Experimental comparison of performance and emission characteristics of 4-stroke CI engine operated with Roselle and Jatropha biodiesel blends

The environmental degradation, combined with the continuous depletion of the world's fossil fuel reserves, has forced the search for alternative fuels. This study was performed to investigate the performance of novel biodiesels in the CI engine. The experiments were performed at three different compressions ratios (16:1, 17:1, 18:1) and four loading conditions (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%). Different types of fuels such as jatropha biodiesel (JB), roselle biodiesel (RB), and ternary biodiesel (TB) were prepared and analyzed. The thermal performance of different fuels was analyzed in terms of brake thermal efficiency (BTE), brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), and exhaust gas temperature (EGT). The emission characteristics such as CO₂ emission, NO_x emission, and smoke emission were analyzed for all types of fuels. The results of these fuels in the engine were compared with mineral diesel (MD). The BTE was increased with increasing compression ratios and loads for all types of fuels. The BSFC was increased with increasing compression ratios but decreased with increasing loads. The increase in emission of NO_x was observed at higher compression ratios and loads. However, the CO₂ emission was decreased at higher loads and lower compression ratio. The performance curves achieved with a 20% jatropha biodiesel blend showed results that were approximate to those obtained with pure MD. The comparative analysis between different fuels showed that JB exhibit higher thermal performance as compared to other biodiesels. Therefore, JB can be a better alternative to conventional fuel.     

Peristaltic radiative flow of Sisko nanomaterial with entropy generation and modified Darcy’s law

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - Nanomaterials are quite significant in the physiological and engineering processes. Such materials have motivated the recent scientists in view of...     

Synthesis of activated carbon foams with high specific surface area using polyurethane elastomer templates for effective removal of methylene blue

Carbon foams have gained significant attention due to their tuneable properties that enable a wide range of applications including catalysis, energy storage and wastewater treatment. Novel synthesis pathways enable novel applications via yielding complex, hierarchical material structure. In this work, activated carbon foams (ACFs) were produced from waste polyurethane elastomer templates using different synthesis pathways, including a novel one-step method. Uniquely, the produced foams exhibited complex structure and contained carbon microspheres. The ACFs were synthesized by impregnating the elastomers in an acidified sucrose solution followed by direct activation using CO₂ at 1000 ℃. Different pyrolysis and activation conditions were investigated. The ACFs were characterized by a high specific surface area (S_BET) of 2172 m²/g and an enhanced pore volume of 1.08 cm³/g. Computer tomography and morphological studies revealed an inhomogeneous porous structure and the presence of numerous carbon spheres of varying sizes embedded in the porous network of the three-dimensional carbon foam. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy indicated that the obtained carbon foam was amorphous and of turbostratic structure. Moreover, the activation process enhanced the surface of the carbon foam, making it more hydrophilic via altering pore size distribution and introducing oxygen functional groups. In equilibrium, the adsorption of methylene blue on ACF followed the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 592 mg/g. Based on these results, the produced ACFs have potential applications as adsorbents, catalyst support and electrode material in energy storage systems.     

Complexes with Atomic Gold Ions: Efficient Bis-Ligand Formation

Complexes of atomic gold with a variety of ligands have been formed by passing helium nanodroplets (HNDs) through two pickup cells containing gold vapor and the vapor of another dopant, namely a rare gas, a diatomic molecule (H₂, N₂, O₂, I₂, P₂), or various polyatomic molecules (H₂O, CO₂, SF₆, C₆H₆, adamantane, imidazole, dicyclopentadiene, and fullerene). The doped HNDs were irradiated by electrons; ensuing cations were identified in a high-resolution mass spectrometer. Anions were detected for benzene, dicyclopentadiene, and fullerene. For most ligands L, the abundance distribution of AuL_n⁺ versus size n displays a remarkable enhancement at n = 2. The propensity towards bis-ligand formation is attributed to the formation of covalent bonds in Au⁺L₂ which adopt a dumbbell structure, L-Au⁺-L, as previously found for L = Xe and C₆₀. Another interesting observation is the effect of gold on the degree of ionization-induced intramolecular fragmentation. For most systems gold enhances the fragmentation, i.e., intramolecular fragmentation in AuL_n⁺ is larger than in pure L_n⁺. Hydrogen, on the other hand, behaves differently, as intramolecular fragmentation in Au(H₂)_n⁺ is weaker than in pure (H₂)_n⁺ by an order of magnitude.     

Development of novel LSM/GDC composite and electrochemical characterization of LSM/GDC based cathode-supported direct carbon fuel cells

(La_0.8Sr_0.2)_0.95MnO_3?δ (LSM)–Gd_0.1Ce_0.9O_2?δ (gadolinium-doped ceria, GDC) composite cathode material was developed and characterized in terms of chemical stability, sintering behaviour, electrical conductivity, mechanical strength and microstructures to assess its feasibility as cathode support applications in cathode-supported fuel cell configurations. The sintering inhibition effect of LSM, in the presence of GDC, was observed and clearly demonstrated. The mechanical characterization of developed composites revealed that fracture behaviour is directly affected by pore size distribution. The Weibull strength distribution showed that for bimodal pore size distribution, two different fracture rates were present. Furthermore, the contiguity of LSM and GDC grains was calculated with image analysis, and correlation of microstructural features with mechanical and electrical properties was established. Subsequently, an LSM/GDC-based cathode-supported direct carbon fuel cell (DCFC) with Ni/ScSZ (scandia-stabilised zirconia) anode was successfully fabricated via slurry coating and co-firing techniques. The microstructures of electrodes and electrolyte layers were observed to confirm the desired morphology after co-sintering, and a single cell was electrochemically characterized in solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and DCFC mode with ambient air as oxidant. The higher values of open-circuit voltage indicated that the electrolyte layer prepared by vacuum slurry coating is dense enough. The corresponding peak power densities at 850 °C were 450 and 225 mW cm^?2 in SOFC and DCFC mode, respectively. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was carried out to observe electrode polarization and ohmic resistance.     

Ferroptosis: A New Road towards Cancer Management

Ferroptosis is a recently described programmed cell death mechanism that is characterized by the buildup of iron (Fe)-dependent lipid peroxides in cells and is morphologically, biochemically, and genetically distinct from other forms of cell death, having emerged to play an important role in cancer biology. Ferroptosis has significant importance during cancer treatment because of the combination of factors, including suppression of the glutathione peroxidase 4 (Gpx4), cysteine deficiency, and arachidonoyl (AA) peroxidation, which cause cells to undergo ferroptosis. However, the physiological significance of ferroptosis throughout development is still not fully understood. This current review is focused on the factors and molecular mechanisms with the diagrammatic illustrations of ferroptosis that have a role in the initiation and sensitivity of ferroptosis in various malignancies. This knowledge will open a new road for research in oncology and cancer management.     

Phytochemical Profiling,In Vitro Biological Activities,and In Silico Molecular Docking Studies of Dracaena reflexa

Dracaena reflexa, a traditionally significant medicinal plant, has not been extensively explored before for its phytochemical and biological potential. The present study was conducted to evaluate the bioactive phytochemicals and in vitro biological activities of D. reflexa, and perform in silico molecular docking validation of D. reflexa. The bioactive phytochemicals were assessed by preliminary phytochemical testing, total bioactive contents, and GC-MS analysis. For biological evaluation, the antioxidant (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, and ABTS), antibacterial, thrombolytic, and enzyme inhibition (tyrosinase and cholinesterase enzymes) potential were determined. The highest level of total phenolic contents (92.72 ± 0.79 mg GAE/g extract) was found in the n-butanol fraction while the maximum total flavonoid content (110 ± 0.83 mg QE/g extract) was observed in methanolic extract. The results showed that n-butanol fraction exhibited very significant tyrosinase inhibition activity (73.46 ± 0.80) and acetylcholinesterase inhibition activity (64.06 ± 2.65%) as compared to other fractions and comparable to the standard compounds (kojic acid and galantamine). The methanolic extract was considered to have moderate butyrylcholinesterase inhibition activity (50.97 ± 063) as compared to the standard compound galantamine (53.671 ± 0.97%). The GC-MS analysis of the n-hexane fraction resulted in the tentative identification of 120 bioactive phytochemicals. Furthermore, the major compounds as identified by GC-MS were analyzed using in silico molecular docking studies to determine the binding affinity between the ligands and the enzymes (tyrosinase, acetylcholinesterase, and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes). The results of this study suggest that Dracaena reflexa has unquestionable pharmaceutical importance and it should be further explored for the isolation of secondary metabolites that can be employed for the treatment of different diseases.     

生物催化进展:从计算到代谢工程（英文）

经过数次技术研究和超常创新战略的大发展,生物催化逐渐达到工业化水平,从而受到人们特别的关注.基于酶值,通过生物途径生产高附加值化合物和精细工业化学品成为人们最感兴趣的领域之一.更广泛的众多生物化学路线可由酶催化来实现,其中还有一些酶尚未被人们发现.另一方面,由于非同源底物和某些化学过程所必需的苛刻条件,导致酶催化过程的效率低、稳定性差,因而限制了生物催化的应用.因此,开发具有多催化特征、更高效率和稳定性的绿色催化剂,成为生物催化的重中之重.计算科学、代谢工程、合成生物,以及机器学习路线的运用为新催化剂的工程化提供了新方法.本文重点介绍了合成生物学和代谢工程在催化中的作用,讨论了用于催化的机器学习算法和如何选择一种预测蛋白质-配体相互作用的算法;为了预测键合和催化功能,综述了分子对接的重要性;最后给出了结束语、未来挑战和前景展望.     

Some Inequalities Concerning the Polar Derivative of a Polynomial-II

In this paper, we consider the class of polynomials P（z）= anz^n＋ ∑vn=μan-vz^n-v,1≤μ≤n , having all zeros in ｜z｜≤k, k ≤1 and thereby present an alternative proof, independent of Laguerre＇s theorem, of an inequality concerning the polar derivative of a polynomial.     

A new efficient presentation for PSL(2,5) and the structure of the groups G(3,m,n)

G(3, m, n) is the group presented by . In this paper, we study the structure of G(3, m, n). We also give a new efficient presentation for the Projective Special Linear group PSL(2, 5) and in particular we prove that PSL(2, 5) is isomorphic to G(3, m, n) under certain conditions.