Search

This is paper briefly explains the MEMS based piezoelectrically actuated micropump and its applications for the drug delivery system. The micropump is designed and it consists of four elements like electrodes, piezoelectric layer, flexible membrane and a reservoir. It is analyzed for three different materials like PZT-5H, PZT-5A and BaTiO3. Among them BaTiO3 is used as piezoelectric material. By using the FEM tool COMSOL Multiphysics, mechanical behavior of the micropump is evaluated as flow velocity and flow rate of 8.92 m/s and 0.854 ml/min at 50 V respectively. The obtained flow rate for the micropump is best suitable in cardio-vascular, hypertension cases where the drug need to be delivered with an appropriate flow rate.

AIM To assess the morphology and colour Doppler parameters in patients with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and also to assess the changes in Doppler parameters in follow-up patients, who underwent treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was conducted on 50 women of reproductive age who had clinical and biochemical findings suggestive of PCOS. Clinico-hormonal parameters were recorded. Ultrasound and colour Doppler flow measurements of bilateral ovaries were performed in the early proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle. After assessment of the bilateral ovaries, colour Doppler ultrasound was used to evaluate the main uterine artery at the cervico-uterine junction. Follow-up imaging after 3 months was undertaken in patients who underwent treatment (metformin) and changes in the imaging and hormonal parameters were correlated. RESULTS The mean value of luteinising hormone (LH) and the ratio of LH: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) was significantly higher in PCOS patients. Ultrasound parameters were significantly higher in PCOS patients. Ovarian stromal vessels in PCOS patients had a significantly higher peak systolic velocity (PSV), low resistance index (RI), and pulsatility index (PI). The PSV of uterine arteries were significantly decreased and the RI and PI were significantly increased. On follow-up patients revealed changes in hormonal parameters. CONCLUSION PCOS is a heterogeneous disorder and is a convergence of multisystem endocrine derangements. Ultrasound is good diagnostic tool for PCOS and the use of Doppler aids in the evaluation of haemodynamic changes in small vessels of utero-ovarian circulation and in response assessment.

The Cu-doped ZnO thin films were fabricated on glass slides by a two-step SILAR coating method. The diffraction data revealed that the prepared ZnO:Cu films were in the phase of Wurtzite geometry, and the grain size decreases from 37 to 26 nm. The morphological studies revealed uniform distribution of nanograins as well as a nanoflower structure. The doping samples exhibited an increase in transmittance and an increase in the bandgap. A room temperature ammonia vapor-sensing performance of Cu-doped ZnO films is also studied, and sensitivity for sensing ammonia vapor is increased with doping concentration. The sensitivity was remarkably enhanced to 12,300% and it has a relatively fast response/recovery time of 37/8 s for 100 ppm NH3 for the 5 wt% of ZnO:Cu film. Its high sensitivity and fast response make the ZnO:Cu film a good contender for high-quality gas sensor devices.

Magnetic nanoparticles of iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3) have been prepared using bio-assisted method and their application in the field of biosensors is demonstrated. Particularly in this work, different nanostructures of γ-Fe2O3 namely nanospheres (NS), nanograsses (NG) and nanowires (NW) are prepared using a bio-surfactant namely Furostanol Saponin (FS) present in Fenugreek seeds extract through co-precipitation method by following “green” route. Three distinct morphologies of iron oxide nanostructures possessing the same crystal structure, magnetic properties, and varied size distribution are prepared and characterized. The resultant materials are analyzed using field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, vibrating sample magnetometer and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Moreover, the effect of reaction time and concentration of FS on the resultant morphologies of γ-Fe2O3 nanostructures are systematically investigated. Among different shapes, NWs and NSs of γ-Fe2O3 are found to exhibit better sensing behaviour for both the individual and simultaneous electrochemical detection of most popular biomarkers namely dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA). Electrochemical studies reveal that γ-Fe2O3 NWs showed better sensing characteristics than γ-Fe2O3 NSs and NGs in terms of distinguishable voltammetric signals for DA and UA with enhanced oxidation current values. Differential pulse voltammetric studies exhibit linear dependence on DA and UA concentrations in the range of 0.15–75 µM and 5 μM – 0.15 mM respectively. The detection limit values for DA and UA are determined to be 150 nM and 5 µM. In addition γ-Fe2O3 NWs modified electrode showed higher sensitivity, reduced overpotential along with good selectivity towards the determination of DA and UA even in the presence of other common interferents. Thus the proposed biosensor electrode is very easy to fabricate, eco-friendly, cheaper and possesses higher surface area suggesting the unique structural patterns of γ-Fe2O3 nanostructures to be a promising candidate for electrochemical bio-sensing and biomedical applications.

Nickel oxide (NiO) is found to have several fascinating applications in optoelectronics and spintronic devices. Hence, herein we facilely fabricated the NiO thin films with 0.0, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 wt.% Sr doping by low-cost spin coater at RT. The single-phase confirmation of Sr@NiO films was done by X-ray diffraction and FT-Raman analyses. The crystallite size was estimated through Scherrer rule and noted to lie between 13 to 31 nm. The broad Raman peaks indicate low dimension nanostructured films formation. Sr doping in NiO was detected by EDX spectra and its homogeneity in final film by SEM e-mapping. AFM analysis revealed nano-spherical grains in all films. The grown films were tested for optical transparency and noticed that the films are transparent viz. ~ 45 to 65% over 500 to 1400 nm wavelength region. The direct energy gap and refractive index was determined and lies between 3.74 to 3.84 eV and 1.6 and 2.2 in the visible, correspondingly. The values of dielectric constant were calculated in range from 2 to 60. The linear, third order nonlinear and nonlinear refractive index values are noted to be enhanced by Sr content in energy range from 1 to 4 eV. The enhanced energy gap and nonlinear activities signify the importance of the grown Sr@NiO films for optoelectronics.

Many educational institutions use data mining for maintaining the student records, specifically academic performances, which are more significant. The academic performances of the students are to be analyzed for improving their results and also the overall results of the institutions. Moreover, the prediction of academic performance of students has been an important and developing research domain in educational data mining (EDM), in which data mining and machine learning techniques are used for deriving data from educational warehouse. With that, this paper develops a novel approach called hybrid educational data mining model (HEDM) for analyzing the student performance for effectively enhancing the educational quality for students. The proposed model evaluates the student performances based on distinctive factors that provide appropriate results. Furthermore, the model combines the efficiencies of Naive Baye’s classification technique and J48 Classifier for deriving the results and categorizing the student performance in precise manner. The model is evaluated with the benchmark education dataset that is available online in the WEKA environment. The results show that the proposed model outperforms the results of existing works in evaluating student performance in EDM.

This paper reports successful fabrication of copper-doped tin sulphide (SnS:Cu) thin films using nebulized spray pyrolysis. Different Cu doping concentrations (2, 4, 6, and 8 wt-%) were employed to...

Currently several type of energy sources exist in the modern world. The energy makes people's life more comfortable, easy, time savings, fast transformation of information and various modes of transmission. Because of large demand of energy, efforts on production of energy increases day by day which subsequently increase serious environmental concerns such as pollution and lack of existing natural resources. In this respect, several attempts have been proposed for new type of renewable and chemical energy systems to overcome the economic burden, global warming and environmental problems caused by the use of conventional fossil fuels. Hydrogen production via water splitting is a promising and ideal route for renewable energy using the most abundant resources of solar light and water. Cost effective photocatalyst for Photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting using semiconductor materials as light absorbers have been extensively studied due to their stability and simplicity. Over the past few decades, various metal oxide photocatalysts for water splitting have been developed and their photocatalytic application was studied under UV irradiation. Alternative semiconductor photocatalyst should harness solar energy in the visible light, one such semiconductor material is indium gallium nitride (InGaN), owing to its suitable and tunable energy band-gap, chemical resistance and notable photoelectrocatalytic activity. This review article is initiated with the brief introduction about the origin and methods of production of hydrogen gas from both renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. Multi-functional properties and applications of InGaN are described along with past and recent efforts of InGaN materials for hydrogen evolution by several investigators are provided in detail. In addition, future prospects and ways to improve the PEC performance of InGaN are presented at the end of this review.

This paper presents a Fractional Order Sliding Mode Controller (FOSMC) for load frequency control of multi area power system in deregulated environment. In deregulated power system the design of controller is more complicated due to contracted and un-contracted load demands. This proposed controller shall take care of system nonlinearities and uncertainties under bilateral contract scenario for sudden load disturbances. The performance of proposed controller compared to PI controller and without any controller.

Spinel ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles (ZMONPs) were successfully synthesized using a microwave-assisted chemical route. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed the growth of ZMONPs along the (211) plane with a tetragonal structure. The crystallite size was ~ 14 nm, estimated using the XRD data. Vibrational analysis confirmed the tetragonal structure of ZMONPs. Scanning electron microscopy images showed nanometer-sized particles, which was in agreement with the XRD results. EDX investigation of the samples demonstrated the good stoichiometric ratio of Zn, Mn, and O (1:2:4). The surface area and pore radius were also investigated in detail through Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis and were found to be 10.385 m2/g and 16.24 A, respectively. The direct band gap for the ZMONPs was estimated using Tauc’s relation and was found to be 2.07 eV, which is larger than that of bulk ZMO (1.91 eV). Dielectric constant and loss values decreased with increasing frequency, while conductivity increased with increasing frequency. The dielectric constant was found to be in the range of 17–25 considering the entire testing range. The dielectric constant value was larger than expected, which could be the result of quantum confinement.

This paper proposes UPQC to enhance all Power Quality issues. The UPQC is outlined by consolidating a series APF and shunt APF. The adaptable FLC together with Series APF control the voltage distor...

Carbon (C)-coated zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) having different sizes and morphologies were successfully synthesized by a flash combustion biomimetic approach using different contents of gelatin as the medium. Structural and vibrational studies indicate that the NPs are grown in a hexagonal wurtzite structure. The amount of gelatin content has a strong effect on the growth mechanism and the physical and optical properties. The presence of C in the ZnO was clearly confirmed by Raman analysis in which the Raman bands corresponding to the presence of C were observed at ∼ 1343 cm−1 (G-band), 1580 cm−1 (D-band), and 2700 cm−1 (G′-band). At low concentrations, the NPs grew in the shape of spherical aggregates which arranged themselves in the form of a spherical flower-like structure. At 1 g of gelatin content, the spherical flower-like structure disappeared to be distributed at 3 g of gelatin content into a uniform planar spherical NP arrangement in the shape of a multi-aggregated cauliflower-like structure. At higher concentrations, the NPs rearranged themselves in the shape of a hexagonal disk or a prism-like structure. The band gap values were found to decrease with increasing gelatin content and were in the range of 3.18–3.26 eV, though it showed the dependency on the size, shape and presence of C in ZnO. Studies of the dielectric properties and ac conductivity on the prepared NPs were also carried out.

Past studies have shown that phosphate recovery in the form of struvite is relatively a simple process, which can be achieved by adding a magnesium source in stored urine. However, struvite recovery process at a decentralised level becomes uneconomical due to high input cost of magnesium salts and operational cost. While use of cheaper alternative magnesium sources such as bittern, low-grade MgO and wood ash could lead to partial cost reduction, it is also important to reduce the overall operational costs to make struvite recovery process economically viable and sustainable. In this study, a continuous flow reactor was developed for low-cost struvite recovery from stored urine at decentralised community scale operations. Our study revealed that over 81.2% of phosphate present in urine can be recovered in the form of struvite. Comparison of results from stirred and unstirred experiments shows that higher recovery efficiency is obtained due to minimal loss of fines. Operation and financial assessment of the process shows that struvite recovery can be profitable due to continuous operation of the reactor requiring minimal process control and manpower requirement.

Large size growth of Zinc(tris) thiourea sulphate (ZTS) crystals has been successfully done through slow solvent evaporation technique in presence of l-Ascorbic acid (LAA). The possibility of any extra phase due to presence of LAA was ruled out through structural analysis. The deviation in lattice parameters and shift in peaks position indicates the interaction of LAA with ZTS. Crystalline perfection of grown crystals was judged by High-resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) study and found that the crystalline perfection of ZTS in presence of 10 wt% LAA is enhanced compared to others. The low optical absorbance and high band gap confirms its application in optoelectronic devices. A burly blue emission band at 460 nm was observed in Photoluminescence spectra of ZTS crystals grown in presence of LAA when excited at 310 and 358 nm both. However, when these specimens were excited at 385 nm this blue emission band is observed at 470 nm. The remarkable enhancement of blue band emission intensity was noted which may be attributed due to presence of defects (color centers). Further the dielectric measurement was done and shows that the dielectric constant has been improved due to presence of LAA. The enhanced optical band gap, photoluminescence intensity and dielectric constant suggests that the LAAZTS single crystals are suitable for electro-optic device applications. Keywords: Crystal growth, X-ray diffraction, HRXRD, Optical properties, Dielectric response

In this study, solvothermal method was used for the synthesis of MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles at different processing period of 7, 14, and 21 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern study confirms that MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles correspond to the face-centered cubic spinel structure and belong to the Fd3m [227] space group. From Raman spectra analysis, two major peaks were observed at 476 and 616 cm-1, which correspond to the vibration modes of MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles; especially, the broad peak at 620 cm-1 (A1g) corresponds to the symmetric stretching vibration of oxygen atoms at tetrahedral site. Infrared spectra (FTIR) analysis at 490 and 572 cm-1 can be attributed to the stretching vibration of tetrahedral groups of FeO₄, and the vibration of octahedral groups of FeO6 belongs to the intrinsic vibrations of manganese ferrites. The uniformly distributed MnFe₂O₄ nanospheres (RT2) can be affirmed by field emission scanning electron microscopy images and confirmed by the high-resolution transmission electron microscopic studies. The electrochemical properties of synthesized MnFe₂O₄ nanoparticles investigated by cyclic voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy and galvanstatic charging and discharging (GCD) studies clearly predict the reversible faradaic reactions of MnFe₂O₄ nanospheres. Further, the MnFe₂O₄ nanospheres (RT2) exhibit high specific capacitance of 697 F g-1 at 0.5 A g-1 current density in galvanostatic charging and discharging profile and after 1000 cycles exhibits 79% retain ability of initial specific capacitance and hence can be considered as the efficient electrode for supercapacitor applications.

The presence and longevity of nanomaterials in the ecosystem, as well as their properties, account for environmental toxicity. When nanomaterials in terrestrial and aquatic systems are exposed to the prevailing environmental conditions, they undergo various transformations such as dissociation, dissolution, and aggregation, which affects the food chain. The toxicity of nanomaterials is influenced by a variety of factors, including environmental factors and its physico-chemical characteristics. Bioaccumulation, biotransformation, and biomagnification are the mechanisms that have been identified for determining the fate of nanomaterials. The route taken by nanomaterials to reach living cells provides us with information about their toxicity profile. This review discusses the recent advances in the transport, transformation, and fate of nanomaterials after they are released into the environment. The review also discusses how nanoparticles affect lower trophic organisms through direct contact, the impact of nanoparticles on higher trophic organisms, and the possible options for remediation.

This paper presents an efficient energy management scheme for an islanded DC microgrid included with vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) with supercapacitor based hybrid energy storage system for a 3-phase variable load profile. The analysed islanded DC microgrid system is composed with sources such as lithium-ion batteries, fuel cell, supercapacitors, and vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), along with involved DC/DC (buck, boost, and bidirectional) and DC/DC converters. In this paper, an adaptive proportional plus integral (PI) control based energy management scheme is implemented. The main theme on which the performance of this system is analysed is the state of charge of energy storage devices (VRFB, supercapacitor, and Li-ion battery) and the overall efficiency of system. The voltage spikes due to sudden change in load have been regulated by using supercapacitor and Li-ion battery with VRFB. To minimize the fuel consumption, an adaptive proportional plus integral control strategy is being used. In this paper the modelling and simulations are carried out by using MATLAB/SIMULINK software to demonstrate minimizing the effect of load fluctuations with the help of supercapacitor and batteries by synchronizing it to the DC microgrid.

Voltage source converter (VSC)–high-voltage direct current (HVDC) has become a new trend for achieving an efficient and reliable bulk power transmission. The main challenges in VSC-HVDC link are the “soft-start-up” or the restoration of power after the system blackout, with over voltage and less response delay. In this paper, VSC-HVDC link with firefly Levenberg–Marquardt-trained artificial neural network (ANN), termed as ANN-FLM, is proposed to restore the power quickly. The simulation is performed by creating blackout in the system through the introduction of a three-phase fault. The performance analysis is made on VSC-HVDC with ANN-FLM in existing proportional integral controller. The simulated results provide faster restoration and independent control of real and reactive powers. The proposed method minimizes the over voltage to 98% in maximum point, 84% in phase A, 61% in phase B and 82% in phase C, when simulated.

A transparent flexible polymer film is chemically functionalised with a bent-core liquid crystal (BCLC) compound for effective alignment of the bulk BCLC sample at the substrate–LC interface. The surface attachment was achieved via a simple procedure which involved pre-treatment of the polymer film (commercial name: over head projector film) using piranha solution followed by chemically attaching the BCLC compound through silane condensation reaction. Surface characterisation of the unmodified and BC-modified flexible films was carried out through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, contact angle (CA) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) techniques. The BC-modified flexible substrates are analysed for their efficiency to orient the bulk LC sample. Remarkably, the chemically modified polymer substrates are highly efficient in vertically aligning both the BC and rod-like LC samples at the substrate–LC interface, in comparison to their unmodified counterparts. The described method is simple, reproducible, surface modified substrates are highly stable and more importantly reusable. The demonstrated method for the alignment of BCLCs advances a step forward towards the realisation of applications proposed for these fascinating compounds.

The photoelectrical splitting of water is an important technique for the efficient generation of hydrogen using catalysts. However, understanding the effects of the size and crystallinity of catalysts is essential for tuning the efficiency of photo electrochemical hydrogen production. In this study, we synthesized WO3 nanocubes with controlled uniform size and shape using a low-temperature hydrothermal method at various temperatures. The nanocubes obtained at a calcinations temperature of 450 °C exhibited higher crystallinity and superior photo catalytic performance during the photo electrochemical production of hydrogen via the oxidation of water in KOH solution. The band gap was determined as ∼2.54 eV with a photocurrent density of 0.0021 mA/cm2 and a flat band potential around −0.77 V. The nanocubes also exhibited good stability in the alkaline KOH electrolyte for 2 h. Therefore, the superior crystallinity of the WO3 nanocubes could enhance the density of the charge carriers and improve the stability while also decreasing the band gap. These findings may facilitate the fabrication of a stable photo anode for large scale water splitting applications.

Neodymium doped zinc sulphide (Nd: ZnS) thin films were coated on glass substrates at 450 °C through low cost nebulizer spray pyrolysis (NSP) method. Structure, morphology, opto-electrical characteristics of Nd doped ZnS films with various Nd doping concentrations (0%, 1, %, 3% and 5%) were studied. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that all coated films were polycrystalline hexagonal structure with (102) as a preferential direction. SEM images showed smooth and uniform spherical grains without any cracks and pinholes. Topological view by AFM described the increasing of roughness of the film through doping concentration. EDAX and Elemental mapping images confirmed the presence of Zn, S and Nd without any other impurities. Raman spectra reveals that E1(LO), 2TO, 2LO and 3LO emission modes with corresponding to the wave number. PL spectra showed high intense visible and broad UV emission band at 463 nm and 397 nm, respectively. Thickness of the films increased with Nd doping concentration reflecting the reduction of transparency of the films from 86% to 78% for 0% and 5% of Nd. UV–Vis Spectrum was used to study the energy gap (Eg), dielectric constant(e), refractive index(n), and extinction coefficient (k) of the prepared films. Four-point probe method was used to calculate the activation energy of Nd: ZnS thin films from the graph drawn between ln (ρ) and (1/T).

Background: Several COVID-19 vaccines have been approved against coronavirus disease and its distribution to different countries. The study is mainly done to determine the knowledge, attitude, and practice among clinically exposed medical students and interns toward COVID-19 vaccine.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June 2022 to August 2022 in a tertiary care hospital. Using questionnaires, the knowledge, attitude, and practice among medical students and interns were assessed, and they were then analysed and categorised accordingly. Then the students were given awareness regarding COVID-19 vaccine.Results: The questionnaires were distributed among students and interns, and responses were collected. A total number of participants (n=300), out of which the majority of responders were second-year students 89 (29.6%). Overall, 39.75% had high-grade knowledge, 43.5% had a positive attitude and 37.5% had good practice regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. The results show that 81.2% of interns had high-grade knowledge, 76.6% possess a positive attitude and 71.9% of good practice and preventive measures towards COVID-19 vaccine.Conclusions: Our study concludes that there were certain gaps in knowledge, attitude, and practice among second and third-year medical students when compared with final-year medical students and interns.

The loss of function or dysfunction of β-cells in the pancreas, attributed to the development of diabetes, involve alterations in genetic and epigenetic signatures. Recent evidences highlight the pathophysiological role of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Indeed, most HDAC members have been linked to critical pathogenic events in diabetes, including redox imbalance, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis perturbation, onset of oxidative stress and inflammation, which ultimately deteriorate β-cell function. Accumulating evidence highlights the inhibition of HDACs as a prospective therapeutic strategy. Several chemically synthesized small molecules have been investigated for their specific ability to inhibit HDACs (reffered as HDAC inibitors) in various experimental studies. This review provides insights into the critical pathways involved in regulating different classes of HDACs. Further, the intricate signaling networks between HDACs and the stress mediators in diabetes are also explored. We exhaustively sum up the inferences from various investigations on the efficiency of HDAC inhibitors in managing diabetes and its associated complications.

This Article presents a dual comb shaped patch antenna with defected grounds for wireless communications. With the event of wireless communication technology, a conformal patch MIMO antenna with dual comb shaped structure are presented on patch with DGS (defected ground structure). The MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) technology is implanted anticipated to be one among the key technologies within the field of wireless communications for 5G applications. The proposed MIMO antenna has resonated at 9.49 GHz and 11.8GHz, the return loss is less than -10dB. The proposed antennas have good gain and radiations characteristics observed. The dual bands are used at X-band for wireless applications.

In the present work we report the sol-gel synthesis of pure TiO2 and (TiO2)1−x(Fe2O3)x nanocomposites with different Fe2O3 contents (x = 0, 0.1, 0.5, and 1.0 for pure TiO2, Fe2O3 incorporated 0.1, 0.5, and pure Fe2O3 which are denoted as PT, 0.1F, 0.5F, and PF, respectively). The structural, morphological, optical, and surface texture of the prepared nanocomposites were characterized using various techniques. The structural studies confirm the strong influence of Fe2O3 contents on the crystallite sizes and dislocation values. The size of the crystallites was increased by the increase in Fe2O3 contents. The bandgap values elucidated from DRS analysis were decreased from 3.15 eV to 1.91 eV with increasing Fe2O3 contents. The N2-Physorption analysis has confirmed the mesoporous nature of the samples with a comparable specific surface area of 35 m2/g. The photoelectrochemical measurements (CV, CA and EIS) were performed to assess the photoelectric properties of the prepared materials. It was found that the PT samples have the highest catalytic activity and photocurrent response compared to other composites. The reduction in current density was as follows: 2.8, 1.65, 1.5 and 0.9 mA/cm2, while the photocurrent response was ca. 800, 450, 45, 35 µA/cm2 for PT, 0.1F, 0.5F and PF samples, respectively. The EIS results showed that the (TiO2)1−x(Fe2O3)x nanocomposites exhibit lower charge transfer resistance than pure titania and hematite samples.

We report co-doping effects of transition metal elements (Ni, Co) primarily on the opto-electronic properties of CuO thin films. CuO, CuO:Ni(1%), CuO:Co(1%) and CuO:Ni(1%):Co(1%) thin films were deposited via the spray pyrolysis route. Structural studies revealed the monoclinic CuO structure for all films. For all the films scanning electron microscope (SEM) images showed a crack-free and homogeneous surface. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra of all the films exhibited four emission peaks at 415, 451, 477, and 521 nm wavelengths. The optical bandgap (E g) values were around 2.12 eV, 2.18 eV, 2.05 eV and 1.84 eV for CuO, CuO:Ni(1%), CuO:Co(1%) and CuO:Ni(1%):Co(1%)thin films, respectively. CuO:Ni(1%):Co(1%) photo-device displayed a large responsivity (R) of 0.43 AW−1, external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 100% and detectivity (D *) of 9.55 × 109 Jones. Hence, co-doping of transition metal elements would be one of the effective approaches for enhancing opto-electronic properties of metal oxide compounds.

Adipose tissue is instrumental in maintaining metabolic homeostasis by regulating energy storage in the form of triglycerides. In the case of over-nutrition, adipocytes favorably regulate lipogenesis over lipolysis and accumulate excess triglycerides, resulting in increased adipose tissue mass. An abnormal increase in hypertrophic adipocytes is associated with chronic complications such as insulin resistance, obesity, diabetes, atherosclerosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Experimental studies indicate the occurrence of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of obesity. A common underlying link between increasing adipose tissue mass and oxidative stress is the Nuclear Factor Erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling, which plays an indispensable role in metabolic homeostasis by regulating oxidative and inflammatory responses. Additionally, Nrf2 also activates CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α, (C/EBP-α), C/EBP-β and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) the crucial pro-adipogenic factors that promote de novo adipogenesis. Hence, at the forefront of research is the quest for prospecting novel compounds to modulate Nrf2 activity in the context of adipogenesis and obesity. This review summarizes the molecular mechanism behind the activation of the Keap1-Nrf2-ARE signaling network and the role of Nrf2 activators in adipocyte pathophysiology.

The recent outbreak and transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) worldwide and the ensuing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has left us scrambling for ways to contain the disease and develop vaccines that are safe and effective. Equally important, understanding the impact of the virus on the host system in convalescent patients, healthy otherwise or with co-morbidities, is expected to aid in developing effective strategies in the management of patients afflicted with the disease. Viruses possess the uncanny ability to redirect host metabolism to serve their needs and also limit host immune response to ensure their survival. An ever-increasingly powerful approach uses metabolomics to uncover diverse molecular signatures that influence a wide array of host signalling networks in different viral infections. This would also help integrate experimental findings from individual studies to yield robust evidence. In addition, unravelling the molecular mechanisms harnessed by both viruses and tumours in their host metabolism will help broaden the repertoire of therapeutic tools available to combat viral disease.

Strontium-doped Cu2O thin films of different doping concentrations (0, 3, 5 and 7%) are deposited successfully with the help of Nebulizer spray technique. All the samples were characterized by XRD, AFM, Raman, UV–Vis, photoluminescence and Hall effect, and solar cell efficiency is calculated. From the XRD studies, the cubic structural phase of Cu2O is confirmed. The micrographs of AFM explain that the particles were uniformly distributed on the surface with homogeneous grains. The band gap value ranges from 2.17 to 1.95 eV as the doping concentration increases from 0 to 7%. The PL emission at ~ 630 nm also confirms the cuprous oxide phase. The deposited film exhibits p-type conductivity with low resistivity of 0.90 × 102 Ω cm and high carrier concentration of 22.7 × 1015 cm−3. A heterojunction solar cell of FTO/n-ZnO/p-Sr-doped Cu2O is fabricated, and the power conversion efficiency (η) is 0.75% for 7% Sr-doped film.