Carbonate Hydroxyapatite and Silicon-Substituted Carbonate Hydroxyapatite: Synthesis, Mechanical Properties, and Solubility Evaluations

The present study investigates the chemical composition, solubility, and physical and mechanical properties of carbonate hydroxyapatite (CO3Ap) and silicon-substituted carbonate hydroxyapatite (Si-CO3Ap) which have been prepared by a simple precipitation method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) techniques were used to characterize the formation of CO3Ap and Si-CO3Ap. The results revealed that the silicate (SiO4 4−) and carbonate (CO3 2−) ions competed to occupy the phosphate (PO4 3−) site and also entered simultaneously into the hydroxyapatite structure.TheSi-substitutedCO3Ap reduced the powder crystallinity and promoted ion release which resulted in a better solubility compared to that of Si-free CO3Ap. The mean particle size of Si-CO3Ap was much finer than that of CO3Ap. At 750∘C heat-treatment temperature, the diametral tensile strengths (DTS) of Si-CO3Ap and CO3Ap were about 10.8 ± 0.3 and 11.8 ± 0.4 MPa, respectively

Comparison of Two Powder Processing Techniques on the Properties of Cu-NbC Composites

An in situCu-NbC compositewas successfully synthesized fromCu,Nb, and C powders using ball milling and high pressure torsion (HPT) techniques. The novelty of the new approach, HPT, is the combination of high compaction pressure and large shear strain to simultaneously refine, synthesize, and consolidate composite powders at roomtemperature.The HPTed Cu-NbC composite was formed within a short duration of 20 min without Fe contamination from the HPT’s die. High porosity of 3–9%, Fe and niobium oxidations, fromgrindingmedia and ethanol during ball milling led to low electrical conductivity of the milled Cu-NbC composite. The electrical conductivity of the HPTed Cu-NbC composite showed a value 50% higher than that of milled Cu-NbC composite of the same composition

Design Minkowski Shaped Patch Antenna with Rectangular Parasitic Patch Elements for 5.8 GHz Applications

Abstract—This paper presents the parametric study on the Minkowski shaped antenna with the rectangular parasitic patch elements. This patch antenna consists four parts – patch, feed line, ground plane and parasitic elements. The rectangular parasitic patch elements are located at the bottom of the Minkowski shaped patch. The parametric study of different patch sizes (Design 2A, Design 2B, Design 2C, Design 2D and Design 2E) is presented in this paper. The antenna parameters studied in this paper are resonant frequencies, return loss at the resonant frequency, bandwidth and realized gain. The target frequency of this antenna is 5.80 GHz for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) application. It shows the return loss of – 24.477 dB, bandwidth of 254 MHz (5.676 GHz to 5.930 GHz) and a gain of 2.351 dB. Index Terms—Minkowski; patch antenna; gain; return loss; bandwidt

Tri-band Minkowski Island Patch Antenna with Complementary Split Ring Resonator at the Ground Plane

Abstract—The Minkoski Island patch antenna with complementary split ring resonator at the ground plane are proposed in this work. At the first stage, the normal square patch antennas mainly designed. Then, the Minkowski patch antenna was designed using 1st iteration technique and 2nd iteration technique. The Minkowski fractal shape slot was embedded in the center of the patch to form a Minkowski Island patch antenna. The next step is to apply the partial ground technique and embed the split ring resonator at the ground plane. This antenna was operating in tri-band frequency that is at 2.400 GHz, 3.500 GHz and 5.200 GHz with a return loss of - 11.868 dB, - 13.554 dB and – 18.112 dB respectively. The gain measured of this antenna is 1.286 dB, 1.410 dB and 3.945 dB. Keywords—Minkowski Island, split ring resonator, patch antenna, return loss, gai

Polymorphism of growth hormone gene and its association with wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds

Growth hormone (GH) gene has been described as a candidate gene for marker-assisted selection in different farm animals. The present study was designed to identify the polymorphism in GH gene and its association with variation of wool traits in Egyptian sheep breeds. Wool and blood samples were collected from 42 animals including two breeds (Barki and Rahmani) and one crossbred (Rahmani x Awase). Measurements of wool traits were analyzed and involved staple strength (Str), staple length (STL), fiber diameter (FD) and clean fleece yield (CFW). DNA was extracted from blood samples and a 365-bp fragment from exon V was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Single strand conformation polymorphisim (SSCP) analysis showed two conformational patterns. The pattern I was recorded to be more frequent (83.3, 92.86 and 90%) than pattern II (16.7, 7.14 and 10%) in Barki, Rahmani and crossbred, respectively. The sequence analysis showed one single nucleotide polymorphism (C/T). The pattern I (allele T) has been found to affect CFW and FD than pattern II (allele C). Whereas, C allele was more pronounced for Str and STL. These traits are the most important parameters determining commercial values of wool that are preferred for clothing or carpets industry. The nucleotide sequences of C and T alleles were submitted to GenBank and have the accession numbers: KT250511 and KT250512, respectively. In conclusion, the present results provide evidence that there is a single nucleotide polymorphism within GH gene in Egyptian sheep breeds. This mutation was found to have some effects on wool traits. Therefore our data show interesting prospects in future selection programs for improving wool industry.Key words: Sheep, wool, growth hormone (GH) gene, polymorphism, single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP)

Effect of Single Complimentary Split Ring Resonator Structure on Microstrip Patch Antenna Design

This paper had been comparing the performance of the normal patch antenna with single complimentary SRR patch antenna. Four different shapes of single complimentary split ring resonator structure had been incorporated into the microstrip patch antenna - square, circular, triangular, and rhombic. This simulation works had been done in CST Microwave Studio simulation software. The operating frequency of this antenna is 2.40 GHz for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) application.The parameters that considered in these works are return loss,resonant frequency, input impedance, gain, radiation pattern and bandwidth. The focusing parameter is to achieve the best gain performance that obtained from the single complimentary split ring resonator patch antenna. The addition of square SRR onto patch antenna will improve the gain from 6.334 dB to 6.508 dB

Rhombic Split Ring Resonator (R-SRR) Structure on Rectangular Patch Antenna Design

Abstract- This work focusing on the effect of the complementary rhombic split ring resonator (R-SRR) structure of gain, return loss and the radiation pattern the rectangular patch antenna design. The basic rectangular patch antenna design had been simulated in CST Microwave Studio simulation software. Then, the single unit of the R-SRR had been added into the patch antenna design. The targeting frequency of this antenna is 2.40 GHz for Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) application. Compared with the conventional microstrip patch antenna with the same aperture size, the performance gain of the patch antennas is improved obviously and suitable for targeting frequency of 2.40 GHz. The parametric studies done this work work are the different variation pattern of R-SRR, different distance between two RSRR structure and different size of R-SRR

Shift of paradigm needed towards improving human-elephant coexistence in monoculture landscapes in Sabah

This article outlines the contemporary situation of the Bornean elephant Elephas maximus borneensis in Sabah (Malaysian Borneo), and focuses on the existing challenges that need to be addressed to enable people and elephants to coexist, particularly in man‐made landscapes dominated by oil‐palm plantations. Bornean elephants are confined mostly to Sabah, to the north‐east 5% of the Borneo Island. Sabah started to expand its commercial plantation sector in the early 1980s and is the largest producer of palm oil in Malaysia, contributing c. 10% of global output for this commodity. The rapid pace of plantation expansion has resulted in the loss of the majority of lowland areas that are also needed by large mammal species to sustain breeding populations. Elephants are extreme lowland/floodplain specialists, and they still attempt to use their former and preferred habitat, which is now mostly dominated by oil‐palm plantations. At the time of writing, the land‐use planning system favoured by the government insufficiently incorporates the ecological and management needs for elephants across the entire landscape. This article also highlights the need for better collaboration and coordination between stakeholders to address the increasing rate of human–elephant conflicts in Sabah

Effect of Spiral Split Ring Resonator (S-SRR)structure on Truncated Pyramidal Microwave Absorber Design

This paper discusses on the effect of the spiral split ring resonator on the truncated pyramidal microwave absorber. Split ring resonator (SRR) structure can potentially be incorporated onto the truncated pyramidal microwave absorber to increase the reflection loss performance. There are many ways to increase the pyramidal microwave absorber performance. The ways are focusing the new hybrid shapes, using high carbon material, and adding the left handed material structure on the pyramid microwave absorber. Left handed material or metamaterial is an artificial material that does not exist in the real nature like FR4, Taconic, Rogers or RT Duriod.There are many types of left handed material that had been used by several researchers such as split ring resonator (SRR), and photonic band gap (PBG), electromagnetic band gap (EBG) and artificial magnetic conductor (AMC). In this research, spiral split ring resonator (S-SRR) is used to increase the microwave absorber performance. It has the potential to increase the reflection loss or 811 results of the microwave absorber at the several frequencies