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Aluminium metal matrix composites (AMMCs) playing a prominent part in the aerospace and automotive sectors owing to their superior mechanical and tribological properties. Hence, the aim of this work is to investigate the effect of titanium dioxide (10 wt.% TiO2) particles addition on hardness and tribological behaviour of Al-0.6Fe-0.5Si alloy (AA8011) composite manufactured by stir casting method. The surface morphology of developed composite clearly shows the inclusion of TiO2 particles evenly distributed within the matrix alloy. Hardness of the composite was measured using Vickers micro hardness tester and the maximum hardness was obtained at 95.6 Hv. A pin-on-disc tribometer was used to carried the wear test under dry sliding conditions. The influence of wear control parameters such as applied load (L), sliding speed (S) and sliding distance (D) were taken as the input parameters and the output responses considered as the specific wear rate (SWR) and co-efficient of friction (COF). The experimental results were analyzed using Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Preferred Solution (TOPSIS). Based on the TOPSIS approach, the less SWR and COF achieved at the optimal parametric combination were found to be L = 30 N, S = 1 m/s and D = 2000 m. ANOVA results revealed that applied load (76.01%) has the primary significant factor on SWR and COF, followed by sliding speed (20.71%) and sliding distance (3.12%) respectively. Worn surface morphology was studied using SEM image of confirmation experiment specimen to understand the wear mechanism.

The study reports on the use of sol–gel technique to yield zircon type [Zr(1–0.1–x) GdxTi0.1] [(SiO4)1–x(PO4)x] solid solution. Titanium has been used as a mineralizer to trigger zircon formation while equimolar concentrations of Gd3+ and PO43− were added to determine their accommodation limits in the zircon structure. The crystallization of t‐ZrO2 as a dominant phase alongside the crystallization of m‐ZrO2 and zircon were detected at 1200°C while their further annealing revealed the formation of zircon as a major phase at 1300°C. Heat treatment at 1400°C revealed the formation of zircon‐type solid solution [Zr(1–0.1‐x)GdxTi0.1][(SiO4)1−x(PO4)x] comprising the accommodation of 10 mol.% of Gd3+/PO43− at the zircon lattice. Beyond 10 mol.% of Gd3+/PO43−, the crystallization of GdPO4 as a secondary phase is noticed. Structural analysis revealed the expansion of zircon lattice due to the simultaneous occupancy of Gd3+/PO43− for the corresponding Zr4+/SiO44− sites. The mechanical strength of single‐phase zircon solid solution was higher in comparison to that of multiphase materials, namely in the presence of GdPO4 formed as a secondary phase in samples with added equimolar Gd3+/PO43− contents beyond 10 mol.%. Nevertheless, the paramagnetic behavior of the samples demonstrated a steady surge as a function of enhanced Gd3+ content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in wearable biosensors, emphasizing their applications in cardiovascular disease monitoring. Initially, the key sensing signals and biomarkers crucial for cardiovascular health, such as electrocardiogram, phonocardiography, pulse wave velocity, blood pressure, and specific biomarkers, are highlighted. Following this, advanced sensing techniques for cardiovascular disease monitoring are examined, including wearable electrophysiology devices, optical fibers, electrochemical sensors, and implantable cardiac devices. The review also delves into hydrogel-based wearable electrochemical biosensors, which detect biomarkers in sweat, interstitial fluids, saliva, and tears. Further attention is given to flexible electronics-based biosensors, including resistive, capacitive, and piezoelectric force sensors, as well as resistive and pyroelectric temperature sensors, flexible biochemical sensors, and sensor arrays. Moreover, the discussion extends to polymer-based wearable sensors, focusing on innovations in contact lens, textile-type, patch-type, and tattoo-type sensors. Finally, the review addresses the challenges associated with recent wearable biosensing technologies and explores future perspectives, highlighting potential groundbreaking avenues for transforming wearable sensing devices into advanced diagnostic tools with multifunctional capabilities for cardiovascular disease monitoring and other healthcare applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Colorectal cancer, breast cancer, oxidative DNA damage, and viral infections are all significant and major health threats to human health, presenting substantial challenges in early diagnosis. In this regard, a wide range of nucleic acid-based electrochemical platforms have been widely employed as point-of-care diagnostics in health care and biosensing technologies. This review focuses on biosensor design strategies, underlying principles involved in the development of advanced electrochemical genosensing devices, approaches for immobilizing DNA on electrode surfaces, as well as their utility in early disease diagnosis, with a particular emphasis on cancer, leukaemia, oxidative DNA damage, and viral pathogen detection. Notably, the role of biorecognition elements and nanointerfaces employed in the design and development of advanced electrochemical genosensors for recognizing biomarkers related to colorectal cancer, breast cancer, leukaemia, oxidative DNA damage, and viral pathogens has been extensively reviewed. Finally, challenges associated with the fabrication of nucleic acid-based biosensors to achieve high sensitivity, selectivity, a wide detection range, and a low detection limit have been addressed. We believe that this review will provide valuable information for scientists and bioengineers interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the fabrication and functionality of nucleic acid-based electrochemical biosensors for biomedical diagnostic applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The study reports on the use of sol-gel technique to yield zircon type [Zr (1-0.1-x) GdxTi 0.1 ] [(SiO 4 ) 1-x (PO 4 ) x ] solid solution. Titanium has been used as a mineralizer to trigger zircon formation while equimolar concentrations of Gd 3+ and PO 4 3- as a dominant phase alongside the crystallization of m-ZrO 2 as a dominant phase alongside the crystallization of m-ZrO 2 and zircon were detected at 1200°C while their further annealing revealed the formation of zircon as a major phase at 1300°C. Heat treatment at 1400°C revealed the formation of zircon-type solid solution [Zr (1-0.1-x) Gd x Ti 0.1 ][(SiO 4 ) 1-x (PO 4 ) x ] comprising the accommodation of 10 mol.% of Gd 3+ /PO 4 3- at the zircon lattice. Beyond 10 mol.% of Gd 3+ /PO 4 3- , the crystallization of GdPO 4 as a secondary phase is noticed. Structural analysis revealed the expansion of zircon lattice due to the simultaneous occupancy of Gd 3+ /PO 4 3- for the corresponding Zr 4+ /SiO 4 4- sites. The mechanical strength of single-phase zircon solid solution was higher in comparison to that of multiphase materials, namely in the presence of GdPO 4 formed as a secondary phase in samples with added equimolar Gd 3+ /PO 4 3- contents beyond 10 mol.%. Nevertheless, the paramagnetic behavior of the samples demonstrated a steady surge as a function of enhanced Gd 3+ content., (© 2023 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The highly pathogenic MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 cause acute respiratory syndrome and are often fatal. These new viruses pose major problems to global health in general and primarily to infection control and public health services. Accurate and selective assessment of MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 would assist in the effective diagnosis of infected individual, offer clinical guidance and aid in assessing clinical outcomes. In this mini-review, we review the literature on various aspects, including the history and diversity of SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, their detection methods in effective clinical diagnosis, clinical assessment of COVID-19, safety guidelines recommended by World Health Organization and legal regulations. This review article also deals with existing challenges and difficulties in the clinical diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2. Developing alternative diagnostic platforms by spotting the shortcomings of the existing point-of-care diagnostic devices would be useful in preventing future outbreaks., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Foodborne pathogens cause serious health issues and have a strong impact on the economy of the country. In this context, quality testing of royal delicious apple by detecting pathogen contamination using an electronic nose, which contains an array of six ready-made sensors, has been proposed. To estimate the types of pathogens, fresh, half and completely contaminated apple samples were considered for bacterial studies. This study revealed the presence of Staphylococcus, Salmonella and Shigella bacteria, which were in the order of zero, 10 2 , 10 3 -10 4  CFU/mL. Further, the recorded headspace GC-MS spectra of contaminated samples confirmed the presence of bacterial spoilage markers namely acetone, ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol and acetaldehyde. Voltage swing of 0.2 and 0.5 V was observed for half and completely contaminated apple samples respectively with reference to the fresh sample. Voltage responses of the sensors fed to Principal component analysis and Ward's method of hierarchical cluster algorithms helped to assess the quality of apple samples. By correlating the results of tri-layers namely bacterial count, GCMS data and classification results, reference table was developed and embedded in the ATmega processor of the electronic nose for real-time quality estimation of apple samples., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)