A Novel Ionic Polymer Metal ZnO Composite (IPMZC)

The presented research introduces a new Ionic Polymer-Metal-ZnO Composite (IPMZC) demonstrating photoluminescence (PL)-quenching on mechanical bending or application of an electric field. The newly fabricated IPMZC integrates the optical properties of ZnO and the electroactive nature of Ionic Polymer Metal Composites (IPMC) to enable a non-contact read-out of IPMC response. The electro-mechano-optical response of the IPMZC was measured by observing the PL spectra under mechanical bending and electrical regimes. The working range was measured to be 375–475 nm. It was noted that the PL-quenching increased proportionally with the increase in curvature and applied field at 384 and 468 nm. The maximum quenching of 53.4% was achieved with the membrane curvature of 78.74/m and 3.01% when electric field (12.5 × 103 V/m) is applied. Coating IPMC with crystalline ZnO was observed to improve IPMC transduction

Cyanobacteria as the Source of Antioxidants

The present-day scenario in the health sector calls for alternative medicine sources with no risk of resistance, effective in the mode of action, and eco-friendly. Cyanobacteria are microbial factories for a wide range of products. They are reservoirs of bioactive compounds which have the potential to act as precursors of novel drug molecules. A plethora of algae have been documented for their therapeutic abilities in treating diseases. A plethora of antioxidative compounds along with enzymes are present in cyanobacteria, possessing applications in nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals, which is quite evident from the products available in the market. This chapter highlights the significant leads in the area of cyanobacteria-based antioxidants. A sustainable approach to envisaging cyanobacteria as competent antioxidants can open new doors in prevention, treatment, and control of a plethora of diseases

Modeling and Characterization of the Mechanoelectric Response of Ionic Polymer Metal Composite (IPMC) Energy Harvesters

Electroactive Polymers (EAPs) have gained momentum in the past few years. An especially promising material, Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite (IPMC), was the subject of the reported research. IPMCs are capable of electromechanical and mechanoelectrical transduction (i.e conversion of energy from one form to another) on application of electric field and mechanical deformation, respectively. There are three key aspects of the research reported in this dissertation: develop a framework on the mechanoelectric model, evaluate the capability of IPMC as energy harvester in natural bender configuration and assess the feasibility of non-conventional configurations including disc shaped IPMC for energy harvesting applications. First of all, a framework on mechanoelectric model based on electrostatic effect and ion transport inside the membrane was developed. The model gives an insight into the mechanoelectric principle in IPMC, along with the role played by different material parameters like Young's modulus, cluster dimension, permittivity and diffusivity. Secondly, IPMC was analyzed for energy harvesting applications. The research demonstrates applicability of IPMC as energy harvester in lower frequency regions (<50 Hz) with an average efficiency of around 2% or less. Instantaneous power output from a 10 mm (width) x 50mm (length) x 0.2mm (thickness) was measured to be around 4 microW. The effect of different parameters in mechanical domain (stiffness and scalability) and electrical domain (electrode property like resistance and capacitance) was studied, both experimentally and through a formulated Grey-box model. Lastly, non-traditional configurations were tested for energy harvesting applications

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae YLL012/YEH1, YLR020/YEH2, and TGL1 genes encode a novel family of membrane-anchored lipases that are required for steryl ester hydrolysis

Sterol homeostasis in eukaryotic cells relies on the reciprocal interconversion of free sterols and steryl esters. The formation of steryl esters is well characterized, but the mechanisms that control steryl ester mobilization upon cellular demand are less well understood. We have identified a family of three lipases of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that are required for efficient steryl ester mobilization. These lipases, encoded by YLL012/YEH1, YLR020/YEH2, and TGL1, are paralogues of the mammalian acid lipase family, which is composed of the lysosomal acid lipase, the gastric lipase, and four novel as yet uncharacterized human open reading frames. Lipase triple-mutant yeast cells are completely blocked in steryl ester hydrolysis but do not affect the mobilization of triacylglycerols, indicating that the three lipases are required for steryl ester mobilization in vivo. Lipase single mutants mobilize steryl esters to various degrees, indicating partial functional redundancy of the three gene products. Lipase double-mutant cells in which the third lipase is expressed from the inducible GAL1 promoter have greatly reduced steady-state levels of steryl esters, indicating that overexpression of any of the three lipases is sufficient for steryl ester mobilization in vivo. The three yeast enzymes constitute a novel class of membrane-anchored lipases that differ in topology and subcellular localization

An Assessment of the Factors Influencing the Selection of the Best Carsharing Alternative in Portland Area Using Hierarchical Decision Modeling (HDM)

Carsharing is a business model of car rentals that allows consumers to benefit from a private vehicle for short periods while being relieved of the costs of the purchase and maintenance. Carsharing is a growing industry and some players are trying to get a hold in the already competitive market. The current transportation market offers consumers many options for buying a vehicle, but fewer practical options for using a vehicle occasionally. Carsharing provides the benefits of allowing easy access to vehicles spread across the city that are rented per an hour or day. It is an increasingly common option for locals and tourists who want to get from one place to another without spending too much time on public transports. These have the added benefit of convenience and comfort of four-wheelers without paying much extra, as in the case of conventional rental cars, taxi, or cabs. This paper uses Hierarchical Decision Model (HDM) to evaluate the factors influencing the selection of the best carsharing alternative around Portland area by analyzing different perspectives and criteria that influence the selection. This paper address which criteria are most important to renters and provide recommendations for renters and carsharing businesses. The findings suggest that most essential criteria for the consumers are insurance coverage, reliability, rental cost, drop-off-options, and gas cost

An acetylation/deacetylation cycle controls the export of sterols and steroids from S. cerevisiae

Sterol homeostasis in eukaryotic cells relies on the reciprocal interconversion of free sterols and steryl esters. Here we report the identification of a novel reversible sterol modification in yeast, the sterol acetylation/deacetylation cycle. Sterol acetylation requires the acetyltransferase ATF2, whereas deacetylation requires SAY1, a membrane-anchored deacetylase with a putative active site in the ER lumen. Lack of SAY1 results in the secretion of acetylated sterols into the culture medium, indicating that the substrate specificity of SAY1 determines whether acetylated sterols are secreted from the cells or whether they are deacetylated and retained. Consistent with this proposition, we find that acetylation and export of the steroid hormone precursor pregnenolone depends on its acetylation by ATF2, but is independent of SAY1-mediated deacetylation. Cells lacking Say1 or Atf2 are sensitive against the plant-derived allylbenzene eugenol and both Say1 and Atf2 affect pregnenolone toxicity, indicating that lipid acetylation acts as a detoxification pathway. The fact that homologues of SAY1 are present in the mammalian genome and functionally substitute for SAY1 in yeast indicates that part of this pathway has been evolutionarily conserved

Mechanoelectric Transduction in Ionic Polymer-Metal Composite

The ability of ionic polymer-metal composite (IPMC) to generate current on mechanical deformation, defined as mechanoelectric transduction, can be exploited for design and development of numerous sensors and energy harvesters. However, sensor application of IPMC is currently limited due to the lack of understanding of the transduction mechanism. This paper presents a physics-based mechanoelectric model that takes into account material properties, electrostatic phenomenon, and ion transport in the IPMC. Experimental verification of the model predictions is also reported

IPMC as a Mechanoelectric Energy Harvester: Tailored Properties

Due to their inherited mechanoelectric transduction capability, long-life, and effective operation in both air and water, ionic polymer–metal composites (IPMCs) are considered for energy harvesting applications. The reported research aims to study different parameters in the mechanical domain (stiffness and scalability) and the electrical domain (impedance and interfacial area) that seem to have profound effects on battery charging, with the aid of an electromechanical transducer model (Tiwariet al 2008 Smart Struct. Syst. 4 549–3). Experiments performed to confirm the model predictions are also reported. The research demonstrates the applicability of IPMC as an energy harvester in lower frequency regions (\u3c50 \u3eHz) with an average efficiency of around 2% or less. The instantaneous power output from 10 mm (width)×50 mm (length)×0.2 mm (thickness) was measured to be approximately 4 μW (20 W m−3)

Application of Data Mining to Virtual Viking Student Engagement Data

Virtual Vikings is a weekly e- newsletter sent to Portland state university students by the internal office of university Communications every Sunday. The newsletter is published in the fall, winter and spring of each academic school year. It contains information about the recent past week and upcoming week in form of snippets and links .The main aim of the Virtual Viking is to keep students engaged with the campus news, events, achievements etc. This project was done on the data provided by the BI team at PSU which manages the enterprise data warehouse and reporting suite (IBM Cognos) along with the university\u27s budgeting and planning software (IBM Cognos TM1). The enterprise data warehouse consists of data from the university\u27s ERP system Banner along with data brought in from additional campus systems such as the campus CRM Talisma. One of the Key business Goals of the Analytics Department at Portland State University is to engage students in attempts to help them achieve better outcomes. This is done through reporting all sorts of data being collected by the University