Mechanical properties of sisal fibre-reinforced polymer composites: a review

There has been a growing interest in the utilization of sisal fibres as reinforcement in the production of polymeric composite materials. Natural fibres have gained recognition as reinforcements in fibre polymer–matrix composites because of their mechanical properties and environmental friendliness. The mechanical properties of sisal fibre-reinforced polymer composites have been studied by many researchers and a few of them are discussed in this article. Various fibre treatments, which are carried out in order to improve adhesion, leading to improved mechanical properties, are also discussed in this review paper. This review also focuses on the influence of fibre content and fabrication methods, which can significantly affect the mechanical properties of sisal fibre-reinforced polymer composites.     

Spectrofluorimetric determination of proguanil in biological fluids

A spectrofluorimetric method for proguanil in biological fluids is described based on the reaction of proguanil with 9-fluorenecarboxylic acid chloride and measurement of the resulting s-triazine derivative. The limits of detection for proguanil in methanol, water, plasma, urine and saliva are 1.5, 5.1, 7.6, 4.2 and 11.9 ng ml^?1, respectively. Preliminary results for proguanil levels in plasma and saliva following a single 100-mg oral dose are reported.     

Photophysical,photochemical and electrochemical properties of water soluble silicon,titanium and zinc phthalocyanines

The photophysical, and photochemical properties of titanium, silicon and zinc octacarboxy phthalocyanine (OTiOCPc, (OH)₂SiOCPc and ZnOCPc) and their tetrasulfonated counterparts (OTiTSPc, (OH)₂SiTSPc and ZnTSPc) in phosphate-buffer solution (PBS), pH 10 were studied. The tetrasulfonated derivatives were also studied in the presence of a surfactant, cremophore EL (CEL) due to their high aggregation tendency in aqueous solutions. Triplet quantum yields ranged from 0.20 to 0.48 for MOCPcs and 0.32–0.65 for MTSPcs in the presence of CEL and in pH 10. High triplet lifetimes were observed for ZnTSPc (270 μs, in the presence of CEL) or ZnOCPc (130 μs) compared to values ranging from 50 to 70 μs for the rest of the complexes.     

Gas-chromatographic determination of 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(trans-4-methylcyclohexyl)-1-nitrosourea in plasma after reaction with trifluoroacetic anhydride

The reaction of 1-(2-chloroethyl)-3-(trans-4-methylcyclohexyl)-1-nitrosourea (methyl-CCNU) with trifluoroacetic anhydride is reported. Gas-liquid chromatography of the resulting trifluoroacetyl derivative is applied to determine methyl-CCNU in plasma with a limit of detection of 1.5 μg ml^?1.     

Specific spectrofluorimetric determination of chloroquine in blood plasma

Chloroquine (? 150 ng ml^?1 is separated from its dealkylated metabolites by reacting the latter with ethylchloroformate followed by extraction of unchanged chloroquine into dilute acid. The aqueous extract is made alkaline and its fluorescence intensity (λ(ex) = 335 nm, λ(em) = 390 nm) is measured.     

Measurement of soil/dust arsenic by gas phase chemiluminescence

A gas phase chemiluminescence (GPCL)-based method for trace measurement of arsenic has been recently described for the measurement of arsenic in water. The principle is based on the reduction of inorganic As to AsH₃ at a controlled pH (the choice of pH governs whether only As(III) or all inorganic As is converted) and the reaction of AsH₃ with O₃ to produce chemiluminescence (Idowu et al., Anal. Chem. 78 (2006) 7088-7097). The same general principle has also been used in postcolumn reaction detection of As, where As species are separated chromatographically, then converted into inorganic As by passing through a UV photochemical reactor followed by AsH₃ generation and CL reaction with ozone (Idowu and Dasgupta, Anal. Chem. 79 (2007) 9197-9204). In the present paper we describe the measurement of As in different soil and dust samples by serial extraction with water, citric acid, sulfuric acid and nitric acid. We also compare parallel measurements for total As by induction coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). As(V) was the only species found in our samples. Because of chloride interference of isobaric ArCl⁺ ICP-MS analyses could only be carried out by standard addition; these results were highly correlated with direct GPCL and LC-GPCL results (r² = 0.9935 and 1.0000, respectively). The limit of detection (LOD) in the extracts was 0.36 μg/L by direct GPCL compared to 0.1 μg/L by ICP-MS. In sulfuric acid-based extracts, the LC-GPCL method provided LODs inferior to those previously observed for water-based standards and were 2.6, 1.3, 6.7, and 6.4 μg/L for As(III), As(V), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA) and monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), respectively.     

Relativistic treatment of the spin-zero particles subject to the second Poschl-Teller-like potential

The three-dimensional Klein-Gordon equation is solved for the case of equal vector and scalar second Poschl-Teller potential by proper approximation of the centrifugal term within the framework of the asymptotic iteration method. Energy eigenvalues and the corresponding wave function are obtained analytically. Eigenvalues are computed numerically for some values of n and It is found that the results are in good agreement with the findings of other methods for short-range potential.     

Clerodane Diterpenoids from an Edible Plant Justicia insularis: Discovery,Cytotoxicity, and Apoptosis Induction in Human Ovarian Cancer Cells

Objectives: The toxicity of chemotherapeutic anticancer drugs is a serious issue in clinics. Drug discovery from edible and medicinal plants represents a promising approach towards finding safer anticancer therapeutics. Justicia insularis T. Anderson (Acanthaceae) is an edible and medicinal plant in Nigeria. This study aims to discover cytotoxic compounds from this rarely explored J. insularis and investigate their underlying mechanism of action. Methods: The cytotoxicity of the plant extract was evaluated in human ovarian cancer cell lines and normal human ovarian surface epithelia (HOE) cells using a sulforhodamine B assay. Bioassay-guided isolation was carried out using column chromatography including HPLC, and the isolated natural products were characterized using GC-MS, LC-HRMS, and 1D/2D NMR techniques. Induction of apoptosis was evaluated using Caspase 3/7, 8, and 9, and Annexin V and PI based flow cytometry assays. SwissADME and SwissTargetPrediction web tools were used to predict the molecular properties and possible protein targets of identified active compounds. Key finding: The two cytotoxic compounds were identified as clerodane diterpenoids: 16(α/β)-hydroxy-cleroda-3,13(14)Z-dien-15,16-olide (1) and 16-oxo-cleroda-3,13(14)E-dien-15-oic acid (2) from the Acanthaceous plant for the first time. Compound 1 was a very abundant compound (0.7% per dry weight of plant material) and was shown to be more potent than compound 2 with IC₅₀ values in the micromolar range against OVCAR-4 and OVCAR-8 cancer cells. Compounds 1 and 2 were less cytotoxic to HOE cell line. Both compounds induced apoptosis by increasing caspase 3/7 activities in a concentration dependent manner. Compound 1 further increased caspase 8 and 9 activities and apoptosis cell populations. Compounds 1 and 2 are both drug like, and compound 1 may target various proteins including a kinase. Conclusions: Clerodane diterpenoids (1 and 2) in J. insularis were identified as cytotoxic to ovarian cancer cells via the induction of apoptosis, providing an abundant and valuable source of hit compounds for the treatment of ovarian cancer.