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Existing fossil-based commercial products present a significant threat to the depletion of global natural resources and the conservation of the natural environment. Also, the ongoing generation of waste is giving rise to challenges in waste management. Conventional practices for the management of waste, for instance, incineration and landfilling, emit gases that contribute to global warming. Additionally, the need for energy is escalating rapidly due to the growing populace and industrialization. To address this escalating desire in a sustainable manner, access to clean and renewable sources of energy is imperative for long-term development of mankind. These interrelated challenges can be effectively tackled through the scientific application of biowaste-to-bioenergy technologies. The current article states an overview of the strategies and current status of these technologies, including anaerobic digestion, transesterification, photobiological hydrogen production, and alcoholic fermentation which are utilized to convert diverse biowastes such as agricultural and forest residues, animal waste, and municipal waste into bioenergy forms like bioelectricity, biodiesel, bio alcohol, and biogas. The successful implementation of these technologies requires the collaborative efforts of government, stakeholders, researchers, and scientists to enhance their practicability and widespread adoption., 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 Inc. All rights reserved.)

The abstract highlights the development of an electroanalytical sensor for the detection of 2-phenylphenol (2-PPL) as a contaminant. The novelty of the experiment lies in the utilization of a 1-D nanostructured WO 3 /CuO nanocomposite integrated with a carbon paste electrode (CPE). The hydrothermal method was used to synthesize the WO 3 NPs, which were then characterized using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. Tungsten oxides (WO 3 ) have been the subject of extensive study because of their many desirable characteristics, including their ease of preparation, tunable stoichiometry, crystal structure, particle morphology, 2.6 eV bandgap, excellent photocatalytic oxidation capacity, non-toxic nature, and widespread availability. The narrow band gap in CuO makes it an ideal sensing material. Copper oxide has applications in many different industries because it is a semiconductor metal with a narrow band gap in the spectrum of 1.2-1.9 eV and unique optical, electrical, and magnetic properties. Techniques like cyclic voltammetry (CV), and square wave voltammetry (SWV) were used. Real sample analysis was carried out in real-world samples like different types of soil, vegetables, and water. The electroanalytical sensor showed outstanding catalytic behavior by enhancing the peak current of the 2-phenylphenol with the potential shift to the less positive side compared to the unmodified carbon paste electrode in the presence of pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution (PB). Throughout the experimental study, double distilled was used. Various electro-kinetic parameters like pH, accumulation time study, scan rate, concentration variation, standard heterogeneous rate constant, and participation of electrons, accumulation time, and transfer coefficient have been studied at WO 3 /CuO/CPE. The limit of detection was quantified together with the limit of quantification. Possible electrochemical oxidation mechanism of the toxic molecule was depicted. Overall, this research contributes to the field of electroanalytical sensing and offers potential applications in environmental monitoring., 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 © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The use of the herbicide aminotriazole (3-ATA) in agriculture poses rising concerns about global water-borne contamination. Due to its toxicity which is known to cause cancer and thyroid dysfunction, 3-ATA is considered an important analytical target. Environmental protection agencies worldwide have introduced several directives that set concentration limits for chemicals to combat water pollution. Hence, to evaluate the presence of 3-ATA in water and limit their impact on ecosystems and human health, the development of an efficient real-time monitoring device is the key. The as-synthesized copper oxide decorated multiwall carbon nanotubes at 400 °C (CuO-MWCNT@400) showed remarkable efficiency as modifiers. Under optimal conditions, we explored the direct oxidation of 3-ATA at CuO-MWCNT@400 modified carbon paste electrode (MCPE). With its distinguishing synergistic features like high levels of porosity, stability, and surface area, this structure favoured greater detection, selectivity, and sensitivity. The amperometric i-t curve technique was adopted for the first time for 3-ATA quantification. This technique rendered a good detection sensitivity of 1.65 × 10 -8  mol L -1 and anti-interference characteristics for several interferent species, including fungicides, fertilizers, herbicides, inorganic ions, and carbohydrates. Finally, the proof-of-concept was yielded by selective and sensitive detection of 3-ATA from two different samples of spiked water. We believe this work will enhance awareness and garner appreciation of the electrochemical sensor's analytical performance in protecting our environment and water resources., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In agro-areas, linuron (LNR) and amino-triazole (ATZ) are the widely used herbicides to protect crops, but their widespread use pollutes the environment, especially when these are mixed with water or soil. In efforts to address these environmental issues and to detect trace quantities of the herbicides, a graphitic carbon nitride (g-C 3 N 4 ) with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) modified carbon paste electrode (g-C 3 N 4 -CTAB/CPE) was developed and used for the detection of LNR and ATZ. Materials were characterized by XRD, TEM and AFM techniques. The effect of pH on electro-oxidation (under optimized conditions) showed the maximum peak current at pH of 4.2 for AMT and pH 6.0 for LNR. The electro-kinetic and thermodynamic parameters of LNR and ATZ were determined. Additional experiments were performed for the trace level detection of ATZ and LNR using the square wave voltammetric technique. Concentrations were varied linearly in the range of 3.0 × 10 -7  M to 4.5 × 10 -5  M for ATZ with a detection limit of 6.41 × 10 -8  M, and 1.2 × 10 -7  M to 3.0 × 10 -4  M for LNR with a detection limit of 2.47 × 10 -8  M. The developed novel sensor was effective for trace level detection of LNR and ATZ in water and soil samples., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Cholinesterase enzymes such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) cause hydrolysis of acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter responsible for the cognitive functions of the brain such as acquiring knowledge and comprehension. Therefore, inhibition of these enzymes is an effective process to curb the progressive and fatal neurological Alzheimer's disease (AD). Herein, we explored the potential inhibitory activities of various pyridine, quinoxaline, and triazine derivatives (3a-k, 6a-j and 11a-h) against AChE and BuChE enzymes by following the modified Ellman's method. Further, anti-oxidant property of these libraries was monitored using DPPH (2,2'-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazylhydrate) radical scavenging analysis. From the studies, we identified that compounds 6e, 6f, 11b and 11f behaved as selective AChE inhibitors with IC 50 values ranging from 7.23 to 10.35 μM. Further studies revealed good anti-oxidant activity by these compounds with IC 50 values in the range of 14.80-27.22 μM. The kinetic studies of the active analogues demonstrated mixed-type of inhibition due to their interaction with both the catalytic active sites (CAS) and peripheral anionic sites (PAS) of the AChE. Additionally, molecular simulation in association with fluorescence and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic analyses explained strong affinities of inhibitors to bind with AChE enzyme at the physiological pH of 7.2. Binding constant values of 5.4 × 10 4 , 4.3 × 10 4 , 3.2 × 10 4 and 4.9 × 10 4  M -1 corresponding to free energy changes -5.593, -6.799, -6.605 and -8.104 KcalM -1 were obtained at 25 °C from fluorescence emission spectroscopic studies of 6e, 6f, 11b and 11f, respectively. Besides, CD spectroscopy deliberately explained the secondary structure of AChE partly unfolded upon binding with these dynamic molecules. Excellent in vitro profiles of distinct quinoxaline and triazine compounds highlighted them as the potential leads compared to pyridine derivatives, suggesting a path towards developing preventive or therapeutic targets to treat the Alzheimer's disease., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Design and development of the efficient and durable photocatalyst that generates H 2 fuel utilizing industrial wastewater under solar light irradiation is a sustainable process. Innumerable photocatalysts have been reported for efficient H 2 production, but their large-scale production with the same efficiency of H 2 production is a challenging task. In this study, a few gram-scale syntheses of ZnS wrapped with NiO hierarchical core-shell nanostructure via the surfactant-mediated process has been reported. Morphology and crystal structure analysis of ZnS/NiO showed spherical shaped hierarchical core-shell with cubic and face-centered cubic crystal structures. The surface examination confirmed the presence of Zn 2+ , S 2- , Ni 2+ and O 2- ions in the nanocomposite. The photocurrent and photoluminescence studies of pristine and nanocomposites revealed that core-shell material is non-corrosive with a prolonged life-time of photo-excitons. Parametric studies on photocatalytic H 2 generation in lab-scale photoreactor using crude glycerol in water recorded a high rate of H 2 generation of 9.3 mmol h -1 .g -1 of catalyst under the simulated solar light irradiation. Optimized reaction parameters are extended to a demonstrative photoreactor containing aqueous crude glycerol produced 18.5 mmol h -1 of H 2 generation under the natural solar light irradiation. The same nanostructures were further tested with the simulated sulfide wastewater and the optimized catalyst showed H 2 production of 350 mL h -1 . The experimental results of time-on stream and catalytic stability demonstrated that ZnS/NiO hierarchical core-shell nanostructures can be recyclable and reusable for the continuous photocatalytic H 2 generation., (Crown Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)