Morphological Analysis Techniques Research Articles

Synthesize and characterization of a novel sol–gel-driven Bi2O3 semiconductor: complete degradation and fast photocatalytic activity for paracetamol

Abstract The pollutants are getting released fluently as a waste from the pharmaceutical pollutants leading to the decrease in quality of water. The widespread occurrence of pharmaceutical pollutants poses a serious threat to the environment and human health. Besides, today carbon dioxide emissions and other forms of pollution appear to be a critical global issue. In this study, Bi2O3 catalyst has been prepared via co-precipitation (CP) and a facile sol–gel (SG) methods used as photocatalyst for the degradation of paracetamol (PAR) under different light sources. The preparation method has significant effect on the optical and structural properties of the catalysts. The tetragonal phase of Bi2O3, the presence of more surface OH groups and lower band gap energy remarkably improved the sun-light-driven photoactivity of PAR. The photocatalysts have been characterized by some structural and morphological analysis techniques and optical analysis techniques. In addition, zeta potential (ZP) measurements were performed to explain the impact of the initial pH of solution on photocatalytic degradation. Identification of PAR and the reaction intermediates was determined using Liquid Chromatography-Mass/Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technique. Higher photocatalytic activity was obtained with the Bi2O3-SG (1:2) catalyst at pH 5 compared to the activity of Bi2O3-CP. Moreover, Bi2O3-SG (1:2) achieved the highest photocatalytic activity at pH 3. The photocatalytic activity was enhanced, and the time required for 100% degradation of PAR was reduced from 60 min to 30 min and 15 min under UVB irradiation and directly sun light irradiation, respectively. The highest reaction rate (0.086 (min−1)) were obtained in 15 min with the Bi2O3-SG (1:2) catalyst. The results showed TOC removal could be achieved in 60 min 99.19 and 88.97% for Bi2O3-SG and Bi2O3-CP, respectively. In general, sol–gel-driven Bi2O3 as a flower and needle-like morphology, can reveal excellent opportunities in the photocatalytic technology. Graphical Abstract

A mineralogical and geochemical investigation of archaeological pottery shards found at Bukit Komel, Sungai Tembeling, Pahang

This study presents the results of mineralogical and geochemical analyses carried out on prehistoric pottery of Bukit Komel in Sungai Tembeling, Pahang. The Bukit Komel archaeological site, which was excavated in 2022, has produced a significant number of earthenware potteries mainly in the form of body and rim shards. Since information on the prehistory pottery of Sungai Tembeling is limited, it was decided that morphological and analytical techniques should be performed in order to gain insights on pottery physical characteristics, technology and source. The morphological analysis technique used on Bukit Komel pottery involves the study of pottery shape, size, colour and design while the scientific analysis comprises X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), thin section petrography and image analysis methods. Based on geochemical and mineralogical results, this study concludes that the Bukit Komel pottery was locally made by using clay sourced from Sungai Tembeling. This was also confirmed by the findings of comparative study conducted between the Bukit Komel pottery and clay extracted from Sungai Tembeling. Similar minerals found amidst the pottery and clay are quartz, albite, muscovite and microcline. Technology-wise, the Bukit Komel pottery was hand-made using the paddle and anvil technique, and sand-tempered. Pottery shapes include flat- and round-bottomed vessels with plain, red-slipped, impressed and incised designs. Based on colour analysis, the Bukit Komel pottery was very likely fired using the open-firing technique at low temperatures, perhaps between 400 °C and 600 °C.

The structure of massive star-forming galaxies from JWST and ALMA: Dusty, high-redshift disc galaxies

We present an analysis of the JWST NIRCam and MIRI morphological and structural properties of 80 massive (log10(M*[M⊙]) = 11.2 ± 0.1) dusty star-forming galaxies at z = 2.7−0.7+1.2, identified as sub-millimetre galaxies (SMGs) by ALMA, which have been observed as part of the JWST PRIMER project. To compare the structure of these massive, active galaxies to more typical, less actively star-forming galaxies, we defined two comparison samples. The first of 850 field galaxies matched in specific star formation rate and redshift and the second of 80 field galaxies matched in stellar mass. From the visual classification of the SMGs, we have identified 20 ± 5% as candidate late-stage major mergers, a further 40 ± 10% as potential minor mergers, and 40 ± 10% that have comparatively undisturbed disc-like morphologies, with no obvious massive neighbours on ≲20–30 kpc (projected) scales. These rates are comparable to those for the field samples and indicate that the majority of the sub-millimetre-detected galaxies are not late-stage major mergers, but have interaction rates similar to the general field population at z ∼ 2–3. Through a multi-wavelength morphological analysis, using parametric and non-parametric techniques, we establish that SMGs have comparable near-infrared, mass-normalised sizes to the less active population, R50F444W = 2.7 ± 0.2 kpc versus RF444W50 = 3.1 ± 0.1 kpc, but exhibit lower Sérsic indices, consistent with bulge-less discs: nF444W = 1.1 ± 0.1, compared to nF444W = 1.9 ± 0.1 for the less active field galaxies and nF444W = 2.8 ± 0.2 for the most massive field galaxies. The SMGs exhibit greater single-Sérsic fit residuals and their morphologies are more structured at 2 μm relative to 4 μm when compared to the field galaxies. This appears to be caused by significant structured dust content in the SMGs and we find evidence for dust reddening as the origin of the morphological differences by identifying a strong correlation between the F200W−F444W pixel colour and the 870 μm surface brightness using high-resolution ALMA observations. We conclude that SMGs and both massive and less massive star-forming galaxies at the same epochs share a common disc-like structure, but the weaker bulge components (and potentially lower black hole masses) of the SMGs result in their gas discs being less stable. Consequently, the combination of high gas masses and instabilities triggered either secularly or by minor external perturbations results in higher levels of activity (and dust content) in SMGs compared to typical star-forming galaxies.

Ultrasound-guided core-needle biopsy for extra-ocular orbital soft tissue tumours: a minimally invasive alternative to surgical biopsy

ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility, accuracy, and safety of ultrasound (US)-guided coaxial core-needle biopsy (CNB) for histomolecular diagnosis of extra-ocular orbital soft tissue tumours as a minimally invasive alternative to surgical biopsy. MethodsThis retrospective study was conducted at a single Comprehensive Cancer Center and included all consecutive patients referred to our center between 2015 and 2023 for the diagnosis and treatment of orbital soft tissue tumours. All patients underwent US-guided transconjunctival coaxial CNB using a semiautomatic 18-gauge biopsy gun. Pathological analysis included morphological analysis, immunostainings, and molecular biology techniques when required. ResultsA total of 26 patients were included consisting of 21 adults (median age: 64 years, range: 24-93 years), 1 adolescent (17 years), and 4 children (aged 4 weeks, 5 weeks, 26 months, and 6 years). Tumour largest diameters ranged from 11 to 57 mm (median 23 mm). The overall feasibility of CNB was 88% (23/26), and it was 100% (5/5) in children. The histological accuracy was 91% (21/23), and its safety was 96% (25/26). Molecular biology analyses were requested in 9 out of 23 cases and were successful in all instances. The final diagnoses included hematological malignancies (n = 8), carcinomas (n = 5), metastases (n = 4), sarcomas (n = 4), and benign mesenchymal tumours (n = 5). ConclusionsThis study supports the use of US-guided coaxial CNB for the pathological and molecular diagnosis of orbital soft tissue tumours in both children and adults. This technique shows promise as a minimally invasive alternative to open surgical biopsy.

A new technique mapping submerged beachrocks using low-altitude UAV photogrammetry, the Altınova region, northern coast of the Sea of Marmara (NW Türkiye)

High-resolution aerial imagery captured from low altitudes enables the detailed reconstruction of the geomorphological features of submerged beachrocks and the quantification of their topographic complexity. These coastal deposits serve as vital indicators for estimating past sea-level positions and deformation, contributing to our understanding of climate and tectonic processes across various temporal and spatial scales. This study focuses on submerged beachrocks identified in the nearshore coastal area of Tekirdağ city (Altınova), and the existing knowledge regarding such geological formations is limited.Situated in the tectonically active western Marmara region, the coastal zone of The Tekirdağ-Altınova is influenced by the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), which has significantly shaped the coastline over time. Utilizing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) data, we successfully isolated submerged beachrocks from other coastal deposits, identifying them at depths of 2 m below current sea level and extending approximately 5 km along the coast. This identification was facilitated by integrating high-resolution aerial imagery with morphological analysis techniques, specifically employing structure-from-motion photogrammetry to generate a dense point cloud for bathymetric mapping.The utilization of cost-effective UAV imagery facilitated the efficient monitoring of beachrocks. Geographic information systems (GIS) and the TerraceM application were employed to analyze the high-resolution bathymetry data (with a 5 cm resolution), enabling the precise estimation of shoreline angles and associated errors. These shoreline angles, which correspond to the past sea levels high stand, were mapped using swath profiles oriented perpendicular to the isobaths. Our findings reveal that the majority of submerged beachrocks exhibit shoreline angles between ∼ −0.7 m and −1.1 m. This study presents innovative methodologies for mapping the height and spatial distribution of beachrocks, as well as for reliably estimating reliable uplift rates in the nearshore area of Tekirdağ-Altınova.

Correlations of gray matter volume with peripheral cytokines in Parkinson's disease

IntroductionPeripheral cytokine levels may affect specific brain volumes. Few studies have examined this possible relationship. ObjectiveIn a case–control study, we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) voxel-based morphological analysis techniques to examine the relationship between gray matter volume changes and cognitive, motor and emotional dysfunction as well as between gray matter volume changes and peripheral blood cytokine levels. MethodA total of 134 subjects, comprising 66 PD patients and 68 healthy controls, were recruited. Peripheral venous blood was collected to measure the concentrations of 12 cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, IL-12p70, IL-17, IFN-α, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. All the subjects also underwent MRI, where 3D-T1-weighted MR images were used for the analysis. In addition, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE), Unified Parkinson's disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA), and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores were assessed in PD patients. Statistical parameter mapping 12 software was used for the statistical analysis of the images. ResultCompared with control patients, PD patients presented decreased gray matter volume (GMV) in the bilateral frontal lobe, temporal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, insula, and right cerebellar lobule VIII. Regional GMV in the temporal lobe, parietal lobe, and cerebellum was correlated with MoCA, MMSE, UPDRS, HAMA, and HAMD scores in PDs. In addition, the regional GMV in PDs was correlated with the concentrations of cytokines, including IL-4, IL-6, IFN-γ, and TNF-α. The IL-6 concentration was negatively correlated with the UPDRS-IV score. ConclusionPD patients exhibit gray matter atrophy in a wide range of brain regions, which are symmetrically distributed and mainly concentrated in the frontal and temporal lobes, and these changes may be linked to motor disorders and neuropsychiatric manifestations. Cytokine concentrations in peripheral blood are correlated with regional gray matter volume in PDs, and the IL-6 level affects gray matter volume in the left precentral gyrus and the manifestation of motor complications.

ECLiPSE: a versatile classification technique for structural and morphological analysis of 2D and 3D single-molecule localization microscopy data

Single-molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) has gained widespread use for visualizing the morphology of subcellular organelles and structures with nanoscale spatial resolution. However, analysis tools for automatically quantifying and classifying SMLM images have lagged behind. Here we introduce Enhanced Classification of Localized Point clouds by Shape Extraction (ECLiPSE), an automated machine learning analysis pipeline specifically designed to classify cellular structures captured through two-dimensional or three-dimensional SMLM. ECLiPSE leverages a comprehensive set of shape descriptors, the majority of which are directly extracted from the localizations to minimize bias during the characterization of individual structures. ECLiPSE has been validated using both unsupervised and supervised classification on datasets, including various cellular structures, achieving near-perfect accuracy. We apply two-dimensional ECLiPSE to classify morphologically distinct protein aggregates relevant for neurodegenerative diseases. Additionally, we employ three-dimensional ECLiPSE to identify relevant biological differences between healthy and depolarized mitochondria. ECLiPSE will enhance the way we study cellular structures across various biological contexts.

Experimental Exploration of Cellulose Material for Battery Separators and Artificial Neural Network-Driven Predictive Modeling for Enhanced Thermal Safety in Electric Vehicles

Abstract Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the most reliable energy storage devices nowadays because of their high energy density, long life cycle, and low self-discharge rate. But still, the safety concern is a significant problem in the area. When talking about LIB safety, thermal effects come first; this leads to thermal runaway, fires, and explosions. The critical component of LIB that has a great role in safety is the separator, which serves the purpose of preventing direct contact between the positive and negative electrodes while enabling the movement of lithium ions. This work aimed to find naturally available cellulose material for the LIB separator and to predict the performance of the material by artificial neural network (ANN) for better control of thermal problems that happen with traditional polymer separator materials. The cellulose derived from banana peels is isolated and characterized for its potential use as a separator material. The study conducts the four selected characterization approaches, scanning electronics microscopy (SEM) with three different resolutions to assess the morphology of the extracted cellulose, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to measure the heat flow with temperature change on the cellulose and the value obtained 231.22 J/g at a maximum temperature of 323.18 °C, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to examine the weight loss of the cellulose with respect to temperature variation, which results in a weight loss of 59.37% when the temperature reaches 235 °C, which is considered favorable, and a differential thermal analysis (DTA) was used to know the temperature difference in the banana peel cellulose (BPC), which results in a temperature of 330.23 °C. This morphological and thermal analysis technique for the BPC is used to determine the heat-related properties of the BPC, including phase transitions, thermal stability, and reaction. In addition, these results show BPC as an alternative material for separators in comparison to the existing polymer-based materials. Furthermore, these experimental results are used to train an ANN to predict the performance of BPC material using a binary classification. Because of the training process, 97.58% accuracy was achieved.

Mechanistic insights into molybdenum immobilization within geopolymer waste form

Molybdenum (Mo) tends to form highly mobile, non-sorbing complex redox species, which complicates its immobilization and encapsulation in cement and glass matrices. This study explores the potential of incorporating Mo into an alternative green cementitious material known as geopolymer (GP). By employing X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), morphological analysis, and nitrogen adsorption-desorption techniques, we obtained comprehensive insights into the chemical behavior of Mo and its impact on the morphology and structure of the GP matrix. XRD and TGA analysis demonstrated that increasing Mo content significantly enhances the crystallinity and thermal stability of the GP matrix, attributed to Mo field effects. High-resolution SEM, TEM, and EDS mapping revealed the structural encapsulation of Mo-rich cavities within the GP waste form. A decrease in leaching rates with higher Mo content, alongside reduced pore volume and pore size, underscores the material's chemical durability. Post-leaching characterizations confirmed that the GP retains excellent structural strength with minimal changes in mesoporosity and surface area. This resilience highlights the effectiveness of GPs in immobilizing non-sorbing species like MoO32−, making them ideal for long-term waste management.

Indigenous fungi with the ability to biodegrade hydrocarbons in diesel-contaminated soil are isolated and selected using a simple methodology

Soil contamination by hydrocarbons is a problem that causes severe damage to the environment and public health. Technologies such as bioremediation using native microbial species represent a promising and environmentally friendly alternative for decontamination. This study aimed to isolate indigenous fungi species from the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and evaluate their diesel degrading capacity in soils contaminated with crude oil. Seven filamentous fungi were isolated after enrichment cultivation from soils collected from contaminated sites and subjected to growth analysis on diesel nutrient media. Two fungal species were pre-selected and identified by morphological genus analysis and molecular techniques as Trichoderma asperellum and Penicillium pedernalense. The microdilution test showed that T. asperellum presented better fungal growth in high diesel concentrations than P. pedernalense. In addition, T. asperellum was able to degrade 41 and 54% of the total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) content present in soil artificially contaminated with diesel (10 g/kg of soil) in 7 and 14 days of incubation, respectively. In higher diesel concentration (1000 g of diesel/kg of soil) the TPH degradation reached 26%, 45%, and 48%, in 9, 16, and 30 d, respectively. The results demonstrated that the selected species was suitable for diesel degradation. We can also conclude that the isolation and selection process proposed in this work was successful and represents a simple alternative for obtaining native species with hydrocarbon degradation capacity, for use in the bioremediation process in the recovery of contaminated areas in an ecologically acceptable way.

3D scanning technique for morphological analysis of behind armour blunt trauma

In this paper, a 3D scanning method was used to measure behind armour blunt trauma (BABT). Ballistic tests were performed using two different bimetallic projectiles against armour panels consisting of 36 plies of DYNEEMA® SB21, mounted on blocks of red Weible® plastilina. The deformed surfaces of the witness material were meticulously scanned to isolate the imprinted indentations, allowing a comprehensive topological analysis to estimate various BABT quantifiers. In addition, detailed examinations of the deformed projectiles and damaged armour panels were carried out, including counting of the number of perforated plies. The added value of using 3D scanning techniques to more precisely assess the performance of armour panels in mitigating BABT was demonstrated. This approach facilitates more accurate measurements compared to conventional methods. It provides not only the depth of the imprinted cavities, but also the access to a more complete set of topological information to potentially further the understanding of ballistic trauma mechanics. In addition, these records allow the information contained in the imprints to be preserved for possible additional analysis.

Advancement in Fabrication and Characterization Techniques of Nanocomposites.

Advancements in the field of materials research have unveiled numerous unparalleled features, such as mechanical properties, clinical advances, interfacial strengthening, and porosities, providing a wide range of applications. The employment of any material begins with fabrication and characterization, demanding expertise for the effective execution of the investigation. This review encompasses the details of the working principles of some significant and frequently used fabrication and characterization techniques for various material categories, including pellets and coatings. The discussion begins with techniques for fabricating materials for various applications. A brief overview of coating synthesis methods can provide intriguing information for researchers in the field of coating fabrication. The report highlights the portrayal of morphological and physiochemical analysis techniques, followed by the estimation of the elastic modulus using nanoindentation and dynamic modulus mapping testing for the materials. Additionally, the review covers theoretical models for observing the elastic moduli of the materials. The review depicts tribological investigations of the materials, aiming to provide insight into fretting wear, pin-on-disc, and microscratch testing. The fundamentals of electrochemical characterization are presented, including the appraisal of linear polarization and potentiodynamic polarization as well as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Furthermore, the magnetic behavior was examined by using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and the estimation of magnetic domains in the materials was conducted through magnetic force microscopy. Thus, the report suggests that readers, especially beginners, can gain a comprehensive understanding of the extensive prospects associated with the fundamental principles of material synthesis and characterization.

Effective Governance Through Crowdsourcing: A Strategic Framework for Empowered Participation

Crowdsourcing in governance has gained widespread popularity and has become a powerful tool to leverage the collective intelligence of citizens for the nation's social welfare. Despite the growing importance of transforming government–citizen relationships, the design aspect is highly unstructured and fragmented. Thus, an in-depth understanding of the notion is essential, given its expanding importance in practice. This article aims to identify and describe elements and design principles phase-wise to improve the government's potential to derive value from crowdsourcing initiatives for civic participation and collaborative governance. Synthesizing all elements and principles in a strategic crowdsourcing framework is a novel conceptual configuration that contributes to the overall understanding of designing crowdsourcing initiatives in the government sector. The article adopts a systematic literature review and a morphological analysis technique to identify and synthesize all the elements and principles of designing crowdsourcing initiatives. Three crowdsourcing initiatives of the government sector were investigated to evaluate the framework in a practical setting and comprehend its efficacy. Government agencies can ensure enhanced interactivity and bidirectionality by emphasizing the nuances of elements and design principles for executing crowdsourcing initiatives that create epistemic and economic value.

Optofluidic-based cell multi-axis controllable rotation and 3D surface imaging

The controlled rotation of individual cells plays a crucial role in enabling three-dimensional multi-angle observation of cellular structure, function, and dynamic processes. Reported cell rotation techniques often struggle to strike a balance between high precision and simple control, and they exhibit limited control flexibility, typically achieving only uniaxial cell rotation. In this study, we propose a cell rotation technique in three dimensions based on optofluidics, which utilizes optical tweezers to immobilize the cell and exploits the asymmetry of the surrounding flow to drive cell rotation. By adjusting the focal position of the optical tweezers, cells can be positioned within various flow profiles, enabling control of the rotation speed, rotation direction, and rotation axis of cells. This approach simplifies the manipulation procedure, achieving desirable control precision and greater rotation flexibility. Using our approach, multi-angle surface imaging projections of target cells can be rapidly obtained, followed by capturing the cell contour data from the images. By combining the cell contour data with corresponding angular position information, we have reconstructed the 3D surface of the target cell. We have employed this technique in experiments for the analysis of red blood cell morphology. Based on the constructed 3D surface images of diverse-shaped red blood cells, we quantified structural parameters including cell surface area, volume, sphericity, and surface roughness, which demonstrates the potential application of this cell rotation technique for cellular morphological analysis.

What future for marine renewable energy in Portugal and Spain up to 2030? Forecasting plausible scenarios using general morphological analysis and clustering techniques

Marine renewables – which include mainly wave, tidal and current energy – have been hailed, for the past decades, as a potential solution to support the decarbonization of the society. Portugal and Spain have been traditionally avid for the testing and demonstration of such technologies, but the implementation of marine capacity is yet marginal, and there are many uncertainties regarding the future of the sector in the region. The main objective of this article is to show a future projection of marine renewable energies in both Iberian and Macaronesian regions for 2030 to research and technological development communities. To obtain this future projection, General Morphological Analysis and advanced clustering techniques have been used. The results are divided into five groups of potential scenarios, which vary significantly due to different political, social and technological parameters. The influence of variables such as innovation speed, infrastructure implementation, and comprehensive metocean data availability emerges as pivotal determinants shaping the sector's course. The knowledge from this systematization is expected to be used by researchers, technicians, governments or by any other agency involved in marine renewable energies in Spain and Portugal, as a guidance for their new projects and research lines.

Fabrication of B–CuO nanostructure and B -CuO/rGO binary nanocomposite: A comparative study in the context of photodegradation and antimicrobial activity assessment

This paper reports the synthesis of a cost-effective, stable, and reproducible Boron-doped copper oxide (B–CuO)/Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) binary nanocomposite. A conventional wet chemical synthetic route was used to fabricate the binary nanocomposite. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies were performed to check the phase purity and crystallinity, scanning electron microscopic (SEM) technique for structural and morphological analysis, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) for surface composition, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) for functional group identification. The experimental results confirmed the formation of the pure nanocomposite. The photocatalytic activity of B–CuO and B–CuO/rGO binary nanocomposite was tested for Methylene blue (MB) dye degradation under sunlight. The B–CuO/rGO binary nanocomposite exhibited improved photocatalytic competence (98%) as compared to B–CuO (85%) in 90 minutes. The antimicrobial activity was measured against four bacterial strains viz. Escherichia coli (E.Coli), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (B. amyloliquifaciens), Pseudomonas putida (P. putida), Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) and one fungal strains Rhizoctonia solani (R. solani). The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was also calculated and it was found that B–CuO/rGO binary nanocomposite exhibited an excellent MIC of 62.2 μg/mL, against the gram-negative E. Coli.

A high-precision multi-dimensional microspectroscopic technique for morphological and properties analysis of cancer cell

Raman and Brillouin scattering are sensitive approaches to detect chemical composition and mechanical elasticity pathology of cells in cancer development and their medical treatment researches. The application is, however, suffering from the lack of ability to synchronously acquire the scattering signals following three-dimensional (3D) cell morphology with reasonable spatial resolution and signal-to-noise ratio. Herein, we propose a divided-aperture laser differential confocal 3D Geometry-Raman-Brillouin microscopic detection technology, by which reflection, Raman, and Brillouin scattering signals are simultaneously in situ collected in real time with an axial focusing accuracy up to 1 nm, in the height range of 200 μm. The divided aperture improves the anti-noise capability of the system, and the noise influence depth of Raman detection reduces by 35.4%, and the Brillouin extinction ratio increases by 22 dB. A high-precision multichannel microspectroscopic system containing these functions is developed, which is utilized to study gastric cancer tissue. As a result, a 25% reduction of collagen concentration, 42% increase of DNA substances, 17% and 9% decrease in viscosity and elasticity are finely resolved from the 3D mappings. These findings indicate that our system can be a powerful tool to study cancer development new therapies at the sub-cell level.

Resorbable membrane design: In vitro characterization of silver doped-hydroxyapatite-reinforced XG/PEI semi-IPN composite

In this study, the production and characterization of silver-doped hydroxyapatite (AgHA) reinforced Xanthan gum (XG) and Polyethyleneimine (PEI) reinforced semi-interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) biocomposite, known to be used as bone cover material for therapeutic purposes in bone tissue, were performed. XG/PEI IPN films containing 2AgHA nanoparticles were produced by simultaneous condensation and ionic gelation. Characteristics of 2AgHA-XG/PEI nanocomposite film were evaluated by structural, morphological (SEM, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, TM, and Raman) and biological activity analysis (degradation, MTT, genotoxicity, and antimicrobial activity) techniques. In the physicochemical characterization, it was determined that 2AgHA nanoparticles were homogeneously dispersed in the XG/PEI-IPN membrane at high concentration and the thermal and mechanical stability of the formed film were high. The nanocomposites showed high antibacterial activity against Acinetobacter Baumannii (A.Baumannii), Staphylococcus aureus (S.aureus), and Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans). L929 exhibited good biocompatibility for fibroblast cells and was determined to support the formation of MCC cells. It was shown that a resorbable 2AgHA-XG/PEI composite material was obtained with a high degradation rate and 64% loss of mass at the end of the 7th day. Physico-chemically developed biocompatible and biodegradable XG-2AgHA/PEI nanocomposite semi-IPN films possessed an important potential for the treatment of defects in bone tissue as an easily applicable bone cover. Besides, it was noted that 2AgHA-XG/PEI biocomposite could increase cell viability, especially in dental-bone treatments for coating, filling, and occlusion.

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes-titanium dioxide nanocomposite for flat plate solar collectors applications

This study focuses on the thermal and rheological properties of a hybrid fluid consisting of Titanium Dioxide/Chemically functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes (TiO2 / CF-MWCNTs) suspended in distilled water (DW) for use in flat plate solar collectors applications. The optimal hybridization ratio of CF-MWCNTs: TiO2 was 40:60. To evaluate thermal efficiency, solar collector tests were conducted using varying flow rates “2LPM, 3LPM, and 4 LPM” according to the ASHRAE’93-2010’ principle. The study examined the effects of various weight percentages of TiO2/CF-MWCNTs add up to the DW as working base fluid to determine the optimal concentration for enhancing the performance of the “FPSC” efficiency. The experimental results showed that using TiO2/CF-MWCNTs in the working fluid improved the collector energy efficiency by approximately 9% and 26% at low and high temperature differences, respectively, compared to distilled water (DW). The effectiveness of the composed nanoadditives was valuation through using various morphological analysis techniques, including Ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), X-ray diffraction, Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM). The study found that the rating of the performance index “PI” were totally greater than “1” and increased as the weight concentration of TiO2/CF-MWCNTs increased up to 1.10 for 0.1 wt% with a flow rate of 4 LPM, indicating a higher positive effect on energy efficiency than negative effects on pressure drop. The findings revealed that by incorporating only “0.1 wt%” of TiO2/CF-MWCNTs and using a flow rate of 4 LPM, the optimal conditions were achieved, resulted in a remarkable improvement in flat plate solar collector (FPSC) efficiency up to 84%. In comparison to the conventional working fluid employed in FPSC, the results demonstrated a significant improvement.

Timber vernacular structures: ‘Serender’ Turkish storage buildings in Eastern Black Sea Region

ABSTRACT Cultural heritage structures reflect the lifestyles and creative aspects of our ancestors. Indeed, they contain the cultural roots of today’s societies and connect the past to the present. There is no doubt that architectural and structural evaluation plays important role in the conservation of these structures for the future. This paper focuses on an architectural evaluation and current usage of the specific timber vernacular structure, the Turkish Storage Building ‘Serender’, which has not yet been protected in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The architectural assessment includes morphological analysis, material, and construction techniques of the timber storage buildings. We believe that this assessment will contribute to the preservation of the authenticity and integrity of these structures, and also will contribute to sustaining the skills of craftworker and their traditional and cultural knowledge.