Experimental Study on Impact of Thermal-Assisted Machining on SKD11 Steel Machinability

Machining in a heated environment has been used in pressure machining and metal cutting. Thermal-assisted machining is a new machining method performed on conventional machine tools, CNC machines, in which the workpiece is heated before machining. Different heat sources do the thermal-assisted: electrical energy, laser beam, magnetic induction. However, there is very little research on thermal-assisted machining when milling SKD11 steel, a difficult-in-processing material but widely used in the industry. Material machinability refers to the ability of material machining that is difficult or easy. Material machinability is measured by tool life, material removal ability, shear force, cutting vibration, surface roughness. The material's machinability is directly influenced by its microscopic structure and is related to the cutting mode. This paper has highlighted the study of material machinability when thermal-assisted machining and compared to the conventional one. This study also highlights the crucial role in assessing the effect of heating on the SKD11 steel machinability. This study analyzed the technological parameters' role on the shear force, chip shrinkage, surface roughness, and shear vibrations during normal machining and SKD11 steel heating. The study results showed that the material's microstructure and the amplitude of vibration did not change under the heating process's effect with a temperature range of 200oC - 400oC. However, the shearing force during heat processing is drastically reduced compared to conventional machining. Chip shrinkage increased by 31.7% when heated to 400oC, while roughness decreased by 47.1%

Anti-inflammatory, Antibacterial, Toxicological Profile, and In Silico Studies of Dimeric Naphthoquinones from Diospyros lotus

Diospyros lotus, also known as date-plum, belongs to the Ebenaceae family and is mostly recognized as a rootstock for D. kaki. Similar classes of naphthoquinones in D. lotus are investigated against cancer and inflammation and have antimicrobial, sedative, and analgesic properties. Six chemical constituents (1-6) were isolated from Diospyros lotus and tested for anti-inflammatory effects at the dose of 2.5 and 5 mg/kg, i.p., using carrageenan (1%, 0.05 ml)-induced paw edema. The maximum protection against carrageenan-induced edema was observed for compounds 1 and 2. Both studied compounds demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effect after the 3rd hour of posttreatment. The maximum anti-inflammatory effect of compound 1 was 85.96%, while that of compound 2 was 81.44%, followed by compounds 5 and 6, which exhibited 80.11% and 82.45% effect, respectively. Similarly, histamine-induced inflammation was significantly antagonized by 1, 2, 5, and 6 with 87.99%, 82.18±1.8, 80.40±1.59, and 77.44% effects, respectively, at 5 mg/kg after the 2nd hour of posttreatment. The rest of the tested compounds did not show any significant effect as compared to the negative control. Interestingly, no toxicity was observed at higher doses. Moreover, the extracted compounds showed remarkable antibacterial activity against the Gram-positive bacteria and no effect against the Gram-negative bacteria. Docking studies on target cyclooxygenases showed that all the compounds established interactions with the key amino acid residues present in the additional pocket of COX-2. Hence, these compounds may act as selective COX-2 inhibitors. In conclusion, the findings of the current study suggest that the roots of Diospyros lotus may contain some anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agents with minimal toxicological effects and accordingly this plant product is recommended for further investigations