, a comparison of numerical and analytical results is presented. It is found that in different ranges of θ_{e, i} (electron-to-ion temperature ratio), on decreasing the values of the non-extensive parameter and increasing values of the non-thermal parameter, the weak damping rate is observed (vice versa) in super-extensive or super-thermal plasma, although the trend of the damping rate in sub-thermal plasma is similar (as in the case of super-thermal plasma) but is less weak. It is further revealed that the damping rate of IAWs in thermal plasmas (Maxwellian) is stronger than the damping rate of IAWs in the case of non-thermal plasmas (CTD). The current study is applicable to provide deep insight and further allow the exploration of electrostatic plasma modes in different space and laboratory plasma environments where the hybrid CTD plasma exists.