3D Printed Concrete Habitat on the Moon: Potential and Challenges

3D printing technology has grown exponentially since its inception, positioning itself as one of the most competitive manufacturing techniques. Recently, it has been suggested that 3D printing might make a long-lasting dream come true by building a permeant human habitat on the Moon. The use of 3D printing for this application offers great potential while being bound by numerous challenges. For instance, with 3D printing, the need to transport building materials from the Earth to the Moon can be eliminated, making significant cost savings. All it would require is for the 3D printers to be sent to the space and for a construction ink mix design to be used on the Moon. Furthermore, structures built on the Moon will be lighter due to the low gravity of the moon compared with Earth, and thus small structural elements will be required to withstand loads. However, the Moon observes extreme environmental conditions including temperatures ranging from -233 to +123 ̊C, vacuum atmosphere, and radiation. 3D printed habitats on the moon will need to withstand such harsh environmental conditions and protect residents from radiation. Our team at UNM started examining the use of 3D printed concrete as a potential material for the Moon habitat. The impact of gravity loads on the behavior of 3D printed concrete is being examined. Also, the difference between cement and polymer binders on the mechanical characteristics of 3D printed concrete incorporating Moon like aggregate is being studied. Our research work contributes to paving the road for building the first human habitats on the Moon

Solar selective performance of metal nitride/oxynitride based magnetron sputtered thin film coatings: A comprehensive review

Since solar thermal collectors are considered to be the most direct way of converting the solar energy into the usable form, in the last few years growing attention has been paid to the development of transition metal nitride and metal oxynitride based thin film selective surfaces for solar-thermal collectors in order to harvest more solar energy. A solar-thermal energy system, generally, shows very high solar absorption of incident solar radiation from the solar-thermal collectors in the visible range (0.3 to 2.5 μm) and extremely low thermal losses through emission (or high reflection) in the infrared region (≥ 2.5 μm). The efficiency of a solar–thermal energy conversion system can be improved by the use of solar selective surfaces consisting of novel metallic nanoparticles surrounded in metal nitride/oxynitrides systems. In order to enhance the effectiveness of solar thermal devices, solar selective surfaces with high thermal stability are a prerequisite. Over the years, substantial efforts have been made in the field of solar selective surfaces to attain higher solar absorptance and lower thermal emittance at high temperature (above 400°C) applications. In this article, we review the present state-of-the-art transition metal nitride and/or oxynitrides based vacuum sputtered nanostructured thin film coatings with respect to their optical and solar selective surface applications. We have also summarized the solar selectivity data from recent published literature investigations, including discussion on some potential applications for these materials

Solving Competitive Traveling Salesman Problem Using Gray Wolf Optimization Algorithm

In this paper a Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO) algorithm is presented to solve the Competitive Traveling Salesman Problem (CTSP). In CTSP, there are numbers of non-cooperative salesmen their goal is visiting a larger possible number of cities with lowest cost and most gained benefit. Each salesman will get a benefit when he visits unvisited city before all other salesmen. Two approaches have been used in this paper, the first one called static approach, it is mean evenly divides the cities among salesmen. The second approach is called parallel at which all cities are available to all salesmen and each salesman tries to visit as much as possible of the unvisited cities. The algorithms are executed for 1000 times and the results prove that the GWO is very efficient giving an indication of the superiority of GWO in solving CTSP

Study of Heparin in Intestinal Ischemia and Reperfusion in Rats: Morphologic and Functional Evaluation

AbstractTo study whether treatment with heparin (HEP) attenuates intestinal dysfunction caused by ischemia (I) and reperfusion (R), rats were treated with HEP (100 U/kg intravenously) or saline solution (SS) before I (60 min), which was produced by occlusion of the superior mesenteric artery, and R (120 min). After I or I/R, we mounted 2-cm jejunal segment in an organ bath to study neurogenic contractions stimulated by electrical pulses or KCl, using a digital recording system. Thin jejunal slices were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for optical microscopy. Compared with the sham group, jejunal contractions were similar in the I + HEP and the I/R + HEP groups, but reduced in the I + SS and the I/R + SS groups. The jejunal enteric nerves were damaged in the I + SS and the I/R + SS, but not in the I + HEP and the I/R + HEP cohorts. These results suggested that HEP attenuated intestinal dysfunction caused by I and I/R

Improved Attentive Pairwise Interaction (API-Net) for Fine-Grained Image Classification

Fine-grained classification is a challenging problem as one has to deal with a similar class of objects but with various types of variations. For more elaboration, they are almost similar and have subtle differences, and are confusing. In this study, aircraft will be the fine-grained object to be focused on. Aircraft which has almost similar shapes and patterns can be hardly recognized even for humans, especially those who haven not gone through any training. In recent years, a lot of proposed methods addressed to solve the difficulties in fine-grained problems by learning contrastive clues from an image. This study aims to increase the accuracy of the Attentive Pairwise Interaction Network (API-Net) by introducing data augmentation into the network structure. Some of the previous studies proved that data augmentation does help improve a network. So, this study is going to modify the API-Net with different data augmentation settings. In this study, various settings have been introduced to the API-Net. Several experiments had been done with a simple modification where a portion of the train dataset's images will randomly convert into greyscale images. These settings are, only brightness & contrast 0.2, only grayscale 0.3, only grayscale 0.5, brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.3, and brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.5. As a result, the proposed modification achieved with 92.74% with brightness & contrast 0.2, 92.80% on brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.5, and 92.86% on brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.3. While grayscale 0.3 alone achieve 93.25% and grayscale 0.5 alone achieve 93.46% compared with the original results which reached 92.77%

Improved Attentive Pairwise Interaction (API-Net) for Fine-Grained Image Classification

Fine-grained classification is a challenging problem as one has to deal with a similar class of objects but with various types of variations. For more elaboration, they are almost similar and have subtle differences, and are confusing. In this study, aircraft will be the fine-grained object to be focused on. Aircraft which has almost similar shapes and patterns can be hardly recognized even for humans, especially those who haven not gone through any training. In recent years, a lot of proposed methods addressed to solve the difficulties in fine-grained problems by learning contrastive clues from an image. This study aims to increase the accuracy of the Attentive Pairwise Interaction Network (API-Net) by introducing data augmentation into the network structure. Some of the previous studies proved that data augmentation does help improve a network. So, this study is going to modify the API-Net with different data augmentation settings. In this study, various settings have been introduced to the API-Net. Several experiments had been done with a simple modification where a portion of the train dataset's images will randomly convert into greyscale images. These settings are, only brightness & contrast 0.2, only grayscale 0.3, only grayscale 0.5, brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.3, and brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.5. As a result, the proposed modification achieved with 92.74% with brightness & contrast 0.2, 92.80% on brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.5, and 92.86% on brightness & contrast 0.2 with grayscale 0.3. While grayscale 0.3 alone achieve 93.25% and grayscale 0.5 alone achieve 93.46% compared with the original results which reached 92.77%

Extraction, optical properties, and aging studies of natural pigments of various flower plants

In this paper, we reported the extraction process of five different flowering plants utilizing different dye extraction methods and solvents (ethanol and water) to choose the best dye removal process. The FTIR spectra revealed the presence of several clear functional groups for all five natural dyes. The analytical studies such as UV spectroscopy, column chromatography, and vacuum evaporation were performed to isolate the dyes from their solutions. The UV-Vis studies on the pigments of flower extracts indicated broad absorption peaks in the visible region including clear bandgaps. Among the studied pigments, Alternanthera ficoidea showed the lowest direct bandgap of 1.69 eV and an Urbach energy value of 6.33 meV. The dye extraction yield rate improvement was extended from 11.7 to 24.7% (water solvent) and 11.3–32.4% (ethanol solvent). Throughout the studies, it was observed that ethanol produced a better extraction for organic dyes than water as a solvent. Aging studies revealed that all the dyes at the room temperature showed better stability with minor changes in the observed optical parameters in oxygen-rich conditions; however, these parameters have shown significant variations at a 60 °C temperature

Evaluación de la actividad biológica de extractos de cáscaras de girasol

This work was planned with the aim of adding value to sunflower seed hulls, a waste product of the oil industry by preparing a sunflower hull phenolic extract rich in chlorogenic acid (CGA). In order to fulfill this goal, the optimization for the extraction of a phenolic extract from the hulls was investigated. The parameters studied were: type of solvent, solvent to water ratio and hull to solvent ratio. In addition, the solvent mixtures were also studied. The resulting phenolic extracts were evaluated for their biological activities. This included phenolic content determination, evaluation of the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities. Chlorogenic acid was determined in two chosen hull extracts using the UV spectrophotometric method and HPLC analysis. The anticarcinogenic activity of the two chosen extracts was tested on seven different cell line carcinomas. The results revealed that all the phenolic extracts of sunflower hull studied contain between 190-312.5 mg phenolics/ 100 g hulls. The highest phenolic extraction was achieved with 80% methanol (1:30, hull to solvent, w/v ratio) and methanol to ethanol to water (7:7:6 v/v/v) mixture with values of 312.5 and 306.5 mg phenolics/100 g hulls, respectively. The free radical scavenging activity and antioxidant activity of all the samples ranged from 33.6-72.6%. The highest antioxidant activity and free radical scavenging activity were achieved by the same extracts that possessed the highest phenolic content, namely methanol to ethanol to water extract and 80% methanol with values 71.8 and 72.6%, 68.2 and 70.9% respectively, compared to 77.9 and 76.9% respectively for TBHQ. All the phenolic extracts possessed antimicrobial activity but to different levels against different pathogenic bacteria. The two chosen extracts also possessed anticarcinogenic activity, which differed among varying cell line carcinomas. The HPLC analysis indicated that chlorogenic acid was the main phenolic acid in the extract. Thus it can be concluded that sunflower hull is a potential source of nutraceuticals.Este trabajo fue planificado con el objetivo de agregar valor a un producto de desecho de la industria aceitera, como es la cáscara de girasol, mediante la preparación de un extracto fenólico rico en ácido clorogénico (CGA). Para cumplir con este objetivo, se investigó la optimización de la extracción del concentrado fenólico de las cáscaras. Los parámetros estudiados fueron: tipo de disolvente, relación disolvente: agua y la relación cáscara:disolvente. Además, también se ha estudiado el uso de diferentes mezclas de disolventes. Los extractos fenólicos resultantes fueron evaluados por sus actividades biológicas. Esto incluye la determinación del contenido fenólico, la evaluación de las actividades antioxidante y antimicrobiana. El ácido clorogénico se determinó en dos extractos de cáscara mediante espectrofotometría UV y análisis mediante HPLC. La actividad anticarcinogénica de los dos extractos elegidos fue probada en siete líneas diferentes de células carcinogénicas. Los resultados revelaron que todos los extractos fenólicos de cáscaras de girasol contienen entre 190-312.5 mg de fenoles/ 100 g cáscaras. La mayor extracción fenólica se logró con el 80% de metanol (relación 1:30, cascara:disolvente, w/v) y metanol:etanol:agua (7:7:6 v/v/v), con valores de 312,5 y 306.5mg fenólicos/100 g cáscaras, respectivamente. La actividad captadora de radicales libres y la actividad antioxidante de todas las muestras variaron entre 33,6-72,6%. Las mayores actividades antioxidante y captadora de radicales libres fueron alcanzados por los mismos extractos que poseen mayores contenidos de fenoles, a saber: extractos de metanol:etanol:agua y 80% de metanol con valores de 71,8 y 72,6%, 68,2 y 70,9% respectivamente, en comparación con el 77,9 y el 76,9%, respectivamente para TBHQ. Todos los extractos fenólicos poseen actividad antimicrobiana, pero a diferentes niveles contra diferentes bacterias patógenas. Los dos extractos elegidos también poseen actividad anticarcinogénica que difieren entre las diferentes líneas celulares carcinogénicas. El análisis por HPLC mostró que el ácido clorogénico fue el ácido fenólico principal en el extracto. Por lo tanto se puede concluir que las cáscaras de girasol es una fuente potencial de productos nutracéuticos

Hot red pepper powder as a safe alternative to antibiotics in organic poultry feed: An updated review

Globally, several studies have investigated the utilization and efficacy of promising medicinal herbal plants to enhance livestock and poultry production. The most commonly investigated phytobiotics in broiler ration were oregano, garlic, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, hot red pepper (HRP), and sage. Phytobiotics are classified on the basis of the medicinal properties of plants, their essential oil extracts, and their bioactive compounds. The majority of bioactive compounds in plants are secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids, phenolic, glycosides, and alkaloids. The composition and concentrations of these bioactive constitutes vary according to their biological factors and manufacturing and storage conditions. Furthermore, HRP is one of the most important and widely used spices in the human diet. Capsicum annum, that is, HRP, is a species of the plant genus Capsicum (pepper), which is a species native to southern North America and northern South America and is widely grown and utilized for its fresh or cooked fruits. Moreover, these fruits may be used as dried powders or processed forms of oleoresins. Researches have proven that C. annuum is the only plant that produces the alkaloid capsaicinoids. Approximately 48% of its active substances are capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonemide), the main active compound responsible for the intense effects of HRP varieties and the main component inducing the hot flavor. This review aimed to highlight the effects of HRP as a phytobiotic in broiler nutrition and its mode of action as a possible alternative to antibiotics and clarify its impact on broiler and layer productivity

Studies of annealing impact on the morphological, opto-dielectric and mechanical behaviors of molybdenum-doped CrN coatings

In the present study, molybdenum doped chromium nitride coatings deposited onto silicon substrates via unbalanced magnetron sputtering, in as-deposited and annealed conditions, at 500–800 °C in steps of 100 °C, were studied to reveal their temperature dependent structural, morphological, optical and mechanical behaviors. An analysis of these features was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), ultraviolet visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, nanoindentation and finite element modeling (FEM) techniques. XRD results exhibited a significant improvement in the crystallinity of the Molybdenum (Mo)-doped chromium nitride (CrN) coatings along (111) and (200) diffraction planes, as the annealing temperatures increased. The lattice parameters gradually decreased from 4.20 to 4.12 Å as the temperature increased. The same tendency was also observed for lattice microstrains and residual stresses. Smooth grain-like surfaces were observed by FESEM imaging techniques. At an annealing temperature of 700 °C, the spectral absorptance of Mo:CrN films attained its peak value (86%), whereas the energy band-gaps were reduced from 2.48 to 1.14 eV. The other optical parameters such as complex dielectric constants, Urbach energy values, and steepness parameters of these coatings were also discussed. The hardness and elastic modulus of the as-deposited Mo:CrN films were estimated to be 18.4 and 287 GPa, respectively. At a film thickness of 1.0 μm, the highest stress of 20 GPa was evaluated, via FEM studies, at the interface between the film and the substrate. As the film thickness was enhanced, the stress level decreased. At higher annealing temperatures, both the mechanical hardness (H) and the elastic modulus (E) of Mo-doped CrN coatings dwindled