Synergistic Interaction Effect Research Articles

Synergistic Effect of Electrostatic Interaction and Ionic Dehydration on Asymmetric Ion Transport in Nanochannel/Ion Channel Composite Membrane.

Ion transport in nanochannels of a size comparable to that of hydrated ions exhibits unique properties due to the synergistic effect of various forces. Here, we design a nanochannel/ion channel composite (NIC) membrane that shows a high ion current rectification (ICR) ratio in different electrolytes. Experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that the synergistic effect of electrostatic interaction and ionic dehydration plays an important role in regulating the ICR behavior of the NIC membrane. We find that electrostatic attraction between ions and the channel surface in the ultraconfined space increases the probability of ionic dehydarion, resulting in different dehydration energy costs for different ions. This further alters the driving force for ion transport and thus regulates ICR of the NIC membrane. This work provides fundamental knowledge of ion transport in ion channels, which aids in the understanding of the function of biological systems and the design of high-performance nanochannel devices.

Potential cancer risk estimates from trihalomethanes in peri-urban settings of Kawama East of Mufulira, Zambia.

In this study, we report the formation and cancer risk estimation of trihalomethanes (THMs) emanating from 'ex-situ' chlorination of shallow hand-dug well water obtained from a peri-urban area of Mufulira District, Zambia. The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential cancer risks for people in this area where chlorine water disinfection at the household level is commonly practiced. Water samples from 13 randomly selected hand-dug wells (4-8 m deep) were collected and analyzed for pH, turbidity, and dissolved organic carbon before chlorination. Then another set of water samples from the same 13 wells was chlorinated using the methods commonly practiced in this area, consistent with WHO recommended doses. The chlorination degradation products, THMs, trichloromethane, bromodichloromethane (CHCl2Br), dibromochloromethane (CHClBr2), and tribromomethane, were determined at three different times of 60, 180, and 300 min after chlorination, while residual chlorine was determined immediately after chlorination and at 60 and 1,440 min after chlorination. THMs were determined using gas chromatography (GC), while residual chlorine was determined colorimetrically. Then cancer risk estimation from ingestion, inhalation, and dermal routes was carried out. All water samples from the 13 wells showed elevated amounts of THMs, which also increased with increasing contact time. For instance, the concentrations of THMs at 60 min after chlorination ranged from 24.3 ± 2.0 to 61.3 ± 1.0 μg/L, while at 180 and 300 min, ranged between 85.6 ± 4.3-146.9 ± 2.5 μg/L and 188.1 ± 7.1-250.1 ± 7.1 μg/L, respectively. It was observed that tribromomethane was not detected at all in all samples, while CHCl2Br and CHClBr2 were only detected at 180 and 300 min post chlorination. The lifetime cancer risk estimation results showed negligible risk at 60 min post chlorination. However, at 180 and 300 min post chlorination, the results were far above negligible, but within the regulatory US EPA limits. The overall risk, however, could not be ignored, given a multiplicity of exposure to various other contaminants, raising concerns over additivity and synergistic interactive effects, particularly for non-cancer hazard indices.

Synthesis, crystal structures and selective luminescence sensing property of Zn(II) coordination polymers based on semi-rigid tricarboxylic acid ligands

Herein, two novel Zn-based coordination polymers [Zn(HL)(1,10-phen)(H2O)]n (1) and [Zn2(HL)2(2,2′-bipy)2]n (2) have been successfully synthesized via solvothermal method by using the semi-rigid tricarboxylic acid ligand (H3L:3-[(1-carboxynaphthalen-2-yl)oxy] phthalic acid) and two different nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ligands (1,10-phenanthroline, 2,2′-bipyridine). A single-crystal X-ray analysis reveals that these two novel Zn-based coordination polymers 1 and 2 exhibit a one dimensional (1D) chain structures. Moreover, two novel Zn-based coordination polymers 1 and 2 exihit excellent fluorescence performances, and selectively recognition response to Ni2+, MnO4−, Cr2O72−, nitrobenzene and nitromethane through the luminescence quenching effects in aqueous solutions. The possible fluorescence recognition mechanism of 1 and 2 toward Ni2+, MnO4−, Cr2O72- are investigated, which may be attribute to the synergistic effects of energy competitive absorption and weak interaction. Whereas the fluorescence quenching behaviors of 1 and 2 toward nitrobenzene and nitromethane, owing to the existence of a strong electron-withdrawing group which can obtain excited-state electrons, and leading to the occurence of electrons transfer. These results indicating that Zn-based coordination polymers have potential application values in fluorescent recognition.

Incidence of gastric cancer and risk factors in Suzhou cohort

Objective: To describe gastric cancer incidence in Suzhou cohort, explore the environmental risk factors of gastric cancer in Suzhou, and provide appropriate suggestions for gastric cancer prevention and control. Methods: The participants were from the Suzhou cohort of China Kadoorie Biobank. Baseline survey was conducted from 2004 to 2008, followed by long-term follow-up until December 31, 2013. After the exclusion of those who had been previously diagnosed with peptic ulcer and malignant tumor reported at baseline survey and gastric cancer within six months after enrollment, a total of 50,136 participants were included. Cox proportional risk models were used to identify risk factors of gastric cancer and their hazard ratios in Suzhou. The effect modifications of gender on the association between risk factors and gastric cancer were analyzed. Results: In the follow-up of 7.19 years (median), 374 gastric cancers cases occurred. The standardized incidence was 94.57 per 100 000 person-years. Multivariate Cox proportional risk model analysis found that age (10 years old as a age group, HR=2.20, 95%CI: 1.92-2.53, P<0.001), current smoking (HR=1.84, 95%CI: 1.10-3.07 P=0.020), consumption of preserved vegetables weekly (HR=2.28, 95%CI: 1.28-4.07, P=0.005) and daily (HR=2.05, 95%CI: 1.16-3.61, P=0.013) were risk factors for gastric cancer. Female (HR=0.44, 95%CI: 0.25-0.76, P=0.003) and refrigerator use (10 years as a limit, HR=0.85, 95%CI: 0.74-0.97, P=0.016) were protective factors for gastric cancer. Further analysis showed that there was heterogeneity between males and females in the association between refrigerator use years and the incidence of gastric cancer (P=0.009), and there was an interaction effect between gender and refrigerator use on the incidence of gastric cancer (P=0.010). Conclusions: The incidence of gastric cancer in Suzhou cohort was high. The risk factors of gastric cancer varied. There was a synergistic interaction effect between gender and refrigerator use years on the incidence of gastric cancer.

High-strain sensitive zwitterionic hydrogels with swelling-resistant and controllable rehydration for sustainable wearable sensor

The irrecoverability of mechanical strength, conductivity and other properties after dehydration, has severely restricted the practical applications of hydrogels. To address this issue, here we report a P(AA-SMA-SBMA) zwitterionic copolymer-based hydrogel with anti-swelling, high mechanical property and reusability after dehydration/hydration process by polymerization of acrylic acid (AA), octadecyl methacrylate (SMA) and sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA). The structures of the original hydrogels and that after dehydration/hydration cycles were characterized by SAXS, SEM, Raman, FT-IR, XRD, DSC and rheology, etc. It was proved that both the macroscopic properties and the micro-structures were maintained after several dehydration/hydration cycles, owing to the synergistic effects of hydrophobic and super-hydrophilic interaction in the 3D network structure. Moreover, the fabricated hydrogels possess high strain sensitivity which is applied to monitor both junction motion and subtle movement like breathing and pulse. In addition, such sensitivity of the hydrogel sensors could be maintained after several dehydration/hydration cycles or even sinking in water for over two months. This work provides a type of hydrogel material with stable properties after dehydration process by regulating hydrophobic and hydrophilic interaction, which is beneficial for the life-time and sustainability of hydrogel devises.

Target adsorption of indomethacin sodium from aqueous solutions using mixed-ligand MIL-101(Cr)

In this study, we report the adsorption removal of indomethacin sodium (IDM) by the mixed-linker Materials of Institute Lavoisier (MIL)-101(Cr)s. The MIL-101(Cr)s were synthesized by controlling the ratios of 1,4-benzene dicarboxylic acid (H2BDC) and 2-amino-1,4-benzene dicarboxylic acid (NH2–H2BDC). Then their adsorption performances toward IDM were investigated. Due to the increase in specific surface area and the contribution of enhanced multiple action mechanisms, MIL-101(20) was proved to have the optimal IDM absorption among all the mixed-ligand MIL-101(Cr)s. The adsorption kinetic data was found to accord with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and the rate constant (k2) was calculated as 0.0059 ​g ​mg−1 ​min−1. The selected MIL-101(20) exhibited the maximum IDM adsorption capacity of approximately 641 ​mg ​g−1 (318 ​K), calculated from the Langmuir linear plots. The simulation results of the thermodynamic model suggest that the adsorption could be a spontaneous, endothermic process with increasing randomness. The adsorption mechanism analysis indicates that the synergistic effects of electrostatic interaction, hydrogen bond interaction, and π-π stacking could be responsible for efficient IDM adsorption. In addition, the adsorbent also presented good reproducibility over six successive adsorption/desorption cycles. Therefore, the mixed-ligand MIL-101(Cr) could be recommended as a promising adsorbent for the preferential removal of IDM from polluted wastewater.

Graphene oxide membrane regulated by surface charges and interlayer channels for selective transport of monovalent ions over divalent ions

Separation of ions has wide applications both in industry and health care. Among them, the separation of mono-/di-valent ions remains great challenging, even for highly efficient membrane separation technology. The emerging two-dimensional-material (typically, graphene oxide, GO) membranes have shown outstanding molecular separation performance such as for water desalination and gas separation, while unattractive permeance and/or selectivity for separating mono/divalent ions. In this work, we designed a new type of GO membranes to separate mono-/di-valent ions, in which rationally-selected polyelectrolyte coating was introduced to simultaneously tune the surface charge and interlayer channels of assembled GO laminate. The resulting positively-charged membrane surface showed stronger repulsive force towards divalent cations over monovalent cations according to the Coulomb’s law; meanwhile, the regulated interlayer channels rejected divalent cations over monovalent cations with smaller size. The ion transport mechanism was understood by mathematic models of ion diffusion and DLVO theory. By utilizing the synergistic effect of electrostatic interaction and size sieving, the designed GO membrane exhibited excellent separation performance for various mono-/di-valent ion pairs, including K+/Mg2+, Na+/Mg2+, Li+/Mg2+. Especially, the K+ transport rate of ∼ 0.29 mol m−2 h−1 and K+/Mg2+ selectivity of ∼ 116 are demonstrated in single-salt solution test, outperforming the-state-of-the-art 2D-material membranes. In mixed-salt solution test, the K+/Mg2+ selectivity reached 45 and good structural stability was displayed during 80 h continuous operation on the GO membrane. This facile polyelectrolyte coating approach provides a new avenue to develop high-performing 2D-material membranes for efficient separation of mono/divalent ions.

The effect of the dominance of an in-vehicle agent’s voice on driver situation awareness, emotion regulation, and trust: A simulated lab study of manual and automated driving

As in-vehicle voice agents increase in popularity, related research is extending to how voice messages can affect the driver’s cognitive and emotional states. Accordingly, we investigated how in-vehicle agent (IVA) voice dominance and driving automation can affect the driver’s situation awareness (SA), emotion regulation (ER), and trust. To this end, a lab-based experiment was conducted with a medium-fidelity driving simulator using actor-recorded voice agents. Twenty-two female and nineteen male driver-licensed participants were recruited to drive simulated vehicles with voice agents and evaluated. The results demonstrated that compared with the dominant voice, the agent with a submissive voice significantly increased ER in both manual and automated driving. Furthermore, the submissive voice significantly increased trust in automated driving compared with the dominant agent. Cross and synergistic interaction effects exist between voice dominance and driving automation in SA and ER, respectively. This study revealed that both the content of the messages of the IVAs and their voice characteristics are essential for modulating the driver’s SA, ER, and trust in driving. It is expected that larger-scale future studies with simulation or on a real road would increase the validity of this study.

Enhanced Sunscreen Effects via Layer-By-Layer Self-Assembly of Chitosan/Sodium Alginate/Calcium Chloride/EHA.

The sunscreen nanocapsules were successfully synthesized by the way of layer-by-layer self-assembly using charged droplets (prepared by emulsification of LAD-30, Tween-80 and EHA (2-Ethylhexyl-4-dimethylaminobenzoate)) as templates. Chitosan/sodium alginate/calcium chloride were selected as wall materials to wrap EHA. The emulsions with the ratio of Tween-80 to EHA (1:1) were stable. A stable NEI negative emulsion can be obtained when the ratio of Tween-80 and LAD-30 was 9:1. Chitosan solutions (50 kDa, 0.25 mg/mL) and sodium alginate solutions (0.5 mg/mL) were selected to prepare nanocapsules. The nanocapsules were characterized via some physico-chemical methods. Based on the synergistic effects of the electrostatic interaction between wall materials and emulsifiers, EHA was effectively encapsulated. DLS and TEM showed that the sunscreen nanocapsules were dispersed in a spherical shape with nano-size, with the increasing number of assembly layers, the size increased from 155 nm (NEI) to 189 nm (NEII) to 201 nm (NEIII) and 205 nm after solidification. The release studies in vitro showed sustained release behavior of the nanocapsules were observed with the increase of the number of deposition layers, implying a good coating effect. The sunscreen nanocapsules could control less than 50% the release of EHA after crosslinking of calcium chloride and sodium alginate, which also could effectively avoid the stimulation of the sun protection agent on the skin.

A study on the adsorption behaviors of three hydrophobic quinolones by ordered mesoporous CMK-3

In this work, a series of ordered mesoporous carbon nanomaterials (CMK-3) have been synthesized by a hard-template method at temperatures of 80 °C, 100 °C and 130 °C, which can serve as adsorbents for efficient adsorption of quinolones in aqueous solutions. The physicochemical properties and the morphologies of these CMK-3 have been well characterized, showing mesoporous channels with the specific surface area reaching up to 1290 m2/g. Adsorption studies have been performed on three hydrophobic quinolones: norfloxacin (NOR), ciprofloxacin (CIP) and enrofloxacin (ENR), with the adsorption capacities of 403 mg/g, 479 mg/g and 510 mg/g, respectively, at room temperature. The adsorption kinetics of the three quinolones are in accordance with the pseudo-second kinetic model, and the adsorption isotherm curves conform to Langmuir isotherm model. Significantly, the adsorption thermodynamics confirms that the adsorption processes are spontaneous endothermic. Finally, the adsorption mechanism has been discussed, which can be attributed to the synergistic effect of pore diffusion, hydrophobic bond, and electron donor-acceptor interaction.

Co-pyrolysis of coal slime and cattle manure by TG–FTIR–MS and artificial neural network modeling: Pyrolysis behavior, kinetics, gas emission characteristics

In this study, Thermogravimetric-Mass spectrometry-Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (TG-MS-FTIR) were used to study the co-pyrolysis behavior and gaseous products of coal slime (CS) and cattle manure (CM). By establishing different artificial neural network (ANN) prediction models, it was found that MLP13 model is the best prediction model. It was determined that the pyrolysis process of CM and CS can be divided into three stages, of which the second stage has the largest mass loss. Due to the different mixing ratio, there will be synergistic interaction or inhibitory effect during co-pyrolysis of CM and CS. Adding CM to CS will improve the pyrolysis performance of CS. The Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS) and Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) methods were used to calculate the activation energy. The activation energy was the lowest when the mixing ratio is CM:CS = 7:3, which was 195.377 kJ/mol (FWO) and 195.008 kJ/mol (KAS), respectively.

Efficient saccharification of wheat straw pretreated by solid particle-assisted ball milling with waste washing liquor recycling

Wheat straw was pretreated using ball milling (BM) promoted by solid particles (NaOH, NaCl, citric acid). NaOH showed the best synergistic interaction effect, due to the breakage of β-1,4-glycosidic bonds among cellulose molecules by the alkali solid particles induced by BM. NaOH-BM pretreatment decreased the straw crystallinity from 46% to 21.4% and its average particle size from 398.3 to 50.6 μm in 1 h. After 4 h milling, the reducing-end concentration of cellulose increased by 3.8 times from 12.5 to 60.2 μM, with glucose yield increased by 2.1 times from 26.6% to 82.4% for 72 h enzymatic hydrolysis at cellulase loading of 15 FPU/g dry substrate. The pretreatment washing liquor was recycled for the re-treatment of partially pretreated biomass at 121 °C for 30 min, resulting in 99.4% glucose yield by enzymatic hydrolysis. BM assisted with alkali particles was an effective approach for improving biomass enzymatic saccharification.

Ultra-robust, self-healable and recyclable polyurethane elastomer via a combination of hydrogen bonds, dynamic chemistry, and microphase separation

Flexibility, robustness, transparency, and recyclability are critical to the application of self-healing polymer materials in the field of flexible electronics. However, integrating all the above properties remains a huge challenge to date. In this work, we put forward a facile strategy to prepare polyurethane (PU) elastomer with ultra-high strength and self-healing performance based on hydrogen bonds, disulfide dynamic chemistry, and microphase separation at the same time. Three different self-healing PUs were obtained by introducing disulfide bonds and different types of hydrogen bonds. A robust, transparent, and recyclable PU with amino-terminated chain extender (PUA) with fast and efficient self-healing performance was prepared. The mechanical and self-healing properties of the PUA were effectively balanced by the synergistic effect of reversible interaction of disulfide bonds and the formation of microphase separated structure. The results indicated that the PUA exhibited high transparency up to 90% and excellent mechanical property, e.g. the tensile strength and elongation at break can reach 37.10 MPa and 1080%, respectively. Meanwhile, it can achieve a high self-healing efficiency of 96.8% at 80 °C for 4 h and maintain 84% of the initial mechanical strength even after four times of recycling. Moreover, the colloid graphite/PUA flexible strain sensor was prepared by the combination of colloid graphite and PUA, which can accurately detect both large and tiny scale deformations.

Boosting defects through divalent ion substitution to tailor the optical, textural, catalytic, and photocatalytic properties of Th4+-stabilized δ-Bi2O3

The current article reports a facile solution combustion synthesis of lead and cadmium doped Th4+ modified bismite and its application as a heterogeneous catalyst in Knoevenagel condensation reaction and visible light assisted disintegration of Eosin Yellow dye from aqueous solutions. The samples were extensively characterized by various physicochemical techniques such as powder X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy measurements, Raman, diffuse reflectance, and photoluminescence spectroscopy measurements, along with Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. The oxides' catalytic activity was probed in the Knoevenagel condensation reaction of various substituted aldehydes coupled with malononitrile, resulting in excellent yields (˃ 99%) after optimization of various reaction parameters such as temperature, catalyst dosage, amount of aldehyde, and malononitrile. 1H and 13C NMR spectra confirmed selectivities (˃ 99%). A probable mechanism was deduced after combining these results with GC-MS analysis. The oxides' high surface area was also exploited for photocatalytic disintegration of Eosin Yellow (toxic xanthene dye). The presence of oxygen vacancies and the generated superoxide radicals played a dominant role in enhancing photocatalytic activity. The electrical efficiency for practical utility, electrical energy per order (EEO) was assessed for all the samples. The divalent doped oxides’ catalytic and photocatalytic efficiencies were higher than the tetravalent stabilized δ-Bi2O3 elucidating the synergistic effect of oxygen vacancies and Lewis acid-base interaction in enhancing the catalytic activity and in suppressing the recombination of photogenerated holes and electrons. Excellent recycling efficiency and stability exhibited by an optimally doped δ-Bi2O3 demonstrated it to be a promising bifunctional catalyst.

A simple polyacrylamide gel route for the synthesis of MgAl2O4 nanoparticles with different metal sources as an efficient adsorbent: Neural network algorithm simulation, equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamic studies

• A polyacrylamide gel method have been used to synthesize the MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles. • An artificial neural network model of phase purity of MgAl 2 O 4 was constructed. • The microstructure and adsorption performance of MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles were compared. • An adsorption mechanism of MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles was proposed. The MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles with different particle sizes prepared by a polyacrylamide gel method with different metal salts as raw materials which was used to study its efficiency as an adsorbent for removal of Congo red, acid orange 7 and acid fuchsin from wastewater. It was difficult to obtain pure MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles with basic magnesium carbonate or aluminum acetate coupled with other metal salts. Based on the molecular weight, coordination number, ion radius and the number of water of crystallization for the metal salt and the phase purity of the target product, a neural network prediction model was established to predict the effect of synthesis parameters on the phase purity of MgAl 2 O 4 . The microstructure characterization confirmed that the minimum particle size of MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles prepared with aluminum nitrate and magnesium sulfate as metal salts was about 22 nm, and the maximum particle size of MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles prepared with aluminum nitrate and magnesium chloride as metal salts was about 50 nm. Adsorption experiments of MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles were performed as a function of process parameters: various dyes including Congo red, acid orange 7 and acid fuchsin, adsorption time, particles size, initial dye concentration, initial adsorbent concentration, pH value and reaction temperature. The thermodynamic studies showed that the adsorption of MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles for removal of Congo red from wastewater is an exothermic and spontaneous process. The maximum adsorption capacity of 89.043 mg/g for the MgAl 2 O 4 nanoparticles was found at 1 g/L of initial adsorbent concentration, 100 mg/L of initial dye concentration, 6.9 of pH, and 299.8 K of temperature for removal of Congo red from wastewater. The adsorption of Congo red, acid orange 7 and acid fuchsin can be assigned to the synergistic effect of electrostatic interaction, pore filling and ion exchange. This present work provides a technical reference for the synthesis of other metal oxide nanoparticles using metal salts with different acid groups.

Difunctional Mof for Dendrite-Free All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries by Synergistic Effect of Hydrogen Bond and Electrostatic Interaction

Difunctional Mof for Dendrite-Free All-Solid-State Lithium Metal Batteries by Synergistic Effect of Hydrogen Bond and Electrostatic Interaction

An artificial antibody for exosome capture by dull template imprinting technology.

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles with unique size distribution derived from the parent cells. They are involved in intercellular communication and transport, and are also biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis of disease. However, the isolation and characterization of exosomes face the challenges of large sample requirements and low enrichment efficiency of traditional methods. Herein, a simple method is proposed for the preparation of an artificial antibody that has a synergistic effect by featuring nanocavities obtained by dull template imprinting and molecular recognition conferred by electrostatic interaction. With this artificial antibody, highly efficient capture and proteome analysis of exosomes from urine and cell culture media are achieved: for urine, the abundance of Top100 exosomal proteins enriched by this artificial antibody increased from 1.85% to 9.66%. For the cell culture medium, the abundance of the Top100 proteins enriched by this artificial antibody was 28.4%. Moreover, this artificial antibody has a comparable effect to the commercial precipitation-based method in capturing exosomes and has advantages in removing contaminants such as prothymosin alpha (PTMA), demonstrating the superior selectivity of the artificial antibody. Overall, this artificial antibody holds promise to capture exosomes from biofluids and is compatible with subsequent proteome analysis.

КРЕАТИВНАЯ ЭКОНОМИКА В РАЗВИТИИ СОВРЕМЕННЫХ ИНДУСТРИЙ И ПРЕДПРИНИМАТЕЛЬСТВА

The paper discusses the importance of the transition of economic processes to a creative approach due to the fact that culture and creativity come to the fore, and business joins the trends set by creative communities, and, importantly, they are guided and monitored. In modern economic conditions, it becomes obvious that it is through the combination of culture and commerce, implemented in the creative industries, that it becomes possible to create a distinctive image of both companies, industries, and entire countries, regions and cities. There is a need to create an «ecosystem» of the creative economy, which would accommodate the creators. In the near future, in a world that is trying to recover from the pandemic and its unprecedented consequences, the path of economic growth based on creativity is one of the best. Strategic development of cultural and creative industries for a sustainable and inclusive recovery will bring long-term benefits, as well as be the basis for stimulating innovation, improving the quality of life and, thus, a more resilient economy with an improved ability to adapt to new conditions, in the face of challenges. But it is important to add that, while developing a creative economy, one should not be limited to creative industries – there is a high probability of obtaining a synergistic effect from the interaction of such industries and standard formats. In fact, it is the synergistic effect of such interaction that will provide new competitive advantages in a creative economy. The main focus is being rebuilt on the penetration of the creative economy into all spheres of production and provision of services. It is also important to note the potential impact of the creative economy on ensuring humancentred and inclusive development of various sectors of the economy. There is a need to build the logic of work, taking into account the integral semantic vision of the situation, avoiding the accepted patterns of action and relying on economic thinking, built on economic imagination.

Indole-functionalized cross-linked chitosan for effective uptake of uranium(vi) from aqueous solution

A new type of indole-modified cross-linked chitosan aerogel was successfully constructed, which possessed high adsorption capacity (847.5 mg g−1) for uranium via synergistic effect of cation-π interaction and complexation with easy regeneration.

Effect of Compost and Blended NPS Fertilizers on Yield and Yield Components of Food Barley (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Hordeum Vulgare &amp;lt;/i&amp;gt;L.) at Welmera District, Central Highland of Ethiopia

Soil nutrient depletion under losing of soil organic matter consequently continuous cultivation and low input are among the major issues that oblige the sustainable productivity of the yield of barley at Welmera area. A study was, hence, lead to explore the impact of compost and NPS fertilizer combination on yield and yield components of food barley at Holeta Agricultural Research Center on Nitisols in the central highlands of Ethiopia in 2019/2020 cropping season. To achieve this objective, a field trial was arranged in a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement. The treatments consisted of four rates of compost (0, 4, 8, and 12 t/ha), five rates of blended NPS fertilizer (0, 100, 150, 200, and 250 kg/ha) and blanket recommended NP fertilizer (60 kg/ha N + 69 kg/ha P₂O₅) as standard check. Food barley (HB-1304 variety) was used as a test crop. The result revealed that 50% day to heading, 90% day to maturity, plant height, and spike length were positively influenced by NPS fertilizer applied to the experimental plots. On the contrary, synergistic nutrient interaction effect sourced from compost and NPS fertilizer brought positive influence on yield parameters (total number of tillers, effective tillers per plant, and grain per spike, thousand-grain yield, biomass yield, straw yield, grain yield, and harvest index). Moreover, the collective use of compost at (8 t/ha) and mineral NPS fertilizer at (150 kg/ha) has a better-improved yield of the barley crop. Likewise, the outcome of the economic analysis showed that the application of 8 t/ha compost and 150 kg/ha NPS fertilizer gave the highest economic benefit of 70528 Ethiopian birr ha^-1 with the maximum marginal rate of return of 1504%. Hence, the current study recommends that to maintain soil fertility and sustain barley crop production combined use of 8 t/ha compost and 150 kg/ha NPS fertilizer was the best alternate integrated soil fertility management choice in the position of the sole application of inorganic fertilizers for barley production at this area reluctantly. Nevertheless, further studies at different locations for more than one cropping season ought to be considered to provide a more conclusive recommendation for sustainable food barley production.