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Fruit and vegetables are rich source of vitamins and minerals and due to their perishable nature, they have a very short shelf life thus making it difficult to store them for longer period. Approximately 30-40% of horticultural products are in lost due to the improper handling during transits, insect, pest attack and miss handling during the preservation of fruits and vegetables. Edible coating is the one of the most appropriate ways to solve this issue and improve the shelf life of the horticulture produce. The protective layer coated over the fruit and vegetables act as barrier for O2 and CO2 and water vapor which may result in the aging of produce. Hence,the different types of edible coating also help to improve the luster thereby making it more attractive to consumers and getting higher price in the market by reducing the post-harvest loss to a great extent. This review paper is an attempt to signify the use and importance of different edible types of edible coating to improve the shelf life of guava.

The paper presents research work of experimental investigation on polypropylene fiber reinforced concrete by replacing river sand to artificial sand with and without admixture. Use of fiber reinforce polymer in civil engineering increase rapidly. Various type of fiber is used such as glass, carbon, steel, asbestos, polyester and polypropylene. The various experimental investigations for determination of properties of polypropylene fiber are discussed in paper work. This paper presents the effect of polypropylene (PP) fibers on various properties of concrete such as compressive strength, tensile strength, workability, and fracture properties with various content of fiber(0% ,0.5%,1.0%,1.5%). The result of this present investigation indicates that by adding of 0.5% of polypropylene fiber shows maximum compressive and tensile strength.

The Indian agriculture sector is developing enthusiastically day by day. Horticulture has been an emerging sector in agriculture accounts for 90% o of the total horticulture production in the country, which consists of crops like vegetables, fruits, flowers, mushrooms, tuber crops, spices, plantation, aromatic, and medicinal plants. India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China, the increasing population, and the mind-set of adopting a healthy lifestyle have increased the demand for nutritional requirements in people, which provides vast chances for sustaining a large number of agro-based industries which creates substantial employment chances. The horticulture sector contributes 1 about 24.5% of the farming GDP from about 8 of the cultivable area in the country. India has a variety of agro-climatic conditions that allow for the cultivation of a wide range of crops. In recent years, horticulture has made significant progress in terms of increased area and production under various crops, increased productivity, crop diversification, technological interventions for production, and post-harvest and forward association through value addition and marketing.

The present work is to optimize the geometric parameters such as width (W), breath, total width (C), height (h), and crack length (a) of glass fiber woven mat reinforced thermoplastic laminate composite for Mode-I fracture analysis with compact tension testing mode. The laminated HDPE composites were prepared by hot compression molding with three layers of HDPE and two-layer of glass fiber woven mat. The design of experiments (L27 Orthogonal array) was prepared based on the Taguchi technique with four parameters and three levels. The mode-I fracture toughness and energy-releasing rate were calculated for all samples. The ANOVA and regression equation were used to find the effect of toughness and energy releasing rate of the laminate composites. The experimental and regression results are compared and predicted the error. Finally, the optimum shape to laminate composites is suggested for predicting fracture behaviors of various synthetic and natural fiber woven mat reinforced polymer composites in mode-I under compact tension mode.

Zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4) nanoparticles encased fluorapatite (FAP) nanorods was successfully synthesized through hydrothermal method for biomedical applications. TEM image revealed the formation of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticle encased FAP nanorods with average size of about 60 ± 40 nm. Both ZnFe2O4 and ZnFe2O4–FAP samples exhibited superparamagnetic nature at 300 K with saturation magnetization (Ms) of 28.41 and 4.13 emu/g, respectively. Further, the superparamagnetic property of the ZnFe2O4 was investigated using langevin function and average magnetic moment per particle was found to be 606 $${\mu }_{B}$$ . ZnFe2O4–FAP nanorods exhibited enhanced colloidal stability when compared to ZnFe2O4 nanospheres. The cytotoxicity results confirmed the enhanced cell viability (86%) at 500 µg/mL of ZnFe2O4–FAP nanorods than that of ZnFe2O4 nanospheres (76%). The above results indicate that the ZnFe2O4–FAP nanorods can be considered as a potential candidate for biomedical applications.

Silica nanoparticles have received great interest in biomedicine due to their high biocompatibility. In this study, we report the preparation of rare-earth ions integrated silica nanoparticles using rice husk biomass through a rapid and simple microwave-assisted combustion technique for making cost-effective bioimaging contrast agents. X-ray diffraction, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscope studies indicated that rare earth (europium/gadolinium) ions were strongly integrated with silica matrix via electrostatic interaction with environmental oxygen atoms. Europium-integrated silica nanoparticles showed a strong red fluorescence imaging capability that was attributed to 5D0→7F1 and 5D0→7F2 transitions of europium ions in the silica host matrix whereas gadolinium-integrated silica nanoparticles showed paramagnetism with T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging capability that was ascribed to magnetic moment originated from a spin-orbit coupling of partially filled 4f electrons of gadolinium in the silica host matrix. In vivo toxicity evaluation using zebrafish embryos indicated that the rare-earth ions integrated silica nanoparticles are non-toxic. In view of these results, the prepared rare-earth ions integrated silica nanoparticles may be considered as potential materials in developing new bioimaging contrast agents at low cost.

Liquiritin is an anti-viral agent of H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A virus which was reported to inhibit H1N1 and H3N2 NA enzyme with IC50 value of 82.3 and > 100 μM, respectively. The ground state optimized geometry was carried out for Liquiritin molecule through DFT method. The experimental vibrational (FT-IR and FT-Raman) and electronic (UV–Vis) spectral information were analysed and compared with theoretical data. The MEP and Fukui functions were determined for Liquiritin to analyse the electrophilic and nucleophilic attack of the molecule. The NBO and HOMO–LUMO were concluded for Liquiritin to investigate the chemical reactivity and kinetic stability. The druglikeness and ADMET predictions were analysed for Liquiritin, and it confirms the Lipinski’s rule of five. Liquiritin fits very well in the active site cavity of H1N1 and H3N2 NA enzyme with binding energies of − 6.36 and − 5.87 kcal mol−1 and inhibition constants (21.76 and 49.98 ki UM micromol), respectively, through docking study. Consequently, the molecule reveals good biological behaviour in nature and it can act as a probable drug candidate for H1N1 and H3N2 viral influenza.

Composite materials have been employed major part in current era for its light weight, good stiffness, high specific strength and flexible nature. In this research, The hybrid composites of unsaturated polyester based Coir/Napier grass hybrid fiber are prepared. The hybrid composites were prepared in the following proportion of Coir/Napier grass 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100 ratios whereas overall fibre weight ratios were maintained at 0.4Wf. Coir/Napier grass fibers are united in the same matrix (unsaturated polyester) to prepare hybrid composites and the tensile, flexural and impact properties are studied experimentally. A significant improvement in tensile, flexural and impact properties of Coir/Napier grass fiber hybrid composites is found. The morphology of coir/Napier grass fiber hybrid composite was investigated using scanning electron microscope.

Friction stir welding of pipes is gaining research interest as it delivers high performance weld joints when compared to fusion welding techniques. Mechanical testing of such welded pipes will yield only results about mechanical behaviour but cannot detect the defects. An attempt has been made in employing non-destructive techniques in analysing the defects in Aluminium Alloy 6063 pipe joint obtained using friction stir welding. Three different tool pin profiles have been used in this study. The non-destructive testing methods employed helped to show the variation in the quality of the welds achieved through the three different tool pin profiles. Dye penetrant testing has been used in assessing the surface defects where solvent removable penetrant SKL-SP1 has shown evident results. Radiographic testing has been used in assessing root side defects. Tool with taper cylindrical pin along with tool rotational speed of 2000 rpm and weld speed of 0.6 rpm has produced weld with minor defects based on liquid penetrant and radiographic test results. Also the capability of non-destructive techniques in analysing the defects produced through friction stir welding has also been evaluated and presented.

Aim: To synthesize biocompatible nanoparticles of FAp co-doped with Yb/Er and Nd/Yb for bioimaging applications. Methods: Yb/Er FAp and Nd/Yb FAp was synthesized using microwave assisted wet precipitation and hydrothermal method respectively. Trisodium citrate was used as an organic modifier for the synthesis and then subjected to heat treatment for optical activation. For optical studies, Yb/Er FAp system was excited at 980 nm and Nd/Yb FAp at 800 nm. Results: In the case of Nd/Yb FAp the host matrix absorption and emission was observed, hence Nd/Yb was synthesized without citrate. On heat treatment of this for optical activation studies, when the Yb3+ concentration was increased to 10 mol%, the YbPO4 secondary phase was found to appear. Although, the Yb/Er FAp system resulted in large grain growth, no such grain growth was observed in Nd/Yb FAp and the grains were within the nano size regime even after heat treatment. Conclusion: Both the systems showed successful energy transfer from sensitizer to activator with a quantum yield of 74% for Yb/Er FAp and energy transfer efficiency of 71% for Nd/Yb FAp system. Both the samples were found to be cytocompatible and has the potential for using as probes for bioimaging applications.

Core–shell CoFe2O4@HAp magnetic nanoparticles were successfully prepared by a simple two-step hydrothermal process, and their physicochemical and magnetic properties were studied. X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of the as-synthesized samples reveal that the nanoparticles are composed of both phases (HAp@CoFe2O4). The core–shell formation was confirmed by TEM and from the magnetization studies using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and the ferromagnetic nature of the synthesized core–shell nanoparticles at room temperature was confirmed by saturation magnetization (Ms) and coercivity values of 9.04 emu g−1 and 0.1 T, respectively. It has been observed that heat treatment enhanced the saturation magnetization when compared to the as-prepared samples. The reason for this enhanced magnetic property after heat treatment is discussed based on the magnetic moment and anisotropy calculations. The potential cytocompatibility of the sample was confirmed by fibroblast 3T3 cells.

Cloud computing overcome the GIS issues are huge storage, computing and reliability. Cloud computing with SpatialHadoop framework gives high performance in GIS. This paper presents spatial partition, global index and map reduce operations were studied and described in detail. Bloom filter R-tree index in the Map-reduce for providing more efficiency than the existing approaches. The BR-tree index on Map-Reduce is implemented in SpatialHadoop process that reduces intermediate data access time. Global index decreases the number of data accesses for range queries and thus improves efficiency. It is observed through experimental results that the proposed index along cloud environment performs better than existing techniques

The intentional design of rare earth doped luminescent architecture exhibits unique optical properties and it can be considered as a promising and potential probe for optical imaging applications. Calcium fluoride (CaF

Cement plays a major role in the production of paver blocks. Cement manufacturing industries pollutes the surrounding areas. The main objective of this work is to reduce the use of cement in the concrete paver block by partial replacement with rice husk ash. An experimental investigation is conducted to analyze the compressive strength, water absorption and flexural strength of paver blocks with partial replacement of cement by rice husk ash dumped near Chengapalli, Tiruppur. Rice husk ash were collected from the dump yard and utilized for experimental investigation after doing the initial cleaning process and property study of material. Cement replacement with Rice husk ash were done in proportions of 10% 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% in volume of concrete. Various strength parameters like compressive strength, flexural strength and water absorption were determined. Weight of concrete blocks is considerably reduced with increase in the amount of rice husk ash.

Bone fillers based on hydroxyapatite (HAp) having antimicrobial activity are extensively applied for treatment of bone-related inflammation created by infectious micro-organisms. We report the biogenic preparation of HAp nanorods with the aid of Curcuma longa tuber extract as solvent and eggshell biowaste as a calcium source. The prepared powder was analyzed by various analytical tools to explore the phase purity and morphological feature. The obtained results indicate that the prepared powder was magnesium (Mg) and carbonate (CO32−) containing HAp nanorods having nanocrystalline characteristics. Further, the prepared HAp nanorods significantly hinder the growth of E. coli and S. aureus. Comparative studies were also carried out with HAp prepared using water as solvent. The obtained results clearly shows that developed method can be a prospective approach to acquire precursor material for making bone fillers with antibacterial activity.

Trivalent Nd and Yb co-doped rod shaped hexagonal phase fluorapatite (FAP) nanoparticles of length and width about 32 and 13 nm, respectively were prepared by hydrothermal method and investigated the ability for 980 nm emission via Nd3+ → Yb3+ energy transfer with the objective of utilizing them in biomedical imaging. Nd3+ → Yb3+ energy transfer in FAP was studied as a function of both Nd3+ and Yb3+ concentrations and found that when Yb3+ concentration was 10 mol% the FAP phase has partially turned in to YbPO4 phase. The Yb3+ emission intensity at 980 nm significantly increased up to 5 mol% Yb3+ doping and then reduced drastically for further increase in its concentration. Nd3+ →Yb3+ energy transfer rates were evaluated from the decay curves and found that a transfer rate of 71% for 2 mol% Nd3+ co-doped with 5 mol% Yb3+. The cytocompatibility test with fibroblast like cells using MTT assay revealed that the nanoparticles are compatible with the cells.