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This work describes a novel approach that can reduce grain as well as particle size of semiconducting pellet samples in the nanoscale range with low-cost and less instrumentation. Herein an instrumental setup was designed and fabricated in-house, referred to as the 'Thermo-Vibrational Annealing' (TVA) setup. Here, the concept of grain confinement within the pellet during the recrystallisation phase of annealing was achieved by simultaneously applying both thermal and vibrational mechanical energy to the sample, followed by vibrational dry quenching. In this work, for the case study, ZnO pellets were prepared by using chemical route pyrophoric method followed by annealing at 800°C for 4 hours using this setup. The reduction of particle and grain size by this TVA, in comparison to without vibrational annealing, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy studies. The expected changes in other microstructural and optical properties were examined by Raman and UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy studies. Moreover, this work gives references to improve the physical properties not only of ZnO but also of other oxide semiconductor samples using this technique, to be used in multiple sensors and optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), one of the most challenging cancers, is uniquely characterized by a biological barrier composed of multiple components in the extracellular matrix, preventing penetration of chemotherapeutic agents and hindering clinical drug treatment. Collagen I arrangement is critical. In this study, gemcitabine is chosen as the chemotherapeutic agent and dasatinib as the collagen‐I‐disrupting agent. When collagen I arrangement is disrupted, not only the chemotherapeutic drug enters the tumor area better, but the infiltration of CD8+ T cells into the tumor also increases. Therefore, a hypoxia‐responsive linker‐crosslinked polymer, DGD/L@GBI, is designed, which can be simultaneously loaded with two therapeutic agents, gemcitabine and dasatinib. The polymer is encapsulated by nucleic acid aptamers that target the PDAC stromal microenvironment and shield the surface. The aptamer is removed upon arrival at the PDAC hypoxic microenvironment, exposing the positively charged core to achieve charge reversal. Particle size transformation is achieved using linkers that respond to a hypoxic microenvironment. Increased intratumoral penetration is achieved using the dual transformation capabilities of the formulation. Pairing these two agents can result in a powerful efficacy in chemotherapy sensitization and immune infiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Achieving compact size has emerged as a key consideration in modern microwave design. While structural miniaturization can be accomplished through judicious circuit architecture selection, precise parameter tuning is equally vital to minimize physical dimensions while meeting stringent performance requirements for electrical characteristics. Due to the intricate nature of compact structures, global optimization is recommended, yet hindered by the excessive expenses associated with system evaluation, typically conducted through electromagnetic (EM) simulation. This challenge is further compounded by the fact that size reduction is a constrained problem entailing expensive constraints. This paper introduces an innovative method for cost-effective explicit miniaturization of microwave components on a global scale. Our approach leverages response feature technology, formulating the optimization problem based on a set of characteristic points derived from EM-analyzed responses, combined with an implicit constraint handling approach. Both elements facilitate handling size reduction by transforming it into an unconstrained problem and regularizing the objective function. The core search engine employs a machine-learning framework with kriging-based surrogates refined using the predicted improvement in the objective function as the infill criterion. Our algorithm is demonstrated using two miniaturized couplers and is shown superior over several benchmark routines, encompassing both conventional (gradient-based) and population-based procedures, alongside a machine learning technique. The primary strengths of the proposed framework lie in its reliability, computational efficiency (with a typical optimization cost ranging from 100 to 150 EM circuit analyses), and straightforward setup.

Achieving compact size has emerged as a key consideration in modern microwave design. While structural miniaturization can be accomplished through judicious circuit architecture selection, precise parameter tuning is equally vital to minimize physical dimensions while meeting stringent performance requirements for electrical characteristics. Due to the intricate nature of compact structures, global optimization is recommended, yet hindered by the excessive expenses associated with system evaluation, typically conducted through electromagnetic (EM) simulation. This challenge is further compounded by the fact that size reduction is a constrained problem entailing expensive constraints. This paper introduces an innovative method for cost-effective explicit miniaturization of microwave components on a global scale. Our approach leverages response feature technology, formulating the optimization problem based on a set of characteristic points derived from EM-analyzed responses, combined with an implicit constraint handling approach. Both elements facilitate handling size reduction by transforming it into an unconstrained problem and regularizing the objective function. The core search engine employs a machine-learning framework with kriging-based surrogates refined using the predicted improvement in the objective function as the infill criterion. Our algorithm is demonstrated using two miniaturized couplers and is shown superior over several benchmark routines, encompassing both conventional (gradient-based) and population-based procedures, alongside a machine learning technique. The primary strengths of the proposed framework lie in its reliability, computational efficiency (with a typical optimization cost ranging from 100 to 150 EM circuit analyses), and straightforward setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal gasification coarse slag (CGCS) has become a bulk coal-based solid waste that threatens the ecological environment. The high moisture content of carbon-rich coal coarse gasification slag (CR-CGCS) seriously limits its utilization. In this study, a pore water releasing method was proposed to promote the dewatering of CR-CGCS through size reduction with surface modification. Hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and kerosene were added during the grinding process, respectively. The results showed that kerosene can significantly improve the dewatering efficiency of CR-CGCS more than CTAB and SDS. The final moisture content of the CR-CGCS could be reduced from 47.50% to 33.01%. The SEM and FTIR results illustrated that kerosene could effectively reduce the content of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of CR-CGCS more than CTAB and SDS. Meanwhile, the PVM results showed that CR-CGCS modified by kerosene tended to form hydrophobic agglomerates. The LF-NMR results indicated that only the water in the macropores of CR-CGCS could be released in grinding process, but the water in micropores could be reduced when kerosene, CTAB, or SDS was added in grinding. This study provides new insight into enhancing the dewatering of CR-CGCS and theoretical support for the efficient utilization of CR-CGCS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thyroid cancer incidences endure to increase even though a large number of inspection tools have been developed recently. Since there is no standard and certain procedure to follow for the thyroid cancer diagnoses, clinicians require conducting various tests. This scrutiny process yields multi-dimensional big data and lack of a common approach leads to randomly distributed missing (sparse) data, which are both formidable challenges for the machine learning algorithms. This paper aims to develop an accurate and computationally efficient deep learning algorithm to diagnose the thyroid cancer. In this respect, randomly distributed missing data stemmed singularity in learning problems is treated and dimensionality reduction with inner and target similarity approaches are developed to select the most informative input datasets. In addition, size reduction with the hierarchical clustering algorithm is performed to eliminate the considerably similar data samples. Four machine learning algorithms are trained and also tested with the unseen data to validate their generalization and robustness abilities. The results yield 100% training and 83% testing preciseness for the unseen data. Computational time efficiencies of the algorithms are also examined under the equal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Genome simplification is an important topic in the field of life sciences that has attracted attention from its conception to the present day. It can help uncover the essential components of the genome and, in turn, shed light on the underlying operating principles of complex biological systems. This has made it a central focus of both basic and applied research in the life sciences. With the recent advancements in related technologies and our increasing knowledge of the genome, now is an opportune time to delve into this topic. Aim of review: Our review investigates the progress of genome simplification from two perspectives: genome size reduction and complexity simplification. In addition, we provide insights into the future development trends of genome simplification. Key scientific concepts of review: Reducing genome size requires eliminating non-essential elements as much as possible. This process has been facilitated by advances in genome manipulation and synthesis techniques. However, we still need a better and clearer understanding of living systems to reduce genome complexity. As there is a lack of quantitative and clearly defined standards for this task, we have opted to approach the topic from various perspectives and present our findings accordingly.

Ball mills are widely used for size reduction in mineral processing, but effective scaling from laboratory to industrial scale remains challenging. This study introduces a novel scaling constant approach to replicate energy transfer to ore during milling across different scales by adjusting rotational speed and grinding medium size distribution. The scaling constant encapsulates parameters like the number of balls per working area, rotational speed, and an average ball's maximum potential and kinetic energies. Experiments were conducted using a laboratory ball mill with interchangeable drum sizes (300, 400, and 500 mm) and a Design of Experiments methodology. Statistical analysis revealed that the scaling constant was more effective at maintaining consistent specific energy and energy per rotation across scales than size reduction, especially in dry milling. Wet milling results showed no significant differences in all metrics across scales. The dominant charge motion shifted from centrifuging to cascading as the mill diameter increased, highlighting the complex scaling dynamics. While the scaling constant shows promise for maintaining energy utilization, additional factors like charge motion and particle breakage mechanisms should be considered. The findings provide insights for improving ball mill design and optimization in mineral processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Genome simplification can promote the understanding of the law of life, which can be divided into two aspects: reducing genome size and simplifying complexity. • Shifting focus from a trial-and-error approach towards a more systematic analysis and thoughtful design for genome size reduction is necessary. • SCRaMbLE, a synthetic chromosome rearrangement technology, enables large-scale simplification of synthetic chromosomes and is a key avenue for future simplification research. • Genome complexity reduction represents a form of genome simplification that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of living systems. • Establishing a metric for genome complexity is essential and urgent. Genome simplification is an important topic in the field of life sciences that has attracted attention from its conception to the present day. It can help uncover the essential components of the genome and, in turn, shed light on the underlying operating principles of complex biological systems. This has made it a central focus of both basic and applied research in the life sciences. With the recent advancements in related technologies and our increasing knowledge of the genome, now is an opportune time to delve into this topic. Our review investigates the progress of genome simplification from two perspectives: genome size reduction and complexity simplification. In addition, we provide insights into the future development trends of genome simplification. Reducing genome size requires eliminating non-essential elements as much as possible. This process has been facilitated by advances in genome manipulation and synthesis techniques. However, we still need a better and clearer understanding of living systems to reduce genome complexity. As there is a lack of quantitative and clearly defined standards for this task, we have opted to approach the topic from various perspectives and present our findings accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genome compaction is a common evolutionary feature of parasites. The unicellular, obligate intracellular parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi has one of smallest known eukaryotic genomes, and is nearly four times smaller than its distant fungi relative, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Comparison of the proteins encoded by compacted genomes to those encoded by larger genomes can reveal the most highly conserved features of the encoded proteins. In this study, we identified the proteins comprising the RNA polymerases and their corresponding general transcription factors by using several bioinformatic approaches to compare the transcription machinery of E. cuniculi and S. cerevisiae. Surprisingly, our analyses revealed an overall reduction in the size of the proteins comprising transcription machinery of E. cuniculi, which includes the loss of entire regions or functional domains from proteins, as well as the loss of entire proteins and complexes. Unexpectedly, we found that the E. cuniculi ortholog of Rpc37 (a RNA Polymerase III subunit) more closely resembles the H. sapiens ortholog of Rpc37 than the S. cerevisiae ortholog of Rpc37, in both size and structure. Overall, our findings provide new insight into the minimal core eukaryotic transcription machinery and help define the most critical features of Pol components and general transcription factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a 3 dB 90-degree hybrid coupler with size reduction and harmonics rejection was designed. In the proposed coupler structure, four simple low-pass filters (LPFs) were applied. An artificial neural network (ANN) was used to determine the dimensions of the applied LPFs based on EM simulation data. The applied ANN model could also provide the desired LPF parameters, including the cut-off frequency (fc), bandwidth (BW), and insertion loss (IL). Designing an applied LPF involves complex mathematical calculations and simulations to optimize parameters. However, by utilizing neural networks, the design process can be significantly streamlined and automated. Neural networks have the ability to learn complex patterns and relationships within data, making them well suited for optimizing the performance of applied components. The proposed 90-degree hybrid coupler works correctly at 1800 MHz and has a small size of 16.6 mm × 15.15 mm, which provides a 73% size reduction compared to a normal 1800 MHz coupler. The designed coupler not only decreases the circuit size but also provides a wide rejection band from 4.8 GHz to 11.2 GHz, which suppresses the second to sixth harmonics. The insertion loss parameter of this 90-degree hybrid coupler is less than 0.1 dB at the working frequency, which shows the superior performance of the proposed coupler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a compact decagon antenna for wireless applications based on inspired metamaterial (MTM) loaded with a modified complementary split ring resonator (CSRR). A MTM loaded with CSRR is used to achieve a size reduction of 50% when compared to a traditional antenna. The suggested decagon antenna's ground plane has been loaded with CSRR. The antenna was made on an FR4 substrate with a thickness of 1.6 mm and εr=4.4 and has a very small dimension of 0.288 λ0x0.272 λ0x0.013 λ0 (where λ0 represent center frequency at 2.4 GHz). The given antenna has a 90 MHz bandwidth (2.40-2.50 GHz) with a peak gain of 2.36 dB. The presented design is validated by showing simulated results of the S parameter, VSWR, gain, surface current, and radiation pattern. The proposed antenna is well suited for wireless applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the widely used approaches for improving the dissolution of poorly water-soluble drugs is particle size reduction. Ball milling is a mechanical, top-down technique used to reduce particle size. The effect of ball number, ball size, and milling speed on the properties of milled Aprepitant is evaluated. A full factorial design was employed to investigate the influence of affecting factors on particle size reduction. The initial suspension was made by suspending the drug in distilled water using excipients followed by milling in a planetary ball mill. Ball size, ball number, and milling speed modulated particle size distribution of Aprepitant. Increasing the number of balls from minimum to maximum for each ball size led to approximately a 28% reduction in mean particle size, a 37% decrease in D90%, and a 25% decrease in the ratio of volume mean particle diameter to numeric mean particle diameter. On average, using 10 mm balls instead of 30 mm balls reduced mean particle size by 1.689 µm. As a result, ball size, ball number, and milling speed are three effective factors in the process of ball milling. By increasing the ball number and decreasing the ball size, efficient micronization of drug particles takes place and the particle size is more uniform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the bioactive content enrichment of honeydew melon cuts (hemispheres) immersed into Hibiscus extract/sucrose solutions (HESS). A face-centered design (FCD) was initially conducted to explore the effect of time (30-210 min), solution concentration (20-60°Bx) and temperature (40-60 °C) on water loss (WL), solids gain (SG), as well as in the increase of anthocyanins (ANT), phenolics (PHE), and antioxidant capacity (AXC) of melon. WL and SG were also investigated with pure sucrose syrups (SS) for comparison purposes. Processing conditions were further optimized by a Pareto approach to maximize both WL and bioactive content enrichment with minimal SG. Then, impregnation kinetics, conducted around the optimal experimental conditions, were analyzed with a 2D diffusive model, considering the anisotropic shrinkage of melon and solved under four complexity levels to examine coupled mass transfer (including constant diffusivities, main plus cross diffusion terms or nonlinear diffusivity functions of local water content). HESS favored a higher WL and lower SG than SS during FCD. The optimal condition occurred at 30 min, 20°Bx and about 50 °C, where melon gained ANT not originally present in it, and PHE and AXC increased by factors of 4.5 and 6.1 in comparison with untreated fruit, respectively. No evidence of significant coupling among WL, SG and bioactive transfer was found (p > 0.05), with diffusivities for ANT, PHE, AXC, water and solids ranging from 3.26 to 3.45, 12.8-14.4, 1.24-5.19, 0.82-1.36, and 1.19-4.26 (x1O-10) m²/s, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most businesses, including the carpet industry, employ computers for accuracy expansion, quality improvement, reducing costs, and speed growth as computers become more common. Several colors are generally used in accurate color pictures, and each pixel is allocated 24 bits. These pictures are difficult to display, store, transmit, and process. As a result, color quantization is frequently employed as a preprocessing step for various images. Segmentation, compression, text identification, watermarking, color-texture analysis, and content-based retrieval are all applications of color quantization in image processing. The goal of this study is to minimize the colors in a carpet map to a single value. The Deep Belief Network (DBN) is suggested to solve these issues. DBN integrates low-level characteristics to find distributed feature representation and produces a more abstract high-level depiction as a typical representative of deep learning. DBN can extract high-level characteristics from low-level signals layer by layer by employing greedy learning. Traditional feature extraction adds complexity and uncertainty, while the DBN reduces it and improves recognizing intelligence. MATLAB, a sophisticated simulation tool, is used to test the suggested technique. The findings are compared to available techniques in terms of color quantization and size reduction. According to the findings, the suggested technique improves the accuracy of the color quantization and size reduction phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antenna arrays with relatively high Side Loop Suppression (SLS) have been investigated, along with the problems that complicate their design and realisation. A uniform linear antenna array with a lowered side lobe level using a microstrip patch antenna array presents a design challenge that is described as a simple optimization problem in order to achieve deeper nulls in the interference direction. The purpose of this work is to reduce the signal deterioration brought on by the interference as much as possible. The real-coded genetic algorithm (RGA) is utilised to develop a suitable set of current excitation weights for the antenna elements and the optimal inter-element spacing that satisfies the design goal. Three design examples are shown to demonstrate the use of the Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm (RGA), each of which leads in an easy achievement of the targeted optimization aim. Numerical findings and simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. Thanks to the example and application, the relevance of Real-Coded Genetic Algorithm (RGA) Optimization in the area of Antenna Design can be formulated and argued for. The key issue that leads to energy waste on the transmitter side is the antenna's side lobe level. A radiation lobe in any direction other than the intended lobe is the definition of a side lobe. Higher degrees of side lobe are a major issue on the transmitter side, since this results in power being wasted in unintended or unnecessary directions. Therefore, it is crucial to restrict the power's radiation in unfavourable directions while increasing it in favourable ones. Using an optimal technique, such as a Genetic technique, to reduce unwanted side-lobes in linear, planar, and circular array antennas. Gain, very-small-signal-to-noise ratio, frequency, and size reduction are the measures used to evaluate performance. Four frequencies, at 28.3 GHz, 38.1 GHz, 46.6 GHz, and 60.0 GHz, were found to be resonant with the optimized antenna. The maximal broadside directivity of the antenna was 7.8 dB, 8.8 dB, 7.3 dB, and 7.1 dB across a frequency range of 11.5 GHz. In terms of bandwidth, directivity, and efficiency, the optimized antenna was shown to perform better than similar works published in the literature.

The talas banana is the superior local fruit of South Kalimantan. Talas bananas are still utilized in a few of applications and are mostly consumed fresh. Talas bananas have a particular aroma that no other banana has. This study aimed to analyze the effect of heating time, temperature, and size reduction on talas banana puree's sensory and chemical quality. The heating temperatures used were 70, 90, and 121oC. The heating time for 70 and 90oC was 15, 20, and 25 minutes, while for 121oC was 2, 4, and 6 minutes. The effect of size reduction was coarse texture (30 seconds) and fine texture (1 minute). Talas banana puree was analyzed by scoring test (color, texture, aroma, and taste) and chemical test (moisture content, pH, total dissolved solids, total titrated acid, reducing sugar content, and protein content). Data were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with a nested factorial randomized block design at temperature with a further test was Duncan's test with α=5%. Sensory quality data were analyzed by the Kruskal Wallis test at α=5%, followed by the Tukey test at α= 5%. Talas banana puree is light yellow, close to the soft, banana aroma, and sweet taste. The best results for talas banana puree were obtained at 70oC with a 15-minute heating time and a 1-minute size reduction, 90oC with a 15-minute heating time and a 1-minute size reduction, and 121oC with a 6-minute heating time and a 1-minute size reduction.

Throughout the evolution of machine learning, the size of models has steadily increased as researchers strive for higher accuracy by adding more layers. This escalation in model complexity necessitates enhanced hardware capabilities. Today, state-of-the-art machine learning models have become so large that effectively training them requires substantial hardware resources, which may be readily available to large companies but not to students or independent researchers. To make the research on machine learning models more accessible, this study introduces a size reduction technique that leverages stages in pyramid training and similarity comparison. We conducted experiments on classification, segmentation, and object detection tasks using various network configurations. Our results demonstrate that pyramid training can reduce model complexity by up to 70% while maintaining accuracy comparable to conventional full-sized models. These findings offer a scalable and resource-efficient solution for researchers and practitioners in hardware-constrained environments.

In this paper, several types of microstrip power divider are studied and compared in terms of harmonics suppression and size reductions. The importance of this research lies in the fact that power dividers are critical components in various communication systems, and their performance directly affects the overall system efficiency. The conventional structure of the power divider has an acceptable performance at operating frequency in terms of excellent output ports isolation, low insertion loss, and high return loss, but occupies large size and passes unwanted signals at higher frequencies along with desired signal without any suppression. Harmonics are popular distortion and has different distortion impacts in many different facilities. Recently, several techniques are introduced to overcome these drawbacks. Applied open stubs, applied resonators, lumped reactive components such as capacitors and inductors, coupled lines, defected ground structure (DGS), and electronic band gaps are common methods, which are widely used to overcome these drawbacks. Finally, the study results show that the resonatorbased power dividers and coupled-line-based power dividers have good performances in terms of size reduction and harmonic suppression but increase insertion loss parameter. Furthermore, the lumped reactive component-based power dividers and applied DGS and electromagnetic bandgap cells suppress unwanted harmonics, but they need extra process to fabrication, which is undesirable. Moreover, the open-stub-based power dividers have moderate performance with simple structure, but size reduction and harmonics suppression are not so superior in this method. Overall, the results of this study can be used to design power dividers for desirable applications with high performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ball mills are widely used for size reduction in mineral processing, but effective scaling from laboratory to industrial scale remains challenging. This study introduces a novel scaling constant approach to replicate energy transfer to ore during milling across different scales by adjusting rotational speed and grinding medium size distribution. The scaling constant encapsulates parameters like the number of balls per working area, rotational speed, and an average ball’s maximum potential and kinetic energies. Experiments were conducted using a laboratory ball mill with interchangeable drum sizes (300, 400, and 500 mm) and a Design of Experiments methodology. Statistical analysis revealed that the scaling constant was more effective at maintaining consistent specific energy and energy per rotation across scales than size reduction, especially in dry milling. Wet milling results showed no significant differences in all metrics across scales. The dominant charge motion shifted from centrifuging to cascading as the mill diameter increased, highlighting the complex scaling dynamics. While the scaling constant shows promise for maintaining energy utilization, additional factors like charge motion and particle breakage mechanisms should be considered. The findings provide insights for improving ball mill design and optimization in mineral processing.

In this paper, a 3 dB 90-degree hybrid coupler with size reduction and harmonics rejection was designed. In the proposed coupler structure, four simple low-pass filters (LPFs) were applied. An artificial neural network (ANN) was used to determine the dimensions of the applied LPFs based on EM simulation data. The applied ANN model could also provide the desired LPF parameters, including the cut-off frequency (fc), bandwidth (BW), and insertion loss (IL). Designing an applied LPF involves complex mathematical calculations and simulations to optimize parameters. However, by utilizing neural networks, the design process can be significantly streamlined and automated. Neural networks have the ability to learn complex patterns and relationships within data, making them well suited for optimizing the performance of applied components. The proposed 90-degree hybrid coupler works correctly at 1800 MHz and has a small size of 16.6 mm × 15.15 mm, which provides a 73% size reduction compared to a normal 1800 MHz coupler. The designed coupler not only decreases the circuit size but also provides a wide rejection band from 4.8 GHz to 11.2 GHz, which suppresses the second to sixth harmonics. The insertion loss parameter of this 90-degree hybrid coupler is less than 0.1 dB at the working frequency, which shows the superior performance of the proposed coupler.

In this paper, several types of microstrip power divider are studied and compared in terms of harmonics suppression and size reductions. The importance of this research lies in the fact that power dividers are critical components in various communication systems, and their performance directly affects the overall system efficiency. The conventional structure of the power divider has an acceptable performance at operating frequency in terms of excellent output ports isolation, low insertion loss, and high return loss, but occupies large size and passes unwanted signals at higher frequencies along with desired signal without any suppression. Harmonics are popular distortion and has different distortion impacts in many different facilities. Recently, several techniques are introduced to overcome these drawbacks. Applied open stubs, applied resonators, lumped reactive components such as capacitors and inductors, coupled lines, defected ground structure (DGS), and electronic band gaps are common methods, which are widely used to overcome these drawbacks. Finally, the study results show that the resonator-based power dividers and coupled-line-based power dividers have good performances in terms of size reduction and harmonic suppression but increase insertion loss parameter. Furthermore, the lumped reactive component-based power dividers and applied DGS and electromagnetic bandgap cells suppress unwanted harmonics, but they need extra process to fabrication, which is undesirable. Moreover, the open-stub-based power dividers have moderate performance with simple structure, but size reduction and harmonics suppression are not so superior in this method.

A huge financial burden is imposed due to deaths caused by Inflammatory lung diseases. Treatment of inflammatory lung diseases can be targeted via the lungs because of their unique features. Inhalation therapy can target them with the help of inhaled therapy. This Research aims to present the wide-ranging role of nanoemulsions in treating inflammatory respiratory diseases by increasing the solubility of BCS class II drugs. Our target was to enhance the solubility of Ivacaftor, which belongs to a class of CFTR potentiators and a BCS class II drug. The solubility enhancement was to be achieved with the help of formulation into a nanoemulsion. Nanoemulsion has the advantage of being a thermodynamically stable formulation. We used Tween 20 as a surfactant and Transcutolp as a co-surfactant. The region of the emulsion was identified after the construction of a pseudoternary phase diagram. The formulation was optimized using Design Expert 13, and the final preparation was evaluated for stability. The final formulation gave a globule size of 97.65±0.52 nm and a zeta potential of -1.75±0.46mV. The FTIR spectra showed very minimal changes keeping the peaks of the drug intact. We found the formulations were stable after a one-month stability study. Biological barriers in the human body can be overcome by utilizing nanoemulsions to achieve quicker onset of action and immediate relief. Inhaled nanocarriers pose a potential regarding translational studies and increase the scientific database for managing inflammatory lung diseases with reduced or no toxicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a miniaturized modified Minkowski fractal antenna with enhanced linearly polarized impedance bandwidth (IBW) in the lower frequency region. Applying theory of characteristic modes (TCM) analysis on a second iterated modified Minkowski radiator without feeding structure, modal currents and their corresponding modal fields (radiation patterns) were determined to recognize symmetric dominant modes to be specifically excited to generate the required radiation pattern. It gave direction for choosing quarter-wave microwave line feeding as the feed of choice to excite the four desired modes at 2.7, 5.7, 5.9, and 8.7 GHz and providing excellent impedance matching to generate the very wide IBW. Measured results matched well with simulations done using Ansys HFSS 2020R1. Measured IBW is 9.7 GHz (160%), from 1.2 to 10.9 GHz, with center resonance frequency (frc) at 6.05 GHz, whereas simulated IBW is 9.4 GHz (162%), from 1.1 to 10.5 GHz with frc at 5.8 GHz. The antenna size is 36 × 34 × 1.6 mm3 (0.216λgL × 0.204λgL where at lower resonating frequency frL = 1.1 GHz, λgL is the guided wavelength) with 82.24% reduction in size. This antenna may be utilized for "L", "S" band and UWB wireless communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the directional antenna is developed to construct the printed dual‐frequency directional antenna for a 1‐GHz/2.3‐GHz dual‐frequency sensor application. An auxiliary dipole element generating the higher resonant mode is set on a primary dipole element introducing the lower resonant mode. The feed balance is also designed to cover the desired frequency between two resonance frequencies, which is based on the microstrip line (MS) to coplanar stripline (CPS) transition. To realize the directional antenna, two reflector elements are utilized, and one of them is a stepped‐width reflector on reducing the size of the antenna. In addition, the parasitic strip works as the lumped element used to obtain good impedance matching. A series of simulations are performed on the MS‐to‐CPS transition, the dual dipole element, the reflectors, and the parasitic strip to determine the optimal antenna design. A prototype is fabricated based on the optimal results of the simulation. Concerning the measured results, the proposed antenna has well unidirectional radiations, good radiation efficiencies, and low cross‐polarization levels at any operating frequencies. Key Points: The impedance matching of dual‐frequency directional antenna can be achieved by using the dual‐parasitic stripThe feed balance is also designed to cover the desired frequency between two resonance frequencies, which is based on the MS‐to‐CPS transitionA stepped‐width reflector is used for reducing the size of the antenna [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 4 × 4 Butler Matrix (BM) without phase shifter is proposed to provide bandwidth enhancement and size reduction by removing a conventional 0 dB/90° crossover, two 0° phase shifters and two 45° phase shifters. Two proposed 3 dB/45° patch couplers replace the combination of two conventional 3 dB/90° branch-line couplers and two 45° phase shifters, whilst a modified 0 dB/0° crossover removes two 0° phase shifters from the conventional BM. The −10 dB fractional bandwidths of reflection coefficients and isolations for the proposed BM are 18.46% in simulation and measurement. The −6 dB ± 1.5 dB average transmission coefficient and +45°, −135°, +135° and −45° of output phase differences with 1.8° average phase imbalance are accomplished at 6.5 GHz. The simulated and measured scattering parameters (S-parameters) and phase differences are in close compliance with each other. Four switched-beams pointed at +15°, −50°, +50° and −15° are developed by integrating the proposed BM with inset feeding patch antennas. The proposed BM is miniaturized by 51.56%, whilst the bandwidth performance is enhanced by 9.7% compared to the conventional BM. Hence, this compact BM is a promising candidate for the fifth generation (5G) communication system.

BackgroundPretreatment is effective in reducing the natural recalcitrance of plant biomass so polysaccharides in cell walls can be accessed for conversion to sugars. Furthermore, lignocellulosic biomass must typically be reduced in size to increase the pretreatment effectiveness and realize high sugar yields. However, biomass size reduction is a very energy-intensive operation and contributes significantly to the overall capital cost.ResultsIn this study, the effect of particle size reduction and biomass presoaking on the deconstruction of Alamo switchgrass was examined prior to pretreatment by dilute sulfuric acid (DSA) and Co-solvent Enhanced Lignocellulosic Fractionation (CELF) at pretreatment conditions optimized for maximum sugar release by each pretreatment coupled with subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis. Sugar yields by enzymatic hydrolysis were measured over a range of enzyme loadings. In general, DSA successfully solubilized hemicellulose, while CELF removed nearly 80% of Klason lignin from switchgrass in addition to the majority of hemicellulose. Presoaking and particle size reduction did not have a significant impact on biomass compositions after pretreatment for both DSA and CELF. However, presoaking for 4 h slightly increased sugar yields by enzymatic hydrolysis of DSA-pretreated switchgrass compared to unsoaked samples, whereas sugar yields from enzymatic hydrolysis of CELF solids continued to increase substantially for up to 18 h of presoaking time. Of particular importance, DSA required particle size reduction by knife milling to

In this work, the effects of embedding an antenna in a dielectric with high electrical permittivity (HEP) are extensively analyzed. The used antenna was a wire antenna originally designed for operating at 2.45 GHz, and the dielectric material used was Distilled Water (DW). By simulations and measures three important effects were found: i) a size reduction of approximately nine times, ii) the transformation of this antenna in a multiband antenna, and iii) variations in the radiation pattern that allow beamforming by changing the operation frequency. These three effects are important for the development of improved antennas. Through this paper the authors share detailed information, obtained by their own experience, on the manufacture of the embedded antenna, the simulation results and the measurements carried out that allowed verifying the three previously mentioned effects. These results are original contributions in an area where do no exist enough information about the use of this dielectric material for achieving these effects with this kind of antennas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dried sphagnum moss was ground using a pin mill and a hammer mill under various operating conditions, i.e., changes in the rotor frequency and feed rate. The specific energy consumption of the size reduction was recorded. The ground powder was characterized by median particle size, width of size distribution (span), loose and tapped bulk densities, and the Hausner ratio. Pin milling used less energy for size reduction than hammer milling, especially when the target size was below 100 μm. In both milling methods, the specific energy consumption was mainly caused by the rotor frequency used. However, in pin milling, the specific energy consumption was also dependent on the production rate: the higher the rate, the higher the energy consumption. No such dependence was observed with the hammer mill. The span was wider in pin milling than hammer milling in the intermediate product size range although the difference decreased at the fine and coarse ends. A similar pattern was found for bulk densities. However, the flowability of powder, as characterized by the Hausner ratio, was comparable between the grinding methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Straw is a substantial agricultural by-product for biogas production. Hydrolysis of straw is found to be a rate-limiting step during its anaerobic digestion and could be enhanced by pretreatment. In this paper, the effect of various combinations of particle size reduction, autoclaving, and low-level Fenton reaction was studied on straw for biogas production. Grinding of straw contributed to the maximum increase in the biomethane potential. Only Fenton or only the autoclave process improves the kinetics slightly but does not considerably improve the biomethane potential. Combining autoclaving and low-concentration Fenton pretreatment considerably improves the BMP values. Lignin content, CHNSO elemental analysis, Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Simon's staining, infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT and ATR), Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analysis (WAXD) were used to characterize the physical and chemical changes of straw due to pretreatment. Results show a poor correlation between biogas production and the different physical and chemical biomass characteristics. It makes it difficult to explain the outcome of various pretreatment methods applied to biomass. Without further improvement and development of analytical techniques, the prediction of the biomethane potential of a feedstock with the aid of pretreatment can only be considered in case-by-case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, miniaturization of fractal geometry with defected ground structure (DGC) concept has been experimentally verified at S -band (2–4) GHz. The design starts with a self-symmetry structure using conventional Vicsek snowflake-box fractal antenna. The same has been used in third iteration to achieve miniaturization. This proposed microstrip patch antenna (MPA) is resonating at 2.12 GHz with acceptable gain and broadside radiation. The miniaturization of about 87.26% when compared to conventional fractal MPA is achieved. The fractal unit cell is optimized for miniaturization and bandwidth by carrying out parametric study and applying the DGS shapes like rectangular and U -shaped slot etched in the ground plane of Vicsek snowflake-box fractal microstrip antenna. A fractal microstrip antenna is designed for wireless applications at 3.95 GHz. The fractal microstrip antenna is simulated using HFSS-V15 simulator. It is observed that the maximum size reduction of 87.26% is achieved in the third iteration of the Vicsek snowflake-box fractal radiating patch. The proposed fractal patch antenna is designed and fabricated using epoxy substrate of FR-4 with dielectric constant of 4.4 and thickness of 1.6 mm. The simulated results are compared with the measured results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a single-layered 3 dB/45° coupler (Design D) is proposed for fifth generation (5G) beamforming networks using cross-slotted patch topology, dumbbell-shaped slots, loaded stubs, notches and rectangular ground slots. The proposed Design D coupler is capable to eliminate the need for additional 45° phase shifters in the beamforming networks such as Butler matrix which provides the main contribution in this work especially in size reduction and bandwidth enhancements. The fractional bandwidths of 28.90%, 39.14% and 35.91% for -10 dB of |S11|, -3 dB ± 1 dB of |S31| and 5° phase imbalance of output phase difference are achieved by the proposed Design D coupler. The bandwidth enhancements of -3 dB ± 1 dB coupling coefficient, S31 and 45° ± 5° output phase difference for the proposed Design D coupler are 22.52% and 23.14% compared to Design A coupler, respectively. The bandwidth of 45° ± 5° output phase difference is increased by 16.3% owing to the presence of rectangular ground slots in Design D compared to Design C coupler. The patch size of the proposed Design D coupler is 0.22 guided wavelength x 0.23 guided wavelength. The electrical size of the proposed Design D coupler is reduced by 45.72% compared to Design A coupler. [JJCIT 2022; 8(2.000): 170-181]

A coaxial feed patch antenna with a thumb-shaped defected ground structure (DGS) is proposed to simultaneously reduce the antenna size and improve bandwidth. The size of an antenna can be reduced by incorporating a DGS to change the electromagnetic field distribution between the patch and the ground. The proposed thumb-shaped DGS effectively widens the antenna bandwidth by generating two resonant frequencies on either side of the operating frequency, as determined by the patch length. In addition, the effect of the DGS on the ground body of a radio frequency connector is minimized by maintaining a sufficient distance between the DGS and the feed point when the connector is attached. The electromagnetic wave simulation results, which depend on the physical dimensions of the DGS, provide the characteristics of the proposed antenna. The measurement results for the proposed 5.8-GHz antenna, implemented on a 1 mm FR4 printed circuit board, give an antenna gain of 4.4 dBi and a −10 dB bandwidth of 580 MHz. Compared with a conventional 5.8-GHz patch antenna implemented on the same substrate, the proposed antenna provides a 3.22-fold bandwidth improvement and 10.2% patch size reduction.

This paper offers a reflection and prospectus from the viewpoint of the International Fine Particle Research Institute (IFPRI) community, specifically the current state of particle technology, how we got to this point, and where the future is heading. IFPRI is a unique consortium, working with academics from universities around the world, pursuing research that is directed by industrial members. While this reflection has a historical context, its perspective is clearly toward solving current and future challenges associated with particle science, engineering, and technology. [Display omitted] • Industrially driven consortium for particle science and technology. • Consortium founders, structure, operation, and historical evolution. • Pre-competitive research distributed across topical areas. • Characterization, size reduction, particle formation, powder flow, wet systems. • Connecting themes include engineering systems and particle technology education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for antennas with small dimensions with high performance has prompted various research to conduct experiments in terms of the structure and shape of the antenna and terms of material. This study proposes utilizing both artificially and engineered magneto-dielectric (MD) materials’ characteristics to miniaturize antenna dimension and improve antenna performance. The MD characteristics are realized through the SRR array structure as an antenna performance enhancer; and material synthesis as an antenna dimension reducer. MD material has been successfully synthesized, extracted, and characterized from a mixture of magnetite powder (Fe3O4), PDMS elastic polymer material (polydimethylsiloxane), and BaFe12O19. The parametric study results show that the antenna designed on MD material Sample C (PDMS: Fe3O4=1: 0.6) with a 3 $\times $ 3 SRR configuration gives the most optimal response. Simulations, optimizations, and measurements have been carried out to obtain an MD antenna that works at a frequency of 3.5 GHz, with a fractional bandwidth of 10% (360 MHz), radiation efficiency of 58.54%, and a maximum gain of up to 4.33 dBi. This antenna measures 30 $\times30$ mm or 64% smaller than conventional antennas. The proposed stacked MD antenna is compatible with 5G technology in the mid-band frequency range.

Nanostructuring is regarded as a significant method for improving the reversibility of alloying anodes for potassium‐ion batteries (PIBs). However, it is still unclear how nanostructuring suppresses the mechanical deterioration upon potassiation/depotassiation. In this study, by in situ X‐ray diffraction, a size‐dependent phase transformation mechanism in a nano‐Bi material (≈15 nm), which avoids the voltage plateau mutation of bulk‐Bi material (≈250 nm) caused by an incomplete and irreversible two‐phase reaction is revealed. The potassiation of nano‐Bi follows a stepwise solid‐solution pathway without any phase transitions under nonequilibrium conditions, circumventing the nucleation of a new phase. The distinctive transition pathway, dominated by the diffusion‐controlled reaction, is accompanied by fast ionic transport kinetics and homogeneous diffusion. As a result, particle fracture is inhibited by isotropic expansion stress, developing a route for stable potassium storage. By contrast, the two‐phase transformation of bulk‐Bi is governed by an interface‐controlled reaction under equilibrium conditions with slow and heterogeneous diffusion, leading to a rapid capacity decay from anisotropic expansion. The comparison between equilibrium thermodynamic‐ and non‐equilibrium kinetic‐phase transformations uncovers the intrinsic mechanism explanatory of the mechanical robustness of the size‐reduced alloying anodes, and also emphasizes that solid‐state diffusion must be improved to attain highly fast kinetics with PIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A chipless RFID tag was designed using two hexagonal resonators. By defining a relation for the phases of S‐parameters and rotating the resonators around their axes, a senary coding scheme was obtained at the resonant frequency. The designed resonator was able to generate six different codes using six different phase parameters at 3.03 GHz. While the conventional binary ("0" and "1") coding of ordinary tags makes minimal use of bandwidth capacity, the senary coding in the proposed design allowed the use of a larger bandwidth capacity. Requiring much fewer resonators for generating more codes, the proposed technique leads to significantly smaller tags. Using the proposed tag with two resonators, 62 = 36 different codes can be generated; more generally, an n‐resonator tag of the proposed type can create 6n different codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant istiophorids are open ocean apex predators that are extensively studied due to their ecological importance and high values for fisheries. Nevertheless, little is known about their evolution because of a fragmentary fossil record and extremely difficult taxonomy of fossil species. Here, we present a new phylogenetic hypothesis covering fossil and living istiophorids. Our results demonstrate that istiophorid richness is larger than previously assumed, comprising eight genera with 20 species. The phylogenetic analysis shows that istiophorids are grouped into four clades: the Istiophorus clade, which includes the sailfish; the Machairostra clade, which comprises Makaira spp., including two new species from the late Miocene (†Makaira colonense sp. nov. and †Makaira fierstini sp. nov.); the Gracilorostra clade, which comprise all remaining istiophorids with exception of spearfishes and includes two new genera and one new species (†Morgula donosochagrense gen. et sp. nov. and †Spathochoira calvertense gen. et. comb. nov.); and the Tetrapturomorpha clade is composed of the spearfishes and the extinct †Prototetrapturus courcelli gen. et. comb. nov. The family Istiophoridae shows an evolutionary trend toward reduction of the premaxillary thickness and increasing the extension of narial cavities. This reduction is related to an increase of adipose tissues in the rostrum base probably driven by the presence of the oleofera gland, an organ involved in feeding, healing, endothermy and hydrophobic functions. Our phylogeny shows a direct relationship between the rostral and cranial shape explained by body size and feeding behaviour. The larger istiophorids have lateral apophysis and the larger spines of the vertebral column. The spearfishes represent the smaller species of the family, with the extant Tetrapturus spp. first appearing in the late Pliocene. The clade Tetrapturomorpha shows an extreme size reduction over time when compared with species of their sister clade Gracilorostra, demonstrating an evolutionary trend towards size reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 4 × 4 Butler Matrix (BM) without phase shifter is proposed to provide bandwidth enhancement and size reduction by removing a conventional 0 dB/90° crossover, two 0° phase shifters and two 45° phase shifters. Two proposed 3 dB/45° patch couplers replace the combination of two conventional 3 dB/90° branch-line couplers and two 45° phase shifters, whilst a modified 0 dB/0° crossover removes two 0° phase shifters from the conventional BM. The −10 dB fractional bandwidths of reflection coefficients and isolations for the proposed BM are 18.46% in simulation and measurement. The −6 dB ± 1.5 dB average transmission coefficient and +45°, −135°, +135° and −45° of output phase differences with 1.8° average phase imbalance are accomplished at 6.5 GHz. The simulated and measured scattering parameters (S-parameters) and phase differences are in close compliance with each other. Four switched-beams pointed at +15°, −50°, +50° and −15° are developed by integrating the proposed BM with inset feeding patch antennas. The proposed BM is miniaturized by 51.56%, whilst the bandwidth performance is enhanced by 9.7% compared to the conventional BM. Hence, this compact BM is a promising candidate for the fifth generation (5G) communication system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bran is a byproduct obtained after the milling of cereal grains and is a reservoir of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants which are very important for disease prevention and health promotion. The current work was planned to evaluate the chemical composition, phytochemical profiling, and antioxidant potential of native and modified brans of wheat, corn, barley, millet, sorghum, and oat. These brans were subjected to fermentation by yeast and lactic acid bacteria, autoclaved, size reduction (1 mm and 2 mm particle size), enzyme modifications using cellulase and xylanase. In vitro antioxidant properties were evaluated by DPPH free radical scavenging activity and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, whereas total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were also determined. The maximum quantity of TPC was found in xylanase treated oat bran 0.364±0.026 mg GAE g-1. The maximum amount of TFC was found in 1mm sorghum bran 211.70±0.09 μg g-1 QE. Whereas increased DPPH free radical scavenging rate was recorded in cellulase treated sorghum bran 87.49±0.11%. Furthermore, the maximum FRAP values were found in 1mm sorghum bran (710.49±0.17 μM FeSO4 g-1). The most effective modification treatments were enzyme modification and size reduction. Study results indicated that modified cereal brans might be important for the development of innovative and unique functional foods as well as could be used for the prevention and treatment of various disorders due to their antioxidant properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Valorization of lignocellulosic biomass to obtain clean fuels and high-value chemicals is attractive and essential for sustainable energy and chemical production, but the complex structure of biomass is recalcitrant to catalytic processing. This recalcitrance can be overcome by pretreating biomass into deconstructable components, which involves altering the structural complexities and physicochemical properties. However, the impact of these alterations on biomass deconstruction varies considerably, depending on the pretreatment and subsequent conversion type. Here, we systematically describe the changes in structure and properties of corn stover after ball milling as well as their influence on the following enzymatic saccharification and acid-catalyzed alcoholysis, with the aim of elucidating the relationships between structures, properties and deconstructable potential of lignocellulosic biomass. Results: Ball milling causes dramatic structural changes, since the resistant plant cell walls are destroyed with size reduction to a cellular scale, leading to the increase in surface area and reducing ends, and decrease in crystallinity and thermal stability. As a result, ball-milled corn stover is more susceptible to enzymatic saccharification to fermentable sugars and provides more industrially viable processing approaches, as it is effective at high solids loading and minor enzyme loading, without any other pretreatment. Acid-catalyzed alcoholysis of corn stover to biofuels, on the other hand, is also enhanced by ball milling, but additional processing parameters should be tailored to the needs of efficient conversion. Further, a detailed examination of process variables coupled with a kinetic study indicates that acid-catalyzed alcoholysis is limited by the process variables rather than by the substrate parameters, whereas ball milling facilitates this reaction to some extent, especially under mild conditions, by lowering the activation energy of corn stover decomposition. Conclusions: The efficient catalytic conversion of biomass is closely related to its structure and properties, an understanding of which offers prospects for the rational improvement of methods aimed at more economic commercial biorefineries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the results of studies on higher torque density of automotive auxiliary motors based on electromagnetic field analysis. Dual stator axial-gap PM motors achieve higher torque density than radial-gap motors in a flat motor shape. Therefore, an axial-gap motor was designed based on a design policy different from that in the past to reduce its volume by half of the radial-gap motors for automotive applications and was experimentally evaluated using a prototype motor. In order to improve the torque density, a double axial-gap motor structure was adopted to achieve wide torque generation areas and was optimally designed, reducing the volume by 44% compared with the existing model. It was experimentally evaluated using a prototype motor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In coal beneficiation, ash content is the main focus area as it plays a vital role in controlling the yield and quality of the washed clean coal. Indian sub-bituminous and bituminous coals are of low-grade with intrinsically distributed ash-bearing minerals, which makes it difficult to segregate the low ash coal. Different stages of crushing and grinding techniques have been used to produce the desired feed size of coal washeries, i.e., −13 mm. During blasting and crushing, cracks propagate through the weaker interfaces within the coal particles. Petrographic analysis suggests the formation of good amount of naturally liberated maceral-rich particles of −13 mm size at different stages. These particles generated at mine site and primary crusher are subjected to further crushing during subsequent stages of secondary and tertiary crushing, resulting in more fine generation and higher energy consumption. Hence, an attempt has been made to check the washability characteristics of coals at different stages of crushing and effect of prescreening of coarse (−13 + 0.5 mm) and fine (−0.5 mm) fraction on washability characteristics of coal and overall clean coal yield. It was observed that −13 mm particles generated at early stage of crushing show good washability characteristics compared to the crushed lump coal (+13 mm) for the separation of 17.8–18% ash clean coal; and hence, prescreening of −13 mm prior to tertiary crushing improves the process efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]