Laminar bubbly flow in an open capillary channel in microgravity

The study of a bubbly laminar two-phase flow in an open capillary channel under microgravity conditions was conducted aboard the sounding rocket, Texus-45. The channel consists of two parallel plates of width b = 25 mm and distance a = 10 mm. The flow along the length l = 80 mm is confined by a free surface on one side and a plate on the opposite side. The bubbles are injected at the nozzle of the capillary channel via six capillary tubes of 100 μm in inner diameter. Different liquid and gas flow rates were tested leading to different liquid free surface shape and bubble size.     

Rapid TLC Method for Estimation of Mevalonic Acid in the Leaves of Medicinal Plants

A simple, rapid, specific and sensitive thin layer chromatographic (TLC) method has been developed for the quantitative estimation of mevalonic acid (MVA) in leaves of medicinal plants; Artemisia annua, Psorelia corylifolia, Vinca rosea, Withania somnifera and Barleria proinites. The assay procedure involved conversion of MVA to its lactone, mevalonolactone (MVAL). Mevalonic acid was extracted from the leaf tissues of plants. Separation of MVAL was carried out on silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ TLC plates using benzene:acetone (3:2) as the mobile phase. The densitometric determination of MVAL was performed at 600 nm after derivatization with anisaldehyde reagent in absorption–reflectance mode. The method was validated over the linearity range of 100–500 ng spot^?1 and correlation coefficient for the calibration curve was >0.99. The average recovery of MVAL, used as internal standard, was higher than 98%. The lower limit of detection was found to be 50 ng spot^?1.     

Efficient routing for IP subnet VLAN over Ethernet

Existing IP routing algorithms have been developed mainly for non‐VLAN networks. For these routing algorithms to work, an end station must be attached to its associated network. The introduction of VLAN has, however, allowed the physical location of the end station to be changed from time to time. Therefore, some extra mechanism is required to support routing in VLAN environment. Existing approaches have some drawbacks in terms of inefficiency in traffic forwarding and switch software complexity. In this paper, a simple and efficient method for routing over IP subnet VLAN in Ethernet is proposed. This method has been implemented in hardware and found to work correctly. Various measurements and analyses have been performed to verify the efficiency of this protocol. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stimulated raman scattering in fiber optic systems

The effect of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in fiber optic communications is considered. On one hand, SRS limits the launch power in a multiple-channel communication system; while on the other hand, SRS can provide optical amplification in the 1.3-μm and 1.55-μm windows. In most of the previous work these issues have been treated separately by using different assumptions. A solution is usually obtained by solving differential equations. We present a numerical method that involves the simultaneous solution of integral equations describing SRS in optical fiber. The method is general enough to be applicable for wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), optic frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), and optical amplification. However, it is efficient and simple to program and uses just a few realistic assumptions. A WDM communication system with 10 optical channels in the 1.55-μm window is studied by using this method, The data rate is above 1 Gbps. The system parameters are such that the other nonlinear effects, such as stimulated Brillouin scattering and four-wave mixing, are less significant for the system. Launch power limitations imposed by SRS are investigated for IM / DD and coherent systems. The receiver dynamic range over the wavelengths of interest is an important factor in determining the launch power limitations. An optical amplifier in the 1.3-μm window is also analyzed. The two-pump technique is investigated. With pump power levels of about 500 mw 0-dB gain can be achieved for a 30-km repeaterless link. Finally, the calculated results agree with the experiments.     

Multidimensional modified fractional calculus operators involving a general class of polynomials

In the present work, we introduce and study essentially a class of multi-dimensional modified fractional calculus operators involving a general class of polynomials in the kernel. These operators are considered in the space of functionsM _γ (R ₊ ⁿ ). Some mapping properties and fractional differential formulas are obtained. Also images of some elementary and special functions are established.     

Ultraspherical Integral Method for Optimal Control Problems Governed by Ordinary Differential Equations

In this paper an ultraspherical integral method is proposed to solve optimal control problems governed by ordinary differential equations. Ultraspherical approximation method reduced the problem to a constrained optimization problem. Penalty leap frog method is presented to solve the resulting constrained optimization problem. Error estimates for the ultraspherical approximations are derived and a technique that gives an optimal approximation of the problems is introduced. Numerical results are included to confirm the efficiency and accuracy of the method.     

Novel synthesis of alkoxy substituted oxa[9]helicenes by the reaction of helical quinone with alcohols

The reaction of helical quinone with alcohols in the presence of Brønsted acid such as para-toluenesulfonic acid (pTSA) or HCl proceeded smoothly to produce the corresponding alkoxy substituted oxa[9]helicenes in good yields.     

Typing of unknown microorganisms based on quantitative analysis of fatty acids by mass spectrometry and hierarchical clustering

Rapid identification of unknown microorganisms of clinical and agricultural importance is not only critical for accurate diagnosis of infections but also essential for appropriate and prompt treatment. We describe here a rapid method for microorganisms typing based on quantitative analysis of fatty acids by iFAT approach (Isotope-coded Fatty Acid Transmethylation). In this work, lyophilized cell lysates were directly mixed with 0.5M NaOH solution in d3-methanol and n-hexane. After 1 min of ultrasonication, the top n-hexane layer was combined with a mixture of standard d0-methanol derived fatty acid methylesters with known concentration. Measurement of intensity ratios of d3/d0 labeled fragment ion and molecular ion pairs at the corresponding target fatty acids provides a quantitative basis for hierarchical clustering. In the resultant dendrogram, the Euclidean distance between unknown species and known species quantitatively reveals their differences or shared similarities in fatty acid related pathways. It is of particular interest to apply this method for typing fungal species because fungi has distinguished lipid biosynthetic pathways that have been targeted for lots of drugs or fungicides compared with bacteria and animals. The proposed method has no dependence on the availability of genome or proteome databases. Therefore, it is can be applicable for a broad range of unknown microorganisms or mutant species.     

Nanocellulose: A Fundamental Material for Science and Technology Applications

Recently, considerable interest has been focused on developing greener and biodegradable materials due to growing environmental concerns. Owing to their low cost, biodegradability, and good mechanical properties, plant fibers have substituted synthetic fibers in the preparation of composites. However, the poor interfacial adhesion due to the hydrophilic nature and high-water absorption limits the use of plant fibers as a reinforcing agent in polymer matrices. The hydrophilic nature of the plant fibers can be overcome by chemical treatments. Cellulose the most abundant natural polymer obtained from sources such as plants, wood, and bacteria has gained wider attention these days. Different methods, such as mechanical, chemical, and chemical treatments in combination with mechanical treatments, have been adopted by researchers for the extraction of cellulose from plants, bacteria, algae, etc. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), cellulose nanofibrils (CNF), and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) have been extracted and used for different applications such as food packaging, water purification, drug delivery, and in composites. In this review, updated information on the methods of isolation of nanocellulose, classification, characterization, and application of nanocellulose has been highlighted. The characteristics and the current status of cellulose-based fiber-reinforced polymer composites in the industry have also been discussed in detail.     

On Jacobi fields

We define curves on a Riemannian manifold as integrals of generalized Jacobi fields. We show that the force term that deviates the trajectory from the geodesic motion can be constructed as a functional of the metric tensor. These curves can be interpreted as particles (observers) coupled nonminimally with gravitation that can provide a class of residual observers for the inevitable singularity—as shown in the text.This essay received an honorable mention (1976) from the Gravity Research Foundation-Ed.