Search results for: selective targeting

Authors: Asmaa Sokrat, Aykut Karaman

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Public and private spaces are major components of the morphology of the city. This research aims to study the interactions between public and private domains in terms of urban space in Casablanca. The research focuses on a general vision of a socio-spatial issue. It plans to identify the public, private, and transition (semi-public, semi-private) spaces as the constituent of the urban space. Moreover, the study investigates the link between public and private spaces with the social dimensions. Additionally, the research argues that the public space is a place of social interaction; as a reflection, this interaction is the intersection between urban space and social connectedness. Besides, social interaction can be the key to distinguishing between the public and private spheres. The methodological approach of the research is based on the literature review and field study. The article is targeting a case study on the old Medina of Casablanca, from daily use of the public and private spaces, the urban tissue, and the urban space types. In conclusion, the research exhibits that a public space could influence the privacy of the residents of a local urban area; thus, this privacy is inverted on the social interaction. This social interaction is the link between the urban space and social connectedness. Hence, this equation affects the typology of the private space.

Keywords: public sphere, private sphere, social connectedness, old Medina of Casablanca

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Authors: Illyas Md Isa, Mohamad Idris Saidin, Mustaffa Ahmad, Norhayati Hashim

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A highly selective and sensitive carbon paste electrode modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes and 2,6–diacetylpyridine-di-(1R)–(-)–fenchone diazine tetracarbonylmolybdenum(0) complex was used for determination of trace amounts of Cu(II) using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV). The influences of experimental variables on the proposed electrode such as pH, supporting electrolyte, preconcentration potential and time, and square wave parameters were investigated. Under optimal conditions, the proposed electrode showed a linear relationship with concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10–10 to 1.0 × 10– 6 M Cu(II) with a limit of detection 8.0 × 10–11 M. The relative standard deviation (n = 5) for a solution containing 1.0 × 10– 6 M of Cu(II) was 0.036. The presence of various cations (in 10 and 100-folds concentration) did not interfere. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) showed that the charge transfer at the electrode-solution interface was favourable. The proposed electrode was applied for the determination of Cu(II) in several water samples. Results agreed very well with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. The modified electrode was then proposed as an alternative for determination of Cu(II).

Keywords: chemically modified electrode, Cu(II), square wave anodic stripping voltammetry, tetracarbonylmolybdenum(0)

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Authors: Shereen Nadira Binti Jasney, Mohd Syuhaidi Bin Abu Bakar, Hafizah Binti Rosli

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This quantitative study explored factors that motivate the public to use YouTube; and the elements of criteria, which the public are looking for to accept new talents on User-Generated Content (UGC). There are mass inputs on the net but the publics are still being very selective in accepting new talents. Thus, it is important to identify determinant factors that contribute to the acceptance of new talents on UGC. A total number of 236 respondents have participated in this study using Simple Random Sampling and they were analyzed with descriptive analysis. The findings of this paper advocate that tremendous expansion; and diversification YouTube music offers are main factors that motivated public viewers in using YouTube on accepting new talents. It is also found that by being relatable and concurrently providing interesting contents, having the artist name and song title in the YouTube talent’s title video and the number of views and likes of the video are some of the criteria that the public are looking for in accepting new talents on the UGC. This paper introduces YouTube as a mean of discovering new talents in the music industry where the public, especially the younger generations, whom are actively engaged with current digital landscape that they’ve been presently silver-plated.

Keywords: motivation, criteria, new talents, UGC, YouTube

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Authors: Shih-Ting Fu

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This study aimed to investigate the influence of influencer marketing on fan satisfaction, purchase intention, and team identification. The research employed a questionnaire survey targeting the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The sample included 205 participants, encompassing both existing CPBL fans and individuals with no prior baseball viewing habits. The survey assessed the impact of influencer marketing on participants' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to the CPBL. Additionally, it evaluated team identification, fan satisfaction, and purchase intention. Data analysis using SPSS software aimed to identify correlations and effects among the variables. Findings revealed that influencer marketing has a significant positive impact on fan satisfaction, purchase intention, and team identification. Notably, further analysis indicated that the personal characteristics and charisma of influencers significantly influenced fans' perceptions, leading to increased purchase intention and satisfaction. This effect was even stronger than the influence of influencers' expertise and information dissemination regarding sports events or products.

Keywords: influencer marketing, fan satisfaction, team identification, purchase intention, Chinese professional baseball league (CPBL)

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Authors: Arpan Kumar Nayak, Debabrata Pradhan

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A simple, single-step and one-pot hydrothermal method was employed to synthesize WO₃-SnO₂ mixed nanostructured metal oxides at 200°C in 12h. The SnO₂ nanoparticles were found to be uniformly decorated on the WO₃ nanoplates. Though it is widely known that noble metals such as Pt, Pd doping or decoration on metal oxides improve the sensing response and sensitivity, we varied the SnO₂ concentration in the WO₃-SnO₂ mixed oxide and demonstrated their performance in ammonia, ethanol and acetone sensing. The sensing performance of WO₃-(x)SnO₂ [x = 0.27, 0.54, 1.08] mixed nanostructured oxides was found to be not only superior to that of pristine oxides but also higher/better than that of reported noble metal-based sensors. The sensing properties (selectivity, limit of detection, response and recovery times) are measured as a function of operating temperature (150-350°C). In particular, the gas selectivity is found to be highly temperature-dependent with optimum performance obtained at 200°C, 300°C and 350°C for ammonia, ethanol, and acetone, respectively. The present results on cost effective WO₃-SnO₂ sensors can find potential application in human breath analysis by noninvasive detection.

Keywords: gas sensing, mixed oxides, nanoplates, ammonia, ethanol, acetone

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Authors: Shafiq Alam, Yen Ning Lee

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Conventional hydrometallurgical processing of metals involves the use of large quantities of toxic chemicals. Realizing a need to develop sustainable technologies, extensive research studies are being carried out to recover and recycle base, precious and rare earth metals from their pregnant leach solutions (PLS) using green chemicals/biomaterials prepared from biomass wastes derived from agriculture, marine and forest resources. Our innovative research showed that bio-adsorbents prepared from such biomass wastes can effectively adsorb precious metals, especially gold after conversion of their functional groups in a very simple process. The highly effective ‘Adsorption-coupled-Reduction’ phenomenon witnessed appears promising for the potential use of this gold biosorption process in the mining industry. Proper management and effective use of biomass wastes as value added green chemicals will not only reduce the volume of wastes being generated every day in our society, but will also have a high-end value to the mining and mineral processing industries as those biomaterials would be cheap, but very selective for gold recovery/recycling from low grade ore, leach residue or e-wastes.

Keywords: biosorption, hydrometallurgy, gold, adsorption, reduction, biomass, sustainability

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Authors: M. Benhaliliba, A. Ben Ahmed, C.E. Benouis, A.Ayeshamariam

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The properties of nonlinear optical NLOs are examined, and the results confirm the 2.19 eV HOMO-LUMO mismatch. In the Al-Pc cluster, certain functional bond lengths and bond angles have been observed. The Quantum chemical method (DFT and TD-DFT) and Vibrational spectra properties of AlPc are studied. X-ray pattern reveals the crystalline structure along with the (242) orientation of the AlPc organic thin layer. UV-Vis shows the frequency selective behavior of the device. The absorbance of such layer exhibits a high value within the UV range and two consecutive peaks within visible range. Spin coating is used to make an organic diode based on the Aluminium-phthalocynanine (AlPc-Cl) molecule. Under dark and light conditions, electrical characterization of Ag/AlPc/Si/Au is obtained. The diode's high rectifying capability (about 1x104) is subsequently discovered. While the height barrier is constant and saturation current is greatly reliant on light, the ideality factor of such a diode increases to 6.9 which confirms the non-ideality of such a device. The Cheung-Cheung technique is employed to further the investigation and gain additional data such as series resistance and barrier height.

Keywords: AlPc-Cl organic material, nonlinear optic, optical filter, diode

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Authors: Ngozi Nwogu, Godson Osueke, Mamdud Hossain, Edward Gobina

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An unconventional composite inorganic ceramic membrane capable in carbon dioxide emission decline was fabricated and tested at laboratory scale to develop in conformism to various environmental guidelines to mitigate the effect of global warming. A review of the existing membrane technologies for carbon capture including the relevant gas transport mechanisms are presented and discussed. Single gas separation experiments using silica modified ceramic membrane with internal diameter 20mm, outside diameter 25mm and length of 368mm deposited on a macro porous supported reactor.was carried out to investigate individual gas permeation behaviours at different pressures and membrane efficiency after a dip coating method. Nitrogen, Carbon dioxide, Argon, Oxygen and Methane pure gases were used to investigate their individual permeation rates at various pressures. Results show that the gas flow rate increases with pressure drop. However at above a pressure of 3bar, CO2 permeability ratio to than the other gases indicated control of a more selective surface adsorptive transport mechanism.

Keywords: carbon dioxide, composite membranes, permeability, transport mechanisms

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Authors: Wen-Yu Chen, Chia-Yuan Hsu, Sasinee Vongsrikul

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The present study is to explore the perception of Taiwanese females towards medical tourism in Thailand for the development of applicable marketing strategy, integrating travel motivation and cosmetic surgery trend to attract potential medical tourists from Taiwan. Since previous studies relevant to this research issue are limited, qualitative study is firstly employed by using one focus group interview and in-depth interviews with Taiwanese females. Moreover, the present research collected questionnaires from 290 Taiwanese females to provide greater understanding of research results. The top three factors that affect Taiwanese females’ decision for not going to Thailand for medical tourism are “physicians and nurses cannot speak Chinese”, “low quality of the cosmetic surgery product that I want to do”, and “the county does not have laws to protect medical tourists’ right”. The finding of the empirical part would suggest the area in medical tourism industry which Thailand should promote and emphasizes in order to increase its presence as a hub for cosmetic surgery and attract Taiwanese female market. Therefore, the study contributes to the potential development of marketing strategy for medical tourism, specifically in the area of cosmetic surgery in Thailand while targeting Taiwan market.

Keywords: Thailand, Taiwanese female tourists, medical tourism, cosmetic surgery

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Authors: Hiroyuki Aoki

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Molecular imaging has attracted much attention recently, which visualizes biological molecules, cells, tissue, and so on. Among various in vivo imaging techniques, the fluorescence imaging method has been widely employed as a useful modality for small animals in pre-clinical researches. However, the higher signal intensity is needed for highly sensitive in vivo imaging. The objective of the current study is the development of a fluorescent imaging agent with high brightness for the tumor imaging of a mouse. The strategy to enhance the fluorescence signal of a bio-imaging agent is the increase of the absorption of the excitation light and the fluorescence conversion efficiency. We developed a nano-particle fluorescence imaging agent consisting of a π-conjugated polymer emitting a fluorescence signal in a near infrared region. A large absorption coefficient and high emission intensity at a near infrared optical window for biological tissue enabled highly sensitive in vivo imaging with a tumor-targeting ability by an EPR (enhanced permeation and retention) effect. The signal intensity from the π-conjugated fluorescence imaging agent is larger by two orders of magnitude compared to a quantum dot, which has been known as the brightest imaging agent. The π-conjugated polymer nano-particle would be a promising candidate in the in vivo imaging of small animals.

Keywords: fluorescence, conjugated polymer, in vivo imaging, nano-particle, near-infrared

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Authors: Tanushree Jaitly, Shailendra Gupta, Leila Taher, Gerold Schuler, Julio Vera

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Genomics-based personalized medicine is a promising approach to fight aggressive tumors based on patient's specific tumor mutation and expression profiles. A remarkable case is, dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, in which tumor epitopes targeting patient's specific mutations are used to design a vaccine that helps in stimulating cytotoxic T cell mediated anticancer immunity. Here we present a computational pipeline for epitope-based personalized cancer vaccines using patient-specific haplotype and cancer mutation profiles. In the workflow proposed, we analyze Whole Exome Sequencing and RNA Sequencing patient data to detect patient-specific mutations and their expression level. Epitopes including the tumor mutations are computationally predicted using patient's haplotype and filtered based on their expression level, binding affinity, and immunogenicity. We calculate binding energy for each filtered major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-peptide complex using docking studies, and use this feature to select good epitope candidates further.

Keywords: cancer immunotherapy, epitope prediction, NGS data, personalized medicine

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Authors: R. Reshma srilakshmi, S. Shalini, P. Yogeeswari, D. Sriram

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Lysine aminotransferase is a crucial enzyme for dormancy in M. tuberculosis. It is involved in persistence and antibiotic resistance. In present work, we attempted to develop benzthiazole derivatives as lysine aminotransferase inhibitors. In our attempts, we also unexpectedly arrived at an interesting compound 21 (E)-4-(5-(2-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-2-cyanovinyl)thiophen-2-yl)benzoic acid which even though has moderate activity against persistent phase of mycobacterium, it has significant potency against active phase. In the entire series compound 22 (E)-4-(5-(2-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)-2-cyanovinyl)thiophen-2-yl)isophthalic acid emerged as potent molecule with LAT IC50 of 2.62 µM. It has a significant log reduction of 2.9 and 2.3 fold against nutrient starved and biofilm forming mycobacteria. It was found to be inactive in MABA assay and M.marinum induced zebra fish model. It is also devoid of cytotoxicity. Compound 22 was also found to possess bactericidal effect which is independent of concentration and time. It was found to be effective in combination with Rifampicin in 3D granuloma model. The results are very encouraging as the hit molecule shows activity against active as well as persistent forms of tuberculosis. The identified hit needs further more pharmacokinetic and dynamic screening for development as new drug candidate.

Keywords: benzothiazole, latent tuberculosis, LAT, nutrient starvation

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Authors: Lenka Morávková, Zuzana Sedláková, Jiří Vejražka, Věra Jandová, Pavel Izák

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The need to minimize the costs of biogas upgrading leads to a continuous search for new and more effective membrane materials. The improvement of biogas combustion efficiency is connected with polar gases removal from a feed stream. One of the possibilities is the use of water–swollen polyamide layer of thin film composite reverse osmosis membrane for simultaneous carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide removal. Transport properties and basic characteristics of a thin film composite membrane were compared in the term of appropriate water-swollen membrane choice for biogas upgrading. SEM analysis showed that the surface of the best performing composites changed significantly upon swelling by water. The surface changes were found to be a proof that the selective skin polyamide layer was swollen well. Further, the presence of a sufficient number of associative centers, namely amido groups, inside the upper layer of the hydrophilic thin composite membrane can play an important role in the polar gas separation from a non-polar gas. The next key factor is a high porosity of the membrane support.

Keywords: biogas upgrading, carbon dioxide separation, hydrogen sulphide separation, water-swollen membrane

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Authors: Jingyuan Hu, Zhandong Liu

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CRISPR genome editing technology has transformed molecular biology by accurately targeting and altering an organism’s DNA. Despite the state-of-art precision of CRISPR genome editing, the imprecise mutation outcome and off-target effects present considerable risk, potentially leading to unintended genetic changes. Targeted deep sequencing, combined with bioinformatics sequence alignment, can detect such unwanted mutations. Nevertheless, the classical method, Needleman-Wunsch (NW) algorithm may produce false alignment outcomes, resulting in inaccurate mutation identification. The key to precisely identifying CRISPR-induced mutations lies in determining optimal parameters for the sequence alignment algorithm. Hidden Markov models (HMM) are ideally suited for this task, offering flexibility across CRISPR systems by leveraging forward-backward algorithms for parameter estimation. In this study, we introduce CRISPR-HMM, a statistical software to precisely call CRISPR-induced mutations. We demonstrate that the software significantly improves precision in identifying CRISPR-induced mutations compared to NW-based alignment, thereby enhancing the overall understanding of the CRISPR gene-editing process.

Keywords: CRISPR, HMM, sequence alignment, gene editing

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Authors: Mina Mortazavi, Pezhman Sharafi

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Cold-formed steel sections are popular construction materials as structural or non-structural elements. The objective of this paper is to propose an optimisation method for open cross sections targeting the maximum nominal axial strength. The cross sections considered in the optimisation process should all meet a determined critical global buckling load to be considered as a candidate for optimisation process. The maximum dimensions of the cross section are fixed and limited into a predefined rectangular area. The optimisation process is repeated for different available coil thicknesses of 1 mm, 2.5 mm and 3 mm to determine the optimum thickness according to the cross section buckling behaviour. A simple-simple boundary is assumed as end conditions. The number of folds is limited to 20 folds to prevent extra complicated sections. The global buckling load is considered as Euler load and is determined according to the moment of inertia of the cross-section with a constant length. The critical buckling loads are obtained using Finite Strip Method. The results of the optimisation analysis are provided, and the optimum cross-section within the considered range is determined.

Keywords: shape optimisation, buckling, cold formed steel, finite strip method

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Authors: Zuzana Sedláková, Magda Kárászová, Jiří Vejražka, Lenka Morávková, Pavel Izák

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Membrane separations are mentioned frequently as a possibility for CO2 capture. Selectivity of ionic liquid membranes is strongly determined by different solubility of separated gases in ionic liquids. The solubility of separated gases usually varies over an order of magnitude, differently from diffusivity of gases in ionic liquids, which is usually of the same order of magnitude for different gases. The present work evaluates the selection of an appropriate ionic liquid for the selective membrane preparation based on the gas solubility in an ionic liquid. The current state of the art of CO2 capture patents and technologies based on the membrane separations was considered. An overview is given of the discussed transport mechanisms. Ionic liquids seem to be promising candidates thanks to their tunable properties, wide liquid range, reasonable thermal stability, and negligible vapor pressure. However, the uses of supported liquid membranes are limited by their relatively short lifetime from the industrial point of view. On the other hand, ionic liquids could overcome these problems due to their negligible vapor pressure and their tunable properties by adequate selection of the cation and anion.

Keywords: biogas upgrading, carbon dioxide separation, ionic liquid membrane, transport properties

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Authors: Blessing A. Aderibigbe

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Combination therapy is a treatment approach that is used to prevent the emergence of drug resistance. This approach is used for the treatment of many chronic and infectious diseases. Potentiating agents are currently explored in combination therapy, resulting in excellent therapeutic outcomes. Breast cancer and malaria are two chronic conditions responsible globally for high death rates. In this research, a class of polymer-drug conjugates containing potentiating agents with either antimalarial or anticancer drugs were prepared by Michael Addition Polymerization reaction and ring-opening polymerization reaction. Conjugation of potentiating agents with bioactive compounds into the polymers resulted in conjugates with good water solubility, highly selective and non-toxic. In vitro cytotoxicity and in vitro antiplasmodial evaluation on the conjugates revealed that the conjugates were more effective when compared to the free drugs. The drug release studies further showed that the release profile of the drugs from the conjugates was sustained. The findings revealed the potential of polymer-drug conjugates to overcome drug toxicity and drug resistance, which is common with the currently used antimalarial and anticancer drugs.

Keywords: anticancer, antimalarials, combination therapy, polymer-drug conjugates

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Authors: Megan E. Davies

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As substance use become an increasing prevalent occurrence amongst young people, prevention programs designed specifically for children and adolescents are required to protect against associated cognitive, psychological, and behavioural issues. Further, young people from marginalized backgrounds would highly benefit from culturally adapted substance use prevention programs. The first and second phase of the Life Skills Training (LST) program, the Maskwacis Life Skills Training (MLST) program, the Bii-Zin-Da-De-Da (BZDDD; “Listening to One Another”), and a culturally sensitive smoking prevention program, all of which have been adapted to Canadian Indigenous cultures and are applied within the school and family settings, are discussed. Additionally, comorbid disorders, at-risk personality types, and motivating factors associated with substance use amongst Canadian children and adolescents, specifically Indigenous youth, are explored through the application of a biopsychosocial model. Requital efforts being made in Canada towards Indigenous communities are described within a historical context, and substance use prevention programs targeting Indigenous children and adolescents are compared. Through this lens, suggestions are presented for future research on preventative interventions directed towards substance use within minority groups.

Keywords: early intervention, cultural appropriateness, life skills training, smoking prevention, drug and alcohol prevention

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Authors: Deniz Sahin

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This study provides a literature review of the special issue on wastewater treatment technologies, especially membrane technologies. Currently, wastewater is a serious and increasing worldwide problem with an adverse effect on the environment and living organisms. For this reason, many technologies have been developed to treat wastewater before discharging it to water bodies. We have been discussed membrane technologies to remove contaminants from wastewater such as heavy metals, dyes, pesticides, etc., which represent the main pollutants in wastewater. All the properties of these technologies including performance, economics, simplicity, and operability are also compared with other wastewater treatment technologies. The conventional water treatment technologies have the disadvantages of low separation efficiency, high energy consumption, and strict operating temperature. To overcome these difficulties, membrane technologies have been developed and used in wastewater treatment. Membrane technology uses a selectively permeable membrane to remove suspended and dissolved solids from water. This membrane is a very thin film of synthetic organic or inorganic materials, that can allow a very selective separation between a mixture and its components. Examples of membrane technologies include microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF), reverse osmosis (RO), electrodialysis (ED), gas separation, etc. Most of these technologies have been used extensively for the treatment of heavy metal wastewater. For instance, wastewater that contains Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Pb²⁺, Zn²⁺ was treated by ultrafiltration technology. It was shown that complete removal of metal ions could be achieved.

Keywords: industrial pollution, membrane technologies, metal ions, wastewater

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Authors: Vishal Kumar, Soumitra Satapathi

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Föster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a powerful technique used to probe close-range molecular interactions. Physically, the FRET phenomenon manifests as a dipole–dipole interaction between closely juxtaposed fluorescent molecules (10–100 Å). Our effort is to employ this FRET technique to make a prototype device for highly sensitive detection of environment pollutant. Among the most common environmental pollutants, nitroaromatic compounds (NACs) are of particular interest because of their durability and toxicity. That’s why, sensitive and selective detection of small amounts of nitroaromatic explosives, in particular, 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) has been a critical challenge due to the increasing threat of explosive-based terrorism and the need of environmental monitoring of drinking and waste water. In addition, the excessive utilization of TNP in several other areas such as burn ointment, pesticides, glass and the leather industry resulted in environmental accumulation, and is eventually contaminating the soil and aquatic systems. To the date, high number of elegant methods, including fluorimetry, gas chromatography, mass, ion-mobility and Raman spectrometry have been successfully applied for explosive detection. Among these efforts, fluorescence-quenching methods based on the mechanism of FRET show good assembly flexibility, high selectivity and sensitivity. Here, we report a FRET-based sensor system for the highly selective detection of NACs, such as TNP, DNT and TNT. The sensor system is composed of a copolymer Poly [(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-co-(Boc-Trp-EMA)] (RP) bearing tryptophan derivative in the side chain as donor and dansyl tagged copolymer P(MMA-co-Dansyl-Ala-HEMA) (DCP) as an acceptor. Initially, the inherent fluorescence of RP copolymer is quenched by non-radiative energy transfer to DCP which only happens once the two molecules are within Förster critical distance (R0). The excellent spectral overlap (Jλ= 6.08×10¹⁴ nm⁴M⁻¹cm⁻¹) between donors’ (RP) emission profile and acceptors’ (DCP) absorption profile makes them an exciting and efficient FRET pair i.e. further confirmed by the high rate of energy transfer from RP to DCP i.e. 0.87 ns⁻¹ and lifetime measurement by time correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) to validate the 64% FRET efficiency. This FRET pair exhibited a specific fluorescence response to NACs such as DNT, TNT and TNP with 5.4, 2.3 and 0.4 µM LODs, respectively. The detection of NACs occurs with high sensitivity by photoluminescence quenching of FRET signal induced by photo-induced electron transfer (PET) from electron-rich FRET pair to electron-deficient NAC molecules. The estimated stern-volmer constant (KSV) values for DNT, TNT and TNP are 6.9 × 10³, 7.0 × 10³ and 1.6 × 104 M⁻¹, respectively. The mechanistic details of molecular interactions are established by time-resolved fluorescence, steady-state fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy confirmed that the sensing process is of mixed type, i.e. both dynamic and static quenching as lifetime of FRET system (0.73 ns) is reduced to 0.55, 0.57 and 0.61 ns DNT, TNT and TNP, respectively. In summary, the simplicity and sensitivity of this novel FRET sensor opens up the possibility of designing optical sensor of various NACs in one single platform for developing multimodal sensor for environmental monitoring and future field based study.

Keywords: FRET, nitroaromatic, stern-Volmer constant, tryptophan and dansyl tagged copolymer

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Authors: Shashikant R. Kuchekar, Shivaji D. Pulate, Vishwas B. Gaikwad

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A simple and selective method is developed for solvent extraction spectrophotometric determination of antimony(III) using O-Methylphenyl Thiourea (OMPT) as a sensitive chromogenic chelating agent. The basis of proposed method is formation of antimony(III)-OMPT complex was extracted with 0.0025 M OMPT in chloroform from aqueous solution of antimony(III) in 1.0 M perchloric acid. The absorbance of this complex was measured at 297 nm against reagent blank. Beer’s law was obeyed up to 15µg mL-1 of antimony(III). The Molar absorptivity and Sandell’s sensitivity of the antimony(III)-OMPT complex in chloroform are 16.6730 × 103 L mol-1 cm-1 and 0.00730282 µg cm-2 respectively. The stoichiometry of antimony(III)-OMPT complex was established from slope ratio method, mole ratio method and Job’s continuous variation method was 1:2. The complex was stable for more than 48 h. The interfering effect of various foreign ions was studied and suitable masking agents are used wherever necessary to enhance selectivity of the method. The proposed method is successfully applied for determination of antimony(III) from real samples alloy and synthetic mixtures. Repetition of the method was checked by finding relative standard deviation (RSD) for 10 determinations which was 0.42%.

Keywords: solvent extraction, antimony, spectrophotometry, real sample analysis

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Authors: Takeyuki Suzuki, Ismiyarto, Da-Yang Zhou, Kaori Asano, Hiroaki Sasai

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The development of catalytic asymmetric reaction is important for the synthesis of natural products. To construct the multiple stereogenic centers, the desymmetrization of meso compounds is powerful strategy for the synthesis of chiral molecules. Oxidative desymmetrization of meso diols using chiral iridium catalyst provides a chiral hydroxyl ketone. The reaction is practical and an environmentally benign method which does not require the use of stoichiometric amount of heavy metals. This time we report here catalytic asymmetric synthesis of catalponol based on tandem coupling of meso-diols and an aldehyde. The tandem reaction includes oxidative desymmetrization of meso-diols, aldol condensation with an aldehyde. The reaction of meso-diol, benzaldehyde in the presence of a catalytic amount of chiral Ir complex and CsOH in tetrahydrofuran afforded the desired benzylidene ketone in 82% yield with 96% ee (enantiomeric excess). Next, we applied this benzylidene ketone derivative to the synthesis of catalponol. The corresponding benzylidene ketone was obtained in 87% yield with 99% ee. Finally, catalponol was synthesized by the regio- and stereo-selective reduction of dienone moiety in good yield.

Keywords: catalponol, desymmetrization, iridium, oxidation

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Authors: Jairo A. Muñoz, Alexander Komissarov, Alexander Gromov

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In this investigation, a hypoeutectic AlSi11Cu alloy was printed. This alloy was obtained in powder form with an average particle size of 40 µm. Bars 20 mm in diameter and 100 mm in length were printed with the building direction parallel to the bars' longitudinal direction. The microstructural characterization demonstrated an Al matrix surrounded by a Si network forming a coral-like pattern. The microstructure of the alloy showed a heterogeneous behavior with a mixture of columnar and equiaxed grains. Likewise, the texture indicated that the columnar grains were preferentially oriented towards the building direction, while the equiaxed followed a texture dominated by the cube component. On the other hand, the as-printed material strength showed higher values than those obtained in the same alloy using conventional processes such as casting. In addition, strength and ductility differences were found in the printed material, depending on the measurement direction. The highest values were obtained in the radial direction (565 MPa maximum strength and 4.8% elongation to failure). The lowest values corresponded to the transverse direction (508 MPa maximum strength and 3.2 elongation to failure), which corroborate the material anisotropy.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, aluminium alloy, melting pools, tensile test

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Authors: Wojcieh Drożdż, Artur R. Stefankiewicz

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Ambidentate ligands can be described as organic structures possessing two different types of coordination units within a single molecule. These features enable the coordination of two different metal ions, which can directly affect the properties of obtained complexes as well as further application. In the current research, we focused on a β-diketone ligand containing terminally located pyridine units in order to assemble cage-like architectures. This will be possible due to the peculiar geometry of the proposed ligands, called "banana-shape", widely used in the synthesis of sophisticated metallosupramolecular architectures. Each of the coordination units plays an important role in cage assembly. Pyridine units enable the coordination of square-planar metal ions (Pd²⁺, Pt²⁺), forming a positively charged cage. On the other hand, the β-diketone group provides the possibility of post-modification, including the introduction of additional functional groups with specific properties (sensing, catalytic, etc.). Such obtained cages are of great interest due to their application potential, including storage or transport of guest molecules, selective detection/separation of analytes as well as efficient catalytic processes.

Keywords: metalloligands, coordination cages, nanoreactors, β-diketonate complexes

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Authors: Baali Mohamed

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Campylobacter are among the most common human bacterial gastroenteritis cases in many countries, and poultry meat is considered as a major source of human campylobacteriosis. This study is conducted, on one hand, to determine the prevalence of infection with thermotolerant Campylobacter both in broiler flocks and men, and to study their sensitivity to antibiotics, and secondly for comparing the two methods of isolation of Campylobacter thermotolerant: technique of passive filtration and selective isolation technique using the Karmali medium. This study examined 310 samples, 260 of avian origin and 50 of human origin, during the period from June 2011 to March 2012. Detecting Campylobacter thermotolerant is conducted using the standard ISO 10272. The results show that 66% (95% CI : 60-72%) of avian samples are contaminated with C. TT (172/260). The study of antibiotic susceptibility revealed that all strains (100%) are resistant to ampicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, 90% to erythromycin, 66.3% to tetracycline, 53.3% to chloramphenicol and 46.7% to enrofloxacin. However, no resistance is noted to gentamycin. In human samples, three strains of C. thermotolerant are detected, with a contamination rate of 6%. The results of the statistical analysis using the chi-square test (χ2) showed that Campylobacter infection, on the one hand, had seasonal variation with a summer peak (p < 0.05) and, on the other hand, are not influenced by the size of the herd.

Keywords: thermotolerant campylobacter, broiler, man, Karmali

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Authors: Jamal Ayour, Mohamed Benichou

Abstract:

Fruit quality is one of the main concerns of consumers, producers, and distributors. The evolution of apricot fruits undergoes a strong acceleration during maturation, and the rapidity of post-harvest evolution of the ripe fruit is particularly selective in the apricot. The objective of this study is to identify new cultivars with an interesting quality as well as a better yield allowing a more prolonged production over time. The evaluation of the fruit quality of new apricot cultivars from the Marrakech region was carried out by analyzing their physical and biochemical attributes during ripening. The results obtained clearly show a great diversity of the physicochemical attributes of the selected clones. Also, some genotypes of apricots showed contents of sugars, organic acids (vitamin C) and β carotene significantly higher than those of the most famous varieties of Morocco: Canino, Delpatriarca, and Maoui. Principal component analysis (PCA), taking into account the maturity stage and the diversity of cultivars, made it possible to define three groups with similar physicochemical attributes. The results of this study are of great use, particularly for the selection of genotypes with a better quality of fruit, both for consumption or industrial processing and with important contents of physicochemical attributes.

Keywords: apricot, acidity, carotenoids, color, sugar, quality, vitamin C

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Hashaam Akhtar

Abstract:

IFNλR1 and IL10R2 collectively construct a heterodimer, which is an acknowledged functional receptor for all type III interferons (IFNs). Expression of IFNλR1 is highly tissue specific, which can help in making type III IFNs a drug of choice as comparable to its analogue, type I IFNs, for treating hepatitis C in the near future. Although, expression of IFNλR1 also varies with the concentration of type I IFNs, but in this study it was shown that the expression of IFNλR1 varies with the protein titers of IFN-α, IFN-λ3 and the newly discovered IFN-λ4. High dosage of IFN-α reduces the expression of IFNλR1 in HepG2 cells, which can affect the antiviral activity of type III IFNs in vivo. We premeditated an experimental strategy to differentiate monocytes into dendritic cells (DCs), type I and type II macrophages in vitro and quantified the expression of the IFNλR1 by qPCR. The exposure of newly discovered IFN-λ4 to macrophages and DCs also raised the expression of its own receptor, which shows that expression of IFN-λ4 protein in hepatitis C patient may augment type I treatment and help ease off viral titers. The results of this study may contribute in some understanding towards the mechanisms involved in the selective expression of IFNLR1 and exceptionalities associated with the receptor.

Keywords: IFNLR1, Interferon Lambda 4 (IFN-λ4), Mononuclear Phagocyte Cells (MPCs), expression

Procedia PDF Downloads 378

Authors: Ainoa Guinart, Maria Korpidou, Daniel Doellerer, Cornelia Palivan, Ben L. Feringa

Abstract:

Stimuli responsive systems arise from the need to meet unsolved needs of current molecular drugs. Our study presents the design of a delivery system with high spatiotemporal control and tuneable release profiles. We study the incorporation of a hydrophobic synthetic molecular motor into PDMS-b-PMOXA block copolymer vesicles to create a self-assembled system. We prove their successful incorporation and selective activation by low powered visible light (λ 430 nm, 6.9 mW). We trigger the release of a fluorescent dye with high release efficiencies over sequential cycles (up to 75%) with the ability to turn on and off the release behaviour on demand by light irradiation. Low concentrations of photo-responsive units are proven to trigger release down to 1 mol% of molecular motor. Finally, we test our system in relevant physiological conditions using a lung cancer cell line and the encapsulation of an approved drug. Similar levels of cell viability are observed compared to the free-given drugshowing the potential of our platform to deliver functional drugs on demand with the same efficiency and lower toxicity.

Keywords: molecular motor, polymer, drug delivery, light-responsive, cancer, selfassembly

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Kashif Jabbar

Abstract:

Milk adulteration is a global concern, and the current study was plan to synthesize Selenium nanoparticles by green method using plant extract of garlic, Allium Sativum, and to characterize Selenium nanoparticles through different analytical techniques and to apply Selenium nanoparticles as fast and easy technique for the detection of salicylic acid in milk. The highly selective, sensitive, and quick interference green synthesis-based sensing of possible milk adulterants i.e., salicylic acid, has been reported here. Salicylic acid interacts with nanoparticles through strong bonding interactions, hence resulting in an interruption within the formation of selenium nanoparticles which is confirmed by UV-VIS spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. This interaction in the synthesis of nanoparticles resulted in transmittance wavelength that decrease with the increasing amount of salicylic acid, showing strong binding of selenium nanoparticles with adulterant, thereby permitting in-situ fast detection of salicylic acid from milk having a limit of detection at 10-3 mol and linear coefficient correlation of 0.9907. Conclusively, it can be draw that colloidal selenium could be synthesize successfully by garlic extract in order to serve as a probe for fast and cheap testing of milk adulteration.

Keywords: adulteration, green synthesis, selenium nanoparticles, salicylic acid, aggregation

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Dechrit Maneetham

Abstract:

Pick and place task is one among the most important tasks in industrial field handled by 'Selective Compliance Assembly Robot Arm' (SCARA). Repeatability with high-speed movement in a horizontal plane is a remarkable feature of this type of manipulator. The challenge of design SCARA is the difficulty of achieving stability of high-speed movement with the long length of links. Shorter links arm can move more stable. This condition made the links should be considered restrict then followed by restriction of operation area (workspace). In this research, authors demonstrated on expanding SCARA robot’s workspace in horizontal area via linear sliding actuator that embedded to base link of the robot arm. With one additional prismatic joint, the previous robot manipulator with 3 degree of freedom (3-DOF), 2 revolute joints and 1 prismatic joint becomes 4-DOF PRRP manipulator. This designation increased workspace of robot from 0.5698m² performed by the previous arm (without linear actuator) to 1.1281m² by the proposed arm (with linear actuator). The increasing rate was about 97.97% of workspace with the same links' lengths. The result of experimentation also indicated that the operation time spent to reach object position was also reduced.

Keywords: kinematics, linear sliding actuator, manipulator, control system

Procedia PDF Downloads 256