3^rd International Conference on Smart Materials & Structures March 20-22, 2017 Orlando, Florida, USA

Dr. Jamilah Al-zahrani has completed her PhD at the age of 20 years from King Abdulaziz University (KAU) and Postdoctoral studies from same University. She is the Director of Physics, a premier Bio-Soft service organization. She has published more than 12 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as a lecturer and member of several physics associations in Saudi Arabia. She also attended and participated in many National and International conferences and has received Scientific Publishing awards.

Natural Cosmetics containing plant extracts and minerals are commonly used all over the Arab regions by applying directly to the human skin and hair in order, to clean, improve or change the appearance of them. So, these materials should be safe for health, especially the increasing sale and use of natural cosmetics without available censorship in the presence of dangerous metals or codified instructions. Common natural product samples used as cosmetic materials were collected from various markets in Saudi Arabia, analysed by using a high purity germanium detector (HPGe) to determine radioactivity concentrations of the natural radionuclides 226Ra, 232Th and 40K and to assess the risk present in these materials to human health. The obtained concentrations for 226Ra and 232Th ranged from 0.65±0.17 to 6.47±1.07and from 0.34±0.11 to 8.54±1.16 Bq kg-1, respectively, while the concentration of 40K ranged from 10.62±0.35 to 1202.84±15.95Bq kg-1, with overall mean values of 2.72, 3.73 and 444.09 Bq kg-1 respectively. The mean values of radium equivalent , absorbed dose rate and the annual effective dose of the samples under study were determined as 42.25 Bq kg-1 , 22.58 nGyh-1 and 0.028 mSvy-1, respectively . This work would be useful for establishing baseline data on the gamma background radiation levels in the studied samples for assessment the radiation exposures to the population. It was found that the present results are lower than the permitted limits (UNSEAR2000) and the studied natural samples products are safe to the human usage as cosmetic materials.

Jeimmy C. Ibarra is a chemical engineer and student of Master in Design and Process Management with emphasis in Chemical Processes of the University of La Sabana, Chia, Colombia. He has focused his research in the area of biomaterials with biomedical applications, specifically in polyurethanes synthesized from higuerilla oil as a possible substitute for conventional polyols. This approach responds to the topics of interest of the Energy, Materials and Environment Research Group (GEMA), of which she is a member.

In fields such as biotechnology, it has emerged the need to use materials that help improve current devices and medical procedures. For this reason, new biodegradable polymers with specific properties are increasing their demand. Among the types of polymers used for such purposes, polyurethanes are notable for their versatility and ability to obtain products with a wide range of physical and mechanical properties. In the current work, the effect of the NCO/OH stoichiometric ratio and the chemical structures of hexamethylene (HDI), 1,4-cyclohexane (HMDI) and toluene (TDI) diisocyanates on degradability, cytotoxicity and physicochemical and mechanical properties of polyurethanes obtained from castor oil were studied. Water absorption tests and contact angle measurements were performed to determine the hydrophobic character of the materials; it was found that as the stoichiometric ratio, the flexibility and the intermolecular forces increase, the material is more hydrophobic (TDI>HDI>HMDI). The low absorption capacity is attributed to the hydrophobic nature of the castor oil. An in vitro degradation test was performed for 12 weeks, showing a low percentage of weight loss, directly related to the low diffusion of water within the matrix. MTT assays were used on a mouse fibroblast cell line L929, indicating that the polyurethanes with the NCO/OH stoichiometric ratios of 1.0 have a cell viability greater than 60%, being considered materials with low cytotoxicity, which can be used for biomedical applications.

Dr. Najla Khusayfan has completed her PhD from King Abdulaziz University (KAU) and Postdoctoral studies from same University. She has published more than 10 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an associate professor in King Abdulaziz university. She also attended and participated in many National and International conferences.

We report on the structural and optical properties of the nanorods available in thermally evaporated thin films of thioindigo (TI). The structural features are investigated using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy techniques. The optical constants of as-deposited thin TI films are determined in the wavelength region 200-2500 nm, using spectrophotometric measurements for the nearly normal light incidence. The type of optical transitions for the TI films is ascertained from the dispersion of their absorption coefficient. The real part of the refractive index in the region of optical transparency is analyzed basing on single-oscillator and Drude models. The third order nonlinear susceptibility is obtained from the single-oscillator model and the Miller’s rule.

Kyung Min Ok has his expertise in evaluation and passion in improving the functional ceramics. He works on the fabrication, characterization and analysis of functional ceramics, primarily materials with advanced thermal, electrical and mechanical performance. He uses a variety of thermal measurement and analysis tools to understand fundamental structure-processing-property relationships. His current research interests include extreme low thermal conductivity oxides and a correlation between thermal conductivity and elastic properties in oxides.

Introduction & Aim: To enhance the efficiency of engines, higher operating temperatures are required, which can be realized by using TBCs with lower thermal conductivity. La2Mo2O9 is expected as one of a new candidate TBC material due to the quite low thermal conductivity, 0.95 Wm-1K-1 at 1273K. An adequate substitution is expected to reduce the thermal conductivity of La2Mo2O9 by inducing additional phonon scattering. Here, we focus on lone pair electrons (LPEs) to further reduce thermal conductivity since a high degree of lattice anharmonicity under LPEs on the system cause to stronger phonon-phonon scattering, leading to ultralow thermal conductivity. The objective of present study is to further reduce the thermal conductivity of La2Mo2O9 by substitution of element Bi3+ with LPEs at La3+ site. Experimental Method: The (La1-xBix)2Mo2O9 (x=0-0.2) powders were synthesized by solid-state reaction. The conditions of synthesis and sintering were 1173K for 12 hours and 1473K for 6 hours in air, respectively. The solubility limit and density were examined from X-ray diffraction patterns. The specific heat capacity and thermal diffusivity of La2Mo2O9 were measured using differential scanning calorimetry and laser flash method in the temperature range from room temperature to 1073K, respectively. The thermal conductivity was calculated from the measured thermal diffusivity, heat capacity and density in the temperature range 300K-1073K. Results & Conclusions: The maximum solubility of Bi3+ in La2Mo2O9 was found to be x=0.15-0.20 and the relative density of specimens exceeded 88%. Almost temperature-independent thermal conductivities were observed for all the samples over the temperature range of the non-doped La2Mo2O9. At room temperature, thermal conductivity decreases with increasing Bi dopant, lowered down to a value of 0.62 Wm-1K-1 when the Bi content was x=0.06. This value was 24% lower than that of the non-doped La2Mo2O9. The underlying reason has been suggested that the lone pair electrons leads to stronger lattice anharmonicity.

Mymona Mohssen Abutalib is currently an Associate Professor of Nuclear Physics and interested in scientific research in nanomaterials and materials science.

The effect of IR laser irradiation on the structural and the optical properties of polyvinyl alcohol/polyethylene glycol (PVA/PEG) copolymer have been investigated. Thin films of PVA/PEG (nearly 50 µm thickness) were irradiated up to 15 J/cm2 of Ga-As laser pulses of 904 nm, 5W power and 200-ns pulse duration. The resultant effect of laser irradiation on the structural properties of PVA/PEG has been investigated using X-ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy FTIR. Further, the refractive index and the color difference between the exposed samples and the pristine have been studied. FTIR spectroscopy showed that the PVA/PEG samples exhibited degradation under the effect of laser irradiation up to 9 J/cm2, where cross-linking started and continued until 15 J/cm2. The refractive index had a minimum value of 1.5020 at 9 J/cm2, accompanied by a high degree of ordering and maximum value of 1.5640 at 15 J/cm2, with an increase in disordering character due to the degradation and cross-linking formation inside the sample, respectively. Moreover, the color intensity ∆E was greatly increased with increasing the laser fluence, accompanied by a significant increase in the yellow color component.

Viviana Guiza-Arguello has received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2013 followed by a Post-doctoral study in the Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. She is currently appointed as a Post-doctoral Research Associate in the Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science Department at Universidad Industrial de Santander, Colombia. Her research interests include the development of composite scaffolds for bone regeneration and the use of polymers in tissue engineering as well as in the decontamination of industrial waste water.

Carbon based porous materials are usually fabricated from phenolic resins because of their relatively high carbon yield, although sucrose-based resins could be used as an alternative that offers a low-cost and more environmentally friendly process for the preparation of the carbon precursor. Recently, a few studies have shown the potential of reticulated vitreous carbon foams (RVC) for bone tissue regeneration applications. It appears that RVC foams could provide a permanent material platform to guide bone remodeling at the defect site. Nonetheless, one of the major limitations associated with the use of RVC foams for bone repair lies in their low mechanical properties. One way to circumvent this issue is through the reinforcement of the carbon foam with a phase that would allow it to withstand mechanical loading in vivo, while still preserving the morphology and pore size levels that favor osteogenic cell infiltration and proliferation (200-500 µm). The main goal of the present work was to develop vitreous carbon polyhedral networks that show morphological features that resemble trabecular bone, and have cell sizes ~1 mm, in order to eventually allow the mechanical reinforcement of such scaffolds using a biomaterial coating without compromising the pore size that favors osteoblast cell infiltration and growth. Toward this goal, vitreous carbon networks were fabricated via template route using a sucrose resin and cellulose foams that were recycled from common fish tank filters were used as the sacrificial polymeric template. The results showed that the synthesized carbon networks had similar structural properties to expensive, commercial RVC foams. Moreover, carbonization conditions had an effect on the mechanical properties of the foams and therefore, such variables warrant further investigation towards the enhancement of the mechanical resistance of RVC scaffolds that could be used as the porous component of a synthetic graft for bone defect repair.

In this study, the results concerning the activity size distribution of the long-lived (210Pb) radon decay product aerosols and the thoron decay product aerosols (212Pb) and (7Be) of the outdoor atmosphere are presented. Also, the mass size distribution of the aerosol particles is determined. The low-pressure Berner cascade impactor Model 20/0.015 was used as a sampling device. The activity size distribution of these radionuclides was determined by one log-normal distribution (accumulation mode) whereas the mass size distribution was by two log-normal distributions (accumulation and coarse mode). The activity median aerodynamic diameter (AMAD) of 212Pb was found to be 305 nm with a geometric standard deviation (sg) of 2.41. The specific air activity concentration of 212Pb was found to be 0.14 + 0.012 Bq m23. An AMAD of 210Pb of 610 nm with sg of 1.8 was determined, whereas that of 550 nm with sg of 1.97 was determined for 7Be. The specific air activity concentration of 210Pb and 7Be was found to be 0.0016+2.5`31024 and 0.00348 + 4` 31024 Bq m23, respectively. Using a dosimetric model, the total deposition fraction as well as the total equivalent dose has been evaluated considering the observed parameters of the activity size distribution of 212Pb. At a total deposition fraction of ∼21 %, the total equivalent dose was found to be 0.41 mSv.

Zineb Hamlati is an Assistant Professor at the Aeronautic Department, University of Blida 1 in Algeria. She has earned her PhD from the Department of Mechanical Engineering of USTHB (Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediene), Master of Aeronautic degree from the Aeronautic Institute of University of Blida1, Algeria in 2007 and her BSc (State Engineer) from same university in 2000.

Fe72Al28 and Fe72Al26Sn2 alloys were milled for 24 hours, using vials and balls of stainless steel and a ball-to-powder weight ratio (BPR) of 16:1 in a planetary ball mill. The characterization of powders from each interval of milling was performed by X-ray diffraction, Mössbauer spectroscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy. After 8 hours of milling formation of a nanocrystalline Fe(Al) solid solution occurs. Fe(Al, Sn) was formed after 12 hours of milling. The grain size decreases to 5 nm after 24 hours of milling. The Mossbauer spectra revealed that the FeAl and FeAlSn alloys formed during the low energy ball milling process contained different magnetic phases.