Direct Chiral HPLC Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Warfarin Enantiomers and Its Impurities in Raw Material and Pharmaceutical Formulation: Application of Chemometric Protocol

Warfarin is a well-known anticoagulant agent that occurs in two enantiomers, (R)-(+)-warfarin and (S)-(?)-warfarin, in which 4-hydroxycoumarin and benzalacetone are commonly found as impurities. Due to the lack of analytical reports for the simultaneous estimation on warfarin and its impurities in bulk drug and pharmaceuticals, we aim at the simultaneous estimation and optimization of the chromatographic separation of warfarin and its related substances employing experimental design. Central composite design was employed to evaluate the influence of two independent variables (concentration of organic modifier and flow rate) on the output responses: capacity factor (k ₁), resolution of the peak (Rs _3,4), and retention time of the last peak (tR ₅), as well as to model these responses. Further, the central composite design results were combined in a multicriteria decision-making approach in order to obtain a set of optimal experimental conditions leading to the most desirable compromise between resolution and analysis time.     

Effect of rope mat and random orientation on mechanical and thermal properties of banana ribbon-reinforced polyester composites and its application

The present work deals with the characterization of banana ribbon, a new natural fiber, and the effect of rope mat and random orientation on the mechanical and thermal properties of banana ribbon-reinforced polyester composites. Of all the fabricated composites, the banana ribbon rope mat composites showed improved mechanical and thermal properties compared to randomly oriented composites and other natural fiber composites. The surface morphologies of fractured mechanical testing samples were studied by scanning electron microscope to probe the fiber–matrix interaction. Furthermore, the mat composites are used to fabricate windshield of four wheelers and mudguard of two wheelers.     

Extraction and characterization of new cellulosic fibers from Indian mallow stem: An exploratory investigation

Natural fibers are one of the good alternative sources for replacing synthetic fiber and reinforcing polymer matrices because of their eco-friendly nature. This investigation deals with the extraction and characterization of new natural fiber from Indian mallow plant stem. The physico-chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of Indian mallow fibers (IMFs) were reported and compared with other natural fibers for the first time. Cellulose (78.22%), wax (0.47%), density (1.33 g/cm³), and tensile strength (979.83 MPa) were recognized in IMFs. Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermo-gravimetric analysis confirmed that IMFs are rich in cellulose content and thermally stable with a crystallinity index of 72%.     

Identification of Cellulase Gene from the Metagenome of Equus burchelli Fecal Samples and Functional Characterization of a Novel Bifunctional Cellulolytic Enzyme

The metagenomic approach has been used successfully to isolate novel biocatalyst gene from uncultured microorganisms. The gene encoding exo-1,4-??-glucanase avicelase was amplified from the metagenome of the Equus burchelli fecal sample and cloned. The gene was found to be of 1,007?bp of nucleotide which encodes a protein of 318 amino acids with a calculated MW of 36?kDa. The deduced amino acid sequence was homologous with cellulases belonging to the glycosyl hydrolases 6 superfamily. The expressed protein was active towards the substrates avicel and carboxymethyl cellulose, indicating that it has bifunctional cellulolytic enzyme activity. The recombinant protein showed an activity of 5.23?U with specific activity of 6.8?U?mg^?1 protein with the substrate avicel, while when CMC was used, an activity of 3.0?U with a specific activity of 4.2?U?mg^?1 protein was achieved. Its optimum pH was determined to be 7.0 and optimum temperature of 35°C.     

Jump-reduced immersed boundary method for compressible flow

The main challenge of the immersed boundary approach is the proper enforcement of boundary conditions on the body interface without any spurious oscillations, which are induced by the nongrid-conforming boundary configuration. In this study, a new sharp interface ghost-cell immersed boundary method (IBM) is proposed for obtaining solutions near the immersed boundary with a high order of accuracy. The main idea is “jump-reduction” instead of jump-correction across the boundary interface by combining the ghost-cell method with the flow reconstruction method. In the proposed IBM, the unknown values at the three points, that is, boundary points, ghost cell, and flow field reconstruction point are solved simultaneously using equations formulated by the moving least-squares interpolation method. It is a hybrid of ghost-cell and flow reconstruction methods, correlated with interface values, which result in a reduced jump-discontinuity. In addition, a discontinuity-distinguishing algorithm is introduced so that the low-order method is applied only to the discontinuous or non smooth region, while the current high-order method is applied elsewhere. Reduced jump-discontinuity of the proposed IBM has been verified in both subsonic and supersonic flow using fundamental benchmark problems. We observed that the reduced jump-discontinuity does not hamper the mass conservation and shows even better conservation property than conventional methods due to the nonoscillatory performance in smooth regions. The numerical results further confirm the ability of the proposed IBM to solve complex flow physics with high-order accuracy and improved stability.     

A Study on Nucleate Boiling Heat Transfer Characteristics of Acetone on Smooth and Indented Surfaces

This article presents the nucleate boiling heat transfer characteristics of acetone at one bar on smooth and enhanced circular stainless steel surfaces (SS 316) of 20 mm diameter for heat flux between 1 and 4 W cm^? 2, which mimic the operating condition of a typical immersion electronic cooling system. The experimental heat transfer coefficient from the smooth surface is validated against Borishanski correlation [1] within acceptable limits of ± 5%. The steel smooth surface is enhanced by providing 100 equally spaced indents of 0.5 mm diameter and 0.05 mm depth. The experimental results indicate that the enhanced surface shows a good shift in the boiling curve and thus, enhancing the nucleate boiling heat transfer at a lesser wall super heat when compared to the smooth surface by around 35% for tested condition. The effect of subcooling on nucleate boiling in enhanced surface reveal that the heat transfer coefficient degrade by 40 to 55% for a sub cooling of 5 to 10 K. The influence of material is studied by a similar enhanced surface made of brass and compared for the same working condition. The brass enhanced surface showed an improved of around 50% against the steel-enhanced surface. Also, the influence of fluid is studied by comparing acetone and n-pentane, which showed that the latter an enhancement in heat transfer coefficient of 50% over the former.     

Characterization of new natural cellulosic fiber from kusha grass

The present research work aimed to characterize new natural cellulosic kusha fibers extracted from the kusha grass plants. The physical and chemical properties of kusha fibers such as cellulose content (70.58%), lignin (14.35%), wax content (1.52%), ash content (2.46%), moisture content (8.01%), and density (1.1025 g cc^?1) were identified. An X-ray diffraction of kusha fibers confirms the presence of cellulose with a crystalline index of 55.4%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis was carried out to establish the certainty of using them as reinforcement fiber. Thermogravimetric analysis ensures thermal stability up to 357°C which is within the polymerization process temperature.     

Updates on Dengue Vaccine and Antiviral: Where Are We Heading?

Approximately 100–400 million people from more than 100 countries in the tropical and subtropical world are affected by dengue infections. Recent scientific breakthroughs have brought new insights into novel strategies for the production of dengue antivirals and vaccines. The search for specific dengue inhibitors is expanding, and the mechanisms for evaluating the efficacy of novel drugs are currently established, allowing for expedited translation into human trials. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the only FDA-approved vaccine, Dengvaxia, a safer and more effective dengue vaccine candidate is making its way through the clinical trials. Until an effective antiviral therapy and licensed vaccine are available, disease monitoring and vector population control will be the mainstays of dengue prevention. In this article, we highlighted recent advances made in the perspectives of efforts made recently, in dengue vaccine development and dengue antiviral drug.     

Spontaneous Single‐Crystal‐to‐Single‐Crystal Evolution of Two Cross‐Laminated Polymers

Two cases of spontaneous evolution of monomers to linear polymers having novel cross‐laminated topology are reported. We synthesized two peptide monomers N₃‐Gly‐Gly‐NH‐CH₂‐CCH and N₃‐Gly‐Gly‐Gly‐CH₂‐CCH and solved their crystal structures by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. They adopt H‐bonded crisscrossed layered packing in their crystals such that: (a) the monomers are aligned head‐to‐tail in 1D‐chain‐like arrays and parallel arrangement of such arrays forms a layer; (b) the proximally placed azide and alkyne motifs are in an orientation apt for their regiospecific cycloaddition; (c) each monomer having x peptide bonds is H‐bonded with 2x monomers disposed in intersecting arrangement, which pre‐organize 1D‐chain‐like arrays in adjacent layers in perpendicular orientation. These crystals underwent spontaneous single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal (SCSC) polymerization via azide–alkyne cycloaddition reaction to form triazolyl‐polyglycines, at room temperature. The crisscrossed arrangement of monomers in adjacent layers ensured the formation of cross‐laminated polymers.