Ultrasound-assisted Acid red dye removal using leather fibre wastes as matrix: ‘intra wastes interaction’ approach

It is desirable to make effective use of solid wastes, as well as waste liquors, of the dye house generated from leather processing. The present study deals with the adsorption of Acid red 26 (Xylidine ponceau) dye using leather fibre waste (buffing dust) as substrate matrix by the means of ultrasound, magnetic stirring and conventional heating. The research examined the effect of various process parameters: ultrasonic power, concentration of dye, temperature and time. The dye uptake data have been fitted with Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms, indicating a useful dye adsorption process. A mechanism for dye adsorption in leather fibres has also been proposed. This study shows that it is possible to remove dyes from dye house effluent streams using leather waste fibres of buffing dust by means of ultrasound. Two different toxic wastes produced by the same industry can be effectively contained. This ‘Intra wastes interaction’ approach could reduce the burden of discarding wastes of other materials in the leather industry.     

N′‐Alkylaminosulfonyl Analogues of 6‐Fluorobenzylideneindolinones with Desirable Physicochemical Profiles and Potent Growth Inhibitory Activities on Hepatocellular Carcinoma

The benzylideneindolinone 6‐chloro‐3‐(3′‐trifluoromethylbenzylidene)‐1,3‐dihydroindol‐2‐one ( 4 ) was reported to exhibit potent and selective growth inhibitory effects on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Corroborative evidence supported multi‐receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) inhibition as a possible mode of action. However, the poor physicochemical properties of 4 limited its furtherance as a lead compound. In this study, the modification of 4 was investigated with the aim of improving its potency and physicochemical profile. The 6‐fluorobenzylideneindolinone 3‐12 bearing a 3′‐N‐propylaminosulfonyl substituent was found to be a promising substitute. Compound 3‐12 [6‐fluoro‐3‐(3′‐N‐propylaminosulfonylbenzylidene)‐1,3‐dihydroindol‐2‐one] was found to be tenfold more soluble than 4 and to have sub‐micromolar growth inhibitory activities on HCC cells. It is apoptogenic and inhibits the phosphorylation of several RTKs in HuH7, of which the inhibition of FGFR4 and HER3 are prominent. Compound 3‐12 decreased the tumor load in a physiologically relevant orthotopic HCC xenograft murine model. Structure–activity relationships support pivotal roles for the fluoro and N′‐propylaminosulfonyl moieties in enhancing cell‐based activity and moderating the physicochemical profile (solubility, permeability) of 3‐12 .     

Studies on use of Enteromorpha in snack food

Seaweeds, also known as sea vegetables, are of nutritional interest, as they are rich in vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber. Enteromorpha compressa (Linnaeus), green seaweed (chlorophyta), which is a rich source of iron and dietary fibre was used as an ingredient in the preparation of Pakoda, a common traditional snack food in India. Pakoda samples showed increases in ash, protein and total dietary fibre contents with increase in Enteromorpha level, accompanied by a nearly fivefold increase in iron content (26.4–126 mg/100 g) and fourfold increase in calcium content (30.1–124 mg/100 g). Bioavailability of iron in Enteromorpha, and Pakoda containing 7.5% of Enteromorpha, did not show any difference (55–56%) at pH 7.5 (intestinal condition). But, at pH 1.35 (gastric condition) the bioavailability of iron in Pakoda containing Enteromorpha was found to be slightly higher (27.1%) than that in Enteromorpha. Reducing power (155–222 μg/g) increased as the Enteromorpha level increased from 0% to 15%. But the addition of Enteromorpha was found to decrease free radical-scavenging activity and the total phenol content. Pakoda containing up to 7.5% of Enteromorpha was found to have a sensory quality comparable with that of Pakoda without Enteromorpha.     

Design of Clustering Techniques in Cognitive Radio Sensor Networks

In recent decades, several optimization algorithms have been developed for selecting the most energy efficient clusters in order to save power during transmission to a shorter distance while restricting the Primary Users (PUs) interference. The Cognitive Radio (CR) system is based on the Adaptive Swarm Distributed Intelligent based Clustering algorithm (ASDIC) that shows better spectrum sensing among group of multiusers in terms of sensing error, power saving, and convergence time. In this research paper, the proposed ASDIC algorithm develops better energy efficient distributed cluster based sensing with the optimal number of clusters on their connectivity. In this research, multiple random Secondary Users (SUs), and PUs are considered for implementation. Hence, the proposed ASDIC algorithm improved the convergence speed by combining the multi-users clustered communication compared to the existing optimization algorithms. Experimental results showed that the proposed ASDIC algorithm reduced the node power of 9.646% compared to the existing algorithms. Similarly, ASDIC algorithm reduced 24.23% of SUs average node power compared to the existing algorithms. Probability of detection is higher by reducing the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) to 2 dB values. The proposed ASDIC delivers low false alarm rate compared to other existing optimization algorithms in the primary detection. Simulation results showed that the proposed ASDIC algorithm effectively solves the multimodal optimization problems and maximizes the performance of network capacity.     

A sensitive electrochemical detection of hydroquinone using newly synthesized α-Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-graphene oxide nanocomposite as an electrode material

This article presents the effect of hematite phase iron oxide (α-Fe₂O₃) on the electrocatalytic activity of graphene oxide (GO) for electrochemical detection of hydroquinone in aqueous solution. The different weight percentage (wt%) (1, 2 and 3%) of α-Fe₂O₃ added GO nanocomposites were synthesized by wet-impregnation method. The cyclic voltammetry studies using 2% α-Fe₂O₃-GO modified glassy carbon electrodes was found to exhibit an excellent electrocatalytic activity than α-Fe₂O₃ and GO electrodes that may be due to the synergistic effect of α-Fe₂O₃nanoparicles and GO sheet. In addition, the modified electrode exhibited a good reproducibility as well as long-term stability. Hence, the 2% α-Fe₂O₃-GO can be a promising catalytic material for electrochemical sensor applications.     

Advance electrochemical oxidation of fipronil contaminated wastewater by graphite anodes and sorbent nano hydroxyapatite

Degradation of C₁₂H₄Cl₂F₆N₄OS phenylpyrazole insecticide (Fipronil) by advance electrochemical oxidation in aqueous water solution was studied. The process efficiency was figured based on the COD, chloride, and fluoride reduction from fipronil. Further, we tried to highlight the importance of nano-hydroxyapatite (n-Hap) as a cost-effective nano sorbent for removal of fluoride from fipronil. From the advance electrochemical oxidation experiment, it was found that the COD removal was 79%, chloride 52%, and fluoride 80%. The intermediate of fipronil compounds was examined by GC-MS. The final results conclude that advance electrochemical oxidation process was effective for removal of fipronil synthetic wastewater.     

Fabrication of an electrochemical biosensor with ZnO nanoflakes interface for methylglyoxal quantification in food samples

Increased consumption of fried foods such as grilled chicken contains elevated levels of methylglyoxal (MG), which is associated with diabetes mellitus. Hence, in this work, glyoxalase 1(GLO 1) based, zinc oxide (ZnO) flakes interfaced mediator free electrochemical biosensor was developed to detect MG in grilled chicken. ZnO flakes were synthesized by direct precipitation method. X-ray diffractometer and field emission scanning electron microscope were used to study the structural and morphological characteristics of ZnO flakes. The immobilization of GLO 1 on Pt/ZnO flakes modified electrode was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetric and amperometric studies were carried out using Pt/ZnO flakes/GLO 1 working electrode. The developed biosensor exhibited linear range of 0.6–2.0 µM, sensitivity of 0.281 µA µM^?1, LOD of 9 nM with a response time of <4 s and shelf life of 18 days (89%).     

Performance of novel hyperbranched poly(aryl‐ether‐urea)s doped with N3‐dye in nanocrystalline DSSC

An amine‐terminated hyperbranched poly(aryl‐ether‐urea) (HBPEU) was prepared from an AB₂‐type blocked isocyanate monomer and then its end groups were modified into urea (M‐HBPEU) by reaction with phenyl isocyanate. Both of the polymers were doped with N3‐dye along with KI/I₂ to work as efficient polymer electrolytes in nanocrystalline dye sensitized solar cell. The increment in the conductivity of doped HBPEU and doped M‐HBPEU was very significant and reached its value at 8.2 × 10⁻³ and 4.1 × 10⁻² S/cm, respectively. The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of these two doped polymers measured under simulated sunlight with AM 1.5 at 60 mW/cm² generate photocurrent of 2.5 and 3.6 mA/cm², together with a photo voltage of 690 and 750 mV, and fill factor of 0.55 and 0.61 yielding a overall energy conversion efficiency of 2.4% and 4.1%, respectively. These results suggest that M‐HBPEU show better cell performance and conductance properties than the HBPEU. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40408.     

Enhanced biohydrogen production from leather fleshing waste co-digested with tannery treatment plant sludge using anaerobic hydrogenic batch reactor

Efficient conversion of leather solid waste into bio-hydrogen was evaluated using anaerobic hydrogenic activity in a batch reactor. Major performance indicators such as pH, total solids, volatile solids, chemical oxygen demand, specific hydrogen yield and degradation efficiency of the crude organic matter was investigated for the possibility of optimizing the bio-hydrogen potential. The optimum waste mixing ratio was found to be in LF:S:HS (2:1:1) with a pH of 5.5 at 37°C with a removal rate of 92.3% volatile solids and the cumulative bio-hydrogen yield increased from 41 ml in the control to 323 mL, proving to be 8 times higher. This study proved to increase the efficiency of material and energy, and is definitely more economical for the waste utilization.     

Internet of Things-based wireless sensor networks for monitoring access constraint security measures in liable data aggregation

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a network of autonomous, small sensors that can detect, collect, and send data about their surrounding environment. In the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure, WSNs are the smart devices that provide the platform with resource input. Security breaches and insider attacks are possible due to the WSN's resource-constrained design. However, the IoT platform's intelligence may be extended to WSN nodes for managing device and data-level security. This paper proposes Monitored Access Constraint Security (MACS) to ensure the privacy of data collected via the ubiquitous processing enabled by the Internet of Things. The IoT platform performs frequent checks on the quality of the interactions between the various nodes to ensure that they are functioning properly and that the sensor aggregation instances are accountable. Node liability is considered while adjusting the aggregate level and the continuity. The method guarantees secure information from the environment and the data sources. The quality of the data gathered in the suggested technique is evaluated based on node liability and information extraction feature. Accordingly, security measures are implemented at data gathering and filtering levels and then assessed using a recurrent learning process. Since there are fewer security breaches overall, the rate of aggregation increases. Aggregation loss, delay time, false rate, throughput, and verification time are used to evaluate the performance.