Analysis of the relationship between liquid droplet size and contact angle

The purpose of this paper is to present a consistent theoretical concept that can explain the various physical phenomena associated with the effect of droplet size on contact angle for droplets on solid surfaces, and with the geometry of the liquid/gas/solid contact line in general. Two droplet geometries have been considered: uniformly elongated droplets and axisymmetric droplets. It has been shown that the contact angle for elongated droplets is size-independent and, thus, satisfies the Young equation for constant material and interfacial properties. On the other hand, whereas the contact angle for axisymmetric droplets is size-dependent and does not satisfy the original Young equation, it is shown that this contact angle can still be predicted for any combination of droplet and substrate materials, and a given mass of the droplet. The theoretical work has been combined with the development of numerical schemes of solving the Laplace-Young equation for various droplet geometries. The proposed approach has been applied to different material/substrate combinations and validated against several sets of experimental data. As a result, a method has been developed for predicting the contact angle of both long and axisymmetric sessile droplets of arbitrary sizes for given liquid/solid/gas properties.     

Composing local and global behaviors: Higher performance of spin glass based portfolio selection

The basic challenge in optimization is how to navigate through the many non-optimal and mediocre solutions toward the few globally optimal solutions, amidst the growing problem size and computation complexity. If the proximity to an optimal solution could be measured, a desirable technique could be one that navigates speedily, even if crudely, when an optimal solution is not likely to be next; and accurately, even if slowly, otherwise. In this paper, we propose a technique based on spin glass paradigm that uses the above heuristic to solve the classic portfolio selection problem. Study of spin glass paradigm reveals that limiting each spin's interactions to its local neighborhood increases the computational speed of the algorithm, but also introduces an error in performance measure. In contrast, extending each spin's reach globally provides an accurate measure of performance, but slows down the glass computations. Theoretical analysis reveals a decision threshold by which speedy versus accurate navigation, i.e. local versus global glass behavior, can be alternated. The resulting algorithm is then applied to five different world stock market portfolio selection problems consisting of Hang Seng, DAX 100, FTSE 100, S&P 100, and Nikkei. These results demonstrate utility of the hybrid local–global behavior and appropriateness of the proposed decision threshold. Specifically, the results of experiments show faster convergence without a significant loss of accuracy in reaching globally optimal solutions.     

HPLC profiling of phenolics and flavonoids of Adonidia merrillii fruits and their antioxidant and cytotoxic properties

In this study the antioxidant and cytotoxicity activity of the Adonidia merrillii fruits were investigated using different solvent polarities (methanol, ethyl acetate and water). The results showed that the total phenolic and flavonoid contents of the methanolic extract was higher compare with other extract with respective values of 17.80 ± 0.45 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dry weight (DW) and 5.43 ± 0.33 mg rutin equivalents/g DW. Beside that The RP-HPLC analyses indicated the presence of gallic acid, pyrogallol, caffeic acid, vanillic acid, syringic acid, naringin and rutin. In the DPPH, NO2 and ABTS scavenging assays, the methanolic extract exhibited higher antioxidant activity as compared to the ethyl acetate and water extracts. The extracts exhibited moderate to weak cytotoxic activity in the assays using human hepatocytes (Chang liver cells) and NIH/3T3 (fibroblasts cell) cell lines. The findings showed the Adonidia merrillii fruit extracts to possess considerable antioxidant and cytotoxicity properties. The fruit, therefore, is a potential candidate for further work to discover antioxidant and cytotoxic drugs from natural sources.     

Multi‐responses optimization of simultaneous adsorption of methylene blue and malachite green dyes in binary aqueous system onto Ni:FeO(OH)‐NWs‐AC using experimental design: derivative spectrophotometry method

In this research, response surface methodology (RSM) approach using Central Composite Design (CCD) coupled by derivative spectrophotometry method was applied to develop mathematical model and optimize process parameters for simultaneous adsorption of methylene blue (MB) and malachite green (MG) from aqueous solution using Ni:FeO(OH) ‐ NWs‐AC. The optimal conditions to adsorption of MB and MG in binary mixture solution from aqueous solution were found at pH 8.0, MB concentration 20 mg L^‐1, MG concentration 20 mg L^‐1, adsorbent dosage 0.033 g and contact time 40 min. At these conditions, high adsorption efficiency (99.39% and 100.0% for MB and MG, respectively) was achieved. Among experimental equilibrium, Langmuir isotherm model fitted well with maximum monolayer adsorption capacity of 28.6 and 29.8 mg g^‐1 for MB and MG, respectively. The adsorption kinetic data followed pseudo second‐order kinetics for MB and MG dyes.     

Indicated repeatable runout with wavelet decomposition (IRR-WD) for effective determination of bearing-induced vibration

Bearings are often the limiting factors for performance of rotor systems. There are various sources that contribute to rotor vibration due to bearing elements. These include the variable compliance effect, spinning and sliding motions of rolling elements, manufacturing anomalies in the form and finish of bearing elements and the out-of-centre assembly of shafts on bearing supports. Therefore, the signature of vibration is quite complex and its decomposition into its constituent contributory factors can be significant in fault diagnosis and for remedial actions. This paper highlights a novel method for acquisition of real-time vibration signature of rotor systems, based upon the decomposition of the indicated repeatable runout for synchronous components of vibration. It is shown that wavelet analysis can be employed to reduce the burden of long-record data manipulation. The methodology is termed “indicated repeatable runout with wavelet decomposition”.     

Computer data analysis of the oscillating forward–reverse method

Nonequilibrium work theorems have recently gained wide acceptance as useful tools in determining free energy profiles for soft-matter systems. We have recently proposed an extension of the forward–reverse method, called the oscillating forward–reverse method; by introducing an oscillatory drift it enables the user to obtain PMFs from a single nonequilibrium pull. The analysis, although manageable, is non-trivial. We present here the data analysis and the software (OFR-AT) created to construct PMFs and associated uncertainties from the oscillating forward–reverse (OFR) method. The output analyzed by OFR-AT is often from molecular dynamics simulations, but as with the OFR method itself, it can be more generally applied. OFR-AT is a fast and efficient analysis tool that can analyze very large files (larger than 5 GB) in a short time period. We also describe the uncertainty and correlation calculations performed, provide a map of the data flow through the program, and present representative examples of PMF profiles calculated using OFR-AT.     

Modeling and optimization of simultaneous photocatalysis of three dyes on ceramic-coated TiO2 nanoparticles using chemometrics methods: phytotoxicological assessment during degradation process

In this paper, ceramic plates were used as a support of TiO₂ nanoparticles for photocatalytic decolorization of a mixture of three dyes. The three textile dyes (C.I. Basic Red 46, C.I. Basic Blue 3 and Malachite Green) were quantified simultaneously during the photocatalytic degradation process. The partial least squares modeling was successfully applied for the multivariate calibration of the spectrophotometric data. Also, the central composite design has been applied to the optimization of photocatalytic decolorization of the dye solution containing three dyes using an immobilized UV/TiO₂ process. The optimum initial concentration of three dyes, reaction time, and UV light intensity were found to be 5 mg/L, 240 min, and 47.2 W/m², respectively. The chronic phytotoxicity of mixture of dyes was evaluated using aquatic species Spirodela polyrhiza (S. polyrhiza) prior to and after photocatalysis. The phytotoxicity results revealed that the photocatalysis process could effectively reduce the phytotoxicity of the dyes from their aqueous solutions.     

Antispasmodic effect of hydroalcoholic extract of Thymus vulgaris on the guinea-pig ileum

The effects of Thymus vulgaris hydroalcoholic extract on the contractile responses of the isolated guinea-pig ileum were investigated. Contraction changes in the terminal ileum of guinea pigs were monitored using a force displacement transducer amplifier connected to a physiograph. Thymus vulgaris extract inhibited the contractile responses in a dose-dependent manner and also decreased the amplitude of peristaltic waves. It is concluded that T. vulgaris has an antispasmodic action on guinea pig ileum by decreasing the amplitudes of the muscle contractions during peristalsis. The EC50 was calculated as 1.7 mg mL(-1). In guinea-pig ileum the extract led to an antispasmodic effect, possibly by affecting the anticholinergic and serotoninergic pathways.     

Spreading of triple line and dynamics of bubble growth inside nanoparticle dispersions on top of a substrate plate

This work investigates the feasibility of engineering surface wettability by using different nanoparticles. As an illustration, detailed formation of gas bubbles on top of a stainless steel substrate plate in a quiescent pool of aqueous gold and alumina nanofluids is studied. The presence of nanoparticles is shown to be able to modify the dynamics of triple line and bubble growth significantly. An early pinning of the bubble triple line is observed and a larger bubble contact angle is found for bubbles growing in a gold nanofluid, whereas an opposite phenomenon is observed for bubbles growing in an alumina nanofluid compared to those of pure water. Other bubble parameters such as departure volume, bubble frequency, and waiting time of bubble formation are also affected by the presence of nanoparticles. The variation of solid surface tensions due to the existence of nanoparticles and the resultant force at the triple line should be responsible for such differences. Such results illustrate the big potential of nanoparticle in engineering surface wettability of a solid-liquid-gas system.