A controllability perspective of dynamic soaring

Dynamic soaring is an exquisite flying technique to acquire energy from the atmospheric wind shear. In this study, a geometric nonlinear controllability analysis of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) under dynamic soaring conditions is performed. To achieve such an objective, the state-of-the-art mathematical tools of nonlinear controllability are summarized and presented to an aeronautical engineering audience. The dynamic soaring optimal control problem is then formulated and solved numerically. The controllability of the UAV along the optimal soaring trajectory is analyzed. More importantly, the geometric nonlinear controllability characteristics of generic flight dynamics are analyzed in the presence and absence of wind shear to provide a controllability explanation for the role of wind shear in the physics of dynamic soaring flight. It is found that the wind shear is instrumental in ensuring controllability as it allows the UAV attitude controls (pitch and roll) to play the role of thrust in controlling the flight path angle. The presented analysis represents a controllability-based mathematical proof for the energetics of flight physics.     

Current Analytical Strategies in Studying Chromatin-Associated-Proteome (Chromatome)

Chromatin is a dynamic structure comprising of DNA and proteins. Its unique nature not only help to pack the DNA tightly within the cell but also is pivotal in regulating gene expression DNA replication. Furthermore it also protects the DNA from being damaged. Various proteins are involved in making a specific complex within a chromatin and the knowledge about these interacting partners is helpful to enhance our understanding about the pathophysiology of various chromatin associated diseases. Moreover, it could also help us to identify new drug targets and design more effective remedies. Due to the existence of chromatin in different forms under various physiological conditions it is hard to develop a single strategy to study chromatin associated proteins under all conditions. In our current review, we tried to provide an overview and comparative analysis of the strategies currently adopted to capture the DNA bounded protein complexes and their mass spectrometric identification and quantification. Precise information about the protein partners and their function in the DNA-protein complexes is crucial to design new and more effective therapeutic molecules against chromatin associated diseases.     

7β-(3-Ethyl-cis-crotonoyloxy)-1α-(2-methylbutyryloxy)-3,14-dehydro-Z Notonipetranone Attenuates Neuropathic Pain by Suppressing Oxidative Stress,Inflammatory and Pro-Apoptotic Protein Expressions

7β-(3-Ethyl-cis-crotonoyloxy)-1α-(2-methylbutyryloxy)-3,14-dehydro-Z-notonipetranone (ECN), a sesquiterpenoid obtained from a natural source has proved to be effective in minimizing various side effects associated with opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The current study focused on investigating the effects of ECN on neuropathic pain induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) by mainly focusing on oxidative stress, inflammatory and apoptotic proteins expression in mice. ECN (1 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.), was administered once daily for 11 days, starting from the third day after surgery. ECN post-treatment was found to reduce hyperalgesia and allodynia in a dose-dependent manner. ECN remarkably reversed the histopathological abnormalities associated with oxidative stress, apoptosis and inflammation. Furthermore, ECN prevented the suppression of antioxidants (glutathione, glutathione-S-transferase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2), hemeoxygenase-1 and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase) by PSNL. Moreover, pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrotic factor-alpha, interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 6, cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase) expression was reduced by ECN administration. Treatment with ECN was successful in reducing the caspase-3 level consistent with the observed modulation of pro-apoptotic proteins. Additionally, ECN showed a protective effect on the lipid content of myelin sheath as evident from FTIR spectroscopy which showed the shift of lipid component bands to higher values. Thus, the anti-neuropathic potential of ECN might be due to the inhibition of oxidative stress, inflammatory mediators and pro-apoptotic proteins.     

Elastic,electronic and optical properties of cotunnite TiO2 from first principles calculations

The ultrasoft pseudopotential technique is used to explore the elastic, electronic and optical properties of cotunnite TiO₂ using LDA and GGA proposed by Perdew Wang (PW91), Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) functional as defined by Wu and Cohen (PBEWC) and PBE functional for solids (PBESOL). The calculated elastic constants bulk modulus, shear modulus and Young’s modulus are in agreement with the previous theoretical reports. From our investigated shear anisotropy factors (A₁, A₂, and A₃), we infer that cotunnite TiO₂ is strong anisotropy in case of A₁ and A₂ and less anisotropy in case of A₃. The value of mean sound speed and Debye temperature are calculated using the obtained values of elastic moduli. The calculated structural parameters are in accord with the reported experiment and theoretical results. Our obtained values of direct bandgaps show an improvement over the other previous theoretical reports. The values of the dielectric constant (ε₁(ω)) of cotunnite TiO₂ calculated within LDA and GGA approximations are 7.655 (LDA (CA-PZ)), 7.578 (GGA (PW91)), 7.685 (GGA (WC)) and 7.655 (GGA (PBESOL)), which are slightly higher than the experimental values of rutile (6.69) and anatase (6.55) polymorphs. The obtained values of the refractive index are consistent with rutile TiO₂ and higher than anatase phase. The investigated imaginary part of dielectric constant and absorption spectrum reflect that the cotunnite TiO₂ is a weak photocatalytic material as compared to anatase and similar to rutile phases.     

Facile Non‐enzymatic Lactic Acid Sensor Based on Cobalt Oxide Nanostructures

In this study, we have investigated the effect of counter anions on the morphology of cobalt oxide nanostructures. The nanostructures of cobalt oxide are prepared by a low temperature aqueous chemical growth method. The morphology of cobalt oxide nanostructure material was investigated by scanning electron microscopy and the crystalline structure was studied by powder X‐ray diffraction technique. The cobalt oxide nanostructures exhibit the nanowire, lump, bundle of the nanowire and flower‐like morphologies. The XRD study has revealed a cubic phase of cobalt oxide nanostructures. The electro‐catalytic properties of cobalt oxide nanostructures were explored through cyclic voltammetry and amperometric techniques by sensing of lactic acid in the alkaline media. The cobalt oxide nanostructures prepared from cobalt nitrate have shown a well‐resolved redox peak. The proposed mechanism for the non‐enzymatic lactic acid sensor is elucidated by considering the morphology and cyclic voltammetry response. The limit of detection for the sensor was found to be 0.006 mM and it exhibits a linear range from 0.05–3 mM of lactic acid as shown by cyclic voltammetry. The amperometric response has shown the excellent current‐concentration response and the linear range of sensor was found to be 0.1 mM to 5.5 mM. The lactic acid sensor is stable, selective and can be used for practical applications. This study provides an excellent alternative analytical tool for the determination of lactic acid.     

Multiple time scale analysis of aircraft longitudinal dynamics with aerodynamic vectoring

The paper analyzes the longitudinal dynamics of sustained high angle-of-attack flights performed by a small agile Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with an aerodynamic vectoring feature. This unique feature is achieved through variable-incidence wing that allows the angle of incidence of the wing with respect to fuselage to be decoupled. The aerodynamics of the UAV is estimated through wind-tunnel experiments. Subsequently, the dynamics of the UAV motion are studied for trim conditions across the complete spectrum of velocity between hover and forward cruise flight. The short-period eigenvalue migration, as the trimmed flight conditions are changed, studied, and the peculiarities observed from this linear analysis are highlighted. Further, the Multiple Time Scales method in conjunction with bifurcation theory is used to obtain the approximate solutions of the multiple degree-of-freedom nonlinear equations of motion. The explicit analytical results obtained are useful to identify the key parameters affecting the dynamics and stability of the aircraft??s longitudinal motion. The conditions leading to limit cycle responses in the vicinity of the stall regime are also highlighted.     

Influence of sintering time on structural,magnetic and electrical properties of Si–Ca added Sr-hexa ferrites

Sr-hexa ferrites with the addition of Si (0.5 wt%) and Ca (0.5 wt%) have been prepared by solid-state reaction method with sintering time variation ranging from 2 to 10 h. The structural characterization of the samples confirmed the major phase of Sr-hexa ferrite. Average grain size was found within the range of 1–4 μm. Vicker hardness increased from 512 to 1187H_v. The coercivity and remanence had the ranges from 596 to 4255 Oe and 324 to 516 G, respectively. The DC electrical resistivity measurements were carried out by two-probe method as a function of temperature from 303 to 723 K. The room temperature DC resistivity increased from 1.67×10⁶ to 2.89×10⁸ Ω cm in turn the activation energy also increased from 0.314 to 0.495 eV. The DC electrical resistivity decreased while drift mobility increased with the rise in temperature, ensuring the semi-conducting behavior. Dielectric properties were studied as a function of frequency in the range of 80 Hz to 1 MHz at room temperature.     

Biaryl scaffold-focused virtual screening for anti-aggregatory and neuroprotective effects in Alzheimer’s disease

Background

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a primary cause of dementia in ageing population affecting more than 35 million people around the globe. It is a chronic neurodegenerative disease caused by defected folding and aggregation of amyloid beta (Aβ) protein. Aβ is formed by the cleavage of membrane embedded amyloid precursor protein (APP) by using enzyme ‘transmembrane aspartyl protease, β-secretase’. Inhibition of β-secretase is a viable strategy to prevent neurotoxicity in AD. Another strategy in the treatment of AD is inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. This inhibition reduces the degradation of acetylcholine and temporarily restores the cholinergic function of neurons and improves cognitive function. Monoamine oxidase and higher glutamate levels are also found to be linked with Aβ peptide related oxidative stress. Oxidative stress leads to reduced activity of glutamate synthase resulting in significantly higher level of glutamate in brain. The aim of this study is to perform in silico screening of a virtual library of biaryl scaffold containing compounds potentially used for the treatment of AD. Screening was done against the primary targets of AD therapeutics, acetylcholinesterase, β-secretase (BACE1), Monoamine oxidases (MAO) and N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. Compounds were screened for their inhibitory potential by employing molecular docking approach using AutoDock vina. Binding energy scores were embodied in the heatmap to display varies strengths of interactions of the ligands targeting AD.

Results

Several ligands showed notable interaction with at least two targets, but the strong interaction with all the targets is shown by very few ligands. The pharmacokinetics of the interacting ligands was also predicted. The interacting ligands have good drug-likeness and brain availability essential for drugs with intracranial targets.

Conclusion

These results suggest that biaryl scaffold may be pliable to drug development for neuroprotection in AD and that the synthesis of further analogues to optimize these properties should be considered.

     

Recent Advances in the Preparation and Applications of Organo‐functionalized Porous Materials

Organo‐functionalized materials with porous structure offer unique adsorption, catalytic and sensing properties. These unique properties make them available for various applications, including catalysis, CO₂ capture and utilization, and drug delivery. The properties and the performance of these unique materials can be altered with suitable modifications on their surface. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in the preparation and applications of organo‐functionalized porous materials with different structures. Initially, a brief historical overview of functionalized porous materials is presented, and the subsequent sections discuss the recent developments and applications of various functional porous materials. In particular, the focus is given on the various methods used for the preparation of organo‐functionalized materials and their important roles in the heterogenization of homogeneous catalysts. A special emphasis is also given on the applications of these functionalized porous materials for catalysis, CO₂ capture and drug delivery.