Evaluation of edible flowers of agathi (Sesbania grandiflora L. Fabaceae) for in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic,and in vitro antioxidant potential

The methanol extract from flowers of agathi (Sesbania grandiflora L. Fabaceae) was evaluated for their in vitro antioxidant and cytotoxic activities, and in vivo anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive activities in several experimental models. The extract has sustainable concentrations of dietary polyphenolics, tannins, and flavonoids. The extract exhibited maximum radical scavenging activity on nitric oxide, superoxide, and hydroxyl radical and these values were significantly (p<0.05) higher over positive standards butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytolune. The extract also exhibited potential cytotoxic activity against human cervical cancer cell line HeLa (IC₅₀ value of 0.13 mg/mL). Further, the methanol extracts showed significant inhibitory activity against inflammation (carrageenan and cotton pellet induced models) and on a pain model (hot plate test). The inhibitory values are comparable with positive standards. Owing to these properties, agathi flowers can be used as a potential source of natural nutraceutical food supplement.     

Smart management of distinct plug‐in hybrid electric vehicle charging stations considering mobility pattern and site characteristics

Management of plug‐in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is an important alternative energy solution to accord the prevailing environmental depletion. However, adding PHEVs to the existing distribution network may stimulate issues such as increase in peak load, power loss, and voltage deviation. Addressing the aforementioned issues by incorporating distinct mobility patterns together will develop an attractive energy management. In this paper, suitable location of the charging station is presented for a novel 2‐area distribution system following distinct mobility patterns. A comprehensive study by considering the optimal, midst, and unfit site for placing the charging station is incorporated. For managing the charging sequence of PHEVs, a meta‐heuristic solving tool is developed. The main contribution of this programming model is its ability to schedule the vehicles simultaneously in both the areas. The efficiency of the proposed energy management framework is evaluated on the IEEE 33‐bus and IEEE 69‐bus distribution systems. The test system is subjected to different scenarios for demonstrating the superior performance of the proposed solving tool in satisfying the convenience of vehicle owner along with reducing the peak demand. The results show that charging at low electricity price period and discharging at high electricity price period enables the minimum operational cost.     

Construction of active bio‐nanocomposite by inseminated metal nanoparticles onto activated carbon: probing to antimicrobial activity

The bio‐nanocomposite role in wastewater treatment is a primary concern of this research. The physical, chemical, mechanical stability and antimicrobial activity of these bio‐nanocomposites were investigated. The method is based on the biological reduction of aqueous copper sulphate pentahydrate, lead nitrate, silver nitrate, zinc sulphate heptahydrate salt using seed extract of Eucalyptus globulus as reducing agent at ambient temperature. The synthesised metal nanoparticles (MNPs) were analysed by UV‐visible spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. An ex‐situ method involves constructing bio‐nanocomposite by blending MNPs with tea waste activated carbon. Cross‐linking in activated carbon takes place which was confirmed by changes in the mixture of components. The present yield of activated carbon was characterised by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X‐ray measurements. A few micro or nano range, spherical shape of activated carbon was studied by SEM. The main elements found in the activated carbon by EDX are C, O, S, Ag, Cl and Cu. The efficacy of such active bio‐nanocomposite (ABN) tested against human pathogen includes both type of bacteria and fungus. The inhibitory effects of ABN are discernible from the results that reveal biologically inseminated MNPs can be used to clean up the contaminated environment.Inspec keywords: nanocomposites, activated carbon, wastewater treatment, copper compounds, nitrogen compounds, Fourier transform infrared spectra, scanning electron microscopyOther keywords: active bio‐nanocomposite, inseminated metal nanoparticles, activated carbon, antimicrobial activity, wastewater treatment, mechanical stability, biological reduction, aqueous copper sulphate pentahydrate, lead nitrate, silver nitrate, zinc sulphate heptahydrate salt, Eucalyptus globulus, synthesised metal nanoparticle, MNP, UV‐visible spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray measurement, SEM     

Photocatalytic degradation of Acid Red 88 using Au-TiO(2) nanoparticles in aqueous solutions

Metal loaded semiconductors in general possess greater photocatalytic activity than pure semiconductors. Hence, with an attempt to achieve higher photocatalytic activity, Au-TiO₂ photocatalysts were prepared by deposition-precipitation method and used for the photocatalytic degradation of an azo dye (Acid Red 88; AR88). The materials were characterized by different analytical techniques. A possible mechanism for the photocatalytic degradation of AR88 by Au-TiO₂ in the absence and presence of other oxidizing agents (peroxomonosulfate (PMS), peroxodisulfate (PDS) & hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)) has been proposed. The extent of mineralization of the target pollutant was also evaluated using Total Organic Carbon (TOC) analysis.     

Fast fourier transform analysis of pore pattern in anodized alumina formed at various conditions

A quantitative investigation of the effect of process parameters such as electrolyte concentration, temperature, anodization duration and anodization potential on the pore pattern (including pore diameter and distribution) in anodic alumina was performed based on aluminum anodization experiments. Using fast Fourier transform (FFT) analysis, we developed a method to quantify the orderedness of pore distribution. We found that at a lower temperature the anodization protocol of a 1 hr first step followed by a 4 hr second step did not cause any change in pore orderedness as opposed to the anodization protocol of a 12 hr first step followed by a 1 hr second step, but at a higher temperature the former improved the pore orderedness. Increasing the electrolyte concentration, improved the pore orderedness. Varying the electrolyte concentration, temperature, and anodization duration did not have any effect on the pore diameter. Increasing the anodization potential, however, not only improved the pore orderedness but also increased the pore diameter. Linear relationships exist between the pore diameter and anodization potential and between the center to center pore spacing and applied anodization potential.     

Curing of Thick Thermoset Composite Laminates: Multiphysics Modeling and Experiments

Fiber reinforced polymer composites are used in high-performance aerospace applications as they are resistant to fatigue, corrosion free and possess high specific strength. The mechanical properties of these composite components depend on the degree of cure and residual stresses developed during the curing process. While these parameters are difficult to determine experimentally in large and complex parts, they can be simulated using numerical models in a cost-effective manner. These simulations can be used to develop cure cycles and change processing parameters to obtain high-quality parts. In the current work, a numerical model was built in Comsol MultiPhysics to simulate the cure behavior of a carbon/epoxy prepreg system (IM7/Cycom 5320–1). A thermal spike was observed in thick laminates when the recommended cure cycle was used. The cure cycle was modified to reduce the thermal spike and maintain the degree of cure at the laminate center. A parametric study was performed to evaluate the effect of air flow in the oven, post cure cycles and cure temperatures on the thermal spike and the resultant degree of cure in the laminate.     

PAPR Reduction Using Advanced Partial Transmission Scheme for 5G Waveforms

The implementation of Peak Average to Power Ratio (PAPR) reduction technologies will play an important role in the regularization of Fifth Generation (5G) radio communication. PAPR reduction in the advanced waveform will be the key part of designing a 5G network for different applications. This work introduces the simulation of an Advanced Partial Transmission Sequence (A-PTS) reduction techniques for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) and Filter Bank Multi-Carrier (FBMC) transmission schemes. In the projected A-PTS, the FBMC signals are mapped into the number of sub-blocks and Inverse Fast Fourier transform (IFFT) is performed to estimate the high peak power in the time domain. The FBMC sub-blocks are multiplied with the phase elements to achieve an optimal PAPR value. A MATLAB 2014v simulation is used to estimate the PAPR, Bit Error Rate (BER), Error Vector Magnitude (EVM), and Modulation Error Rate (MER) performance of the proposed reduction schemes. The simulated result reveals that the performance of the projected algorithm is better than the conventional algorithms.     

Existence and Controllability for Impulsive Evolution Inclusions without Compactness

In this paper, we investigate the existence and controllability for impulsive evolution inclusions in Banach spaces. By using weak topology technique and Glicksberg-Ky Fan fixed point theorem, we obtain the existence of mild solutions and controllability outcomes, avoiding hypotheses of compactness on the semigroup generated by the linear part and any conditions on the multivalued nonlinearity expressed in terms of measures of noncompactness. Finally, we show an illustration to outline the plausibility of the theoretical results.     

Size,morphology and optical properties of zirconia (ZrO<Subscript>2</Subscript>) nanostructures synthesized via the facile ionic surfactant-assisted solvothermal method

Zirconia (ZrO₂) nanostructures, assisted by various ionic surfactants were successfully achieved via the facile ionic surfactants-assisted solvothermal method with the average crystallite size of 7.09–15.22 nm. The spherical, cauliflower-petal and needle-like nanostructures were confirmed by SEM studies and possible growth mechanisms of the nanostructures were proposed. The increasing trends of the band gap energy confirm the quantum confinement effect for the prepared samples. The strong UV emission in photoluminescence of the prepared samples indicates the high purity, perfect crystallinity and is good candidate material for optoelectronic devices.