Dyeing of cotton with thyme and pomegranate peel

Application of natural dyes for textiles is increasing due to awareness of environment, ecology, and pollution control. The purpose of this study is to determine the color, antimicrobial, and fastness properties of cotton fabrics dyed with thyme and pomegranate peel without a mordanting process. In this way, it was planned to avoid use of metallic mordants (heavy-metal salts) and prevent heavy-metal pollution for ecological production. Additionally, a variety of the most commonly used mordants, namely potassium aluminum sulfate, copper(II) sulfate, iron(II) sulfate, and tin(II) chloride, were used for mordanting of cotton fabrics in order to compare the differently mordanted and unmordanted dyed fabrics’ color efficiencies (K/S) and CIE L ^* a ^* b ^* color values. It was found that mordant type had an effect on color efficiency and the color coordinates of fabrics dyed with both thyme and pomegranate fruit peel. Moreover, the antimicrobial properties of the fabrics only dyed directly with thyme and pomegranate peel without any mordanting process were determined to demonstrate the usability of these natural dye sources without use of any mordanting agents. The obtained antimicrobial activities were compared with undyed samples. Undyed samples showed no antimicrobial activity, whereas significant antimicrobial activity was obtained after the dyeing procedure using thyme and pomegranate peel on unmordanted fabrics. Washing, rubbing, perspiration, and lightfastness properties of dyed fabrics were also evaluated. Thyme and pomegranate fruit peel as natural dye sources revealed sufficient results even for unmordanted samples.     

Characterization,slab-pair modeling and phase analysis of circular fishnet metamaterials

Planar metamaterials, which have incident to normal plane excitation unlike SRR-type structures and that are easily fabricated in multilayer form, have received great interest in recent years. In this paper, one-dimensional and polarization independent circular fishnet metamaterials and their equivalent discontinuous slab-pair modeling for tuning resonance frequencies are introduced. After the numerical and experimental demonstration of the inclusions, the standard retrieval characterization methods and the correspondent/related backward-wave propagation observation are realized in order to check the physical explanation mentioned in the paper. In addition, a detailed phase analysis is performed in order to demonstrate the application of the suggested structure as a phase compensator.     

Viability with Probabilistic Knowledge of Initial Condition, Application to Optimal Control

In this paper we provide an extension of the Viability and Invariance Theorems in the Wasserstein metric space of probability measures with finite quadratic moments in ? ^d for controlled systems of which the dynamic is bounded and Lipschitz. Then we characterize the viability and invariance kernels as the largest viability (resp. invariance) domains. As application of our result we consider an optimal control problem of Mayer type with lower semicontinuous cost function for the same controlled system with uncertainty on the initial state modeled by a probability measure. Following Frankowska, we prove using the epigraphical viability approach that the value function is the unique lower semicontinuous proximal episolution of a suitable Hamilton Jacobi equation.     

Electrowetting-Based Variable-Focus Lens for Miniature Systems

The meniscus between two immiscible liquids of different refractive indices can be used as a lens. A change in curvature of this meniscus by electrostatic control of the solid/liquid interfacial tension leads to a change in focal distance. It is demonstrated that two liquids in a tube form a self-centred variable-focus lens. The optical properties of this lens were investigated experimentally. We designed and constructed a miniature camera module based on this variable lens suitable for mobile applications. Furthermore, the liquid lens was applied in a Blu-ray Disc optical recording system to enable dual layer disc reading/writing.     

Parameter Optimization of Laminated Multiferroic Composites

Mechanics of Composite Materials - The voltage coefficient of a multiferroic laminated composite consisting of magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases is minimized by optimization of physical...     

NMR imaging of white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporis) at various magnetic fields

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been applied to visualize physiological phenomena in plants and agricultural crops. Imaging sequences that result in contrast of a combination of parameters (e.g., proton density, ) cannot be used for a correct and unique interpretation of the results. In this study multiecho imaging together with monoexponential T₂ decay fitting was applied to determine reliable proton density and T₂ distributions over a mushroom. This was done at three magnetic field strengths (9.4, 4.7, and 0.47 T) because susceptibility inhomogeneities were suspected to influence the T₂ relaxation times negatively, and because the inflences of susceptibility inhomogeneities increase with a rise in magnetic field strength. Electron microscopy was used to understand the different T₂'s for the various tissue types in mushrooms. Large influences of the tissue ultrastructure on the observed T₂ relaxation times were found and explained. Based on the results, it is concluded that imaging mushrooms at low fields (around or below 0.47T) and short echo times has strong advantages over its high-field counterpart, especially with respect to quantitative imaging of the water balance of mushrooms. These conclusions indicate general validity whenever NMR imaging contrast is influenced by susceptibility inhomogeneities.     

△-Resonances in Ground State Properties of ^40 20Ca Spherical Cold Finite Nucleus at Equilibrium and under Compression

The ground state properties of the spherical nucleus ^40Ca have been investigated by using constrained spherical Hartree Fock （CSHF） approximation at equilibrium and under high radial compression in a six major shells. The effective baryon-baryon interaction that includes the △（1236） resonance freedom degrees to calculate nuclear properties is used. The nucleon-nucleon （N-N） interaction is based on Reid soft core （RSC） potential. The results of calculations show that much of increase in the nuclear energy generated under compression is used to create the massive △ particles. The number of △ ＇s can be increased to about 2.1% of constituents of nucleus when nuclear density reaches about 1.34 times of normal density. The single particle energy levels are calculated and their behavior under compression is also examined. △ good agreement has been found between current calculations and phenomenological shell model for low lying single-particle spectra. The gap between shells is very clear and L-S coupling become stronger as increasing the static load on the nucleus. The results show a considerable reduction in compressibility when freedom degrees of △＇s are taken into account. It has been found that the total nuclear radial density becomes denser in the interior and less dense in the exterior region of nucleus. The surface of nucleus becomes more and more responsive to compression than outer region.     

Iterative tandem catalysis of secondary diols and diesters to chiral polyesters

The well-known dynamic kinetic resolution of secondary alcohols and esters was extended to secondary diols and diesters to afford chiral polyesters. This process is an example of iterative tandem catalysis (ITC), a polymerization method where the concurrent action of two fundamentally different catalysts is required to achieve chain growth. In order to procure chiral polyesters of high enantiomeric excess value (ee) and good molecular weight, the catalysts employed need to be complementary and compatible during the polymerization reaction. We here show that Shvo's catalyst and Novozym 435 fulfil these requirements. The optimal polymerization conditions of 1,1'-(1,3-phenylene) diethanol (1,3-diol) and diisopropyl adipate required 2 mol% Shvo's catalyst and 12 mg Novozym 435 per mmol alcohol group in the presence of 0.5 M 2,4-dimethyl-3-pentanol as the hydrogen donor. With these conditions, chiral polyesters were obtained with peak molecular weights up to 15 kDa, an ee value up to 99% and with 1-3 % ketone end groups. Also with the structural isomer, 1,4-diol, a chiral polyester was obtained, albeit with lower molecular weight (8.3 kDa) and slightly lower ee (94%). Aliphatic secondary diols also resulted in enantio-enriched polymers but at most an ee of 46 % was obtained with molecular weights in the range of 3.3-3.7 kDa. This low ee originates from the intrinsic low enantioselectivity of Novozym 435 for this type of secondary aliphatic diols. The results presented here show that ITC can be applied to procure chiral polyesters with good molecular weight and high ee from optically inactive AA-BB type monomers.     

小蘖碱与核酸作用荧光光谱及其分析应用

报道了小蘖碱与核酸（ＤＮＡ）作用的荧光光谱。在ＰＨ值３．０－９．１范围内小蘖碱与ＤＮＡ作用。荧光谱发生了显著变化,λｃｍ－５３１ｎｍ的荧光峰随着ＤＮＡ的浓度增加,荧光强度显著增强,据此奶可达１．１μｇ／Ｌ。确定了最佳条件,方法简便快速,对合成样品中ＤＮＡ测定结果令人满意。     

Effect of trabecular bone material properties on ultrasonic backscattering signals

In this study, ultrasonic backscattering signals in cancellous bones were obtained by finite difference time domain （FDTD） simulations, and the effect of trabecular material properties on these signals was analyzed. The backscatter coefficient （BSC） and integrated backscatter coefficient （IBC） were numerically investigated for varying trabecular bone material properties, including density, Lame coefficients, viscosities, and resistance coefficients. The results show that the BSC is a complex function of trabecular bone density, and the IBC increases as density increases. The BSC and IBC increase with the first and second Lame coefficients. While not very sensitive to the second viscosity of the trabeculae, the BSC and IBC decrease as the first viscosity and resistance coefficients increase. The results demonstrate that, in addition to bone mineral density （BMD） and microarchitecture, trabecular material properties significantly influence ultrasonic backseattering signals in cancellous bones. This research furthers the understanding of ultrasonic backscattering in cancellous bones and the characterization of cancellous bone status.