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The present study acknowledges a simple and effective sol–gel: doping method was used for band-gap engineering of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles at lowest temperature (40 ℃) to produce doped TiO2 with dopants like N (nitrogen), C (carbon), Ag (silver), and Fe (iron) of different concentrations that decreased band-gap energies (i.e., > 3.2 eV) from UV range to visible range. Structural and functional properties were modulated by controlling the composition of dopants and precursors for better adsorption property and high specific surface area. Tauc-plot with UV–Vis spectrum: N (2.1 eV) > C (2.8 eV) > Ag (2.9 eV) > Fe (3.0 eV) suggested reduced band-gap energies (i.e., ≥ 3.0 eV). The photocatalytic effect was verified with the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and acid pink dye under visible light irradiation. Observation suggested that nitrogen-doped TiO2 (N-TiO2) with 2%wt. concentration has shown a higher degradation rate of 74% with respect to methylene blue in 60 min. A total of 98.4% degradation of acid pink dye (widely used in textile industry) was performed in 60 min by Fe2 (iron-doped TiO2 with 2% wt). The doped-TiO2 nanoparticles were also verified for their antimicrobial activity toward pathogenic strain. XRD (X-ray diffraction) revealed that the doped TiO2 nanoparticles had attained anatase structure at a lower temperature without calcination process as compared to the reported literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Research and Development in benzothiazole-based medicinal ingredients have turn into a hastily on the rise and gradually more lively topic. Broad number of compounds having Benzothiazole (BTZ) moiety are involved in the treatment of a various number of diseases with maximum curative potency. This review is aimed to afford modern progress in the synthesis of Benzothiazole analogues associated to the green chemistry. Literature surveys on scientific national and international journals, books as well as electronic resources were performed. Benzothiazole and its moieties containing various numbers of structural multiplicities play evidence in search of different pharmacological actions. This review steadily grants an all-inclusive review in the progressive developments of Benzothiazole-based compounds of medicinal chemistry as antibacterial, Hepatitis-C virus inhibitors, anti-alzheimer’s disease, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, antioxidant, anti-convulsant, anti-diabetic, anti-histaminic, anti-malarial, anti-depressant and other medicinal agents. The wide field of pharmacological activity in creature benzothiazole derivative indicates that this string of compounds is of an unquestionable curiosity. This review is also believed to be extra efficient in finding pathogenic problems and diagnostic analogues is ready to find new-fangled judgment in the chase for drawing of a reduced amount of toxic and additional active Benzothiazole-based drugs. It is projected that this knowledge would give rise and show enormous impact for the growth of synthetic pathways for benzothiazoles with expansion of novel synthetic approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Decline in skills and knowledge among patients and/or caregivers contributes to peritoneal-dialysis (PD)-related peritonitis. Re-training is important, but no guidelines exist. We describe the implementation of a structured re-training program to decrease peritonitis rates. Methods This is a prospective quality improvement study involving pediatric patients on long-term home automated PD at National University Hospital, Singapore, between 2012 and 2018. With increasing peritonitis rates, systematic root cause analysis was performed, and based on the contributory factors identified, a structured re-training program was implemented from 2015. This was conducted in 5 cycles, each consisting of 4 modules (hand hygiene, exit site care, peritonitis, and PD troubleshooting). Results Peritonitis rates were analyzed in 2 phases: Phase 1 (2012-2014) when no re-training was performed and Phase 2 (2016-2018) after re-training was instituted. Fifty-nine patients were included. Of these, 45 patients were in Phase 1, 32 in Phase 2, and 18 in both phases. Peritonitis rates decreased from 0.37 ± 0.67 episodes per patient-year in Phase 1 to 0.13 ± 0.32 episodes per patient-year in Phase 2. After adjusting for age at kidney failure onset, PD vintage, years of nursing experience, and the average patient-to-nurse ratio over the study period for each patient, the adjusted peritonitis rates decreased by 0.38 episodes per patient-year (95% CI, 0.09 to 0.67, p = 0.011) from Phase 1 to Phase 2. Conclusion Despite an improvement in staffing ratio, peritonitis rates only improved significantly after intensive structured re-training was instituted., Author(s): Sharon Teo [sup.1] , Tin Wei Yuen [sup.2] , Clarissa Wei-Shuen Cheong [sup.2] , Md Azizur Rahman [sup.1] , Neha Bhandari [sup.1] , Noor-Haziah Hussain [sup.1] , Hamidah Mistam [...]

As a classical combinatorial optimization problem, the traveling salesman problem (TSP) has been extensively investigated in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research. Due to being NP-complete, it is still rather challenging to solve both effectively and efficiently. Because of its high theoretical significance and wide practical applications, great effort has been undertaken to solve it from the point of view of intelligent search. In this paper, we propose a two-stage probe-based search optimization algorithm for solving both symmetric and asymmetric TSPs through the stages of route development and a self-escape mechanism. Specifically, in the first stage, a reasonable proportion threshold filter of potential basis probes or partial routes is set up at each step during the complete route development process. In this way, the poor basis probes with longer routes are filtered out automatically. Moreover, four local augmentation operators are further employed to improve these potential basis probes at each step. In the second stage, a self-escape mechanism or operation is further implemented on the obtained complete routes to prevent the probe-based search from being trapped in a locally optimal solution. The experimental results on a collection of benchmark TSP datasets demonstrate that our proposed algorithm is more effective than other state-of-the-art optimization algorithms. In fact, it achieves the best-known TSP benchmark solutions in many datasets, while, in certain cases, it even generates solutions that are better than the best-known TSP benchmark solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the solar energy sector has been greatly interested in lead (Pb)-free inorganic halide perovskites due to their remarkable mechanical, optical, electronic, and structural characteristics. Our study comprehensively assessed these attributes in cubic A3SbI3(A = Ba, Sr, Ca) perovskite materials via first principles density functional theory (FP-DFT) and SCAPS-1D simulation. These materials, similar to lead-free inorganic metal halide perovskites, demonstrated favorable tolerance factors, direct bandgaps, mechanical robustness, minimal losses, and high absorption coefficients. We aimed to explore how A-cation size influences their properties and solar cell performance, enabling effective comparisons. We systematically investigated novel A3SbI3-based structures with tin (IV) sulfide (SnS2) buffers, varying layer thickness, doping density, and defect density to evaluate photovoltaic (PV) capabilities. The Ba3SbI3 absorber exhibited the highest power conversion efficiency (PCE) at 30.26% with JSC of 44.24 mA/cm2, FF of 85.65%, and VOC of 0.80 V, while Sr3SbI3 and Ca3SbI3 absorbers achieved PCE of 26.93% and 20.87%, respectively, with corresponding JSC of 34.5 and 21.87 mA/cm2, FF of 86.90% and 85.85%, and VOC of 0.90 and 1.11 V. Our A3SbI3-based solar cell structures offer innovative alternatives to conventional designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plant species Ziziphus mauritiana, recognized by its common name Indian jujube, is classified within the Rhamnaceae family. It has been widely used in traditional medicine for its therapeutic properties, including the treatment of asthma, anxiety, depression, fever, inflammation, and ulcers. Z. mauritiana parts, such as leaves and fruits, have been traditionally used to treat diarrhea, wounds, abscesses, swelling, gonorrhea, liver diseases, and asthma. Z. mauritiana fruits are widely recognized and valued for their nutritional and nutraceutical properties and are consumed in various forms such as dried, candied, pickled, and juice. The plant exhibits antioxidant activity, and extracts from its fruits, leaves, and seeds have shown promising results in terms of their antioxidant and anticancer activities. Phytochemical studies have identified various compounds in Z. mauritiana, including cyclopeptide alkaloids and lupane and ceanothane triterpenes. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the ethnobotanical uses, traditional medicinal uses, and phytochemical profile of Z. mauritiana, highlighting its potential as a valuable medicinal plant. Further research is warranted to explore its therapeutic potential and develop new pharmaceutical applications based on its bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]