Facile preparation of agarose-chitosan hybrid materials and nanocomposite ionogels using an ionic liquid via dissolution, regeneration and sol-gel transition

We report simultaneous dissolution of agarose (AG) and chitosan (CH) in varying proportions in an ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride [C4mim][Cl]. Composite materials were constructed from AG-CH-IL solutions using the antisolvent methanol, and IL was recovered from the solutions. Composite materials could be uniformly decorated with silver oxide (Ag2O) nanoparticles (Ag NPs) to form nanocomposites in a single step by in situ synthesis of Ag NPs in AG-CH-IL sols, wherein the biopolymer moiety acted as both reducing and stabilizing agent. Cooling of Ag NPs-AG-CH-IL sols to room temperature resulted in high conductivity and high mechanical strength nanocomposite ionogels. The structure, stability and physiochemical properties of composite materials and nanocomposites were characterized by several analytical techniques, such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), CD spectroscopy, differential scanning colorimetric (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), and scanning electron micrography (SEM). The result shows that composite materials have good thermal and conformational stability, compatibility and strong hydrogen bonding interactions between AG-CH complexes. Decoration of Ag NPs in composites and ionogels was confirmed by UV-Vis spectroscopy, SEM, TEM, EDAX and XRD. The mechanical and conducting properties of composite ionogels have been characterized by rheology and current-voltage measurements. Since Ag NPs show good antimicrobial activity, Ag NPs -AG-CH composite materials have the potential to be used in biotechnology and biomedical applications whereas nanocomposite ionogels will be suitable as precursors for applications such as quasi-solid dye sensitized solar cells, actuators, sensors or electrochromic displays

Non-Destructive Evaluation—A Pivotal Technology for Qualification of Composite Aircraft Structures

Tremendous advances in composite materials and a deeper understanding of their behavior have been responsible for the increased use of composites in the development of advanced, new generation civil and military aircraft. Composites play an important role in any aircraft development programme and are strong contenders to their metal counterparts due to their significant contributions towards improving strength, stiffness, fatigue properties & weight reduction. As materials, structural design & processing have evolved, strong emphasis is placed on effective & reliable damage detection, durability and damage tolerance. As a consequence, Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) has also undergone significant advances towards meeting the growing demands of quality assurance. Advanced Composites Division (ACD) of National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), has been involved in the development of composite structures for both civil and military aircraft for over a decade and a half. Innovative composite processing methods like co-curing/co-bonding have been successfully employed to realize airworthy structures. The role of NDE in the development of these structures has been critical and not limited to damage detection alone. On several occasions, NDE has provided valuable inputs towards improving design and process parameters. In-spite of the complexity of the structures, stringent quality requirements and tight delivery schedules, NDE has been successful in certifying these composite structures for airworthiness. This paper discusses the implementation of key NDE techniques like ultrasonics, radiography, acoustic emission and thermography for reliable flaw detection, characterization and quality assurance of composite aircraft structures

CSILM: Interactive Learning Modules For Computer Science

CSILM is an online interactive learning management system designed to help students learn fundamental concepts of computer science. Apart from learning computer science modules using multimedia, this online system also allows students talk to professors using communication mediums like chat and implemented web analytics, enabling teachers to track student behavior and see student’s interest in learning the modules,. Integrating social media in to the existing portal also makes it possible for students to share the modules they have created, helping students work together

A Review on Detection of Medical Plant Images

Both human and non-human life on Earth depends heavily on plants. The natural cycle is most significantly influenced by plants. Because of the sophistication of recent plant discoveries and the computerization of plants, plant identification is particularly challenging in biology and agriculture. There are a variety of reasons why automatic plant classification systems must be put into place, including instruction, resource evaluation, and environmental protection. It is thought that the leaves of medicinal plants are what distinguishes them. It is an interesting goal to identify the species of plant automatically using the photo identity of their leaves because taxonomists are undertrained and biodiversity is quickly vanishing in the current environment. Due to the need for mass production, these plants must be identified immediately. The physical and emotional health of people must be taken into consideration when developing drugs. To important processing of medical herbs is to identify and classify. Since there aren't many specialists in this field, it might be difficult to correctly identify and categorize medicinal plants. Therefore, a fully automated approach is optimal for identifying medicinal plants. The numerous means for categorizing medicinal plants that take into interpretation based on the silhouette and roughness of a plant's leaf are briefly précised in this article

Radial-Basis-Function-Network-Based Prediction of Performance and Emission Characteristics in a Bio Diesel Engine Run on WCO Ester

Radial basis function neural networks (RBFNNs), which is a relatively new class of neural networks, have been investigated for their applicability for prediction of performance and emission characteristics of a diesel engine fuelled with waste cooking oil (WCO). The RBF networks were trained using the experimental data, where in load percentage, compression ratio, blend percentage, injection timing, and injection pressure were taken as the input parameters, and brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake specific energy consumption (BSEC), exhaust gas temperature (T[subscript exh]), and engine emissions were used as the output parameters. The number of RBF centers was selected randomly. The network was initially trained using variable width values for the RBF units using a heuristic and then was trained by using fixed width values. Studies showed that RBFNN predicted results matched well with the experimental results over a wide range of operating conditions. Prediction accuracy for all the output parameters was above 90% in case of performance parameters and above 70% in case of emission parameters

EXTRACTION, ISOLATION AND STRUCTURAL ELUCIDATION OF FLAVONOID FROM CHROZOPHORA PLICATA LEAVES AND EVALUATION OF ITS ANTIOXIDATIVE POTENTIALS

Objective: This investigation involves the extraction, isolation, and characterization of flavonoid from a Euphorbiaceae family plant Chrozophoraplicata followed by evaluation of its antioxidant principles.Methods: The dried leaves were subjected to sequential soxhlation with polar and nonpolar solvents. Methanolic extract reveals the presence of largeamount of flavonoids. Methanolic extract was subjected to isolation using column chromatographic analysis with solvents such as petroleum ether,chloroform, hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water. Further, the isolated compound was subjected to thin layer chromatography technique andspectral analysis such as infrared, 1HNMR, 13CNMR, mass spectroscopy, and high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) finger printingtechniques. The compound was evaluated for in vitro antioxidant studies using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), NO assay, reducing power assay,H2O2 scavenging assay, superoxide anion scavenging assay and β-Carotene linoleate system and in vivo antioxidative studies using carbon tetrachloride(CCl4), and acetaminophen intoxicated rats.Results: The compound was isolated in methanol:water in the ratio of 80:20 using column chromatographic technique. On the basis of phytochemical,chromatographic, and spectral analysis, the isolated compound was identified as kaempferol and finally with HPTLC finger printing technique it wasfound that the Rf value of the isolated compound was found to be 0.58 which is nearly similar to the Rf value of standard kaempferol (0.55). Hence,the isolated compound was confirmed as kaempferol and is structurally elucidated as 3,5,7-trihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chromen-4-one. Thiscompound was isolated for the first time from the C. plicata leaves. The in vitro antioxidant assay of isolated flavonoid has shown a dose-dependentincrease in free radical scavenging activity using DPPH, no assay, reducing power assay, H2O2 scavenging assay, superoxide anion scavenging assay, andβ-carotene linoleate system. Further, the methanolic extract of C. plicata (MECP) leaves was subjected to single dose acute toxicity study for 14 days infemale rats on the basis of OECD guidelines 423 and the therapeutically selected doses were 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg. In vivo antioxidant studies inCCl4 and acetaminophen intoxicated rats indicated that the MECP leaves have significantly decreased lipid peroxidation in a dose-dependent mannerand increased the levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione.Conclusions: By the above results, it was concluded that the isolated compound from C. plicata leaves was confirmed as kaempferol and it possessessignificant antioxidative potentials.Keywords: Chrozophora plicata leaves, Flavonoids, Extraction, Isolation, Characterization, Methanolic extract, Antioxidant activity, Carbontetrachloride, Acetaminophen

Selection of Suitable Irrigation Planning Strategy Using S/N Ratio and Topsis

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Satellite Coastal and Oceanographic Research Inter-comparison Exercise (SICOME)

INCOIS is coordinating Satellite Coastal and Oceanographic Research (SATCORE) project SATCORE programme since XIth plan with an aim of long-term measurements of bio-optical properties in the Indian coastal waters. The principal aim of these measurements is continuous measurement of in situ bio-optical data for validation of existing ocean color algorithms, improvement, development of new bio-optical algorithms in coastal waters of India. INCOIS had identified 12 time series sampling transects along east and west of India for continuous measurement of bio-optical parameters. Regular in situ sampling and analysis at time series stations are carried out by sub-projects sanctioned under SATCORE program to various Research and Academic &D Institutions: Junagadh Agricultural University (Off Okha), NIO, Goa (Off Goa), Goa University (Off Goa), Mangalore University (Off Mangalore), CIFT, Kochi (Off Kochi), Annamalai University (Off Parangipettai), IIT Madras (Off Chennai), Andhra University (Off Visakhapatnam), CSBoB, Andhra University (Off Visakhapatnam), Berhampur University (Off Gopalpur), Jadavpur University (Off Frazergunj), CARI (ICAR) (A & N Islands). To ensure the accuracy of the parameters measured at vasrious laboratories at different time-series locations, Satellite Coastal and Oceanographic Research-Inter-comparison Exercises (SICOME) were conducted during 2014 and 2015. During SICOME samples of Optically Active Substances i.e chlorophyll-a (chl-a), coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and total suspended matter (TSM) were collected from one location. The master samples were immediately analyzed and duplicate samples were sent to different SATCORE laboratories. All the fluorometers were calibrated with teh standards for chlorophyll-a, Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) and Turbidity. All five Radiometers were also operated simultaneously to estimate the instrument bias. The document provides results of the instrument and analytical bias for same samples analyzed at various SATCORE laboratories so as to maintain the data quality for international standard