Strontium eluting graphene hybrid nanoparticles augment osteogenesis in a 3D tissue scaffold

The objective of this work was to prepare hybrid nanoparticles of graphene sheets decorated with strontium metallic nanoparticles and demonstrate their advantages in bone tissue engineering. Strontium-decorated reduced graphene oxide (RGO_Sr) hybrid nanoparticles were synthesized by the facile reduction of graphene oxide and strontium nitrate. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy revealed that the hybrid particles were composed of RGO sheets decorated with 200-300 nm metallic strontium particles. Thermal gravimetric analysis further confirmed the composition of the hybrid particles as 22 wt% of strontium. Macroporous tissue scaffolds were prepared by incorporating RGO_Sr particles in poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL). The PCL/RGO_Sr scaffolds were found to elute strontium ions in aqueous medium. Osteoblast proliferation and differentiation was significantly higher in the PCL scaffolds containing the RGO_Sr particles in contrast to neat PCL and PCL/RGO scaffolds. The increased biological activity can be attributed to the release of strontium ions from the hybrid nanoparticles. This study demonstrates that composites prepared using hybrid nanoparticles that elute strontium ions can be used to prepare multifunctional scaffolds with good mechanical and osteoinductive properties. These findings have important implications for designing the next generation of biomaterials for use in tissue regeneration.

Space-Vector-Based Hybrid PWM Technique to Reduce Peak-to-Peak Torque Ripple in Induction Motor Drives

Special switching sequences involving division of active state time are used in space-vector-based generation of pulse width modulation (PWM) waveforms. This paper proposes a hybrid PWM technique which is a combination of the conventional and special switching sequences. The proposed hybrid PWM technique reduces the peak-to-peak torque ripple at high speeds of an induction motor drive. Supporting simulation and experimental results are presented from a closed-loop controlled motor drive.

Boundary Tracking using a Hybrid Cyclic Pursuit Scheme

There has been a lot of work in the literature, related to the mapping of boundaries of regions, using multiple agents. Most of these are based on optimization techniques or rely on potential fields to drive the agents towards the boundary and then retain them there while they space out evenly along the perimeter or surface (in two-dimensional and three-dimensional cases, respectively). In this paper an algorithm to track the boundary of a region in space is provided based on the cyclic pursuit scheme. This enables the agents to constantly move along the perimeter in a cluster, thereby tracking a dynamically changing boundary. The trajectories of the agents provide a sketch of the boundary. The use of multiple agents may facilitate minimization of tracking error by providing accurate estimates of points on the boundary, besides providing redundancy. Simulation results are provided to highlight the performance of the proposed scheme.

Mesoporous silica-chondroitin sulphate hybrid nanoparticles for targeted and bio-responsive drug delivery

This work proposes the fabrication of a novel targeted drug delivery system based on mesoporous silica-biopolymer hybrids that can release drugs in response to biological stimuli present in cancer cells. The proposed system utilizes mesoporous silica nanoparticles as a carrier to host the drug molecules. A bio-polymer cap is attached onto these particles which serves the multiple functions of drug retention, targeting and bio-responsive drug release. The biopolymer chondroitin sulphate used here is a glycosaminoglycan that can specifically bind to receptors over-expressed in cancer cells. This molecule also possesses the property of disintegrating upon exposure to enzymes over-expressed in cancer cells. When these particles interact with cancer cells, the chondroitin sulphate present on the surface recognizes and attaches onto the CD44 receptors facilitating the uptake of these particles. The phagocytised particles are then exposed to the degradative enzymes, such as hyaluronidase present inside the cancer cells, which degrade the cap resulting in drug release. By utilizing a cervical cancer cell line we have demonstrated the targetability and intracellular delivery of hydrophobic drugs encapsulated in these particles. It was observed that the system was capable of enhancing the anticancer activity of the hydrophobic drug curcumin. Overall, we believe that this system might prove to be a valuable candidate for targeted and bioresponsive drug delivery.

Series-connected substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors with voltage-management circuit

Cell voltage for a fully charged-substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor is about 2.3 V. Therefore, for applications requiring higher DC voltage, several of these ultracapacitors need to be connected in series. However, voltage distribution across each series-connected ultracapacitor tends to be uneven due to tolerance in capacitance and parasitic parallel-resistance values. Accordingly, voltage-management circuit is required to protect constituent ultracapacitors from exceeding their rated voltage. In this study, the design and characterization of the substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor with co-located terminals is discussed. Voltage-management circuit for the ultracapacitor is presented, and its effectiveness is validated experimentally.

Hybrid Elements for Modelling Squeeze Film Effects Coupled with Structural Interactions in Vibratory MEMS Devices

We present a hybrid finite element based methodology to solve the coupled fluid structure problem of squeeze film effects in vibratory MEMS devices, such as gyroscopes, RF switches, and 2D resonators. The aforementioned devices often have a thin plate like structure vibrating normally to a fixed substrate, and are generally not perfectly vacuum packed. This results in a thin air film being trapped between the vibrating plate and the fixed substrate which behaves like a squeeze film offering both stiffness and damping. For accurate modelling of such devices the squeeze film effects must be incorporated. Extensive literature is available on squeeze film modelling, however only a few studies address the coupled fluid elasticity problem. The majority of the studies that account for the plate elasticity coupled with the fluid equation, either use approximate mode shapes for the plate or use iterative solution strategies. In an earlier work we presented a single step coupled methodology using only one type of displacement based element to solve the coupled problem. The displacement based finite element models suffer from locking issues when it comes to modelling very thin structures with the lateral dimensions much larger than the plate thickness as is typical in MEMS devices with squeeze film effects. In this work we present another coupled formulation where we have used hybrid elements to model the structural domain. The numerical results show a huge improvement in convergence and accuracy with coarse hybrid mesh as compared to displacement based formulations. We further compare our numerical results with experimental data from literature and find them to be in good accordance.

Tailoring local density of optical states to control emission intensity and anisotropy of quantum dots in hybrid photonic-plasmonic templates

We report results of controlled tuning of the local density of states (LDOS) in versatile, flexible, and hierarchical self assembled plasmonic templates. Using 5 nm diameter gold (Au) spherical nanoantenna within a polymer template randomly dispersed with quantum dots, we show how the photoluminescence intensity and lifetime anisotropy of these dots can be significantly enhanced through LDOS tuning. Finite difference time domain simulations corroborate the experimental observations and extend the regime of enhancement to a wider range of geometric and spectral parameters bringing out the versatility of these functional plasmonic templates. It is also demonstrated how the templates act as plasmonic resonators for effectively engineer giant enhancement of the scattering efficiency of these nano antenna embedded in the templates. Our work provides an alternative method to achieve spontaneous emission intensity and anisotropy enhancement with true nanoscale plasmon resonators. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Efficient charge transfer and field-induced tunneling transport in hybrid composite device of organic semiconductor and cadmium telluride quantum dots

Temperature and photo-dependent current-voltage characteristics are investigated in thin film devices of a hybrid-composite comprising of organic semiconductor poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT: PSS) and cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe QDs). A detailed study of the charge injection mechanism in ITO/PEDOT: PSS-CdTe QDs/Al device exhibits a transition from direct tunneling to Fowler-Nordheim tunneling with increasing electric field due to formation of high barrier at the QD interface. In addition, the hybrid-composite exhibits a huge photoluminescence quenching compared to aboriginal CdTe QDs and high increment in photoconductivity (similar to 400%), which is attributed to the charge transfer phenomena. The effective barrier height (Phi(B) approximate to 0.68 eV) is estimated from the transition voltage and the possible origin of its variation with temperature and photo-illumination is discussed. (C) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC.

Morphology control synthesis of Au-Cu2S metal-semiconductor hybrid nanostructures by modulating reaction constituents

A facile methodology for synthesizing Au-Cu2S hybrid nanoparticles is presented. Au-Cu2S nanoparticles have application in visible light driven photocatalytic degradation of dyes. Detailed microstructural and compositional characterization illustrated that the hybrid nanoparticles are composed of cube shaped Au-Cu solid solution and hemispherical shaped Cu2S phases. Investigation of nanoparticles extracted at different stages of the synthesis process revealed that the mechanism of formation of hybrid nanoparticles involved initial formation of isolated cube shaped pure Au nanoparticles and Cu-thiolate complex. In the subsequent stages, the Au nanoparticles get adsorbed onto the Cu-thiolate complex which is followed by the decomposition of the Cu-thiolate complex to form Au-Cu2S hybrid nanoparticles. This study also illustrates that an optimum concentration of dodecanethiol is required both for achieving size and morphological uniformity of the participating phases and for their attachment to form a hybrid nanoparticle.

Studies on 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors

A cost-effective 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitor is developed and performance tested. These hybrid ultracapacitors employ flexible-graphite sheets as negative plate current-collectors that are coated amperometrically with a thin layer of conducting polymer, namely poly-aniline to provide good adhesivity to activated-carbon layer. The positive plate of the hybrid ultracapacitors comprise conventional lead-sheet that is converted electrochemically into a substrate-integrated lead-dioxide electrode. 12 V substrate-integrated lead-carbon hybrid ultracapacitors both in absorbent-glass-mat and polymeric silica-gel electrolyte configurations are fabricated and characterized. It is possible to realize 12 V configurations with capacitance values of similar to 200 F and similar to 300 F, energy densities of similar to 1.9 Wh kg(-1) and similar to 2.5 Wh kg(-1) and power densities of similar to 2 kW kg(-1) and similar to 0.8 kW kg(-1), respectively, having faradaic-efficiency values of similar to 90 % with cycle-life in excess of 100,000 cycles. The effective cost of the mentioned hybrid ultracapacitors is estimated to be about similar to 4 US$/Wh as compared to similar to 20 US$/Wh for commercially available ultracapacitors.

ANRC Hybrid Test Bed Implementation and an End-to-End Performance Characterization of Dynamic Spectrum Access

An abundance of spectrum access and sensing algorithms are available in the dynamic spectrum access (DSA) and cognitive radio (CR) literature. Often, however, the functionality and performance of such algorithms are validated against theoretical calculations using only simulations. Both the theoretical calculations and simulations come with their attendant sets of assumptions. For instance, designers of dynamic spectrum access algorithms often take spectrum sensing and rendezvous mechanisms between transmitter-receiver pairs for granted. Test bed designers, on the other hand, either customize so much of their design that it becomes difficult to replicate using commercial off the shelf (COTS) components or restrict themselves to simulation, emulation /hardware-in-Ioop (HIL), or pure hardware but not all three. Implementation studies on test beds sophisticated enough to combine the three aforementioned aspects, but at the same time can also be put together using COTS hardware and software packages are rare. In this paper we describe i) the implementation of a hybrid test bed using a previously proposed hardware agnostic system architecture ii) the implementation of DSA on this test bed, and iii) the realistic hardware and software-constrained performance of DSA. Snapshot energy detector (ED) and Cumulative Summation (CUSUM), a sequential change detection algorithm, are available for spectrum sensing and a two-way handshake mechanism in a dedicated control channel facilitates transmitter-receiver rendezvous.

Solid-state optical absorption from optimally tuned time-dependent range-separated hybrid density functional theory

We present a framework for obtaining reliable solid-state charge and optical excitations and spectra from optimally tuned range-separated hybrid density functional theory. The approach, which is fully couched within the formal framework of generalized Kohn-Sham theory, allows for the accurate prediction of exciton binding energies. We demonstrate our approach through first principles calculations of one- and two-particle excitations in pentacene, a molecular semiconducting crystal, where our work is in excellent agreement with experiments and prior computations. We further show that with one adjustable parameter, set to produce the known band gap, this method accurately predicts band structures and optical spectra of silicon and lithium fluoride, prototypical covalent and ionic solids. Our findings indicate that for a broad range of extended bulk systems, this method may provide a computationally inexpensive alternative to many-body perturbation theory, opening the door to studies of materials of increasing size and complexity.

TiO2-RGO hybrid nanomaterials for enhanced water splitting reaction

The production of H-2 via photocatalytic water splitting reaction has attracted a great attention as a clean and renewable energy for next generation. Despite tremendous efforts, the present challenge for materials scientist is to develop highly active photo catalysts for splitting of water at low cost. This article reports the synthesis of TiO2-reduced graphene oxide hybrid nanomaterials through ionothermal method using functionalized ionic liquid for the enhanced hydrogen generation via water splitting reaction. The structural and morphological properties of the samples were investigated by XFtD, Raman spectroscopy, TG-DTA, UV-vis spectroscopy and TEM. A substantial increase of H-2 evolution was observed for TiO2-reduced graphene oxide hybrid nanomaterials. This is due to the high migration efficiency of photo-induced electrons and the inhibition of charge carrier recombination due to the electronic interaction between TiO2 and reduced graphene oxide. i.e, reduced graphene oxide acts as an electron-acceptor which effectively hinders the electron hole pair recombination of TiO2. Copyright (C) 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A hybrid method for stochastic response analysis of a vibrating structure

Response analysis of a linear structure with uncertainties in both structural parameters and external excitation is considered here. When such an analysis is carried out using the spectral stochastic finite element method (SSFEM), often the computational cost tends to be prohibitive due to the rapid growth of the number of spectral bases with the number of random variables and the order of expansion. For instance, if the excitation contains a random frequency, or if it is a general random process, then a good approximation of these excitations using polynomial chaos expansion (PCE) involves a large number of terms, which leads to very high cost. To address this issue of high computational cost, a hybrid method is proposed in this work. In this method, first the random eigenvalue problem is solved using the weak formulation of SSFEM, which involves solving a system of deterministic nonlinear algebraic equations to estimate the PCE coefficients of the random eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Then the response is estimated using a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation, where the modal bases are sampled from the PCE of the random eigenvectors estimated in the previous step, followed by a numerical time integration. It is observed through numerical studies that this proposed method successfully reduces the computational burden compared with either a pure SSFEM of a pure MC simulation and more accurate than a perturbation method. The computational gain improves as the problem size in terms of degrees of freedom grows. It also improves as the timespan of interest reduces.

Synthesis of Optically Active 2-Amino-1,3,4-oxadiazoles and their Hybrid Peptides

Synthesis of 2-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives of N-Cbz(benzyloxycarbonyl)/Boc-protected amino/peptide acids under sonication is described. The conditions involved in the present protocol are simple, mild, and racemization free. The utility of 2-amino group in the substituted oxadiazoles for the incorporation of peptide and ureido bonds to obtain hybrid peptidomimetics is also delineated. The 2-amino-1,3,4-oxadiazole 3b was obtained as a single crystal, and its molecular structure has been confirmed through X-ray crystallographic study.