Large Number Of Potential Applications Research Articles

Potential in-vitro antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity of Martynia annua extract mediated Phytosynthesis of MnO2 nanoparticles

The present research work describes the phyto-synthesis of Manganese dioxide nanoparticles (MnO2NPs) from the reduction of potassium permanganate using Martynia annua (M.annua) plant extract. From the literature review, we clearly understood the M.annua plant has anti-inflammatory activity. Manganese dioxides are important materials due to their wide range of applications. Their increased surface area gives them distinct capabilities, as it increases their mechanical, magnetic, optical, and catalytic qualities, allowing them to be used in more pharmaceutical applications. A detailed review of literature highlighting the issues related to this present work and its knowledge gap that none of the inflammatory activities had been done by MnO2 NPs synthesized from M.annua plant extract. So we selected this study. The product MnO2 NPs showed the wavelength centre at 370 nm and was monitored by UV–Vis spectra. The wave number around 600 cm−1 has to the occurrence of O–Mn–O bonds of pure MnO2 confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. Transmission electron microscopy images showed the morphology of MnO2 NPs as spherical-shaped particles with average sizes at 7.5 nm. The selected area electron diffraction analysis exhibits the crystalline nature of MnO2 NPs. The obtained MnO2 NPs showed potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity was compared to the plant extract. The synthesized MnO2 NPs have a large number of potential applications in the field of pharmaceutical industries. In the future, we isolate the phytocompounds present in the M.annua plant extract and conduct a study against corona virus. MnO2 produces manganese (III) oxide and oxygen, which increases fire hazard. But further research is required to understand their environmental behaviour and safety.

An efficient displacement-based isogeometric formulation for geometrically exact viscoelastic beams

We propose a novel approach to the linear viscoelastic problem of shear-deformable geometrically exact beams. The generalized Maxwell model for one-dimensional solids is here efficiently extended to the case of arbitrarily curved beams undergoing finite displacement and rotations. High efficiency is achieved by combining a series of distinguishing features, that are: (i) the formulation is displacement-based, therefore no additional unknowns, other than incremental displacements and rotations, are needed for the internal variables associated with the rate-dependent material; (ii) the governing equations are discretized in space using the isogeometric collocation method, meaning that elements integration is totally bypassed; (iii) finite rotations are updated using the incremental rotation vector, leading to two main benefits: minimum number of rotation unknowns (the three components of the incremental rotation vector) and no singularity problems; (iv) the same SO(3)-consistent linearization of the governing equations and update procedures as for non-rate-dependent linear elastic material can be used; (v) a standard second-order accurate time integration scheme is made consistent with the underlying geometric structure of the kinematic problem. Moreover, taking full advantage of the isogeometric analysis features, the formulation permits accurately representing beams and beam structures with highly complex initial shape and topology, paving the way for a large number of potential applications in the field of architectured materials, meta-materials, morphing/programmable objects, topological optimizations, etc. Numerical applications are finally presented in order to demonstrate attributes and potentialities of the proposed formulation.

Endogenous miRNA and K+ Co-Activated Dynamic Assembly of DNA Coacervates for Intracellular miRNA Imaging and Mitochondrial Intervention.

Intracellular dynamic assembly of DNA structures may be beneficial for the development of multifunctional nanoplatforms for the regulation of cell behaviors, providing new strategies for disease diagnosis and intervention. Herein, we propose the dynamic assembly of DNA coacervates in living cells triggered by miRNA-21 and K+, which can be used for both miRNA imaging and mitochondrial intervention. The rationale is that miRNA-21 can trigger the hybridization chain reaction to generate G-quadruplex precursors, and K+ can mediate the assembly of G-quadruplex-based coacervates, allowing the colorimetric detection of miRNA-21 ranging from 10 pM to 10 μM. Moreover, the as-formed DNA coacervates can specifically target mitochondria in MCF-7 breast cancer cells using the MCF-7 cell membrane as delivery carriers, which further act as an anionic shielding to inhibit communication between mitochondria and environments, with a significant inhibitory effect on ATP production and cellular migration behaviors. This work provides an ideal multifunctional nanoplatform for rationally interfering with cellular metabolism and migration behaviors through the dynamic assembly of DNA coacervates mediated by endogenous molecules, which has a large number of potential applications in the biomedical field, especially theranostics for cancer metastasis.

Quality Control of Cell Lines Using DNA as Target

Cell lines are a widely used pre-clinical models for biomedical research. The accessibility and the relative simplicity of facilities necessary for the use of cell lines, along with the large number of potential applications, encourage many researchers to choose this model. However, the access to cell lines from a non-confident source or through the interlaboratory exchange results in uncontrollable cell lines of uncertain quality. Furthermore, the possibility of using cell lines as an endless resource through multiple passages can contribute to this uncontrolled scenario, the main consequence of which is the lack of reproducibility between the research results. Different initiatives have emerged to promote the best practices regarding the use of cell lines and minimize the effect on the scientific results reported, including comprehensive quality control in the frame of Good Cell Culture Practice (GCCP). Cell Banks, research infrastructures for the professional distribution of biological material of high and known quality and origin, are committed with these initiatives. Many of the quality controls used to test different attributes of cell lines are based on DNA. This review describes quality control protocols of cell lines whose target molecule is DNA, and details the scope or purpose and their corresponding functionality.

Band-gap material selection for remote high-power laser transmission

High-power laser transmission (HPLT) is attracting a huge interest from both the scientific and industrial community due to its large number of potential applications and future perspectives. This technology consists of the use of a monochromatic light source to power supply a remote system by using a photovoltaic converter. HPLT offers a technological paradigm shift with the possibility of transmitting kilowatts to several kilometres without the use of wires. However, HPLT is still under development and the current efficiency, ≈20%, needs to be improved to achieve the actual potential of the technology. This work is focused on the investigation of the most suitable materials to improve the performance of HPLT systems under a wide range of scenarios. For the first time, the monochromatic efficiency of PV converters, considering the attenuation of the atmosphere with the distance, and for various input light intensities and series resistance scenarios, is deeply investigated. The results indicate that high energy gap materials such as ZnS (3.54 eV) or 6H–SiC (3 eV) could lead to record efficiencies and improve current values in more than 30%. We have investigated the most suitable band-gap materials to transfer kilowatts of laser power to remote systems considering a wide range of scenarios, i.e. energy gap, series resistance, laser power, atmosphere and distance. Our results indicate the high energy gap materials (>2 eV) such as ZnS, SiC, AlP, CdS or InN offer a novel route to improve the efficiency of high-power laser transmission in more than 30%. • The suitable band-gap materials for remote laser high-power are investigated. • Different scenario of energy gap, series resistance and power are selected. • The spectral attenuation of the atmosphere with distance is considered. • High energy gap materials could improve the efficiency in more than 30%.

Cross-Subject EEG-Based Emotion Recognition Through Neural Networks With Stratified Normalization.

Due to a large number of potential applications, a good deal of effort has been recently made toward creating machine learning models that can recognize evoked emotions from one's physiological recordings. In particular, researchers are investigating the use of EEG as a low-cost, non-invasive method. However, the poor homogeneity of the EEG activity across participants hinders the implementation of such a system by a time-consuming calibration stage. In this study, we introduce a new participant-based feature normalization method, named stratified normalization, for training deep neural networks in the task of cross-subject emotion classification from EEG signals. The new method is able to subtract inter-participant variability while maintaining the emotion information in the data. We carried out our analysis on the SEED dataset, which contains 62-channel EEG recordings collected from 15 participants watching film clips. Results demonstrate that networks trained with stratified normalization significantly outperformed standard training with batch normalization. In addition, the highest model performance was achieved when extracting EEG features with the multitaper method, reaching a classification accuracy of 91.6% for two emotion categories (positive and negative) and 79.6% for three (also neutral). This analysis provides us with great insight into the potential benefits that stratified normalization can have when developing any cross-subject model based on EEG.

Water Dispersive Suprastructures: An Organizational Impact on Nanomechanical Properties

AbstractWater dispersive 2D and 3D suprastructures offer a large number of potential applications in energy release, biomedicine and other fields. The nanomechanical properties of two suprastructures of self‐assembled 9.6 nm Fe3O4 hydrophobic nanocrystals dispersed in water are elucidated by using atomic force microscopy. These suprastructures are either a shell consisting of a few layers of nanocrystals or spherical self‐assemblies of nanocrystals in fcc superlattices called colloidosomes and supraballs, respectively. The major difference in the preparation of these suprastructure is based on the presence or not of octadecene molecules. It is recently demonstrated that these structures behave as nanoheaters and remain self‐assembled after internalization in cancer cells. The observed differences between these suprastructures in terms of cell sensing are suggested to be related to their mechanical properties, which emphasize the importance of better understanding the nanomechanics of such suprastructures. In this study the nanomechanical properties of these suprastructures are shown to be load‐depended in aqueous medium. Colloidosomes demonstrate higher flexibility and deformability than the supraballs. These findings provide essential knowledge for understanding differences in cell internalization and implementation in biomedicine. The differences in nanomechanical properties between these types of suprastructures are mainly due to their structures (hollow core–shell or fcc supracrystals).

Nonlinear modeling and robust LMI fuzzy control of overhead crane systems

Overhead cranes are widely used structures for lifting and conveying heavy loads. The development of feedback control systems for such equipment is important due to the large number of potential applications and advantages over manual operation concerning stability and robustness. This paper aims to represent the key nonlinear dynamics of crane systems by means of a state-space fuzzy model with compact rule-base structure. The fuzzy model is useful to assist the design of a fuzzy controller based on the concept of parallel compensation. A well-posed conservative linear-matrix-inequality (LMI) feasibility problem is formulated so that a solution guarantees closed-loop Lyapunov stability, bounded control inputs, quick positioning of the supporting cart, and suppression of load oscillations and collisions. The fuzzy controller is composed by rules with linear control laws derived from local state-space models. The controller warrants asymptotic convergence of the states. Due to the nonlinear nature of the fuzzy model and controller, Jacobian linearization is avoided. The proposed fuzzy control approach for cranes has shown to be more effective and robust than an optimal quadratic controller, and able to move cargo smoothly and safely to a destination. Particularly, constrained and smoother control inputs avoid actuator saturation, and tend to increase its lifetime. Laboratory experiments using the LMI fuzzy controller and actual data validates the approach for cranes in actual scenario.

Gas supersaturation and diffusion joint controlled CH4 nanobubble evolution during hydrate dissociation

Nanobubbles have attracted wide scientific attention due to their large number of potential applications in nanotechnology, and they are ubiquitous during natural gas hydrates (NGHs) mining which is one of the strategic energy resources. Molecular dynamic simulations were performed to investigate CH4 nanobubble characteristics during NGHs dissociation. The nucleation mechanism and evolution characteristics of nanobubbles vary with hydrate dissociation temperature. The higher the temperature, the earlier the bubble nucleation, the more small methane clusters are produced, and the more complex the evolution path of nanobubbles, the initial position of bubble nucleation is closer to the decomposition interface. The gas reservoir can provide another possibility for methane molecules to overcome solubility barriers to avoid the formation of nanobubbles at lower dissociation temperature. CH4 nanobubble evolution was found to be governed by the gas supersaturation and the diffusion of CH4 molecules. The self-diffusion coefficient of CH4 molecules near the decomposition interface area is small due to the adsorption effect of the incomplete cages, nanobubbles are more likely to form outside the adsorption zone where the CH4 diffusion coefficient is larger at a lower temperature. A direct proof of speeding up of hydrate dissociation by nanobubble growth was given. The acceleration of dissociation is later than nanobubble growth and the accumulation of nanobubbles on dissociation interface may have a negative influence. The new findings on nanobubble evolution may help design and optimize nanobubble formation techniques in nanotechnology and efficient gas hydrate production protocols.

Clean production of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework 8 using Zamak residues as metal precursor and substrate

Metal Organic Frameworks (MOFs) are a new type of hybrid materials made of metal clusters and organic connectors with a large number of potential applications. Their synthesis is expensive, unclean and requires the use of analytical grade solvents and reagents. It is then desired to develop clean synthesis routes using cheap and easily available precursors. This study proposes the use of Zamak residues as the metal precursor, and a solvent-free method was used for the synthesis. The method consists in the immersion of Zamak residues into melted 2-methylimidazole, which acts as the organic connector, yielding high-quality Metal Organic Frameworks crystals of the so-called Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework 8 (ZIF-8) in a solvet-free process. The obtained material has the same crystal structure and textural properties than that produced by BASF and commercialized by Sigma-Aldrich (Basolite Z1200). The cleaning and purification of the Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework 8 could also be done by just washing the material with water. It makes this approach of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework 8 production cheap, clean and scalable. This production method has been extended to the use of other alloys residues such as brass plates.

Spray coated perylenebisimide/polymer film with controllable molecular aggregation state and emission properties.

Dye doped organic thin films with controllable molecular aggregation and emission properties are of broad interest to the scientific community owing to their large number of potential applications in physics, chemistry, and materials science. Here, a spray coating method was used to prepare perylenebisimides (PBI) doped polymer films. In this study, the effects of the dye concentration, polymer matrix, solvent, and casting process on the optical properties of the resulting films were studied. The aggregation of the PBI into monomer, dimer, and oligomer forms, was rapidly and simply controlled based on the concentration dependence of PBI. The molecular aggregation mechanism in the film forming process for PBI doped polystyrene (PS) was further analyzed by computer simulations. The blends rapidly reached their lowest Gibbs free energy owing to the “frozen” polymer chains and confinement of PBI, molecules with different aggregation states. Therefore, the PBIs/PS films prepared under different conditions had different fluorescent lifetimes and absolute quantum yields. Narrow emission, amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) and random lasing (RL) were observed in PBI doped PS films when photo-pumped at 532 nm in transmittance and waveguide modes, respectively. A lower ASE and RL threshold were obtained for PS films doped with monomeric PBI than those in other aggregation states. Moreover, the solvent use in film deposition greatly influenced the emission properties of the PS films by altering their microstructures. These results indicate potential applications for spray coated dye/polymer films in organic solid-state lasers.

Bulk nanobubbles: Production and investigation of their formation/stability mechanism

Nanobubbles (ΝΒs) have attracted concentrated scientific attention due to their unique physicochemical properties and large number of potential applications. In this study, a novel nanobubble generator with low energy demand, operating continuously, is presented. Air and oxygen bulk nanobubbles (NBs@air and NBs@O2) with narrow size distribution and outstanding stability were prepared in water solution. The bulk NBs’ behavior was evaluated taking into consideration the hydrodynamic diameter and ζ-potential as a function of processing time, gas type, pH value and NaCl concentration. According to the results the optimum processing time was 30 min, whereas the effect of water salinity was stronger in NBs@O2 than NBs@air. In order to investigate further the NBs properties, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was applied for quantitative analysis of free radicals following the spin trapping methodology. The mechanism of bulk NBs’ generation and their extremely long-time stability can be attributed mainly to the hydrogen bonding interactions. The formation of a diffusion layer, by absorption of OH− due to electrostatic interaction, contributing to negative surface charge, whereas the interaction of ions with the surface hydroxylic groups provide the equilibrium between the protonation and deprotonation of water and finally the formation of a stable interface layer. A remarkable highlight of this work is the long-time stability of generated bulk NBs which is up to three months.

Cucurbiturils in supramolecular catalysis

Nearly 80 years following the initial synthesis of cucurbiturils, its structure was finally revealed in 1981, which discovery opened the field for further investigation. As a result, the scope of available sizes and varieties of cucurbiturils has grown profoundly in the last four decades, leading to a large number of potential applications, including cucurbiturils in catalysis as supramolecular additives due to the capability of supramolecular binding to certain substrates. Owing to their polar portals and non-polar cavity, cucurbiturils can have an eclectic range of binding versatile guests of different shapes and electronic structures, making them especially attractive for supramolecular catalysis with a wide range of possible reaction types. This review concisely discusses the unique structure and properties of cucurbiturils, and highlights their use as molecular containers in terms of supramolecular interactions in catalytic reactions such as photoreaction, solvolysis, oxidation, metal-assisted catalysis, bromination, Diels–Alder, xanthene synthesis, and Schiff base reaction.

Sandwich-like space-coiling metasurfaces for weak-dispersion high-efficiency transmission

Space-coiling metamaterials have attracted significant attention due to their large number of potential applications. However, their practical application faces various challenges because of the unavoidable wavefront distortions resulting from the strong dispersion or the low transmission efficiency resulting from the impedance mismatching. Here, we show that it is feasible to circumvent the problem via a sandwich-like unit, which contains one functional layer and four auxiliary layers and both of them can be constructed from the space-coiling structure. Therein, the functional layer is used to adjust the refractive index of the structure while the auxiliary layers ensure a gradual change of the impedance. We further utilize these units to construct acoustic metasurfaces for beam redirection and focusing. The numerical results demonstrated that a highly efficient and stable wavefront manipulation can be achieved over multiple frequency bands (2.5–4.0 kHz and 8.0–10.0 kHz).

Resonant Inelastic Soft X-ray Scattering Study of Co-Doped Maghemite Nanoparticles.

Cobalt ferrite nanoparticles have been attracting considerable interest in the recent years because of the large number of potential applications, including magnetic storage, magnetic fluid hyperthermia and as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging. Physical properties of this class of materials depend critically on a number of parameters, including crystallinity, stoichiometry and cation distribution. In this work we have performed a Resonant Inelastic soft X-ray Scattering (RIXS) study on a series of 5 nm cobalt-doped maghemite nanoparticles to obtain direct quantitative information on cation distribution as a function of cobalt doping. We found that the distribution of divalent cobalt is stable in the investigated doping range and slightly different from that of bulk, stoichiometric cobalt ferrite. These results confirm that cobalt doping can be used to finely tune the magnetic properties of nanostructured ferrites without modifying their structural integrity.

Fabrication of ZnO nanotube layer on Zn and evaluation of corrosion behavior and bioactivity in view of biodegradable applications

Biodegradable materials are of great interest for the development of temporary implants. While most works have focused on Mg-based materials, recently, zinc and zinc based alloys are attracting increasing attention in this field. In this work, large scale area of flower structure zinc oxide nanotube (ZnO NT) layers were manufactured on the surface of pure zinc via anodic oxidation. Surface morphology and composition were characterized with SEM, XRD and XPS. The length of ZnO NTs was approximately 18 μm. Electrochemical tests in SBF solution showed that ZnO NT layers enhanced the electrochemical activity of pure zinc, from the perspective of degradation rate, the Zn/ZnO NT composite is more suitable for bone fixation compared with pure zinc. Immersion tests demonstrate that more Ca/P deposition occurs on the surface of ZnO NT samples, indicating a better biocompatibility compared with pure zinc. In addition, ZnO NTs have a large number of potential applications, such as use for drug release, or based on their catalytic and semiconductive properties.

System for Driving Spherical Wheels Using Induction Mechanism

New technologies demand new requirements which themselves result in new innovation. The advancement of robotics have resulted in unique technological breakthroughs and further need for more. This paper presents a mechanism for driving spherical wheels using alternating current (AC) induction, thus enabling the wheel to maneuver in a unique manner, and permits it to be used for various applications. Thus, the electric or magnetic flux produced by an alternating current is being used to produce a force which creates a torque for rotation of the wheel. The mechanism showcases how Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction can be used to rotate, spin and guide a spherical wheel and more importantly, provide a greater degree of freedom. It also has a great potential for future improvements that can be made with this technology. This wheel can also provide fine controlling capabilities to the vehicle. It has a large number of potential applications in robotics and can be easily combined with other technologies such as levitation in the future.

Impedance spectroscopy and equivalent circuits of metal-dielectric composites around the percolation threshold

Although tunable metal/dielectric nanoparticle composites are promising candidates for a large number of potential applications in electronics, sensor technology, and optical devices, little has been done on their high frequency behavior. Here, we demonstrate that the high frequency response in the kHz to MHz range of Ag-nanoparticles embedded in the highly flexible elastomer PDMS can, on the one hand, be tuned by strain and, on the other hand, be nicely described by common equivalent circuits. Switching on and off the different elements of the equivalent circuit, namely, resistors, constant phase elements, and inductance, the impedance spectra of the composites can be modelled even across the percolation, encompassing both the insulating phase and the metallic state.

Probing the effect of a room temperature ionic liquid on phospholipid membranes in multilamellar vesicles.

The large number of potential applications of ionic liquids (ILs) requires an understanding of their environmental impacts including their adverse effects on microorganisms living in soil and water. The molecular mechanism of toxic activities of these liquids is yet to be understood in detail. Any foreign molecules, interacting with an organism, have to encounter first the cellular membrane, which is predominantly composed of the lipid bilayer. In this work, multilamellar vesicles (MLV) of phospholipids have been used to shed light on the effect of an IL on the structure of a cellular membrane. The MLVs formed by the zwitterionic lipid, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) are found to shrink as a consequence of interaction with an imidazolium-based IL, 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([DMIM] [BF4]). The absorbed ILs significantly modify the surface charge of the MLVs. While these observations indicate a strong membrane-IL interaction, synchrotron-based small angle X-ray diffraction (SAXD) measurements provide a structural description of the interaction. SAXD and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy studies clearly reveal a disordering effect of the IL on the conformational organization of the lipid chains. The presence of the negatively charged lipid 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-L-serine sodium salt (DPPS) in MLVs plays an important role in disordering the chains in the membrane and inter-bilayer interactions.

Plasmon-enhanced upconversion: engineering enhancement and quenching at nano and macro scales

Photon upconversion (UC) is the sequential absorption of two or more low frequency photons and subsequent emission of light at a higher frequency. Because of a large number of potential applications of this anti-Stokes process, extensive studies of UC have taken place in the last decades. The most crucial challenge in this field is the development of an efficient strategy to enhance the inherently low efficacy of the UC process. Among the various intensively developed approaches, local tailoring of the electromagnetic field with metal nanoparticles (MNPs) to the position of the UC material has been considered as the most promising one. However, distinctive features of photon UC imply the emergence of fluorescence quenching near the MNP. Along with different near-and far-field MNP responses and non-trivial competition of enhancement and quenching of the UC signal in suspension of MNPs on the macroscale, the search of optimal MNP configuration for UC enhancement becomes quite the challenging task to solve. In this paper, we thoroughly analyze these effects with a rigorous and comprehensive theoretical model based on the extended Mie theory for multilayered spheres and the effective medium approach. We provide general guidelines for highly efficient UC enhancement by Ag and Au spherical MNPs.