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Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing technology have demonstrated significant promise across several domains within the medical and healthcare sectors. This technique has numerous uses in the field of healthcare. One of the primary challenges in implementing ChatGPT in healthcare is the requirement for precise and up-to-date data. In the case of the involvement of sensitive medical information, it is imperative to carefully address concerns regarding privacy and security when using GPT in the healthcare sector. This paper outlines ChatGPT and its relevance in the healthcare industry. It discusses the important aspects of ChatGPT's workflow and highlights the usual features of ChatGPT specifically designed for the healthcare domain. The present review uses the ChatGPT model within the research domain to investigate disorders associated with the hepatic system. This review demonstrates the possible use of ChatGPT in supporting researchers and clinicians in analyzing and interpreting liver-related data, thereby improving disease diagnosis, prognosis, and patient care., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Biomedical implants are crucial for enhancing various human physiological functions. However, they are susceptible to microbial contamination after implantation, posing a risk of implant failure. To address this issue, hydrogel-based coatings are used, but achieving both effective antibacterial properties and stable adhesion remains challenging. This study introduces a hybrid hydrogel network made from Tannic Acid (TA) and Poly-l-Lysine (PLL), cross-linked through ionic and hydrogen bonds, which imparts adhesive and anti-infective properties. The physicochemical analysis revealed that the hydrogels exhibited significant porosity, favorable mechanical characteristics, and demonstrated in vitro enzymatic biodegradation. Moreover, the hydrogels demonstrated adhesion to various substrates, including Ti alloy with an adhesive strength of 42.5 kPa, and retained their integrity even after immersion in water for a minimum of 10 days. The modified Ti surfaces significantly reduced protein adsorption (∼70 %), indicating antifouling properties. The hydrogels prevented bacterial adhesion on titanium surfaces through a "contact-kill" mode of action and inhibited biofilm formation by around 94.5 % for Staphylococcus aureus and 90.8 % for Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The modified Ti retained biofilm inhibitory effects for at least six days without significant performance decline. In vitro cytotoxicity assay confirmed the biocompatibility of the hydrogels with NIH3T3 cells. Overall, these results highlight the competence of hybrid hydrogels as effective coatings for Ti implants, offering strong adhesion and biofilm prevention to mitigate implant-related infections., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

It is imperative to develop affordable multi-functional catalysts based on transition metals for various applications, such as dye degradation or the production of green energy. For the first time, we propose a simple chemical bath method to create a SnO 2 -BiOBr-rGO heterojunction with remarkable photocatalytic and electrocatalytic activities. After introducing graphene oxide (GO) into the SnO 2 -BiOBr nanocomposite, the charge separation, electron mobility, surface area, and electrochemical properties were significantly improved. The X-ray diffraction results show the successful integration of GO into the SnO 2 -BiOBr nanocomposite. Systematic material characterization by scanning and transmission electron microscopy showed that the photocatalysts are composed of uniformly distributed SnO 2 nanoparticles (∼11 nm) on the regular nanosheets of BiOBr (∼94 nm) and rGO. The SnO 2 -BiOBr-rGO photocatalyst has outstanding photocatalytic activity when it comes to reducing a variety of organic dyes like rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB). Within 90 minutes of visible light illumination, degradation of a maximum of 99% for MB and 99.8% for RhB was noted. The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance was also tested for the ternary nanocomposite, and significantly lower overpotential values of 0.34 and -0.11 V ( vs. RHE) at 10 mA cm -2 were observed for the OER and HER, respectively. Furthermore, the Tafel slope values are 34 and 39 mV dec -1 for the OER and HER, respectively. The catalytic degradation of dyes with visible light and efficient OER and HER performance offer this work a broad spectrum of potential applications.

The intriguing network of antibody-antigen (Ab-Ag) interactions is highly governed by environmental perturbations and the nature of biomolecular interaction. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) have potential applications in developing protein-adsorption-based sensors and nano-scale materials. Therefore, characterizing PPIs in the presence of a nanomaterial at the molecular level becomes imperative. The present work involves the investigation of antiferritin-ferritin (Ab-Ag) protein interactions under the influence of tungsten disulfide quantum dots (WS2 QDs). Isothermal calorimetry and contact angle measurements validated the strong influence of WS2 QDs on Ab-Ag interactions. The interfacial signatures of nano-bio-interactions were evaluated using sum frequency generation vibration spectroscopy (SFG-VS) at the air-water interface. Our SFG results reveal a variation in the tilt angle of methyl groups by ∼12° ± 2° for the Ab-Ag system in the presence of WS2 QDs. The results illustrated an enhanced ordering of water molecules in the presence of QDs, which underpins the active role of interfacial water molecules during nano-bio-interactions. We have also witnessed a differential impact of QDs on Ab-Ag by raising the concentration of the Ab-Ag combination, which showcased an increased inter-molecular interaction among the Ab and Ag molecules and a minimal influence on the methyl tilt angle. These findings suggest the formation of stronger and ordered Ab-Ag complexes upon introducing WS2 QDs in the aqueous medium and signify the potentiality of WS2 QDs relevant to protein-based sensing assays., (© 2024 Author(s). Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.)

Quantification of bacterial colonies on an agar plate is a daily routine for a microbiologist to determine the number of viable microorganisms in the sample. In general, microbiologists perform a visual assessment of bacterial colonies which is time-consuming (takes 2 min per plate), tedious, and subjective. Some automatic counting algorithms are developed that save labour and time, but their results are affected by the non-illumination on an agar plate. To improve this, the present manuscript aims to develop an inexpensive and efficient device to acquire S.aureus images via an automatic counting method using image processing techniques under real laboratory conditions. The proposed method (P_ColonyCount) includes the region of interest extraction and color space transformation followed by filtering, thresholding, morphological operation, distance transform, and watershed technique for the quantification of isolated and overlapping colonies. The present work also shows a comparative study on grayscale, K, and green channels by applying different filter and thresholding techniques on 42 images. The results of all channels were compared with the score provided by the expert (manual count). Out of all the proposed method (P_ColonyCount), the K channel gives the best outcome in comparison with the other two channels (grayscale and green) in terms of precision, recall, and F-measure which are 0.99, 0.99, and 0.99 (2 h), 0.98, 0.99, and 0.98 (4 h), and 0.98, 0.98, 0.98 (6 h) respectively. The execution time of the manual and the proposed method (P_ColonyCount) for 42 images ranges from 19 to 113 s and 15 to 31 s respectively. Apart from this, a user-friendly graphical user interface is also developed for the convenient enumeration of colonies without any expert knowledge/training. The developed imaging device will be useful for researchers and teaching lab settings., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The author declares that they have no known competing financial interest or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Lycopene consumption reduces risk and incidence of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Tomatoes are a rich source of phytochemical compounds including lycopene as a major constituent. Lycopene estimation using high-performance liquid chromatography is time-consuming and expensive., Objective: To develop artificial intelligence models for prediction of lycopene in raw tomatoes using 14 different physicochemical parameters including salinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), firmness, pH, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), colour values on Hunter scale (L, a, b), total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and antioxidant activity (AOA)., Material and Methods: The post-harvest data acquisition was collected through investigation for more than 100 raw tomatoes stored for 15 days. Linear multivariate regression (LMVR), principal component regression (PCR) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were developed by splitting data set into train and test datasets. The training of models was performed using 10-fold cross validation (CV)., Results: Principal component analysis showed strong positive association between lycopene, colour value 'a', TPC, TFC and AOA. The R 2 (CV), root mean square error (RMSE) (CV) and RMSE (Test) for best LMVR model was observed to be at 0.70, 8.48 and 9.69 respectively. The PCR model revealed R 2 (CV) at 0.59, RMSE (CV) at 8.91 and RMSE (Test) at 10.17 while PLSR model revealed R 2 (CV) at 0.60, RMSE (CV) at 9.10 and RMSE (Test) at 10.11., Conclusion: Results of the present study show that epidemiological studies suggest fully ripened tomatoes are most beneficial for consumption to ensure recommended daily intake of lycopene content., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Respiratory rate (RR) monitoring is essential in neonatal intensive care units. Despite its importance, RR is still monitored intermittently by manual counting instead of continuous monitoring due to the risk of skin damage with prolonged use of contact electrodes in preterm neonates and false signals due to displacement of electrodes. Thermal imaging has recently gained significance as a non-contact method for RR detection because of its many advantages. However, due to the lack of information in thermal images, the selection and tracking of the region of interest (ROI) in thermal images for neonates are challenging. This paper presents the integration of visible (RGB) and thermal (T) image sequences for the selection and tracking of ROI for breathing rate extraction. The deep-learning based tracking-by-detection approach is employed to detect the ROI in the RGB images, and it is mapped to the thermal images using the RGB-T image registration. The mapped ROI in thermal spectrum sequences gives the respiratory rate. The study was conducted first on healthy adults in different modes, including steady, motion, talking, and variable respiratory order. Subsequently, the method is tested on neonates in a clinical settings. The findings have been validated with a contact-based reference method.The average absolute error between the proposed and belt-based contact method in healthy adults reached 0.1 bpm and for more challenging conditions was approximately 1.5 bpm and 1.8 bpm, respectively. In the case of neonates, the average error is 1.5 bpm, which are promising results. The Bland-Altman analysis showed a good agreement of estimated RR with the reference method RR and this pilot study provided the evidence of using the proposed approach as a contactless method for the respiratory rate detection of neonates in clinical settings., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Photo-oxidase nanozymes are emerging enzyme-mimicking materials that produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon light illumination and subsequently catalyze the oxidation of the substrate. Carbon dots are promising photo-oxidase nanozymes due to their biocompatibility and straightforward synthesis. Carbon dot-based photo-oxidase nanozymes become active for ROS generation under UV or blue light illumination. In this work, sulfur and nitrogen doped carbon dots (S,N-CDs) were synthesized by solvent-free, microwave assisted technique. We demonstrated that sulfur, nitrogen doping of carbon dots (band gap of 2.11 eV) has enabled photo-oxidation of 3,3,5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) with extended visible light (up to 525 nm) excitation at pH 4. The photo-oxidase activities by S,N-CDs produce Michaelis-Menten constant (K m ) of 1.18 mM and the maximum initial velocity (V max ) as 4.66×10 -8  Ms -1 , under 525 nm illumination. Furthermore, visible light illumination can also induce bactericidal activities with growth inhibition of Escherichia coli (E. coli). These results demonstrate that S,N-CDs can increase intracellular ROS in the presence of LED light illumination., (© 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are hybrid materials constructed by the linkage between an inorganic secondary building unit and an organic linker. A number of MOFs are luminescent in nature and can be structurally tuned for desirable geometry, surface functionality, and porosity. Luminescent MOFs have been endorsed for various biosensing applications. Lectins and carbohydrates have been used for the development of simple and convenient biosensing and bioimaging tools. Lectins are mostly present on the surface of microorganisms where they aid in pathogenesis. Due to this, they can be potential targets for a microbial biosensor. The present study, for the first time, explores the usage of a carbohydrate-conjugated FeMOF (Glyco-MOF) bioprobe for the selective determination of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. NH 2 -MIL-53(Fe) MOF was synthesized via a room temperature protocol and separately conjugated with galactose and mannose sugars via glutaraldehyde chemistry. The synthesized bioprobe is validated for structural integrity, luminescent nature, stability, and analyte assay. Electron microscopy studies validated the unhindered MOF's morphology and structural integrity, after bioconjugation. The synthesized bioprobes were able to detect P. aeruginosa and E. coli up to respective detection limits of 202 and 8 CFU/mL, respectively. The bioprobes are selective even in co-presence of possible interferants as well as being environmentally stable., (© 2022. Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing field with profound applications in different domains, particularly in food science and technology. Nanoparticles (NPs) synthesis, an integral part of nanotechnology-based applications, is broadly classified into chemical, physical and biosynthesis methods. Chemically sensitive and energy-intensive procedures employed for NPs synthesis are some of the limits of traditional chemical approaches. Recent research has focused on developing easy, nontoxic, cost-effective, and environment-friendly NPs synthesis during the last decade. Biosynthesis approaches have been developed to achieve this goal as it is a viable alternative to existing chemical techniques for the synthesis of metallic nanomaterials. Fruit peels contain abundant bioactive compounds including phenols, flavonoids, tannins, triterpenoids, steroids, glycosides, carotenoids, anthocyanins, ellagitannins, vitamin C, and essential oils with substantial health benefits, anti-bacterial and antioxidant properties, generally discarded as byproduct or waste by the fruit processing industry. NPs synthesized using bioactive compounds from fruit peel has futuristic applications for an unrealized market potential for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical delivery. Numerous studies have been conducted for the biosynthesis of metallic NPs such as silver (AgNPs), gold (AuNPs), zinc oxide, iron, copper, palladium and titanium using fruit peel extract, and their synthesis mechanism have been reported in the present review. Additionally, NPs synthesis methods and applications of fruit peel NPs have been discussed.

Grazing-incidence reflective optics are commonly used in synchrotron radiation and free-electron laser facilities to transport and focus the emitted X-ray beams. To preserve the imaging capability at the diffraction limit, the fabrication of these optics requires precise control of both the residual height and slope errors. However, all the surface figuring methods are height based, lacking the explicit control of surface slopes. Although our preliminary work demonstrated a one-dimensional (1D) slope-based figuring model, its 2D extension is not straightforward. In this study, a novel 2D slope-based figuring method is proposed, which employs an alternating objective optimization on the slopes in the x- and y-directions directly. An analytical simulation revealed that the slope-based method achieved smaller residual slope errors than the height-based method, while the height-based method achieved smaller residual height errors than the slope-based method. Therefore, a hybrid height and slope figuring method was proposed to further enable explicit control of both the height and slopes according to the final mirror specifications. An experiment to finish an elliptical-cylindrical mirror using the hybrid method with ion beam figuring was then performed. Both the residual height and slope errors converged below the specified threshold values, which verified the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed ideas., (open access.)

In this work, carbon dots (CDs) were synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method using citric acid and ethylene diamine, and covalently functionalized with antibodies for the sensing of progesterone hormone. The structural and morphological analysis reveals that the synthesized CDs are of average size (diameter 8-10 nm) and the surface functionalities are confirmed by XPS, XRD and FT-IR. Further graphene oxide (GO) is used as a quencher due to the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism, whereas the presence of the analyte progesterone turns on the fluorescence because of displacement of GO from the surface of CDs effectively inhibiting FRET efficiency due to the increased distance between donor and acceptor moieties. The linear curve is obtained with different progesterone concentrations with 13.8 nM detection limits (R 2 = 0.974). The proposed optical method demonstrated high selectivity performance in the presence of structurally resembling interfering compounds. The PL intensity increased linearly with the increased progesterone concentration range (10-900 nM) under the optimal experimental parameters. The developed level-free immunosensor has emerged as a potential platform for simplified progesterone analysis due to the high selectivity performance and good recovery in different samples of spiked water.

This manuscript reports the design and fabrication of conducting plastibody based electrochemical sensor for the detection of Salmonella typhimurium. The conductive plastibody was fabricated on an Indium Tin Oxide surface through potentiostatic method (electrodeposition for 400 s), wherein a polymer mix of pyrrole, lactic acid, ammonium chloride, and sodium dodecyl sulfate was employed for the electrodeposition. Various template removal methods were tested and electrochemical cleaning in the MES buffer was found to be the most suitable, which was optimized further. The synthesized plastibody sensors were characterized using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, contact angle, FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Amperometry was used as the electrochemical analytical technique for the determination of the analyte in the concentration range of 10 0 -10 8 CFU/mL having a limit of detection of 3.42 CFU/mL. Sensor's performance was also compared with the non-imprinted electrode and an imprinting factor of 3.8 was found. The plastibody sensor was tested against other bacteria and coefficient of selectivity was calculated to be 1.0, 10.8, 5.6 and 2.4 towards S. typhi, S. aureus, E. coli and L. monocytogenes respectively. The sensor was also found to be reproducible in nature (RSD 0.11 %) and this generic concept presented herein may be extended for the detection of pathogens in other matrices as well., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has severely impacted human health and the health management system globally. The ongoing pandemic has required the development of more effective diagnostic strategies for restricting deadly disease. For appropriate disease management, accurate and rapid screening and isolation of the affected population is an efficient means of containment and the decimation of the disease. Therefore, considerable efforts are being directed toward the development of rapid and robust diagnostic techniques for respiratory infections, including SARS-CoV-2. In this article, we have summarized the origin, transmission, and various diagnostic techniques utilized for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These higher-end techniques can also detect the virus copy number in asymptomatic samples. Furthermore, emerging rapid, cost-effective, and point-of-care diagnostic devices capable of large-scale population screening for COVID-19 are discussed. Finally, some breakthrough developments based on spectroscopic diagnosis that could revolutionize the field of rapid diagnosis are discussed.

Despite extensive efforts to realize effective photodynamic therapy (PDT), there is still a lack of therapeutic approaches concisely structured to mitigate the major obstacles of PDT in clinical applications. Herein, we report a molecular strategy exploiting ascorbate chemistry to enhance the efficacy of PDT in cancer cells overexpressing glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). AA-EtNBS, a 5-O-substituted ascorbate-photosensitizer (PS) conjugate, undergoes a reversible structural conversion of the ascorbate moiety in the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione (GSH), thereby promoting its uptake in GLUT1-overexpressed KM12C colon cancer cells and perturbing tumor redox homeostasis, respectively. Due to the unique pro-oxidant role of ascorbate in tumor environments, AA-EtNBS effectively sensitized KM12C cancer cells prior to PS-mediated generation of superoxide radicals under near-infrared (NIR) illumination. AA-EtNBS successfully exhibited GLUT1-targeted synergistic therapeutic efficacy during PDT both in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, this study outlines a promising strategy employing ascorbate both as a targeting unit for GLUT1-overexpressed cancer cells and redox homeostasis destruction agent, thereby enhancing therapeutic responses towards anticancer treatment when used in conjunction with conventional PDT., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

The pyrolysis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) is an easy approach to prepare metal oxides as well as nanoporous carbon with high specific surface area. In the present work, for the first time, ZIF-8 (zeolitic imidazolate framework-8) has been pyrolyzed under different conditions to derive two products, i.e. , highly porous carbon (C) and zinc sulfide (ZnS) infused carbon (ZnS@C). These two materials, i.e. , nanoporous C and ZnS@C, have been investigated as a negative and a positive electrode, respectively, for potential application in a hybrid asymmetrical solid-state supercapacitor device (HASD). The controlled pyrolysis approach for the preparation of ZnS@C has yielded uniformly distributed ZnS nanoparticles inside the carbon structure. A 1.8 V HASD has been assembled, which delivered an excellent energy density of 38.3 W h kg -1 (power density of 0.92 kW kg -1 ) along with the greatly desirable feature of cycling stability. The proposed selection of materials as electrodes is promising to develop futuristic hybrid capacitors., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

An alarming increase in implant failure incidence due to microbial colonization on the administered orthopedic implants has become a horrifying threat to replacement surgeries and related health concerns. In essence, microbial adhesion and its subsequent biofilm formation, antibiotic resistance, and the host immune system's deficiency are the main culprits. An advanced class of biomaterials termed anti-infective hydrogel implant coatings are evolving to subdue these complications. On this account, this review provides an insight into the significance of anti-infective hydrogels for preventing orthopedic implant associated infections to improve the bone healing process. We briefly discuss the clinical course of implant failure, with a prime focus on orthopedic implants. We identify the different anti-infective coating strategies and hence several anti-infective agents which could be incorporated in the hydrogel matrix. The fundamental design criteria to be considered while fabricating anti-infective hydrogels for orthopedic implants will be discussed. We highlight the different hydrogel coatings based on the origin of the polymers involved in light of their antimicrobial efficacy. We summarize the relevant patents reported in the prevention of implant infections, including orthopedics. Finally, the challenges concerning the clinical translation of the aforesaid hydrogels are described, and considerable solutions for improved clinical practice and better future prospects are proposed.

The neonatal period - the first 4 weeks of life - is the most critical time for a child's survival. Breathing rate is a vital indicator of the health condition and requires continuous monitoring in case of sickness or preterm birth. Breathing movements can be counted by contact and non-contact methods. In the case of newborn infants, the non-contact breathing rate monitoring need is high, as a contact-based approach may interfere while providing care and is subject to interference by non-breathing movements. This review article delivers a factual summary, and describes the methods and processing involved in non-contact based breathing rate monitoring. The article also provides the advantages, limitations, and clinical applications of these methods. Additionally, signal processing, feasibility, and future direction of different non-contact neonatal breathing rate monitoring are discussed., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The design and synthesis of a stable and efficient hole-transport material (HTM) for perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are one of the most demanding research areas. At present, 2,2',7,7'-tetrakis[ N , N -di(4-methoxyphenyl)amino]-9,9'-spirobifluorene (spiro-MeOTAD) is a commonly used HTM in the fabrication of high-efficiency PSCs; however, its complicated synthesis, addition of a dopant in order to realize the best efficiency, and high cost are major challenges for the further development of PSCs. Herein, various diketopyrrolopyrrole-based small molecules were synthesized with the same backbone but distinct alkyl side-chain substituents (i.e., 2-ethylhexyl-, n -hexyl-, ((methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl-, and (2-((2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl)acetamide, designated as D-1, D-2, D-3, and D-4, respectively) as HTMs. The variation in the alkyl chain has shown obvious effects on the optical and electrochemical properties as well as on the molecular packing and film-forming ability. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the PSC under one sun illumination (100 mW cm -2 ) is shown to increase in the order of D-1 (8.32%) < D-2 (11.12%) < D-3 (12.05%) < D-4 (17.64%). Various characterization techniques reveal that the superior performance of D-4 can be ascribed to the well-aligned highest occupied molecular orbital energy level with the counter electrode, the more compact π-π stacking with a higher coherence length, and the excellent hole mobility of 1.09 × 10 -3 cm 2 V -1 s -1 , thus providing excellent energetics for effective charge transport with minimal charge-carrier recombination. Furthermore, the addition of the dopant Li-TFSI in D-4 is shown to deliver a remarkable PCE of 20.19%, along with a short-circuit current density ( J SC ), open-circuit voltage ( V OC ), and fill factor (FF) of 22.94 mA cm -2 , 1.14 V, and 73.87%, respectively, and superior stability compared to that of other HTMs. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of side-chain engineering for tailoring the properties of HTMs, thus offering new design tactics to fabricate for the synthesis of highly efficient and stable HTMs for PSCs.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for biosensing applications due to their large surface to volume ratio, easy assembly as thin films, and better biocompatibility than other nanomaterials. Their application in electrochemical biosensing devices can be realized by integrating them with other conducting materials, like polyaniline (PANI). In the present research, a composite of a copper-MOF ( i.e. , Cu 3 (BTC) 2 ) with PANI has been explored to develop an impedimetric sensor for cardiac marker troponin I (cTnI). The solvothermally synthesized Cu 3 (BTC) 2 /PANI composite has been coated as a thin layer on the screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPE). This electroconductive thin film was conjugated with anti-cTnI antibodies. The above formed immunosensor has allowed the impedimetric detection of cTnI antigen over a clinically important concentration range of 1-400 ng mL -1 . The whole process of antigen analysis could be completed within 5 min. The detection method was specific to cTnI even in the co-presence of other possibly interfering proteins., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Urea is well-known to offer tremendous scope for sensing/diagnosing such as adulteration in dairy products or diseases in human body. This study was organized to describe and validate a new mediator-free, unsophisticated, and direct current voltage (IV)-based sensor for facile detection of urea using nanocomposites made of urease-immobilized graphene nanoplatelets and graphitized nanodiamonds. This nanocomposite displayed sensitive and direct signal in the form of current at 0 V without the need of any complex chemical reaction. This platform was highly sensitive (limit of detection of 5 μg/mL) far superior to the comparable systems introduced recently. The incorporation of graphitized nanodiamonds within the graphene nanoplatelets layers helped improve the sensitivity by a factor of three (up to 806.3 µA (mg mL -1 ) -1  cm -2 ) with 20 s response time. As such, the use of this nanocomposite was helpful in improving sensing performances with enhanced enzyme loading capacity., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

A screen-printed electrode prepared from graphene oxide (GO) has been functionalized with 2-aminoterephthalic acid, followed by the exploitation of this functional material in an electrochemical immunoassay for Escherichia coli (E. coli) by immobilizing the antibody on its surface. The functionalization steps followed a straightforward approach and were proven by various instrumental techniques. The detection of E. coli with antibody immobilized electrodes was performed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The analyses were carried out using the hexacyanoferrate redox couple as the electrochemical probe. The present method has a wide analytical range (from 2.2 × 10 2 to 2.2 × 10 8  cfu.mL -1 ), a low limit of detection (2 cfu.mL -1 ), fast response (4 min), and good stability (up to 2 months). The analytical performance of the biosensor was comparable to the previously reported electrochemical biosensors for E. coli. As such, the approach of functionalization of graphene with 2-aminoterephthalic acid should be useful to allow the development of other similar sensing systems for other environmentally and clinically important analytes. Graphical abstractSchematic representation of the preparation and the function of an amino-functionalized graphene oxide (NH 2 -GO) based impedimetric biosensor for the electrochemical detection of E. coli.

The hexahistidine-tagged organophosphorus hydrolase (OPH 6His ) has been immobilized on a Zr-MOF, namely UiO-66-NH 2 . The resulting enzyme-MOF composite was used as a carrier to facilitate the hydrolysis of an organophosphate pesticide, i.e., methyl parathion in to p-nitrophenol (PNP). The formation of PNP took place in direct proportion to the added pesticide concentration. Coumarin1 (7-diethylamino-4-methylcoumarin) was then introduced in the reaction mixture as a reporter fluorescent molecule. As PNP acted to quench the fluorescence of coumarin1, it became possible to detect methyl parathion over a wide concentration range of 10-10 6  ng/mL with an achievable limit of quantification as 10 ng/mL. The immobilization of OPH 6His on the surface of UiO-66-NH 2 was found to endow an improvement in the enzymatic activity by about 37%. The OPH 6His /UiO-66-NH 2 conjugate was reusable for at least up to eight times and also found stable toward long-term storage (minimum 60 days). The potential practical utility of the above proposed sensing method has been demonstrated by employing it for an accurate analysis of pesticide-spiked food samples., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Aim: Blood perfusion-based requirement of nanoparticle dose-loadings is computed for plasmonic photothermal therapy of a tumor. Methods: Thermal damage is quantified through coupled multiphysics approach to specify nanoparticle loadings. Results: For low blood perfusion, the nanoparticle loading of 1 mm at 0.02 mg/ml or 3 mm at 0.2 mg/ml concentration may be chosen depending upon the desired tumor margins. For high blood perfusion, nanoparticle loading of 3 mm at 0.2 mg/ml concentration with irradiation parameters of 1 W/cm 2 and 200 s seems desirable. Conclusion: Lower nanoparticle loadings within deeper periphery of tumor damage the deeper healthy tissue. If tumor margin is not to be ablated, then higher nanoparticle loadings should be opted instead of higher irradiation duration.

Herein, nanoscale hydroxyapatite (HA) with a slab-like morphology was synthesized, and its size was calculated to be in the range of 80-150 nm, as confirmed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The nanoscale HA with a slab-like structure has been referred as HA nanoslabs in the manuscript. The composition, crystallinity, wettability, bacterial resistance porosity, surface roughness and corrosion resistance of these HA nanoslabs were studied using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDAX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), contact angle, colony count BET analyzer and profilometer and polarization techniques, respectively. The contact angle of the HA nanoslabs was found to be 22.6°, which indicated the hydrophilic nature of these nanoslabs. Their bacterial resistance was studied against the Salmonella typhi strain, and it was found that in the presence of the HA nanoslabs, the growth of the bacteria was hindered. For the corrosion resistance study, the HA nanoslabs were electro-deposited on a titanium alloy, used as a substrate. The deposition was carried out at varying currents, viz , 1 mA, 3 mA and 5 mA. The open circuit potential (OCP) and polarization were used for the estimation of the corrosion resistance of the bare and coated substrates. The corrosion potential started shifting towards noble potential, and the current density started decreasing with an increase in the electrochemical deposition current. This indicated good corrosion resistance of these nanoslabs., Competing Interests: Authors don't have any conflict of interest., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Because of numerous merits (e.g., the possibility of their synthesis in 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D forms, large surface-to-volume ratio, and flexible framework functionality), metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are envisaged as excellent media for the development of biosensors for diverse analytes present in environmental media. The present research work, for the first time, reports the development of a Cu-MOF based electrochemical biosensor for highly sensitive detection of E. coli bacteria. In order to realize an MOF-based electrochemically active platform, Cu 3 (BTC) 2 (BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylic acid) was mixed with polyaniline (PANI). The spectroscopic/morphological characterizations of the resulting composite were established with the aid of FT-IR, UV-visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, and surface area analysis. The thin films of Cu 3 (BTC) 2 -PANI, on an indium-tin oxide (ITO) substrate, were bio-interfaced with anti-E. coli antibodies for use as a novel biosensing electrode. Based on the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) technique of signal measurement, the above sensor exhibited high sensitivity to detect very low concentrations of E. coli (2cfu/mL) in a short response time (~2 min) and was also selective in the presence of other non-specific bacteria. As a novel highlight of the research, this new MOF/PANI based detection platform for E. coli has shown improved performance than many of the previously reported electrochemical biosensors., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Freezing of gait (FOG) is an episodic motor symptom that occurs in almost half of the patients having Parkinson's Disease (PD). Levodopa and other dopaminergic drugs, although quite effective for tremors and bradykinesia (dyskinesia) are not so effective in case of postural instability and freezing of gait. This establishes a need for a non-pharmacological intervention. It has been well established in research that PD patients who experience FOG respond positively to sensory cueing. In this paper, a complete modular system has been developed that has both: (i) biofeedback in the form of vibrational cueing, synchronised with gait (hardware), as well as (ii) real-time monitoring, and graph generation for offline analysis (software). To realise this, a force sensor fitted shoe is constructed to analyse gait and provide vibrations in sync with phases of gait, for rehabilitation therapy. The assembly is monitored on LabVIEW, where (i) a 5-level force heat map and a 3D pressure map qualitatively shows the force experienced by force sensing resistors (FSR), (ii) an indicator for each vibrational motor shows its on/off state, and (iii) a live voltage vs. time graph (separate for each foot) is generated.

In this work, a three-phase composite material consisting of SiO 2 -coated Cu-MOF, single layer graphene, and aniline was synthesized. In the presence of ammonium persulfate as an oxidant, the aniline component of this mixture was polymerized to polyaniline to bridge Cu-MOF and graphene in the composite. Hence, a new sensory material with a highly porous nature (MOF) and superior conduction properties (graphene/polyaniline) was constructed. More specifically, the inclusion of Cu-MOF in the matrix facilitated the acquisition of an electrochemically active sensory material with a high surface area of about 756 m 2 /g. The potential application of this porous semiconducting material was demonstrated for sensitive detection of ammonia in a linear detection range over 1-100 ppm with a low limit of detection of 0.6 ppm., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Over the last few decades, medical-assisted robots have been considered by many researchers, within the research domain of robotics. In this article, a 5-degrees-of-freedom spatial medical manipulator is analyzed for path planning, based on inverse kinematic solutions. Analytical methods have generally employed for finding the inverse kinematic solutions in earlier studies. However, this method is only appreciable in case of closed-form solutions. The unusual joint configurations of considered manipulator result in more complexity to attain the closed-form solutions, analytically. To overcome with shortcomings of analytical method, a non-traditional approach named adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system is proposed under the class of artificial intelligent techniques. This article presents this neuro-fuzzy approach for desired path generation by 5-degrees-of-freedom manipulator. The estimation of percentage error between actual path and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system-generated path is done with respect to x, y, and z directions, respectively. Furthermore, the error between actual and predicted values regarding joint parameters is calculated for a certain arm matrix. The prototype of 5-degrees-of-freedom medical-assisted manipulator is developed at CSIR-CSIO Laboratory Chandigarh, which is also termed as patient-side manipulator to be utilized in robot-assisted surgery. Through the simulation runs, in this work, it is found that the results from adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system approach are quite satisfactory and acceptable.

More effective antibiotics are needed to overcome the problem of multidrug resistance. The antibacterial efficacies of three Zn-based nano metal-organic frameworks (nMOFs) - IRMOF-3, MOF-5, and Zn-BTC - were explored, both alone and as mixtures with ampicillin and kanamycin. When tested against Escherichia coli , Staphylococcus aureus , Staphylococcus lentus , and Listeria monocytogenes , the nMOF/drug mixtures demonstrated synergistic (IRMOF-3/kanamycin) or additive (other nMOF/drug combinations) effects compared with the nMOFs or antibiotics alone. Zn-Based nMOFs can reduce the burden of the new discovery of antimicrobial pharmaceuticals by increasing the potency of existing antibiotics.

In this paper, the scientific progress in the field of thin film materials and their associated sensing technologies are described comprehensively to address the directions for future research and developments as per the need of modern-day technologies. To begin with, we briefly discussed the fundamental synthesis approaches for advanced thin films with an emphasis on the properties necessary for controlled fabrication (e.g., the elemental ratio and spatial arrangement). Subsequently, we explored the control, characterization, and optimization of hybrid porous thin films with respect to diverse sensing applications. The application of hybrid porous thin film materials has also been discussed in relation to the mechanisms used for biological, optical, electrical, acoustic, and other advanced sensing techniques (e.g., surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)). Finally, conclusions are drawn to highlight the current status of thin film-based sensing technology along with its opportunities and challenges., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Biomolecule based conjugation of metallic nanoparticles has become an important area of research lately especially considering the role of such nanoconjugates in diverse applications. Herein, synthesis of cationic dipeptide conjugated gold/silver nanoparticles through the covalent approach using carbodiimide cross-linker chemistry has been reported. Owing to the exceptional optoelectronic properties of metallic nanoparticles, peptide-gold/silver nanoparticle conjugates were synthesized employing 2-mercaptopropanoic acid as a cross-linker. The conjugates were further compared with their noncovalently synthesized counterparts using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy. It was generally observed that the conjugates synthesized using the covalent approach were more stable than the conventional noncovalent approach. The synthesized conjugates were further evaluated for their antimicrobial efficacy. The experimental findings demonstrated that peptide capped silver nanoparticles possessed relatively better antimicrobial activity than peptide capped gold nanoparticles, native peptides as well as unconjugated gold/silver nanoparticles which was also evident in time kill assay studies. The morphological effects of active compounds on Escherichia coli and Candida albicans exhibited complete disruption of the cell wall. Thus, this study is an important step toward the opening up of avenues for the applicability of the covalent approach for functionalization of metallic nanoparticles with not only short peptide based systems but also for other biomolecules in areas such as anti-infectives, drug delivery, and bioimaging.

Background: WPS is a non-invasive method to investigate human health. During signal acquisition, noises are also recorded along with WPS., Objective: Clean WPS with high peak signal to noise ratio is a prerequisite before use in disease diagnosis. Wavelet Transform is a commonly used method in the filtration process. Apart from its extensive use, the appropriate factors for wavelet denoising algorithm is not yet clear in WPS application. The presented work gives an effective approach to select various factors for wavelet denoise algorithm. With the appropriate selection of wavelet and factors, it is possible to reduce noise in WPS., Methods: In this work, all the factors of wavelet denoising are varied successively. Various evaluation parameters such as MSE, PSNR, PRD and Fit Coefficient are used to find out the performance of the wavelet denoised algorithm at every one step., Results: The results obtained from computerized WPS illustrates that the presented approach can successfully select the mother wavelet and other factors for wavelet denoise algorithm. The selection of db9 as mother wavelet with sure threshold function and single rescaling function using UWT has been a better option for our database., Conclusion: The empirical results proves that the methodology discussed here could be effective in denoising WPS of any morphological pattern.

The prime objective of this work is to deal with the kinematics of spatial hybrid manipulators. In this direction, in 1955, Denavit and Hartenberg proposed a consistent and concise method, known as D-H parameters method, to deal with kinematics of open serial chains. From literature review, it is found that D-H parameter method is widely used to model manipulators consisting of lower pairs. However, the method leads to ambiguities when applied to closed-loop, tree-like and hybrid manipulators. Furthermore, in the dearth of any direct method to model closed-loop, tree-like and hybrid manipulators, revisions of this method have been proposed from time-to-time by different researchers. One such kind of revision using the concept of dummy frames has successfully been proposed and implemented by the authors on spatial hybrid manipulators. In that work, authors have addressed the orientational inconsistency of the D-H parameter method, restricted to body-attached frames only. In the current work, the condition of body-attached frames is relaxed and spatial frame attachment is considered to derive the kinematic model of a 7-degree of freedom spatial hybrid robotic arm, along with the development of closed-loop constraints. The validation of the new kinematic model has been performed with the help of a prototype of this 7-degree of freedom arm, which is being developed at Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-Central Scientific Instruments Organisation Chandigarh to aid the surgeon during a medical surgical task. Furthermore, the developed kinematic model is used to develop the first column of the Jacobian matrix, which helps in providing the estimate of the tip velocity of the 7-degree of freedom manipulator when the first joint velocity is known.

The nanoparticles of silver/gold and cationic peptides have been recognized as potent antimicrobials for long, but their combined effect has so far not been explored. The present study reports the green synthesis of short cationic dipeptide stabilized AuNPs/AgNPs based nanohybrid materials. It thoroughly investigates the effect of conjugation of short cationic peptides on the antimicrobial properties of metallic nanoparticles. In the context of the antimicrobial evaluation of synthesized nanoconjugates, it was observed that peptide capped AgNPs exhibited higher antimicrobial activity as compared to peptide capped AuNPs as well as native peptides and unconjugated metallic nanoparticles. Specifically, l-His-l-Arg-OMe capped AgNPs exhibited MIC of 0.50, 0.37 and 0.25μM against E.coli, S. aureus and S. typhimurium respectively and MIC of 0.80 and 10.00μM against C. albicans and C. glabrata respectively. These results indicate that synthetic dipeptides render AgNPs as better antimicrobial agents in comparison to the native AgNPs and positively charged dipeptides. In addition, the time kill profile of cationic peptide (l-His-l-Arg-OMe) capped AgNPs was found to be even better than the known antibiotics. The cytotoxic behavior of all synthesized nanoconjugates of cationic peptides was studied and was found to be within acceptable limits. The present study opens a completely new class of antimicrobials for combating a wide range of bacterial and fungal pathogens. Another interesting and crucial finding was that dipeptide capped AgNPs displayed maximum antimicrobial activity with observed approximate 2-10 fold reduction in nano formulation dosage against tested microbes., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Increased application of engineered nano particles (ENPs) in production of various appliances and consumer items is increasing their presence in the natural environment. Although a wide variety of nano particles (NPs) are ubiquitously dispersed in ecosystems, risk assessment guidelines to describe their ageing, direct exposure, and long-term accumulation characteristics are poorly developed. In this review, we describe what is known about the life cycle of ENPs and their impact on natural systems and examine if there is a cohesive relationship between their transformation processes and bio-accessibility in various food chains. Different environmental stressors influence the fate of these particles in the environment. Composition of solid media, pore size, solution chemistry, mineral composition, presence of natural organic matter, and fluid velocity are some environmental stressors that influence the transformation, transport, and mobility of nano particles. Transformed nano particles can reduce cell viability, growth and morphology, enhance oxidative stress, and damage DNA in living organisms., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The widespread use of pesticides has immense effect on increased crop productions. However, they are also responsible for posing detrimental health hazards and/or for contaminating the environment with chemical residues. A routine and an on-field detection of pesticide residues in different food, water, and soil samples has become a need of the hour for which biosensors can offer a viable alternative. The present work reports a functionalized graphene quantum dot (GQD) based screen printed electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of parathion. The application of GQDs has permitted the realization of a sensitive, robust, and reproducible sensor unlike those carried out earlier for the similar purposes. This immunosensor exhibited a dynamic linear response for parathion within the range of 0.01-10 6  ng/L with a very low detection limit of 46 pg/L. According to the analysis of potential interferences, the proposed sensor was specifically detecting parathion even in the presence of its metabolite, paraoxon. The investigations of the proposed sensing approach with respect to stability, response reproducibility, and regeneration have fully supported its potential practical applicability., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In mammals, seven members of the sirtuin protein family known as class III histone deacetylase have been identified for their characteristic features. These distinguished characteristics include the tissues where they are distributed or located, enzymatic activities, molecular functions, and involvement in diseases. Among the sirtuin members, SIRT3 has received much attention for its role in cancer genetics, aging, neurodegenerative disease, and stress resistance. SIRT3 controls energy demand during stress conditions such as fasting and exercise as well as metabolism through the deacetylation and acetylation of mitochondrial enzymes. SIRT3 is well known for its ability to eliminate reactive oxygen species and to prevent the development of cancerous cells or apoptosis. This review article provides a comprehensive review on numerous (noteworthy) molecular functions of SIRT3 and its effect on cancer cells and various diseases including Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and Alzheimer's disease., (© 2016 The Authors. Aging Cell published by the Anatomical Society and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

A label-free immunosensor based on electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has been developed for the sensitive detection of a cardiac biomarker myoglobin (cMyo). Hydrothermally synthesized graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been used as an immobilized template on screen printed electrodes for the construction of an impedimetric sensor platform. The GQDs-modified electrode was conjugated with highly specific anti-myoglobin antibodies to develop the desired immunosensor. The values of charge transfer resistance (Rct) were monitored as a function of varying antigen concentration. The Rct value of the immunosensor showed a linear increase (from 0.20 to 0.31kΩ) in the range of 0.01-100ng/mL cMyo. The specific detection of cMyo was also made in the presence of other competing proteins. The limit of detection for the proposed immunosensor was estimated as 0.01ng/mL which is comparable to the standard ELISA techniques., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The sensitive detection of dipicolinic acid (DPA) is strongly associated with the sensing of bacterial organisms in food and many types of environmental samples. To date, the demand for a sensitive detection method for bacterial toxicity has increased remarkably. Herein, we investigated the DPA detection potential of a water-dispersible terbium-metal organic framework (Tb-MOF) based on the fluorescence quenching mechanism. The Tb-MOF showed a highly sensitive ability to detect DPA at a limit of detection of 0.04nM (linear range of detection: 1nM to 5µM) and also offered enhanced selectivity from other commonly associated organic molecules. The present study provides a basis for the application of Tb-MOF for direct, convenient, highly sensitive, and specific detection of DPA in the actual samples., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The release of various anthropogenic pollutants such as gaseous sulfur compounds into the environment has been accelerated as globalization has promoted the production of high-quality products at lower prices. Because of strict enforcement of mitigation technologies, advanced materials have been developed to efficiently remove gaseous sulfur compounds released from various source processes. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials to treat sulfur compounds via adsorption, catalysis, or separation. Nonetheless, the practical applicability of MOFs is limited by a number of factors including loss of structural integrity after use, limited reusability of spent MOFs, and low stability toward omnipresent molecules (e.g., H 2 O). Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of MOF technology for the effective control of gaseous sulfur compounds. This review will thus help expand the fields of real-world application for MOFs with a roadmap for this highly challenging area of research.

The present work reports the application of a new molybdenum disulphide (MoS2)-based electrochemical platform for highly sensitive quantitation of an iron-binding protein, bovine serum albumin (BSA). The gold screen-printed electrodes were modified with MoS2 nanoflakes, followed by bioconjugation with anti-BSA antibodies. Using the above bioelectrode, cyclic voltammetric analysis was carried out in the presence of a Fe(3+)/Fe(2+) redox probe which exhibited a linear response of peak current with varying concentrations of BSA up to 10 ng/mL (with a detection limit of 0.006 ng/mL). This study is novel in that it shows a considerable enhancement of signal during electrochemical sensing of a protein., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential raw materials for emerging renewable energy resources and 'smart' electronic devices. Global REE demand is slated to grow at an annual rate of 5% by 2020. This high growth rate will require a steady supply base of REEs in the long run. At present, China is responsible for 85% of global rare earth oxide (REO) production. To overcome this monopolistic supply situation, new strategies and investments are necessary to satisfy domestic supply demands. Concurrently, environmental, economic, and social problems arising from REE mining must be addressed. There is an urgent need to develop efficient REE recycling techniques from end-of-life products, technologies to minimize the amount of REEs required per unit device, and methods to recover them from fly ash or fossil fuel-burning wastes., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Due to indiscriminate use of pesticides, there is a growing need to develop sensors that can sensitively detect the trace amount of pesticides in food and water samples. Parathion, identified as an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, had been one of the most widely used pesticides throughout the world. Symptoms of its poisoning are found to be diverse enough to include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle cramping/twitching, and shortness of breath. In this work, a graphene based impedimetric immunosensor has been fabricated and employed for highly sensitive and specific detection of parathion. The fabrication proceeded through the modification of the screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPE) with graphene sheets, followed by their functionalization with 2-aminobenzyl amine (2-ABA) via an electrochemical reaction. These amine functionalized graphene electrodes were then bio-interfaced with the anti-parathion antibodies. In the impedimetric mode, this biosensor detected parathion in a broad linear range, i.e. 0.1-1000ng/L with a very low limit of detection (52pg/L). It also showed high selectivity towards parathion in the presence of malathion, paraoxon, and fenitrothion. The viability of this biosensor was demonstrated by detecting parathion in real samples (e.g., tomato and carrot) and through cross-calibration against HPLC., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

A batch-type dynamic headspace (HS) system was used to generate vapor-phase volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a pigpen slurry sample. Sorptive removal capability of MOF-199 and other sorbents (zeolite (ZL) and activated carbon (AC)) was assessed against a total of 13 slurry-borne odorants ((methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), isobutyl alcohol (i-BuAl), benzene (B), toluene (T), p-xylene (p-X), m-xylene (m-X), o-xylene (o-X), styrene (S), o-cresol (o-C), phenol (PhAl), p-cresol (p-C), indole (ID), and skatole (SK)). Adsorption capacity of MOF-199 and two sorbents, when assessed for the 13 odorants at a 10% breakthrough volume (BTV), was 22.6  ±  42.3, 0.70  ±  1.08, and 11.0  ±  18.3 μg g(-1), respectively. The adsorption capacity (μg g(-1)) assessed at 10% BTV showed the superiority of MOF-199 towards phenolic and indolic compounds (such as o-C (0.31  ±  0.04), PhAl (61.6  ±  4.98), p-C (140  ±  7.95), ID (27.8  ±  2.23), and SK (63.9  ±  1.55)), demonstrating the feasibility of MOF as sorption media for treating certain nuisance components.

Bacteriophages are a class of viruses that specifically infect and replicate within a bacterium. They possess inherent affinity and specificity to the particular bacterial cells. This property of bacteriophages makes them an attractive biorecognition element in the field of biosensor development. In this work, we report the use of an immobilized bacteriophage for the development of a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for Staphylococcus arlettae, bacteria from the pathogenic family of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS). The specific bacteriophages were covalently immobilized on the screen-printed graphene electrodes. Thus, the fabricated bacteriophage biosensor displayed quantitative response for the target bacteria (S. arlettae) for a broad detection range (2.0-2.0 × 10(6) cfu). A fast response time (2 min), low limit of detection (2 cfu), specificity, and stability over a prolonged period (3 months) are some of the important highlights of the proposed sensor. The practical utility of the developed sensor has been demonstrated by the analysis of S. arlettae in spiked water and apple juice samples., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The hybrid structures of metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and nanoparticles may offer the realization of effective photocatalytic materials due to combined benefits of the porous and molecular sieving properties of MOF matrix and the functional characteristics of encapsulated nanoparticles. In this study, cadmium telluride (CdTe) quantum dots (QD) are conjugated with a europium-MOF for the synthesis of a novel nanocomposite material with photocatalytic properties. Successful synthesis of a QD/Eu-MOF nanocomposite was characterized with various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. This QD/Eu-MOF is found to be an effective catalyst to complete the degradation of Rhodamine 6G dye within 50 min., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This article evaluates the effect of stress variation on adult femur following total hip replacement using musculoskeletal-based finite element analysis. The aim was to study the changes in stress distribution in the femur after total hip replacement by providing simulated in vivo loading and boundary conditions. The loading and boundary conditions were generated using a musculoskeletal modelling software 'AnyBody' and were applied on femur model, generated from the computed tomography (CT) scan data for standing posture of male patient. The results showed considerable variation in stress distribution pattern in the femur before and after total hip replacement, the metallic implant taking major loads of human body and transferring very less loads to the femur., (© IMechE 2016.)

Recycling of spent domestic batteries has gained a great environmental significance. In the present research, we propose a new and simple technique for the recovery of high-purity zinc oxide nanoparticles from the electrode waste of spent alkaline Zn-MnO2 batteries. The electrode material was collected by the manual dismantling and mixed with 5M HCl for reaction with a phosphine oxide reagent Cyanex 923® at 250°C for 30min. The desired ZnO nanoparticles were restored from the Zn-Cyanex 923 complex through an ethanolic precipitation step. The recovered particle product with about 5nm diameter exhibited fluorescent properties (emission peak at 400nm) when excited by UV radiation (excitation energy of 300nm). Thus, the proposed technique offered a simple and efficient route for recovering high purity ZnO nanoparticles from spent alkaline batteries., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)