In-vitro Dissolution Study of Gallstone with Medicinal Plant Extracts

Background: Gallstone disease poses a substantial economic burden on healthcare systems globally, necessitating safer alternatives to current treatments like dissolution therapy and cholecystectomy. Natural compounds from plants offer a potential solution, but research on their cholelitholytic activity is limited. In vitro dissolution studies are crucial for identifying effective plant-based therapies. Objective: This study aims to investigate the in vitro cholelitholytic activity of six plants and Ayurvedic medicines, selected based on ethnopharmacological knowledge and folk medicinal practices. Methods: Gallstone samples were categorized as combined cholesterol gallstones (CCGS) or black pigment gallstones based on external morphology and cross-sectional analysis. In vitro dissolution studies were conducted using extracts from Bergenia ciliata, Berberis asiatica, Cuscuta europaea, Kalanchoe pinnata, Teraxacum officinale, Macrotyloma uniflorum, and Ayurvedic medicines (Cystone®, Gokshuradi, and Calcury). The samples were immersed in the extracts and controls separately and incubated in a shaking water bath. The gallstone dissolution capacity was assessed by recording the dry weight of the samples at multiple time points. Results: T. officinale was highly effective in dissolving black pigment gallstones, while B. asiatica exhibited superior efficacy for CCGS. M. uniflorum and C. europaea also demonstrated significant dissolution activity against black pigment gallstones. However, K. pinnata was less effective for both gallstone types. B. ciliata and C. europaea exhibited equal effectiveness against both types. Ayurvedic medicine extracts were less effective compared to plant extracts. Conclusion: This in vitro study showed the plants can dissolve GS effectively. However, the effectiveness of the plant to dissolve GS depends on the type of the stone. The findings from this study serve as a basis for further in vivo researc

A Study on the Effect of Laser Surface Texturing on Friction and Wear Behavior of Graphite Cast Iron

Dimples with various pitches and densities were produced using laser surface texturing (LST) to improve the friction and wear behavior of graphite cast iron. The objective of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of dimples on the friction and wear behavior of an internal combustion engine (ICE) cylinder. The specimens with a dimple pitch of 150 lm and a dimple density of 13% exhibited the lowest friction coefficient among the specimens, while the specimens with a dimple pitch of 200 lm and a density of 7% exhibited the highest resistance to wear

Analysis of Yield Attributing Characters of Different Genotypes of Wheat in Rupandehi, Nepal

Field experiment was conducted at National Wheat Research Program, Bhairahawa, Rupandehi with the objective to identify high yielding superior wheat genotypes for Rupandehi district of Nepalduring 2014. Experiment was laid out in one factorial Randomized completely block design with ten wheat genotypes including both released and promising; Annapurna 1, Annapurna 3, Pasang Lahmu, Bijaya, BL 3623, Bhirkuti, NL 297, BL 4316, BL 3978 and BL 4347with three replications. The results showed that the grain yield of BL 3978 was found higher (4.03 t ha-1) than other genotypes followed by BL 4347 (3.93t ha-1). BL 3978 have also higher number of effective tillers m-2 and test weight. Among release varieties, NL 297 show higher yield (4 t ha-1) followed by Bhirkuti (3.43 t ha-1)and Bijaya (3.37 t ha-1). From this experiment it can be concluded that BL 3978 was found promising among all genotypes however should be tested at on-farms before promoted for general cultivation in Rupandehi district of Nepal

The effect of laser surface texturing on the tribological performance of different Sialon ceramic phases

A tribological performance was carried out on different types of hot press Sialon ceramics regarding the phases, i.e., the α-Sialon phase, the β-Sialon phase, and the α/β-Sialon composite phase. The different phases of Sialon ceramics were analyzed by XRD patterns. For the tribological performance, the Sialon ceramics were laser textured and the starved lubrication method was applied with different dimple pitches under a load of 10 N at room temperature. The material having a dimple pitch of 200 µm shows the lowest coefficient of friction. The α/β-Sialon composite phase shows the least coefficient of friction i.e. 0.04 and 0.1 for the textured and polished (without being textured) samples, respectively. The Sialon ceramics show mild wear and therefore, the wear rate of the steel ball (mating partner) was taken into account for the wear analysis. The α-Sialon phase having a higher hardness shows the least wear in comparison to the α/β-Sialon composite phase and the β-Sialon phase

Fabrication of a TiO2-P25/(TiO2-P25+TiO2 nanotubes) junction for dye sensitized solar cells

The dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC), which converts solar light into electric energy, is expected to be a promising renewable energy source for today's world. In this work, dye sensitized solar cells, one containing a single layer and one containing a double layer, were fabricated. In the double layer DSSC structure, the under-layer was TiO2-P25 film, and the top layer consisted of a mixture of TiO2-P25 and TiO2 nanotubes. The results indicated that the efficiency of the DSSC with the double layer structure was a significant improvement in comparison to the DSSC consisting of only a single film layer. The addition of TiO2-P25 in the top layer caused an improvement in the adsorption of dye molecules on the film rather than on the TiO2 nanotubes only. The presence of the TiO2 nanotubes together with TiO2-P25 in the top layer revealed the enhancement in harvesting the incident light and an improvement of electron transport through the film

Efficient inactivation of Staphylococcus aureus by silver and copper loaded photocatalytic titanate nanotubes

One dimensional titanate nanotubes (TNTs) were synthesized by microwave assisted alkaline hydrothermal process. The process was followed by UV-photodeposition of Ag and Cu on the surface of TNTs to enhance the photocatalytic activity in visible light spectrum. The loading of Ag and Cu (single and combination mode) offered a new insight to inactivate multi-drug resistant micro-organisms. The antibacterial properties of these samples were studied on Gram positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) using well diffusion method. The TNTs with Ag and Cu loading showed a clear zone of inhibition after overnight incubation of S. aureus. The bacterial inactivation efficiency of nanoparticles in the visible light was further analyzed by kill kinetics. TNTs with Ag and/or Cu loading showed a significant reduction in bacterial growth. Cu co-loaded with Ag sample showed the highest inactivation efficiency within 90 min of visible light irradiation. To elucidate the mechanism of bactericidal properties of samples under visible light irradiation, the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), particularly, superoxide radical anion was determined by nitro blue tetrazolium (NBT) assay and the protein degradation by each samples were measured. Based on overall results, it was observed that the Cu co-loaded with Ag on TNTs samples were found to be more effective as compared to either Ag or Cu loaded TNTs. It provides new avenues for utilizing the combination of Cu and Ag for enhancing the antimicrobial efficacies for different nanoparticles. Keywords: Titante nanotubes, Staphylococcus aureus, Antibacterial, Photocatalytic inactivation, Reactive oxygen specie

Graphene Coating via Chemical Vapor Deposition for Improving Friction and Wear of Gray Cast Iron at Interfaces

This study reports the influence of CVD-graphene on the tribological performance of gray cast iron (GCI) from the internal combustion engine (ICE) cylinder liners by performing a ball-on-disk friction tests. The graphene-coated specimen exhibited a significant reduction (∼53%) of friction as compared to that of the uncoated specimen, whereas wear resistance increased by 2- and 5-fold regarding the wear of specimen and ball, respectively. Extremely low shear strength and highly lubricating nature of graphene contribute to the formation of a lubricative film between the sliding surfaces and decreases the interaction between surfaces in the dry environment. Under the applied load, a uniform film of iron oxides such as Fe₂O₃, Fe₃O₄, and FeOOH is found to be formed between the surfaces. It is proposed that the graphene encapsulation with the metal debris and oxides formed between the specimens increases the lubricity and decreases the shear force. The transformation of graphene/graphite into nanocrystalline graphites across the contact interfaces following the amorphization trajectory further increases the lubricity of the film that ultimately reduces friction and wear of the material

Blue TiO2 polymorph: An efficient material for dye-sensitized solar cells fabricated using a low-temperature sintering process

Recently, surface-disordered or non-stoichiometric TiO2, such as blue TiO2 (B-TiO2), has received much attention owing to its unique properties, such as structural disorder near the surface and the existence of Ti3+ ions and oxygen vacancies. Therefore, surface-disordered TiO2 has been applied for microwave absorption, photocatalysis, in photoelectrochemical sensors and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In this work B-TiO2, a polymorph consisting of nanoparticles, nanotubes and nanosheets, was successfully synthesized and employed as a semiconductor layer in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) fabricated using a low-temperature heat treatment process (120 °C). Based on the analyses of the experimental results regarding the structure and those from the characterization of B-TiO2, and its application to DSSCs, it has been found that the B-TiO2 material has an effect on electron-hole pair separation. The conversion efficiency of the B-TiO2 DSSC (BTiO2-DSSC) was 6.18%, whereas that of the TiO2-P25 DSSC (P25-DSSC) was 3.61%, and that of the TiO2 polymorph DSSC (PTiO2-DSSC) which is the precursor of B-TiO2 was 4.51%. Keywords: Surface-disordered TiO2, Blue TiO2, Dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC), Oxygen vacancy, Efficienc