This book covers basic aspects of different nanoparticles, including type of materials, lipid, polymeric and inorganic structures, synthesis strategies, as well as the main physicochemical characterization techniques. Moreover, this book addresses applications for both treatment and diagnosis of diseases, highlighting in vitro and in vivo findings and clinical evaluation. The chapters highlight the main barriers for drug delivery which can benefit from nanoencapsulation: the topical and oral routes. The main innovations in the field, such as gene therapy and functionalization of nanoparticles with a variety of moieties, including monoclonal antibodies for selective delivery, are discussed and illustrated with examples. Finally, the application of nanoparticles for drug delivery to cancer is reviewed considering toxicology and regulatory aspects.

This book presents efficient metaheuristic algorithms for optimal design of structures. Many of these algorithms are developed by the author and his graduate students, consisting of Particle Swarm Optimization, Charged System Search, Magnetic Charged System Search, Field of Forces Optimization, Democratic Particle Swarm Optimization, Dolphin Echolocation Optimization, Colliding Bodies Optimization, Ray Optimization. These are presented together with algorithms which are developed by other authors and have been successfully applied to various optimization problems. These consist of Partical Swarm Optimization, Big Band Big Crunch algorithm, Cuckoo Search Optimization, Imperialist Competitive Algorithm and Chaos Embedded Metaheuristic Algorithm. Finally a multi-objective Optimization is presented to Solve large scale structural problems based on the Charged System Search algorithm, In the second edition seven new chapters are added consisting of Enhance colliding bodies optimization, Global sensitivity analysis, Tug of War Optimization, Water evaporation optimization, Vibrating System Optimization and Cyclical Parthenogenesis Optimization algorithm. In the third edition, five new chapters are included consisting of the recently developed algorithms. These are Shuffled Shepherd Optimization Algorithm, Set Theoretical Shuffled Shepherd Optimization Algorithm, Set Theoretical Teaching-Learning-Based Optimization Algorithm, Thermal Exchange Metaheuristic Optimization Algorithm, and Water Strider Optimization Algorithm and Its Enhancement. The concepts and algorithm presented in this book are not only applicable to optimization of skeletal structure, finite element models, but can equally be utilized for optimal design of other systems such as hydraulic and electrical networks.

This volume serves as a cutting edge reference on XLPE based blends, nanocomposites, and their applications. The book provides an introduction to XLPE nanocomposites and discusses the incorporation of natural and inorganic nanoparticles in the XLPE matrix. It also focuses on its characterization as well as the morphological, rheological, mechanical, viscoelastic, thermal, and electrical, properties. It provides an in-depth review of various potential applications, with special emphasis on use in cable insulation. The book focuses on cutting edge research developments, looking at published papers, patents, and production data. This book will be of use to academic and industry researchers, as well as graduate students working in the fields of polymer science and engineering, materials science, and chemical engineering.

Investigation on biobased nanomaterials has provided new insights into the rapidly advancing fields of the biomedical and environmental sciences by showing how these nanomaterials are effective in biomedicine and environmental remediation. These particles hold tremendous prospective applications, and are likely to become the next generation of particles in these areas. As such, research is ongoing and the data generated should have the potential for a sustainable future in both the environmental and biomedical fields. This book presents important findings on the role of and identification of novel applications of biobased nanomaterials. Unlike other books in this field, this book focuses entirely on sustainable application and remediation in biomedicine and environmental science. The chapters are written in such a way as to make them accessible to the reader, and furthermore, the volume can be readily adopted as a reference, or used as a guide for further research. This project was based on recent research (the last 5 years) and developed through an extensive literature search. The editors have also compiled some advanced, outstanding texts that should be of benefit to graduate students in their research.

This book provides an introduction to topological matter with a focus on insulating bulk systems. A number of prerequisite concepts and tools are first laid out, including the notion of symmetry transformations, the band theory of semiconductors and aspects of electronic transport. The main part of the book discusses realistic models for both time-reversal-preserving and -violating topological insulators, as well as their characteristic responses to external perturbations. Special emphasis is given to the study of the anomalous electric, thermal, and thermoelectric transport properties, the theory of orbital magnetisation, and the polar Kerr effect. The topological models studied throughout this book become unified and generalised by means of the tenfold topological-classification framework and the respective systematic construction of topological invariants. This approach is further extended to topological superconductors and topological semimetals. This book covers a wide range of topics and aims at the transparent presentation of the technical aspects involved. For this purpose, homework problems are also provided in dedicated Hands-on sections. Given its structure and the required background level of the reader, this book is particularly recommended for graduate students or researchers who are new to the field.

"Perovskite-Based Solar Cells: From Fundamentals to Tandem Devices" gives fundamental understanding of perovskite solar cells from the chemical composition of each thin layer composing the different stacks to the whole device. Special attention has been given to the development of the materials forming the perovskite solar cell and their effect on the device performance, in addition to the recent progress of this emerging technology. Moreover, light has been shed on the perovskite elaboration techniques, in addition to the several techniques proposed to improve both the efficiency and the stability of perovskite solar cells. Furthermore, special emphasis was given to the three types of tandem solar cells and their recent advances starting from Perovskite/perovskite tandem solar cells to Perovskite/ CIGS tandem cells to perovskite/ heterojunction silicon tandem solar cells. The latter constitute a promising solution to improve photovoltaic solar cells performance.

This book highlights the properties of advanced materials suitable for realizing THz devices, circuits and systems, and processing and fabrication technologies associated with those. It also discusses some measurement techniques exclusively effective for THz regime, newly explored materials and recently developed solid-state devices for efficient generation and detection of THz waves, potentiality of metamaterials for implementing THz passive circuits and bio-sensors, and finally the future of silicon as the base material of THz devices. The book especially focuses on the recent advancements and several research issues related to THz materials and devices; it also discusses theoretical, experimental, established, and validated empirical works on these topics.

Since the 1980s, scientists have been researching adaptive structures for materials, for multifunctional elements or even for complete systems. Adaptronics (smart materials, smart structures, smart systems) is a field of distinct interdisciplinarity. The book therefore offers an interdisciplinary view of adaptronic systems, materials and functional elements and their applications. The subject matter integrates various engineering disciplines, from electrical engineering and information technology to manufacturing and control engineering, materials engineering and structural mechanics - to name but a few of the relevant subject areas. Starting from the basic principles and variants of adaptronic systems and functional materials, the textbook explains the different construction methods of functional elements. Building on this, readers learn how to apply this knowledge to active shape control, active vibration control and active vibroacoustics. For each of these topics the author presents current examples from research, discusses research results and future research questions. Each of the nine chapters closes with references to further literature. An index of the mathematical symbols used and a keyword index facilitate learning for readers.The book is aimed at Master's students in engineering courses such as mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, mechatronics, automotive engineering and related courses. The book provides a comprehensive overview for industrial practitioners who want to familiarize themselves with the field of adaptronics and also serves as a reliable reference book.

This book presents the select proceedings of Conference on Research and Developments in Material Processing, Modelling and Characterization (RDMPMC 2020). It highlights the new technologies developed in the generation of rational materials for various applications with tailored properties. It covers fundamental research in emerging materials which includes biomaterials, composites, ceramics, functionally graded materials, energy materials, thin film materials, nanomaterials, nuclear materials, intermetallic, high strength materials, structural materials, super alloys, shape memory alloys and thermally enhanced materials. It includes the numerical modeling and computer simulation to investigate the properties and structure of materials. Few of the most relevant manufacturing techniques highlighted in this book are welding, coating, additive manufacturing, laser-based manufacturing, advanced machining processes, casting, forming and micro and nanoscale manufacturing processes. Given its contents, this book is beneficial to students, researchers and industry professionals.

This book is about algebraic and differential methods, as well as fractional calculus, applied to diagnose and reject faults in nonlinear systems, which are of integer or fractional order. This represents an extension of a very important and widely studied problem in control theory, namely fault diagnosis and rejection (using differential algebraic approaches), to systems presenting fractional dynamics, i.e. systems whose dynamics are represented by derivatives and integrals of non-integer order. The authors offer a thorough overview devoted to fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant control applied to fractional-order and integer-order dynamical systems, and they introduce new methodologies for control and observation described by fractional and integer models, together with successful simulations and real-time applications. The basic concepts and tools of mathematics required to understand the methodologies proposed are all clearly introduced and explained. Consequently, the book is useful as supplementary reading in courses of applied mathematics and nonlinear control theory. This book is meant for engineers, mathematicians, physicists and, in general, to researchers and postgraduate students in diverse areas who have a minimum knowledge of calculus. It also contains advanced topics for researchers and professionals interested in the area of states and faults estimation.

Aerodynamics is a science that improves the ability to understand theoretical basics and apply fundamental physics in real-life problems. The study of the motion of air, both externally over an airplane wing and internally over a scramjet engine intake, has acknowledged the significance of studying both incompressible and compressible flow aerodynamics. Aspects and Applications of Incompressible and Compressible Aerodynamics discusses all aspects of aerodynamics from application to theory. It further presents the equations and mathematical models used to describe and characterize flow fields as well as their thermodynamic aspects and applications. Covering topics such as airplane configurations, hypersonic vehicles, and the parametric effect of roughness, this premier reference source is an essential resource for engineers, scientists, students and educators of higher education, military experts, libraries, government officials, researchers, and academicians.

This book includes an international group of researchers who present the latest achievements in the field of enzyme, immune system, and microbial and nano-biosensors. It highlights the experimental evidence for formation of biological fuel cells (BFCs)-which has a dual purpose - as a device that produces electricity and the systems which produce it simultaneously cleaning up the environment from polluting organic compounds. Considering the work in the field of macro, micro and nano-biosensors, considerable attention is paid to the use of nanomaterials for the modification of working electrodes. Nanomaterials in some cases can significantly improve the parameters of analytical systems. Readers will be interested in the projection of the presented theoretical and experimental materials in the field of practical application of modern analytical developments. The presented results in many cases imply the possibility of using the created models of macro, micro and nano-biosensors, and biofuel elements in the field of health, and protection/restoration of the environment. It includes information about all existing types of transducers of signals in biosensors - electrochemical, optical and quantum-optics, thermoelectric, data of atomic force microscopy, piezoelectric, and more. On the basis of these principles, descriptions are given about the functioning of macro, micro and nano- biosensors for the detection of compounds used in medicine, detection of compounds that clog the environment, and thus affect human health, for compounds that are potentially the basis for the production of drugs, for the selection of compounds that have medicinal activity, for immunodetection, and to assess the quality of food. These questions form the basis of research carried out in the field of biosensors in the world. Since the described models of biosensors have high sensitivity, high measurement speed and selectivity, the described results attract the attention of both the ordinary reader and business class specialists who create and implement analytical technologies. This book is very useful for researchers in life sciences, chemical sciences, physics, and engineering. In addition, it will be useful for the persons working in industry. Advanced technologies specialists will be attracted by the novelty of the proposed solutions and their relevance and ease of implementation. Since the studies contain sections describing the parameters of different biosensors, BFCs, they are easily navigated into assessing the effectiveness of the practical use of the proposed device. The relevant sections indicate such characteristics as detection ranges, life span, type of biological material used, the method of formation of the bio-receptor part. These parameters are of interest to both developers of new models of biosensors and BFC, and their manufacturers.

Handbook of Advances in Braided Composite Materials: Theory, Production, Testing and Applications focuses on the fundamentals of these materials and their associated technology. It provides a one-stop resource that outlines all the significant issues about structural braiding, providing readers with the means by which to produce, test, and design braided composite material structures. It documents the latest research findings into these advanced materials and provides new ideas to encourage greater use of the technology.

This book provides an overview on the latest advances in the synthesis, properties and applications of geopolymers reinforced with natural fibres such as pulp fibre, cotton, sisal, flax and hemp. The influence of adding various natural fibres and nanofillers on the mechanical properties of these composites is discussed. Potential challenges and future directions of these composites are highlighted and addressed. The content of this book caters to students, researchers and academics who are interested in the synthesis and applications of geopolymers composites.

The book covers specific and selective reagents for the determination of iron and copper by spectrophotometry. It provides methods for each group or class of reagents, including conditions, wavelength and interferences of other ions in samples. It is a unique guide for researchers in analytical chemistry from pharmaceutical to environmental monitoring laboratories working on iron and copper based products.

This volume presents papers from International Meeting on Energy Storage Devices (IMSED 2018). It covers the recent research in energy storage devices, specifically for Li-ion battery and supercapacitors, covering their synthesis, characterization of storage materials and associated phenomenon at electrode/electrolyte interfaces, as well as addressing the challenges associated with their disposal, cost, life cycle and usage. This volume will be of interest to researchers and engineers across a variety of fields.

Avionics often serves as the tip of the spear for research into user-interface and systems usability in aviation. However, this emphasis on flashy, technology-driven design can come with a cost: the sacrifice of practical utility, which, in the high-stakes environment of military aviation, can lead directly to catastrophe. Mission Adaptive Display Technologies and Operational Decision Making in Aviation explores the use of adaptive and assistive technologies in aviation to establish clear guidelines for the design and implementation of such technologies to better serve the needs of both military and civilian pilots. Benefiting from the authors' combined experience of more than 40 years in the aviation industry and over 25,000 flight-hours, this volume targets a wide audience of engineers and business professionals. This premier reference source covers topics of interest to aviators and engineers, including aerodynamic systems design, operational decision theory, user interface design, avionics, and concepts and cases in flight operations, mission performance, and pilot training.

The thesis focuses on the syntheses, structural characterizations and chemical bonding analyses for several ternary R-M-Ge (R = rare earth metal; M = another metal) intermetallics. The challenges in understanding the main interactions governing the chemistry of these compounds, which lead to our inability to predict their formation, structure and properties, are what provided the motivation for this study. In particular, the R2MGe6 (M = Li, Mg, Al, Cu, Zn, Pd, Ag), R4MGe10-x (M = Li, Mg), R2Pd3Ge5, Lu5Pd4Ge8, Lu3Pd4Ge4 and Yb2PdGe3 phases were synthesized and structurally characterized. Much effort was put into the stabilization of metastable phases, employing the innovative metal flux method, and into the accurate structure solution of twinned crystals. Cutting-edge position-space chemical bonding techniques were combined with new methodologies conceived to correctly describe the Ge-M, Ge-La and also La-M polar-covalent interactions for the La2MGe6 (M = Li, Mg, Al, Cu, Zn, Pd, Ag) series. The present results constitute a step forward in our comprehension of ternary germanide chemistry as well as providing a good playground for further investigations.

Solid chemisorption technology is an effective form of energy conversion for recovering low-grade thermal energy, but limited thermal conductivity and agglomeration phenomena greatly limit its performance. Over the past 20 years, researchers have explored the use of thermal conductive porous matrix to improve heat and mass transfer performance. Their efforts have yielded composite sorption technology, which is now extensively being used in refrigeration, heat pumps, energy storage, and de-NOx applications. This book reviews the latest technological advances regarding composite solid sorbents. Various development methods are introduced and compared, kinetic models are presented, and different cycles are analyzed. Given its scope, the book will benefit experts involved in developing novel materials and cycles for energy conversion, as well as engineers working to develop effective commercialized energy conversion systems based on solid sorption technology

Nuclear spins are highly coherent quantum objects that were featured in early ideas and demonstrations of quantum information processing. In silicon, the high-fidelity coherent control of a single phosphorus (31-P) nuclear spin I=1/2 has demonstrated record-breaking coherence times, entanglement, and weak measurements. In this thesis, we demonstrate the coherent quantum control of a single antimony (123-Sb) donor atom, whose higher nuclear spin I = 7/2 corresponds to eight nuclear spin states. However, rather than conventional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we employ nuclear electric resonance (NER) to drive nuclear spin transitions using localized electric fields produced within a silicon nanoelectronic device. This method exploits an idea first proposed in 1961 but never realized experimentally with a single nucleus, nor in a non-polar crystal such as silicon. We then present a realistic proposal to construct a chaotic driven top from the nuclear spin of 123-Sb. Signatures of chaos are expected to arise for experimentally realizable parameters of the system, allowing the study of the relation between quantum decoherence and classical chaos, and the observation of dynamical tunneling. These results show that high-spin quadrupolar nuclei could be deployed as chaotic models, strain sensors, hybrid spin-mechanical quantum systems, and quantum-computing elements using all-electrical controls.

Gene therapy as a potential method for treatment of genetic disorders and other malignancies as well as treatment of many cancers has attracted a great amount of attention in recent years. Current research focuses on stable and smart drug/gene delivery systems, including controlled release. Smart nanostructures have been considered as a promising approach when applied to drug and gene delivery systems, and could solve the problems related to the inefficient transfer of medication to the affected cells.