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The shrinkage of leather becomes a problem when leather is used in the form of leather shoes or other products and is heated at a high temperature. This technical study addressed shrinkage occurring in most leather shoes used in Pakistan during the shoe manufacturing process. The chemical testing results revealed fat content (4.0-4.5%), chromic oxide (2.3-2.5%), ash content (1.3-1.6%), and pH (3.5-3.7) under significant limits. The effects of hydrothermal and dry heat shrinkage were investigated in selected shoe-upper leathers. The leather samples showed (18-41%) shrinkage in all 03 samples. The results revealed that an extensive change in various physical tests, such as tensile strength, % elongation, tear strength, had been found with heat induction. The temperature and time of heat contact significantly affect the destruction of bonding in shoe upper leather after being converted into shoes.

Microbial populations within the rhizosphere have been considered as prosperous repositories with respect to bioremediation aptitude. Among various environmental contaminants, effluent from textile industries holds a huge amount of noxious colored materials having high chemical oxygen demand concentrations causing ecological disturbances. The study was aimed to explore the promising mycobiome of rhizospheric soil for the degradation of azo dyes to develop an efficient system for the exclusion of toxic recalcitrants. An effluent sample from the textile industry and soil samples from the rhizospheric region of Musa acuminata and Azadirachta indica were screened for indigenous fungi to decolorize Congo red, a carcinogenic diazo dye, particularly known for its health hazards to the community. To develop a bio-treatment process, Aspergillus terreus QMS-1 was immobilized on pieces of Luffa cylindrica and exploited in stirred tank bioreactor under aerobic and optimized environment. Quantitative estimation of Congo red decolorization was carried out using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The effects of fungal immobilization and biosorption on the native structure of Luffa cylindrica were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope. A. terreus QMS-1 can remove (92%) of the dye at 100 ppm within 24 h in the presence of 1% glucose and 1% ammonium sulphate at pH 5.0. The operation of the bioreactor in a continuous flow for 12 h with 100 ppm of Congo red dye in simulated textile effluent resulted in 97% decolorization. The stirred tank bioreactor was found to be a dynamic, well maintained, no sludge producing approach for the treatment of textile effluents by A. terreus QMS-1 of the significant potential for decolorization of Congo red. Microbial populations within the rhizosphere have been considered as prosperous repositories with respect to bioremediation aptitude. Among various environmental contaminants, effluent from textile industries holds a huge amount of noxious colored materials having high chemical oxygen demand concentrations causing ecological disturbances. The study was aimed to explore the promising mycobiome of rhizospheric soil for the degradation of azo dyes to develop an efficient system for the exclusion of toxic recalcitrants. An effluent sample from the textile industry and soil samples from the rhizospheric region of Musa acuminata and Azadirachta indica were screened for indigenous fungi to decolorize Congo red, a carcinogenic diazo dye, particularly known for its health hazards to the community. To develop a bio-treatment process, Aspergillus terreus QMS-1 was immobilized on pieces of Luffa cylindrica and exploited in stirred tank bioreactor under aerobic and optimized environment. Quantitative estimation of Congo red decolorization was carried out using UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The effects of fungal immobilization and biosorption on the native structure of Luffa cylindrica were evaluated using a scanning electron microscope. A. terreus QMS-1 can remove (92%) of the dye at 100 ppm within 24 h in the presence of 1% glucose and 1% ammonium sulphate at pH 5.0. The operation of the bioreactor in a continuous flow for 12 h with 100 ppm of Congo red dye in simulated textile effluent resulted in 97% decolorization. The stirred tank bioreactor was found to be a dynamic, well maintained, no sludge producing approach for the treatment of textile effluents by A. terreus QMS-1 of the significant potential for decolorization of Congo red.

During Leather Processing, Skin Fleshing Wastes (SFW) are usually disposed of in an open area which creates toxic hazards. In this study, (SFW) from tanneries have been hydrolyzed using two alkalis Potassium hydroxide ( 2g/ 100g of SFW ) and Sodium hydroxide ( 4g/100g of SFW) with a sufficient amount of water at 2300 F in Autoclave for two hours. Three resultant fractions fats and oil (approximately 240 g Kg-1 ), protein (approximately 554 g Kg-1 ) and sludge containing a high amount of ashes (approximately 900 g Kg-1 ) were successfully isolated respectively. The yield of fractions was calculated on the wet weight of SFW used after the removal of lime using ammonium sulphate. In this study, the isolated third fraction Fleshing Sludge (FS) from the hydrolyzed fleshing wastes used fertilizer on the six different plants on growth commonly named Ghobi, Cran Dola, Patunia, Placus, Dentist and Dalia. The observations were taken during 30 days of incubation, at the usual temperature. The application of FS in plants observed that growth was enhanced in significant proportion as compare to reference plants supplemented with commercial fertilizer except in the Ghobi sample PS1 which shows some phytotoxicity confirmed by leaf yellowing. The results revealed that the applied sludge has no adverse effect on the growth of other experimental plants. Results were taken by measuring plants according to standard methods

This technical study deals with the experimental evaluation of four different safety gloves, used in Pakistan for protection of hands. The samples were prepared and tested according to their standard test methods EN-388. The samples for EN388 were subjected to three physical tests; puncture resistance (N), abrasion resistance (cycles), tear-resistance (N). The results revealed that the performance levels of synthetic leather/ PVC gloves were found higher than other gloves.

Emerging resistance to existing antimicrobial agents is one of the growing concerns and a serious problem for public health globally. Currently available antimicrobial agents are potent and effective but surfacing resistance to these drugs has not been ruled out so far. Therefore, it is utmost important to explore new bioactive compounds from natural sources to meet future needs. The present study was designed to produce, optimize, characterize and evaluate antimicrobial, fibrinolytic and anti-coagulant potential of a new alkaline protease. Proteolytic strain from desert soils of Tharparkar, Pakistan was subjected to 16S rDNA sequencing and identified as Bacillus tequilensis ZMS-2(Genbank Accession No. MK101013). During submerged fermentation at 37ºC, maximum enzyme production (454 U/ml) was observed with 24h old inoculum. The best incubation time was 72h (544 U/ml), optimum inoculum size and pH was 10% at pH 8 with 494 and 506 U/ml, respectively. The best carbon source was starch (571 U/ml), while ideal substrate was wheat bran (536 U/ml). Optimal temperature and pH for proteolytic activity was 60ºC (420 U/ml) and 8 (332 U/ml). Alkaline protease showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (27mm), Bacillus licheniformis (20mm), Klebsiella pneumoniae (17mm) and Escherichia coli (15mm). The strain B. tequilensis ZMS-2 also exhibited anticoagulant, fibrinolytic and dehairing potential suggesting application of its protease in various industries.

Die Verstärkung von Aluminium-Matrix-Verbundwerkstoffen kann durch die Integration von Hartphasenpartikeln in die Matrix erreicht werden. Die Festigkeitssteigerung der Komposite ist abhängig davon, wie die Verstärkungsphase die einwirkenden Kräfte aufnehmen kann und zudem von den Auswirkungen der Verstärkungsphase auf das Werkstoffgefüge. Die Verfestigung wird zurückgeführt auf Versetzungsmultiplikation, Matrixpartitionierung und Orowan-Verstärkungseffekte. Die Festigkeit steigt durch Erhöhung des Volumenanteils der Verstärkungsphase sowie durch die Reduktion der Größe der Verstärkungsphase. Darüber hinaus kann die Festigkeitssteigerung von Verbundwerkstoffen durch eine Gefügemodifikation verbunden mit einer Reaktion zwischen Matrix und Verstärkungsphase erreicht werden. Die Festigkeitssteigerung kann auch durch die Schaffung harmonischer Strukturen, d.h. durch ein bimodales Gefüge, erfolgen. Dieses wird erzeugt durch kontrolliertes Mahlen der partikelförmigen Precursor-Phase, die dann aus grobkörnigen Kerngebieten bestehen, eingebettet in eine kontinuierliche feinkörnige Matrix. In dieser Arbeit werden Verbundwerkstoffe auf Aluminiumbasis durch Hochenergiemahlen und anschließender Konsolidierung durch Heißpressen hergestellt. Ausgehend von der in-situ Herstellung intermetallischer Verstärkungsphasen in Al-Mg-Verbundwerkstoffen werden außerdem in-situ Gefügemodifikationen in Al-Fe3Al-Verbundwerkstoffen betrachtet. Al-Fe3Al-Verbundwerkstoffe mit harmonischer Struktur konnten dabei erfolgreich hergestellt werden. Anschließend wurde der Einfluss der mikrostrukturellen Veränderungen auf die mechanischen Eigenschaften analysiert. Al-Mg-Metallmatrix-Verbundwerkstoffe werden aus den Pulvergemischen von elementarem Aluminium und Magnesium durch druckunterstütztes reaktives Sintern hergestellt. Das Ziel ist es, den Einfluss des anfänglichen Volumenanteils von Magnesium auf die mikrostrukturellen Veränderungen und die Entstehung der in-situ intermetallischen Verstärkungsphase zu analysieren. Zudem wird der Einfluss der Reaktion zwischen Aluminium und Magnesium und die damit verbundene Bildung der intermetallischen Phasen β-Al3Mg2 und γ-Al12Mg17 auf die mechanischen Eigenschaften der Verbundwerkstoffe untersucht. Die Bildung der intermetallischen Phasen verbraucht zunehmend Aluminium und Magnesium und bewirkt eine Verfestigung der Verbundwerkstoffe: Die Streckgrenze und die Druckfestigkeit steigen mit zunehmendem Gehalt an intermetallischer Verstärkungsphase auf Kosten der plastischen Verformung. In der nächsten Phase wird im Al-Fe3Al-System die Wirksamkeit der Reaktion zwischen Matrix und Verstärkungsphase als festigkeitssteigernde Maßnahme zur weiteren Verbesserung der mechanischen Eigenschaften untersucht. Dafür werden transformierte und nicht-transformierte Verbundwerkstoffe durch Heißpressen bei unterschiedlichen Temperaturen hergestellt. Phasenanalyse und mikrostrukturelle Charakterisierung der transformierten Verbundwerkstoffe zeigten die Bildung der intermetallischen Phasen Al5Fe2 und Al13Fe4, die als Verstärkungsphase mantelförmig um die die Fe3Al-Phase angeordnet sind. Die Al-Matrix wird dabei mit steigendem Anteil an Verstärkungsphase zunehmend verbraucht. Um die durch die Al-Fe3Al-Reaktion induzierte Phasenfolge zu analysieren, wurden Verbundwerkstoffe, bestehend aus Al-Matrix und einem einzigen mm-großen Fe3Al-Partikel durch Heißpressen bei 823, 873 und 903 K synthetisiert. Die Gefüge- und Phasenanalyse deuten darauf hin, dass die In-situ-Phasenumwandlung durch atomare Diffusion von Aluminium in Fe3Al erfolgt und die Bildung von in-situ intermetallischen Phasen (Al5Fe2 und Al13Fe4) ausschließlich innerhalb der ursprünglichen Fe3Al-Partikel stattfindet. Die Phasenumwandlung beim Heißpressen führt zu einer signifikanten Festigkeitssteigerung: Die Streckgrenze und die Druckfestigkeit erhöhen sich von 70-360 MPa und 200-500 MPa für die nicht umgewandelten Verbundwerkstoffe auf 400-1800 MPa und 550-1800 MPa für die umgewandelten Materialien. Damit verbunden ist jedoch auch eine verringerte plastische Verformbarkeit in den umgewandelten Kompositen. Die Streckgrenze von transformierten und nicht transformierten Verbundwerkstoffen folgt dem Iso-Stress-Modell, wenn die charakteristischen strukturellen Merkmale (d.h. Verstärkungsphasen und Matrix) berücksichtigt werden. Schließlich wird das Konzept der harmonischen Strukturen für Metallmatrix-Verbundwerkstoffe erweitert, indem die Wirksamkeit solcher bimodaler Gefüge als Verstärkungsmethode für Verbundwerkstoffe aus einer reinen Al-Matrix verstärkt mit Fe3Al-Partikeln betrachtet wird. Ziel der Studie ist es, die Gefügeveränderungen zu untersuchen, die durch das Hochenergiemahlen der Al-Fe3Al-Verbundpulvermischungen induziert werden. Weiterhin soll der Einfluss des so veränderten Gefüges auf das mechanische Verhalten der durch Heißpressen synthetisierten Verbundproben charakterisiert werden. Die beabsichtigte Kornfeinung beschränkt sich auf die Oberfläche der Partikel, wo die Fe3Al-Phase während der Kugelmahlung der Al-Fe3Al-Verbundpulvermischungen nach und nach fragmentiert wird. In den bei der anschließenden Pulverkonsolidierung erzeugten harmonisierten Kompositen wird die feinkörnige Oberfläche zur kontinuierlichen feinkörnigen Matrix, die Makroregionen mit grobkörnigen Verstärkungspartikeln umschließt. Die Erzeugung der bimodalen Gefüge hat einen signifikanten Einfluss auf die Festigkeit der harmonischen Verbundwerkstoffe, die die des konventionellen Materials um den Faktor 2 übertrifft, ohne die plastische Verformbarkeit zu beeinträchtigen. Zudem zeigt die Modellierung der mechanischen Eigenschaften, dass die Festigkeit der harmonischen Verbundwerkstoffe genau beschrieben werden kann, indem sowohl der Volumenanteil der Verstärkungsphase als auch die charakteristischen Gefügemerkmale der harmonischen Struktur berücksichtigt werden. Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit zeigen, dass die Pulvermetallurgie (d.h. Hochenergiemahlen mit anschließendem Heißpressen) erfolgreich eingesetzt werden kann, um hochfeste Verbundwerkstoffe auf Aluminiumbasis mit intermetallischer Verstärkungsphase herzustellen. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass durch Phasenumwandlung und durch die Anordnung von Verstärkungsphasen hervorgerufene Gefügeveränderungen die Festigkeit der Verbundwerkstoffe signifikant erhöht werden kann. Die Festigkeit und Verformbarkeit der so erzeugten Komposite hängt vom Volumenanteil und der Anordnung der Verstärkungsphase sowie der Grenzflächenreaktion zwischen den Ausgangskomponenten ab. The strengthening of aluminum matrix composites can be achieved by incorporating hard phase particles in the matrix. The strengthening of the composites depends on the ability of the reinforcement to bear the load and on the microstructural changes induced by the reinforcement addition. The microstructural strengthening is mainly associated with dislocation multiplication, matrix partitioning and Orowan strengthening effects. The strength increases by increasing the reinforcement volume fraction as well as by reducing the size of the reinforcing particles. Additionally, strengthening of composites can be achieved by microstructural modifications through the proper reaction between matrix and reinforcement. Strengthening can also be efficiently attained by the creation of harmonic structures: bimodal microstructures generated by controlled milling of the particulate precursors, which consist of coarse-grained cores embedded in a continuous fine-grained matrix. In this thesis, aluminum based composites are synthesized using ball milling followed by consolidation through hot pressing. Starting from the in-situ creation of intermetallic reinforcements in Al-Mg composites, the research proceeds towards the in-situ microstructural modification in Al-Fe3Al composites. Finally, Al-Fe3Al composites with harmonic structure are successfully produced. The consolidated composites are characterized to analyze the effect of the microstructural changes on the mechanical properties. Lightweight Al-Mg metal matrix composites are synthesized from elemental powder mixtures of aluminum and magnesium using pressure-assisted reactive sintering. The aim is to analyze the effect of the initial volume percent of magnesium on the microstructural modifications and development of the in-situ intermetallic reinforcements. The effect of the reaction between aluminum and magnesium on the mechanical properties of the composites due to the formation of β-Al3Mg2 and γ-Al12Mg17 intermetallics is also investigated. The formation of the intermetallic compounds progressively consumes aluminum and magnesium and induces strengthening of the composites: the yield and compressive strengths increase with increasing the content of intermetallic reinforcement at the expense of the plastic deformation. In the next stage, the effectiveness of the reaction between matrix and reinforcement as a strengthening method for further improving the mechanical performance composites is investigated for the Al-Fe3Al system. To achieve this aim, transformed and non-transformed composites are produced by hot pressing at different temperatures. Phase analysis and microstructural characterization of the transformed composites reveal the formation of a double-shell-reinforcement with Al5Fe2 and Al13Fe4 intermetallics surrounding the Fe3Al phase, while the Al matrix is progressively consumed with increasing the reinforcement content. In order to analyze the phase sequence induced by the Al-Fe3Al reaction, composites consisting of Al matrix and a single mm-sized Fe3Al particle were synthesized through hot pressing at 823, 873 and 903 K. The microstructural investigations and phase identifications suggest that in-situ phase transformation occurs through atomic diffusion of aluminum in Fe3Al and the formation of in-situ intermetallics (Al5Fe2 and Al13Fe4) takes place exclusively within the original Fe3Al particles. The phase transformation during hot pressing induces significant strengthening: the ranges of yield and compressive strengths increase from 70-360 MPa and 200-500 MPa for the non-transformed composites to 400-1800 MPa and 550-1800 MPa for the transformed materials. This occurs at the expense of the plastic deformation, which is generally reduced in the transformed composites. The yield strength of both transformed and non-transformed composites follows the iso-stress model when the characteristic structural features (i.e. strengthening phases and matrix) are taken into account. At the end, the concept of harmonic structures is extended to metal matrix composites by analyzing the effectiveness of such bimodal microstructures as a strengthening method for composites consisting of a pure Al matrix reinforced with Fe3Al particles. The purpose of the study is to examine the microstructural variations induced by ball milling of the Al-Fe3Al composite powder mixtures and how such variations influence the resulting microstructure and mechanical response of the bulk composite specimens synthesized by hot-pressing. Preferential microstructural refinement limited to the surface of the particles, where the Fe3Al phase is progressively fragmented, occurs during ball milling of the Al-Fe3Al composite powder mixtures. The refined surface becomes the continuous fine-grained matrix that encloses macro-regions with coarser reinforcing particles in the harmonic composites synthesized during subsequent powder consolidation. The generation of the bimodal microstructure has a significant influence on the strength of the harmonic composites, which exceeds that of the conventional material by a factor of 2 while retaining considerable plastic deformation. Finally, modeling of the mechanical properties indicates that the strength of the harmonic composites can be accurately described by taking into account both the volume fraction of reinforcement and the characteristic microstructural features describing the harmonic structure. The results of the current research work demonstrate that powder metallurgy (i.e. ball milling followed by hot consolidation) can be successfully used to produce high strength aluminum based composites reinforced by intermetallics. The findings indicate that phase transformation and reinforcement arrangement based microstructural modifications can significantly enhance the strength of the composites. The strength and deformability of the composites depends on the volume fraction and arrangement of the reinforcement along with the interfacial reaction between the initial components.

Dihydroquinol derivative 1, quinol glucopyranoside 2 and quinol derivative 3 have been isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Ajuga parviflora and their structures have been elucidated through spectroscopic studies as methyl 2-[2,2-dimethyl-6-oxo-7-dihydro-1,3- benzodioxol-3(6H)-yl]aceate (1), 2-hydroxy-4β-methyl-4a-(β-D-glucopyranoside)-2,5-cyclohexadien- 1-one (2) and (4-oxo-2,5-cyclohexadien-1-yl)acetic acid (3). The known quinol 4 has also been isolated for the first time from this species

A novel beta-glucuronidase inhibiting triterpene (1) has been isolated from the chloroform fraction of Paeonia emodi beta-glucuronidase inhibit established ase chloroform fraction of Pa 11,beta,5alpha,23,24-pentahydroxy-30-norolean-12,20(29)-d ien-28-oic acid on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, including high resolution mass spectroscopy, one and two-dimensional NMR techniques. Oleanolic acid, betulinic acid, ethyl gallate, methyl grevillate and 1,5-dihydroxy-3-methylanthraquinone are also reported for the first time from Paeonia emodi.