Preparation and characterization of doubly substituted microwave absorbing material by sol-gel technique for super high frequency applications

Rare earth Dy~(3+)and divalent Mn~(2+)elements substituting W-type hexagonal ferrites Ba_(1-x)Dy_xZn_2Fe_(16-y)Mn_yO_(27)(x=0,0.02,0.06,0.1 and y=0,0.1,0.3,0.5)were prepared by sol-gel method.The thermo-gravimetric analysis(TGA)and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)was carried out to find the temperature at which single phase can be obtained.XRD patterns indicate the presence of the single phase for all the synthesized samples with the absence of any extra peak due to unreacted material and secondary phases.The occurrence of absorption bands at low wave numbers(563 and 446 cm~(-1)),can be assigned to the stretching vibration of metal and oxygen ions in FTIR spectra,which also confirms the single hexagonal phase for prepared material.The grains are of platelet like structure,which enhances the microwave absorption properties of hexagonal ferrites.The synthesized material exhibits the minimum reflection loss of-20.9 dB at 11.8 GHz frequency,which reflects the applications of this material in super high frequency devices.The microwave conductivity of the material increases with frequency.     

Effect of deep cryogenic treatment on the properties of 80CrMo12 5 tool steel

The effect of deep cryogenic treatment on the mechanical properties of 80CrMo12 5 tool steel was investigated. Moreover, the effects of stabilization (holding at room temperature for some periods before deep cryogenic treatment) and tempering before deep cryogenic treatment were studied. The results show that deep cryogenic treatment can eliminate the retained austenite, making a better carbide distribution and a higher carbide amount. As a result, a remarkable improvement in wear resistance of cryogenically treated specimens is observed. Moreover, the ultimate tensile strength increases, and the toughness of the sample decreases. It is also found that both stabilization and tempering before deep cryogenic treatment decrease the wear resistance, hardness, and carbides homogeneity compared to the deep cryogenically treated samples. It is concluded that deep cryogenic treatment should be performed without any delay on samples after quenching to reach the highest wear resistance and hardness.     

Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar Image Classification by a Hybrid Method

Different methods proposed so far for accurate classification of land cover types in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image are data specific and no general method is available. A novel hybrid framework for this classification was developed in this work. A set of effective features derived from the coherence matrix of polarimetric SAR data was proposed. Constituents of the feature set are wavelet, texture, and nonlinear features. The proposed feature set has a strong discrimination power. A neural network was used as the classification engine in a unique way. By exploiting the speed of the conjugate gradient method and the convergence rate of the Levenberg-Marquardt method (near the optimal point), an overall speed up of the classification procedure was achieved. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to shrink the dimension of the feature vector without sacrificing much of the classification accuracy. The proposed approach is compared with the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) based on the complex Wishart distribution and the results show the superiority of the proposed method, with the average classification accuracy by the proposed method (95.4%) higher than that of the MLE (93.77%). Use of PCA to reduce the dimensionality of the feature vector helps reduce the memory requirements and computational cost, thereby enhancing the speed of the process.     

Advances in Electrospun Nanofiber Yarns

In order to increase the application area of nanofibers, electrospun nanofiber yarns have drawn attention of many researchers around the globe. Once the production method of nanofiber yarn is mature enough to be universally accepted, many new gates of applications will open to the world. In this review, different electrospinning techniques of electrospun nanofiber yarns are divided into needle electrospinning and needleless electrospinning. Considering yarn twist as an important mechanism, needle electrospinning technique is further categorized into mechanical, electrical and field flow twisting methods. Moreover, parameters influencing the mechanical properties of electrospun nanofiber yarns are investigated. Methods of improving mechanical properties of nanofiber yarns are addressed, including hot-water-bath treatment, addition of carbon nanotubes(CNTs) and introducing regulators. Finally, applications of electrospun nanofiber yarns in different fields of smart textile and bioengineering are summed-up. In summary, challenges encountered in the industrialization of nanofiber yarns and future prospects are anticipated.     

Spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) of Saudi Arabia: two new species,new records and a key to all known species

A total of 18 spider mite species belonging to 10 genera of the family Tetranychidae (Acari: Prostigmata) are reported from different provinces of Saudi Arabia (SA). Among these, two new species, Sonotetranychus madinahensis sp. nov. and Tetranychus salicornicus sp. nov., belonging to the subfamily Tetranychinae are described and illustrated. Also, five genera and 11 species are new to the mite fauna of SA. The distribution and host data of all recorded species in the current study are provided. A key to all spider mite species of SA is provided as well as a key to the species of the armenychus species group of the genus Tetranychus Dufour, based on males.

www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C41BB3ED-99D5-4DCF-B557-09526FA7D56B     

Proliferation status defines functional properties of endothelial cells

Homeostasis of solid tissue is characterized by a low proliferative activity of differentiated cells while special conditions like tissue damage induce regeneration and proliferation. For some cell types it has been shown that various tissue-specific functions are missing in the proliferating state, raising the possibility that their proliferation is not compatible with a fully differentiated state. While endothelial cells are important players in regenerating tissue as well as in the vascularization of tumors, the impact of proliferation on their features remains elusive. To examine cell features in dependence of proliferation, we established human endothelial cell lines in which proliferation is tightly controlled by a doxycycline-dependent, synthetic regulatory unit. We observed that uptake of macromolecules and establishment of cell–cell contacts was more pronounced in the growth-arrested state. Tube-like structures were formed in vitro in both proliferating and non-proliferating conditions. However, functional vessel formation upon transplantation into immune-compromised mice was restricted to the proliferative state. Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpes virus (KSHV) infection resulted in reduced expression of endothelial markers. Upon transplantation of infected cells, drastic differences were observed: proliferation arrested cells acquired a high migratory activity while the proliferating counterparts established a tumor-like phenotype, similar to Kaposi Sarcoma lesions. The study gives evidence that proliferation governs endothelial functions. This suggests that several endothelial functions are differentially expressed during angiogenesis. Moreover, since proliferation defines the functional properties of cells upon infection with KSHV, this process crucially affects the fate of virus-infected cells.     

Systematic documentation and analysis of human genetic variation in hemoglobinopathies using the microattribution approach

We developed a series of interrelated locus-specific databases to store all published and unpublished genetic variation related to hemoglobinopathies and thalassemia and implemented microattribution to encourage submission of unpublished observations of genetic variation to these public repositories. A total of 1,941 unique genetic variants in 37 genes, encoding globins and other erythroid proteins, are currently documented in these databases, with reciprocal attribution of microcitations to data contributors. Our project provides the first example of implementing microattribution to incentivise submission of all known genetic variation in a defined system. It has demonstrably increased the reporting of human variants, leading to a comprehensive online resource for systematically describing human genetic variation in the globin genes and other genes contributing to hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias. The principles established here will serve as a model for other systems and for the analysis of other common and/or complex human genetic diseases.     

Energy Management System Design and Testing for Smart Buildings Under Uncertain Generation (Wind/Photovoltaic) and Demand

This study provides details of the energy management architecture used in the Goldwind microgrid test bed. A complete mathematical model, including all constraints and objectives, for microgrid operational management is first described using a modified prediction interval scheme. Forecasting results are then achieved every 10 min using the modified fuzzy prediction interval model, which is trained by particle swarm optimization.A scenario set is also generated using an unserved power profile and coverage grades of forecasting to compare the feasibility of the proposed method with that of the deterministic approach. The worst case operating points are achieved by the scenario with the maximum transaction cost. In summary, selection of the maximum transaction operating point from all the scenarios provides a cushion against uncertainties in renewable generation and load demand.     

Robust Adaptive Multi-Switching Synchronization of Multiple Different Orders Unknown Chaotic Systems

Multi-switching synchronization(MSS) of multiple different orders unknown chaotic(UC)systems confines hacking in the digital transmission process. Similarly, the suppression of undesirable chattering increases synchronization performance. This paper proposes a new robust synchronization control(RASC) technique and discusses the MSS of multiple different orders UC systems. This controller accomplishes(i) quick convergence,(ii) reduces the transient oscillations, and(iii) the rate of convergence decreases in the vicinity of the origin that causes the suppression of chattering. Analysis based on the Lyapunov direct method assures this convergence behavior with any positive values of the feedback gains. This work also provides parameters updated law that estimates the true values of unknown parameters. Numerical examples of five UC systems different orders are simulated. The computer based graphical results validate the efficiency and performance of the proposed RASC technique and the synchronization strategy when compare to peer works. In the simulation, the proposed synchronization strategy successfully recovers an encrypted received image on a communication channel.The article suggests some future research problems to extend the use of the proposed work.