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The moisture resistance of dense- and gap-graded bituminous mixes prepared with the replacement of virgin aggregates and fresh bitumen with reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) was evaluated using indirect tensile strength (ITS) and resilient modulus ( Mr). The mechanistic analysis was performed to estimate the effect of moisture resistance on the fatigue performance of thin and thick pavement sections designed with dense- and gap-graded bituminous mixes. The ITS ratio and Mr ratio results indicate that the resilient modulus ratio is more sensitive to moisture damage in bituminous mixes than the ITS ratio. In addition, the results of the fatigue life ratio indicated that the gap-graded mix prepared with different RAP content has better resistance to moisture-related cracking in thick pavement sections than the dense-graded mix. However, the effectiveness of gap-graded and dense-graded mixes prepared with different RAP content on moisture-related cracking depended on the subgrade strength for thin pavement sections.

Based on data from the previous year's gold price, the "GOLD PRICE PREDICTION" project forecasts the gold EFT price. The primary goal of this research is to anticipate daily changes in gold rates that will aid investors in choosing whetherto purchase or sell gold. Forecasting inventory is essential to the business's financial performance. Increased investor interest in gold as an appealing investment has been fueled by price volatility and declines in other sectors, including the capital and real estate markets. There is concern that these exorbitant costs will persist and that they will decline. Despite the fact that several studies have looked at the relationship between the price of gold and various economic factors GOLD PRICE is picked Stock market, rupee-dollar exchange rate, inflation, and interest rates are some of the elements that affect it. The study examined monthly pricing data from January 2008 to December 2018. The data was further divided into two periods: period I, from January 2008 to October 2011, during which the price of gold shows an upward tendency, and period II, from November 2011 to December 2018, during which the price of gold shows a downward trend. These data were analyzed using three machine learning algorithms: linear regression, random forest regression, and gradient-boosting regression. It is discovered that there are high correlations between the variables during interval I and weak correlations during interval II. [Arthur, W.B., Holland, J.H., LeBaron, B., Palmer, R., and Taylor, P.: Asset pricing under endogenous expectation in an artificial stock market. in The Economy as an Evolving Complex System II. Santa Fe Institute Studies in the Sciences of Complexity Lecture Notes (1997)] Even though these models exhibit acceptable data fit during interval I, the fit is poor during interval II Even though these models exhibit acceptable data fit during interval I, the fit is poor during interval II. Gradient boosting regression is shown to have superior prediction accuracy for the two intervals when considered separately, however random forest regression is found to have more accurate predictions for the total interval.

Background: Pilonidal sinus literally means a cavity or sinus containing hairs it is minor disease process has baffled physician, as demonstrated by the multiple theories of its aetiology and management. Numerous surgical techniques are employed for postnatal sacrococcygeal pilonidal sinus. The exact procedure is determined by nature of disease presentation and the surgeons choice. Aims: Study aimed in Pilonidal sinus and different predisposing factors and the various surgical procedures with regards to Duration of hospital stay, time taken wound healing, recurrence, wound infection and time taken for return to work. Materials and methods: Observational descriptive study done in 31 patients who had pilonidal sinus. But one female patient was hypothyroid and was receiving thyroxine supplements and was operated and followed up in an euthyroid state. Results: In the present study 31 cases of pilonidal sinus were studied. The commonest age of presentation was between 16 – 25 years. sex ration: M:F = 6.75:1. Majority were students (35.48%) and auto drivers (48.38%). Majority were individuals (74.19%) and 25.81% were non hairy.

Throughout history, mushrooms have occupied an inseparable part of the diet in many countries. Mushrooms are considered a rich source of phytonutrients such as polysaccharides, dietary fibers, and other micronutrients, in addition to various essential amino acids, which are building blocks of vital proteins. In general, mushrooms offer a wide range of health benefits with a large spectrum of pharmacological properties, including antidiabetic, antioxidative, antiviral, antibacterial, osteoprotective, nephroprotective, hepatoprotective, etc. Both wild edible and medicinal mushrooms possess strong therapeutic and biological activities, which are evident from their in vivo and in vitro assays. The multifunctional activities of the mushroom extracts and the targeted potential of each of the compounds in the extracts have a broad range of applications, especially in the healing and repair of various organs and cells in humans. Owing to the presence of the aforementioned properties and rich phytocomposition, mushrooms are being used in the production of nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. This review aims to provide a clear insight on the commercially cultivated, wild edible, and medicinal mushrooms with comprehensive information on their phytochemical constituents and properties as part of food and medicine for futuristic exploitation. Future outlook and prospective challenges associated with the cultivation and processing of these medicinal mushrooms as functional foods are also discussed.

The main aim of the present investigation was to characterize the lubricant dispersed with ZnO-TiO2 hybrid nanoparticles. The work includes a dispersion of nanoparticles with varying proportions of 0.02 to 0.08 with an incremental step of 0.02 wt. % of base oil. Further, the samples were used to study the thermo-physical properties. The characterization result includes crystallinity and particle size of Zinc-oxide and titania nanoparticles, whereas the nano-based lubricant is characterized for its chemical compatibility, thermal conductivity, viscosity, and thermal stability. The result favors enhancing the thermo-physical properties of nano-based lubricant. Index Terms: nanoparticles, lubricant, thermal conductivity.

Material selection is an important step under active planning phase in production planning and control and, so is process selection. Polymers are preferable option for various products due to their desirable properties. Light weight, low cost, corrosion resistant and high strength to weight ratio is few among them. In similar manner injection molding is the most suitable process to be preferred for processing various grades of thermoplastics. The process preferably utilizes a heating unit to take polymers to their injection temperature, a permanent mold with shaped cavity as the shape of the required product along with clamping and cooling provisions. The process is best suitable for mass production of plastic parts and is widely used industrially. The permanent mold used in injection molding process is also referred as plastic mold. These molds must be designed and analyzed before their manufacturing to ensure suitability of the molding with particular plastic material type. This article attempts to ensure suitability of molding plastic wing nuts, an internal threaded component, by injection molding process with polypropylene (PP) and high density poly ethylene (HDPE) material. Modeling of parts is done with UG Nx 9.0 while the flow analysis is performed by Autodesk Mold Flow Adviser 2015. Index Terms: Injection molding, permanent mold, internal threaded component, polypropylene, high density poly ethylene.

Fatigue failure in asphalt pavements occur due to the accumulation of damage under repeated traffic loading. Fatigue cracks generally occur within the binder phase of the asphalt mixture. Hence the specifications for properties related to fatigue resistance of asphalt binder become an important screening tool to select binders that are not inherently susceptible to fatigue under given environmental and traffic conditions. The Current Superpave Performance Grading (PG) specifications use parameter |G*|.·sinδ of asphalt binder to assess the fatigue susceptibility of asphalt mixes. These specifications do not accurately characterize the fatigue resistance of asphalt binders because |G*|.·sinδ is determined by applying a cyclic loading in the Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) at a very small strain amplitude (1%). In this study, Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) test was considered to characterize the fatigue resistance of asphalt binders with warm mix additives. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) is a developing technology that can allow asphalt concrete to be produced at lower temperatures. This paper presents result of a study carried out to investigate the fatigue characteristics of warm-mix asphalt binders using a linear amplitude sweep test. Three warm-mix additives; Sasobit®, Evotherm™ and Rediset® are considered. Viscosity grade (VG 30), Polymer modified binder (PMB 40) and Crumb rubber modified binder (CRMB 60) were selected as base binders for this investigation. Physical and rheological tests were carried out for the characterization of these binders. The LAS test was carried out at 25 °C in a DSR, and the fatigue parameters were calculated from stress–strain plots. Test results showed that the changing trend in fatigue life of mixes is more related to the fatigue parameter Nf from LAS test than to |G*|. sinδ values of the binders. It was also observed that most of the warm mix binders have improved fatigue resistance at 25 °C in comparison to the control binders. The effect of Rediset® additive was found to be insignificant in the case of VG 30 grade binder only.

Electrochemical hydrogenation is a challenging technoeconomic process for sustainable liquid fuel production from biomass-derived compounds. In general, half-cell hydrogenation is paired with water oxidation to generate the low economic value of O2 at the anode. Herein, a new strategy for the rational design of Ru/reduced graphene oxide (Ru/RGO) nanocomposites through a cost-effective and straightforward microwave irradiation technique is reported for the first time. The Ru nanoparticles with an average size of 3.5 nm are well anchored into the RGO frameworks with attractive nanostructures to enhance the furfural’s paired electrohydrogenation (ECH) and electrooxidation (ECO) process to achieve high-grade biofuel. Furfural is used as a reactant with the paired electrolyzer to produce furfuryl alcohol and 2-methylfuran at the cathode side. Simultaneously, 2-furic acid and 5-hydroxyfuroic acid along with plenty of H+ and e– are generated at the anode side. Most impressively, the paired electrolyzer induces an extraordinary ECH and ECO of furfural, with the desired production of 2-methylfuran (yield = 91% and faradic efficiency (FE) of 95%) at XFF = 97%, outperforming the ECH half-cell reaction. The mechanisms of the half-cell reaction and paired cell reaction are discussed. Exquisite control of the reaction parameters, optimized strategies, and the yield of individual products are demonstrated. These results show that the Ru/RuO nanocomposite is a potential candidate for biofuel production in industrial sectors.

Alarming rates of water contamination by toxic herbicides have prompted the need and attention for easy, efficient, and affordable treatment options with a touch of circular economy aspects. This study valorized date palm leaf (DPL) wastes into a valuable adsorbent for remediating agricultural wastewater polluted with 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DPA) herbicide. The DPL precursor was modified with H

Concrete oil was extracted from Rosa x damascena using different percentage ratios of solvents (petroleum ether and ethanol) by the Soxhlet extraction method. The extraction was carried out using petroleum ether and ethanol in five different percentage ratios of (v/v) (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100) (petroleum ether:ethanol). The rotary vacuum evaporator was used to separate concrete oil and the solvents. The extracted concrete oil was analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) technique. The obtained results show that many new compounds were identified, at two different solvents and its ratios. Phenylethyl alcohol in the percentages of (61.71%), (10.07%) and (25.92%) was obtained as a major compound with the solvent percentages of (100:0), (50:50) and (75:25) (PE:E), respectively. Hexacosane (37.2%) was identified as a major compound when pure ethanol is used as a solvent. The highest number of components were identified (totally 93 components) when an equal percentage (50:50) of petroleum ether and ethanol were mixed. The usual monoterpenes components, e.g. geraniol, nerol, citronellol and linalool, were not found in the present extraction study. This study concludes that the compositions of concrete oil were mainly influenced by the type of solvents and its ratios used for the extraction

Fire accidents have been occurring frequently in these days, with or without the intervention of human. Whatever may be the reason it is one of the reason for huge blow to the mankind. Different losses would occur in the form of property, land, humans and animals too. Nature is also losing its environmental balance. Before the fire get widespread we have to inhibit it in initial stages. With the use of current technology we have developed a robot. In our paper, we will give the information about the design and construction of it. This fire fighting robot uses GSM technology. When the Robot detects fire, it gives message to the user by the use of GSM. A wireless smart camera which is fixed to it gives the video coverage of the surroundings. By the use of DTMF concept, we can control the movement of the robot in the direction we prefer. 8051 microcontroller is the main component of the project. It only sends and receives all major signals.

Fibrous mesoporous Ni1 − xO nanosponge with excellent pseudocapacitive properties was synthesized by controlled calcination of [Ni(H2O)4(4-nba)2]·2H2O; a 4-nitrobenzoate (4-nba) coordinated compound. Control experiments with compounds such as [Ni(H2O)6](4-nba)2·2H2O; a non-coordinated 4-nba compound and the [Ni(H2O)6]Cl2, without any 4-nba resulted in the formation of only agglomerated NiO nanoparticles. This proved the significance of 4-nba ligation with Ni2+ in [Ni(H2O)4(4-nba)2]·2H2O to produce highly porous, sponge-like nanostructures, without the need of hydrothermal or solvothermal treatment. The detailed structural characterization confirmed the formation of highly crystalline, mesoporous Ni1 − xO nanosponge. Further, the results obtained from electrochemical investigation by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge studies demonstrated that the fibrous, nanosponge-like Ni1 − xO exhibited good electrochemical properties with a high specific capacitance of 1236.84 Fg−1 at a current density of 1 Ag−1 and excellent capacitance retention of ~ 95% even after 10000 charge–discharge cycles at the current density of 6 Ag−1. The improved pseudocapacitive performance and extremely high cycling stability were attributed to extensive mesoporous network, effective distribution of electroactive sites and an improved electrode–electrolyte interaction due to fibrous and spongy nature of the material. The synthesis process is simple and scalable for industrial applications.

Background: Vehicular emissions degrade the ambient air quality posing a major public health problem in cities across the world. Being stuck in traffic for long hours has been attributed with increased incidence of road rage, back pain, cramps, anxiety and depression. Objectives: To find out the magnitude of health problems among daily commuters in traffic; To assess the effects of traffic on health of daily commuters. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional exploratory study was done in urban Bengaluru in the first half of 2018. The sample size was 506. The subjects should have been a resident of Bengaluru for a minimum period of one year, should have commuted with either one or more than one mode of transport within the city on a daily basis. Results: Out of a total of 506 study subjects, 253 (50.0%) were males and 253 (50.0%) were females. The median (IQR) age of the subjects was 21 (20, 23) and age range was between 16-60 years. The overall burden of one or more than one health problems observed due to traffic was 376 (74.3%). The health problems attributed to traffic was 289 (57.11%) subjects complained of body pain, 205 (40.5%) mentioned physical exhaustion/ dehydration, 144 (28.5%) allergies and 159 (31.4%) respiratory problems. Conclusion: One or more than one health problems was observed in more three forth of the subject due to commute in traffic. Body pain and physical exhaustion/ dehydration were the commonest health problems observed.

In the food quality and safety arena, there is a need to develop novel and sustainable methodologies that can help in the prevention of foodborne diseases. Herein, we report the development of a rapid conducting polymer strip-based sensor using Polyaniline-pectin (PANI-PEC) for the detection of

Hydroxyapatite-decorated activated carbon (HAp/AC) nanocomposite was synthesized and utilized as a nanofiller to fabricate a novel type of polyethersulfone (PES) nanocomposite ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. Activated carbon (AC) derived from orange peel was synthesized by low-temperature pyrolysis at 400 °C. A hydroxyapatite/AC (HAp/AC) nanocomposite was developed by a simple one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method. The UF membrane was fabricated by intercalating HAp/AC fillers into PES casting solution by the non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) process. The prepared membranes exhibited a lower water contact angle than the pristine PES membrane. The hybrid membrane with 4 wt% HAp/AC nanocomposite displayed 4.6 times higher pure water flux (~660 L/m2 h) than that of the pristine membrane (143 L/m2 h). In static adsorption experiments, it was found that the amount of humic acid (HA) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorbed by the HAp/AC-PES hybrid membrane was much lower than that of the original membrane due to the electrostatic repulsive forces between them and the surface of the membrane. Irreversible fouling was reduced from 33 to 6 % for HA and from 46 to 8 % for BSA after HAp/AC was incorporated into the PES matrix. After 7 cycles of water-BSA-water, the HAp/AC-PES hybrid membrane maintained a high pure water flux of 540 L/m2 h with an excellent flux recovery ratio (FRR), demonstrating the long-term stability of the membranes. The developed UF membranes outperformed the original PES membranes in terms of permeability, selectivity, and antifouling.

Pyrolysis of agricultural biomass is a promising technique for producing renewable energy and effectively managing solid waste. In this study, groundnut shell (GNS) was processed at 500 °C in an inert gas atmosphere with a gas flow rate and a heating rate of 10 mL/min and 10 °C/min, respectively, in a custom-designed fluidized bed pyrolytic-reactor. Under optimal operating conditions, the GNS-derived pyrolytic-oil yield was 62.8 wt.%, with the corresponding biochar (19.5 wt.%) and biogas yields (17.7 wt.%). The GC-MS analysis of the GNS-based bio-oil confirmed the presence of (trifluoromethyl)pyridin-2-amine (18.814%), 2-Fluoroformyl-3,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-1,2-oxazetidine (16.23%), 5,7-dimethyl-1H-Indazole (11.613%), N-methyl-N-nitropropan-2-amine (6.5%) and butyl piperidino sulfone (5.668%) as major components, which are used as building blocks in the biofuel, pharmaceutical, and food industries. Furthermore, a 2 × 5 × 1 artificial neural network (ANN) architecture was developed to predict the decomposition behavior of GNS at heating rates of 5, 10, and 20 °C/min, while the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters were estimated using a non-isothermal model-free method. The Popescu method predicted activation energy (Ea) of GNS biomass ranging from 111 kJ/mol to 260 kJ/mol, with changes in enthalpy (ΔH), Gibbs-free energy (ΔG), and entropy (ΔS) ranging from 106 to 254 kJ/mol, 162–241 kJ/mol, and −0.0937 to 0.0598 kJ/mol/K, respectively. The extraction of high-quality precursors from GNS pyrolysis was demonstrated in this study, as well as the usefulness of the ANN technique for thermogravimetric analysis of biomass.

The present work reports the study on the green synthesis of hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanoadsorbents using Peltophorum pterocarpum pod extract. HAP nanoadsorbents were characterized by using FESEM, EDS, TEM, XRD, FTIR, XPS, and BET analyses. The results highlighted the high purity, needle-like aggregations, and crystalline nature of the prepared HAP nanoadsorbents. The surface area was determined as 40.04 m

Effective improvement of an easily recoverable photocatalyst is equally vital to its photocatalytic performance from a practical application view. The magnetically recoverable process is one of the easiest ways, provided the photocatalyst is magnetically strong enough to respond to an external magnetic field. Herein, we prepared graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet (g-C

Alarming water contamination rates by toxic herbicides have drawn attention to treat these pollutants using efficient, easy, and economic techniques. In this work, date-palm coir (DPC) waste-based nano-activated carbon (DPC-AC) was successfully prepared and examined for adsorptive removal of toxic 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DPA) herbicide from synthetic wastewater. The DPC-AC was synthesized via a single-step carbonization-KOH activation approach. The nanosorbent displayed a flaky morphology with graphitic structure and oxygen-rich surface functionalities. The nanocarbon with a mean particle size of 163 nm possessed a high specific surface area of 947 m2/g with an average pore size of 2.28 nm. High 2,4-DPA removal efficiency of 98.6% was obtained for the optimal adsorption conditions of pH 2, dosage 0.15 g, rotational speed 100 rpm, time 90 min, and initial 2,4-DPA concentration of 100 mg/L. Langmuir isotherm best described the equilibrium behavior with a theoretical maximum of 50.25 mg/g adsorption capacity for the system. Pseudo-second order model was more appropriate in quantifying the kinetics for all initial feed concentrations. Thermodynamically, the adsorption process was spontaneous, endothermic, and involved low activation energy. A plausible mechanism for the adsorption-desorption of 2,4-DPA onto DPC-AC is also discussed. Cost analysis and regenerability studies proved the economic value ($3/kg) and reusable nature of DPC-AC without any significant loss in its performance. Overall, this study highlights the advantages of DPC waste valorization into efficient nanoadsorbent and the sequestration of noxious 2,4-DPA herbicide from its aqueous streams using this nanosorbent.