Versatile and Rapid Plasma Heating Device for Steel and Aluminum

The main objective of the research was to enhance steel and aluminum manufacturing with the development of a new plasma RPD device. During the project (1) plasma devices were manufactured (2) testing for the two metals were carried out and (3) market development strategies were explored. Bayzi Corporation has invented a Rapid Plasma Device (RPD) which produces plasma, comprising of a mixture of ionized gas and free electrons. The ions, when they hit a conducting surface, deposit heat in addition to the convective heat. Two generic models called the RPD-Al and RPD-S have been developed for the aluminum market and the steel market. Aluminum melting rates increased to as high as 12.7 g/s compared to 3 g/s of the current industrial practice. The RPD melting furnace operated at higher energy efficiency of 65% unlike most industrial processes operating in the range of 13 to 50%. The RPD aluminum melting furnace produced environment friendly cleaner melts with less than 1% dross. Dross is the residue in the furnace after the melt is poured out. Cast ingots were extremely clean and shining. Current practices produce dross in the range of 3 to 12%. The RPD furnace uses very low power ~0.2 kWh/Lb to melt aluminum. RPDs operate in one atmosphere using ambient air to produce plasma while the conventional systems use expensive gases like argon, or helium in air-tight chambers. RPDs are easy to operate and do not need intensive capital investment. Narrow beam, as well as wide area plasma have been developed for different applications. An RPD was developed for thermal treatments of steels. Two different applications have been pursued. Industrial air hardening steel knife edges were subjected to plasma beam hardening. Hardness, as measured, indicated uniform distribution without any distortion. The biggest advantage with this method is that the whole part need not be heated in a furnace which will lead to oxidation and distortion. No conventional process will offer localized hardening. The RPD has a great potential for heat treating surgical knives and tools. Unavailability of the full amount of the DOE award prevented further development of this exciting technology. Significant progress was made during the 5th quarter, specially the invention of the wider-area plasma and the resultant benefits in terms of rapid melting of aluminum and thermal treatments of larger size steel parts. Coating of nickel base superalloys was demonstrated (an additional task over that proposed). Directed low cost surface enhancement of steel and the directed clean low dross energy efficient melting of aluminum are industrial needs that require new technologies. These are large volume markets which can benefit from energy savings. Estimated energy savings are very large, in the order of 1015 J/year when the equipment is universally used. Compact and directed heating technology/product market in these two sectors could potentially reach over $1B in sales. The results of the research, presented at the DOE annual Review meeting on Aluminum held at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the 4-5 October 2005, were very well received by the delegates and panel reviewers. Insufficient DOE funds to fully fund the project at the end of the 5th quarter necessitated some key tasks being only partially completed

Synthesis And Characterization Of Co-Doped SnO2/TiO2 Semiconductor Nano Crystallites Via Sol-Gel Method

SnO2/TiO2 nano particles are novel wide band gap semiconductors with modified applications of SnO2 and TiO2 in some fields including gas sensing, photo catalytic, solar cells and so on. The Co-doped SnO2/TiO2 nano particles were obtained via sol-gel method with different amounts of doping material as 2.5 %, 6 % and 10 mol %. The crystallite sizes of resulting material were from 3.8 nm for 0.1 wt % Co-doped SnO2/TiO2 to 19.1 nm for un-doped. Morphology and nanostructure of the crystalline SnO2/TiO2 nano particles were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). It has been shown that fine semiconductor nano structures were formed. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/933

A Simple Sol Gel Protocol Towards Synthesis Of Semiconducting Oxide Nanomaterial

Nanostructured Tin oxide (SnO2), powders was synthesized by employing a novel Sol-gel protocol at RT. A wide variety of techniques such as energy – dispersive spectroscopy(EDX), N2 sorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), have been used to study the formation process and characterization of the nanoparticles obtained. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been applied to find out about the shape and size distribution of the particles. The nanoparticles thus synthesized were monodispersed, with an average particle size of ~ 10 nm and spherical in shape. The EDX analysis revealed the presence of Sn, O signal in the synthesized nanoparticles confirming the purity of the synthesized samples. This protocol appears promising for application in large-scale synthesis of nanoparticles. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/933

Stability of the lattice formed in first-order phase transitions to matter containing strangeness in protoneutron stars

Well into the deleptonization phase of a core collapse supernova, a first-order phase transition to matter with macroscopic strangeness content is assumed to occur and lead to a structured lattice defined by negatively charged strange droplets. The lattice is shown to crystallize for expected droplet charges and separations at temperatures typically obtained during the protoneutronstar evolution. The melting curve of the lattice for small spherical droplets is presented. The one-component plasma model proves to be an adequate description for the lattice in its solid phase with deformation modes freezing out around the melting temperature. The mechanical stability against shear stresses is such that velocities predicted for convective phenomena and differential rotation during the Kelvin-Helmholtz cooling phase might prevent the crystallization of the phase transition lattice. A solid lattice might be fractured by transient convection, which could result in anisotropic neutrino transport. The melting curve of the lattice is relevant for the mechanical evolution of the protoneutronstar and therefore should be included in future hydrodynamics simulations.Comment: accepted for publication in Physical Review

Development and evaluation of ofloxacin orally disintegrating tablets

Bitter taste of ofloxacin, a broad spectrum bactericidal agent, is masked and orally disintegrating tablets were formulated. The bitter taste is masked by forming complex between drug and weak cation exchange resins, Tulsion 335 and Indion 204. Effect of pH and drug:resin ratio on the drug loading was studied. Maximum drug loading was observed at pH 6. Ratio of 1:2 of drug:resin masked almost complete bitterness of ofloxacin. Formation of complexes was confirmed by IR spectroscopy. Physical characterization of taste masked complexes was carried out. Present work envisages the taste masking of ofloxacin and development of orally disintegrating tablets. The effect of pH and resin quantities on drug loading were studied to find the optimum conditions of drug loading for complete taste masking. Effect of superdisintegrants like sodium starch glycolate, croscarmellose sodium and polyplasdone XL at varying level on physical parameters of compressed tablets was also assessed. The formulations containing 5 % w/w polyplasdone XL showed about 90 % of drug release within 5 minutes. No significant differences were observed in the physical parameters of resinates as well as tablets prepared from Tulsion 335 and Indion 204.O gosto amargo de ofloxacina, agente bactericida de largo espectro, é mascarado e formularam-se comprimidos dispersíveis. O sabor amargo é mascarado pela formação de complexo entre o fármaco e resinas de troca catiônica fraca, Tulsion 335 e Indion 204. Efeito do pH e da proporção fármaco: resina sobre a carga de fármaco foi estudada. Carga de fármaco máxima foi observada em pH 6. Proporção 1:2 do fármaco: resina mascarou quase completamente o gosto amargo de ofloxacina. A formação de complexos foi confirmada por espectroscopia no IV. Caracterização física dos complexos de sabor mascarado foi realizada. O presente trabalho preconiza o mascaramento do gosto de ofloxacina e desenvolvimento decomprimidos por via oral, se desintegrando. O efeito do pH e da resina quantidades de carga de fármaco foram estudadas paraencontrar as condições óptimas de carga de fármaco para dissimulação do saborcompleto. Efeito da superdisintegrants como amido glicolato de sódio, croscarmelose sódica e Polyplasdone XL em diferentes níveis de parâmetros físicos de comprimidos também avaliados foi avaliada. As formulações contendo 5 %w/w Polyplasdone XL mostraram cerca de 90% de libertação do fármaco no prazo de 5 minutos. Não foram observadas diferenças significativas nos parâmetros físicos de resinatosbem como comprimidos preparados a partir de Tulsion 335 e Indion 204

Mapping of variations in child stunting, wasting and underweight within the states of India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 2000–2017

Background To inform actions at the district level under the National Nutrition Mission (NNM), we assessed the prevalence trends of child growth failure (CGF) indicators for all districts in India and inequality between districts within the states. Methods We assessed the trends of CGF indicators (stunting, wasting and underweight) from 2000 to 2017 across the districts of India, aggregated from 5 × 5 km grid estimates, using all accessible data from various surveys with subnational geographical information. The states were categorised into three groups using their Socio-demographic Index (SDI) levels calculated as part of the Global Burden of Disease Study based on per capita income, mean education and fertility rate in women younger than 25 years. Inequality between districts within the states was assessed using coefficient of variation (CV). We projected the prevalence of CGF indicators for the districts up to 2030 based on the trends from 2000 to 2017 to compare with the NNM 2022 targets for stunting and underweight, and the WHO/UNICEF 2030 targets for stunting and wasting. We assessed Pearson correlation coefficient between two major national surveys for district-level estimates of CGF indicators in the states. Findings The prevalence of stunting ranged 3.8-fold from 16.4% (95% UI 15.2–17.8) to 62.8% (95% UI 61.5–64.0) among the 723 districts of India in 2017, wasting ranged 5.4-fold from 5.5% (95% UI 5.1–6.1) to 30.0% (95% UI 28.2–31.8), and underweight ranged 4.6-fold from 11.0% (95% UI 10.5–11.9) to 51.0% (95% UI 49.9–52.1). 36.1% of the districts in India had stunting prevalence 40% or more, with 67.0% districts in the low SDI states group and only 1.1% districts in the high SDI states with this level of stunting. The prevalence of stunting declined significantly from 2010 to 2017 in 98.5% of the districts with a maximum decline of 41.2% (95% UI 40.3–42.5), wasting in 61.3% with a maximum decline of 44.0% (95% UI 42.3–46.7), and underweight in 95.0% with a maximum decline of 53.9% (95% UI 52.8–55.4). The CV varied 7.4-fold for stunting, 12.2-fold for wasting, and 8.6-fold for underweight between the states in 2017; the CV increased for stunting in 28 out of 31 states, for wasting in 16 states, and for underweight in 20 states from 2000 to 2017. In order to reach the NNM 2022 targets for stunting and underweight individually, 82.6% and 98.5% of the districts in India would need a rate of improvement higher than they had up to 2017, respectively. To achieve the WHO/UNICEF 2030 target for wasting, all districts in India would need a rate of improvement higher than they had up to 2017. The correlation between the two national surveys for district-level estimates was poor, with Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.7 only in Odisha and four small north-eastern states out of the 27 states covered by these surveys. Interpretation CGF indicators have improved in India, but there are substantial variations between the districts in their magnitude and rate of decline, and the inequality between districts has increased in a large proportion of the states. The poor correlation between the national surveys for CGF estimates highlights the need to standardise collection of anthropometric data in India. The district-level trends in this report provide a useful reference for targeting the efforts under NNM to reduce CGF across India and meet the Indian and global targets. Keywords Child growth failureDistrict-levelGeospatial mappingInequalityNational Nutrition MissionPrevalenceStuntingTime trendsUnder-fiveUndernutritionUnderweightWastingWHO/UNICEF target