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Graphene‐loaded thermoplastic nanocomposite films must be evaluated for antibacterial activity, mechanical, and barrier properties before being utilized as food packaging. Herein, economically feasible linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE)‐based flexible packaging materials were developed via the melt compounding technique at 170°C temperature by taking advantage of both graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) and nano zinc oxide (ZnO) fillers. Morphological studies reveal that in composites loaded with GNP/ZnO hybrid fillers, ZnO nanoparticles form a network‐like structure throughout the polymer matrix. Simultaneously, GNPs are uniformly dispersed. The inclusion of hybrid nanofiller considerably reduces both the oxygen transmission rate and the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) in LLDPE nanocomposites. A maximum decrease of 36% and 67%, respectively, in both oxygen transmission rate and WVTR is observed for 3 wt% of hybrid filler loading in a thermoplastic matrix containing 1 wt% of nano ZnO. The antibacterial efficacy of the derived nanocomposite films is obvious against gram‐positive (Bacillus subtilis) and gram‐negative (Escherichia coli) bacterial strains. These nanocomposite films have the potential to be successfully utilized as flexible packaging materials owing to their improved thermal, barrier, and antibacterial effectiveness. Highlights: GNP/ZnO was used as a hybrid reinforcing filler in the LLDPE matrix.ZnO nanoparticles establish a network‐like morphology.LLDPE nanocomposite films exhibited excellent antibacterial activity.Oxygen and water vapor barrier properties were significantly improved.The thermoplastic composite films could be used as food packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, electrically conductive thermoplastic elastomeric blend composite films based on polystyrene (PS)/ethylene‐co‐methyl acrylate (EMA) filled with functionalized graphene were developed via the solution mixing technique. Morphological analysis revealed that selective localization of amine‐functionalized reduced graphene oxide (G‐ODA) sheets in the EMA phase of co‐continuous binary blend formed a well‐connected dense conductive pathway by graphene sheets ultimately facilitating the double percolation phenomenon. The electrical percolation threshold was achieved at ~2 wt% of G‐ODA loading which was much lower than that for both single polymer composites. An electrical conductivity of 0.9 S/cm was obtained for blend composite film with 10 wt% of graphene concentration whereas for the same filler loading, PS and EMA composites exhibited electrical conductivity of 1.9 × 10−1 and 2.3 × 10−1 S/cm, respectively. The obtained thermal conductivity of the blend composite with 10 wt% of G‐ODA loading was 0.95 W/m K with 400% enhancement compared to the neat blend system. The same composite exhibited increased real and imaginary permittivity of 92 and 83, respectively. The electrical percolation threshold is well‐correlated with the percolation concentration found from storage modulus and thermal conductivity data. The fabricated PS/EMA blend composite film exhibited absorption‐dominant electromagnetic interference SE of −25 and − 35 dB in X‐band frequency (8.2–12.4 GHz) for 10 wt% of graphene loading with a sample thickness of 0.5 and 1 mm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few years, thermoplastic nanocomposites reinforced with different types of nanofillers have seen widespread use in the automotive, pharmaceutical, food packaging and electronic sectors. Among the different nanofillers used to fabricate thermoplastic composite–based packaging materials, nanoclay and graphene are very beneficial for producing high‐barrier packaging materials. The high aspect ratio and large surface area of both nanoclay and graphene facilitate uniform filler dispersion and tortuous path in the thermoplastic matrix, which ultimately improves the physico‐mechanical, thermal and barrier to oxygen, water vapour and light as well as antimicrobial properties, which are key requirements for packaging materials. Because graphene nanomaterials are electrically and thermally conductive, these thermoplastic nanocomposites may display excellent electrical‐, thermal‐ and microwave‐shielding capabilities, allowing them to be used in electronic packaging. This review aims to summarize the preparation and characterization of thermoplastic nanocomposites based on different types of nanoclay, graphene and graphene derivatives, as well as their prospective applications in food and electronic packaging. This review paper also discusses the factors that can affect the performance and attributes of these packaging materials, such as processing conditions, types of nanofillers, functionalization or modification of nanofillers for better filler dispersion and so forth. This paper presents a comprehensive and state‐of‐the‐art article on nanoclay‐ and graphene‐loaded thermoplastic nanocomposite–based packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) stands out as a versatile solvent in synthetic chemists' repertoire, facilitating a diverse array of intricate chemical reactions. It demonstrates a multifaceted role that extends beyond conventional uses and, in many cases, the mechanism appears to be complicated. This feature article elucidates the significance of HFIP in the context of Lewis and Brønsted acid‐catalyzed reactions with a specific emphasis on the regio‐ and stereoselective functionalization of unsaturated carbon‐carbon bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ionic liquid is increasingly being used as a chemical modulator of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). Here, we report the practical method for producing biodegradable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield films made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polybutylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate (PBAT), and 1‐(2‐aminoethyl)‐3‐methyl‐1H‐imidazol‐3‐ium modified MWCNT (MIL). The field emission scanning electron microscopy study of cryo‐fractured 50:50 PBAT/TPU blend giving co‐continuous morphology and subsequent polymer EMI shield nanocomposite material had shown the co‐continuous nanofiller distribution. The nanoparticles were chosen to be distributed in the PBAT portion, according to subsequent research employing HRTEM and DMA. The electrical percolation threshold (EPT) is determined to be situated within 1–3 wt% of nanoparticles loading as the remarkable shift in total EMI shielding efficiency from −14.6 dB (for 1 wt%) to −28.6 dB (for 3 wt%) of nanoparticle‐loaded film at 10 GHz (in X‐band region) for a 0.8 mm thick film reveals that the EPT is approximately at 2 wt% of nanoparticle loading. The effective EMI shielding of −37.3 dB was achieved by 10 wt% of MIL loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Noninvasive neuromonitoring in critically ill children includes multiple modalities that all intend to improve our understanding of acute and ongoing brain injury. Methods: In this article, we review basic methods and devices, applications in clinical care and research, and explore potential future directions for three noninvasive neuromonitoring modalities in the pediatric intensive care unit: automated pupillometry, near-infrared spectroscopy, and transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. Results: All three technologies are noninvasive, portable, and easily repeatable to allow for serial measurements and trending of data over time. However, a paucity of high-quality data supporting the clinical utility of any of these technologies in critically ill children is currently a major limitation to their widespread application in the pediatric intensive care unit. Conclusions: Future prospective multicenter work addressing major knowledge gaps is necessary to advance the field of pediatric noninvasive neuromonitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fatigue is an important issue for the failure of steel railway bridges. It is very challenging for a railway industry to regularly monitor the fatigue safety of millions of steel railway bridges in a cost-effective and easy way requiring the least worker effort and software expertise. This case study presents the fatigue life assessment (FLA) of an existing railway bridge in a simple and easy way. Microsoft Excel (for calculation of limit states of failure and fatigue life) and STAAD.Pro or similar structural analysis software (for modeling of the bridge truss) was used. A total station was used to ascertain the actual behavior of the bridge and to derive a correction factor. The various limit states of normal and shear stresses and strains in truss members and pot–polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) bearing components are addressed in a single procedure. The accuracy of the method was validated using a case study of a failed railway bridge. LVDT-based deflection measurements showed the accuracy of the adopted total station instrument–based experimental program. To check the fatigue safety of the bearing components, available equations from the literature were used to make the procedure easy and quick. In addition, the accuracy of the equations was ensured through a detailed numerical modeling of pot-PTFE bearings using finite-element modeling in Ansys. The results show that among the various limit states of normal and shear stresses and strains in truss members and bearing components, the shearing strain limit state of the elastomeric pad of the pot-PTFE bearings governs the fatigue life, which often is disregarded in usual FLA. The results indicate that the adopted method is cost- and time-effective. This case study presents a fatigue life assessment procedure executed on a real-life steel railway bridge. The procedure is quick, easy to implement, requires less funding and human effort, and can be used for many bridges. The adopted procedure requires only structural analysis software such as STAAD.Pro, MS Excel, and a total station surveying instrument. The total station surveying instrument is used to arrive at a corrected factor from the measured deflection values, which validates the analytical model of the steel bridge with the real-time behavior of the bridge at site. Skilled specialist human effort or software personnel with expertise in Ansys fatigue workbench, Abaqus, and UMAT interfaces are not required. The total station surveying–based approach quite accurately captured the failure of another real-life railway bridge, which failed in fatigue. The procedure is generic in nature and can be applied to other types of railway bridges with different types of bearings. The method can investigate the failure of stress- and strain-based fatigue failure of different bearing components and various limit states of truss or frame members in a single procedure in a computationally efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polymer nanocomposites have garnered significant interest for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding applications due to their lightweight, anticorrosive and tunable properties. Employing the solution blending technique, we have developed a composite material comprising an 80wt% EMA (Ethylene–Methyl Acrylate) and 20wt% TPO (Thermoplastic Polyolefin) co-continuous blend. The incorporation of Reduced Graphene Oxide (RGO) as a conductive filler is achieved through precise confinement within the EMA phase of the polymer matrix. The selective placement of the RGO nanosheets within the EMA phase results in a dual percolation phenomenon, significantly lowering the electrical percolation threshold. A notable EMI SE value of -29.66 dB and electrical conductivity of 10–3 S/cm is acheived with the addition of 5wt% RGO. Further optimizing the composite, a loading of 15wt% RGO showcases an outstanding EMI SE of -39.06 dB. Moreover, this composite demonstrates commendable thermal conductivity of 0.75 W/m.K, alongside promising mechanical properties. The findings offer a promising avenue for the integration of this material in EMI-sensitive applications, particularly in the realms of stretchable and wearable electronics, offering effective thermal management and proficient microwave shielding capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A heat treatment is the process of treating workpiece to a certain temperature (i.e., below or above recrystallization temperature), soaking for a certain time and subsequent cooling in a definite medium or rate, in order to get the improved or controlled mechanical properties, like strength, toughness, hardness, ductility, and internally developed residual stress. In addition to seeking enhanced mechanical properties, conventional heat treatment is also sought for its ability to improve corrosion resistance. To improve the service life of engineering element, the application of heat treatment has become necessary to deal with tool and die, automotive parts or aerospace parts. This paper focuses on the influences of various heat treatments in their dry sliding characteristics i.e., tribo-characteristics of two type of stainless steel 304 and ss410. Total six numbers of SS 304 and five numbers of SS 410 was taken and they have been heated to some desired temperature and then they are allowed to dwell. Then these heated specimens are cooled in some predetermined ways (air, water, oil or in furnace) to get various treatment results. A comparative study of pin against disc friction and wear for SS-304 and SS-410 was carried out in a multi tribo tester (DUCOM TR201E) against EN-24 steel disc. Corresponding micro hardness valued are also determined in HV scale in a Micro Vickers Hardness Tester (Economet VH-1 MD). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Colorectal Carcinoma (CRC) is a multi-step process that occurs due to the accumulation of several genetic alterations. The most important alterations are related to the rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (RAS) and Rapidly Accelerated Fibrosarcoma (RAF), which have been implicated as key intermediates in the RAS-mediated signalling cascade. However, the levels of Kristen Rat Sarcoma Virus (KRAS) and v-raf Murine Sarcoma Viral Oncogene Homolog (BRAF) protein expression and their prognostic evaluation in CRC patients remain unknown. Aim: To investigate the immunohistochemical expression of KRAS and BRAF proteins in CRC. Materials and Methods: The present institutional-based cross-sectional observational study was conducted in a tertiary care centre in West Bengal, specifically in the Department of Pathology in collaboration with the Department of Surgery at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital, Berhampore, West Bengal, India. A total of 26 CRC cases were enrolled in the present study, received over a period of one and a half years from January 2021 to June 2022. The parameters studied included demographic and clinical information of the patients, histopathological findings, pathological grade and stage of carcinoma, and immunohistochemical findings for KRAS and BRAF. For statistical analysis, data were entered into Microsoft (MS) Excel. Descriptive measures such as mean±Standard Deviation (SD), range, and percentage were used. The Chi-square test was used to determine the significance of the study. Results: A total of biopsy-proven CRC specimens were studied, consisting of 17 male patients (65.38%) with a male-to-female ratio of 1.9:1. The most common age group involved was 51-60 years (38%). Conventional adenocarcinoma accounted for the majority of cases (85%), with mucinous carcinoma comprising the remaining 15%. Among the 26 cases, 15 (58%) showed KRAS positivity, which was significantly associated with tumour grade and stage. Most of the cases were BRAF-negative. Out of the 21 cases where either KRAS or BRAF or both were positive, 20 cases showed high T stage (T3 and T4) and/or metastatic lesions (p-value 0.001). All four cases that were negative for both BRAF and KRAS belonged to the low T stage. Conclusion: A significant correlation was observed between the expression of KRAS and high-grade, high pathological Tumour, Node, Metastasis (TNM) T stage (T3 and T4) CRC. Therefore, KRAS Immunohistochemistry (IHC) biomarkers should be included in the standard diagnostic protocol for colorectal cancer, as they help identify KRAS-positive CRC cases that are resistant to targeted immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the potential effect of the pyrolytic carbon black (CBp) and pyrolytic heavy oil (HO), we incorporated them into styrene‐butadiene rubber (SBR) as reinforcing filler and plasticizing agent, respectively. Since the industrial N330 CB's specific surface area and other specifications adhere to the CBp standard, it has been selected as a benchmark. To test HO's applicability, conventional (AO) was substituted with it. We experimented with the N330 and CBp in the 1/1 variant. We examined the impacts on the cure behavior, physical characteristics such as density and hardness, mechanical properties, abrasion resistance, dynamic mechanical performance, and thermal properties of the filled SBR composites. According to field emission (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs, the increased tensile and tear strength is due to N330 black's superior dispersion over CBp in the rubber matrix. Better dispersion in N330 type CB is also justified by lower tan δmax from the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) study. Utilizing HO changes the curing conditions since it comprises more sulfur, which accelerates the formation of sulfur–sulfur cross‐links. Increased tensile and tear strengths, as well as improved dispersion in the rubber matrix, have been seen with the combined use of N330 and CBp. Meanwhile, HO could function well in place of commercially available AOs. Highlights: The impact of scrap tires on human health and the environment is explored.Recovered carbon black (CB) from waste tire mixed with styrene‐butadiene rubber in various ratios.Pyrolytic oil is also incorporated to check its reusability in tire formulation.Similar cure characteristics and mechanical strength were found in the composites.Replacement of the conventional CB is proposed with recovered black. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multifunctional polymer/graphene based lightweight and flexible nanocomposite films are increasingly being utilized in the packaging, electronics, and pharmaceutical industries together. Herein, two graphene derivatives: silver nanoparticle decorated reduced graphene oxide (G‐Ag) and chemically reduced graphene oxide (rGO) prepared by wet chemical method and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) have been incorporated into linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) thermoplastic matrix via melt compounding method. The incorporation of graphene derivatives affected the physico‐mechanical, electrical and thermal conductivity, and barrier properties (both oxygen and water vapor permeability) of the nanocomposite films. With 5 wt% of G‐Ag, rGO, and GNP loading, the thermal conductivity of these three nanocomposite films was enhanced by an average of 136.7%, 123%, and 143.3%, respectively. Graphene having high specific surface area and aspect ratio allow for a tortuous passage of oxygen and water molecules through the nanocomposite film, ultimately improving both oxygen and water vapor impermeability qualities for all LG‐Ag, LrGO, and LGNP nanocomposites. Moreover, the films have been tested against both gram‐positive and gram‐negative bacteria to ensure their bactericidal activity. The prepared composite films also showed Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (−21, −17, and −19 dB) higher than the commercial cut‐offs. The thermoplastic nanocomposite films with promising thermal conductivity might be an excellent choice for bacteria‐resistant and barrier‐capable packaging and efficient thermal management EMI shields in electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal pyrolysis of waste tires is an industrially beneficial method for material and energy recovery. Pyrolytic carbon black (CBp) is considered to be the secondary main product of this process. In the present study, an eco-friendly and economically feasible autoclave reactor-based thermal pyrolysis method was employed for the pyrolysis of waste tire tread. The average yields obtained for CBp and pyrolytic liquid are 48.2 wt% and 46.3 wt%, respectively. This CBp was well characterized by several techniques and results were compared with those of commercially available N330 carbon black. Elemental analysis shows that CBp has higher oxygen (O) and sulfur (S) content. Furthermore, the surface attachment of ash with carbon black from morphological analysis reveals the presence of higher ash content in CBp, which is further justified by proximate and thermal analysis. Zinc oxide (ZnO) plays a vital role in sulfur vulcanization and is added during the compounding stage of the tire-manufacturing process. Results obtained from TEM–EDX analysis indicate the presence of ZnO in the carbon black derived from thermal pyrolysis. Prior to conducting further research in this area, we may draw the conclusion from the experimental results that the obtained CBp has similar characteristic features and can be used in place of commercially available carbon black for the manufacture of rubber products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past decade has witnessed a variety of members of the carbon family along with exposure of carbon dots due to their magnificent properties in sensing, bioimaging, catalytic applications, biomedical fields, and so on. Herein, we report the simple hydrothermal method to fabricate photoluminescent doped carbon quantum dots for the detection of noxious lead(II) ions. Lead(II) ion is very venomous for both the environment and human health for which its detection is demanded area in the research field. The as-prepared carbon dots show excellent photostability, low toxicity and significant photoluminescence properties along with good water solubility. Along with these properties, carbon dots have a quantum yield of approximately 15%. In the practical field of application, these carbon dots have been used as sensing probes for the detection of lead(II) ions with a detection limit of 60 nmol·L−1. The fluorescence intensity of carbon dots was remarkably quenched in the presence of the lead(II) ion selectively among all the tested metal ions. Furthermore, we have studied the Stern–Volmer relationship for lead(II) quenching along with the explanation of the probable quenching mechanism. Ability of the doped carbon dots in heavy metal ions sensing in an environmental sample was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clay-reinforced polymer composites have been considered as highly demand nanocomposites since several decades. To be utilized as packaging materials, these nanocomposites should possess good impermeability to oxygen and water vapor. The major compatibility issue of the hydrophilic inorganic nanofillers with hydrophobic thermoplastics has been overcome in this work by using the 'grafting to' silylation method of two different nanoclays, namely montmorillonite Na+ and halloysite (HNT) nanoclays, at 85 ℃. Organosilanes: 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (3-APTES) and vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) were used to functionalize these nanoclays to improve interfacial bonding with linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) polymer chains. TGA analysis resulted in higher amount of grafting yield percentages for silane-treated MMT nanoclays (28.9% for MMT-APTES and 24.3% for MMT-VTMS) which are much higher than silane-functionalized HNT nanoclays. The amount of 1, 3 and 5 wt% of each organoclay was melt and mixed with LLDPE to enhance the overall performance properties of the resultant nanocomposites. The maximum tensile strength exhibited by the nanocomposite is around 20.6 MPa for 3 wt% of MMT-APTES concentration. Also, Young modulus improves up to 56% compared to neat LLDPE on the addition of 5 wt% of silane-treated organoclay. The microscopic analysis, especially TEM, provided information about the better dispersion of anisotropic fillers inside the thermoplastic matrix. Moreover, such filler compatibilization also showed 29.4% reduction in oxygen transmission rate (OTR) and 63.5% reduction in water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) value of composite materials with only 5 wt% of nanoclay loading along with improved rheological and ultraviolet (UV) barrier properties of these nanocomposites. The prepared nanocomposites with improved barrier properties could be ideal alternatives for flexible thermoplastic composites as packaging materials. Silane functionalization of nanoclays led to uniform distribution of clay in LLDPE matrix which improved mechanical and barrier properties of nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solvent mixing process is a utile production technique to promote the cost-effective preparation of lightweight and flexible electromagnetic interference (EMI) shield films based on binary polymer-based conductive nanocomposite material with a very low electrical percolation threshold. Here in, a facile preparation of conductive binary biodegradable polymer nanocomposite films comprised of ester-based thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), and poly (butylene adipate -co-terephthalate) (PBAT) is reported where the acid-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotube (MO) has been preferentially incorporated into the PBAT phase of the binary polymer matrix and to get effective nanofiller dispersion we employed solvent mixing technique. For the effective reduction of “e-wastes” biodegradability is new generation demand for polymer nanocomposites. The PBAT/TPU based biodegradable binary blend has not been used before to fabricate polymer nanocomposite material. The 0.8 mm thick polymer nanocomposite film with the loading of around 5 wt% of MO is considered as the nanocomposite film achieving the electrical percolation threshold indicated by a sudden jump in the total EMI shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) value from − 17 to − 24 dB (within the frequency region from 8.2to 12.4 GHz) if the MO content is upgraded from 3 to 5 wt%. A loading of 10 wt% of MO gives − 30 dB of EMI SE at 8.2 GHz. The preferential distribution of MO filler in the PBAT phase has been confirmed by FTIR, DMA, selective dissolution test, HRTEM, and FESEM characterization techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flexible and electrically conductive polymer nanocomposite materials are gaining popularity as EMI shield materials. Herein, we report the successful fabrication of Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/polybutylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate (PBAT)/dodecyl amine modified multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)‐based biodegradable polymer nanocomposite films employing solvent mixing and casting technique. The FESEM analysis of the cryofractured TPU/PBAT blend (containing 50 wt% of both the polymers) is found to be perfectly co‐continuous. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis followed by a selective dissolution test of polymer nanocomposites revealed that MAm nanofillers are mostly confined to the PBAT phase. The electrical percolation threshold is found to be between 3 and 5 wt% of dodecyl amine modified MWCNT loading as the electrical conductivity and EMI shielding efficiency are found to be shifting from 10−4 to 0.827 S/cm and −29.4 and −36 dB respectively as the nanofiller loading is increased from 3 to 5 wt% keeping the thickness of the polymer nanocomposite films constant at 0.8 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To minimize radiation pollution at ultra‐low filler concentrations, there is a growing interest in microwave‐absorbing materials based on polymer blends composites. Herein, ethylene‐co‐methyl acrylate (EMA)/thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) blend composites were prepared by employing solution mixing utilizing conductive Vulcan XC 72 carbon black (VCB) as nanofiller. The work focused on the reduction of electrical percolation and outstanding electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding performance in low loading caused by the preferential distribution of carbon particles in one phase (ethylene‐co‐methyl acrylate copolymer) of the co‐continuous immiscible polymer blend. The fabricated conductive blend was further tested to ensure its superiority in physic‐mechanical and thermal stability. The morphology analysis reveals that the VCB particles are selectively localized in EMA phase of the blend which facilitates the formation of compact spatial conductive network throughout the matrix for electronic hopping. High electrical conductivity is achieved in the scale 10−2 S/cm for the prepared composites with 30 wt% of carbon black loading whereas a total EMI shielding effectiveness of −29 dB and thermal conductivity of ~0.75 W/m·K are achieved for this same filler content. This study reveals that the fabricated conductive polymer nanocomposites can be effectively utilized as promising EMI shields in the future generation of stretchable and wearable electronics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy demand in the modern power system is increasing day by day. Thus integration of microgrid with the conventional grid can fulfill the high power demand but it can cause many changes in the power system. In this paper, a real valued Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) grid connected microgrid system is formed with the help of Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) software and analyzed the performance by Continuous Power Flow (CPF) method. A three phase short circuit fault is also introduced in the main grid and voltage profile is observed. It is also observed that the voltage profile of the faulty system is improved when a microgrid is connected with that main DVC grid system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Event cameras are bio‐inspired sensors that offer advantages over traditional cameras. They operate asynchronously, sampling the scene at microsecond resolution and producing a stream of brightness changes. This unconventional output has sparked novel computer vision methods to unlock the camera's potential. Here, the problem of event‐based stereo 3D reconstruction for SLAM is considered. Most event‐based stereo methods attempt to exploit the high temporal resolution of the camera and the simultaneity of events across cameras to establish matches and estimate depth. By contrast, this work investigates how to estimate depth without explicit data association by fusing disparity space images (DSIs) originated in efficient monocular methods. Fusion theory is developed and applied to design multi‐camera 3D reconstruction algorithms that produce state‐of‐the‐art results, as confirmed by comparisons with four baseline methods and tests on a variety of available datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Mast cells are found in areas rich in connective tissues and beneath epithelial surfaces. Mast cells have been extensively studied for their orchestration of allergic reactions and autoimmunity. Mast cells infiltrate various prostatic lesions in varying concentrations. Autopsy specimens had not been investigated extensively in the previous literature. Aim: To find out a quantitative estimation of mast cells and the association of the number of mast cells in various prostatic lesions that included both inflammatory and neoplastic lesions in autopsy cases. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional, analytical study was carried out in the Department of Pathology, R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata, India from April 2017 to March 2018. Sixty autopsy specimens of the prostate were dissected from the deceased males above 30 years of age. Four to six paraffin embedded sections from different lobes and peri-urethral areas were taken. Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) stained sections for histopathological diagnosis and toluidine-blue stain after water mounting to demonstrate mast cells by its metachromasia were performed. Mast cell densities were estimated by a light microscope under high power magnification (400X) on an average of 100 fields. Gross and microscopic findings were recorded. Data analysis correlation was done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 18.0. Mean and standard deviations were determined for different prostatic lesions. Group means were compared using the student's t-test. For statistical significance p-value of less than 0.05 was considered. Results: A total of 60 autopsy specimens of the prostate were studied comprising 8 (13.5%) specimens of normal prostate, which acted as a control, 6 (10%) specimens of prostatitis, 27 (45%) specimens of Benign Hypertrophy of Prostate (BHP), 12 (20%) specimens of BHP with Prostatic Intraepithelial Neoplasia (PIN), 3 (5%) specimens of prostatitis with focal PIN and 4 (6.5%) specimens of prostatic adenocarcinoma. Mast Cell Density (MCD) was higher in prostatitis {6-8 per High Power Fields (HPF)}, compared to normal (1-3/HPF) and BHP (3-5/HPF), lowest in adenocarcinoma (1-2/HPF) and intermediate in PIN (2-4/HPF). Conclusion: Mast cell density was the lowest in prostatic adenocarcinoma and significantly higher in prostatitis, probably due to a lack of antitumour immunity in higher grades, whereas it was significantly higher in chronic non specific prostatitis possibly because of inflammatory response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interference of electromagnetic (EM) radiation generated from different electronic gadgets produces noises diminishing their performance. So, shielding of EM interferences (EMI) is necessary to achieve noise‐free performance from electronic gadgets. In the present work, we have produced thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/polybutylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate (PBAT) based biodegradable binary polymeric blend and incorporated different carbonic nanofillers such as Vulcan XC‐72 conductive carbon black (VCB) and multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) into it employing solvent mixing and casting technique and studied the morphology of polymer blends, EMI shielding effectiveness in X‐band of the EM spectrum as well as mechanical performance, electrical performance, and biodegradability of polymer nanocomposites. The selective nanofiller distribution in the low viscous PBAT phase of the "co‐continuous" binary blend is found to achieve a "lower electrical percolation threshold" compared to neat polymer nanocomposites. For each of the TPU/PBAT/VCB and TPU/PBAT/MWCNT nanocomposites, electrical percolation threshold of around 12.5 and 5 wt% respectively has been achieved successfully. Nanocomposite sheets with a thickness of 1.0 mm and loading of 30 wt% of VCB and 15 wt% of MWCNT gave EMI shielding values of −25 dB and −28 dB respectively at a frequency of 8.4 GHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A common form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by firms is to agree to donate a fixed portion of private good revenues to a charitable cause. In this paper, we explore a new rationale for such CSR known commonly as Cause‐Related Marketing (CRM). We argue that linking private good purchase with charitable donations to a partnering nongovernmental organization (NGO) allows the firm to price discriminate between altruistic consumers who wish to make charitable donations out of their income and nonaltruistic consumers who do not place any value on such donations. The disparity in altruistic propensities translates into a difference in private good value which limits the firm's ability to extract consumer surplus in the private good market. Linking private good sales to charity brings down the variation in private good value and enables the firm to appropriate greater surplus. At the same time, by inducing nonaltruistic consumers to donate through their purchase of the charity‐linked good, CRM may also increase charitable donations to the NGO beyond the level that would be achieved under the standard voluntary contributions equilibrium. We extend our model to consider the effects of CRM on profits and donations when altruistic consumers can choose between donating directly to the NGO out of their income and donating through their purchase of the charity‐linked good. We consider this choice in the context of CRM advertising where firms make the altruism of their consumers public and thus provide exhibition value to donations made through the charity‐linked good. We find that the case for CRM strengthens when we allow the firm to appropriate exhibition utility through advertising while enabling greater donations for the NGO through direct donations as well as CRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, synergistic dual catalysis has been in the spotlight as a robust strategy for carbon−carbon and carbon−heteroatom bond formation. This review highlights the unique strategies of dual catalysis achieved in the past two decades, involving Pd‐catalyst combined with various first‐ and second‐row transition metals (like Cr, Fe, Cu, Ru, etc.), Lewis acids (based on Yb, Mg, Ti, Al, etc.) or organocatalysts (like squaramide, CPA, and NHC) to achieve valuable heterocyclic cores. Heterocycles find wide applications in pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Several organocatalysts like chiral phosphoric acid, NHC, squaramide, etc. and metal salts work in synergy with palladium to provide high‐value products taking advantage of the vast development in cross‐coupling reactions. This review is a comprehensive collection of such dual‐catalysis strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the particle trajectories in the recently proposed five dimensional warped (generalized) Ellis–Bronnikov spacetime (5D-WGEB) (which does not require exotic matter) as well as it's four dimensional counterpart (4D-GEB) in detail and conduct a comparative study. Analytical approach provides conditions which determines three types of trajectories (trapped, returning and crossing) for both 4D and 5D spacetimes. Notably in 5D geometry existence of trapped trajectories become highly sensitive to the initial conditions. We have solved the timelike geodesic equations numerically and presented the trajectories graphically along with corresponding geodesic potentials. We thus distinguished the roles of the so-called wormhole parameter and the warping factor regarding their effects on the trajectories and embedding as such. Interestingly, the 5D-WGEB model shows the localization of massive particles around the location of the brane for growing warp factor and runaway trajectories for decaying warp factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To interact with its environment, a robot working in 3D space needs to organise its visual input in terms of objects or their perceptual precursors, proto-objects. Among other visual cues, depth is a submodality used to direct attention to visual features and objects. Current depth-based proto-object attention models have been implemented for standard RGB-D cameras that produce synchronous frames. In contrast, event cameras are neuromorphic sensors that loosely mimic the function of the human retina by asynchronously encoding per-pixel brightness changes at very high temporal resolution, thereby providing advantages like high dynamic range, efficiency (thanks to their high degree of signal compression), and low latency. We propose a bio-inspired bottom-up attention model that exploits event-driven sensing to generate depth-based saliency maps that allow a robot to interact with complex visual input. We use event-cameras mounted in the eyes of the iCub humanoid robot to directly extract edge, disparity and motion information. Real-world experiments demonstrate that our system robustly selects salient objects near the robot in the presence of clutter and dynamic scene changes, for the benefit of downstream applications like object segmentation, tracking and robot interaction with external objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Influenza virus has been associated with cases of Parkinsonism, yet a direct relationship has not been confirmed in the literature. Different mechanisms of post-infectious Parkinsonism have been proposed including inflammatory, oxidative stress, and autoimmune. We report a first to our knowledge case of pediatric autoimmune Parkinsonism with autoantibodies to dopamine D2L receptor (anti-DRD2L antibodies), who underwent deep brain stimulation (DBS) of bilateral globus pallidi (GPi). Case report: A 13-year-old girl presented with Parkinsonism features after a severe case of influenza A. She underwent extensive work-up and was found to have elevated titers for anti-DRD2L antibodies. Patient was initially treated with IVIG and plasmapheresis with mild improvement, but her condition continued to worsen. She was responsive to levodopa; however, she developed severe dyskinesia. Patient underwent DBS implantation resulting in partial improvement in bradykinesia, tremors, and dyskinesia. Conclusion: This case is meant to raise awareness of a rare potential autoimmune complication after influenza virus and to share the experience and outcome using DBS to palliate some of the symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present investigation, machining performance of Ti6Al4V is studied under dry environment, pressurized air supply and distilled water based Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL). Machining (turning) performance is assessed in purview of cutting force (tangential component) magnitude, tool-tip temperature, width of tool flank wear progression, morphology of evolved chips and severity of vibrations at varied cutting speeds as well as cooling media. Characteristic features of spatial temperature distribution profile (at the vicinity of tool-tip) as influenced by varied cooling media are studied with the help of thermographs of the cutting zone. Mechanisms of cutting tool wear are studied as well. It is experienced that amongst three cutting environments tested, application of water-MQL is beneficial for machining of Ti6Al4V at low cutting speed. Severity of vibrations gets 50.39% reduced during machining under water-MQL than dry condition. Consequently, as compared to dry machining, water-MQL causes 79% reduced tool flank wear and 82% reduced crater wear at low cutting speed. Under water-MQL, reduced tool-tip temperature (66% reduced than dry condition) suppresses severity of tool wear. In comparison with high cutting speed, performance of water-MQL is found much better at low cutting speed. 'Unaffected zones' are identified at the worn-out tool rake face under water-MQL. High amplitude of vibration (maximum absolute mean value) causes low chip-segmentation ratio. On the contrary, chip reduction coefficient gets truncated with decrement in vibration amplitude. Vibration amplitude has positive influence on degree of chip-curl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ellis–Bronnikov (EB) wormholes require violation of null energy conditions at the 'throat'. This problem was cured by a simple modification of the 'shape function', which introduces a new parameter m ≥ 2 ( m = 2 corresponds to the EB model). This leads to a generalised (GEB) version. In this work, we consider a model where the GEB wormhole geometry is embedded in a five dimensional warped background. We studied the status of all the energy conditions in detail for both EB and GEB embedding. We present our results analytically (wherever possible) and graphically. Remarkably, the presence of decaying warp factor leads to satisfaction of weak energy conditions even for the EB geometry, while the status of all the other energy conditions are improved compared to the four dimensional scenario. Besides inventing a new way to avoid the presence of exotic matter, in order to form a wormhole passage, our work reveals yet another advantage of having a warped extra dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palladium‐catalyzed cascade cyclization received much attention in organic synthesis due to its efficiency and rapid transformation of simple starting materials into complex molecular skeletons. Celebrating the 10th year of the prestigious Nobel prize for palladium chemistry, we witness it still proceeds strong over other transition metals for its versatility. Cascade reactions in contemporary organic synthesis reduced cost and time through careful design. It has emerged as the first choice, a powerful tool for multiple bond formations in one step with a wide range of functional group tolerance due to the deep understanding of various pathways. A variety of compounds with biological relevance with complex molecular scaffolds have been achieved using these cascade coupling reactions. This review outlines Pd‐catalyzed cascade reactions from the post‐Nobel era. Nevertheless, more discoveries and endless possibilities for new transformations are underway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bilayer tablets are the advanced form of conventional immediate release tablet system, which consist of either two similar or different drugs combined in a single dose for effective treatment of the disease improving patient compliance. However, the multilayer tablet technology is demanding It also necessitates meticulous selection of excipients and manufacturing conditions for each technological stage. The aim of this review is to provide an outline of state of art of bilayer tablet technology and emphasise the difficulties experienced during Bilayer tablet manufacturing along with its intend solutions for these challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The buccal region within the mucosal cavity of the mouth provides an alternative route over an oral drug administration for systemic as well as local drug delivery. As the buccal mucosa has an abundant blood supply and is relatively permeable, it can be considered as most accessible and desired location for both local and systemic drug delivery. The buccal method for medication delivery greatly helps in avoiding issues in the gastrointestinal environment, such as increased first-pass metabolism and medication degradation. Bucco-adhesive systems offer varieties of advantages such as convenience in administration and termination of therapy in case of emergency, higher patient compliance, better bioavailability, rapid absorption, etc. This current review highlights the bucco-adhesive drug delivery system, its advantages and limitations, mechanisms and theories of mucoadhesion, different buccoadhesive dosage forms, and bioadhesive polymers. It also highlights the current status on mucoadhesive drug delivery methods for the buccal cavity or bucco-adhesive systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harmful electromagnetic radiations that are generated from different electronic devices could be absorbed by a light weight and mechanically flexible good electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding polymer nanocomposite. On the other hand, different electronic wastes ("e‐wastes") which are generally polymer building materials generated from wastes of dysfunctional electronic devices are not naturally biodegradable. Our recent effort has been employed to produce bio‐degradable EMI shielding polymer nanocomposite. For that purpose, we had prepared a 50:50 ratio polylactic acid/thermoplastic polyurethane polymer nanocomposite by mixing the conducting carbon black with the blend following the facile and industrially feasible solution mixing method. Morphological characterizations by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed the co‐continuous morphology of the neat blend as well as polymer nanocomposites with the preferential distribution of conductive filler on a particular polymer phase. The polymer nanocomposites gave good mechanically with improved thermal properties. We got EMI shielding effectiveness around −27 dB with a low percolation threshold at around 30 wt% filler loading in the polymer nanocomposite at the X‐band frequency domain (8.2–12.4 GHz). Later we had studied the biodegradability of the PLA/TPU along with their composites (TXPXCX) by employing the respirometry method and got a satisfactory result to ensure their biodegradability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insertion of 2:1 organo‐modified phyllosilicate tactoids into rheologically tough thermoplastics has extraordinary potential candidate in oxygen permeability and microstructural toughening. Herein, two commercially abundant clays have been taken for improvement of the thermoplastic's gas barrier property in reasonably low loading. The cause of low loading has been accounted to the usage of maleated polyethylene (MA‐g‐PE) during the melt mixing tenure. The optimized nanocomposite compression molded film has been tested against uniaxial stretching, which showed a negligible change in the residual permanent set with sacrificing the elongation at break feature. Moreover, nanoindentation was also performed to get the hardness of the sample surface. The flow behavior of the nanocomposites showed thixotropic likely with increasing the frequency. Oxygen transmission rate (OTR) has significantly decreased for tallow amine‐modified nanoclay system (cloisite 15A) in comparison to cloisite Na+ providing 'tortoise path' formation inside the matrix. Thus, hitherto, the work could demonstrate and provide the information of comparative studies between organo‐clay and simple phyllosilicates, which could be remediation of the loopholes in mechanical toughening and gas barrier lineaments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Breast cancer continues to be the most common cancers among women in India. The Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) is a heterogeneous group of malignancy which is often aggressive and has a worse prognosis. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the hormone receptor and HER2/neu status with platinum based chemotherapy in TNBC. Materials and Methods: The study was analysed retrospectively in a tertiary care centre of West Bengal from Januay 2017 to December 2019. Forty TNBC patients of Locally Advanced Breast Cancer (LABC) cases who received carboplatin along with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (study group) were compared with other group of 64 TNBC patients (control group) who did not receive any chemotherapy making a total of 104 cases of TNBC patients who were selected for the study. All the patients in both the groups had modified radical mastectomy. The study group of 40 TNBC patients who received chemotherapy also showed pathological partial response. Master chart was prepared comprising patient’s age, menopausal status, family history, therapy history, histo-morphological features, hormone receptor and HER2/ neu status after platinum added chemotherapy. Oestrogen Receptor (ER)/Progesterone Receptor (PR) were considered positive, if >1% tumour cell nuclei were immunoreactive and negative, if it was otherwise. HER-2/neu score of 3+ was taken as positive by Immunohistochemistry (IHC) method. Statistical analysis for descriptive purposes, percentages and mean were calculated. Comparison of both the groups was done by Pearson’s Chi-squared and Fisher’s-exact test. Significance level was considered at p-value <0.05. Results: TNBC patients (NACT group) showed hormone receptor positivity of 21 cases (52.50%) after chemotherapy along with carboplatin. HER2/neu positivity was detected in 9 (22.5%) cases. Non-NACT (64) cases were considered as control group for comparison. The effect of NACT in TNBC patients was found to be statistically significant with respect to change in HER2/ neu (p=0.033, p<0.05) and ER status (p<0.05) while change in PR status was found to be statistically insignificant. Conclusion: The study showed significant alteration in hormonal and HER2/neu receptor status in TNBC patients receiving platinum added neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This study found statistical significance and justifies re-evaluation of these Hormone Receptor (HR) and HER2/neu markers in residual tumour after chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context  Epithelial ovarian carcinomas are one of the most common lethal gynecological malignancies. There is no specific symptom or biomarker for detection of this malignancy in early stage. So, the advanced stage, nature of frequent recurrences, and resistance to chemotherapies make it very difficult to deliver proper treatment to patients. Efforts are on to identify the presence of cancer stem cell by using a specific biomarker in epithelial ovarian cancer in the early stage. Objectives  This study aims to identify the CD44 positive cancer cells in epithelial ovarian carcinoma of different histopathological types. It also intends to correlate the expression of CD44 with the expression of p53 and Ki67. Materials and Methods  Sections from diagnosed specimens of ovarian epithelial neoplasm had been fixed in 10% formalin and embedded in paraffin, and they were used for immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for CD44, p53, and Ki67, using a peroxidase kit with mouse monoclonal antibodies. Then, the slides were evaluated for both tumor cell percentage and intensity of immunoreactivity. Statistical Analysis  Chi-square had been used to find the significance of study. Significance level was considered at p value < 0.05 Results  In this study, 40 patients were included in a period of one and a half years. The present study suggested that the levels of CD44 expression were increased in epithelial ovarian cancer compared to borderline tumor. CD44 was positively correlated with the ki67 expression and tumor grade. High-grade serous, mucinous, and endometrioid tumors were associated with high CD44 expression. Positivity of CD44 was found significantly higher in case of positive status of p53 (z = 3.65; p < 0.0001). Conclusion  We can correlate CD44 positive cancer stem cells with grade of ovarian carcinomas, but for prognostic significance and therapeutic applications, more corroborative and multicentric works in this field are needed. CD44 can be targeted for therapy in recurrent and resistant cases of ovarian cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asparagine‐linked glycosylation 13 homolog (ALG13) encodes a nonredundant, highly conserved, X‐linked uridine diphosphate (UDP)‐N‐acetylglucosaminyltransferase required for the synthesis of lipid linked oligosaccharide precursor and proper N‐linked glycosylation. De novo variants in ALG13 underlie a form of early infantile epileptic encephalopathy known as EIEE36, but given its essential role in glycosylation, it is also considered a congenital disorder of glycosylation (CDG), ALG13‐CDG. Twenty‐four previously reported ALG13‐CDG cases had de novo variants, but surprisingly, unlike most forms of CDG, ALG13‐CDG did not show the anticipated glycosylation defects, typically detected by altered transferrin glycosylation. Structural homology modeling of two recurrent de novo variants, p.A81T and p.N107S, suggests both are likely to impact the function of ALG13. Using a corresponding ALG13‐deficient yeast strain, we show that expressing yeast ALG13 with either of the highly conserved hotspot variants rescues the observed growth defect, but not its glycosylation abnormality. We present molecular and clinical data on 29 previously unreported individuals with de novo variants in ALG13. This more than doubles the number of known cases. A key finding is that a vast majority of the individuals presents with West syndrome, a feature shared with other CDG types. Among these, the initial epileptic spasms best responded to adrenocorticotropic hormone or prednisolone, while clobazam and felbamate showed promise for continued epilepsy treatment. A ketogenic diet seems to play an important role in the treatment of these individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrically conducting flexible polymeric nanocomposite has been fabricated through wet mixing method where conducting inclusion was acoustically exfoliated pristine graphene nanosheets. Colloidal graphene is the key component here which has been prepared by acoustic cavitation in the presence of macromolecular dispersion. The significance of the method is their green preparation strategy without using any chemical reducing agents and long self-life without drastic sedimentation rate. Thermoplastic poly(ethylene-co-methyl acrylate) was chosen as flexible phase where graphene sheets were distributed to make spatial conducting network architecture. The prepared nanocomposites showed 0.259 S/cm DC electrical conductivity and frequency-independent electroconducting character in higher concentration. The electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness of the nanocomposites was around 30 dB in ~ 1.0 mm thickness in X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) frequency range without affecting its mechanical toughness and flexibility. Thus, such pristine graphene-based thermoplastic matrix could be a desirable replacement of metallic shielding materials on the ground of flexible, conducting, lightweight characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To identify potential risk factors for pre- and postoperative seizures and epilepsy in children with congenital heart disease. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of neonates and infants <3 months of age with congenital heart disease who underwent cardiopulmonary bypass from November 24, 2006, until June 1, 2015. Children with seizures were classified based on time of occurrence into early preoperative, early postoperative, and late postoperative. Children with recurring seizures 30 days after cardiac surgery met criteria for epilepsy. Results: 247 patients completed follow-up; 2.4% had seizures early preoperation and 1.6% early postoperation. Late postoperative epilepsy occurred in 5.3% of the cohort. The majority of seizures in the late postoperative epilepsy group started after 1 year of age (mean 1.53 years, range = 0.18-4.7 years). One of the 13 patients with epilepsy had a seizure during their intensive care unit hospitalization. Potential risk factors for seizures included brain injury (P <.001), high-risk surgery (Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery score ≥3, P =.024), and low birth weight (P <.04). Infants with stroke were more likely to develop epilepsy (P =.04). Presence of seizures was associated with increased length of stay (P <.001). Conclusions: Our study suggests an association between children with congenital heart disease diagnosed with stroke in the neonatal/infancy period and the development of epilepsy. These children may not have prior early pre- and postoperative seizures. Risk factors for seizures include brain injury, high-risk surgery, and lower birth weight. Seizures were associated with an increased length of stay but did not necessarily lead to subsequent epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present work investigates the effect on heat conduction due to the intrusion in a homogeneous bulk and proposes models to detect its position from the temperature distribution on the surface. Finite volume-based, automated numerical simulations are performed for obtaining the temperature history along/across the bulk surface having different positions of the intrusion. Two approaches are developed to predict the intrusion-position from temperature data. In approach 1, a multi-layer feed-forward neural network (NN) with back-propagation (BP) algorithm is used, whereas the NN parameters are determined through a thorough sequential parametric study. In approach 2, again a NN with BP algorithm is used, but a global evolutionary optimizer, namely genetic algorithm (GA) is employed to optimize the NN parameters. NN with BP algorithm and GA are indigenously developed using 'C' programming language in 'linux' operating system. NN and GA are indigenously combined in a common monolithic platform using some specially designed system commands so that data transfer take place seamlessly in a fully automated way. The performances of the developed approaches are tested and validated in several ways. After comparison, approach 2 is found to have higher prediction capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of the microgrid to meet up the localized power demand is of immense importance considering the growing power demand as well as grid inadequacy in Indian power scenario. Apart from meeting localized power demand with various distributed generating sources microgrid can render support to the adjacent main grid or similar localized grid as when needed. This paper presents the techniques for identifying placement sites for Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) in a microgrid system based on complete observability of the system. The main objective of optimal placement of PMU problem is to determine a minimal set of PMUs such that the whole system is observable. This study has been done on a 14 bus test model with the help of PSAT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]