High density p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 nanowires by electrochemical templating through ion-track lithography

High density p-type Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 nanowire arrays are produced by a combination of electrodeposition and ion-track lithography technology. Initially, the electrodeposition of p-type wBi(0.5)Sb(1.5)Te(3) films is investigated to find out the optimal conditions for the deposition of nanowires. Polyimide-based Kapton foils are chosen as a polymer for ion track irradiation and nanotemplating Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 nanowires. The obtained nanowires have average diameters of 80 nm and lengths of 20 mu m, which are equivalent to the pore size and thickness of Kapton foils. The nanowires exhibit a preferential orientation along the {110} plane with a composition of 11.26 at.% Bi, 26.23 at.% Sb, and 62.51 at.% Te. Temperature dependence studies of the electrical resistance show the semiconducting nature of the nanowires with a negative temperature coefficient of resistance and band gap energy of 0.089 +/- 0.006 eV

Triplex addressability as a basis for functional DNA nanostructures

Here, we present the formation of a fully addressable DNA nanostructure that shows the potential to be exploited as, for example, an information storage device based on pH-driven triplex strand formation or nanoscale circuits based on electron transfer, The nanostructure is composed of two adjacent hexagonal unit cells (analogous to naphthalene) in which each of the eleven edges has a unique double-stranded DNA sequence, constructed using novel three-way oligonucleotides. This allows each ten base-pair side, just 3.4 nm in length, to be assigned a specific address according to its sequence. Such constructs are therefore an ideal precursor to a nonrepetitive two-dimensional grid on which the "addresses" are located at a precise and known position. Triplex recognition of these addresses could function as a simple yet efficient means of information storage and retrieval. Future applications that may be envisaged include nanoscale circuits as well as subnanometer precision in nanoparticle templating. Characterization of these precursor nanostructures and their reversible targeting by triplex strand formation is shown here using gel electrophoresis, atomic force microscopy, and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements. The durability of the system to repeated cycling of pH switching is also confirmed by the FRET studies

Formulation and Characterization of Glutaraldehyde Cross-Linked Chitosan Biodegradable Microspheres Loaded with Famotidine

Purpose: To formulate biodegradable chitosan microspheres loaded with famotidine to overcome the poor bioavailability and frequent dose administration of the drug.Methods: Chitosan microspheres were prepared by simple emulsification technique based on glutaraldehyde crosslinking. Various process and formulation variables such as speed of emulsification, crosslinking time, drug/polymer ratio, volume of cross linking agent and volume of surfactant were optimized. The microspheres were characterized for entrapment efficiency, drug loading, in vitro drug release, surface morphology, as well as by particle size analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).Results: The microspheres showed a smooth surface with a narrow particle size distribution (105 – 219 μm) and an entrapment efficiency of up to 73 %. They exhibited controlled drug release characteristics with 85.6 % of the drug released over a period of 24 h with an initial burst release of 26.9 % in the first 2 h. Drug release followed Higuchi release kinetics. FTIR and DSC data indicate that there was no drug interaction between the drug and polymer used.Conclusion: The chitosan microspheres could be further developed as a potential biodegradable carrier for oral controlled delivery of famotidine.Keywords: Chitosan microspheres, Crosslinking, Controlled delivery, Famotidine, Glutaraldehyde, Biodegradable

Automatic Irrigation System

Agriculture is the backbone of Indian Economy. Irrigation is a basic determinant factor of Agriculture and it is the most powerful constrains on the increase of agricultural production. Irrigation is affected by highly inadequate quantity and quality of water, soil and minerals which are the most essential components. Since, it is hardly available in our country, it is necessary to use a suitable method which subsequently reduces human effort and to increase the productions amidst of the consequences such as leaching of nutrients from soil and water. The main objective of this paper is to use an efficient method of irrigation using the recent trends of our growing technology. It is by using mobile apps or remote control systems which is known as Automatic Irrigation System, which will be of great use to farmers that can be used from home. In this system, the GSM receives message from the user and sends to the microcontroller through which the action is implemented. Thus, this system can be efficiently used for soil and water management through Automation

CONTROLLED DELIVERY OF ANTIRETROVIRAL DRUG-LOADED CROSS-LINKED MICROSPHERES BY IONIC GELATION METHOD

Objective: Lamivudine (LVD) is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor originally developed as an antiretroviral drug and primarily used in thetreatment of most common chronic disease of the planet, acquired immune deficiency syndrome and hepatitis B. The main objective of the study is todevelop controlled drug delivery system to increase the efficacy of antiretroviral drug, LVD against human immunodeficiency virus infections.Methods: The microencapsulation of LVD in gelatin microspheres was carried out by cross-linking process with glutaraldehyde saturated tolueneusing ionic-gelation method. The prepared microspheres were evaluated for particle size analysis, % yield value, % drug content, drug entrapmentefficiency, scanning electron microscopy for surface morphology, swelling index, accelerated stability studies, Fourier transform infrared radiationspectroscopy (FT-IR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for polymer drug compatibility, in vitro dissolution efficiency and release kineticstudies.Results: The obtained microspheres showed very smooth surface and exhibited regular spherical geometry due to higher crosslinking density. FT-IRand DSC revealed the absence of drug polymer interactions. The percentage yield, entrapment efficiency and drug content for F6 LVD microsphereswas found to be 79.31%, 65.55% and 96.25% respectively. The particle size was ranged from 34.61% to 51.45 μm sizes and in vitro release profileshowed that cross-linking density of gelatin microspheres effectively controlled the release of LVD.Conclusion: The findings of our investigation demonstrated that F6 of gelatin-LVD microspheres had good controlled release profile with maximumentrapment efficiency and prolonged drug release for 24 hrs or longer and this formulation would be capable of overcoming the drawbacks andlimitations of LVD conventional dosage forms.Keywords: Lamivudine, Microspheres, Controlled release, Gelatin, Fourier transform infrared, Differential scanning calorimetry, In vitro releasekinetics

Watching mesoporous metal films grow during templated electrodeposition with in situ SAXS

In this paper, we monitor the real-time growth of mesoporous platinum during electrodeposition using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Previously, we have demonstrated that platinum films featuring the ‘single diamond’ (Fd3m) morphology can be produced from ‘double diamond’ (Pn3m) lipid cubic phase templates; the difference in symmetry provides additional scattering signals unique to the metal. Taking advantage of this, we present simultaneous in situ SAXS/electrochemical measurement as the platinum nanostructures grow within the lipid template. This measurement allows us to correlate the nanostructure appearance with the deposition current density and to monitor the evolution of the orientational and lateral ordering of the lipid and platinum during deposition and after template removal. In other periodic metal nanomaterials deposited within any of the normal topology liquid crystal, mesoporous silica or block copolymer templates previously published, the template and emerging metal have the same symmetry, so such a study has not been possible previously

Rhodamine B Adsorption- Kinetic, Mechanistic and Thermodynamic Studies

Adsorption of rhodamine B from aqueous solution on the surface of Moringa oliefera bark carbon was accomplished under the optimize conditions of temperature, concentration, pH, contact time and quantity of adsorbent. Spectrometric technique was used for the measurements of concentration of dye before and after adsorption. The percentage removal of rhodamine B was calculated. The values of % adsorption data for Moringa oliefera bark carbon system show better adsorption capacity. The experimental data are fitted to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations. The values of their corresponding constant were determined from the slope and intercepts of their respective plots. Thermodynamic parameters like ΔG0, ΔH0 and ΔS0 were calculated. Rhodamine B-Moringa oliefera bark carbon system shows spontaneous and endothermic behaviour. The results of these investigations suggested that natural adsorbents can be utilized as adsorbent materials, because of their selectivity's for the removal of dyes

Developing a Relational View of the Organizing Role of Objects: A study of the innovation process in computer games

Innovation processes create distinctive challenges for coordination. Objects are seen as supporting coordination in such settings by enabling the emergent action needed to deal with a dynamic and uncertain process. Thus, previous work has highlighted the role of different types of objects in coordinating the collaborative tasks undertaken by expert groups, either by motivating the creation of new knowledge or through the translation of understanding. Through an empirical study of innovation processes in the computer games sector, our paper adds to this previous work by finding that the relations between objects, and not the objects alone, help to orchestrate multiple collaborative tasks towards a final outcome within temporal and resource constraints. The relational view which emerges from this study shows how such a ‘system of objects’ is able to stabilize coordination of the process while preserving the emergence and autonomy of games developer practices needed to achieve innovation

DC UPS for Critical Loads

The usual way to avoid a computer shutdown during a mains failure is to connect an  uninterruptible power supply system (UPS), which can be suitably modified and fitted inside the computer cabinet by the use of proposed methodology known as a dc UPS.  Conventional desk top UPS systems store electricity in form of chemical energy in batteries and when ever mains fail the batteries provide DC power which is then converter to ac by inverter and then fed to the computer in order to save critical data.  Thus power from mains or from UPS is fed to switched mode power supply unit which converts it to dc to  supply the computer motherboard and accessories.  Leaving the case of the computer powered by mains, duing power failure the dc power is unnecessarily converted to ac and then to dc again in SMPS hence high switching losses and heat is produced there by making the entire system very lowe efficient.  In this work it is proposed to directly feed the dc power from the battery to the computer SMPS system by building a UPS arrangement within the computer system.  This not noly saves space, it is highly efficient compared to the conventional ups system, easy to carry, low cost and reliable since there is no change over operation is required/.  A complete design of an ac to dc power supply with an internal dc UPS is presented in this paper. . A prototype has been fully developed and tested as a PC power supply. Thus the result is achieved at full power about 6-8 minutes

Three-Dimensional Nanostructured Palladium with Single Diamond Architecture for Enhanced Catalytic Activity

Fuel cells are a key new green technology that have applications in both transport and portable power generation. Carbon-supported platinum (Pt) is used as an anode and cathode electrocatalyst in low-temperature fuel cells fueled with hydrogen or low-molecular-weight alcohols. The cost of Pt and the limited world supply are significant barriers to the widespread use of these types of fuel cells. Comparatively, palladium has a 3 times higher abundance in the Earth’s crust. Here, a facile, low-temperature, and scalable synthetic route toward three-dimensional nanostructured palladium (Pd) employing electrochemical templating from inverse lyotropic lipid phases is presented. The obtained single diamond morphology Pd nanostructures exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability toward methanol, ethanol, and glycerol oxidation compared to commercial Pd black, and the nanostructure was verified by small-angle X-ray scattering, scanning tunneling electron microscopy, and cyclic voltammetry