Sensitive Character Research Articles

Sensor application of pyridine modified calix[4]arene Langmuir-Blodgett thin film

5,11,17,23–5,11,17,23-Tetra-(tert-butyl)− 25,27-di-(2-aminomethyl pyridine acetamide)− 26,28-dihydroxy calix[4]arene (C4P2T) molecule was transferred to gold coated glass substrate for the first time as a sensor active layer for the detection of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as acetone, benzene, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol. UV–visible spectroscopy and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) techniques were employed to monitor Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) thin film layer during the fabrication process of each sensor layers. In order to determine film thickness and refractive index values of C4P2T LB film, SPR measurements were performed using a Kretschmann’s prism configuration set-up system. Thickness and the refractive index values for the C4P2T LB thin films were determined to be 1.01 nm/layer and 1.59, respectively, by fitting the SPR curves using WINSPALL software based on the Fresnel formula. For the VOCs sensor application of the C4P2T LB thin film, reflected light intensity was recorded as a function of time by using SPR system. These measurements indicated that C4P2T LB thin film sensor layer was suitable for multiple usage with a fast response time (~ 3 s) and a recovery time (~ 3 s). The amount of C4P2T LB sensor responses against VOCs were followed by decreasing order acetone, chloroform, methanol, ethyl acetate and benzene. As a result, C4P2T LB film sensor has a sensitive and selective character and is suitable for VOCs sensor applications.

A detailed study of diatoms a Bacillariophyta community from Rewalsar and Prashar lakes of Himachal Pradesh, their bio-monitoring characteristics and forensic significance

Diatoms are ubiquitous, unicellular, siliceous walled, aquatic, autotrophic in nature and a part ofBacillariophyceae class of algae. Diatoms are ecologically very much helpful. They act as a very good Biomonitoring agents. Their sensitive character towards the environmental factors makes them a monitor.Diatoms shows their affect towards temperature, chloride content, Ammonia and Biochemical oxygendemand quantity. The species are studied from water samples of Rewalsar and Prashar lakes of HimachalPradesh. Diatoms are utilized by forensic investigators in solving the drowning cases occurred due toaccidental or by suicidal modes. So these diatoms are very significant even with forensic angle.

High-sensitivity two-axis vector bending sensor based on side-grooved long period grating in eccentric core fiber

A novel vector bend sensor based on side-grooved Long period grating (SG-LPG) inscribed on eccentric core fiber (ECF) was proposed and investigated. The core of the ECF is close to the surface of the fiber, which makes it very convenient to fabricate different SG-LPGs in ECF by CO2 laser with little damage. Since the direction of the SG-LPG deviates from the direction of the side core of the ECF, the sensor can identify bending directions on two orthogonal axes. At the same time, the strong refractive index modulation caused by grooves makes SG-LPG very sensitive to bending. In the curvature range of 0–2.52 m−1, the bend sensitivity in four directions reaches 27.23 nm/m−1, −25.76 nm/m−1, 14.74 nm/m−1 and −16.83 nm/m−1, respectively. Due to the simple structure, convenient fabrication, high sensitivity, and multi vectors bending detection characters, the sensor has potential in bending measurement.

Pneumolysin/Plasma Protein Adsorption, Bacterial Adherence, and Cell Adhesion Characteristics of a Cell-Membrane-Mimicking Polymer System.

This study delivers the first report on a cell-membrane-mimicking polymer system, poly[oxy(4-(13-cholenoatenonyl)-1,2,3-triazoyl-1-methyl)ethylene-random-oxy(4-(13-phosphorylcholinenonyl)-1,2,3-triazoyl-1-methyl)ethylene] (PGA-CholmPCn) films in various compositions in terms of physicochemical properties, protein adsorptions, bacterial adherences, and human cell adhesions. Higher Chol-containing PGA-CholmPCn in a self-assembled multi-bilayer membrane structure is confirmed to show excellently high affinity to pneumolysin (a cytolysin) and its C-terminal fragment (domain 4) but substantially suppressed affinity to the N-terminal fragment (domains 1-3) and further to plasma proteins. Furthermore, the adherences of pathogenic bacteria are increased favorably; however, the adhesion and proliferation of a human HEp-2 cell line are hindered severely. In contrast, higher-PC-containing PGA-CholmPCn membranes promote HEp-2 cell adhesion and proliferation but significantly suppress the adsorptions of pneumolysin and its fragments and plasma proteins as well as bacterial adherence. The results collectively confirm that PGA-CholmPCn can yield a membrane platform enriched with hydrophobic Chol and hydrophilic and zwitterionic PC moieties in any desired compositions, providing highly selective and sensitive physicochemical characters and biocompatibilities which are demanded for applications in various fields including biomedicine, cosmetics, and environmentally friendly consumer products.

Numerical analysis of the F-P TCFBG strain sensor spectral response and its multiplexation capabilities achieved with DSP and FFT analysis.

This work presents a numerical spectral properities analysis of a chirped-Bragg-grating-based Fabry-Perot (F-P CTFBG) cavity written in tapered fiber together with its application for strain monitoring. The work focuses on analyzing the structure's sensing performance and spectral response for codirectionally and counter-directionally written reflectors for various manufacturing process parameters (reflector lengths, phase mask chirp ratios, and positions on the linear transition of tapered fiber). In turn, it is shown that by manipulating the Bragg wavelength distribution of the cavity's reflectors, it is possible to control strain sensitivity character (i.e., positive or negative). The discussion also focuses on signal processing of the acquired spectrum through analytical derivation of the digital filter parameters that allows for unambiguous extraction of the cavity length for a given axial force applied to the each sensor irrespectively. Finally, a sensing system consisting of two cavities with either co-directionally or counter-directionally written reflectors is discussed.

The investigation of fluorescence and metal interaction properties of racemic 7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-3-hydroxy-4-(1-hydroxyethyl)benzo[c]chromen-6-one

The design or investigation of fluorescence probes continues to receive attention with respect to the diverse applications of spectrofluorometry. Depending on the highly sensitive character, fluorescence spectroscopy-based methodologies have been widely used in recent years in different sciences, including analytical, environmental, and medicinal chemistry areas. In our previous works, we have shown the iron (III) selective on-off sensor properties of benzo[c]chromen-6-one derivatives. In this study, we have extrapolated this research to 4-substituted analogues and investigated both fluorescent and metal interaction properties. Following the synthesis and structure identification studies, (±)-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-3-hydroxy-4-(1-hydroxyethyl)benzo[c]chromen-6-one was found as a fluorescent molecule displaying fluorescence enhancement in the presence of metals. This feature has been found quite different in comparison to the previous urolithins investigated. This finding suggested the substituent dependent effects and variations on the fluorescent properties of benzo[c]chromen-6-one system.

Fathanah Responsive Leadership: As a Supplement in the Satellite Model

This paper provides the main points of argument and counterarguments in scientific controversies on the issue of organizational learning and leadership practices. This paper aims to reveal organizational learning practices in modern times marked by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA), especially for those who study Islamic values. In addition, it also provides an overview of how organizations learn to sharpen sensitivity, respond and be agile in dealing with any changes. The paper analyzed the previous research literature on organizational learning, especially leadership, which contributes to the successful functioning of the organization in VUCA conditions. The paper integrated the results of previous studies with the Islamic worldview, one of the characteristics of prophethood, namely fathana (intelligence). This made it possible to develop a new concept of organization management, which is called as “fathanah responsive leadership”. The basis of this study is the understanding of fathana − not as an ordinary intelligence that everyone possesses, but a special intelligence, namely leadership, which is secretly formed through the basis of one’s faith in God. The results of previous studies formed the basis for determining six hypotheses of this research: first, VUCA has a negative impact on competitiveness. Second, VUCA has a negative impact on financial performance. Third, competition has a positive effect on financial performance. Fourth, fathanah’s responsive leadership weakens the influence of VUCA on competitiveness. Fifth, fathanah responsive leadership weakens the influence of VUCA on financial performance. Sixth, fathanah responsive leadership strengthens the competitive influence on financial performance. The article presents the results of an empirical analysis of the features of ensuring responsible leadership, which proved that for the high-quality organization of the company’s activities, not only fathana and the sensitive character of the leader are needed, which is only an addition to this process and does not consider such characteristics as shiddik, amana and tabligh. However, the results of future research should be aimed at analyzing whether organizational learning and VUCA leadership practices can contribute to increasing the competitiveness of an organization and improving its financial performance.

Fathanah Responsive Leadership: As a Supplement in the Satellite Model

This paper provides the main points of argument and counterarguments in scientific controversies on the issue of organizational learning and leadership practices. This paper aims to reveal organizational learning practices in modern times marked by Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA), especially for those who study Islamic values. In addition, it also provides an overview of how organizations learn to sharpen sensitivity, respond and be agile in dealing with any changes. The paper analyzed the previous research literature on organizational learning, especially leadership, which contributes to the successful functioning of the organization in VUCA conditions. The paper integrated the results of previous studies with the Islamic worldview, one of the characteristics of prophethood, namely fathana (intelligence). This made it possible to develop a new concept of organization management, which is called as “fathanah responsive leadership”. The basis of this study is the understanding of fathana − not as an ordinary intelligence that everyone possesses, but a special intelligence, namely leadership, which is secretly formed through the basis of one’s faith in God. The results of previous studies formed the basis for determining six hypotheses of this research: first, VUCA has a negative impact on competitiveness. Second, VUCA has a negative impact on financial performance. Third, competition has a positive effect on financial performance. Fourth, fathanah’s responsive leadership weakens the influence of VUCA on competitiveness. Fifth, fathanah responsive leadership weakens the influence of VUCA on financial performance. Sixth, fathanah responsive leadership strengthens the competitive influence on financial performance. The article presents the results of an empirical analysis of the features of ensuring responsible leadership, which proved that for the high-quality organization of the company’s activities, not only fathana and the sensitive character of the leader are needed, which is only an addition to this process and does not consider such characteristics as shiddik, amana and tabligh. However, the results of future research should be aimed at analyzing whether organizational learning and VUCA leadership practices can contribute to increasing the competitiveness of an organization and improving its financial performance.

An alternative approach for construction of strata using quantified sensitivity level

The study is investigated on an alternative method for the construction of strata using sensitivity level when the samples are selected with simple random sampling with replacement (SRSWR) and the data are collected by scrambled optional randomization technique on the sensitive characters. Thus, the optional randomized response model , where k is a random variable having value 1 if the response is scrambled and 0 otherwise, was considered for finding out Approximate Optimum Strata Boundaries by minimizing the variance of the estimator . The cum. was proposed for finding out Approximate Optimum Strata Boundary in Neyman allocation for the optional scrambled response. This is applicable for wider classes of sampling design and estimators in stratification. The proposed rule on optional scrambled randomized response is efficient and can be used effectively for the construction of optimum strata boundary via Rectangular, Right triangular and Exponential distribution.

A Study on Antibacterial sensitivity character to Piper betle: A Potential for alternative medicine

In this study we examined P. betle antibacterial property on two bacterial species namely: Streptococcus agalactiae and Escherichia coli. The extract of P. betle was prepared by mixing 2 gm of P. betle powder with 20 ml of 70% ethanol. Then, the solvent was evaporated by using vacuum evaporator and the residue was freeze dried and stored at -20 ºC. The P. betle extract divided into three different concentrations that are 50 mg/ml, 75 mg/ml and 100 mg/ml. The results revealed that the leaves of Piper betle have many benefits including antibacterial activity. The three concentrations showed an effective zone of inhibition against S. agalactiae and E. coli using Kirby-Baeur method. In addition, the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) confirms the effectiveness of P. betle. This study findings indicated that P. betle extract can be a new source of antibacterial agent and an alternative antibacterial for control of S. agalactiae and to certain extant against E. coli infections.

Between Ethics and Aesthetics – Reception of Genetic Information and Narrative Experience

"In a clinical context, the communication of genetic information is an event that can give rise to unexpected situations for health professionals. Several empirical studies have shown that, despite being presented with “good” presymptomatic test results, some patients develop negative feelings, depression, which can in extreme cases lead to suicide attempts. Here, genetic information takes full meaning when considered in a personal narrative. In this presentation, we would like to look at the specificities of this narrative experience in the light of works on the aesthetics of everyday life, with a particular focus on the works of John Dewey. For Dewey, the aesthetic experience is possible in all aspects of people’s daily lives, including clinical experience. In this case, “aesthetics” appears in the sensitive character of an experience rather than in a specific type of object. Through the examination of this thought, we will ask to what extent we can speak of an aesthetic experience when thinking of the communication of genetic information, and how this consideration can help ethical reasoning. We will begin by examining how the moment of the communication of genetic information to patients by the clinician can constitute a process of defamiliarization of everyday life. This will lead us to look at patients’ accounts of genetic information reception and to analyse how these appear to be more than mere testimonies about the experience of pathologies, but a means by which the patient is confronted with difficult experiences in order to reformulate them. "

Processing of perovskite La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3-δ electrolyte by glycine-nitrate combustion method

The doped LaGaO3 is a well-known intermediate-temperature electrolyte due to its high ionic conductivity and negligible electronic conductivity. However, the phase pure La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3-δ (LSGM 9182) compound is not easy to be prepared because of its sensitive character with preparing process. In this work, the influence of evaporating temperature (glycine-nitrate combustion method) on the phase formation and physical property of LSGM 9182 is investigated systematically. The samples with different evaporating temperature 80 °C ≤ T ˂ 84 °C, 84 °C ≤ T ˂ 88 °C, 88 °C ≤ T ˂ 92 °C and T ≥ 92 °C was named as compound A, B, C and D. XRD results show that the phase pure compound can only be synthesized with the evaporating temperature 80 °C ≤ T ˂ 84 °C, the higher evaporating temperature, the higher content of LaSrGaO4 or LaSrGa3O7 impurity. Due to the slight change in composition, shoulders and splitting of some XRD reflections in phase pure compound A disappear for compound D, representing an transition from low-symmetry orthorhombic lattice to high-symmetry cubic lattice. Owing to the competiting contribution between crystal symmetry and impurity, the conductivity of compound D does not decrease almostly at low temperature, however, the influence of low conductive LaSrGaO4 prevails at high temperature, consequently, the conductivity of compound D decreases to a large degree at 800 °C. Above results suggest that evaporating temperature is an important parameter to prepare high quality LSGM electrolyte, suitable evaporating temperature supplies proper energy for chemical reaction and produce single perovskite phase compound finally.

An improved scrambled model for estimating the mean of a sensitive character

This paper suggests a new randomized response model useful for gathering information on quantitative sensitive variable such as drug usage, tax evasion and induced abortions etc. The resultant estimator has been found to more efficient than the estimator of the Saha (2007) under some realistic conditions. We have illustrated results numerically.

Biodiversity literacy in science education

Teaching the concept of biodiversity in learning activities especially science education is an important urgency to bring up biodiversity literacy competence. This article aims to examine the concept of biodiversity and ecosystems in science education activities, the level of student literacy on biodiversity, and several learning models in science education that can be applied in increasing the biodiversity literacy of students. The method used in this study is Knowledge mapping that begins with mapping students’ knowledge about biodiversity, covering the breadth of knowledge and depth of knowledge-Focus Group Discussion (FGD) involving students and lecturers-Experiments applying three learning models in lecture activities for biodiversity materials and comparing the three models tested. Results obtained from the study is that literacy competence biodiversity is a form that can be grown on the p Education science. The existence of biodiversity literacy capabilities will further have a positive impact in efforts to maintain, protect, increase awareness of the importance of biodiversity. The application of biodiversity literacy can be built into several models, techniques or learning patterns that are appropriate to aspects of the surrounding environment, environmental issues that occur, and the ability of students. Participants learners who have literacy skills biodiversity is good, will have a character of sensitivity to any changes that exist in the surrounding environment. The presence of this character in the later stages can me n make learners make efforts to establish, maintain and preserve biodiversity and ecosystem.

A Theory of Higher Order Interactions Between Sensitive Variables: Empirical Evidences and an Application to a Variety of Smoking

In carrying out surveys involving sensitive characteristics, randomized response models have been considered among the best techniques since they provide the maximum privacy protection to the respondents and procure honest responses. Over the years, researchers have carried out studies on the estimation of proportions of the population possessing sensitive characteristics. However, there is a paucity of research studies that have addressed higher order interactions between these sensitive characters. In this article, we develop a new theory based on three proposed randomized response models which we name as: simple model, semi-crossed model, and fully crossed model. Twenty-one new unbiased estimators of seven parameters are introduced, their variance expressions are derived, and unbiased estimators of variances are developed. The three models are compared under various values of the parameters by computing the percent relative efficiency of one model over another model. The most efficient model is then applied to study the population proportions of three varieties of smoking habits among students, and their first- and second-order interactions. The last four sections (Ninth to Twelfth) are verifications of theoretical results using the Cramer–Rao lower bounds of variances for the developed 21 new estimators in randomized response sampling.

Intrinsic temperature and moisture sensitive adhesion characters of asphalt-aggregate interface based on molecular dynamics simulations

Aiming to evaluate the effects of temperature and water on the adhesion characters of asphalt-aggregate interface, the molecular dynamics MD) simulations was adopted in this study to investigate the interactions between asphalts and aggregate with the presence of the water under different temperature. Based on improved Brown-Ladner (B-L) methods, the structure parameters of three asphalt binders were obtained firstly by combining elemental analyzer, gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR). Three asphalt average molecular structure models were further constructed to build the asphalt-aggregate interface and asphalt-water-aggregate interface systems to simulate the asphalt-aggregate adhesion at different temperature. The high-low temperature cyclic tests were used to studying the effect of temperature changes and moisture on adhesion characters of the interface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) adhesive force test of asphalt before and after water immersion was also performed to investigate the moisture susceptibility of three asphalt binders. According to the simulation results, when the temperature was below the softening point, the work of adhesion was ranked PEN90 > PEN70 > PEN50 at both dry and wet conditions, which were used to quantify the adhesion properties between asphalt and aggregate. The degradation of adhesion induced by moisture was more distinct at the temperature above the softening point of asphalt. For the asphalt binders from the same crude oils source, stiffer asphalt exhibited higher moisture susceptibility, while the effect of asphalt on moisture susceptibility was negligible at the relatively high temperature. Especially, when the asphalt-quartz interfaces were subjected to multi-cycling temperature changes, the interface adhesion decreased so that the moisture damage and crack were easier to occur according to the high-low temperature cyclic tests. Further, the simulation results of MD were consistent with the measurement results from AFM tests, which indicated the average molecular structure models were reasonable for simulating the interface adhesion and moisture damages. This work lays a foundation for understanding the intrinsic temperature and moisture sensitive adhesion characters of asphalt-aggregate interface at the atomistic scale.

Self-Excited Acoustical System Frequency Monitoring for Refractory Concrete under Uniaxial Compression

The characterization of materials, stress and fatigue state monitoring based on the acoustoelastic principle are gaining widespread attention in recent years, mainly due to their advantages such as high sensitivity and non-destructive character. This article presents the application of a non-destructive acoustic method to test the degree of degradation of materials with which the heating boiler is coated. The combustion chamber is covered in materials when the temperature of the process itself increases, and has a very positive effect on fuel combustion. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, such materials undergo gradation. This article describes an innovative measuring system that has been successfully applied to monitor changes in resonance frequency under uniaxial compression in refractory grade material, which by definition is characterized by a high level of heterogeneity with a network of pre-existing cracks. The paper indicates that both stress and elasticity coefficients have an impact on the vibration frequency of the measuring system. Initial research was conducted to qualitatively determine the influence of these parameters on the measured frequency of the system.

Applications of Ion Beam Irradiation in Multifunctional Oxide Thin Films: A Review

Multifunctional oxide thin films exhibit a broad palette of properties, such as ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, dielectricity, superconductivity, and metal-insulator transition (MIT); therefore, they have long been a research focus in both condensed matter physics and materials science communities. Recently, ion beam irradiation emerges as an effective approach to modify the properties of oxide thin films by introducing defects, strains, structural transitions, etc., and many interesting works have been published. A timely review of those works is therefore urgently needed. Here, we present a comprehensive review of the applications of ion beam irradiation in tailoring oxide thin film functionalities, including ferroelectric properties, dielectric and piezoelectric properties, multilevel MIT process, gas sensitivity, memristive behavior, and magnetic characters, which may be useful for developing capacitors, sensors, memories, and optical devices with enhanced performances. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives for the usage of ion beam irradiation for tuning the performance of oxide materials and devices.

The Self-Healing Performance of Carbon-Based Nanomaterials Modified Asphalt Binders Based on Molecular Dynamics Simulations

In this study, the molecular dynamics simulation was used to explore the effects of carbon-based nanomaterials as binder modifiers on self-healing capability of asphalt binder and to investigate the microscopic self-healing process of modified asphalt binders under different temperature. An asphalt average molecular structure model of PEN70 asphalt binder was constructed firstly. Further, three kinds of carbon-based nanomaterials were added at three different percentages ranging from 0.5 to 1.5% to the base binder to study their effects on the self-healing capability, including two carbon nanotubes (CNT1 and CNT2) and graphene nanoflakes. Combining with the three-dimensional (3D) microcrack model to simulate the asphalt self-healing process, the density analysis, relative concentration analysis along OZ direction, and mean square displacement analysis were performed to investigate the temperature sensitive self-healing characters. Results showed that the additions of CNTs were effective in enhancing the self-healing efficiency of the plain asphalt binder. By adding 0.5% CNT1 and 0.5% CNT2, about 652% and 230% of the mean square displacement of plain asphalt binder were enhanced at the optimal temperatures. However, the use of graphene nanoflakes as an asphalt modifier did not provide any noticeable changes on the self-healing efficiency. It can be found that the self-healing capability of the asphalt was closely related to the temperature. For base asphalt, the self-healing effect became especially high at the phase transition temperature range, while, for the modified asphalt, the enhancement of the self-healing capability at the low phase transition temperature (15°C) became negligible. In general, the optimal healing temperature range of the CNTs modified asphalt binders is determined as 45–55°C and the optimal dosage of the CNTs is about 0.5% over the total weight of the asphalt binder. Considering the effect of carbon-based nanomaterials on the self-healing properties, the recommended carbon-based nanomaterials modifier is CNT1 with the aspect ratio of 1.81.

The investigation of fluorescence and metal interaction properties of racemic 7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-3-hydroxy-4-(1-hydroxyethyl)benzo[c]chromen-6-one.

The design or investigation of fluorescence probes continues to receive attention with respect to the diverse applications of spectrofluorometry. Depending on the highly sensitive character, fluorescence spectroscopy-based methodologies have been widely used in recent years in different sciences, including analytical, environmental, and medicinal chemistry areas. In our previous works, we have shown the iron (III) selective on-off sensor properties of benzo[c]chromen-6-one derivatives. In this study, we have extrapolated this research to 4-substituted analogues and investigated both fluorescent and metal interaction properties. Following the synthesis and structure identification studies, (±)-7,8,9,10-tetrahydro-3-hydroxy-4-(1-hydroxyethyl)benzo[c]chromen-6-one was found as a fluorescent molecule displaying fluorescence enhancement in the presence of metals. This feature has been found quite different in comparison to the previous urolithins investigated. This finding suggested the substituent dependent effects and variations on the fluorescent properties of benzo[c]chromen-6-one system.