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A single sensor camera captures only one intensity value in a pixel known as the raw/unprocessed image. The raw or incomplete image is reconstructed to a full colour image by the process called demosaicking. The proposed work introduces an error efficient demosaicking algorithm. The efficient prior error reduction technique helps to obtain better results. The demosaicked green image is a guide to the residual demosaicking process. The conventional demosaicking is replaced by the residual demosaicking. The standard Kodak and McMaster datasets are employed in the experimental analysis. The proposed methodology has produced optimal performance with reduced error compared to the conventional demosaicking algorithms.

The conventional chemotherapeutic drugs have many side effects due to their non-selective tissue distribution, reduced drug concentration of the drug at the tumor site, and the drug resistance. To overcome these problems the chemotherapeutic agent should selectively accumulate the tumor site and stays there for a prolonged period of time releasing the payloads in a controlled manner. This can be achieved by the administration of a smart drug delivery system (SDDS) loaded with the active drug molecules. In this work, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is loaded into amine functionalised hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles (HMSN-NH2) and then coated with a biocompatible polydopamine (PDA) to formulate SSDS for 5-FU for pH-sensitive drug release. The physiochemical properties were characterised; the structural morphology was observed by using optical microscope, scanning electron microscope and transmission electron microscope, chemical interaction between the drug and excipients were characterised from Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the entrapment efficiency of loaded drug and the pH-dependent drug release rate were evaluated using UV-visible spectroscopy. It was observed that, the drug is compatible with excipients by retaining all the characteristics peaks of 5-FU with negligible changes in the position in all physical mixtures. The PDA coated 5-FU loaded HMSN-NH2 also exhibits a nearly spherical and non-aggregated morphology. The release rate was showed to increase with increase in concentration of structure-directing agent (Triton X 100) in the rate of a maximum release at the end of 72 h in pH 4. The prepared novel PDA coated 5-FU HMSN-NH2 was found to be capable of delivering the anti-cancer drug 5-FU specifically at the tumor site in a pH-dependent stimuli-responsive manner. It also showed a controlled release for a period of 72 h. The enhanced cytotoxicity against HeLa cell line were found for the formulated SSD form.

Rationale: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is based on the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by light-activated photosensitizers in the presence of oxygen. Phytochemicals are promising natural photosensitizers, offering a potentially less toxic alternative for cancer treatments. Nonlinear optics (NLO) phenomena, such as second-harmonic generation (SHG), third-harmonic generation (THG), and two-photon absorption (TPA), can enhance light interaction, benefiting photosensitizing applications in PDT. Analyzing the NLO properties of phytochemicals can optimize their use in PDT by improving photosensitizer performance and efficacy. Aim: This study aims to examine the NLO properties of selected phytochemicals in a reported polyherbal formulation to understand their potential as effective photosensitizers in PDT, thereby advancing cancer treatment options. Methods: Quantum computational calculations were conducted at the B3LYP/6311 G++(d,p) level of theory to unveil crucial information about structural geometry and nonlinear optical properties. Results: The bandgap of aloe emodin, emodin, curcumin, scopoletin berberine, furanocoumarin, rubiadin are 3.279 eV, 3.395 eV, 3.247 eV, 3.930 eV, 2.878 eV, 4.463 eV and 3.546 eV, respectively. The results highlight berberine as the most reactive compound, demonstrating high softness and low hardness. Curcumin and furanocoumarin exhibit distinct electron-donating and accepting tendencies, respectively. In the MESP map of furanocoumarin, scopoletin, and rubiadin the electro-negative region is highly oriented around the ketone group (=O) and partially at another O atom in the pentagon. The compensating electropositive charge was distributed elsewhere. In aloe emodin, emodin, and curcumin the electronegativity was distributed around the ketone group while high electropositivity was observed around the substituted hydroxyl functional groups. In berberine electro negative region is very small and it is more electro-positive in nature. All the selected compounds have significantly greater dipole moment than standard urea (1.3732 Debye), specifically scopoletin and curcumin has 8 times greater value than urea. Concerning chemical potential, curcumin emerges as easily reactive, than berberine. The evaluation of NLO properties, including dipole moment (µ), polarizability (α), and mean first hyperpolarizability (β), underscores the superiority of berberine, making it highly reactive and easily activated during laser light irradiation. Discussion and conclusion: Berberine exhibits superior NLO properties, marked by high reactivity, substantial softness, and significant first hyperpolarizability, making it the most effective photosensitizer among the studied phytochemicals for enhancing PDT efficacy in cancer treatments.

Rationale: Flavonols are a class of flavonoids, consist of two aromatic rings (A and B) connected by a three-carbon bridge, forming a closed pyran ring (C) with a hydroxyl group at position 3. Galangin is a form of flavonols formed with additional hydroxyl groups at ring A positions 5 and 7. The hydroxylation at ring B of galangin may result in resonance and delocalization of electrons and the formation of different derivatives like kaempferol, quercetin, and myricetin. Most of these flavonols have a similarity to 17β-estradiol, the steroid sex hormone which bound to estrogen receptors (ER), a class of nuclear transcription factors involved in the regulation of many complex pathophysiological processes including breast cancer genesis and progression. Various studies have reported that most of the flavonols are antiestrogenic and show anticancer potential, but the mechanisms may be varied like estrogenic, anti-estrogenic, non-estrogenic, and biphasic activities and their mechanisms of action have not been systematically evaluated. Aim: The goal of this study is to ascertain the possible interactions of flavonol derivatives to ER with respect to ring B hydroxylation and the unsaturation degree of the C2′=C3′ bond. Methods: The variations in structure, frontier molecular orbital, molecular electrostatic potential maps, Mullikan charge population of derivatives was determined by Density functional theory (DFT) calculations at B3LYP/6-311G (d,p) level on model molecular systems. A deep insight into these interactions with ER was described by molecular docking studies. Results and discussion: Results shows that the flavonol was found more affinity to ERβ and the efficacy was increased with respect to the OH group on ring B. The hydroxyl group at position 3 and 5 in ring A and C are not found much relevant. The site of ERβ is more hydrophilic while binding ligand and the electropositive and electronegative area of the molecule was increased and reaches a maximum for quercetin with the 3 OH group; after that, it found to diminish. Moreover, the reduced cavity size of ERβ and the replacement of LEU384 with polar HIE475 and MET336 increased the polarity and hydrophilicity of the cavity and led to more electrostatic interaction with ligands. ERα is found to be hydrophobic and the polar interaction between the ligands and ERα is less due to open confirmation of the cavity and bulk empty space. The results also emphasize that myricetin and quercetin require less energy to activate while accounting for the values of Gibbs free energy, the electronic configuration of frontier molecular orbitals, and entropy. Conclusion: The hydroxylation on ring B has a significant importance in the chemical reactivity as well as estrogenic activity of flavonol.

Phase change materials are promising alternatives for solar energy harvesting by photothermal conversion and thermal energy storage. In this work, a shape-stabilized phase change material (PCM) was prepared by hot-melt blending of paraffin wax (PW), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and expanded graphite (EG) to investigate the photothermal conversion and storage performance using a heat flux evolution curve. This study introduced the heat flux evolution curve for the first time to accurately measure phase change duration, which is otherwise underestimated by the conventional temperature curves. The impact of various component compositions on thermal conductivity, energy storage density, PCM leakage, and photothermal conversion efficiency was evaluated experimentally. The results showed that the addition of 20 wt% EG enhanced the thermal conductivity of the composite by 305%. The total energy storage density of the composite varied in the range of 116.7–138.5 J/g during the photothermal conversion study. The composite with 15 wt% EG and 50 wt% PW exhibited a photothermal conversion efficiency of 79.8% when calculated from the temperature evolution curve and 61.8% from the heat flux evolution curve. This difference in efficiency indicates that the temperature evolution curve accounts only for the phase change of PCMs at the point of temperature measurement, while the heat flux evolution curve estimates the phase change of whole PCMs in the composite. Therefore, this work not only provides a shape-stabilized phase change material for the effective utilization of solar energy but also provides some guidelines to accurately calculate the photothermal conversion efficiency.