Small Amount Research Articles

Facilitated cell probing and hyperthermia treatment by fluorescent DNA engineered cobalt ferrite nanoparticles

BackgroundProbing a cell by fluorescence imaging is very convenient. We have observed that tagging of DNA with some organic dye molecules enhances fluorescence properties. This property of DNA can be utilised to enhance cell imaging quality to track the cell in better way for diagnosis as well as therapy. ResultsWe have shown internalisation of DNA functionalized cobalt-ferrite nanoparticles (CF-DNA NPs) with cells is better compared to free cobalt-ferrite nanoparticles (CF NPs). Therefore, CF NPs were functionalized by DNA (CF-DNA) and tagged them with a fluorophore like RITC for improvement of cell tracking by fluorescence imaging. Cell imaging and cytotoxicity effects were compared by treating the human mammary carcinoma cells (MDA MB-231) with CF NPs and CF-DNA NPs. An investigation was made on applicability of hyperthermia therapy for these particles under AC magnetic field. SignificancesA significant enhancement in fluorescence contrast of cancer cells was observed in case of CF-DNA NPs compared to CF NPs and both the particles show less cytotoxic effect for normal cells. A significant cell death and change in cell morphology after hyperthermia treatment was observed by phase contrast microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Monitoring the treatment in a selective region is helped by this technique with the use of a very small quantity of theranostic material. This new treatment protocol may open a new avenue in cancer therapy.

Drag reducing performance and its influencing on natural yam mucilage

Yam mucilage is a novel environmentally friendly drag reducer. This study investigates drag reduction and degradation characteristics of Chinese yam mucilage, using an in-house rotor device. The effects of temperature, aging, and salts on the drag reduction rate (DR) of yam mucilage were also explored. Furthermore, the synergistic drag reduction properties of Chinese yam-polyethylene oxide (PEO) solution were investigated by blending Chinese yam mucilage with PEO. The rotational speed range of the rotor device was set at 200–700 r/min, corresponding to Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging from 30 396 to 106 385. The results demonstrated that the DR of yam mucilage initially increased, and then decreased at low concentrations, with increasing Re. Conversely, the DR of yam mucilage at high concentrations increased with increasing Re, albeit at a gradually slowing rate as concentration increased; however, the shear stability was gradually enhanced. Degradation testing revealed that yam slime exhibited semi-rigid, or rigid polymer characteristics, with notable shear stability. At a concentration of 2000 ppm and Re = 106 385, the maximum DR reached 44.1%. Prolonged heating and standing resulted in the reduced DR of yam mucilage. However, salt ions exerted dual effects on the DR of yam mucilage: Low concentrations of NaCl improved its effectiveness while Na2SO4 and high concentrations of NaCl diminished its efficacy. The addition of a small quantity of PEO was found to significantly enhance the drag reduction efficacy of yam mucilage, but no significant improvement in the shear stability of yam mucilage was observed. Yam mucilage exhibits promising potential as an environmentally friendly drag reducer with remarkable drag reduction capabilities.

A new species of marine algae from the Mexican Atlantic based on morphology and molecular data: Gelidium rodrigueziae sp. nov. (Gelidiaceae, Rhodophyta)

Abstract The algae of the genus Gelidium can be found as frequent and abundant inhabitants in the rocky intertidal zone of the Mexican Atlantic. Six species of this genus have been reported in this region, but only Gelidium americanum has been confirmed with morphological and molecular tools, despite how important both tools have proven to be for the group. This research aimed to evaluate the Mexican specimens previously identified as Gelidium through morphological and molecular approaches, using rbcL and COI-5P markers. This study examined 20 specimens found living attached to the shell of a gastropod Stramonita rustica in the mid-high intertidal zone of the Mexican Atlantic and ten specimens found living on rocks. Phylogenetic analyses resolved these specimens to be an independent species closely related to G. gonzalezii, G. yangmeikengense, and G. indonesianum. Genetic distances and morphological information confirmed this. Gelidium rodrigueziae sp. nov. is described as a new species. It is distinguished from its related species by having a simpler branching pattern, a smaller number and size of medullary cells, and the smaller quantity and distribution of restricted internal rhizoid filaments around the medulla.

Data Augmentation for Sample Efficient and Robust Document Ranking

Contextual ranking models have delivered impressive performance improvements over classical models in the document ranking task. However, these highly over-parameterized models tend to be data-hungry and require large amounts of data even for fine-tuning. In this article, we propose data-augmentation methods for effective and robust ranking performance. One of the key benefits of using data augmentation is in achieving sample efficiency or learning effectively when we have only a small amount of training data. We propose supervised and unsupervised data augmentation schemes by creating training data using parts of the relevant documents in the query-document pairs. We then adapt a family of contrastive losses for the document ranking task that can exploit the augmented data to learn an effective ranking model. Our extensive experiments on subsets of the MS MARCO and TREC-DL test sets show that data augmentation, along with the ranking-adapted contrastive losses, results in performance improvements under most dataset sizes. Apart from sample efficiency, we conclusively show that data augmentation results in robust models when transferred to out-of-domain benchmarks. Our performance improvements in in-domain and more prominently in out-of-domain benchmarks show that augmentation regularizes the ranking model and improves its robustness and generalization capability.

Rapid analysis of the chemical constituents of traditional Tibetan medicine Sbyor-bzo-ghi-wang using ballpoint electrospray ionization technique.

The chemical constituents of traditional Tibetan medicines (TTM) can be identified using high-performance liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) technique. However, the HPLC-MS/MS technique requires the sample to be pretreated and then separated using the specific liquid chromatography method, which is time consuming. This study developed a ballpoint electrospray ionization (BPESI) technique for analyzing the chemical constituents of Sbyor-bzo-ghi-wang. This technique is a simple and inexpensive method for the rapid identification of the chemical constituents of TTMs. After the important parameters of the homemade BPESI device were optimized, the chemical constituents of Sbyor-bzo-ghi-wang were quickly identified without sample pretreatment. The raw data were converted to mzML file using MSConvert and then identified using SIRIUS 5 software. The results showed that 30 compounds were identified from Sbyor-bzo-ghi-wang, namely eight bile acids, six flavonoids, four alkaloids, three amino acids, and nine others. Compared to the ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-Q/Orbitrap and high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q/Orbitrap HRMS) technique, the BPESI technique identified almost similar types of compounds and also a comparable number of compounds. Compared with the traditional HPLC-MS/MS methods, the BPESI technique does not require complex sample pretreatment and subsequent chromatographic separation steps; also it consumes a small quantity of samples. Therefore, BPESI can be used for the qualitative analysis of the chemical constituents of Sbyor-bzo-ghi-wang.

Fabrication of stable monolayer liquid marbles with reduced particle coverage and locomotion on hydrophilic surface

Liquid marbles are non-wetting, particle-covered microdroplets with a core-shell structure that are used in sample transport, material synthesis, and real-time sensing. Optimizing the distribution of shell particles remains a challenge, due to a tendency for aggregation via spontaneous assembly, which often leads to multilayered structures. Here, we outline a simple method for fabricating water-filled, monolayer liquid marbles with adjustable particle coverage rates, greatly reducing particle consumption. The soft liquid marbles are enclosed by a small quantity of modified polystyrene microspheres and display good atmospheric stability. The rolling behavior of flexible liquid marbles with wide coverage rates is then characterized. Contrary to common perception, the marbles with transparent openings exhibit high maneuverability on hydrophilic surfaces, and also excel in fusion, reaction and surface cleaning, with an elongated operational duration and a wide visualization range. The study provides new insights into the implementation of liquid marble-based miniaturized platforms.

Target Oriented Dynamic Adaption for Cross-Domain Few-Shot Learning

Few-shot learning has achieved satisfactory progress over the years, but these methods implicitly hypothesize that the data in the base (source) classes and novel (target) classes are sampled from the same data distribution (domain), which is often invalid in reality. The purpose of cross-domain few-shot learning (CD-FSL) is to successfully identify novel target classes with a small quantity of labeled instances on the target domain under the circumstance of domain shift between the source domain and the target domain. However, in CD-FSL, the knowledge learned by the network on the source domain often suffers from the situation of inadaptation when it is transferred to the target domain, since the instances on the source and target domains do not obey the same data distribution. To surmount this problem, we propose a Target Oriented Dynamic Adaption (TODA) model, which uses a tiny amount of target data to orient the network to dynamically adjust and adapt during training. Specifically, this work proposes a domain-specific adapter to ameliorate the network inadaptability issues in transfer to the target domain. The domain-specific adapter can make the extracted features more specific to the tasks in the target domain and reduce the impact of tasks in the source domain by combining them with the mainstream backbone network. In addition, we propose an adaptive optimization method in the network optimization process, which assigns different weights according to the importance of different optimization tasks. Extensive experiments on several benchmark datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of our TODA method.

Synthesis and characterization of absorption-enhanced alumina solid particle materials for direct irradiation solar-thermal conversion

Based on solar-thermal application more than 1000 °C, a novel combination of sol-gel synthesis and stepwise calcination to prepare metal-ion doped alumina composite particles as heat transfer media were proposed, enhancing solar energy absorption and lowering preparation temperature. Investigations focused on the elemental distribution, phase composition, oxidation states, optical properties and thermal stability of the composites, which were doped with Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, and Mn metal ions in a 100:5 M ratio. The first-principles calculations elucidate the mechanism behind the impact of transition metal ions on alumina’s optical properties. Results show that introducing a small quantity of metal atoms results in new impurity energy levels and electron states around EF = 0. Specifically, the band gap energy of Cu- and Mn–Al2O3 decreases from 6.017 eV to 4.464 eV and 2.170 eV, respectively. Correspondingly, the absorptivity of these composite particles increases from around 20 %–76.6 %. And Tauc analysis indicates a decrease in the optical band gap of the particle materials from 5.37 eV to a range of 2.88–4.90 eV. Additionally, doping with Mn, Fe, and Cu accelerates the in-situ formation of α-Al2O3 crystals, with a phase transition temperature below 1000 °C and a crystallinity exceeding 93 %. Thermal stability tests show that the particles are highly stable, exhibiting a mere 0.49 % mass change between 30 °C and 1200 °C. The stepwise inert annealing strategy and metal-iron doping positively influence the optical performance of alumina, synthesizing long-term high-temperature stable alumina ceramic particles with absorptance enhancement and a low α-Al2O3 phase transition temperature. These attributes make a favorable choice for solar-thermal applications in direct irradiation.

Re-discovery of MS-347a as a fungicide candidate through a new drug discovery platform with a multidrug-sensitive Saccharomyces cerevisiae screening system and the introduction of a global secondary metabolism regulator, laeA gene.

We found that the culture broth of fungi showed anti-fungal activity against multidrug-sensitive budding yeast. However, we could not identify the anti-fungal compound due to the small quantity. Therefore, we attempted to increase the productivity of the target compound by the introduction of a global secondary metabolism regulator, laeA to the strain, which led to the successful isolation of 10-folds greater amount of MS-347a (1) than Aspergillus sp. FKI-5362. Compound 1 was not effective against Candida albicans and the detailed anti-fungal activity of 1 remains unverified. After our anti-fungal activity screening, 1 was found to inhibit the growth of broad plant pathogenic fungal species belonging to the Ascomycota. It is noteworthy that 1 showed little insecticidal activity against silkworms, suggesting its selective biological activity against plant pathogenic fungi. Our study implies that the combination strategy of multidrug-sensitive yeast and the introduction of laeA is useful for new anti-fungal drug discovery.

Characteristics of oxide-dispersion strengthened alloys produced by high-temperature severe deformation

This study is to explore an economically attractive and technically feasible processing method for oxide-nanoparticle strengthened alloys for fusion reactor application. Despite many scientific merits of the advanced oxide-dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys, such as the nanostructured ferritic alloy (NFA) 14YWT, the only viable production path for a high-quality NFA is the high-power mechanical alloying process. This process is often a multi-day high-speed ball milling of alloy powder with a small quantity of yttria (Y2O3) powder, followed by the milled-powder consolidation using extrusion or other methods and additional thermomechanical processing (TMP) for property control. This complex production path, including the low-temperature mechanical alloying in particular, has limited technical advancement toward the cost-effective and scale-up production of ODS alloy components. To overcome such a practical limitation, we proposed to explore alternative low-cost processing routes using traditional thermomechanical processing (TMP) method only. A series of continuous TMP cycles, which were designed to impose high-temperature severe plastic deformation (HT-SPD) conditions to the consolidated powder mixtures, were applied to achieve the effective distribution of oxide particles in nanograin structure and thus desirable mechanical properties. Since the reduced-activation ferritic-martensitic (RAFM) alloy powders (Fe-10Cr and Fe-14Cr alloys with various Y contents) are available in our inventory, we focused to utilize the new solid-state synthesis approach for controlling oxide (oxygen source) dissolution and nanoscale clustering in nanograin structure in those alloys. A combination of powder consolidation at 900 °C and continuous thermomechanical activation at 600 °C yielded two essential ODS alloy microstructure contents–nanograin structure and nanoparticle distribution–and thus demonstrated a good combination of strength and ductility.

A novel molecular structure design of liquid silicone rubber modified by ceramic precursors for high-performance flexible ablation

High ablation-resistant silicone rubber exhibits a significant role in the thermal protection of space vehicles. However, its limited by the low mechanical strength in practical heat protection applications. Herein, a novel molecular network structure is proposed, which links polycarboxysilane (PCS) rigid molecules onto polydimethylsiloxane molecular chains. The use of PCS rigid chains enhances the heat resistance while reducing the material's mass ablation rate. The addition of a small quantity of PCS (0.406 mmol) increases the tensile strength of the material by 10.4 % and augmentes the static ablation residual weight by 32.8 % compared with polydimethylsiloxane. Additionally, PCS molecular modification of polydimethylsiloxane is beneficial for maintaining the stability of the char layer after oxygen acetylene ablation, making the char layer denser, and improving the interface bonding between the ceramic layer, pyrolysis layer and matrix, ultimately improving the ablation performance of polydimethylsiloxane. This work provides a new approach for development of high-performance flexible ablative materials.

Dual preservative effects of SnO2-chitosan on Cu1+-doped boehmite composites for stable CO adsorption properties

In the realm of environment and energy sectors, the strategic designing of adsorbents utilizing active Cu1+-based composite materials stands as a pivotal initiative for effective CO removal. However, the commercial viability of these composites was hindered by oxidation tendency of active Cu1+ species during ambient storage, leading to a gradual decline in activity. Concurrently, selectivity constraints pose challenges to the practical utility of Cu1+-based CO adsorbents. In this study, a synergistic dual inorganic–organic stabilization system was introduced to address inherent stabilization and selectivity constraints. The SnO2-chitosan coupled stabilizer was employed to exploit dual chemical stabilization interactions which involved synergistic redox behavior within active Cu2O-SnO2 interface stemming from strong Sn-O interaction in contrast to that of Cu–O and coordinated chelation facilitated by the unsaturated nitrogen sourced from chitosan in conjunction with Cu1+ species. These mechanisms effectively preserved the oxidative susceptibility of active Cu1+ ions and impeded their gradual deactivation. The stable structural formation and complexation effects were validated through TEM, XPS, and in-situ FTIR analyses. Remarkably, incorporating a small quantity of SnO2 with organic chitosan stabilizer within the composite maintained ∼ 99 % stability of the initial adsorption uptake (∼24 cm3/g) even after 30-day storage under ambient conditions, surpassing the adsorption stability performance of the adsorption composite with only organic chitosan stabilizer. Furthermore, inclusion of SnO2 attenuated the surface basicity stemming from nitrogen-doping which favors the CO2 adsorption over CO, and due to the enhanced surface acidity as confirmed through NH3-TPD and in-situ FTIR analyses, a higher CO selectivity of 7.1 over CO2 was achieved. In conclusion, this study highlighted the advantageous potential of an inorganic–organic stabilizing system, specifically SnO2-chitosan combination, offering a viable approach to address stability and selectivity challenges associated with the Cu1+-based CO adsorption, presenting a viable pathway for the development of practical CO adsorbents.

THE EFFECT OF POST-HARVEST HANDLING PRACTICES ON THE QUALITY AND MARKETABILITY OF HARVESTED ONIONS IN JERE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined the effects of post-harvest handling practices on the quality and marketability of onion in Jere Local Government Area. A total of 40 respondents who are into onion storage were selected for the study using a multi-stage sampling approach. A structured questionnaire served as the main instrument for the primary data was used while secondary data were also obtained. The analysis of the socio-economic characteristics revealed that; majority of the respondents (57.5%) fall within the age group of 36 - 45 years, emphasizing the predominance of economically active traders with an average age of 36.4 years. About 95% of respondents are males, reflecting a significant gender disparity in the onion storage sector. While education levels vary, a significant portion of respondents possess some formal education with majority 47.5% of respondents had non-formal education, this diversity highlights the potential influence of education on storage strategies and income diversification. The study reveals that most respondents (57.5%) have been involved in onion storage for 1 - 5 years, with an average of 6 years, indicating relatively low levels of experience. Challenges such as limited resources, traditional practices, and cultural factors contribute to this lack of experience. Traditional storage structures are the predominant choice, with 90% of respondents utilizing them, accompanied by a strong preference for woven sacks as packaging materials for onion storage due to their protective attributes. Various methods are employed to preserve onion freshness during storage, including floor spreading, enhanced ventilation, utilization of local stores, and other techniques. Statistical analysis reveals that onion size, proper storage, colour and firmness are found to positively influence quality of onion. Stocking size, price, packaging materials, experience and duration are found to positively influence marketability of onion. Moreover, the study underscores overwhelming support with majority 95% of respondents that support the adoption of improved post-harvest handling practices to reduce spoilage and elevate onion quality. The study concludes that the onion marketers practice on a small scale by storing onions in smaller quantity in traditional structures, using woven sacks for packaging. Size of onion, color, firmness significantly influences onion quality. Stocking size, quantity, duration significantly influence onion marketability. While the major constraints include poor handling, inadequate storage facilities and pest infestation.Key words: Post-harvest handling practices, onion, quality, marketability, Jere LGA, Borno.

Shish‐kebab structure evolution of HDPE/UHMWPE during hot drawing

AbstractUsing a solution‐mixing method, this research aimed to fabricate high‐density polyethylene (HDPE)/ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composite materials with uniform dispersion. By incorporating a small quantity of UHMWPE as a nucleating agent, additional contact points were introduced to enhance the crystallization rate of the HDPE matrix. Thermal stretching experiments were conducted on composite systems with varying UHMWPE contents and molecular weight additions at different temperatures. Elevating the stretching temperature was found to decrease the yield strain and yield strength, extend the stage of tensile plastic deformation, and diminish the overall mechanical properties of the composite material. Notably, stretching at temperatures ranging from 90 to 110°C accentuated the development of internal crystal orientation structures. Under low strain conditions, crystal slip was observed to be concentrated, with single crystals undergoing continuous stretching and breaking, resulting in a decrease in the long period. Conversely, at high strains, the induced formation of oriented lamellar structures was observed.Highlights Prepared HDPE/UHMWPE blends by UHMWPE with varying molecular weights. Analyzed the alterations in the HDPE/UHMWPE blends' internal crystal structure. Influence of UHMWPE addition, temperature on the evolution of crystal structure.

SmallTAL: Real-Time Egocentric Online Temporal Action Localization for the Data-Impoverished

Abstract We propose a real-time, online temporal action localization system that requires a small amount of annotated data. The main challenges we address are high intra-class variability and a large and diverse background class. We address these using a flexible frame descriptor, dynamic time warping, and a novel approach to database construction. Our solution receives egocentric RGB-D streams as input and makes predictions at regular temporal intervals. We validate our approach by localizing actions in a digital twin of an electrical substation, in which certain objects have been replaced by functional virtual replicas.

Chemical Composition and Antimicrobial Activity of Essential Oils and Hydrosols from Oregano, Sage and Pennyroyal against Oral Pathogens

In this study, the chemical composition of essential oils (EOs) extracted from Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum Lamiaceae, (oregano), Salvia officinalis Lamiaceae (sage), Mentha pulegium Lamiaceae (pennyroyal), and respective hydrosols (HSs) has been investigated by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The antimicrobial activity was assessed against two oral pathogens: Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus mutans and the fungus Candida albicans by determination of Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal/Fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC). Three-fold diluted solutions were dispensed into each well of a 96-well microtiter plate and, after incubation, MIC was determined by visual monitoring. The MBC/MFC was determined by transferring a small quantity of sample contained in each replicate well of the microtiter plates to appropriate culture media using a microplate replicator. The EOs of the tested herbs showed antimicrobial properties, especially the EO oil of O. vulgare, which exerted the highest antimicrobial activity. HSs of S. officinalis and M. pulegium exerted no antimicrobial activity, in contrast to oregano HS, which displayed strong antimicrobial activity. In all cases, a higher number of compounds were detected in EOs than in the corresponding HSs. The major compounds of sage EO were detected to be α-thujone (25.1%), 1,8-cineole (15.8%) and β-pinene (10.0%), while the HS was characterized by the presence of 1,8-cineole (32.6%), borneol (22.6%) and α-thujone (22.4%). Pennyroyal EO and HS consists mainly of pulegone (62.1 and 50.6%, respectively). Carvacrol was the major component present in EO (63%) and HS (97.3%) of oregano, probably contributing to the antimicrobial activity. Further research is needed in order to elucidate the antimicrobial mechanisms of specific compounds present in essential oils and hydrosols of Lamiaceae grown in Greece against oral pathogens.

Two-dimensional lead halide perovskite lateral homojunctions enabled by phase pinning

Two-dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid halide perovskites possess diverse structural polymorphs with versatile physical properties, which can be controlled by order-disorder transition of the spacer cation, making them attractive for constructing semiconductor homojunctions. Here, we demonstrate a space-cation-dopant-induced phase stabilization approach to creating a lateral homojunction composed of ordered and disordered phases within a two-dimensional perovskite. By doping a small quantity of pentylammonium into (butylammonium)2PbI4 or vice versa, we effectively suppress the ordering transition of the spacer cation and the associated out-of-plane octahedral tilting in the inorganic framework, resulting in phase pining of the disordered phase when decreasing temperature or increasing pressure. This enables epitaxial growth of a two-dimensional perovskite homojunction with tunable optical properties under temperature and pressure stimuli, as well as directional exciton diffusion across the interface. Our results demonstrate a previously unexplored strategy for constructing two-dimensional perovskite heterostructures by thermodynamic tuning and spacer cation doping.

Microscopical, phytochemical, and LC/MS analysis of Ginkgo biloba leaves

Every medicinal practitioner knows Ginkgo as the plant source of an extract that is good for memory improvement. Ginkgo biloba extract is classified as one of the medicines in the treatment of dementia and social exclusion brought by vascular or neurodegenerative disorders. In such disorders, the extract was reported to be successful in improving symptoms such as depression, attention, memory disturbances, vertigo, tinnitus, and anxiety. The aerial part of Ginkgo bioloba was obtained from China, Utilizing fresh leaves allows for a microscopic inspection, the concentrated extracts by soxhlet were screened by standard methods for the qualitative investigation of secondary metabolites present in the plant, and a small quantity of extract was analyzed by LC/MS instrument. Microscopical examination shows diacytic stomata, helical vessels, fiber, and unicellular unbranched trichomes. Qualitative analysis is positive for tannin, glycoside, flavonoid, terpene, and phenolic compounds detected while saponin, coumarin, and alkaloid gave a negative result. While LC/MS shows important compounds that have important biological activities such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, and flavonoid glycosides which are reported for their different pharmacological activity, the Ginkgo plant is a promising drug that can help in the treatment of different diseases and required further studies.

Single-Atomic Co-N4 Sites with CrCo Nanoparticles for Metal-Air Battery-Driven Hydrogen Evolution.

Designing highly active and robust earth abundant trifunctional electrocatalysts for energy storage and conversion applications remain an enormous challenge. Herein, we report a trifunctional electrocatalyst (CrCo/CoN4@CNT-5), synthesized at low calcination temperature (550 °C), which consists of Co-N4 single atom and CrCo alloy nanoparticles and exhibits outstanding electrocatalytic performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction, oxygen evolution reaction, and oxygen reduction reaction. The catalyst is able to deliver a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in an alkaline electrolytic cell at a very low cell voltage of ∼1.60 V. When the catalyst is equipped in a liquid rechargeable Zn-air battery, it endowed a high open-circuit voltage with excellent cycling durability and outperformed the commercial Pt/C+IrO2 catalytic system. Furthermore, the Zn-air battery powered self-driven water splitting system is displayed using CrCo/CoN4@CNT-5 as sole trifunctional catalyst, delivering a high H2 evolution rate of 168 μmol h-1. Theoretical calculations reveal synergistic interaction between Co-N4 active sites and CrCo nanoparticles, favoring the Gibbs free energy for H2 evolution. The presence of Cr not only enhances the H2O adsorption and dissociation but also tunes the electronic property of CrCo nanoparticles to provide optimized hydrogen binding capacity to Co-N4 sites, thus giving rise to accelerated H2 evolution kinetics. This work highlights the importance of the presence of small quantity of Cr in enhancing the electrocatalytic activity as well as robustness of single-atom catalyst and suggests the design of the multifunctional robust electrocatalysts for long-term H2 evolution application.

Promising approaches for simultaneous enhancement of medicinally significant benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in opium poppy.

Benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs) produced in opium poppy have been evidenced to heal patients suffering from various diseases. They, therefore, hold an integral position in the herbal drug industry. Despite the adoption of several approaches for the large-scale production of BIAs, opium poppy remains the only platform in this purpose. The only disadvantage associated with producing BIAs in the plant is their small quantity. Thus, recruiting strategies that boost their levels is deemed necessary. All the methods which have been employed so far are just able to enhance a maximum of two BIAs. Thus, if these methods are utilized, a sizable amount of time and budget must be spent on the synthesis of all BIAs. Hence, the exploitation of strategies which increase the content of all BIAs at the same time is more commercially effective and time-saving, avoiding the laborious step of resolving the biosynthetic pathway of each compound. Exposure to biotic and abiotic elicitors, development of a synthetic auto-tetraploid, overexpression of a WRKY transcription factor, formation of an artificial metabolon, and suppression of a gene in the shikimate pathway and miRNA are strategies that turn opium poppy into a versatile bioreactor for the concurrent and massive production of BIAs. The last three strategies have never been applied for BIA biosynthetic pathways.