Saponin-loaded SBA-15: release properties and cytotoxicity to Panc-I cancer cells

In this study, first time a nanoformulation, saponin-loaded SBA-15 has been developed for an improved and continuous release. The SBA-15 nanopowder was synthesized by a hydrothermal process. Saponin was introduced into the mesoporous channels of SBA-15 and its concentration in SBA-15 was measured by UV–visible spectrophotometry. The pristine SBA-15 and saponin-loaded SBA-15 were characterized by small-angle XRD, FESEM, HRTEM, TGA, FTIR. N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms were used to measure the specific surface area and pore channel structure parameters of pristine and loaded SBA-15. Saponin release was studied in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4), which revealed that the release rate could be effectively controlled. The controlled drug release is highly desired for cancer treatment. The cytotoxicity of pristine and loaded SBA-15 was analyzed on Panc-I cancer cells. Both the pristine SBA-15 and saponin-loaded SBA-15 nanoparticles showed specific toxicity on the cancer cells. The preliminary results showed that saponin-loaded SBA-15 could be an effective therapeutic agent for Panc-I cancer cells.     

Clustering‐based resource discovery on Internet‐of‐Things

Resource discovery on Internet‐of‐Things paradigm is an eminent challenge due to data‐specific activities with respect to foraging and sense‐making loops. The prerequisite to deal with the challenge is to process and analyze the data that require resources to be indexed, ranked, and stored in an efficient manner. A novel clustering technique is proposed to resolve the specified challenge. The technique, namely, iterative k‐means clustering algorithm, targets concrete cluster formation using similarity coefficients of vector space model and performs efficient search against matching criteria with respect to complexity. It is simulated on MATLAB, and the obtained results are compared with fuzzy k‐means and fuzzy c‐means clustering algorithm with similarity coefficients of vector space model against exponential increase in the number of resources.     

Moralism: mobility prediction with link stability based multicast routing protocol in MANETs

In recent research, link stability is getting tremendous attention in mobile adhoc networks (MANETs), because of several impediments that occur in a reliable and robust network. Link stability metric is used to improve network performance in terms of end-to-end delay, data success delivery ratio (DSDR) and available route time (ART). Energy consumption, bandwidth and communication delay of major concern in ad hoc networks. A high mobility of MANET nodes reduces the reliability of network communication. In a dynamic networks, high mobility of the nodes makes it very difficult to predict the dynamic routing topology and hence cause route/link failures. Multicast in MANETs is an emerging trend that effectively improves the performance while lowering the energy consumption and bandwidth usage. Multicast routing protocol transmits a packet to multicast a group at a given time instant to achieve a better utilization of resources. In this paper, node mobility is considered to map better their movement in the network. So, the links with long active duration time can be identified as a stable link for route construction. Variation in signal strength is used to identify whether the direction of the node is towards or away from estimating node. We consider signal strength as QoS metric to calculate link stability for route construction. Efforts are made to identify the link with highly probable longer lifetime as the best suitable link between two consecutive nodes. We predict the movement time of nodes that define the route path to the node destination. Exata/cyber simulator is used for network simulation. The simulation results of the proposed routing protocol are compared with on-demand multicast routing protocol and E-ODMRP, which works on minimum hop count path. Analysis of our simulation results has shown improvement of various routing performance metrics such as DSDR, ART, routing overhead and packet drop ratio.     

Response of Multilayer Foundation System beneath Railway Track under Cyclic Loading

For an efficient and economical design of a railway track system, it is necessary to understand the behavior of each track component with special reference to ballast and subgrade, which play a pivotal role in distributing the large, cyclic wheel loads longitudinally, laterally, and vertically away from the wheel contact area on the rail surface to the underlying soil strata. This paper presents an analytical model of a track-ballast-subgrade system with different formation soils such as dense uniform sand, stiff clay, loose sand, and soft clay modeled by using a mass-spring dashpot system with two degrees of freedom. This represents the varying energy distribution through ballast and subgrade in the vertical direction. Results are presented in the form of time-displacement response profiles for both the ballast and subgrade layers. In addition, the magnification factors for displacements with variation in subgrade soils for cyclic loading frequencies are reported. It is observed that the results obtained from the present analysis follow the experimentally observed trends already available in the literature.     

Molecular profiling of Jatropha curcas L. collected from different geographical locations of India

The present study surveys the morphological, biochemical and molecular diversity in 30 accessions of Jatropha collected from different states of India by using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and isozyme analysis. The genotyping data were used to understand the relationships among accessions and to identify genetic diversity as a means for genetic improvement of Jatropha. Out of 37 decamer primers used, 18 yielded polymorphic banding pattern. In total, 126 different DNA bands were reproducibly obtained, out of which 81 were polymorphic. SDS-PAGE of seed, leaf and callus resolved into 18, 12 and 7 bands, while no biotype-specific band was found in leaf and callus protein profile. Cluster analysis of both RAPD and SDS-PAGE data produced two major clusters.     

Analysis of groundwater quality using fuzzy synthetic evaluation

This paper reports the application of fuzzy set theory for decision-making in the assessment of physico-chemical quality of groundwater for drinking purposes. Methodology based on fuzzy set theory used to express the quality of water in the imprecise environment of monitored data and prescribed limits given in a non-probabilistic sense. Fuzzy synthetic evaluation model gives the certainty levels for the acceptability of the water based on the prescribed limit of various regulatory bodies quality class and perception of the experts from the field of drinking water quality. Application of fuzzy rule based optimization model is illustrated with 42 groundwater samples collected from the 15 villages of Ateli block of southern Haryana, India. These samples were analysed for 16 different physico-chemical water quality parameters. Ten parameters were used for the quality assessment using this approach. The analysis showed that four samples were in "desirable" category with certainty level of 35-58%, 23 samples were in "acceptable" category whose certainty level ranged from 37 to 75% and remaining 15 samples were in "not acceptable" category for drinking purposes with certainty levels from 44 to 100%. This concludes that about 64% water sources were either in "desirable" or "acceptable" category for drinking purposes.     

All‐polymer electromechanical systems consisting of electrostrictive poly(vinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene) and conductive polyaniline

The low elastic modulus and the ability to withstand high strain without failure make the conducting polymer attractive for a wide range of acoustic applications based on high‐strain electroactive polymers. In this article, we examine the electric and electromechanical performance of all‐polymer electromechanical systems, fabricated by painting conductive polyaniline (PANI) doped with camphor sulfonic acid (HCSA) on both sides of electrostrictive Poly(vinylidene fluoride‐trifluoroethylene) (P(VDF‐TrFE)) copolymer films, and compare them with those from the same copolymers with gold electrodes. The all‐polymer composite films are flexible, with strong coherent interfaces between the electrostrictive polymer layer and the conductive polymer layer. The electric performance such as dielectric properties and polarization hysteresis loops from P(VDF‐TrFE)/PANI film is nearly identical to those of P(VDF‐TrFE)/gold films in a wide temperature (from −50 to 120°C), and frequency range (from 1 Hz to 1 MHz). The all‐polymer systems also show a similar or even larger electric field induced strain response than that of films with electrodes under identical measurement conditions. The results demonstrate that the polyaniline/HCSA is good candidate material as the electrodes for electroactive polymers. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 945–951, 2000     

Changes in Pigments and Volatiles of Saffron ( Crocus sativusL) During Processing and Storage

Significant variations were observed in the concentration of pigments (10·0–17·0%, moisture-free basis) and flavour components during different post-harvest processing conditions of saffron (stigmas ex Crocus sativus L). The crocin pigments concentration was highest (15–17%) in the saffron samples dried between 35°C and 50°C either in a solar dryer or in an oven dryer and this also resulted in considerable reduction of normal drying time. Under these conditions the main flavouring component, safranal, was at its peak value of 60% in the oil in almost all the samples except the vacuum oven dried samples which interestingly contained 4-β-hydroxysafranal in major amounts. Studies indicated that 4-β-hydroxysafranal may be an intermediate in the formation of safranal. It was observed that prolonged storage affected the pigments and flavour concentration to a great extent, but proper packaging and storage with 5% moisture in the saffron reduced the deterioration, thereby increasing the shelflife of the product.     

Structural,Optical, and Ferroelectric Behaviors of Cu_(1-x)Li_xO(0≤x≤0.09) Nanostructures

We report structural,optical,and ferroelectric behaviors of lithium-doped copper oxide(Cu1-xLixO with x =0.0,0.05,0.07,and 0.09) nanostructures synthesized by hydrothermal method.The XRD pattern indicates the pure phase formation of CuO without any impurity,and the crystallite size is found to be increases for x =0–0.07 and decreases for x =0.09.FESEM analysis shows that the average size of Cu1-xLixO nanostructures increases with the increasing the Li-doping concentrations up to 7% and then decreases for 9% Li doping concentration.Moreover,Raman and photoluminescence spectrum also confirm the phase formation of CuO.A significant reduction in optical band gap is observed up to x =0.07,and then band gap increases for x =0.09 due to segregation of the impurities on the surface or grain boundaries,which may suppress the grain growth and results the enhancement in optical band gap.Moreover,a weak ferroelectricity is observed in CuO nanostructures for pure and 9% Li doping through polarization versus electric field(P–E).