Formulation and characterisation of nanosuspension of herbal extracts for enhanced antiradical potential

Nanotechnology is a promising technique to increase the bioavailability of herbal medicines. This paper presents the nanosuspension approach for increasing the aqueous solubility and thereby bioactivity of important herbal extracts. Nanosuspensions of the seeds of three plants extract (Silybum marianum, Elettaria cardamomum and Coriandrum sativum) were prepared by using polyvinyl alcohol (1.5% w/v) as a stabiliser. Prepared nanoparticles were characterised by scanning electron microscope. Activity of nanosuspension formulation was assessed by using four in vitro antioxidant assays. S. marianum, E. cardamomum and C. sativum particle size was observed to fall in range of 446.1 ± 112.6, 456.63 ± 339.2 and 432.1 ± 172.8 nm, respectively, most of the particles were having spherical shape and smooth topology. These synthesised nanoparticles were found to be more effective against quenching free radical than their crude extracts and standards [butylated hydroxyl toluene and ascorbic acid]. C. sativum nanosuspension showed most free radical scavenging potential against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhdrazyl (DPPH) and superoxide free radical scavenging assays (IC₅₀ 0.59 ± 0.01 and 0.81 ± 0.11 mg/ml). S. marianum nanosuspension was found to be most effective against DPPH radicals scavenging (IC₅₀ 0.34 ± 0.02 mg/ml). It was concluded that nanosuspension of herbal medicines potentiates the antioxidant potential.     

Analysis of outdoor solar storage tanks having translucent insulation

A heat transfer model of a parallelepiped tank, full of water and covered with translucent insulation of diffuse material to solar energy, is developed considering the multiple absorptions and reflections to evaluate the heat gain or loss by water. The effect of the optical properties and thickness of insulation on that heat gained or lost by water is investigated. The results of a comparative study show that translucent insulation is more effective than opaque insulation and no insulation as far as the energy gained by water is concerned for outdoor solar storage tanks.     

Catalase (CAT) Gene Family in Rapeseed (Brassica napus L.): Genome-Wide Analysis,Identification, and Expression Pattern in Response to Multiple Hormones and Abiotic Stress Conditions

Catalase (CAT) is an antioxidant enzyme expressed by the CAT gene family and exists in almost all aerobic organisms. Environmental stresses induce the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that eventually hinder plant growth and development. The CAT enzyme translates the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) to water (H₂O) and reduce the ROS levels to shelter the cells’ death. So far, the CAT gene family has not been reported in rapeseed (Brassica napus L.). Therefore, a genome-wide comprehensive analysis was conducted to classify the CAT genes in the rapeseed genome. The current study identified 14 BnCAT genes in the rapeseed genome. Based on phylogenetic and synteny analysis, the BnCATs belong to four groups (Groups I–IV). A gene structure and conserved motif analysis showed that Group I, Group II, and Group IV possess almost the same intron/exon pattern, and an equal number of motifs, while Group III contains diverse structures and contain 15 motifs. By analyzing the cis-elements in the promoters, we identified five hormone-correlated responsive elements and four stress-related responsive elements. Further, six putative bna-miRNAs were also identified, targeting three genes (BnCAT4, BnCAT6, and BnCAT8). Gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that the BnCAT genes were largely related to cellular organelles, ROS response, stimulus response, stress response, and antioxidant enzymes. Almost 10 BnCAT genes showed higher expression levels in different tissues, i.e., root, leaf, stem, and silique. The expression analysis showed that BnCAT1–BnCAT3 and BnCAT11–BnCAT13 were significantly upregulated by cold, salinity, abscisic acid (ABA), and gibberellic acid (GA) treatment, but not by drought and methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Notably, most of the genes were upregulated by waterlogging stress, except BnCAT6, BnCAT9, and BnCAT10. Our results opened new windows for future investigations and provided insights into the CAT family genes in rapeseed.     

Sensitivity analysis of machine interference in manufacturing systems

A class of manufacturing systems is presented in which the machine interference problem plays an important role in production. We consider a single server (robot) in addition to two types of random machine stoppages with priorities. A detailed analysis has been focused on two measures: robot utilization and machine efficiency. It has been shown that one has to make a compromise between the above two sensitive measures. We have further computed the optimum number of machines that can be served by a robot. A novel optimization technique is used to fulfill this requirement. The simulation results reveal that the number of machines as well as the service rate can be utilized as decision variables in the problem at hand.     

Nitriding of steels

The influence of nitriding temperature (900 to 1000°C) on the microstructure of low carbon steel and 304 stainless steel was studied. Nitriding was done in steps of 25°C with diffusion times between 3 and 9 hours. Metallographic technique was used to study the process kinetics. The case depth increases with temperature following an exponential relationship (parabolic). A quantitative relationship between diffusion layer thickening and nitriding temperature was determined.     

Performance of thrust bearings operating with non-Newtonian lubricating films

A general solution for pressure distribution and load capacity is obtained for hydrodynamic bearings with non-Newtonian lubricating fluid films. The flow behaviour index of the power law model assumed for the velocity profile is shown to play a significant role in bearing performance. It is established that the load capacity of a thrust bearing, by way of example, may be increased to several-fold with increased values of the viscometric exponent.     

Confinement effect of stiffened and unstiffened concrete-filled stainless steel tubular stub columns

This paper presents a comparative study between stiffened and unstiffened concrete-filled stainless steel hollow tubular stub columns using the austenitic stainless steel grade EN 1.4301 (304). Finite element analysis of concrete-filled stainless steel unstiffened tubular stub columns is constructed herein based on the confined concrete model recently available in the literature. It is then compared with the experimental results of concrete-filled stainless steel stiffened tubular stub columns. The stiffened stainless steel tubular sections were fabricated by welding four lipped angles or two lipped channels at the lips. The longitudinal stiffener of the column plate was formed to avoid shrinkage of the concrete and to act as a continuous connector between the concrete core and the stainless steel tube. The behavior of the columns was investigated using two different nominal concrete cubic strengths of 30 and 60 MPa. The overall depth-to-width ratios (aspect ratio) varied from 1.0 to 1.8. The depth-to-plate thickness ratio of the tube sections varied from 60 to 90. The stiffened and unstiffened concrete-filled stainless steel tube specimens were subjected to uniform axial compression over the concrete and stainless steel tube to force the entire section to undergo the same deformations by blocking action. The ABAQUS 6.6 program, as a finite element package, is used in the current work. The results of the comparative study showed that the stainless steel tubes in stiffened concrete-filled columns offered a high average of increase in the confinement of the concrete core than that of the unstiffened concrete-filled columns.     

Regularized MIMO Equalization for SC-FDMA Systems

In this paper, we propose an efficient frequency domain equalization scheme for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Single-Carrier Frequency-Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) systems. The proposed scheme avoids the complexity problem associated with the conventional MIMO Zero-Forcing (ZF) equalizer as well as the noise enhancement problem. The matrix inversion process associated with the proposed equalization scheme is performed in two steps to reduce complexity. A regularization term is added in the second step of the matrix inversion to avoid the noise enhancement. Simulation experiments on uplink MIMO SC-FDMA systems show that the proposed equalization scheme provides better performance than that of the ZF equalizer and its complexity is far less than that of the ZF equalizer.