High-Performance Polyvinyl Chloride Gel Artificial Muscle Actuator with Graphene Oxide and Plasticizer

A transparent and electroactive plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel was investigated to use as a soft actuator for artificial muscle applications. PVC gels were prepared with varying plasticizer (dibutyl adipate, DBA) content. The prepared PVC gels were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The DBA content in the PVC gel was shown to have an inverse relationship with both the storage and loss modulus. The electromechanical performance of PVC gels was demonstrated for both single-layer and stacked multi-layer actuators. When voltage was applied to a single-layer actuator and then increased, the maximum displacement of PVC gels (for PVC/DBA ratios of 1:4, 1:6, and 1:8) was increased from 105.19, 123.67, and 135.55 µm (at 0.5 kV) to 140.93, 157.13, and 172.94 µm (at 1.0 kV) to 145.03, 191.34, and 212.84 µm (at 1.5 kV), respectively. The effects of graphene oxide (GO) addition in the PVC gel were also investigated. The inclusion of GO (0.1 wt.%) provided an approximate 20% enhancement of displacement and 41% increase in force production, and a 36% increase in power output for the PVC/GO gel over traditional plasticizer only PVC gel. The proposed PVC/GO gel actuator may have promising applications in artificial muscle, small mechanical devices, optics, and various opto-electro-mechanical devices due to its low-profile, transparency, and electrical response characteristics

Exploring the missing link among d-separable, d¯-separable and d-disjunct matrices

Abstractd-Disjunct matrices, d¯-separable matrices and d-separable matrices are well studied in various problems including group testing, coding, extremal set theory and, recently, DNA sequencing. The implications from the first two matrices to the last one are well documented. This paper gives an implication of the other direction for the first time

SPITZER observations of dust destruction in the Puppis A supernova remnant

The interaction of the Puppis A supernova remnant (SNR) with a neighboring molecular cloud provides a unique opportunity to measure the amount of grain destruction in an SNR shock. Spitzer Space Telescope MIPS imaging of the entire SNR at 24, 70, and 160 μm shows an extremely good correlation with X-ray emission, indicating that the SNR’s IR radiation is dominated by the thermal emission of swept-up interstellar dust, collisionally heated by the hot shocked gas. Spitzer IRS spectral observations targeted both the Bright Eastern Knot (BEK) of the SNR where a small cloud has been engulfed by the supernova blast wave and outlying portions of the associated molecular cloud that are yet to be hit by the shock front. Modeling the spectra from both regions reveals the composition and the grain size distribution of the interstellar dust, both in front of and behind the SNR shock front. The comparison shows that the ubiquitous polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of the interstellar medium are destroyed within the BEK, along with nearly 25% of the mass of graphite and silicate dust grains

A comparative study of nonlinear programming routines on the microcomputer versus the large computer

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1984 H92Master of Scienc

Potential anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties of farnesol

© 2018 by the authors. Farnesol, an acyclic sesquiterpene alcohol, is predominantly found in essential oils of various plants in nature. It has been reported to exhibit anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory effects, and also alleviate allergic asthma, gliosis, and edema. In numerous tumor cell lines, farnesol can modulate various tumorigenic proteins and/or modulates diverse signal transduction cascades. It can also induce apoptosis and downregulate cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and cell survival. To exert its anti-inflammatory/anti-oncogenic effects, farnesol can modulate Ras protein and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells activation to downregulate the expression of various inflammatory mediators such as cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-6. In this review, we describe the potential mechanisms of action underlying the therapeutic effects of farnesol against cancers and inflammatory disorders. Furthermore, these findings support the clinical development of farnesol as a potential pharmacological agent in clinical studies

Aerothermal Design of a Common Probe for Multiple Planetary Destinations

Estimate the mass of the Thermal Protection System (TPS) for a single design construct of an atmospheric entry probe with a rigid aeroshell, which could be used at five destinations, i.e. Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and perhaps, Jupiter. The entry mass of the probe is 400 kg with a ballistic coefficient of 216 kg/m2. Process: The 3DoF trajectory simulation program Traj, coupled with the TPS response program FIAT was used for simulation and design. The assumed atmospheric models were VIRA (Venus-GRAM) for Venus, the Julianne Moses' model for Saturn, a NASA Ames engineering model for Uranus, Neptune-GRAM for Neptune, and Galileo Probe (Al Seiff's) result for Jupiter