THERMAL ANALYSIS OF AUTOMOTIVE CYLINDER HEAD MADE BY ALUMINIUM METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE REINFORCED WITH NANO ALUMINA

Metal Matrix Nano Composites (MMNC’s) have been developed to meet the demand for lighter materials with significant improvements in mechanical and physical properties like high strength, excellent wear resistance, good thermal conductivity, low thermal expansion coefficient with particulate reinforcements. Aluminium based nano composites (AA356 – nano Al2O3) with three different percentage (1%, 1.5%, 2.5% Wt) of nano – alumina particulate reinforcement (~40 nm) were fabricated using in-situ stir casting technique. Mechanical properties characterization which strongly depends on microstructural properties of reinforcement revealed that the presence of nano – alumina particulates lead to simultaneous increase in hardness, UTS, wear behaviour. The results revealed that UTS, Hardness, Wear behaviour increases with the increase in the percentage of reinforcement of nano – Al2O3 whereas the thermal conductivity drops with increasing percentage of reinforcement when compared to the base alloy AA356. An attempt is made in the present study to review the opportunities of using such a MMNC developed in automotive brake drum replacing the current system using cast iron

Determination of the chromospheric quiet network element area index and its variation during 2008-2011

Generally it has been considered that the plages and sunspots are the main contributors to the solar irradiance. There are small scale structures on the sun with intermediate magnetic fields that could also contribute to the solar irradiance. It has not yet been quantified how much of these small scale structures contribute to the solar irradiance and how much it varies over the solar cycle. In this paper, we used Ca II K images obtained from the telescope installed at Kodaikanal observatory. We report a method to separate the network elements from the background structure and plage regions. We compute the changes in the network element area index during the minimum phase of solar cycle and part of the ascending phase of cycle 24. The measured area occupied by the network elements is about 30% and plages less than 1% of the solar disk during the observation period from February 2008-2011. During the extended period of minimum activity it is observed that the network element area index decreases by about 7% compared to the area occupied by the network elements in 2008. A long term study of network element area index is required to understand the variations over the solar cycle.Comment: 12 pages, 9 Figures, Accepted for publication in RA

Therapeutic and Traditional Uses of Mangrove Plants

Mangrove plants are specialized timbered plants growing in the swamps of tidal coastal areas and stream deltas of tropical and subtropical parts of the world. They have been utilized for medicinal and traditional purposes by the coastal folks over the years. A large number of mangrove plants grows natural and exploited especially, for use in indigenous pharmaceutical houses. Several mangroves genus produce expensive drugs which have high export potential. The utilization of plants and plant products as medicines could be traced as far back as the commencement of human civilization. Mangrove plants have been used in folklore medicines and extracts from mangrove species have prove inhibitory activity against human, animal and plant pathogens. Traditionally, the mangroves have been exploited for firewood and charcoal. Exploit has been found for mangroves in the manufacture of dwellings, furniture, boats and fishing gear, tannins for dyeing and leather production. The mangroves afford food and wide variety of traditional products and artefacts for the mangrove dwellers. The present review deals with the pharmacological activity, medicinal, traditional and produce bioactive compounds of mangrove medicinal plants. Keywords: Mangroves, Medicinal, Pharmacological, Recourses, Traditional

6-Amino-3,4-dimethyl-4-phenyl-2H,4H-pyrano[2,3-c]pyrazole-5-carbonitrile

In the title compound, C15H14N4O, the pyrazole ring is aligned at 88.23 (4)° with respect to the aromatic ring and at 3.75 (4)° with respect to the pyran ring. In the crystal, N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link adjacent mol­ecules into a linear chain motif. C—H⋯N inter­actions are also observed

Effect of Oven drying on the nutritional properties of whole egg and its components

Abstract: The production of vacuum dried egg powder through a simplified technique was studied. The advantage of egg powder with its production and variation in its technology which helps for a better quality and cost efficient product was tested. Eggs as a raw source were collected from the local poultry farm and processes for production were carried out. High risk factors like, reduced glucose in the dehydrated product gets eliminated through vacuum drying technology. The increase of carbohydrate in the egg powder produced through vacuum technology has a visible proof of increased shelf life which indirectly reduces the risk of caramelization. Proteins in white like ovomucoid and ovalbumin which were considered to be important for blocking digestive enzymes are also eliminated through this technology. [Kumaravel, Hema R. and Kamaleshwari A. Effect of Oven drying on the nutritional properties of whole egg and its components

Culture of Efficient Marine Microalgae, Their Biochemical Composition and its Antibacterial Activity against Human Pathogens

Marine microalgae have been used for a long time as food for humans such as Chlorella vulgaris, Spirulina platensis and Nannochloropsis bacillaris and for animals in aquaculture. The biomass of these microalgae and the compounds they produce have been shown to possess several biological applications with numerous health benefits. The three marine microalgae (Chlorella vulgaris, Spirulina platensis and Nannochloropsis bacillaris) were collected from Vellar estuary, South east coast of India. These three microalgae were cultivated in respective media (BG11, Conway, and Zarrouk) and estimated their biochemical composition (Protein content, Carbohydrate (CHO) analysis, Total lipids, Chlorophyll, Carotenoids and antibacterial activity. Simultaneously, these cultures were cultivated in flask containing 500 ml of respective media at lab condition for a period of one month and their growth, pH, biomass, CO2 fixation and carbon content were determined. Based on the growth rate, the pH of three microalgae in media was observed at lab condition. During maximum growth and biomass, the pH was found to be ranged between 9 and 11 for Spirulina platensis; 7 and 9 for Chlorella vulgaris; 8 and 9 for Nannochloropsis bacillaris. The Spirulina platensis and Chlorella vulgaris reached maximum growth rate and produced maximum biomass. Further, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis attained maximum biomass in media at lab condition, also fixed highest level of carbon dioxide in media but they did not produce maximum biomass, though the growth of Nannochloropsis bacillaris were found high in media at lab condition. Among the three microalgae, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis produced highest biochemical (Protein estimation) compounds. Hence, Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis were selected as efficient microalgae for antibacterial activity against human pathogen. This study revealed that certain green algae and blue green microalgae having high growth, pH, CO2 fixation, carbon content and biochemical composition paves the way for pharmaceutical activity. Antibacterial activity against human pathogen (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Vibrio cholera, Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli) was evaluated.The crude and fractionated extraction of Chlorella and Spirulina were dissolved in different solvents like ethanol, methanol, chloroform and diethyl ether. The extracts were applied to 6 mm dry sterile disc in aliquots of 30 μL of solvent, allowed to dry at room temperature and placed on agar plates seeded with microorganisms. The bacteria were maintained on nutrient agar plates and incubated at 37˚ C for 24 hrs. Zones of growth inhibition were measured after incubation from all the extracts and tested twice at a concentration of 30 mg disc-1 was evaluated for Chlorella and Spirulina with their potential health benefits.Keywords: Chlorella vulgaris, Spirulina platensis, Nannochloropsis bacillaris, CO2 fixation, Biochemical composition, Pharmaceutical activit

Effect of Oven drying on the nutritional properties of whole egg and its components

Abstract: The production of vacuum dried egg powder through a simplified technique was studied

GC-MS Study On The Potentials Of Syzygium aromaticum

Abstract: Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum, syn. Eugenia aromaticum or Eugenia caryophyllata) are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. Cloves are native to Indonesia and used as a spice in cuisines all over the world. Eugenol comprises 72-90% of the essential oil extracted from cloves, and is the compound most responsible for the cloves' aroma. Other important essential oil constituents of clove oil include acetyl eugenol, betacaryophyllene and vanillin; crategolic acid; tannins, gallotannic acid, methyl salicylate (painkiller); the flavonoids eugenin, kaempferol, rhamnetin, and eugenitin; triterpenoids like oleanolic acid, stigmasterol and campesterol; and several sesquiterpenes. Eugenol has pronounced antiseptic and anaesthetic properties. Of the dried buds, 15 -20 percent is essential oils, and the majority of this is eugenol. A kilogram (2.2 lbs) of dried buds yields approximately 150 ml (1/4 of pint) of eugenol. Eugenol can be toxic in relatively small quantities, as low as 5 ml

Ethyl 6-amino-5-cyano-2,4-bis­(4-methyl­phen­yl)-4H-pyran-3-carboxyl­ate

In the title compound, C23H22N2O3, the pyran ring adopts a twisted boat conformation. The tolyl rings and carboxyl­ate group are attached to the pyran ring with torsion angles of −77.1 (2), 59.5 (3) and 17.8 (3)°, respectively. The ethyl group is disordered over two orientations with a site-occupancy ratio of 0.508 (5):0.492 (5). In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by N—H⋯N and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating a chain running the a axis. Weak C—H⋯O, C—H⋯N and C—H⋯π inter­actions are also observed