Antioxidant, antimicrobial, haemolytic, germination and growth promoting properties of Crotalaria juncea L.

Crotalaria juncea L., commonly called as Sun Hemp generally found in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Indian subcontinent, used as food and medicine by the tribal communities. The plant has been reported to have various medicinal properties. This study is focused on the evaluation of anti-oxidant, antimicrobial, haemolytic, germination and growth-promoting properties of C. juncea. The leaf and root extracts of the plant was prepared and used as the standard for various tests. The results obtained for the tests mentioned above were compared with each other. The crude proteins were found abundantly in the water extracts. The maximum antioxidant activity was found in the methanolic extracts of the leaf. It also showed a very little antimicrobial activity against Bacillus cereus and Bacillus subtilis. The germination and growth of the plant were significantly promoted by the methanolic extracts of the root when compared to the methanolic extract of the leaf. The extracts of the plant were found to have better growth-promoting activity. Crotalaria juncea can be incorporated in the fertilizers to promote the yield

Development of Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabric Using Zinc Oxide Nanoflower/Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Nanocomposite Coatings

Nanoflower is anticipated to become a very smart material due to its unique properties such as high surface to volume ratio. A hydrothermal method was used in this study to prepare the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflower and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The average particle size of the ZnO nanoflower was calculated as 21nm according to the Debye-Scherrer formula. The SEM result gives the surface morphological information of the ZnO nanoflower, which confirms the formation of the ZnO nanoflower. The ZnO nanoflower was dispersed in PDMS and coated onto cotton fabric to get the superhydrophobic fabric. The hydrophobicity was determined by measuring the water contact angle by the Sessile drop method and it was observed that coated fabrics have the highest contact angle, 140⁰ at 0.5% ZnO nanoflower concentration. The present study offers a method of fabrication of superhydrophobic cotton textile using ZnO nanoflower/PDMS polymer nanocomposites

Development of Superhydrophobic Cotton Fabric Using Zinc Oxide Nanoflower/Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Nanocomposite Coatings

Nanoflower is anticipated to become a very smart material due to its unique properties such as high surface to volume ratio. A hydrothermal method was used in this study to prepare the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoflower and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The average particle size of the ZnO nanoflower was calculated as 21nm according to the Debye-Scherrer formula. The SEM result gives the surface morphological information of the ZnO nanoflower, which confirms the formation of the ZnO nanoflower. The ZnO nanoflower was dispersed in PDMS and coated onto cotton fabric to get the superhydrophobic fabric. The hydrophobicity was determined by measuring the water contact angle by the Sessile drop method and it was observed that coated fabrics have the highest contact angle, 140⁰ at 0.5% ZnO nanoflower concentration. The present study offers a method of fabrication of superhydrophobic cotton textile using ZnO nanoflower/PDMS polymer nanocomposites

Prosopis Plant Chemical Composition and Pharmacological Attributes: Targeting Clinical Studies from Preclinical Evidence

Members of the Prosopis genus are native to America, Africa and Asia, and have long been used in traditional medicine. The Prosopis species most commonly used for medicinal purposes are P. africana, P. alba, P. cineraria, P. farcta, P. glandulosa, P. juliflora, P. nigra, P. ruscifolia and P. spicigera, which are highly effective in asthma, birth/postpartum pains, callouses, conjunctivitis, diabetes, diarrhea, expectorant, fever, flu, lactation, liver infection, malaria, otitis, pains, pediculosis, rheumatism, scabies, skin inflammations, spasm, stomach ache, bladder and pancreas stone removal. Flour, syrup, and beverages from Prosopis pods have also been potentially used for foods and food supplement formulation in many regions of the world. In addition, various in vitro and in vivo studies have revealed interesting antiplasmodial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, antidiabetic and wound healing effects. The phytochemical composition of Prosopis plants, namely their content of C-glycosyl flavones (such as schaftoside, isoschaftoside, vicenin II, vitexin and isovitexin) has been increasingly correlated with the observed biological effects. Thus, given the literature reports, Prosopis plants have positive impact on the human diet and general health. In this sense, the present review provides an in-depth overview of the literature data regarding Prosopis plants' chemical composition, pharmacological and food applications, covering from pre-clinical data to upcoming clinical studies

Stable Physically Adsorbed Coating of Poly�Vinyl Alcohol for the Separation of Basic Proteins1.

In aqueous capillary electrophoresis, the electroosmotic flow can be strongly suppressed by coat�ing the inner surface of the capillary. In the present work hydrophilic coating of 4% polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as been used for the analysis of basic proteins. The coating is simple and easy to obtain. The separation of ribonuclease and α�chymotrypsin has been uniquely done with other three basic proteins (lysozyme, cyto� chrome�c and trypsin) using a buffer 11.60 mM sodium acetate and 18.40 mM acetic acid at pH 4.5 in addi�tion to positive power supply of 20 kV at 25°C. Detection was performed using UV detector at 230 nm. The proposed PVA coated capillary provides reproducible separation of five basic proteins within 10 min with RSD values for mobility bellow 1.4% (n = 6) for all the five basic proteins. The stability of coated capillary has been checked up to 40 runs. The viscosity measurement for 4% PVA have been studied and scanning elec�tron microscope (SEM) images obtained to make it compatible with future micro�chip applications

Comparative evaluation on the performance of nanostructured TiAlN, AlCrN, TiAlN/AlCrN coated and uncoated carbide cutting tool on turning En24 alloy steel

45-59<span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:" times="" new="" roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"times="" roman";="" mso-ansi-language:en-us;mso-fareast-language:en-us;mso-bidi-language:ar-sa"="" lang="EN-US">In the present work, the performances of the nanostructured TiAlN, AlCrN, TiAlN/AlCrN coated are evaluated by comparing the machining performance with uncoated carbide cutting tool by conducting the machining studies on En24 alloy steel. Taguchi’s experimental design is used to design the turning experiments and fix the turning parameters, such as the cutting speed (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">V), feed rate (f) and depth of cut (d). The signal-to-noise ratio and anova were used to investigate the effects of the machining parameters and their contribution to the tool wear and surface roughness. The results show that the nanostructured TiAlN/AlCrN coated insert has developed minimum flank wear and shown minimum surface roughness on the machined surface, compared to the TiAlN, AlCrN coated and uncoated tools. The cutting parameters in which the TiAlN, TiAlN/AlCrN coated and uncoated inserts have shown lesser tool flank wear and better surface finish of the work-piece are identified. For the TiAlN tool, the better machining parameters are, cutting speed = 160 m/min, feed rate = 0.119 mm/rev, and the depth of cut = 1.0 mm. For TiAlN/AlCrN, the better machining parameters are, cutting speed = 160 m/min, feed rate = 0.318 mm/rev, and the depth of cut = 0.3 mm, and for the uncoated tool, the cutting speed = 100 m/min, feed rate = 0.318 mm/rev, and the depth of cut = 1.0 mm is the best machining condition. But for the AlCrN tool the minimum tool wear was obtained, when the cutting speed = 40 m/min, feed rate = 0.477 mm/rev, and the depth of cut = 1.0mm and better surface finish of the work-piece was obtained, when the cutting speed = 160 m/min, feed rate = 0.119 mm/rev, and the depth of cut = 1.0 mm.</span

Textile Finishing Using Polymer Nanocomposites for Radiation Shielding, Flame Retardancy and Mechanical Strength

The uses of nanotechnologies in textiles are strategic and allow textiles to become multifunctional. There is an ever-increasing demand for new functionalities, like flame retardancy, radiation shielding, improved mechanical strength etc., for highly specific applications. There is no industrial supply for the above-mentioned functionalities. Keeping in view of this background, surface treatment becomes one of the most important methods to create new textile properties. Polymer nanocomposites based on coatings for textiles have a huge potential for innovative modifications of surface properties like flame retardancy, radiation shielding and improved mechanical properties, which can be applied with a comparatively low technical effort and at moderate temperatures. This review compiles recent research on polymer nanocomposites for functional finishing of textiles to understand the theoretical and experimental tools on polymer nanocomposites and their applications in textiles

Determination of Biogenic Amines in Lake Water by Micellar Electrokinetic Chromatography with Fluorescence Detection after Derivatization with Fluorescamine1.

A simple and rapid method has been developed for the determination of biogenic amines in lake water using micellar electrokinetic chromatography with fluorescence detection. Separation of fluorescam�ine derivatized biogenic amines was accomplished by using borate buffer of pH 9.5 containing 40 mM of sodium dodecyl sulphate. The method has been optimized with respect to fluorescamine concentration, reaction pH, reaction time, separation voltage and injection time. Detection was performed by using UG�11 excitation filter and 495 nm emission filter. The proposed method for histamine, tyramine and dopamine allowed their separation within 2 min with detection limits in nM range. The interday and intraday reproduc� ibility of peak areas were less than 6.5%. Recovery of spiked samples was 95.76–116.31%