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In this work we have attempted to use biomass as energy source which is abundantly available throughout the world. The work is focused on pyrolysis of sugarcane bagasse in a laboratory-scale pyrolyzer in the presence and absence of copper oxide (CuO). The bio-oil obtained was characterized using GC–MS. The bio-oil collected in the presence of catalyst was found rich in hydrocarbons (C8 to C54) as compared to (C1 to C21) in the absence of catalyst. This indicates that the catalyst induced the formation of more components due to high selectivity for certain hydrocarbons. Thermal analysis showed four stage weight loss profile from 20 to 600 °C, which is ascribed to water evaporation, decomposition of hemicelluloses, cellulose and lignin. Activation energy (Ea) values were determined using Ozawa Flynn Wall (OFW), Coats Redfern (CR) and Kissinger methods. From catalyzed reaction the Ea values for hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin decomposition were found lower i.e., (OFW average 69.22, 109.45and 121.23 kJ/mol), (CR average 85.91, 146.87 and 152.42 kJ/mol) and (Kissinger 83.14, 99.76 and 116.39 kJ/mol) as compared to un-catalyzed reaction i.e., (OFW average 71.12, 121.17 and 126.44 kJ/mol), (CR average 127.41, 166.27 and 169.10 kJ/mol) and (Kissinger 99.77, 133.02 and 232.79 kJ/mol) respectively. The results demonstrated that the catalyst not only lowered the activation energy for the degradation of hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin, but also enhanced the quality of oil formed. The crude oil obtained, if upgraded properly, will reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and would facilitate safe transportation and industrial use.

Plastic has made our lives comfortable as a result of its widespread use in today’s world due to its low cost, longevity, adaptability, light weight and hardness; however, at the same time, it has made our lives miserable due to its non-biodegradable nature, which has resulted in environmental pollution. Therefore, the focus of this research work was on an environmentally friendly process. This research work investigated the decomposition of polypropylene waste using florisil as the catalyst in a salt bath over a temperature range of 350–430 °C. A maximum oil yield of 57.41% was recovered at 410 °C and a 40 min reaction time. The oil collected from the decomposition of polypropylene waste was examined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The kinetic parameters of the reaction process were calculated from thermogravimetric data at temperature program rates of 3, 12, 20 and 30 °C·min−1 using the Ozawa–Flynn–Wall (OFW) and Kissinger–Akahira–Sunnose (KAS) equations. The activation energy (Ea) and pre-exponential factor (A) for the thermo-catalytic degradation of polypropylene waste were observed in the range of 102.74–173.08 kJ·mol−1 and 7.1 × 108–9.3 × 1011 min−1 for the OFW method and 99.77–166.28 kJ·mol−1 and 1.1 × 108–5.3 × 1011 min−1 for the KAS method at a percent conversion (α) of 0.1 to 0.9, respectively. Moreover, the fuel properties of the oil were assessed and matched with the ASTM values of diesel, gasoline and kerosene oil. The oil was found to have a close resemblance to the commercial fuel. Therefore, it was concluded that utilizing florisil as the catalyst for the decomposition of waste polypropylene not only lowered the activation energy of the pyrolysis reaction but also upgraded the quantity and quality of the oil.

Biodiesel is considered a sustainable alternative to petro-diesel owing to several favorable characteristics. However, higher production costs, primarily due to the use of costly edible oils as raw materials, are a chief impediment to its pecuniary feasibility. Exploring non-edible oils as raw material for biodiesel is an attractive strategy that would address the economic constraints associated with biodiesel production. This research aims to optimize the reaction conditions for the production of biodiesel through an alkali-catalyzed transesterification of Tamarindus indica seed oil. The Taguchi method was applied to optimize performance parameters such as alcohol-to-oil molar ratio, catalyst amount, and reaction time. The fatty acid content of both oil and biodiesel was determined using gas chromatography. The optimized conditions of alcohol-to-oil molar ratio (6:1), catalyst (1.5% w/w), and reaction time 1 h afforded biodiesel with 93.5% yield. The most considerable contribution came from the molar ratio of alcohol to oil (75.9%) followed by the amount of catalyst (20.7%). In another case, alcohol to oil molar ratio (9:1), catalyst (1.5% w/w) and reaction time 1.5 h afforded biodiesel 82.5% yield. The fuel properties of Tamarindus indica methyl esters produced under ideal conditions were within ASTM D6751 biodiesel specified limits. Findings of the study indicate that Tamarindus indica may be chosen as a prospective and viable option for large-scale production of biodiesel, making it a substitute for petro-diesel.

New research has highlighted a shortfall in the Standard Model (SM) because it predicts neutrinos to have zero mass. However, recent experiments on neutrino oscillation have revealed that the majority of neutrino parameters indeed indicate their significant mass. In response, scientists are increasingly incorporating discrete symmetries alongside continuous ones for the observed patterns of neutrino mixing. In this study, we have examined a model within$$SU(2)_L \\times U(1)_Y \\times A_{4}\\times S_2\\times Z_{10} \\times Z_{3}$$symmetry to estimate the neutrino masses using particle swarm optimization technique for both mass hierarchy of neutrino. This model employed a hybrid seesaw mechanism, a combination of seesaw mechanism of type-I and type-II, to establish the effective Majorana neutrino mass matrix. After calculating the mass eigenvalues and lepton mixing matrix upto second order perturbation theory in this framework, this study seeks to investigate the scalar potential for vacuum expectation values (VEVs), optimize the parameters,$$U_{PMNS}$$matrix, neutrino masses:$${m_{1}^{\\prime }}^{(N)}(upper)=4.0000 \\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{2}^{\\prime }}^{(N)}(upper)=4.0000 \\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{3}^{\\prime }}^{(N)}(upper)=4.0000 \\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{1}^{\\prime }}^{(I)}(upper)=3.8628\\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{2}^{\\prime }}^{(I)}(upper)=4.0548\\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{3}^{\\prime }}^{(I)}(upper)=3.8532\\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{1}^{\\prime }}^{(N)}(lower)=2.0000 \\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{2}^{\\prime }}^{(N)}(lower)=2.0000 \\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{3}^{\\prime }}^{(N)}(lower)=2.0000 \\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{1}^{\\prime }}^{(I)}(lower)=1.1049\\times 10^{-2}\\ eV,$$${m_{2}^{\\prime }}^{(I)}(lower)=3.9298\\times 10^{-2}\\ eV$$and$${m_{3}^{\\prime }}^{(I)}(lower)=9.6381\\times 10^{-3}\\ eV,$$effective neutrino mass parameters:$$\\langle {m_{ee}} \\rangle ^{N}(upper)=40.0050 \\ meV,$$$\\langle {m_{\\beta }} \\rangle ^{N}(upper)=40.0025\\ meV,$$$\\langle {m_{ee}} \\rangle ^{I}(upper)=39.2181\\ meV,$$$\\langle {m_{\\beta }} \\rangle ^{I}(upper)=39.2257\\ meV,$$$\\langle {m_{ee}} \\rangle ^{N}(lower)=20.0024\\ meV,$$$\\langle {m_{\\beta }} \\rangle ^{N}(lower)=20.0012\\ meV,$$$\\langle {m_{ee}} \\rangle ^{I}(lower)=19.6608\\ meV,$$$\\langle {m_{\\beta }} \\rangle ^{I}(lower)=23.5908\\ meV,$$are predicted for both mass hierarchy through particle swarm optimization (PSO), showing strong agreement with recent experimental findings. The Dirac CP-violating phase$$\\delta$$is measured to be$$-\\pi /2$$.

Present research work evaluates variation in volatile chemicals profile and biological activities of essential oil (EO) obtained from the leaves of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh.) using hydro-distillation (HD) and supercritical fluid extraction (SFE). The yield (1.32%) of volatile oil by HD was higher than the yield (.52%) of the SFE method (P < .05). The results of physical factors like density, color, refractive index, and solubility of the EOs produced by both the methods showed insignificant variations. Gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) compositional analysis showed that eucalyptol (31.10% and 30.43%) and α-pinene (11.02% and 10.35%) were the main constituents detected in SFE and HD extracted Eucalyptus camaldulensis EO, respectively. Antioxidant activity-related parameters, such as reducing ability and DPPH free radical scavenging capability exhibited by EO obtained via SFE were noted to be better than hydro-distilled EO. Supercritical fluid extracted and hydro-distilled essential oils demonstrated a considerable but variable antimicrobial potential against selected bacterial and fungal strains. Interestingly, oil extracted by SFE showed relatively higher hemolytic activity and biofilm inhibition potential. The variation in biological activities of tested EOs can be linked to the difference in the volatile bioactives composition due to different isolation techniques. In conclusion, the EO obtained from Eucalyptus leaves by the SFE method can be explored as a potential antioxidant and antimicrobial agent in the functional food and nutra-pharmaceutical sector.

This study focusses on the fabrication of nano-carriers for delivery of ciprofloxacin through the nanoprecipitation process. This was done to examine the release of drug at the pH of stomach to find out the antibacterial action of ciprofloxacin loaded nanoparticles (NPs). Prepared NPs were characterized by Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and particle size analyzer (PSA) techniques. Drug yield, loading, and sustained release was studied as function of time (up to 8 h). Antibacterial activity of ciprofloxacin loaded NPs were also determined against different gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Results revealed that nanoprecipitation is a suitable method for encapsulation of ciprofloxacin in poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) PLGA NPs. The drug yield and drug loading were found to be 60%. The size range of NPs observed by PSA was in the range of 5.03–6.60 nm. It can be concluded that nanoformulation of ciprofloxacin loaded PLGA NPs can be used in stomach for longer period of time to enhance the bioavailability of the drug.

Flower-like hierarchical Zinc oxide nanostructures synthesized by co-precipitation method have been hydrothermally functionalized with 8 nm Au NPs and 15 nm Ag nanoparticles. The photocatalytic and electrochemical performance of these structures are investigated. XPS studies show that the composite exhibits a strong interaction between noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) and Zinc oxide nanoflowers. The PL spectra exhibit UV emission arising due to near band edge transition and show that the reduced PL intensities of Au–ZnO and Ag–ZnO composites are responsible for improved photocatalytic activity arising due to increase in defects. Moreover, the presence of Au NPs on ZnO surface remarkably enhances photocatalytic activity as compared to Ag–ZnO and pure ZnO due to the higher catalytic activity and stability of Au NPs. On the other hand, Ag–ZnO-modified glassy carbon electrode shows good amperometric response to hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ), with linear range from 1 to 20 µM, and detection limit of 2.5 µM (S/N = 3). The sensor shows high and reproducible sensitivity of 50.8 μA cm −2 μM −1 with a fast response less than 3 s and good stability as compared to pure ZnO and Au–ZnO-based sensors. All these results show that noble metal NPs-functionalized ZnO base nanocomposites exhibit great prospects for developing efficient non-enzymatic biosensor and environmental remediators. Graphical abstract ZnO nanoflowers functionalized with noble metal nanoparticles enhance photocatalytic degradation of RhB dye and electrochemical sensing of hydrogen peroxide.

Distributive justice may mean different things to various schools of thought. Active discussions on poverty and inequality are among economic debates which have been going on for a long time. However, during the last fifty years, they have received a lot more attention by both academicians and policy makers. Fifty years ago, growth in national income was considered to be the most effective way of reducing poverty and was the preferred policy goal even at the cost of increasing inequalities. Perspec¬tives on both poverty and inequality have changed over time. The very definitions of poverty have been revised. Poverty is now seen as having many manifestations. Money income is not the only factor to determine who is poor, though it remains an important element. In this paper, we discuss the issues involved in this debate and present different views on distributive justice. The Islamic perspective on distributive justice and the strategy to achieve it is given special attention.

The volatiles chemical composition and biological attributes of coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) leaves essential oil obtained by two extraction techniques namely supercritical fluid extraction and hydro-distillation is appraised. The coriander essential oil yield (.12%) by hydro-distillation was slightly higher than that of supercritical fluid extraction (.09%). The physico-chemical variables of the essential oil obtained from both the techniques varied in significantly (P < .05). GC-MS analysis identified 23 different components in supercritical fluid extracted oil and 18 components in hydro-distilled essential oil having linalool as major component (51.32% and 61.78%, respectively) followed by phytol (12.71%). The oil recovered by supercritical fluid extraction exhibited greater DPPH radical scavenging activity as well as reducing power as compared to the essential oil obtained by hydro-distillation technique along with a stronger biofilm inhibition and least hemolysis. The results of antimicrobial activity revealed that super critical fluid extracted essential oil has potent antifungal and antibacterial activity against P. multocida and A alternata, whereas hydro-distilled essential oil displayed better antimicrobial potential against E coli and A niger. Overall, these results depict that supercritical fluid extraction is superior than hydro-distillation with regard to isolation of better-quality coriander essential oil for nutra-pharmaceutical developments.

Restricted abilities of mobile devices in terms of storage, computation, time, energy supply, and transmission causes issues related to energy optimization and time management while processing tasks on mobile phones. This issue pertains to multifarious mobile device-related dimensions, including mobile cloud computing, fog computing, and edge computing. On the contrary, mobile devices’ dearth of storage and processing power originates several issues for optimal energy and time management. These problems intensify the process of task retaining and offloading on mobile devices. This paper presents a novel task scheduling algorithm that addresses energy consumption and time execution by proposing an energy-efficient dynamic decision-based method. The proposed model quickly adapts to the cloud computing tasks and energy and time computation of mobile devices. Furthermore, we present a novel task scheduling server that performs the offloading computation process on the cloud, enhancing the mobile device’s decision-making ability and computational performance during task offloading. The process of task scheduling harnesses the proposed empirical algorithm. The outcomes of this study enable effective task scheduling wherein energy consumption and task scheduling reduces significantly.