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Statement of problem Denture stomatitis and other oral infections are prevalent in denture wearers and can be treated effectively with an antimicrobial agent such as a silver nanoparticle-based polymer. However, the physical properties of the denture should not be adversely affected by the addition. Purpose The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis of in vitro studies was to analyze the effects of a silver nanoparticle-based antimicrobial resin on the properties of polymethyl methacrylate(PMMA)–based denture resin. Material and methods Full-length English language articles reporting silver nanoparticle-based PMMA resin were included in the review, with no limitation on the year till May 2020. Scopus, Web of Sciences, and PubMed databases were accessed for the literature survey. The review was formulated based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and used the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) guidelines and risk of bias Cochrane tool for quality assessment. A meta-analysis of flexural strength was performed by using a random-effects model at a 95% confidence interval. The other properties were analyzed descriptively. Results Silver nanoparticle reinforcement caused considerable differences in the inherent physical material properties of PMMA. Conclusions An antimicrobial polymer nanocomposite formulation can either negatively affect or bring no improvement to the physical properties of denture resin.

Amidst of the technologies applied to analyze and recognize a facial emotion, there are still clustered challenges that needs to be addressed while building advanced emotion recognition models with more accurate results. This study summarizes the technologies used in the development of various models for facial emotion recognition. Because the advancement in technology is abruptly changing and improving, only the studies for the past two years were included. The studies earlier in the past two years are most likely redundant to the studies prior to it. The study includes discussion of the datasets commonly used by the researchers, the nature of the datasets and its content, and the process of generating the data. Moreover, the highlight of this literature survey is to gather the state-of-the-art technologies and various methods that are applied to dataset for achieving highest possible accuracy rate. However, there are still drawbacks that needs to be addressed.

The existing results show that the combustion heat, energy level and some other performance indices of system could be improved effectively, while opportune percentages of metal hydrides (MHs) are added in solid propellants or explosives. Despite huge potentials exist for the addition of MHs in energetic materials (EMs), some practical difficulties hinder the widespread application of them. For example, the compatibility between metal hydrides materials and other components in EMs is one of the key concerns. The synergy of energy release between MHs and EMs will be limited if the interaction mechanism between them are not clear. Combustion, thermal and microscopic interaction between MHs and EMs were summarized in this paper. From our point of view, laser ignition is the most effective and convenient method to study the combustion interaction between metal hydrides and energetic compounds, the research on such mechanism should start with quantum chemical computation (QCC) and molecular dynamics simulation (MDS), in which the interaction energy (binding energy, adsorption energy) and radial distribution function (RDF) are identified as key characteristic parameters to estimate the nature of the interaction.

Nowadays, how to select the kernel function and their parameters for ensuring high-performance indicators in fault diagnosis applications remains as two open research issues. This paper provides a comprehensive literature survey of kernel-preprocessing methods in condition monitoring tasks, with emphasis on the procedures for selecting their parameters. Accordingly, twenty kernel optimization criteria and sixteen kernel functions are analyzed. A kernel evaluation framework is further provided for helping in the selection and adjustment of kernel functions. The proposal is validated via a KPCA-based monitoring scheme and two well-known benchmark processes.

Energy demand is growing significantly worldwide to create thermal comfort in buildings. Air-conditioning is contributing to energy consumption at a massive scale in the residential and commercial sectors. The roof is one of the most critical components of the building envelopes, and it achieved maximum heat gain in summer, and it covered nearly 20–25% of overall urban surface areas. In this respect, cool roofs are considered one of the sustainable solutions to maintain thermal comfort in buildings. The results achieved from the literature review indicate that cool roof application reduced energy use in the buildings and a useful tool to mitigate Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. This paper summarizes cool roof thermal performance with different types of surface coatings in different climatic zones for buildings with additional benefits, limitations, and recommendations for future research work. The results of this review can be helpful for engineers, researchers, dwellers, and architectures to have a good understanding of the benefits of cool roofs to mitigate energy consumption demand in dwelling in a sustainable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient way. The average energy-saving effect of the roof is expressed from 15% to 35.7% in different climatic zones (Temperate, Tropical, Composite, Hot and Warm-Humid) as per the literature survey results. Also, the average roof surface temperature reduction is possible from 1.4 ˚C to up to 4.7 ˚C using cool roof technology.

The increasingly severe electromagnetic microwave pollution raises higher requirements for the development of efficient microwave absorption (MA) materials. Metal sulfides are regarded as potential robust MA materials because of their unique optical, thermal, electrical, and magnetic properties, as well as the controllable microstructures. However, due to the limited MA performances of unary metal sulfides, morphology regulations and foreign materials hybridizations are adopted as effective strategies to improve their MA performances. Recent years witnessed the fast research progresses on the metal sulfides based MA materials and thus, a systematic literature survey on the materials design, fabrication, characterizations, MA behaviors, and the mechanisms behind is, highly desirable to summarize the rapid progress of this hot research area so as to provide guidance for the future development trend. This review firstly reviewed the research background, research progress, and basic principles of MA materials. Subsequently, the present synthetic methods and performance improvement strategies of metal sulfides based MA materials are systematically introduced. Then, by comparing the MA properties of one-dimensional, two-dimensional, and three-dimensional metal sulfides based composites, the influence of dimensionality and morphology on the MA properties are analyzed. By summarizing the research process of metal sulfides/dielectrics composites, metal sulfides/magnets composites, and metal sulfides/dielectrics/magnets composites MA materials, the influence of foreign materials hybridizations on the loss mechanisms and impedance matching conditions of metal sulfides based composites are revealed. Finally, the challenges and development prospects of metal sulfides based MA materials are presented. This review would provide a comprehensive understanding and insightful guidance for the exploration and development of efficient MA materials with thin thickness, light weight, wide absorption bandwidth, and strong absorption intensity.

Wastewater reclamation and reuse is an increasing global project, while the reclamation treatment on wastewater does not completely remove all pollutants in water. The residual pollutants in reclaimed water would cause potential risk on human health and ecosystem safety during the long-term use. It is impossible to analyze and control all pollutants one by one in practice, therefore, identification and control of priority pollutants will be efficient strategy to ensure the safe use of reclaimed water. An integrated three-step methodology for identifying priority pollutants in reclaimed water was proposed in this study. First, a comprehensive literature survey on the occurrence of pollutants in reclaimed water was conducted, and a dataset DPR for pollutants occurrence in reclaimed water was established, containing 1,113 pollutants. Second, 611 chemicals that had been recommended as hazardous pollutants for various water bodies in previous literatures were summarized, and a dataset DHP for hazardous pollutants in water was obtained. Third, meta-analysis on these two datasets (DPR and DHP) was performed, a new dataset DHPR for hazardous pollutants in reclaimed water was established, including 265 candidates. Finally, 59 substances out of dataset DHPR were identified as priority pollutants for reclaimed water based on their recommendation frequency. It is expected that this synthetical methodology will provide powerful support for scientific evaluating and managing water pollution and ensuring safe use of reclaimed water.

Background The freezing episode (FE) management during gait in Parkinson's disease is inefficient with current medications, neurosurgery, and physical interventions. Knowing the biomechanical change patients suffer preceding FE would be the ultimate goal to measure, predict, and prevent these events. Objective We performed a systematic review to summarize the kinematic, kinetic, electromyographic, and spatio-temporal characteristics of the events that precede the FE during gait in Parkinson's disease. Literature Survey Databases searched included PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane and between 2001 to August 2021. Methodology The present study was a systematic review registered in the PROSPERO database (CRD42021255082). Three reviewers searched and selected studies with methodologies involving biomechanical changes and kinetic, kinematic, electromyography, and spatiotemporal changes before FE in a patient with Parkinson's disease. The relevant articles that show the events preceding FE in patients with PD were identified. We excluded studies that describe or compare methods or algorithms to detect FE. Studies may include participants with all PD severity, time of disease, and age. Synthesis We selected ten articles for final evaluation. The most consistent results indicate a dramatic reduction of movement excursions with (1) decrease in stride length; (2) decreased gait speed; (3) postural instability with the increased double support phase; (4) incoordination of anterior tibial and gastrocnemius; (5) larger amplitude in the EMG of biceps femoris; (6) decreased range of motion in the sagittal plane at the ankle and hip joints; and (7) anterior pelvic tilt. Conclusion FE is characterized by complex motor patterns than normal gait and mismatched gains in the perception and execution of the ongoing movement.

The present for supporting in market any industries need to bring the balance among ecological, social viewpoints and efficient. Environmental friendly machining e.g. high pressure cooling, MQL machining, cryogenic machining, dry machining is one of the latest approach which is economical and also eco-friendly that improve machinability. In present article main focus on understanding of environmental friendly machining techniques and investigate various experiences from the past writing which can help the better appropriation of ecological friendly machining approach. For study and examination of environmental friendly machining approach, roughly 100 papers are chosen. They chose articles are ordered dependent on climate of machining, year, diaries, distributor, and ecological friendly machining approach measurements. After the literature survey it was observed that in metal cutting operation heat are generated in the cutting zone due to tool chip interface so quality of surface finish are poor and tool wear. In any manufacturing industries two factors play important role in term of quality e.g. surface roughness and tool wear so in this situation some techniques are need which is environmental friendly and also improve machinability. So finally, it was observed that environmental friendly machining techniques are cost effective and eco-friendly machining compared to other convention machining approach. The main motives of this paper that studies and encourage environmental friendly machining approach.

Cloud computing and health monitoring is increasingly being employed together as the healthcare equipment’s are giving proper monitoring and collection of patient health record is being transferred and collected using cloud computing services like SaaS which stands for storage as a service. The need of tech equipped. equipment’s are increasing day by day as equipment’s are highly technical and the software and configuration which need to keep equipment’s work progressively can easily be served by cloud services which named under infrastructure as a service and software as a service. Our paper is a literature survey for how the cloud web services are merging with health care and in how many ways it is beneficial for human being for adding the cloud web services in healthcare in terms of facility and industry utilization. The digitalization of everything gives the benefit of availability of each record about a disease or patient, this makes the data available for all and all experts can look and monitor without having limitation of physically present there. Also, there are some challenges in employment of cloud services they are also mentioned in this paper with possible solution.

Moving towards sustainability has become mandatory for every industrial sector and the shipping industry is not an exception. Like other industrial sectors, the shipping industry also exponentially pollutes the environment. Considering this, this paper aims to find the factors disturbing the sustainable performance of a shipping port. Further, in this paper, an attempt has been made to suggest an effective strategy that could help overcome the identified factors. For this, the fuzzy COPRAS (Complex Proportional Assessment) technique has been used. The factors affecting the sustainability of the shipping port were identified using a literature survey and expert opinion. Then, based on expert opinion, the factors are evaluated using the fuzzy COPRAS technique. Findings reveal loading and unloading of petroleum products, unexpected accidents, high energy consumption, structural failure and dust generation as the critical factors affecting sustainability. The study suggests 8D (8 Dimension problem solving) as the optimum strategy for overcoming the discussed factors. In future, the sustainability of the port could be assessed from technological perspective. Also, usage of an integrated hybrid approach will enhance the findings of the study.

With the high competition in market, the increase in quality and reliability of gas sensors is highly desirable. Compatible gas sensors having high precision, high sensitivity, economical have attracted a lot of attention. For good gas sensing, research on sensing material have been broadly focused. An improvement in Nano technology and use of different materials has led to the development of efficient and effective gas sensors. The Nano- materials manifest properties that are incomparable with the granular polycrystalline counterpart. With the advancement in Micro and Nano technology, micro-sized gas sensors have been developed with great sensing performance. For detection of toxic gases various techniques are available but solid state gas sensors offer a wide spectrum of materials and their sensitivities towards various types of gases. Of all the solid state gas sensing materials, semiconductor metal oxide nanostructures are more preferable due to the stability of their oxides, high response, low cost for fabrication, response to wide range of chemicals etc. They are cost effective, reliable, and robust and have quick response time. In this paper we have studied about the semiconductor metal oxide gas sensors. The effects due to morphological structure on sensing properties are also discussed. The existing detailed literature survey on techniques and mechanisms for the nanostructures and their gas sensing ability are also involved.

Collaborative Robots (Cobots) have become popular in the workplace since they allow human workers and robots to collaborate. Yet, integrating the two different elements has proved to be a herculean task, which is important for an effective Cobots program. First of all, Cobots ought to have an innate unit to dynamically create or change the work patterns with human aware parts to embrace the complementary needs of the different operators. Secondly, Cobots must be given functional structures that can create and reconfigure quickly. The literature survey gave us the observation that experiments have been carried out with impressive results, however, they are still too scattered to make a comprehensive robot. This paper gives us an overview of recent developments in the field of Cobots and their application in industrial tasks, which is followed with detailed review on Cobots programming classified into communication, optimization and learning. The paper also points out the research gaps and proposes solutions to bridge them. Finally, the identification of trends in Cobots have been discerned and future scope of developments have been stipulated.

Amischophacelus axillaris belongs to the family of Commelinaceae and Canthium dicoccum belongs to the family of Rubiaceae, Literature survey emphasised that, these plants are reported for wide variety of uses in traditional medicine. The local healers are using A. axillaris (L.) and C. dicoccum (Gaertn.) Merr. to cure several diseases. This encouraged us to isolate bioactive compounds from the leaves of these two medicinal plants. Leaves portions of Amischophacelus axillaris and Canthium dicoccum were treated with different solvents such as pet-ether, ethylacetate and ethanol. The solvents from all the extracts were vaporized under condensed pressure using rotavapour to get compounds. TLC of ethylacetate leaves extract of A. axillaris and C. dicoccum was carried out to select appropriate mobile phase to achieve reasonably good separation in column chromatography. A. axillaris showed good separation of varying proportion mixture of pet-ether and ethylacetate in the ratio of 00:100 and ethanol extract of C. dicoccum showed good separation of varying proportion mixture of acetone and methanol in the ratio of 50:50.The structure of this compound 7-hydroxy-2H-chromen-2-one and 8-hydroxy-6,7-dimethoxy-2H-chromen-2-one was characterized as by means of 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR and MS spectral data.

The aqueous phase reforming (APR) is a catalytic reaction able to produce hydrogen from oxygenated compounds. The catalytic system plays a pivotal role to permit high conversion of the substrate, high selectivity towards hydrogen, and stability in the view of an industrial application. These figures of merit depend on several strategies taken by the researchers to properly design the catalyst, like the preparation method, the choice of the active metal together with possible promoters, the type of the support and so on. The available literature reports several studies where these parameters are evaluated and discussed. In this review, they were critically examined with the aim of finding correlations between the properties of the catalyst and the activity, selectivity and stability for the APR of carbon-laden water fractions. Both theoretical and experimental works have been included in the literature survey. When available, studies with the use of in-situ techniques allowed to increase the understanding of the catalytic phenomena involved in the reaction. Great attention was also reported to recently published works, so that the review could present the most up-to-date developments in the field. The most important outcomes regarding each parameter have been highlighted; moreover, the synergy among each of them has been pointed out, together with the trade-off that the researcher has to deal with in the pursuit of the optimum catalyst.

The rapid progress in the industrial development has increased the concern about the waste generated that may produce genuine environmental pollution. The use of supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) from different sources may decrease a lot of non-renewable energy consumption. In the presented comprehensive study, SCMs such as ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), fly ash (FA), silica fume (SF), metakaolin (MK) and limestone (LS) with their various physico-chemical, mineralogical, morphological and durability properties have been addressed along with life cycle assessment (LCA) studies. Based on the detailed literature survey, current challenges for conventional utilization of SCM based mortar have been identified along with future research gaps. It has been observed that GGBFS and SF are very effective in enhancing the fresh and hardened properties of low carbon cementitious paste and mortar. The ongoing research work on effective use of low-grade limestone slurry to develop low clinker factor cementitious binder, is also discussed.

Cell lines are essential models for biomedical research. However, they have a common and important problem that needs to be addressed. Cell lines can be misidentified, meaning that they no longer correspond to the donor from whom the cells were first obtained. This problem may arise due to cross-contamination: the accidental introduction of cells from another culture. The contaminant, which is often a rapidly dividing cell line, will overgrow and replace the original culture. The end result is a false cell line, also known as a misidentified or imposter cell line. False cell lines may come from an entirely different species, tissue, or cell type than the original donor. If undetected, false cell lines produce unreliable and irreproducible results that pollute the biomedical literature and threaten the development of reliable drug discovery and meaningful patient treatments.The goal of this study was to ascertain how widespread this problem is and how it affects the literature, as well as to estimate how much funding has been used to produce pools of scientific literature of questionable value. We focus on HEp-2 [HeLa] and Intestine 407 [HeLa], two false cell lines that are widely used in the scientific literature but were shown to be cross-contaminated in 1967. These two cell lines have been used in 8497 and 1397 published articles and extensively described as laryngeal cancer and normal intestine, respectively, rather than their true identity: the cervical cancer cell line HeLa. Discussed are tools, approaches, and resources that can address this issue-both retrospectively and prospectively.

Variability of renewables like solar and wind remains a major concern, despite a substantial decrease in the capital cost of their power conversion devices. One of the methods to improve the reliability of power is to combine more than one renewable power sources and storage systems together, as per the local renewable potential, is called a hybrid renewable energy system (HRES). The exact sizing of individual sources and storage systems to fulfill the respective load demand for the renewable potential of the site is not a straightforward task. Different sizing and optimization methodologies are developed by the research community. A comprehensive overview of the literature of these methodologies is carried out in this paper. Classical techniques were being applied to the HRES sizing, but their limitations led researchers to increasingly look for multi-objective heuristic techniques. This has led to a range of evolutionary algorithms being employed lately. The robustness of these techniques made them an effective tool for the search of global optimum, but their convergence speed may well be slower in comparison to gradient-based methods in the vicinity of the optimum point. It is needed to come up with novel hybrid techniques, which can carefully combine the conventional and evolutionary techniques by augmenting their advantages and at the same time avoiding their shortcomings. The literature survey proves that HRES from very small capacity of a few watts to many megawatts have been proposed for a variety of different locations throughout the world with varying degrees of cost of energy.

Objectives Other iatrogenic immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorders (OI-LPD) have been reported as one of the adverse effects of immunosuppressive therapy. The aim of this study was to describe the clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical features of OI-LPD in the oral cavity. Study Design Immunohistochemistry was performed to describe the immunohistochemical features in our 4 cases. The results were analyzed along with 62 cases of oral OI-LPD in the English and Japanese literature to define clinical and pathologic characteristic features. Results In our immunohistochemical analysis, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)–positive OI-LPD showed a higher percentage of mouse double minute 2–positive cells than EBV-negative samples. A literature survey revealed that OI-LPD (including the present cases) arises primarily in the gingiva, followed by the tongue, and usually occurs with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.9. The rate of EBV positivity was 93.8%. Further, 31 of 66 patients had osteonecrosis of the jaw and 24 of 31 patients had taken multiple immunosuppressive drugs in combination. Conclusions We can therefore conclude that the overexpression of mouse double minute 2 in OI-LPD is associated with EBV infection, and the combination of multiple immunosuppressive drugs may be a risk factor for osteonecrosis of the jaw.

The concern for environmental devastation due to high dependency on fossil fuel sources is shifting focus towards efficient utilization of energy by integrating renewable energy and integrated energy system. Efficient energy deployment can be attained by alleviating the actual losses, costs and environmental impact of the energy sources. This paper aims to address the above issues by reviewing the 4E analysis known as energy, exergy, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironment analysis of thermal power plants, intermittent renewable energy and integrated energy system. Amongst other noteworthy aspects outlined in this paper, it has been found out that extensive work has been done on TPP energy and exergy analysis but exergoeconomic and exergoenvironment analysis are still considered as emerging fields. Moreover, most of the analysis conducted for intermittent renewable energy and integrated energy system is based on energy analysis. Some vital conclusions have been drawn from literature survey like boiler, PV surface module and wind rotor are the major sources of exergy destruction/losses in thermal power plants and intermittent renewable energy system. Decreasing the above components losses will significantly increase the energy quality, thereby will achieve a cost-efficient, sustainable and eco-friendly energy system.

Based on a comprehensive literature survey, the constructs of the cybersecurity information sharing ecosystem have been defined in detail. Using this ecosystem, the interrelationships among the stakeholders with respect to cybersecurity information sharing are analyzed, the value parameters are determined, the value functions are defined, and the values obtained by the stakeholders through simulation are calculated. Furthermore, it is investigated whether the stakeholders involved in this ecosystem can create sufficient value to sustain in the market. The outcome of this research includes an economic model for evaluating the value creation and distribution among the stakeholders. This model is a critical step forward to better align the values (i.e., utilities and profits) of stakeholders. The simulation results of the model show that end users are the main source of value generation. Cybersecurity solution providers and cybersecurity information providers get benefits from a growing installed base of end users. However, in saturated markets, there is a risk of un-sustainability of the ecosystem, as the cost of cybersecurity solutions and cybersecurity information cannot be recovered through their fees. The simulation model and the findings of this study can help business managers to make better decisions related to business strategies, sustainability, and pricing schemes for cybersecurity solution and cybersecurity information. Moreover, a working cybersecurity information sharing ecosystem is essential for the adoption of cloud computing and, especially, edge computing. It allows capturing, disseminating, and aggregating cybersecurity information from a large number of computing devices and computing providers reliably and accurately.

Hydrogen as a sustainable alternative fuel is recognized as a primary choice for future energy supply due to its high gravimetric energy density and zero carbon emission upon combustion. Electrochemical water splitting is a promising strategy for effective and sustainable hydrogen production. Nowadays, research is focused on developing non-precious, stable, and highly efficient electrocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Among them, CoSe2 has attracted tremendous attention as HER electrocatalyst due to its unique electronic configuration that ensures fast charge transport, excellent catalytic activity, and good chemical stability. So far, a lot of reviews on electrocatalytic water splitting based on transition metal dichalcogenides and cobalt-based materials are reported. However, the review on CoSe2 electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction is limited up-to-date. Hence in the present review, a comprehensive literature survey on CoSe2 electrocatalyst for hydrogen evolution reaction is done and reported. In this review, the crystal structures of CoSe2, their phase transformation strategy, their hydrogen evolution reaction mechanism in acidic and alkaline electrolytes are highlighted. The various synthesis procedures adopted to produce CoSe2 based materials, the relation between its structure and composition with their electrocatalytic activities are discussed. Moreover, the effective ways to enhance the electrocatalytic performance of CoSe2 based materials such as its morphological modification, constructing heterostructures, and heteroatom doping are reviewed.

Keeping in view of the constraints and challenges with respect to big data analytics along with security and privacy preservation for 5G and B5G applications, the integration of machine learning and blockchain, two of the most promising technologies of the modern era is inevitable. In comparison to the traditional centralized techniques for security and privacy preservation, blockchain uses decentralized consensus algorithms for verification and validation of different transactions which are supposed to become an integral part of blockchain network. Starting with the existing literature survey, we introduce the basic concepts of blockchain and machine learning in this article. Then, we presented a comprehensive taxonomy for integration of blockchain and machine learning in an IoT environment. We also explored federated learning, reinforcement learning, deep learning algorithms usage in blockchain based applications. Finally, we provide recommendations for future use cases of these emerging technologies in 5G and B5G technologies.

Background The incidence of social isolation among older adults is on the rise in today's health care climate. Consequently, preventing or ameliorating social isolation through technology in this age group is now being discussed as a significant social and health issue. Aim The purpose of the opinion paper is to clarify social transformation through technology and shed light on a new reality for older adults in situations of social isolation. Our goal is to persuade the reader that our position on this topic is a valid one. We support our claims with practice-based evidence and published research studies. Methods To do so, we checked the most recent literature, most of which came from the last decade. Our literature survey focused primarily on what is known about technology and how technology can affect social transformation and perceptions of social isolation. Findings Two dominant transformative realities became the focal points: the precarious implications of loneliness for older adults and the emerging reality of social change through digital technology central to eHealth and mHealth. Discussion To benefit from new technologies and reduce the detrimental effects of social isolation, we must engage older adults in a meaningful way and adapt the system of smart devices to reflect the specific physiological and psychological characteristics of the ageing population. Conclusion Older adults need to comprehend the meanings of their social experiences to preserve their active lifestyle. Human interactions may be desirable, but technological dominance may also minimize the adverse effects of social isolation.

In recent years, lanthanum-based nanomaterials (La-NMs) are selected as an efficient nano-adsorbent for phosphate removal because La3+ has a strong affinity with oxygen-donor atoms from phosphate. Additionally, there are a broad interest and literature base for the effect of different synthesis optimization and environmental parameters on the adsorption performance of La-NMs. A considerable amount of research has also investigated the regeneration and application of La-NMs to real wastewater in a laboratory scale. Based on the literature survey, it was found that La-NMs are often produced via co-precipitation and hydrothermal methods. Moreover, phosphate's adsorption process and behavior onto La-NMs are described well with the pseudo-second-order model and Langmuir model. The interaction mechanism between phosphate and La-NMs are dominated by ligand exchange, surface complexation and electrostatic attraction. Furthermore, phosphate could easily desorb from La-NMs due to the weak H-bonding interaction between phosphate and the H-bond acceptor groups on the surface of La-NMs. Despite the wealth of literature available in this area, there is a lack of systematic review to evaluate the gaps in the use of La-NMs to eliminate phosphate in water. In this review, we mainly summarize and discuss the role and the effect of the synthesis techniques on the physicochemical properties and the adsorption behavior of La-NMs. The possible adsorption mechanism, regeneration efficiency, and the application of La-NMs to the real environmental samples are also presented and highlighted.

Demand for compounds from natural sources are increasing day by day. Ginsenosides are secondary metabolites, belonging to triterpenoid saponin groups which are present in Panax species. Ginsenosides possess wide range of therapeutic activities which includes anti-aging, anti-oxidative, anti-cancerous, etc. Cultivation of plants containing ginsenosides requires a long duration of time, ranging from five to seven years, along with extensive efforts for controlling the quality despite of the unfavorable environmental conditions. Isolation and production of ginsenosides is also time-consuming and not feasible, when exploiting the conventional methods. Therefore, an alternative method is required for its enhanced production. Biotechnological methods such as shoot culture, cell suspension culture, root culture and hairy root culture are largely being executed for enhanced production of ginsenosides. Bioreactors are also utilized for scaling up the production of ginsenosides. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive information about pharmaceutical applications of ginsenosides, different biotechnological approaches (shoot, root, hairy root and callus/cell suspension culture) that are used for the production of ginsenosides and scale up strategies for large scale production. Information about different in vitro systems has also been compiled after a panoramic literature survey and last twenty years data has been taken into consideration for this review.

In the lung, neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), namely typical and atypical carcinoids, and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs), grouping small cell carcinoma (SCLC) and large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC), make up for distinct tumor entities according to epidemiological, genetic, pathologic and clinical data. The proper classification is essential in clinical practice for diagnosis, prognosis and therapy purposes. Through an extensive literature survey, three perspectives on lung NENs have been revised: i) criteria and terminology on biopsy or cytology samples of primaries or metastases; ii) carcinoids with elevated mitotic counts and/or Ki-67 proliferation rates; iii) relevance of molecular landscape to identify new tumor entities and therapeutic targets. Furthermore, a dispute about lung NEN development has been raised according to emerging molecular models. We herein provide a pathology update on practical topics in the setting of lung NENs according to the current classification (recent advances). We have also reappraised the development of these tumors by modeling risk factors and natural history of disease (recent controversies). Combining recent advances and controversies may help clarify our biological understanding of lung NENs and give practical information for the clinical decision-making process.

To assess the reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with multicenter design, particularly whether necessary information related to multicenter characteristics was adequately reported.Through a search of 4 international electronic databases, we identified multicenter RCTs published in English from 1975 to 2019. Reporting quality was assessed by the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) checklist (37 items) and by a self-designed multicenter-specific checklist (27 items covering multicenter design, implement and analysis). The scores of trials published in three time periods (1975-1995; 1996-2009; and 2010-2019) were also compared.A total of 2,844 multicenter RCTs were included. For the CONSORT checklist, the mean (standard deviation) reporting score was 24.1 (5.5), 12 items were assessed as excellent (90%), 12 items as good (50%-90%), and 13 items as poor (50%). For the multicenter checklist, the reporting score was 3.9 (2.2), only 3 items were excellent or good, and the remaining 24 items were poor. Time period comparison showed that reporting quality improved over time, especially after the CONSORT 2010 issued.Although CONSORT appears to have enhanced the reporting quality of multicenter RCTs, further improvement is needed. A "CONSORT extension for multicenter trials" should be developed.

Global phosphorus scarcity will result in significant consequences for future food security with the depletion of current phosphate reserves. Therefore, exploration of new phosphorus sources is essential to address future phosphorus scarcity. The current study investigated the geochemical potential of lake sediment around the Eppawala Phosphate Deposit (EPD) in Sri Lanka to be used as a low-grade phosphorus source for agricultural purposes. Jaya-Ganga is a man-made water canal that drains through the EPD feeding three lakes, namely, upstream Ihalahalmilla Lake and Koon Lake, and downstream Kiralogama Lake with respect to the EPD. Three cores (cores A, B, and C) were collected from the above three lakes and major oxides and minerals distributions along the cores were analyzed. Notable high enrichment of phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5) content and high P2O5 solubility values were measured in the top 60 cm sediment layer in Core B and throughout the Core C compared to the Core A. This high enrichment of P2O5 content in the same sediment columns were confirmed by the comparison with the Upper Continental Crust (UCC) values and literature survey. According to the X-ray Diffraction (XRD) results, phosphate minerals, such as fluorapatite, crandallite, and millisite were abundantly found in the same sediment columns. Therefore, these phosphate minerals can be considered as pathfinding minerals for soluble phosphates in sediment cores. Thus, sediment with high P2O5 content and high solubility in downstream Kiralogama Lake showed the potential for application of these sediments as a direct phosphate source in agricultural purposes. Furthermore, the current study has introduced a new area of interest, i.e., soil and sediments around major phosphate deposits, for the exploration of new phosphate sources to meet future phosphorus demand.

The literature survey reveals that the studies on evaporation of an alternative refrigerant for R-404A are lacking. In this study, four R-404A alternative refrigerants - two short term refrigerants (R-448A, R-449A) and two long term refrigerants (R-455A, R-454C) - including R-404A were tested in a 7.0 mm O.D. microfin tube. The tests were conducted changing the mass flux from 90 to 300 kg m−2s−1, heat flux from 5 to 15 kW m−2 and vapor quality from 0.2 to 0.8. During the test, the saturation temperature was maintained at 10 °C. The heat transfer coefficients of R-404A were higher than those of the alternative refrigerants. However, the difference tended to decrease as the mass flux increased. The higher heat transfer coefficient of R-404A may be due to the smaller temperature glide of R-404A as compared with those of other refrigerants. The microfin / smooth tube heat transfer enhancement ratios of the alternative refrigerants ranged from 1.14 to 1.93. With the mixture correction, pure refrigerant correlations successfully predicted the mixture refrigerant data.

The purpose of the present study is to review the methods of carbohydrates determination in the dark fermentative hydrogen production process. The measurement of carbohydrates in dark fermentation was carried out with techniques of chromatographic (high-performance liquid chromatography, ion chromatography, and gas chromatography), colorimetric (phenol-sulfuric acid, dinitrosalicylic acid, anthrone-sulfuric acid, l -tryptophan-sulfuric and boric acid, and P-hydroxyphenyl), enzymatic (GOD-PAP enzymatic or glucose oxidase method, and commercial assay kit), electrophoretic (capillary electrophoresis), iodometric (starch-iodide), and COD index. The method of carbohydrates measuring must be accurate, inexpensive, safe, and simple to use. The advantages and shortcomings of these techniques are presented and their application in dark fermentative hydrogen production is studied. Literature survey shows that the colorimetric assay followed by the chromatographic technique was extensively employed to determine the concentration of carbohydrates in dark fermentation.

The EU legislation requests post-market environmental monitoring (PMEM) of a genetically modified (GM) organism even if its pre-market risk assessment indicated negligible risks. It has been claimed that the monitoring of the only currently commercially cultivated GM plant in the EU, Bt MON810 maize, has not revealed any adverse effects. However, the implementation of its PMEM has been criticised repeatedly by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Although EFSA agreed with the monitoring plan consisting of four tools, as proposed by the company which markets MON810, in practice PMEM has relied on famers’ questionnaires, a farmers’ complaint system, and a literature survey. The fourth approach, environmental surveillance networks, has not been utilised yet. Furthermore, PMEM requires that farmers plant a refuge of non-Bt maize in order to sustain the efficiency of the plant in combating the targeted pest. This paper aims to contribute to improved PMEM by means of a critical evaluation of its implementation in the Czech Republic based on interviews and a questionnaire survey of farmers who cultivated MON810. The results indicate that a quarter of the farmers who were surveyed did not comply with the refuge requirement. Moreover, farmers often lacked the knowledge, time, and motivation to observe and report the potential impacts of Bt maize on biodiversity, which is supposed to be monitored by the PMEM farmers’ questionnaire. The findings of this study compound the previous criticism and suggest that the current practice of PMEM limits its aim of detecting unanticipated adverse effects of MON810 maize cultivation on human and animal health and the environment. The PMEM plan should be revised before the approval process of the application for the renewal of the authorisation for MON810 cultivation in the EU continues.

Objective A malformed pectoral joint of the middle Devonian antiarch fish Asterolepis ornata is described, and a survey of congenital malformations in the fossil record is provided. Materials The specimen of A. ornata (MB.f.73) from Ehrman in Latvia, stored at the Museum fur Naturkunde Berlin, Germany. Methods A. ornata was macroscopically and radiologically investigated, and the overview on congenital malformation was based on an extensive literature survey. Results In the deformed joint of A. ornata, the articular surfaces and muscle attachment sites are greatly reduced, indicating restricted mobility. Congenital malformations can be found since the middle Silurian and affect all groups of vertebrates, but they are rare. Teeth and the vertebral column are the most commonly affected anatomical regions, and the mechanisms causing these malformations probably remained the same through geological time. Conclusions Micro-CT of the deformed joint shows no disturbance of the normal trabecular pattern and no evidence of trauma or disease, suggesting a congenital hypoplasia, although an acquired deformity cannot be ruled out completely. Significance Congenital malformations, even those that are rare, were part of the common history of vertebrates for more than 400 million years. Limitations Epidemiologic measures like incidence and prevalence usually cannot be applied to define rare diseases in the fossil record. Suggestions for further research A broadly based analysis of species of fossil vertebrates with numerus recovered specimens (e.g. many bony fishes, amphibians, certain dinosaurs) might statistically affirm the occurrence of malformations and possible correlations with the paleoenvironment.

Harnessing the advantages of geotextile sand containers (GSCs), numerous submerged breakwaters and shoreline protection structures have been constructed worldwide. But an emerged breakwater structure with geotextile armour units, capable of replacing the conventional structures, is rarely discussed. A 1:30 scaled physical experimentation is chosen as a preliminary investigation to test the feasibility of using GSCs as breakwater armour units. Structural design is evolved based on a comprehensive literature survey. The paper focuses on the stability parameters and damage characteristics of the proposed structure. Four different configurations are subjected to waves, confining to Mangaluru's wave parameters. Effect of armour unit size and sand fill ratio on the stability of the structure is analysed and it is concluded that changing sand fill ratio from 80% to 100% shot up the structural stability to a maximum of 14%. Increasing bag size also resulted in the increased stability up to 8%. Experiments revealed that the best performing configuration could withstand wave heights up to 2.7 m. Stability curves for all tested configurations are discussed and can serve as an effective guideline for designing GSC breakwaters.

Objective A reappraisal of the available evidence of osteopetrosis in the archaeological record as first step in promoting new approaches to rare diseases in paleopathology. Materials and methods Three different approaches are combined: a survey of the last 50 years of bioarchaeological publications; an online search addressing six of the more widely used search engines; macroscopic and radiographic analyses of the human remains from the Neolithic site of Palata 2 (Italy). Results The combined results of the literature survey and the online search identified six cases of osteopetrosis. The majority of search hits place this disease into differential diagnoses. The investigation of the remains from Palata 2, one of the six cases in literature, indicates a non-specific sclerosis of the cranial vault. Conclusions Of the six cases of osteopetrosis, only two, one of the autosomal-recessive type (ARO) and one of the autosomal-dominant type (ADO), are supported by direct osteoarchaeological evidence. Therefore, inaccurate differential diagnoses generate an inflated number of cases in the paleopathological record. Significance This reappraisal calls for a more informed and evidence-based approach to osteopetrosis and, more generally, to rare diseases in paleopathology. Limitations Lack of specific publications on osteopetrosis; more case studies may be present in “gray literature”. Suggestions for further research Cases of osteopetrosis from archaeological and historical collections as well as medical literature are needed to increase knowledge about this rare disease. More precise differential diagnoses are required, particularly when dealing with rare diseases.

In recent year, the chemistry of ferrocene and the design of new compounds containing the ferrocene unit, has received a surge in interest, owing to their utility in many fields such as organic synthesis, catalysis and biotechnology material. The design and synthesis of new families of chiral ligands constitutes the starting task for many particular pieces of research that have contributed to the spectacular growth of asymmetric catalysis. Currently, there is a growing interest in nitrogen-based ligands, which offer a much higher structural variability and are easier to handle and recycle. During the last few years, we accumulated some knowledge about the synthesis, reactivity and structural aspects of the chemistry of N,N-dialkylhydrazones. These compounds, viewed as N-dialkylamino imine, exhibit a higher thermal stability as a result of the n → π conjugation. The behavior of the C = N bond is strongly dependent on the structure of the amine moiety, which in turn control the efficiency of the conjugation and may incorporate structural elements able to modulate the steric crowding around the coordination site, which make these compounds an interesting class of potentially useful ligands, in addition a literature survey revealed very few examples of the use of chiral mono or bis hydrazones as ligands in asymmetric catalysis. An efficient and easy access to a new classe family of ferrocenyl thiophosphine hydrazones ligands, using a carbaldehyde ferrocene functionalized in 1,2 position as starting material is reported, the obtained ligands were fully characterized by NMR 1H, 13C, 31P and HRMS ESI + spectroscopy and their coordination chemistry with some transition metal of interest such as PdII was studied, examples of the synthesis and structural characterization of some obtained complexes and application will be also given.

Background and aim A large number of chemical compounds with endocrine-disrupting activity have been documented. These chemicals are ubiquitous and widely used in many products of our daily lives. Bisphenol A (BPA) is among the most common Endocrine Disrupting Chemical (EDC) that has been used for many years in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins. There is growing evidence that exposure to these EDCs poses a possible health risk. This review focuses on the effect of EDCs, in particular, BPA on female reproduction and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), which is the most prevalent endocrine disorder of reproductively aged women. Methods A relevant literature survey was conducted with Google scholar and Pubmed using several appropriate keywords to select the most relevant studies evaluating the role of endocrine disrupting-chemicals in female reproduction. Results The female menstrual cycle and fertility are very sensitive to hormonal imbalance and alteration in endocrine function during critical times and different stages of lifecycle owing to EDC exposure results in many abnormalities like menstrual irregularities, impaired fertility, PCOS, and Endometriosis among others. BPA is the most extensively studied EDC worldwide and has been strongly associated with female reproductive health. Conclusion EDCs lead to deleterious effects on human health including reproductive health which are of global concern. Exposure to EDCs in early life can elicit disease in adult life and maybe even transgenerational. There is an immediate need to minimize the ill effect of EDCs which can be tackled through the collection of more data to clarify the clinical implications of EDCs.

The heat capacity of ionic liquids is an important physical property, and experimental measuring is usually used as a common method to obtain them. Owing to the huge number of ionic liquids that can be potentially synthesized, it is desirable to acquire theoretical predictions. In this work, the Conductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) was used to predict the heat capacity of pure ionic liquids, and an intensive literature survey was conducted for providing a database to verify the prediction of COSMO-RS. The survey shows that the heat capacity is available for 117 ionic liquids at temperatures ranging 77.66–520 K since 2004, and the 4025 data points in total with the values from 76.37 to 1484 J·mol−1·K−1 have been reported. The prediction of heat capacity with COSMO-RS can only be conducted at two temperatures (298 and 323 K). The comparison with the experimental data proves the prediction reliability of COSMO-RS, and the average relative deviation (ARD) is 8.54%. Based on the predictions at two temperatures, a linear equation was obtained for each ionic liquid, and the heat capacities at other temperatures were then estimated via interpolation and extrapolation. The acquired heat capacities at other temperatures were then compared with the experimental data, and the ARD is only 9.50%. This evidences that the heat capacity of a pure ionic liquid follows a linear equation within the temperature range of study, and COSMO-RS can be used to predict the heat capacity of ionic liquids reliably.

This article contributes to the conservation of modern architectural heritage buildings by emphasizing the retrofitting of their construction systems. Modern architectural heritage buildings in Turkey are crucial in terms of transferring not only the cultural identity of the nations to further generations but also architectural sustainability of its distinguished period. By time, where these buildings can have constructional problems with its original structural systems, proposing a new system related with new earthquake regulations is inevitable in order to conserve them. Because most of the buildings are under threat of being demolished. The purpose of the research is to evaluate existing modern architectural heritage buildings in terms of its existing structural system and to develop a constructional model for renewal of them. As a case study, two hotel examples in İstanbul as a modern architectural heritage is selected, one is Hilton Hotel and the other is Çınar Hotel respectively. Then, the architectural plans and sections of the buildings as a data has been collected through literature survey by content analysis. At the end, the model proposal has been developed for each hotel buildings according to existing structural systems. The proposed models can be applied to sustain the life of the hotel buildings with a retrofitted structural system. So, the paper tries to conserve/protect the modern architectural heritage buildings by retrofitting its construction via presenting a remarkable study of two hotel buildings. © 2022 THE AUTHORS

Bioceramics have been widely utilized for orthopaedic applications in which the biocompatibility and mechanical properties of the materials are vital characteristics to be considered for their clinical use. Till date, extensive studies have been devoted to developing a range of scientific ways for tailoring the microstructure of bioceramics in order to attain the trade-off of mechanical properties and biocompatibility of the final product. Owing to low reactivity, earlier stabilization and longer functional life of bioceramic, the developed implants are capable of replicating the mechanical behaviour of original bone. As the safety of the patient and its ultimate functionality are the ultimate goal of the selected implant material hence, the present literature survey investigates and brings forth the important aspects associated to the mechanical, biological and microstructural characteristics of bioceramics employed in orthopaedic applications. The review paper majorly focuses on effective utilization of various materials as an additive in bioceramics and processing techniques used for enhancement of properties, enabling the use of material in orthopaedic applications. The influence of various additives on the microstructure, mechanical properties and biological performance of developed bioceramics orthopaedic implants has been elaborately discussed. Furthermore, future prospects are proposed to promote further innovations in bioceramics research.

UAVs are increasingly incorporated in a wide range of domains such as disaster management and rescue missions. UAV path planning deals with finding the most optimal or shortest path for UAVs such that minimum energy and resources are utilized. This paper examines the path planning algorithms for UAVs through a literature survey conducted on 139 systematically retrieved articles published in the last decade that are narrowed down to 36 highly relevant articles. As retrieved from the shortlisted articles, the path planning algorithms include RRT, Artificial Potential, Voronoi, D-Star, A-Star, Dijkstra, MILP, Neural Network, Ant Colony Optimization, and Particle Swarm Optimization that are classified into four main types: Model-based, Conventional, Learning-based, and Cell-based. Most of the disaster-related articles are focused on the post-disaster phase only and use conventional and learning-based algorithms with applications to localize victims and optimize paths. Regarding the UAV communication network (UAVCN), the key challenges are communication issues, resource allocation, UAV deployment, defining UAV trajectory, and content security. UAV path planning’s key barriers are path optimization, path completeness, optimality, efficiency, and achieving robustness. Accordingly, a holistic IoT-powered UAV-based smart city management system has been recommended in the current study where all the smart city key components are integrated to address disasters like floods, earthquakes, and bush fire. The proposed holistic system can help prepare for disasters and mitigate them as soon as these arise and help enhance the smart city governance.

The lunar surface comprises complex geomorphological features, which have been formed by the conjunction of processes namely impact cratering and volcanism. Geological features on the Lunar surface can be bifurcated into two main areas named Maria region and the Highland region. Taurus-Littrow valley, which was the Apollo-17 mission landing site, consisting of unique geomorphological characteristics by having a sample size of both Lunar Maria and Highland regions. The dielectric constant is a parameter that gives an approximate distribution of the constituent material of the target area. It is a complex quantity, which indicates a periodic variation of the electric field. The real part of dielectric constant indicates stored energy and the imaginary part indicates dielectric loss factor or the loss of the electric field in the medium due to continuous varying electric field. Planetary surfaces for which determining dielectric constant is an important analysis for most of the space missions, ground measurement is not feasible. This work includes the machine learning-based modeling of dielectric constant for the Apollo 17 landing site the Taurus-Littrow valley. Based on the surface roughness of the study area, two models Gaussian and Exponential have been implemented and compared for the modeled output of the dielectric constant values.The modeling approaches for dielectric characterization of the lunar surface were implemented on NASA's LRO Mini-RF SAR data and Mini-SAR hybrid-pol data of ISRO's Chandrayaan-1 mission. The coefficient of determination (r2) and the root mean square error (RMSE) of the theoretical Gaussian model was 0.995, 0.042 and the Exponential model was 0.948, 0.1349 respectively. When compared with the already calculated values of dielectric constant from Apollo 17 return samples and literature survey, the Gaussian model gives a better variation. Gaussian model was further applied to the Lunar north pole crater namely Hermite-A crater, whose distinctive geomorphological characteristics and location being lunar north pole region, makes it one of the coldest places in the Solar System and a prominent location of water ice deposits.

Super ionic channel or shuttle correlated with interfacial engineering of nanocomposite structure and semiconductor-based material electrolytes has shown great potential in electrochemical applications, such as photochemical water splitting or low temperature advanced fuel cell. By adjusting apriority composition between n and p components, the up-to-date semiconductor-ionic membrane fuel cells (SIMFCs) exhibit the improved performance, especially for high ionic conductivity and power outputs at lower temperature. Facing the commercialization of novel advanced ceramic cells, a combined literature survey and phenomenological analysis is proposed to interpret the difference between the current-voltage curve and stability performance of low temperature solid oxide fuel cell (LTSOFC). Meanwhile, it is experimentally determined that the time constant, which is closely related to the interfacial structure and heterostructure, has played a great role in the cell properties. Herein, steady state instead of transient characteristic is preferred, dedicating to provide much more reliable data. Among several prototype cells on semiconductor-based electrolyte, only the candidate that can resist the high current operation shows suppressing inside electronic leakage and survives in short-term test. The results illustrate that though semiconductor-based nanocomposite or heterostructure is an effective methodology in developing low temperature ceramic fuel cells, its durability and the risk of short-circuit should be taken with much care.

Micro reactors are increasingly being considered for utilization as distributed power sources. Hence, the probabilistic safety assessment (PSA) of a direct supercritical–CO2–cooled fast reactor, called micro modular reactor (MMR), was performed in this study; this reactor was developed using innovative design concepts. It adopted a modular design and passive safety systems to minimize site constraints. As the MMR is in its conceptual design phase, design weaknesses and valuable safety insights could be identified during PSA. Level 1 internal event PSA was carried out involving literature survey, system characterization, identification of initiating events, transient analyses, development of event trees and fault trees, and quantification. The initiating events and scenarios significantly contributing to core damage frequency (CDF) were determined to identify design weaknesses in MMR. The most significant initiating event category contributing to CDF was the transients with the power conversion system initially available category, owing to its relatively high occurrence frequency. Further, an importance analysis revealed that the safety of MMR can be significantly improved by improving the reliability of reactor trip and passive decay heat removal system operation. The findings presented in this paper are expected to contribute toward future applications of PSA for assessing unconventional nuclear reactors in their conceptual design phases.

The nascent development in the field of the hydraulic actuator is the integration of various cutting edge technology like mechanical, hydraulic, control and electrical the result is the multidisciplinary final product which is high-performance Electro Hydrostatic Actuator (EHA). This is an independent direct actuation method which is also known as “power-by-wire” (PBW) technology. This technology is design to replace the cumbersome leak-prone centralized hydraulic system with a compact and reliable actuation system. This technology originally developed for flight control application but due to enhance reliability and increasing popularity currently, it is being used in many industrial applications for different purposes. This paper attempt to bring out the component level comprehensive insight of EHA and consolidate all available literature of this field in the form of literature survey. These papers also talk about the pros and cons of the system and various control methods to curb noted disadvantages. Most of the existing research literature considers the EHA with an asymmetrical cylinder which is widely used in aircraft. However, in industrial application, the asymmetrical cylinder is most suited and predominately used. The control of asymmetrical cylinder poses a greater challenge vis-a-vis symmetrical cylinder due to differences in the area of two-chamber. This paper also tries to throw some light on the methods of controlling the cylinders. Finally, this paper concludes by finding research gaps and further scope of improvements and application of EHA in armoured recovery vehicles.

Solar cells are valuable source of alternative energy that is environmental friendly and involves utilization of a free and abundant natural resource. The revolution of utilization of solar cell materials has undergone huge many changes since the time of its inception. The solar cell material may be classified into first, second and third generations. The first generation include the monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon in the solar cell, whereas the second generation include the thin film photovoltaics as the solar cell materials. The present market in solar cells in greatly divided between these two generations of materials which differ in their price, conversion efficiency as well as their ease of manufacture; all the factors that determines its commercial viability. The third generation solar cells though still in its nascent stage of development shows good promise of improving the future technology drastically. This paper aims to compare the thin film solar cell materials with the conventional mono and polycrystalline silicon solar cells. In this regard a literature survey of the thin film solar cells show that the thermal stresses that develop in them during thermal cycling are significant to cause failure. Hence this work compares the thermal stresses in different thin film solar materials by a finite element analysis using ANSYS software. The thermal heat flux, total deformation, thermal stress and strain were calculated and compared. It was observed that amorphous silicon thin films on glass substrate have the highest thermal heat flux, lowest deformation, thermal stress and strain on the film-substrate interface at elevated temperatures. Amorphous silicon thin films seem to be an alternate to monocrystalline and polycrystalline silicon, where the thin film although has lower efficiency has reduced price and increased ease of manufacturing, making it viable for the commercial market.

The paper presents the current state of the art of the research in the term of Improvement Project Selection Methods (IPSMs). The study used a process framework approach and a systematic literature review to identify and classify various literature pertaining to IPSMs. In particular, the paper elaborates IPSMs summary taking into account different types of these projects and various types of decision-making method groups. The analysis is performed, including Scopus and Thompson/Reuters Web of Science databases, and determines possible gaps, issues and opportunities for further studies in the scope of the IPSM topic. The most important weaknesses of the analysed methods include: lack of approach that takes into account all IPs, lack of comprehensive criteria, lack of an appropriate method for calculating criteria weights, lack of group decision-making method, not considering limitations/constraints, failure to take into account the psychological conditions of decision-makers, failure to take into account the tendency to change assessments in the future.

This article addresses automatic license plate recognizer as a key element of today’s fast trending approaches used for smart city development. The deployment of heavy manual forces is the biggest challenge in the path of efficient execution of transportation rules in metro cities. In order to help the government in achieving this milestone, a thorough research helped in developing a product which could very effectively and efficiently be used in the implementation of odd/even transport rule coined by the NCT Government, Delhi. Automatic license plate recognition has become the latest trend in the management of contemporary urban and national street arrangements, and this latest trend has been blended with programming in python to enable a handy product for the government to easily enable them to distinguish between the faulty and genuine vehicles without much need of manual forces. This article throws light on the techniques used for making this product and the literature survey done on the previously existing techniques.

Precision machine tools are the most essential machines in manufacturing sector. Performance of precision machines in terms of high accuracy and high productivity is depending on the static, dynamic and thermal characteristics of the machine tools. Use of particulate polymer composites in machine tool applications improves the dynamic characteristics due to their high damping capacity than conventional materials like cast-iron. Literature survey conducted for selecting aggregates, resins and other fillers for polymer matrix composites for machine tool structures presented in this article. Aggregate types and sizes, effective resin content and other filler materials will influence the mechanical and thermal characteristics of machine tool structures. Aggregate sizes will influence the presence of air voids in prepared composite which influences the damping capacity. Bond strength between resin and particulates depend on effective resin content. Type and volume fraction of resin, hardener chemical reaction impacts the curing time. Manufacturing of machine tools is based on stiffness, strength and damping capacity is criteria for effective design. Particulate polymer concrete development is crucial to achieve required characteristics. In this article design challenges and solutions for designers to develop particulate composites for machine tool structures have been presented by review.