Volume 23, Issue 1, 2023 January - March


Volume 23, No 1 Pages:
2023 January - March Articles: 4

Slake durability and point load indices of shale in Zuangtui sliding area, Aizawl, Mizoram

Zuangtui is situated in the Eastern limbs of the Aizawl anticline. Human settlement in the study area is greatly affected by the ground movement that has been occurring since 1987. A geotechnical investigation was carried out using Slake Durability Test and Point Load Index Test in order to understand the weathering rate and strength of the rock. Out of 21 collected rock samples,16 samples show a durability range of 76 - 90%, and the other samples fall under the durability range of 90%-95%. Most of the samples showing lower durability are from disturbed areas. The lowest point load value is 1MPa shown by samples in a disturbed area and most of the point load strength of the rock in an unstable area is comparatively lower than in a stable area. From the study, it is considered that the durability and strength of the rock greatly contribute to triggering ground movement.


Defect induced magnetism on SiC monolayer

Using spin-polarized density functional theory, magnetic induction by means of vacancy defect was studied on SiC monolayer. While pristine SiC monolayer is found to be a semiconductor with a direct band gap of 2.64eV, vacancy of both Si and C defect transforms it into metallic ferromagnetic material. Calculated magnetization density shows that Si vacancy results in a magnetic moment of while C vacancy results to a magnetic moment of . Observations reveals that magnetism mostly arises from the unpaired electrons that arise as a result of the removed Si/C atom and spin asymmetry arises mainly from the p-orbitals of Si/C as a result of vacancy. Our result shows that magnetism can be introduced in SiC monolayer effectively using vacancy defect and can further be altered depending on the type of defect


Molecular docking studies reveal the phytocompound of Acacia pennata responsible for the potential inhibition of α - glucosidase

The aqueous extract of the shoot tips of Acacia pennata showed a high enzyme inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase. However, the enzyme inhibiting phytocompound is not known. Identification of the antidiabetic phytocompound will be beneficial in designing drugs with higher efficacy to treat diabetes mellitus. We attempted to identify the compound using molecular docking simulation studies (MDSS). Among the 29 phytocompounds present in A. pennata, MDSS revealed that 23 phytocompounds outperformed the co-crystal inhibitor (CCI) of α -glucosidase (PDB ID: 5NN5) in terms of binding affinity. Among the 23 phytocompounds, (2R)-4’,7-dihydroxyflavan-(4aà8)-(2R,3S)-3,5,7-trihdyroxyflavan3”-O-α-L-rhamnopyranoside (compound 25) has the highest binding affinity (-9.2 kcal/mol). Analysis of the protein-ligand interactions revealed that compound 25 formed 5 conventional hydrogen bonds (ASP 282, TRP 481, ARG 600, ASP 616, HIS 674), 3 hydrophobic interactions (TRP 376, TRP 481, LEU 650), 3 electrostatic interactions (MET 519, ASP 616 (n=2)), and 1 carbon-hydrogen bond (ASP 518). The binding pose analysis further revealed that the docking protocol applied in the study was able to re-dock the CCI and dock compound 25 exactly at the active binding site where the CCI was originally positioned. Our in-silico study showed that compound 25 is the phytocompound of A. pennata that is responsible for potentially inhibiting the α-glucosidase enzyme. The structure of compound 25 may be modified to design more potent inhibitors of α-glucosidase.


Characteristic of soil with seasonal change and their effects on slope stability

The slope stability affected by wetting and drying of the soil is investigated in Zuangtui Local Council Area, Aizawl, and the study was performed by determining soil mechanical properties for two cycles of wetting and drying. Engineering properties of soil like liquid limit, plastic limit, plasticity index, liquidity index, consistency index, and shear strength are used for comparing the behaviour of soil. Samples were collected during the dry season from two locations (L1 and L2). The second sampling was done during the wet season after completing two wet-dry cycles. Slope stability analysis of the investigated area was carried out to compare the Factor of Safety in two complete cycles. Based on the analysis, the parameters of Atterberg’s limit except for the liquidity index decrease during the wet season after completing the cycle in both locations. Cohesion and angle of internal friction reduce in the wet season. The Factor of Safety is below unity in both locations during the wet season and above unity in the dry season.