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Recently, research on natural hybrid composites has occupied a significant role in the materials science sector. Due to the low density, high specific strength, dimensional stability, and biodegradability, natural fiber composite has become a predominant research area. The present study deals with the fabrication of a jute–banana fiber hybrid composite using the hand layup method with compression molding. A fixed concentration of 5 % carbon nanotubes (CNT) is included over the fiber surfaces as an additional reinforcement material to improve their thermal and electrical conduction properties. The prepared composite material is subjected to different fiber loading (0, 10, 20, and 30 wt.%) with jute and banana weight ratios of 1:1, 1:3, and 3:1. The investigation is conducted for testing the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the prepared composites along with morphological studies. Final results revealed a maximum longitudinal tensile strength of 68.8 MPa, 67.0 MPa, and 86.7 MPa and the maximum transverse tensile strength of 41.2 MPa, 40.5 MPa, and 48.0 MPa at 30 wt.% with respective fiber ratio of 1:1, 1:3, and 3:1. The maximum longitudinal flexural strength of this hybrid composite is noticed as 94 MPa, 90 MPa, and 103 MPa for the weight ratio of 1:1, 1:3, and 3:1. Higher impact energy is obtained for the composition ratio of 1:3 (JBC 1:3) which has more banana fiber than the other two. A new attempt at adding carbon nanotubes has improved their thermal conductivity compared to regular composites of jute–banana.

Natural composites possess good qualities like light weight, harmlessness, cheapness and ease of processing. However, their performance is limited compared to conventional material. Hence, it is required to improve the performance of natural composites to extend their usage in various industrial applications. In this research, an attempt has been made to improve the performance of epoxy–jute natural composite using different natural fillers made of neem seed and groundnut shell particles. Initially, the epoxy–jute composite [N:G (0:0)] was prepared and the properties of the composite were investigated. Additionally, natural-fillers were incorporated into the N:G (0:0) composite, and a variety of composites were produced. These included N:G (1:0), N:G (3:1), N:G (1:1), N:G (1:3), and N:G (0:1), with the weight fractions of neem and groundnut shell particles adjusted accordingly. The properties of the aforementioned composites were compared with the properties of N:G (0:0) composite. Results revealed that the particle reinforced composite exhibited significant improvement in the properties of the composites. Moreover, in comparison to the other composites, the N:G (0:1) composite exhibited superior tensile strength (43.28 MPa), flexural strength (46.08 MPa), impact resistance (13.93 kJ m−2), and hardness (24.7 HV). This could be due to the fibrous structure of groundnut shell compared to neem seed which was fragile in nature. Furthermore, the same composite displayed less water absorption (2.8 % at 6 days time period). Moreover, the N:G (1:0) composite exhibited the least thermal conductivity (0.31 W m−1K−1). Based on results, it was concluded that the bio-fillers such as neem seed and groundnut shell particles assisted improvement the properties of epoxy–jute composite.

A negative impact is posed on the environment because of the rapid depletion of non- renewable feedstocks. Microalgae are excellent candidates that can be used as sustainable feedstock for biodiesel production. Implementing wastewater treatment along with bioenergy (biodiesel and bioelectricity) generation by cultivating microalgae in wastewater is a practical solution. This work concentrates on microalgal biodiesel production, bioelectricity generation, and wastewater treatment using Chlorella sorokinianaKP. Dairy Wastewater (DWW) and Rice Mill wastewater (RMWW) were utilized as substrates for optimization studies of biodiesel and bioelectricity production. Chlorella sorokinianaKP produced better biodiesel yield in DWW than RMWW, thus, DWW was employed as a substrate for further integrated bioelectricity studies. An “H-type” cathodic microalgal-based microbial fuel cell (MMFC) was used in the study as a novel system with Klebsiella pneumoniaeFA2 utilizing 80 % food wastewater (FWW) at pH 5.5 in the anode chamber and 50 % DWW at pH 6 with Chlorella sorokinianaKP in the cathode chamber. The microalgal biomass generated in the cathodic chamber of the MMFC was used for biodiesel production. The current investigation reports that the microalgal strain Chlorella sorokinianaKP can successfully utilize DWW to produce high-quality biodiesel and bioelectricity production by coupled MMFC with wastewater treatment.

The IPv6 over time-slotted channel hopping mode of IEEE 802.15.4e (6TiSCH) wireless protocol stack is released to offer high-throughput, low and bounded latency, energy efficient, and reliable communication in industrial Internet of Things (IoT). However, scheduling communication cell among the nodes for exchanging sensory data is not trivial in 6TiSCH networks when the network traffic is highly dynamic and unpredictable. The existing autonomous scheduling schemes suffer from static allocation, high end-to-end latency, and high energy consumption. To address the abovementioned problems, in this work, we propose on-the-fly autonomous slot allocation (OASA) scheme to schedule slots for adaptive traffic in 6TiSCH networks autonomously and immediately. OASA also enables a low radio-duty-cycle of the nodes when network traffic is less, which is not considered by any existing adaptive autonomous schedulers. To validate the effectiveness of OASA, we implemented it on Contiki-NG and performed testbed experiments on FIT IoT-LAB. The testbed experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of OASA in terms of latency, packet delivery ratio, and energy consumption compared to the existing autonomous scheduling schemes.

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In this work, the relevance of twill weaved aloe vera fiber integrated in liquid diglycidyl-ether of bisphenol-A (LY 556)-based epoxy resin was estimated. This experiment examined the mechanical, wear, and DMA properties of twill weaved aloe vera fiber and epoxy with surface-treated Si3N4particles in various composites. The bio-composite laminate was fabricated by hand layup and characterized with respective ASTM. The composite designation “ETS1” showed 154 MPa, 194 MPa, and 5.26 J tensile, flexural, and Izod impact strengths after adding Si3N4particles. As compared to all other designations, ETS3 composite designation represents the maximum hardness at 93 Shore-D. The composite “ETS3” possesses the lowest wear rate at 0.007mm3/Nm and 0.42 COF. The composite “ETS3” has the highest storage modulus of 4.1GPa and a loss factor of 0.31. SEM imaging shows improved fiber matrix bonding. Such composites have improved mechanical, wear, and DMA properties, making this composite suitable for industrial, automotive, electrical, and domestic applications.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative arthritis disease marked by inflammation, pain, and cartilage deterioration. Elevated nitric oxide (NO) levels play a pivotal role in mediating OA-related inflammation and are found in abundance within OA joints. This study introduces a NO-scavenging hyaluronic acid conjugate (HA–NSc) bearing both lubrication and anti-inflammatory properties for the treatment of osteoarthritis. For this, a derivative of o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) with good NO-scavenging capability (NSc) is designed, synthesized and chemically conjugated to HA. Owing to the amphiphilicity, this as-synthesized HA-NSc conjugate formed self-assembled nanoparticles (HA–NSc NPs) under aqueous conditions. When treated with activated murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells that produce high levels of NO, these nanoparticles effectively reduced intracellular NO concentrations and inflammatory cytokines. In an OA animal model, the HA–NSc NPs significantly alleviated pain and diminished the cartilage damage due to the combined lubricating property of HA and NO-scavenging ability of NSc. Overall, the results from the study suggest HA–NSc NPs as a dual-action therapeutic agent for the treatment of OA by alleviating pain, inflammation, and joint damage, and also positioning the HA–NSc NPs as a promising candidate for innovative treatment of OA.

The present work investigates the fatigue, fracture toughness, and dynamic mechanical analysis of carboxyl-terminated acrylonitrile butadiene (CTBN) rubber-toughened epoxy composites reinforced with surface-modified pineapple fiber and micro boron carbide (B4C). This research aims to determine the effects of the inclusion of CTBN and surface modification on pineapple fiber and B4Cto form a composite with the epoxy matrix. A surface treatment with an amino silane (3-Aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTMS) on natural fibers and filler microparticles is performed. The silanization was carried out in an aqueous solution. The natural fiber epoxy composites were fabricated using the hand lay-up technique and further characterization was performed. According to the results, CTBN rubber up to 3 vol. % shows enchantment in fatigue life cycles by 97% for composite designation N3(Fiber + CTBN). The DMA properties of the composites are enhanced after being reinforced with the treated pineapple fiber reinforcement. The glass transition temperature was found to be increased up to 86 °C for the N4 (Fiber + CTBN + B4C) composite designation; it is nearly 32% improvement. Likewise, the N4composite classification indicates a fracture toughness of 32.2 MPa and an energy release rate of 1.224 MJ/m2. The fractography images revealed better microparticle interfacial bonding in the matrix material. These composites with great fatigue life counts, dynamic mechanical behaviour and good resistance to fracture were highly demanded for mini-aircraft, hybrid vehicle, and structural applications.

AbstractA new pyrimidine derivative Schiff base (HL) [HL = 2-((4-amino-6-chloropyrimidin-2-ylimino)methyl)-4-nitrophenol] has been synthesized using 2,6-diamino-4-chloropyrimidine and 5-nitrosalicylaldehyde. Transition metal complexes of Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes [CuL(OAc)] (1), [ZnL(OAc)] (2) are prepared with HL/metal(II) acetate with molar ratio of 1:1. The Schiff base (HL) and the complexes 1and 2are evaluated by UV-Visible, 1H-NMR, FT-IR, EI-MS and ESR spectral techniques. Complexes 1and 2are confirmed as square planar geometry. Electrochemical studies of the complexes 1and 2are used to analyse the quasi reversible process. Density Functional Theory (DFT) using the B3LYP/6-31++G(d,p) level basis set was used to get the optimised geometry and non-linear optical properties. The complexes 1and 2are good antimicrobial agents than Schiff base (HL). The interactions of the HLand complexes 1and 2with Calf Thymus (CT) DNA are investigated by electronic absorption methods and viscosity measurements. Various molecular spectroscopy techniques, such as UV absorption and fluorescence, were used to explore the mechanism of interaction between the BSA and the ligand HLand complexes 1& 2under physiological settings. Complexes 1and 2are act as potential antioxidants than free Schiff base (HL) by DPPH radical scavenging assay. Furthermore, the purpose of the molecular docking studies was to better understand how metal complexes interact with biomolecules (CT-DNA and BSA). From these biological analyses, complex 1acts as good intercalator with CT DNA & BSA and potent antioxidant with DPPH radical than complex 2.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Ultrasonic-assisted turning (UAT) is a hybrid machining method that improves difficult-to-cut materials’ machinability and surface integrity. Minimum quantity lubrication (MQL) is a cooling condition employed in metal cutting operations to improve machining performance and environmental sustainability. This article presents the experimental investigations on the effect of machining and vibration parameters and cooling conditions on the surface roughness (Ra), flank wear (Vb), and surface hardness (HV) during UAT of AISI D2 tool steel. Experiments were designed based on L36 orthogonal array. Two levels of spindle speeds, feed rates, depth of cut, and three levels of percentage intensity of ultrasonic power (PIUP) were employed, and two cooling conditions, like dry and MQL. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to find the significant input parameters that affect each response. ANOVA output revealed that feed rate was the most influential factor on Ra, the PUIP is the dominant factor on HV, and spindle speed is the significant factor on Vb. Optimisation is performed to find optimal parameters as per Taguchi multi-response method. The optimal parameters are 450 rpm spindle speed, 0.05 mm/rev feed rate, 0.1 mm depth of cut, 100 PIUP and MQL cooling resulted in minimum surface roughness of 0.439 μm, maximum hardness of 283 HV and minimum flank wear of 168 μm. Flank wear morphology results showed that abrasion and chipping are the tool wear mechanism in dry UAT, whereas minor abrasion alone was found in MQL UAT compared to CT. Chip morphology study showed that UAT produced continuous spiral-type chips under both cooling conditions compared to CT. A novel design approach is implemented to design the UAT tool. Along with the UAT tool, MQL is also given to improve the machinability of D2 tool steel. This UAT tool can machine intricate metals with a critical cutting velocity of less than 75.4 m/min.

Hybrid organic–inorganic metal halide perovskite solar cell (PSC) technology is experiencing rapid growth due to its simple solution chemistry, high power conversion efficiency (PCE), and potential for low-cost mass production. Nevertheless, the primary obstacle preventing the upscaling and widespread outdoor deployment of PSC technology is the poor long-term device stability, which stems from the inherent instability of perovskite materials in the presence of oxygen and moisture. To address this issue, in this work, we have synthesized a series of thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) through a rational design by utilizing polyols having different molecular weights and diverse isocyanates (aromatic and aliphatic). Thorough characterization of these TPUs (ASTM and ISO standards) along with structure–property relationship studies were carried out for the first time and were then used as the encapsulation material for PSCs. The prepared TPUs were robust and adhered well with the glass substrate, and the use of low temperature during the encapsulation process avoided the degradation of the perovskite absorber and other organic layers in the device stack. The encapsulated devices retained more than 93% of their initial power conversion efficiency (PCE) for over 1000 h after exposure to harsh environmental conditions such as high relative humidity (80 ± 5% RH). Furthermore, the encapsulated perovskite absorbers showed remarkable stability when they were soaked in water. This article demonstrates the potential of TPU as a suitable and easily scalable encapsulant for PSCs and pave the way for extending the lifetime and commercialization of PSCs.

An experiment was conducted to reveal the ability to adapt and produce stable yield of sugar beet varieties using additive main effects and multiplicative interaction (AMMI) and other associated statistical analysis with the aim of introducing this new sugar crop as an alternate for sugar cane. Two popular tropical sugar beet varieties, SZ 35 and PAC 6008, were evaluated in six locations across Tamil Nadu, a South Indian state. The sugar beet variety SZ 35 revealed high tuber yield coupled with high commercial cane sugar (CCS) percentage in three locations at Vaigaidam (E6), Sirugamani (E5) and Coimbatore (E1). Study of variance displayed the maximum impacts was attributed to the environment, followed by the GE interaction. The scores of the primary interaction components also indicated a lot of variation for the environments relative to the genotype effects. E4(Melalathur) followed by E1(Coimbatore) has been found to be highly productive environments for both the varieties because of their higher tuber yield. Similarly, E3(Madurai) was highly good environment for realising enhanced CCS percentage. This study revealed the prudent use of these varieties for cultivation holding great potential to be an alternate crop for sugarcane to stabilise sugar production.

The bio-based polymer blend of polylactic acid (PLA)-polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) incorporated with cashew shell biomass synthesized cardanol oil (CARD) was prepared by solution casting method. The various formulations were prepared with PLA/PBAT(90/10) polymer blend containing 1%, 3%, and 5 wt.% of cardanol oil. All the prepared PLA/PBAT films were subjected to characterization techniques such as surface morphology, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, mechanical, thermal stability, X-ray diffraction, film color, opacity, wettability, and antimicrobial properties. The FTIR and XRD results confirmed the effective miscibility and molecular interactions of cardanol oil in PLA/PBAT blend. Further, the results of TGA analysis showed thermal stability improvement in PLA/PBAT bio-based film by the addition of cardanol oil. The homogeneous distribution of cardanol oil droplets on the PLA/PBAT blend was confirmed by observed SEM and TEM images. The mechanical result proved that the addition of 5 wt.% of cardanol oil into the PLA/PBAT blend increases the elongation at break. Moreover the bio-based PLA/PBAT film shows good barrier against water vapor and a poor barrier against oxygen permeability. The presence of cardanol oil in the PLA/PBAT matrix helps to enhance the optical and wettability properties of prepared bio-based film. Finally, it is proved from the investigational results that the PLA/PBAT/cardanol biodegradable films may be recommended to use in food packaging applications wherever high flexibility, water vapor barrier, thermal stability, antibacterial resistance, and less water absorption properties are required.

Jet-fuel range hydrocarbons such as 97.2% bi-cyclohexane, 94.1% di-cyclohexyl methane, and 95.6% trans-decalin have been produced selectively from biomass-derived cyclic ketones, namely, phenyl cyclohexanone (PCHO), benzyl cyclohexanone (BCHO), and α-tetralone (TLO), by vapor phase hydrodeoxygenation (VP-HDO). In this work, a mesoporous Ru-Ni2P bimetallic Al/KIT-6 catalyst was prepared hydrothermally with Si/Al = 10. Vapor phase hydrodeoxygenation over Ru-Ni2P/Al (10)-KIT-6 with hydrogen pressure of 50 mL/min, 300–450 °C of reaction temperature, and 2–10 h of time was carried out and attained the highest selectivity and conversion. Under optimal reaction circumstances (400 °C, 8 h, H2= 50 mL/min), PCHO, BCHO, and TLO conversion over Ru (2.0)-Ni2P(4.0)/Al(10)-KIT-6 is 94.8, 96.2, and 92.7%, respectively. Ru particles on Ni2P promote C–O bond cleavage and complete ketone reduction, resulting in a synergistic interaction between Ru and Ni2P in VP-HDO catalysis. Jet-fuel hydrocarbon invention demonstrated the elimination of oxygen from BDK.

Household air pollution (HAP) from solid fuel use is associated with adverse birth outcomes, but data for exposure–response relationships are scarce. We examined associations between HAP exposures and birthweight in rural Guatemala, India, Peru, and Rwanda during the Household Air Pollution Intervention Network (HAPIN) trial.

Gingival depigmentation procedure has gained widespread popularity in the recent years due to increased esthetic demands among patients. Among the various depigmentation procedures, cryosurgery is inexpensive and straightforward method. This case report discusses a rare complication associated with tetrafluoroethane (TFE) cryosurgical depigmentation method. A 27‐year‐old systemically healthy male patient reported with the complaint of esthetic concerns associated with gingival melanin pigmentation. Cryosurgery with TFE was planned for the maxillary first quadrant. The patient developed angioedema immediately after exposure to the TFE cryogen during the procedure. Cold urticaria was considered, and the patient was prescribed nonsedating antihistamines for a week. One month follow‐up showed completely healed and depigmented gingiva without any recession or attachment loss. TFE cryosurgery depigmentation was found to be an effective depigmentation procedure. However, various complications including cold urticaria have been associated with its application. Therefore, the procedure's success depends on the proper case selection, complete isolation of the operating area, and preoperative test for gingival tissue response. Why is this case new information? Cold urticaria formation after applying cryosurgery has never been reported in the literature to the best of the authors' knowledge. What are the keys to the successful management of this case? Preoperative testing for tissue response to cryosurgery will prevent complications like cold urticaria. What are the primary limitations to success in this case? Improper medical history and not taking tissue response test for cryosurgery.

AbstractThe oxovanadium(IV) Schiff base metal complex (ISNPV) have been synthesized as well as characterized by using micro analytical and traditional spectroscopic techniques. The spectral findings were utilized to validate the formation of ISNPV with structure exhibited square pyramidal geometry. The in vitroantibacterial activities of ISNPV were investigated to five different bacterial stains such as S. aureus, S. epidermidis, B. cereus, B. amyloliquefaciensand B. subtilis. The obtained result have suggested that the ISNPV has highest antibacterial activity against S. aureusthan the other bacterial stains. The in vitroantioxidant activity like DPPH free radical scavenging assay method was studied by ISNPV in DMSO medium. Because it scavenges all free radicals, the ISNPV possesses higher antioxidant activity than the free ligand. UV-visible absorption and emission spectral techniques were used to investigate the binding of CT-DNA to the ISNPV. Both the spectral data indicate that the ISNPV binds the double helix structure of CT-DNA via an intercalation mode. Additionally, investigate the interactions of ISNPV with the protein molecules like BSA/HAS has been investigated using absorption and emission techniques. The absorption intensity of metal complex increases as well as the emission intensity of protein molecules ability decreases due to the binding nature of ISNPV with BSA/HSA protein molecules. The binding nature of ISNPV with bio molecules such as CT-DNA, BSA and HSA was also validated using molecular docking approach.

Protein–Protein interactions (PPI) networks are protein complexes arranged in networks that are created by biochemical processes or electrostatic forces to carry out biological functions. PPI research is a challenging problem for both computer scientists as well as biologists due to the inherent potential of the original source that researchers can work with. PPI networks are being employed to research ailments, develop better medications, and comprehend various medical and health procedures that will finally benefit mankind. Retroactive data structures are a type of data structure that allows actions to be done on it in the past. The only restrictions included in the data structure are consistency requirements, which allow for arbitrary operation insertion and deletion at arbitrary moments. It is shown that efficient retroactivity, unlike persistence, is not always possible. In this work, the performance demonstrated their utility through real-world use cases and applications, in addition to going through the data structures employed in their implementation. The dynamic single source shortest path problem was successfully resolved by modifying the Dijkstra algorithm dynamically. The Dijkstra method is changed into a dynamic one via the retroactive priority queue data structure. Retroactive data structures identify the group of updated vertices one by one, requiring fewer calculations to accept the modifications. In order to dynamically adjust the Dijkstra method, which solves the dynamic single source shortest path problem with a quick update time, we used a suitable dynamic graph representation and a retroactive priority queue. A protein-protein interaction network is created for the protein involved in lung cancer and then the modified Dijkstra algorithm is applied to calculate the all-pair shortest path. Finally based on different metrics top 10 genes were summarised.

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Bixin is a naturally occurring fat-soluble diapocarotenoid that has been extracted using various methods. It is used in a variety of food applications, most notably dairy products such as butter, cheese, and margarine, as well as other foods such as meat and confectionaries. However, optimizing process conditions is still required to achieve the maximum pigment yield. The current study examined the impact of solvents such as ethyl acetate, methanol, and ethanol on bixin yield, total phenol content, and hue angle by varying process parameters such as time (10, 20, and 30 min), temperature (50, 60, and 70 °C), and seed-to-solvent ratio (1:5, 1:10, and 1:15). To optimize the process parameters and generate multiple regression models for the responses, the Box–Behnken design was used. At 60 °C and a seed-to-solvent ratio of 1:5, ethyl acetate extract had a maximum bixin content of 2.04 ± 0.28% in 30 min. The methanol extract, on the other hand, had a maximum total phenol content of 5.1 ± 0.19 mg GAE/g in 20 min at 70 °C in a 1:15 ratio. Maximum redness intensity was observed in a 10 min ethyl acetate extract with a hue angle of 20.75° at 50 °C and a seed-to-solvent ratio of 1:10. Methanol was observed to be the optimized solvent for bixin extraction, with higher total phenol content and color. As a result, the optimal conditions were 70 °C, a seed-to-solvent ratio of 1:15, and a treatment time of 30 min. The absolute error percentage of the models was less than 10%, which suggests the model was accurate.

Achieving network resilience in terms of attack tolerance and service availability is critically important for Internet of Vehicles (IoV) networks where vehicles require assistance in sensitive and safety-critical applications like driving. It is particularly challenging in time-varying conditions of IoV traffic. In this paper, we study an attack-resilient optimal service placement problem to ensure disruption-free service availability to the users in edge-enabled IoV network. Our work aims to improve the user experience while minimizing the delay and simultaneously considering efficient utilization of limited edge resources. First, an optimal service placement is performed while considering traffic dynamicity and meeting the service requirements with the use of a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework. Next, an optimal secondary mapping and service recovery placements are performed to account for the attacks/failures at the edge. The use of DRL framework helps to adapt to dynamically varying IoV traffic and service demands. In this work, we develop three integer linear programming (ILP) models and use them in the DRL based framework to provide attack-resilient service placement and ensure service availability with efficient network performance. Extensive numerical experiments are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

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AbstractIn this work, interactions of pyrimidine derivative Schiff base ligand (DMPMM) were studied and its stabilized powder nickel nanoparticles (DMPMM-NiNPs) were synthesized and various biological studies were evaluated. DNA binding studies of CT-DNA with prepared compounds in Tris-HCl/NaCl buffer were carried out by traditional UV-Visible and fluorescence spectroscopic methods, viscosity measurements and cyclic voltammetry. Results showed that the small scale of DMPMM had less activity to interact with biological systems and when it assembled on nickel nanoparticles surface the activity increased. Thermal denaturation and sonochemical denaturation studies of DNA with the presence and the absence of our compounds also were done by UV-Visible spectroscopic method and its results indicated that the synthesized compounds increased the denaturation temperature. BSA binding studies of synthesized compounds were done by UV-Visible and fluorescence spectroscopy. Molecular docking of prepared ligand and its nanoparticles with biomolecules (DNA and BSA) were studied. Antimicrobial studies of the DMPMM and DMPMM-NiNPs were carried out by Agar-Agar well diffusion method. Anticancer studies results evidenced that the synthesized DMPMM-NiNPs had good selectivity to control the growth of cancer cells without damaging the normal cells. Various antioxidant scavenging studies results have shown that DMPMM and DMPMM-NiNPs have significant antioxidant activity. HighlightsStable and solid nickel nanoparticles were prepared.The size of the prepared nickel nanoparticles was nearly 3 to 8 nm.Organic ligand capped nickel nanoparticles interacted with DNA and BSA.Ni nanoparticles increased the denaturation temperature of DNA.It was found to have good anticancer activity with fewer side effects than cisplatin.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

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This study investigated the synthesis and photocatalytic activity of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) at room temperature (ZnO-RT), 60° C (ZnO-60), and ultra sonication (ZnO-US). The NPs were made from Cucumis maderaspatanus(Cm) extract. ZnO NP sizes and shapes were observed to be influenced by synthesis conditions, as demonstrated by characterization techniques includes scanning electron microscopic analysis (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra Red analysis (FTIR). The heated (60 °C) and ultra sonication (US) conditions produced NPs with diameters in the range of 15–25 nm with spherical shapes, while the non-heated (RT) condition produced NPs with diameters in the range of 20–30 nm with a mixture of spherical and flower shapes confirmed by SEM. Additionally, the presence of the reducing agents in the herbal extract was verified by analysing the FTIR spectra of the extract obtained after the synthesis. By using Coomassie Brilliant Blue R-250 (CBB-R-250) (50 ppm) as a probe molecule and subjecting it to UVA irradiation (λ = 356 nm), photocatalytic activity was measured. The results showed that ZnO-US reached 100 % degradation after 120 min and 90 % of the pollutant was mineralized, while ZnO-60 and ZnO-RT showed results of 80 % and 48 %, respectively. According to this study, the biological synthesis of NPs using plant extracts can be considered as a cost-effective and efficient method of biological synthesis of NPs and it could be an appropriate replacement to typical chemical methods for the synthesis of NPs.

AbstractA new octahedral platinum complex [PtLCl4] of Schiff base ligand containing pyrimidine and morpholine skeleton (where, L is 4,6-dichloropyrimidin-5-yl)methylene)-2-morpholinoethanamine) was isolated and characterized by elemental analysis, 1H-NMR, FTIR, UV–visible and ESI-MS techniques. DNA interaction of isolated compounds with calf thymus (CT-DNA) was explored by UV–vis absorption, fluorescence, cyclic voltametric and viscometric methods. The result shows that prepared compounds can interact with CT-DNA through electrostatic interactions. Bovine serum album (BSA) binding behavior of isolated compounds was also studied by UV–vis absorption and fluorescence techniques. Both the spectroscopic results suggest that the isolated ligand and its complex bind with BSA through static quenching. The optimized structure of ligand and platinum complex were achieved by the DFT calculations. Moreover, molecular docking of ligand and its complex were studied. These analysis results reveal that ligand has low binding affinity on DNA and BSA molecules in contrast to its complex. In vitro anticancer activity of isolated compounds toward normal cell line (NHDF) as well as cancer cell lines (MCF-7, HepG2, HeLa and A549) was studied by MTT assay. The results supports that isolated platinum complex can control the growth of cancer cells (MCF-7, 20.12 ± 1.00 µg/mL; HepG2, 32.2 ± 1.69 µg/mL; HeLa, 24.68 ± 1.29 µg/mL; A549, 23.46 ± 1.17 µg/mL) without inhibiting the normal cell line (NHDF, 109.26 ± 5.46 µg/mL). Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of isolated compounds indicate that ligand and Pt complex are found to have good radical scavenging against four different free radicals and antimicrobial abilities on E. coliand C. albicansantimicrobial species.HighlightsPlatinum complex of Schiff base with pyrimidine and morpholine linkage was synthesized.Pt complex has better biomolecular interaction with DNA and BSA.Molecular docking of Pt complex with DNA and BSA has been studiedPt complex has good anticancer activities.Pt complex has better antioxidant and antimicrobial activities.

Developing safe and effective double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) delivery systems remains a major challenge for gene silencing, especially in lepidopteran insects. This study evaluated the protamine sulfate (PS)/lipid/dsRNA nanoparticle (NP) delivery system for RNA interference (RNAi) in cells and larvae of the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, a major worldwide pest. A highly efficient gene delivery formulation was prepared using a cationic biopolymer, PS, and a cationic lipid, Cellfectin (CF), complexed with dsRNA. The NPs were prepared by a two-step self-assembly method. The formation of NPs was revealed by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The formation of CF/dsRNA/PS NPs was spherical in shape and size, ranging from 20 to 100 nm with a positive charge (+23.3 mV). Interestingly, prepared CF/dsRNA/PS NPs could protect dsRNA (95%) from nuclease degradation and thus significantly improve the stability of dsRNA. Formulations prepared by combining EGFP DNA with CF/PS increased transfection efficiency in Sf9 cells compared to PS/EGFP and CF/EGFP NPs. Also, the PS/CF/dsRNA NPs enhanced the endosomal escape for the intracellular delivery of dsRNA. The gene knockdown efficiency was assessed in Sf9 Luciferase (Luc) stable cells after a 72 h incubation with CF/dsRNA/PS, PS/dsRNA, CF/dsRNA, or naked dsRNA. Knockdown of the Lucgene was detected in CF/dsRNA/PS (76%) and PS/dsRNA (42.4%) not CF/dsRNA (19.5%) and naked dsRNA (10.3%) in Sf9 Luc cells. Moreover, CF/dsIAP/PS (25 μg of dsRNA targeting the inhibitor of apoptosis, IAP, gene of FAW) NPs showed knockdown of the IAPgene (39.5%) and mortality (55%) in FAW larvae. These results highlight the potential application of PS/lipid/dsRNA NPs for RNA-mediated control of insect pests.

A modified Zerilli–Armstrong model has been proposed and validated in previous works for simulating distinct deformation mechanisms of continuous-shear and shear-localization during severe plastic deformationof a facecentered cubicalloy. In this paper, the validity of the modified Zerilli–Armstrong model has been further tested by using it for modeling the severe plastic deformationof another facecentered cubicmaterial, a steel alloy. In particular, the modified Zerilli–Armstrong model is used as a constitutive relation for simulating behavior of AISI 1045 steel alloy while undergoing severe plastic deformationthrough orthogonal and plane-strain machining. Accordingly, the performance of the constitutive relation in predicting flow stress distribution along the primary shear zone is validated by comparing with forecasts made using the distributed primary zone deformation, the original Zerilli-Armstrong and Johnson-Cook models. Furthermore, finite element simulations of orthogonal cutting of this steel alloy were carried out, and good agreement was observed between the predicted chip morphology and attendant cutting forces with experimental values reported in literature for a range of cutting conditions. The force predictions also fared better compared to those predicted by using the Zerilli-Armstrong and Johnson-Cook models. These validations provide further corroboration of using the modified Zerilli–Armstrong model as a constitutive relation for simulating the behavior of face-centered cubic materials under conditions of high plastic strains and also high strain-rates.

Large scale with high-purity hexagonal aluminum nitride nanoparticles (AlN NPs) was synthesized using DC thermal plasma arc discharge method (TPAD). Argon gas was used as the plasma forming gas, while ammonia (NH3) gas was used as the reactive gas, which was fed into the reactor at a constant flow rate of 5 LPM. In order to optimize the process for high yield, the experiments were carried out at various plasma input powers, such as 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 kW. Following the optimization, to examine the influence of using pure nitrogen gas, an experiment was also carried out in the nitrogen ambience. The phase identification and structural determination of the synthesized NPs were carried out using XRD and Raman spectroscopic analyses. While the morphology, particle size, and elemental compositions of the synthesized NPs were observed from SEM, HRTEM, XPS, and EDX analyses. The photoluminescence response was confirmed from the PL spectrum. The PL emission peaks observed around 440 nm (2.8 eV) and 601 nm (2.07 eV), respectively, which correspond to the UV blue and red band emissions of both AlN and Al/AlN NPs. The results show that the synthesized nano-AlN NPs exhibit excellent crystallinity with a high yield of approximately 210 g/h. The current plasma technology can be regarded as a perfect potential process for developing nano-AlN powders with improved efficiency.

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•Fluoro-substituted schiff base ligand and its copper(II) complex were prepared and analysed.•Square planar structure of copper(II) complex was further confirmed by DFT calculations.•Selective sensing of Cu2+cation by the fluoro-substituted schiff base ligand.•Synthesized ligand and its complex bind with DNA double helix through an intercalation mode.•Molecular docking results infer the binding of synthesized compounds with CT-DNA.

AbstractCopper(II) and zinc(II) complexes of the type [ML(AcO)2.H2O] were synthesized from bidentate-morpholine based Schiff base ligand (L - morpholinopropylimino)methyl)-6-methoxyphenol). The prepared ligand, copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, ESI-MS, 1H-NMR, FT-IR, UV-Visible, ESR and spectrometric methods. The elemental and ESI-MS results have been established that the prepared ligand and complexes possess 1:1 stoichiometric ratio. 1H-NMR and FT-IR results have been suggested that azomethine nitrogen and morpholine ring nitrogen atoms are coordinated with Cu(II) and Zn(II) metal ions. UV-Visible, ESI-MS and ESR spectroscopic results have been supported that the proposed structure of Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes possess square pyramidal geometry. In order to confirm the proposed square pyramidal geometry of prepared complexes by DFT calculation has been studied. DNA binding ability of Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes have been studied by electronic absorption and viscometric methods. These results reveal that Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes interact with CT-DNA by the way of groove binding mode. Molecular docking studies result shows that synthesized compounds has better binding ability. The in vitroantioxidant activities of ligand, Cu(II) and Zn(II) complexes have been investigated by using the DPPH assay. The result shows that synthesized compounds have good radical scavenging activity against DPPH radical. Antimicrobial activities of synthesized ligand and its complexes have been tested against selected bacterial (gram positive & gram negative) and fungal species. The results reveal that Cu(II) and Zn(II) have good antimicrobial activity than ligand.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Purpose: The registration of Laparoscopic Ultrasound (LUS) to CT can enhance the safety of laparoscopic liver surgery by providing the surgeon with awareness on the relative positioning between critical vessels and a tumour. In an effort to provide a translatable solution for this poorly constrained problem, Content-based Image Retrieval (CBIR) based on vessel information has been suggested as a method for obtaining a global coarse registration without using tracking information. However, the performance of these frameworks is limited by the use of non-generalisable handcrafted vessel features. Methods: We propose the use of a Deep Hashing (DH) network to directly convert vessel images from both LUS and CT into fixed size hash codes. During training, these codes are learnt from a patient-specific CT scan by supplying the network with triplets of vessel images which include both a registered and a mis-registered pair. Once hash codes have been learnt, they can be used to perform registration with CBIR methods. Results: We test a CBIR pipeline on 11 sequences of untracked LUS distributed across 5 clinical cases. Compared to a handcrafted feature approach, our model improves the registration success rate significantly from 48% to 61%, considering a 20 mm error as the threshold for a successful coarse registration. Conclusions: We present the first DH framework for interventional multi-modal registration tasks. The presented approach is easily generalisable to other registration problems, does not require annotated data for training, and may promote the translation of these techniques.

Background: With new technological advancements, adolescents can obtain devices that give them virtually unlimited access to social media (SM) which may impact adolescent mental health. Objectives: This literature review aims to evaluate the influence of social media use on adolescent anxiety and depression. Methods: A literature search of PubMed from June 2010 through June 2020 was completed for the following MeSH terms: social media, adolescent, anxiety, depression, and mental health. English language articles that discussed adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, anxiety and/or depression and SM were included. Extracted data included the SM platform, impact on anxiety and depression, interventions, temporal and dose-response relationships, and observed versus self-reported usage. Results: The majority of articles positively associated depression (82.6%) and anxiety (78.3%) with SM use. depression corresponded with cyber-bullying (42.1%), negative social perspective (21.0%), diminished self-esteem (15.8%), and sleep disturbance (10.5%). Anxiety corresponded with a negative social perspective (44.4%), diminished self-esteem (33.3%), sleep disturbance (16.7%), and cyber-bullying (16.7%). Many studies suggested the use of interventions to reduce depression (72.7%) and anxiety (72.7%), such as screen time restrictions (n=6) and social support (n=4), but lacked evaluation of their implementation. Conclusion: Current literature suggests a positive association between adolescent SM use with anxiety and depression. Our study highlights the need for further investigation of temporal and dose-response associations between SM use and adolescent mental health, and the potential benefits of SM-driven interventions.