The cultivated silk, mulberry, is being used as biomaterial in different forms. Eri, tasar and muga are some of the known wild silk varieties. The studies on biomedical applications of electrospun mats produced from these wild silks are limited though few studies on eri silk are available. In this work, comparison was made between eri and tasar silk fibroin scaffolds for biomedical application. The scaffolds were produced from eri silk fibroin (ESF) and tasar silk fibroin (TSF) by electrospinning method and they were treated with ethanol to improve dimensional stability. Ethanol treatment increased the crystallinity% of both ESF and TSF scaffolds. The crystallinity percentage of the ESF and TSF scaffolds was found to be 46.7 and 42.8 % respectively. Thermal stability was higher for ESF than that of TSF scaffold. The hemolytic % of ESF and TSF scaffolds was found to be 1.3 and 7.7 % respectively. The platelet adhesion on the surface of ESF scaffold was lower than that found on TSF scaffold. Better fibroblast cell attachment, binding and spreading was found on the ESF scaffold. The cell viability on ESF scaffold was 83.78 % and in TSF was 78.01 % for 48 h. The results showed that ESF electrospun scaffold can be considered as a better biomaterial for biomedical applications compared to that of TSF scaffold.

This paper presents the cost optimization of a reinforced concrete abutment of a cantilever type using a genetic algorithm (GA). During the optimization process, six design variables, including two geometrical design variables and four cross-sectional design variables, were considered. The objective function consists of the cost of steel, concrete, and labor. Computation programs have been developed in JAVA to find an economical design adhering to Indian Road Congress (IRC) standards. To get an optimal solution in reasonable computational time, an attempt is carried out to evaluate the optimal GA parameters for the abutment model. A parametric study was conducted to understand the effect of the angle of friction, grade of concrete, and height on the cost optimization of the abutment. From the parametric study, it is observed that optimum cost of the abutment is obtained with a higher value of the angle of friction and concrete with a lower compressive strength. The results of the optimization are further discussed in detail.

Fibre reinforced concrete with steel fibres attracted the attention of engineers and researchers during the last five decades. In recent times self-compacting concrete has been accepted as a quality product and are widely used. A large number of studies are available with respect to several parameters viz., load deflection behavior, toughness, flexural strength, ductility, effects of beam dimensions, concrete filling sequence, flexural toughness parameters, crack control etc. of fibre Reinforced Concrete. The present study aims to study the flexural behavior of SFRSCC and SFRNC slabs with steel fibres.