National Institute of Technology Agartala

About: National Institute of Technology Agartala is a education organization based out in Agartala, Tripura, India. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Diesel fuel & Diesel engine. The organization has 1232 authors who have published 2438 publications receiving 18888 citations. The organization is also known as: NIT Agartala & Tripura Engineering College.

Therapeutic potentials of baicalin and its aglycone, baicalein against inflammatory disorders

Abstract: The flavonoids, baicalin (5,6-dihydroxy-2-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one-7-O-d-β-glucuronic acid) 1 and its aglycone, baicalein 2 are found in edible medicinal plants, Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi and Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz in abundant quantities. The antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of these flavonoids have been demonstrated in various disease models, including diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, inflammatory bowel diseases, gout and rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, neurodegenerative-, liver- and kidney diseases, encephalomyelitis, and carcinogenesis. These flavonoids have almost no toxicity to human normal epithelial, peripheral and myeloid cells. Their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities are largely due to their abilities to scavenge the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and improvement of antioxidant status by attenuating the activity of NF-κB and suppressing the expression of several inflammatory cytokines and chemokines including monocyte chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1), nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases, cellular adhesion molecules, tumor necrosis factor and interleukins. In this review, we summarize the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of baicalin and baicalein with molecular mechanisms for their chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic applications in the treatment of inflammatory-related diseases.

A new insight into corrosion inhibition mechanism of copper in aerated 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution by eco-friendly Imidazopyrimidine Dye: experimental and theoretical approach

Abstract: A large number of mechanism were anticipated for copper since 1988 in NaCl medium. The detail electrochemical behavior leading to the anodic dissolution of copper, however, still remains uncertain. Herein, an Imidazopyrimidine Dye, named, 4-amino-3-(phenyldiazenyl)benzo[4,5]imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidin-2(1H)-one, (APIP) has been used as a copper corrosion inhibitor in 3.5 wt.% (by weight) NaCl solution. The present investigation provides a brief mechanistic overview of the electrochemical mechanism of copper in aerated NaCl solution, simulating a static marine environment, with and without addition of APIP inhibitor. Potentiodynamic polarization (PDP) results confirmed that the APIP can suppress copper corrosion effectively at low concentration in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution with an inhibition efficiency of 92.79% due to adsorption, along with the prediction of electrochemical mechanism. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements showed that the corrosion inhibition of Cu proceeds via both diffusion and kinetic controlled processes. Adsorption of APIP on copper surface is well fit with the Langmuir isotherm model and mode of adsorption is proposed. Antimicrobial activity was also studied and the result obtained showed ‘‘eco-friendly’’ nature of APIP. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), Energy dispersion X-ray (EDX) and Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) observations of the copper surfaces confirmed the existence of adsorption of APIP thus can be potentially used in industries in which seawater is implied are numerous such as cooling water systems, desalination plants, power plants, and oil production units. Results obtained from theoretical calculations including quantum chemical density functional theory (DFT) method and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations confirms the experimental findings and provide further insight into the mode of adsorption on the copper surface.

Production of biodiesel from microalgae through biological carbon capture: a review

Abstract: Gradual increase in concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere due to the various anthropogenic interventions leading to significant alteration in the global carbon cycle has been a subject of worldwide attention and matter of potential research over the last few decades. In these alarming scenario microalgae seems to be an attractive medium for capturing the excess CO2 present in the atmosphere generated from different sources such as power plants, automobiles, volcanic eruption, decomposition of organic matters and forest fires. This captured CO2 through microalgae could be used as potential carbon source to produce lipids for the generation of biofuel for replacing petroleum-derived transport fuel without affecting the supply of food and crops. This comprehensive review strives to provide a systematic account of recent developments in the field of biological carbon capture through microalgae for its utilization towards the generation of biodiesel highlighting the significance of certain key parameters such as selection of efficient strain, microalgal metabolism, cultivation systems (open and closed) and biomass production along with the national and international biodiesel specifications and properties. The potential use of photobioreactors for biodiesel production under the influence of various factors viz., light intensity, pH, time, temperature, CO2 concentration and flow rate has been discussed. The review also provides an economic overview and future outlook on biodiesel production from microalgae.

Performance and exhaust emissions prediction of a CRDI assisted single cylinder diesel engine coupled with EGR using artificial neural network

Abstract: The present study explores the potential of artificial neural network to predict the performance and exhaust emissions of an existing single cylinder four-stroke CRDI engine under varying EGR strategies. Based on the experimental data an ANN model is developed to predict BSFC, BTE, CO2, NOx and PM with load, fuel injection pressure, EGR and fuel injected per cycle as input parameters for the network. The study was carried out with 70% of total experimental data selected for training the neural network, 15% for the network’s cross-validation and remaining 15% data has been used for testing the performance of the trained network. The developed ANN model was capable of predicting the performance and emissions of the experimental engine with excellent agreement as observed from correlation coefficients within the range of 0.987–0.999, mean absolute percentage error in the range of 1.1–4.57% with noticeably low root mean square errors. In addition to common correlation coefficients, the present study incorporated special statistical error and performance metrics such as mean square relative error, forecasting uncertainty Theil U2, Nash–Sutcliffe Coefficient of Efficiency and Kling–Gupta Efficiency. Low values of MSRE and Theil U2 combined with commendable indices of NSE and KGE proved beyond doubt the robustness and applicability of the model so developed. Furthermore, the developed ANN model was capable of mapping the PM–NOx–BSFC trade-off potential of the CRDI operation under EGR for all cases of actual observations with significant accuracy.

Downstream processing of microalgae for pigments, protein and carbohydrate in industrial application: A review

Abstract: Numbers of high valued and low volume products from microalgae are already in the market and more number of products is yet to be launched. Downstream processing is the key steps to maintain the quality of the products. Therefore, this review is focused on the downstream processing of the microalgae and cyanobacterial cells for commercial production of biomolecules such as pigments (chlorophyll and carotenoid), protein, carbohydrate (agar, carageenan, alginate, fucoidan) and biopolymers. It also covers the most recent preferred downstream processes for the industries for accomplishing the desired quality of the product and recent important filed patents on downstream processing of microalgae. Further, this article highlights the recent investments made by the industries towards commercial production of microalgal-based biofuels and bio-products worldwide.