Comparison of UV Protection Properties of Cotton Fabrics Treated with Aqueous and Methanolic Extracts of Achyranthes aspera and Alhagi maurorum Plants

UV radiations are high‐energy radiations present in sunlight that can damage human skin. Protection against these radiations becomes vital especially in those areas of the globe where UV index is quite high that makes the inhabitants more prone to dangerous effects of UV radiations. Clothing materials are good blockers of UV radiations, particularly when the fabric cover factor is high and/or the fabrics contain suitable UV‐blocking finishes. In this study, effect of application of aqueous and methanolic extracts of two different plants, i.e., Achyranthes aspera and Alhagi maurorum on UV protection properties of cotton fabric was investigated. The results showed that the fabric samples treated with extracts of both the plants have excellent UV protection properties as indicated by their ultraviolet protection factor. It was concluded that both the aqueous and methanolic plant extracts are very effective in blocking UVA and UVB radiations, when applied on cotton fabrics. The UV protection performance of Achyranthes aspera extracts was much better as compared to that of Alhagi maurorum, and methanolic extracts of both the plants outperformed the aqueous extracts in terms of UV protection.     

Compositionally graded quaternary electron blocking layer for efficient deep ultraviolet AlGaN-based light-emitting diodes

Optical Review - We present the enhancement of ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using numerical analysis. We have employed a compositionally graded quaternary (AlInGaN) electron...     

Through Bridge Spin Coupling in Homo- and Heterobimetallic Porphyrin Dimers upon Stepwise Oxidations: A Spectroscopic and Theoretical Investigation

We have described copper(II)-iron(III) and copper(II)-manganese(III) heterobimetallic porphyrin dimers and compared them with the corresponding homobimetallic analogs. UV-visible spectra are very distinct in the heterometallic species while electrochemical studies demonstrate that these species, as compared to the homobimetallic analog, are much easier to oxidize. Combined Mössbauer, EPR, NMR, magnetic and UV-visible spectroscopic studies show that upon 2e-oxidation of the heterobimetallic complexes only ring-centered oxidation occurs. The energy differences between HOMO and LUMO are linearly dependent with the low-energy NIR band obtained for the 2e-oxidized complexes. Also, strong electronic communication between two porphyrin rings through the bridge facilitates coupling between various unpaired spins present while the coupling model depends on the nature of metal ions used. While unpaired spins of Fe(III) and the porphyrin π-cation radical are strongly antiferromagnetically coupled, such coupling is rather weak between Mn(III) and a porphyrin π-cation radical. Moreover, the coupling between two π-cation radicals are much stronger in the 2e-oxidized complexes of dimanganese(III) and copper(II)-manganese(III) porphyrin dimers as compared to their diiron(III) and copper(II)-iron(III) analogs. Furthermore, coupling between the unpaired spins of a π-cation radical and copper(II) is much stronger in the 2e-oxidized complex of copper(II)-iron(III) porphyrin dimer as compared to its copper(II)-manganese(III) analog. The Mulliken spin density distributions in 2e-oxidized homo- and heterobimetallic complexes show symmetric and asymmetric spread between the two macrocycles, respectively. In both the 2e-oxidized heterobimetallic complexes, the Cu(II) porphyrin center acts as a charge donor while Fe(III)/Mn(III) porphyrin center act as a charge acceptor. The experimental observations are also strongly supported by DFT calculations.     

Heat transfer mechanisms in poplar wood undergoing torrefaction

Torrefaction, a thermal treatment process of biomass, has been proved to improve biomass combustible properties. Torrefaction is defined as a thermochemical process in reduced oxygen condition and at temperature range from 200 to 300 °C for shorter residence time whereby energy yield is maximized, can be a bridging technology that can lead the conventional system (e.g. coal-fired plants) towards a sustainable energy system. In efforts to develop a commercial operable torrefaction reactor, the present study examines the minimum input condition at which biomass is torrefied and explores the heat transfer mechanisms during torrefaction in poplar wood samples. The heat transfer through the wood sample is numerically modeled and analyzed. Each poplar wood is torrefied at temperature of 250, 270, and 300 °C. The experimental study shows that the 270 °C-treatment can be deduced as the optimal input condition for torrefaction of poplar wood. A good understanding of heat transfer mechanisms can facilitate the upscaling and downscaling of torrefaction process equipment to fit the feedstock input criteria and can help to develop treatment input specifications that can maximize process efficiency.     

Robust iris biometric system for visible wavelength data

Commercial iris biometric systems exhibit good performance for near-infrared(NIR) images but poor performance for visible wavelength(VW) data.To address this problem,we propose an iris biometric system for VW data.The system includes localizing iris boundaries that use bimodal thresholding,Euclidean distance transform(EDT),and a circular pixel counting scheme(CPCS).Eyelids are localized using a parabolic pixel counting scheme(PPCS),and eyelashes,light reflections,and skin parts are adaptively detected using image intensity.Features are extracted using the log Gabor filter,and finally,matching is performed using Hamming distance(HD).The experimental results on UBIRIS and CASIA show that the proposed technique outperforms contemporary approaches.     

Screening of conditions controlling spectrophotometric sequential injection analysis

Background  

Despite its potential benefits over univariate, chemometrics is rarely utilized for optimizing sequential injection analysis (SIA) methods. Specifically, in previous vis-spectrophotometric SIA methods, chemometrically optimized conditions were confined within flow rate and reagent concentrations while other conditions were ignored.     

An exclusive kinetic model for the methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation over alumina-supported Pt catalysts

The experimental data of six different types of Pt-containing alumina catalysts are used to study the detailed and rigorous kinetics of the methylcyclohexane dehydrogenation reaction. A large number of kinetic rate equations were formulated using the power law kinetics and the Langmuir-Hinshelwood-Hougen-Watson (LHHW) kinetics, which were tested against the experimental data. For each catalyst, the elementary reaction step “the loss of first molecular hydrogen” in the LHHW single-site surface reaction mechanism was observed to be the rate-determining step. The form of the kinetic rate model developed in the study is believed to be applicable to any Pt-loaded alumina catalyst.     

On the temperature dependence of the enthalpies of mixing in liquid binary (Ag, Cu, Ni)-Sn alloys

The partial and integral enthalpies of mixing of liquid binary alloys in the systems Ag-Sn, Cu-Sn and Ni-Sn were determined at different temperatures from 500 to 1500 °C using drop calorimetry techniques. Generally, our measured values fit well to most of the hitherto reported results. The data were fitted using a Redlich-Kister polynomial and the binary interaction parameters were evaluated. For all three systems the enthalpy curves at various temperatures are discussed focusing on the association theory. C^ass,C^A₁,B₁,C^A₁,A_iB_j,C^B₁,A_iB_j, the interaction parameters and K_AiBj were determined. The general shape and supposed temperature dependence of the enthalpy of mixing in Ag-Sn and Cu-Sn could be confirmed. No significant temperature dependence could be found experimentally for Ni-Sn at temperatures above 1100 °C. Extrapolations into the metastable liquid regions based on the association theory, however, indicate a small drop of Δ_MixH with temperature. A second series of measurements limited to low concentrations of Ag, Cu, or Ni, respectively in Sn has been performed in order to determine the partial enthalpies of mixing at infinite dilution at 500, 600, 700, and 800 °C. Temperature dependence could be observed for all three binary systems, most developed for Ni-Sn.     

Fabrication,rheological analysis,and in vitro characterization of in situ chemically cross‐linkable thermogels as controlled and prolonged drug depot for localized and systemic delivery

5‐Fluorouracil (5‐FU) is widely used against many types of solid cancer in clinics. However, because of its limitations such as short half‐life, poor oral absorption and rapid clearance by dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase have limited its applications. In current study, new in situ chemically grafted thermogels for prolonged drug release are formed on the basis of poloxamer 407 (PF127) and carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS) using glutaraldehyde as cross‐linking agent. The phase transition from sol to gel state at body temperature was confirmed by tube titling, rheological analysis, and optical transmittance determinations. Swelling and drug release experiments conducted at various pH and temperature demonstrated that developed formulations are thermoresponsive with maximum swelling and release below critical gelation temperature (CGT) (pH 7.4, 25°C). Cells growth inhibition study confirmed the biocompatibility of thermogels against L929 cell lines. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay confirmed that 5‐FU–loaded thermogels have the potential to cause cells death against HeLa and MCF‐7 cancer lines. The IC₅₀ values calculated for pure 5‐FU solution (27 ± 0.81 μg/mL for HeLa and 24 ± 0.58 μg/mL for MCF‐7) were found higher in comparison with 5‐FU–loaded thermogels, against HeLa (17 ± 0.39 μg/mL) and MCF‐7 (14 ± 0.67 μg/mL). Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) confirmed the new structure formation and chemical grafting between PF127 and CMCS. Thermogravimetric (TG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses proved the phase transition around physiologic temperature range, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis displayed the presence of connected pores in the cross section of thermogels facilitating the uptake of solvents and drug particles. Altogether, results concluded that developed chemically grafted thermogels can be used in vivo for prolonged drug release after subcutaneous administration.