Dependence of hydrogen released on the charge state of incident ions

The behavior of polymers under heavy ion bombardment is of great interest. In the present study, hydrogen released from polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was investigated as a function of charge state (11⁺, 14⁺, and 25⁺) for 130 MeV ¹⁰⁷Ag ions. It was found that hydrogen released from the polymers varies as α q ⁿ , where n was found to be 2.98 and 1.94 for PP and PET, respectively, when compared with the value of ～3.0 reported in the literature for different polymers and ion combinations. Radii of the damaged zones or ion track formed were deduced from the slope of the hydrogen released versus ion fluence curves. This radius was also found to depend upon the charge state of the incident ion. It varies as β q ^m , where m is 1.25 and 0.741 for PP and PET, respectively.     

Theoretical investigation of high-pressure phase transitions in Mg1-xSrxO

The stability of Mg_1-xSr_xO solid solution has been analyzed using charge transfer interaction potential (CTIP) model as well as density functional theory-based ab initio approach with Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) type parameterized generalized gradient approximation. The present CTIP model consists of long-range part as modified coulomb interactions and charge transfer forces whereas short-range part includes the van der Waals as well as Hafemeister Flygare type overlap repulsive interactions effective up to next nearest neighbor ions. The present study finds that under the influence of pressure host binary oxides as well as their solid solutions undergo B1→B2 structural phase transition in the pressure range of 54–495 GPa. The variation of ground state properties and transition pressures have also been analyzed as a function of Sr composition. The observed results for the end point members are in agreement to their experimental counterparts and the deviations have been discussed in terms of interactions taken into consideration in two approaches.     

Modeling of thermal conductivity of nanofluids by modifying Maxwell’s equation using cell model approach

Nanofluid is an innovative heat transfer fluid with superior potential for enhancing the heat transfer performance of conventional fluids. Though many attempts have been made to investigate the abnormal high thermal conductivity of nanofluids, the existing models cannot precisely predict the same. An attempt has been made to develop a model for predicting the thermal conductivity of different types of nanofluids. The model presented here is derived based on the fact that thermal conductivity of nanofluids depends on thermal conductivity of particle and fluid as well as micro-convective heat transfer due to Brownian motion of nanoparticles. Novelty of the article lies in giving a unique equation which predicts thermal conductivity of nanofluids for different concentrations and particle sizes which also correctly predicts the trends observed in experimental data over a wide range of particle sizes, temperatures, and particle concentrations.     

Single-shot multiple-delay crossed-beam spectral interferometry for measuring extremely complex pulses

We demonstrate a single-shot measurement technique based on spectral interferometry (SI) for measuring the complete intensity and phase vs. time of extremely complex ultrashort laser pulses. Ordinarily, such a method would require an extremely-high-resolution spectrometer, but, by temporally interleaving many SI measurements, each using a different reference-pulse delay, our method overcomes this need. It involves introducing a transverse time delay into the reference pulse by tilting its pulse front transversely to the spectrometer dispersion plane. The tilted reference pulse then gates the unknown pulse by interfering with it at the image plane of a low-resolution imaging spectrometer, yielding an effective increase in the delay range and spectral resolution—by a factor of 30 in our proof-of-principle implementation. Our device achieved a temporal resolution of ~ 130 fs and a temporal range of 120 ps. This simple device has the potential to measure even longer and more complex pulses.     

Extremophilic Polysaccharide for Biosynthesis and Passivation of Gold Nanoparticles and Photothermal Ablation of Cancer Cells

Extremophiles are the group of organisms that are far overlooked for exploring novel biomaterials in the field of material science and bionanotechnology. Extremophilic bacterial‐sulfated exopolysaccharide, mauran (MR), is employed for the bioreduction and passivation of gold nanoparticles (AuNps) to enhance the biocompatibility of AuNps and used for photothermal ablation of cancer cells. Here, various concentrations of MR solution are tested for the reduction of HAuCl₄ solution in the presence as well as in the absence of an external reducing agent, to produce mauran‐gold nanoparticles (MRAu Nps). These biocompatible nanocomposites are treated with cancer cell lines under in vitro conditions and NIR irradiated for complete ablation. MRAu Nps‐treated cancer cells on immediate exposure to infrared radiation from a femtosecond pulse laser of operating wavelength 800 nm are subjected to hyperthermia causing cell death. Biocompatible MR stabilization could fairly reduce the cytotoxicity caused by bare AuNps during biomedical applications. Application of a biocompatible polysaccharide from extremophilic bacterial origin for reduction and passivation of AuNps and used for a biomedical purpose is known to be first of its kind in bionanofusion studies.     

Urea hydrogen peroxide-initiated synthesis of pyranopyrazoles through oxidative coupling under base- and metal-free conditions by physical grinding method

A novel multicomponent one-pot expeditious synthesis of highly functionalized and pharmaceutically fascinated pyranopyrazoles has been developed. This reaction occurs via tandem Knoevenagel condensation reaction of methyl aryl derivatives, 3-methyl pyrazolone and malononitrile in the presence of urea hydrogen peroxide under the physical grinding method. The present methodology offers several benefits such as available green and cheap starting materials, solvent-free, mild reaction conditions, high atom economy, eco-friendly standards, excellent yields and easy isolation of the products without column chromatographic separation.

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Design and Optimization of Nonlinear Tapers using Particle Swarm Optimization

In this paper the design and optimization of a nonlinear diameter taper, connecting the output section of a gyrotron cavity to the uniform output waveguide section, is presented. The design of a nonlinear taper of a 42 GHz, 200 kW CW gyrotron operating in the TE_0,3 cavity mode with axial output collection has been taken as a case study. The taper synthesis has been carried out considering a raised cosine type of nonlinear taper and the analysis is done using a dedicated scattering matrix code. In addition, an improved particle swarm optimization - an evolutionary optimization - algorithm is used for the design optimization of this nonlinear taper. The optimum design of the taper shows the effectiveness of the presented method.     

A hybrid approach integrating Affinity Diagram, AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS for sustainable city logistics planning

City logistics initiatives are steps taken by municipal administrations to ameliorate the condition of goods transport in cities and reduce their negative impacts on city residents and their environment. Examples of city logistics initiatives are urban distribution centers, congestion pricing, delivery timing and access restrictions. In this paper, we present a hybrid approach based on Affinity Diagram, AHP and fuzzy TOPSIS for evaluating city logistics initiatives. Four initiatives namely vehicle sizing restrictions, congestion charging schemes, urban distribution center and access timing restrictions are considered.The proposed approach consists of four steps. The first step involves identification of criteria for assessing performance of city logistics initiatives using Affinity Diagram. The results are four categories of criteria namely technical, social, economical and environmental. In step 2, a decision making committee comprising of representatives of city logistics stakeholders is formed. These stakeholders are shippers, receivers, transport operators, end consumers and public administrators. The committee members weight the selected criteria using AHP. In step 3, the decision makers provide linguistic ratings to the alternatives (city logistics initiatives) to assess their performance against the selected criteria. These linguistic ratings are then aggregated using fuzzy TOPSIS to generate an overall performance score for each alternative. The alternative with the highest score is finally chosen as most suitable city logistics initiative for improving city sustainability. In the fourth step, we perform sensitivity analysis to evaluate the influence of criteria weights on the selection of the best alternative.The proposed approach is novel and can be practically applied for selecting sustainable city logistics initiatives for cities. Another advantage is its ability to generate solutions under limited quantitative information. An empirical application of the proposed approach is provided.