Topical antifungal keratitis therapeutic potential of Clitoria ternatea Linn. flower extract: phytochemical profiling, in silico modelling, and in vitro biological activity assessment

IntroductionFungal keratitis (FK) poses a severe threat to vision, potentially leading to blindness if not promptly addressed. Clitoria ternatea flower extracts have a history of use in Ayurvedic and Indian traditional medicines, particularly for treating eye ailments. This study investigates the antifungal and antibiofilm effects of Clitoria ternatea flower extracts on the FK clinical isolate Coniochaeta hoffmannii. Structural details and key compound identification were analysed through FTIR and GC-MS.MethodsThe minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of Clitoria ternatea flower extracts were determined using broth dilution and well plate techniques. Biofilm inhibitory activity was assessed through microscopic evaluation, while anti-irritant and cytotoxic properties were evaluated using CAE-EI and MTT assays. Through GC-MS and FT-IR analysis the compounds dissolved in the extract and their functional group were studied, and their toxicity screening and pharmacokinetic prediction were conducted in silico. Subsequently, compounds with high corneal permeability were further identified, and molecular docking and simulation studies at 150 ns were used to investigate their interactions with fungal virulence factors and human inflammatory proteins.Results and DiscussionAt a concentration of 250 µg/mL, the Clitoria ternatea flower extract displayed effective biofilm inhibition. MIC and MFC values were determined as 500 and 1000 µg/mL, respectively. CAE-EI and MTT assays indicated no significant irritant and cytotoxic effects up to a concentration of 3 mg/mL. Compounds like 9,9-dimethoxybicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,4-dione showed high corneal permeability with strong and stable interactions with fungal virulence cellobiose dehydrogenase, endo β 1,4 xylanase, and glucanase, as well as corneal inflammation-associated human TNF-α and Interleukin IL-1b protein targets. The findings indicate that extracts from C. ternatea flowers could be formulated for an effective and safe alternative for developing new topical FK therapeutics

Wind Energy extraction using flutter mechanism of rigid sections

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is routinely used for resolving design related vibration issues of flexible structures, for example, long-span bridges, tall buildings, airplanes (wings or tails), wind turbine and helicopter blades. In the past few years, numerous studies have used FSI as a tool to study fluid-based energy harvesting from solar, wind, and ocean. Due to high capital investment and maintenance cost, the conventional land-based wind turbines are not suitable for small-scale wind energy harvesting at low wind speeds, and due to acoustic and aesthetic issues these turbines cannot be deployed in proximity of city centers or on building roof tops or backyards, where energy is in high demand. Therefore, an alternate mechanism that exploits the various aeroelastic phenomena including vortex-induced vibration, buffeting, galloping, flutter, etc., to cause large-amplitude response in specific structural shapes has been explored by some for tapping the renewable wind energy source in the low-wind speed regime. This study explores the feasibility of a flutter-driven or flutter-induced vibration (FIV) wind energy harvester that uses rigid-body motions of section models to harvest wind energy at low wind speeds. Section models are rigid-models with 1-3 degree-of-freedom (DOF) that faithfully represent the geometry of the cross-section of a structure over a finite length, with end plates to simulate a 2D-flow. The objective of this study was to explore the parameters that will influence the performance of the FIV wind energy harvester which is assessed by the low magnitude of flutter speed and large magnitude of vibration amplitude at or near flutter. There are various cross-sections of section models that are prone to vibration at a given wind speed along a particular DOF. Rectangular sections of aspect ratio (AR) less than 2 usually have low flutter speeds in the vertical DOF and ‘H’-shaped sections, used in old long-span bridges like Tacoma Narrows, have low flutter speeds in the torsional DOF. A hybrid section model formed by combining these two sections is therefore expected to be more sensitive to a coupled vertical-torsional flutter at low wind speeds. Such hybrid cross-sections are ideal for a 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) FIV wind energy harvester. Wind tunnel experiments were performed with geometrically scaled models to determine the flutter speed and average wind energy capture for various section models in 1-DOF and 2-DOF motions. For a comparative study, rectangular section models (AR=1.5 and AR=1) in 1-DOF (vertical or torsional) and 2-DOF (vertical and torsional), and H-shaped section models in torsional DOF were tested. The best rectangular section in the vertical DOF and best H-shaped section in the torsional DOF with respect to low flutter speed and high vertical or torsional amplitudes of vibration are combined to form a hybrid section and tested in 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) and compared with the best rectangular section and best H-shaped section for flutter speed and average wind energy available at flutter. In order to amplify the performance of the devised FIV wind energy harvester, a parametric study of the flutter mechanism is conducted in terms of mass ratio, frequency ratio (2-DOF), location of the pivot point and choice of DOF(s) to use. This study also developed a method to extract the rational function coefficients, used in time-domain flutter analysis numerically, from flutter derivatives of the specific sections used here that will enable a parametric study of the FIV wind energy harvester in the future to optimize its design and wind energy performance of its scaled-up versions for commercial usage. An estimate of the maximum power that can be captured using a linear generator from a scaled-up version of a FIV wind energy harvester that uses a rectangular section of AR=1.5 (0.60 m width x 0.40 m depth and 26.7 kg mass) suspended inside a duct in vertical DOF was made as 100 watts at 2.5 m/s (with a 8:1 inlet area contraction), which is promising

Wind Energy extraction using flutter mechanism of rigid sections

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is routinely used for resolving design related vibration issues of flexible structures, for example, long-span bridges, tall buildings, airplanes (wings or tails), wind turbine and helicopter blades. In the past few years, numerous studies have used FSI as a tool to study fluid-based energy harvesting from solar, wind, and ocean. Due to high capital investment and maintenance cost, the conventional land-based wind turbines are not suitable for small-scale wind energy harvesting at low wind speeds, and due to acoustic and aesthetic issues these turbines cannot be deployed in proximity of city centers or on building roof tops or backyards, where energy is in high demand. Therefore, an alternate mechanism that exploits the various aeroelastic phenomena including vortex-induced vibration, buffeting, galloping, flutter, etc., to cause large-amplitude response in specific structural shapes has been explored by some for tapping the renewable wind energy source in the low-wind speed regime. This study explores the feasibility of a flutter-driven or flutter-induced vibration (FIV) wind energy harvester that uses rigid-body motions of section models to harvest wind energy at low wind speeds. Section models are rigid-models with 1-3 degree-of-freedom (DOF) that faithfully represent the geometry of the cross-section of a structure over a finite length, with end plates to simulate a 2D-flow. The objective of this study was to explore the parameters that will influence the performance of the FIV wind energy harvester which is assessed by the low magnitude of flutter speed and large magnitude of vibration amplitude at or near flutter. There are various cross-sections of section models that are prone to vibration at a given wind speed along a particular DOF. Rectangular sections of aspect ratio (AR) less than 2 usually have low flutter speeds in the vertical DOF and ‘H’-shaped sections, used in old long-span bridges like Tacoma Narrows, have low flutter speeds in the torsional DOF. A hybrid section model formed by combining these two sections is therefore expected to be more sensitive to a coupled vertical-torsional flutter at low wind speeds. Such hybrid cross-sections are ideal for a 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) FIV wind energy harvester. Wind tunnel experiments were performed with geometrically scaled models to determine the flutter speed and average wind energy capture for various section models in 1-DOF and 2-DOF motions. For a comparative study, rectangular section models (AR=1.5 and AR=1) in 1-DOF (vertical or torsional) and 2-DOF (vertical and torsional), and H-shaped section models in torsional DOF were tested. The best rectangular section in the vertical DOF and best H-shaped section in the torsional DOF with respect to low flutter speed and high vertical or torsional amplitudes of vibration are combined to form a hybrid section and tested in 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) and compared with the best rectangular section and best H-shaped section for flutter speed and average wind energy available at flutter. In order to amplify the performance of the devised FIV wind energy harvester, a parametric study of the flutter mechanism is conducted in terms of mass ratio, frequency ratio (2-DOF), location of the pivot point and choice of DOF(s) to use. This study also developed a method to extract the rational function coefficients, used in time-domain flutter analysis numerically, from flutter derivatives of the specific sections used here that will enable a parametric study of the FIV wind energy harvester in the future to optimize its design and wind energy performance of its scaled-up versions for commercial usage. An estimate of the maximum power that can be captured using a linear generator from a scaled-up version of a FIV wind energy harvester that uses a rectangular section of AR=1.5 (0.60 m width x 0.40 m depth and 26.7 kg mass) suspended inside a duct in vertical DOF was made as 100 watts at 2.5 m/s (with a 8:1 inlet area contraction), which is promising

Wind Energy extraction using flutter mechanism of rigid sections

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is routinely used for resolving design related vibration issues of flexible structures, for example, long-span bridges, tall buildings, airplanes (wings or tails), wind turbine and helicopter blades. In the past few years, numerous studies have used FSI as a tool to study fluid-based energy harvesting from solar, wind, and ocean. Due to high capital investment and maintenance cost, the conventional land-based wind turbines are not suitable for small-scale wind energy harvesting at low wind speeds, and due to acoustic and aesthetic issues these turbines cannot be deployed in proximity of city centers or on building roof tops or backyards, where energy is in high demand. Therefore, an alternate mechanism that exploits the various aeroelastic phenomena including vortex-induced vibration, buffeting, galloping, flutter, etc., to cause large-amplitude response in specific structural shapes has been explored by some for tapping the renewable wind energy source in the low-wind speed regime. This study explores the feasibility of a flutter-driven or flutter-induced vibration (FIV) wind energy harvester that uses rigid-body motions of section models to harvest wind energy at low wind speeds. Section models are rigid-models with 1-3 degree-of-freedom (DOF) that faithfully represent the geometry of the cross-section of a structure over a finite length, with end plates to simulate a 2D-flow. The objective of this study was to explore the parameters that will influence the performance of the FIV wind energy harvester which is assessed by the low magnitude of flutter speed and large magnitude of vibration amplitude at or near flutter. There are various cross-sections of section models that are prone to vibration at a given wind speed along a particular DOF. Rectangular sections of aspect ratio (AR) less than 2 usually have low flutter speeds in the vertical DOF and ‘H’-shaped sections, used in old long-span bridges like Tacoma Narrows, have low flutter speeds in the torsional DOF. A hybrid section model formed by combining these two sections is therefore expected to be more sensitive to a coupled vertical-torsional flutter at low wind speeds. Such hybrid cross-sections are ideal for a 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) FIV wind energy harvester. Wind tunnel experiments were performed with geometrically scaled models to determine the flutter speed and average wind energy capture for various section models in 1-DOF and 2-DOF motions. For a comparative study, rectangular section models (AR=1.5 and AR=1) in 1-DOF (vertical or torsional) and 2-DOF (vertical and torsional), and H-shaped section models in torsional DOF were tested. The best rectangular section in the vertical DOF and best H-shaped section in the torsional DOF with respect to low flutter speed and high vertical or torsional amplitudes of vibration are combined to form a hybrid section and tested in 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) and compared with the best rectangular section and best H-shaped section for flutter speed and average wind energy available at flutter. In order to amplify the performance of the devised FIV wind energy harvester, a parametric study of the flutter mechanism is conducted in terms of mass ratio, frequency ratio (2-DOF), location of the pivot point and choice of DOF(s) to use. This study also developed a method to extract the rational function coefficients, used in time-domain flutter analysis numerically, from flutter derivatives of the specific sections used here that will enable a parametric study of the FIV wind energy harvester in the future to optimize its design and wind energy performance of its scaled-up versions for commercial usage. An estimate of the maximum power that can be captured using a linear generator from a scaled-up version of a FIV wind energy harvester that uses a rectangular section of AR=1.5 (0.60 m width x 0.40 m depth and 26.7 kg mass) suspended inside a duct in vertical DOF was made as 100 watts at 2.5 m/s (with a 8:1 inlet area contraction), which is promising

Wind Energy extraction using flutter mechanism of rigid sections

Fluid-structure interaction (FSI) is routinely used for resolving design related vibration issues of flexible structures, for example, long-span bridges, tall buildings, airplanes (wings or tails), wind turbine and helicopter blades. In the past few years, numerous studies have used FSI as a tool to study fluid-based energy harvesting from solar, wind, and ocean. Due to high capital investment and maintenance cost, the conventional land-based wind turbines are not suitable for small-scale wind energy harvesting at low wind speeds, and due to acoustic and aesthetic issues these turbines cannot be deployed in proximity of city centers or on building roof tops or backyards, where energy is in high demand. Therefore, an alternate mechanism that exploits the various aeroelastic phenomena including vortex-induced vibration, buffeting, galloping, flutter, etc., to cause large-amplitude response in specific structural shapes has been explored by some for tapping the renewable wind energy source in the low-wind speed regime. This study explores the feasibility of a flutter-driven or flutter-induced vibration (FIV) wind energy harvester that uses rigid-body motions of section models to harvest wind energy at low wind speeds. Section models are rigid-models with 1-3 degree-of-freedom (DOF) that faithfully represent the geometry of the cross-section of a structure over a finite length, with end plates to simulate a 2D-flow. The objective of this study was to explore the parameters that will influence the performance of the FIV wind energy harvester which is assessed by the low magnitude of flutter speed and large magnitude of vibration amplitude at or near flutter. There are various cross-sections of section models that are prone to vibration at a given wind speed along a particular DOF. Rectangular sections of aspect ratio (AR) less than 2 usually have low flutter speeds in the vertical DOF and ‘H’-shaped sections, used in old long-span bridges like Tacoma Narrows, have low flutter speeds in the torsional DOF. A hybrid section model formed by combining these two sections is therefore expected to be more sensitive to a coupled vertical-torsional flutter at low wind speeds. Such hybrid cross-sections are ideal for a 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) FIV wind energy harvester. Wind tunnel experiments were performed with geometrically scaled models to determine the flutter speed and average wind energy capture for various section models in 1-DOF and 2-DOF motions. For a comparative study, rectangular section models (AR=1.5 and AR=1) in 1-DOF (vertical or torsional) and 2-DOF (vertical and torsional), and H-shaped section models in torsional DOF were tested. The best rectangular section in the vertical DOF and best H-shaped section in the torsional DOF with respect to low flutter speed and high vertical or torsional amplitudes of vibration are combined to form a hybrid section and tested in 2-DOF (vertical and torsional) and compared with the best rectangular section and best H-shaped section for flutter speed and average wind energy available at flutter. In order to amplify the performance of the devised FIV wind energy harvester, a parametric study of the flutter mechanism is conducted in terms of mass ratio, frequency ratio (2-DOF), location of the pivot point and choice of DOF(s) to use. This study also developed a method to extract the rational function coefficients, used in time-domain flutter analysis numerically, from flutter derivatives of the specific sections used here that will enable a parametric study of the FIV wind energy harvester in the future to optimize its design and wind energy performance of its scaled-up versions for commercial usage. An estimate of the maximum power that can be captured using a linear generator from a scaled-up version of a FIV wind energy harvester that uses a rectangular section of AR=1.5 (0.60 m width x 0.40 m depth and 26.7 kg mass) suspended inside a duct in vertical DOF was made as 100 watts at 2.5 m/s (with a 8:1 inlet area contraction), which is promising

MOLECULAR AUTHENTICATION AND GENETIC DIVERSITY ANALYSIS OF HALOFEROX VOLCANII AND HALOBACTERIUM SALINARIUM FROM SALT BRINES

Objective - Halophilic bacteria present in various high salt locations have shown to possess various commercially viable properties. An understanding of the microbial flora present in salt brines will help in the proper exploitation of this resource. Methods - In the current study, bacteria were isolated from salt brines and characterized. Followed by the morphological and biochemical characterization, the strains were subjected to molecular characterization. Genomic DNA was isolated and the 16s rRNA gene was amplified and sequenced. The sequence so obtained was subjected to sequence alignment analysis. The genetic diversity of the isolated strains were also analysed by RAPD PCR and phylogenetic relationship was established by dendrogram construction. Results – The isolated strains were found to be Haloferax volcanii and Halobacterium salinarium. The genetic diversity analyses of H. salinarium and H. volcanii reveal the resistance of the former to genetic variations. Conclusion - This study analysed the impact of environmental stress on the genotypes of H. salinarium and H. volcanii

Highly efficient organic-inorganic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-molybdenum trioxide nanocomposite electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitor

In this paper, we report a highly efficient organic-inorganic nanocomposite electrode with enhanced double layer capacitance, which has been synthesized using 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene and crystalline molybdenum trioxide (MoO<SUB>3</SUB>) in the presence of an external oxidizing agent. The interlayer spacing of MoO<SUB>3</SUB> upon intercalation expands from 6.93 to 13.46 Å and is followed by an exfoliation and restacking process. The resulting nanocomposite is characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and four probe conductivity measurements. The application potential of this nanocomposite as an electrode material for electrochemical supercapacitors has been investigated, highlighting the unusual enhancement of double layer capacitance of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiphene) (PEDOT-MoO<SUB>3</SUB>) nanocomposites ( ~300 F g<SUP>−1</SUP>) compared to that of pristine MoO<SUB>3</SUB> (~40 mF g<SUP>−1</SUP>). The improved electrochemical performance is attributed to the intercalation of electronically conducting PEDOT between MoO<SUB>3</SUB> layers with enhanced bidimensionality and an increase in the surface area

<span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language: EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">Anticaries potential of ethnomedicinal plants used by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Malayali</i> tribals from Kolli Hills, India</span>

109-115Malayali tribals of Kolli hills, Tamil Nadu, India use many plants for oral healthcare. The present study documents the dental caries preventing medicinal plants used by them and attempts to validate their claim. An ethnomedicinal survey comprising field visits, collection of information using specific questionnaire was done to collect the medicinal plants used by them. The plants cited by the informants were collected and successively extracted with hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol and evaluated for their antimicrobial efficacy against four cariogenic clinical isolates. The MIC, anti-biofilm efficacy and GC-MS phytoconstituent identification were also done. This study identified 15 species that were commonly used by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Malayali tribals to maintain oral health and hygiene. Among the tested extracts, the methanol extract of Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers. Fabaceae showed highest inhibitory activity against the cariogenic isolates. At 1 mg/ml concentration, it inhibited the biofilm formation by 92.0%, 77.6%, 74.1% and 94.9% against L. casei, S. mutans, S. aureus and K. pneumoniae, respectively. The active methanol extract’s GC-MS analysis resulted in the identification of eleven major compounds.<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"> The rich traditional knowledge of tribal people has immense potential for caries and other oral health management along with pharmacological lead compound studies. </span

Photoluminescence properties of nanocrystalline ZnS on nanoporous silicon

This paper embodies the report on the microwave solvothermal synthesizing of nanocrystalline ZnS particles for optoelectronic device. The effect of different parameters such as time, temperature, solvents, molar ratio of zinc and thiourea on the phase(s) formation of nanocrystalline Zinc Sulphide was investigated. The obtained nanosize ZnS materials were characterized by the X-ray diffraction, Optical absorption measurements, TEM and. Photoluminescence studies. The crystallite size of the ZnS nanoparticles was estimated from the X-ray diffraction pattern by using Scherrer's formula. The as prepared material was obtained in the cubic phase, which showed a perfect match with the earlier reports. The Optical absorption edge of ZnS were blue shifted from the absorption edge of bulk ZnS. The estimated band gap value of ZnS was 4.01 eV. The ZnS nano materials were coated on nano porous silicon by screen-printing technique. Luminescence studies indicated room temperature emission in the wavelength ranges from 422.6 to 612 nm, which cover the blue emission to red emission. The emitted light that depending on the created pore size from porous silicon and the size of the ZnS nano particles. (c) 2006 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc

Enhancement of double-layer capacitance behavior and its electrical conductivity in layered poly (3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-based nanocomposites

In this letter, we report on the enhanced double-layer capacitance of a layered poly (3, 4-ethylene dioxythiophene) PEDOT-MoO3 nanocomposite, which has been synthesized by a novel microwave irradiation method..