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Human hair is a filament rich in protein that grows from the follicles present in the scalp. It is considered to be a notable biomaterial consisting of β-keratin, which shows excellent catalytic activity in organic transformation. Keratin is a family of structural fibrous proteins rich in cysteine, which are abundantly present in human hair. Based on the template synthesis strategy, human-hair Keratin was used as a platform template to synthesise metal oxide nanoparticles. Here the aim was to synthesis hair protein supported CuO nanoparticles (HHP/CuONPs) and study their catalytic applications. Protein is extracted from the hair sample using the Shindai method. The HHP/CuONPs sample has been scrutinised using various characterisation techniques such as UV, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, EDX, Raman, XPS, and zeta potential. The synthesised HHP/CuONPs show photo-catalytic efficiency against coloured organic pollutants, 2,4-Dinitrophenol (DNP), and amaranth dye. The degradation level has been found to be 96% in DNP and 94% in amaranth dye. Optimisation and reusability of hair protein-mediated copper oxide have been tested under various conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Culvert structures made of plastics are employed extensively in the construction of new facilities as well as the renovation of existing ones. Due to the high costs of materials required for the manufacturing of these goods, the objective of this research is focused to lessen the thickness of the walls, which may, on the other hand, result in a reduction in the stiffness of the system. In the course of the testing, the structure was subjected to both vertical and horizontal displacements, and wall deformations were measured in both the central portion of the section and at the junction. The results of the tests were assessed to determine whether or not the reduction in wall thickness had an effect on the amount of deformation that occurred in the structure's internal cross-section as well as the wall stresses. GRP pipes with reduced (optimized) wall thickness can withstand comparable loads to the ones with thicker walls, which opens up consideration about possible application of such products for sustainable development of circular economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Ginger rhizomes of different thickness, microwave output power and sample load were dehydrated in a modified microwave oven, and effective moisture diffusivity was calculated. Among the various basic models considered, diffusion equation was most suitable to predict the drying behavior for the process conditions. Based on the interpretations, the constants and coefficients were rewritten in Arrhenius and logarithmic expressions for microwave power. The derived mathematical models were validated according to statistical parameters, viz. reduced chi-square, root mean square error, mean bias error and t-test values. The modified diffusion model explained the suitability of thin layer microwave drying behavior of ginger rhizome slices, yielding the highest R2 of 0.9983. The effect of microwave drying on extraction of oleoresins with hexane as the solvent was in the range of 2.53-4.55%. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed enhanced integrity of texture and functional groups by microwave treatment. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Drying, a process of removal of moisture content, was carried out on ginger rhizomes. Besides several advantages during dehydration, some important changes take place, such as structural and physicochemical modifications, which affects the final product quality. Microwave heating at specific experimental conditions was aimed at the restoration of nutritional and medicinal properties of the raw material. Mathematical models applied in this research will be helpful to analyze, simulate as well as to design and scale up the microwave drying process for industrial and commercial applications. Furthermore, the product may have an increased shelf life, finished product quality; may reduced energy cost in comparison with the conventionally dried rhizomes; and may serve as ingredient for medicinal, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry for the extraction of essential oils such as oleoresins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]