Chemical composition,antimicrobial, cytotoxic and antioxidant activities of the essential oil of Artemisia indica Willd

Essential oil from the aerial parts of Artemisia indica was analysed by GC-FID and GC–MS. A total of 43 compounds representing 96.8% of the oil were identified and the major components were found to be artemisia ketone (42.1%), germacrene B (8.6%), borneol (6.1%) and cis-chrysanthenyl acetate (4.8%). Antimicrobial activity of the oil was evaluated against seven clinically significant bacterial and two fungal strains. The essential oil and its major constituents exhibited moderate to potent, broad-spectrum antibacterial and antifungal activities targeting both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. In vitro cytotoxicity evaluation against four human cancer cell lines THP-1 (leukemia), A-549 (lung), HEP-2 (liver) and Caco-2 (colon) showed that the essential oil exhibited concentration dependant growth inhibition in the 10–100 μg/ml dilution range, with IC₅₀ values of 10 μg/ml (THP-1), 25 μg/ml (A-549), 15.5 μg/ml (HEP-2) and 19.5 μg/ml (Caco-2). It was interesting to note that the essential oil also exhibited potent antioxidant activity.     

Extraction and in vitro antioxidant capacity evaluation of phenolic compounds from pigmented aromatic rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryzae sativa</Emphasis> L.) cultivars

The aroma generating volatile components profile and in vitro antioxidant capacities of different aromatic rice cultivars was determined by GC–MS analysis and in terms of DPPH scavenging activity, lipid peroxidation inhibition, phosphomolybdenum reduction and reducing power assay. The total phenolic content including both free and bound forms in the analyzed aromatic rice cultivars, Mushki budgi (1.62 mg GAE/g), Mushki kandi (1.63 mg GAE/g) and Kamad (1.60 mg GAE/g) were found double the amount as compared to non-aromatic Koshkari (0.86 mg GAE/g) cultivar. The aromatic rice cultivars had also shown higher total flavonoid content and antioxidant activity than non-aromatic rice cultivar (Koshkari). The GC–MS results indicated 21-aromatic compounds present in sufficient quantities in aromatic cultivars and some of them were unique to these cultivars. Among the compounds identified, aldehydes were found in higher quantity followed by alkanes, ketones and esters. Among the aromatic rice cultivars, Mushki budgi and Mushki kandi were found possessing higher quantity of flavoring components such as benzaldehyde, a carcinostatic agent. The cultivars Mushki budgi and Mushki kandi indicated positive correlation of TPC, TFC and the in vitro antioxidant components largely, while the less aromatic Kamad, correlate with only two components viz DPPH and lipid peroxidation.     

Ultraviolet irradiation improves gel strength of fish gelatin

Preliminary studies were undertaken to investigate the impact of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on the gel strength, viscosity, and thermal properties of a commercially procured fish gelatin sample. Fish gelatin samples (dry granules) were exposed to UV irradiation for 30 and 60 min. Irradiated samples exhibited significant improvement in the gel strength, marked reduction in viscosity, with significant changes in the melting enthalpy. Results indicated the prospects of employing UV radiation as an alternative method over conventional means for improving some of the quality attributes of fish gelatin.     

Ordinal measures for image correspondence

We present ordinal measures of association for image correspondence in the context of stereo. Linear correspondence measures like correlation and the sum of squared difference between intensity distributions are known to be fragile. Ordinal measures which are based on relative ordering of intensity values in windows-rank permutations-have demonstrable robustness. By using distance metrics between two rank permutations, ordinal measures are defined. These measures are independent of absolute intensity scale and invariant to monotone transformations of intensity values like gamma variation between images. We have developed simple algorithms for their efficient implementation. Experiments suggest the superiority of ordinal measures over existing techniques under nonideal conditions. These measures serve as a general tool for image matching that are applicable to other vision problems such as motion estimation and texture-based image retrieval     

Ferrofluid squeeze film in a long journal bearing

A theoretical study and comparison were made of squeeze film behaviour in an infinitely long journal bearing using the ferrofluid flow models of Neuringer–Rosensweig, Jenkins and Shliomis with uniform and non-uniform magnetic fields. Expressions were obtained for the pressure, load capacity and response time of the squeeze film using the flow models of Jenkins as well as Shliomis. The results corresponding to the Neuringer–Rosensweig model were deduced from the Jenkins model. Computed values of dimensionless load capacity and response time were displayed in tabular form. Their values increased with increasing values of the eccentricity ratio in all the three models. They decreased or increased according to whether the values increased were those of the Jenkins material constant or the rotational viscosity parameter of Shliomis. A uniform magnetic field could not produce magnetic pressure in the Neuringer–Rosensweig model, but it could affect the bearing characteristics in the Shliomis model owing to the rotational viscosity. The load capacity and squeeze time are more in the case of a non-uniform magnetic field than in the case of a uniform magnetic field.     

Electret characteristics of melt-blown polylactic acid fabrics for air filtration application

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer. Melt-blown PLA electret fabrics have become attractive materials for air filter applications. Its filtration performance mainly depends on the electrostatic effect originating from electrets. How to improve their electret behavior and then to enhance their filtration efficiency has always been challenging. In this article, three melt-blown PLA fabrics with different morphological or crystal structure are made from different process conditions or ingredient. The electrets are formed by means of corona charging technology. Their crystalline and morphological structure was analyzed, and filtration performance was measured. Their charge-trapping feature was studied by thermal stimulating discharge technology. The results proved that the air filtration efficiency of three melt-blown samples improved a lot when electrets were formed. Different crystalline structures of PLA fabrics will result in differences in their electret charge-trapping feature. The PLA fabrics with semi-crystalline characteristics display a regular charge-trapped level distribution and amorphous structure hints the diversity of charge-trapped levels. The deference in filtration resistance is mainly ascribed to the different fiber diameters and their distributions. More narrow distribution of fiber diameter leads to more compact fabrics and to higher filtration resistance. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48309.     

Iodine number determination of milk fat and vegetable fats by refractometry

A refractometric method for the estimation of iodine number of milk fat has been suggested. About 0.2 ml of milk fat was iodinated with ca. 10 ml Wijs iodine reagent for 3 min using mercuric acetate as catalyst. The iodinated fat showed a higher refractive index than the original fat. The changes in refractive indices showed a very high correlation with the iodine values of the fats (T=0.9993). The average of the ratios of change in refractive index to iodine number was 50.7×10⁻⁵, from which the iodine number of milk fat can be calculated. The method can also be applied to vegetable fats. The ratios of change in refractive index to iodine number for the oils of peanut, rapeseed, soybean, niger, sesame, and sunflower were similar, and the average was 45.2×10⁻⁵. The ratio for linseed oil was 38.4×10⁻⁵, and for coconut fat it was similar to that of milk fat.     

Analytical formulation of electric field and dielectrophoretic force for moving dielectrophoresis using Fourier series

Electrokinetics manipulation and separation of living cells employing microfluidic devices require good knowledge of the strength and distribution of electric field in such devices. AC dielectrophoresis is performed by generating non-uniform electric field using microsize electrodes. Among the several applications of dielectrophoretic phenomenon, this present study considers the recently introduced phenomenon of moving dielectrophoresis. An analytical solution using Fourier series is presented for the electric field distribution and dielectrophoretic force generated inside a microchannel. The potential at the upper part of the microchannel has been found by solving the governing equation of the electric potential with specific boundary conditions. The solutions for the electric field and dielectrophoretic force show excellent agreement with the numerical results. Microdevices were fabricated and experiments were carried out with living cells confirming and validating the analytical solutions.     

Stability of Rotors Under the Combined Influence of Fluid Film Bearing Characteristics and Shaft Material Damping

Fluid film characteristics and shaft material damping form an interesting combination in rotor dynamic applications. Under certain conditions, a rotor which is unstable due to the damping, can be stabilized with the proper choice of fluid film bearings as supports. On the other hand, increasing the material damping in the rotor shaft can attenuate stress fluctuations in the rotors supported by fluid film bearings. The influence of the above combination on the stability of rotor bearing systems is investigated using a Jeff cot rotor with significant material damping and supported by fluid film bearings in the rotor dynamic model. The results indicate that under certain conditions, the interaction of the above two factors can be gainfully utilized in the design of rotor bearing systems.