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• We propose deep learning models for classification of cancer cells belonging to different organs on holographic images. • We present self-supervised pretraining and hyperparameter tuning for efficient training on biomedical holographic datasets. • Perform extensive experiments with self-supervised frameworks and compared self-supervised learning with supervised learning and proved the effectiveness of the former for holographic images classification. • Proposed work can be an effective tool for the automatic classification of cancer cells for medical diagnosis using self-supervised learning. Image-based stain-free elliptical cancer cell classification is challenging, due to the inter-class morphological similarity. In this paper, we address the classification of different types of cancer cell lines (lung, breast, bladder, and skin) by utilizing self-supervised learning, and compare it with supervised learning based on convolutional neural network. Digital holography in a microscopic configuration was used to obtain stain-free quantitative phase images representing the intracellular content and morphology of cells. The performance of self-supervised learning in natural images shows promising results, and consistently closes the gap between self-supervised and supervised learning. The ability of self-supervised learning to effectively utilize unlabeled data for training is instrumental in the biomedical domain, where labeled data is scarce. Our goal is to study different self-supervised frameworks of biomedical holographic data, and determine how they can be utilized to advance liquid biopsy for the detection of cancer cells. After extensive experimentation, we conclude that self-supervised learning improves the classification performance on cancer cell datasets, and outperforms supervised learning when training data is limited, which is mostly the case in biomedical imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing trend of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and concerns about the use of synthetic antimicrobials are giving rise to new challenges in modern-day society. It is worth noting that an alarming quantity of approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is regrettably wasted on an annual basis due to the detrimental effects of microbial degradation. Plant-derived extracts (PDEs) encompass a diverse array of bioactives, including phytochemicals, crude extracts, and essential oils, that are meticulously extracted from various botanical sources. These PDEs exhibit promising attributes that position them as viable alternatives to conventional antibiotics and preservatives of synthetic origin. This phenomenon can be explained by their innate capacity to hinder the growth of numerous bacteria. The aim of this review is to provide a thorough summary of the existing research on the use of PDEs as natural antibacterial agents. This article provides a summary of their fundamental mechanisms of action as well as an exploration of their practical applications within the food industry. This review encompasses their application in the production of fortified products, their implementation in active food packaging, and the development of innovative encapsulated systems. Research on the antibacterial and in vitro synergistic effects of PDEs has received greater attention recently. The applications of PDEs are limited due to their susceptibility to oxidation and chemical instability, as well as their reduced ability to withstand environmental factors such as oxygen, light, and temperature. However, additional investigations are still necessary to determine and understand the effectiveness of PDEs as natural antimicrobial agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In modern times, there has been a significant rise in interest regarding the production of high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) owing to their extraordinary stability as well as their distinctive solid-like rheological characteristics. Particles produced by polysaccharides, proteins, and polysaccharide-protein complexes/conjugates are highly efficient Pickering stabilizers for HIPEs. These biopolymeric particles (BPs) carry out a dual function by satisfying the growing consumer's demand for "all-natural" and "clean-label" foodstuffs. Moreover, the production of multi-component colloidal particles, complexes, and conjugates can enhance the efficacy of biopolymers. Recent research has revealed significant improvements in the development and utilization of diverse BPs for the formulation of Pickering High Internal Phase Emulsions (P-HIPEs). The characteristics of the interfacial layer can be modified via applying BPs, which facilitates the regulation and maintenance of the performance and stability of P-HIPEs. The objective of this article is to evaluate factors that influence the behavior of colloidal particles at surfaces and their adsorption properties, as well as the fundamental structure of matrix constituents and the significant characteristics of P-HIPEs. In this review, we discuss the emerging applications of P-HIPEs for developing biodegradable packaging films, 3D printing inks, and porous materials, as well as for entrapment and controlled release of bioactives. There is potential for developing stimulus-responsive or transparent P-HIPEs, which could potentially introduce novel opportunities. Taken together, this review aims to provide a useful resource for future research endeavors pertaining to the utilization of natural biopolymers in the production of P-HIPEs. [Display omitted] • High internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) have broad applications across multiple disciplines. • Polysaccharide-protein complex particles are highly effective Pickering stabilizers for HIPEs. • The interfacial behavior of biopolymeric particles employed to stabilize HIPEs is reviewed. • High-performance applications and the gastrointestinal fate of HIPEs are well-documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential oils (EOs) have received much attention owing to their remarkable biological activities and health promoting benefits, but they are easily oxidized and chemically unstable as well as having a low resistance to environmental stresses like light, oxygen, and temperature. Furthermore, their physiochemical properties may limit their application as active compounds in food and pharmaceuticals due to some restrictions such as less solubility, poor bioavailability and quick release. Nanoencapsulation techniques can be used for entrapment of essential oils to uphold their original characteristics during processing and to improve their physiochemical properties as well as to enhance their health promoting effects. The prominence of nanocarriers in the arena of nanotechnology cannot be denied. The present article focuses specifically on loading of EOs into biopolymeric nanocarriers, their functionalities and innovative developments in preparation approaches. Additionally, the present state of the art loading of numerous essential oils via biopolymeric nanocarriers have been enclosed and tabulated well. This review highlights the application of EO-loaded biopolymeric nanocarriers into active food packaging being promising antimicrobial and antioxidant agents which have shown practical results in order to retard the oxidation phenomenon as well as microbial growth in different food products. Further studies are needed for exploring the application of EO-loaded biopolymeric nanocarriers into active food packaging to assure their commercial exploitation. Image 1 • Application of EOs is limited due to poor bioavailability, low solubility and quick release. • Nanocarriers can be used to protect EOs during processing, storage and digestion. • This review covers nanoencapsulation of essential oils within biopolymeric nanocarriers. • EO-loaded biopolymeric nanocarriers can be added into active food packaging. • GIT fate of EO-loaded nanocarriers has also been discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Borage seed oil (BSO) is one of the richest sources of γ-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, which are considered to retain plenty of health promoting benefits. However, its application in functional foods and dietary supplements remains limited owing to its superior vulnerability to oxidation. To solve this problem, ultrasound-assisted BSO-loaded nanoemulsions were prepared with modified starch incorporating different concentrations of peppermint oil (PO), as a natural antioxidant. The influence of different PO levels on the mean droplet size, rheology attributes, and oxidative stability of nanoemulsions stored at various temperatures (4, 25, and 40 °C) during 30 days storage was analyzed. In addition, DPPH and ABTS assays were used to determine the antioxidant activity and antioxidant capacity of BSO-loaded nanoemulsions, respectively. The optimized formulation (NE3; 5:5% v/v PO: BSO) exhibited a slight change in droplet size and oxidative stability at all temperatures during storage compared to other formulations. At a concentration of 328.08 μL/mL, formulation NE3 presented the minimum DPPH IC 50 at 40 °C, which was lower than other formulations. The findings of this study revealed that the maximum retained antioxidant capacity (99.42 μg Trolox/mL) was related to NE3 comprising (5:5% v/v PO: BSO) stored at 40 °C for 30 days; which could be accredited to the role of PO as a natural antioxidant in order to improve the oxidative stability of nanoemulsion delivery system. Taken together, co-encapsulation of BSO and PO within nanoemulsions provides novel insights regarding the development of functional foods, dietary supplements and beverages. • Ultrasound-assisted BSO-loaded nanoemulsions were prepared with PGU incorporating diverse concentrations of PO. • Incorporation of PO enhanced the oxidative stability of BSO loaded nanoemulsions during storage. • Different concentrations of BSO and PO influenced the oxidative stability of nanoemulsions. • The optimized formulation NE3 exhibited better physical and oxidative stability during storage. • NE3 was the best formulation owing to its superior physical and oxidative stability properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pectin has been used as a carrier for the protection and targeted delivery of bioactive compounds and for increasing their shelf life and stability. Nano-encapsulation process is one of the techniques that has been used for the effective protection of bioactive compounds. This review aims to describe the different sources and characterization of pectin along with various encapsulation methods of different bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the focus is on the application of nano-encapsulation pectin for the entrapment of bioactive compounds. Pectin can be used for nano-encapsulation, where nano-capsules can be formed through different methods i.e. spray drying, emulsion and through the formation of hydrogel, liposomes, and nanocomplexes. Moreover, the use of pectin in combination with other compounds such as proteins and lipids were found to be the most promising wall material for the bioactive compounds. Image 1 • Pectin could be used as wall material for nano-encapsulation of bioactive compounds. • Different methods of nano-encapsulation are available. • Food derived and therapeutic compounds can be nano-encapsulated. • Pectin complex with other compounds is the efficient way for nano-encapsulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We Illustrated weaknesses of balanced accuracy and normalized difference measures. • We proposed a new feature ranking metric called max-min ratio (MMR). • MMR better estimates the true worth of a term in high class skews. • We tested MMR against 8 well-known metrics on 6 datasets with 2 classifiers. • MMR statistically outperforms metrics in 76% macro F1 cases and 74% micro F1 cases. Abstract Text classification automatically assigns text documents to one or more predefined categories based on their content. In text classification, data are characterized by a large number of highly sparse terms and highly skewed categories. Working with all the terms in the data has an adverse impact on the accuracy and efficiency of text classification tasks. A feature selection algorithm helps in selecting the most relevant terms. In this paper, we propose a new feature ranking metric called max-min ratio (MMR). It is a product of max-min ratio of the true positives and false positives and their difference, which allows MMR to select smaller subsets of more relevant terms even in the presence of highly skewed classes. This results in performing text classification with higher accuracy and more efficiency. To investigate the effectiveness of our newly proposed metric, we compare its performance against eight metrics (balanced accuracy measure, information gain, chi-squared, Poisson ratio, Gini index, odds ratio, distinguishing feature selector, and normalized difference measure) on six data sets namely WebACE (WAP, K1a, K1b), Reuters (RE0, RE1), and 20 Newsgroups using the multinomial naive Bayes (MNB) and support vector machines (SVM) classifiers. The statistical significance of MMR has been estimated on 5 different splits of training and test data sets using the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) method and a multiple comparisons test based on Tukey–Kramer method. We found that performance of MMR is statistically significant than that of the other 8 metrics in 76.2% cases in terms of macro F 1 measure and in 74.4% cases in terms of micro F 1 measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the most common endocrine disorder affecting women of reproductive age. The two main documented pathogenic mechanisms are hyperinsulinemia and hyperandrogenemia but there is growing evidence for increased predisposition to cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Our study aims to analyze the association of PCOS with cardiovascular risk factors. Methods This is a prospective study which targeted 100 PCOS patients from Civil Hospital Karachi over a period of one year (July 2016 to July 2017). An equal number of age-matched healthy control participants were also included in the study. The student’s t -test was used to assess the significance of differences using SPSS version (19). The statistical significance was set at a p -value of <.05. Results The most frequently presented feature associated with PCOS was primary infertility seen in 72% of the patients. Mean arterial pressure, fasting glucose and insulin levels and insulin resistance was found to be significantly different in PCOS patients as compared to their controls. A classic atherosclerotic lipid profile demonstrating elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-C (LDL-C) levels and decreased serum high density lipoprotein-C(HDL-C) was observed in our study. Conclusion This study established a significant yet independent association of PCOS with major cardiovascular risk factors. This association can effectively progress into CVD outcomes which necessitates early intervention programs and preventative strategies to reduce mortality from cardiovascular events. This study lays out the framework for conducting further researches on the PCOS women while exploring novel cardiovascular risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, some necessary and sufficient conditions are established for the constraint generalized Sylvester matrix equations to have a common solution. The expression of the general common solution is also given under the solvable conditions. In addition, a numerical example is presented to illustrate the presented theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we give some necessary and sufficient conditions for the consistence of the system of quaternion matrix equations A 1 X = C 1 , Y B 1 = D 1 , A 2 W = C 2 , Z B 2 = D 2 , A 3 V = C 3 , V B 3 = C 4 , A 4 V B 4 = C 5 , A 5 X + Y B 5 + C 6 W + Z D 6 + E 6 V F 6 = G 6 , and constitute an expression of the general solution to the system when it is solvable. The outcomes of this paper encompass some recognized results in the collected works. In addition, we establish an algorithm and a numerical example to illustrate the theory constructed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let H m × n be the set of all m × n matrices over the real quaternion algebra H = { c 0 + c 1 i + c 2 j + c 3 k ∣ i 2 = j 2 = k 2 = i j k = − 1 , c 0 , c 1 , c 2 , c 3 ∈ R } . A ∈ H n × n is known to be η -Hermitian if A = A η * = − η A * η , η ∈ { i , j , k } and A * means the conjugate transpose of A . We mention some necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of the solution to the system of real quaternion matrix equations including η -Hermicity A 1 X = C 1 , A 2 Y = C 2 , Y B 2 = D 2 , Y = Y η * , A 3 Z = C 3 , Z B 3 = D 3 , Z = Z η * , A 4 X + ( A 4 X ) η * + B 4 Y B 4 η * + C 4 Z C 4 η * = D 4 , and also construct the general solution to the system when it is consistent. The outcome of this paper diversifies some particular results in the literature. Furthermore, we constitute an algorithm and a numerical example to comprehend the approach established in this treatise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High dimensionality of text data hinders the performance of classifiers making it necessary to apply feature selection for dimensionality reduction. Most of the feature ranking metrics for text classification are based on document frequencies ( df ) of a term in positive and negative classes. Considering only document frequencies to rank features favors terms frequently occurring in larger classes in unbalanced datasets. In this paper we introduce a new feature ranking metric termed as relative discrimination criterion (RDC), which takes document frequencies for each term count of a term into account while estimating the usefulness of a term. The performance of RDC is compared with four well known feature ranking metrics, information gain (IG), CHI squared (CHI), odds ratio (OR) and distinguishing feature selector (DFS) using support vector machines (SVM) and multinomial naive Bayes (MNB) classifiers on four benchmark datasets, namely Reuters, 20 Newsgroups and two subsets of Ohsumed dataset. Our results based on macro and micro F1 measures show that the performance of RDC is superior than the other four metrics in 65% of our experimental trials. Also, RDC attains highest macro and micro F1 values in 69% of the cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an integrated guidance and control design scheme for an unmanned air vehicle (UAV), and its flight test results. The paper focuses on the longitudinal control and guidance aspects, with particular emphasis on the terrain-following problem. An introduction to the mission, and the terrain-following problem is given first. Waypoints for climb and descent are defined. Computation of the reference trajectory in the vertical plane is discussed, including a terrain-following (TF) algorithm for real-time calculation of climb/descent points and altitudes. The algorithm is particularly suited for online computation and is therefore useful for autonomous flight. The algorithm computes the height at which the vehicle should fly so that a specified clearance from the underlying terrain is always maintained, while ensuring that the vehicle’s rate of climb and rate of descent constraints are not violated. The output of the terrain-following algorithm is used to construct a smooth reference trajectory for the vehicle to track. The design of a robust controller for altitude tracking and stability augmentation of the vehicle is then presented. The controller uses elevators for pitch control in the inner loop, while the reference pitch commands are generated by the outer altitude control loop. The controller tracks the reference trajectory computed by the terrain-following algorithm. The design of an electromechanical actuator for actuating the control surfaces of the vehicle during flight is also discussed. The entire guidance and control scheme is implemented on an actual experimental vehicle and flight test results are presented and discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

[Display omitted] • Curcumin and resveratrol were con-encapsulated using TFO as a carrier oil. • All bioactives exhibited diverse behavior in bulk oil and emulsions. • PGU2.5 and PG9 offered superior stability to the entrapped bioactives. Tuna fish oil (TFO), is a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids comprising particularly docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which are essential for the human's health enhancement. However, their foremost problems are poor solubility, low bioavailability, and easy oxidization, which limit their wide range of applications in food and pharmaceutical products. The aim of this research is to develop TFO nanoemulsions encapsulating curcumin (CUR) and resveratrol (RES) as co-antioxidants, stabilized with different concentrations of two modified starches including Purity Gum 2000 (PG) and Purity Gum Ultra (PGU). The effect of diverse quantities of modified starches on droplet size, droplet charges, viscosity, and oxidative stability of produced nanoemulsions was assessed at different storage temperatures (4, 25, and 40 °C). Furthermore, to assess the antioxidant activity and capacity of loaded nanoemulsions, DPPH, and ABTS assays were used, respectively. Among various samples, PGU2.5 and PG9 emulsified by PGU and PG2000 had showed the premium results of stability during storage at all temperatures over other formulations. Even at 40 °C, 199.10 μL/mL of PGU2.5 and 258.59 μL/mL of PG9 were required to attain the level of DPPH IC 50 , which were the lowest concentration as compare to other nanoemulsions. Taken together, it was accredited that co-encapsulation of CUR and RES inside the TFO nanoemulsion-based delivery systems can be efficient for the production of functional foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The increased ROS level, enhanced lipid peroxidation along with the disruption of antioxidant and detoxification cascade resulted in oxidative stress in the F. gigantica infected animals. • Massive infiltration of immune cells was observed in the F. gigantica infected liver. • The level of IL-4 and IL-6 cytokines was altered in the infected animals. • The change in the adenosine deaminase activity could modulate the host's immune response towards Th-2 type. Fine tuning of the metabolic, physiological and immunological cues along with interplay between the biomolecules of the host and the parasite could be responsible for the successful establishment of parasitic infections. The present investigation was aimed at evaluating the oxidative status and the level of adenosine deaminase (ADA) in the serum and liver of rabbits experimentally infected with Fasciola gigantica. A significant increase in level of ROS, MDA and 4-HNE along with a decline in the SOD, CAT, GR and GST activity was evident in rabbits experimentally infected with Fasciola gigantica. However, there was an increase in the GPX activity in the sera of infected rabbits. The increased GPX activity and decreased GR activity would have resulted in the depletion of GSH, a key non-enzymatic antioxidant, in the infected animals. The level of GSSG was also found to be higher in the sera and liver tissues of the infected rabbits along with a decline in the GSH/GSSG ratio, indicating a high level of oxidative stress in the infected animals, which also showed a significant increase in the activity of the marker enzymes of liver pathology, AST and ALT. Further, a significant inhibition of the adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in the infected rabbits was accompanied with the reduction in the level of pro-inflammatory cytokine, IL-6 while the anti-inflammatory cytokine, IL-4 level was significantly elevated. In conclusion, the F. gigantica induced significant oxidative stress as evident from the increased levels of ROS and lipid peroxidation along with the disruption of antioxidant and detoxification cascade ultimately lead to pathogenic and inflammatory responses in the experimental host. Whereas, the altered ADA activity could modulate the host's immune responses toward Th-2 type and would facilitate the successful establishment of flukes within their host, thus indicating that ADA could be exploited as a target for the development of novel anthelmintic drugs against fasciolosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The GST protein of G. explanatum (GeGST) was purified using affinity chromatography. • The purified GeGST was found to be highly immunogenic. • Circulating GST antigen and anti GST antibodies were successfully detected in buffaloes naturally infected with G. explanatum. • GeGST could be used as an important antigen for the diagnosis of amphistomosis under field conditions. The foodborne trematodiases pose a significant health problem to the animals as well as the human population living in close proximities with the livestock and are still considered as the neglected tropical diseases by the World Health Organisation. The digenetic trematode, Gigantocotyle explanatum infecting the liver of Indian water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, has been identified as one of the most common helminth parasite responsible for the disease, amphistomosis, in livestock. Despite huge abattoir prevalence, the epidemiological data and the actual economic losses incurred due to this parasite alone are yet to be established probably due to the limitations of routinely used diagnostic tests. The gold standard for the confirmation of such infections under field conditions is still the fecal egg count (FEC). However, the poor sensitivity and cumbersome nature of these tests necessitates the development of a more sensitive, reliable and easy to perform workflow/method. Immunological diagnosis of helminthic infections is still considered as an alternative to the FEC. Therefore, efforts have been made to utilize glutathione-S-transferase (GST), a vitally significant molecule of the adult G. explanatum, for the serodiagnosis of amphistomosis under both laboratory and field conditions. The GST antigen was first affinity purified from the somatic extract of the adult worms since its highest level was recorded in the somatic extracts followed by eggs and the excretory/secretory products. A five-fold affinity purified native GST antigen of about 25 kDa was found to be highly immunogenic as evident from high titre (1:25,600) of the polyclonal antibodies raised in the rabbits. The immunoblotting results revealed differential presence of GST in the adult worms, their eggs and excretory/secretory products. The immunolocalization studies revealed that the vitelline glands are the major source of GST in liver amphistome. Further, we were able to successfully screen animals naturally infected with G. explanatum using anti GST polyclonal antibodies in dot blot assay. High levels of both circulating GST antigen and anti GST antibodies were detected in the serum of the animals naturally infected with G. explanatum, while no cross reactivity was observed with the tropical liver fluke, F. gigantica which often infects the buffalo liver concurrently. The findings of the present study indicate that GST could be used as an important antigen for the diagnosis of G. explanatum infection in Indian water buffaloes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Models of parking search time predominantly rely on the binomial approximation , the calculation of which is dependent solely on the occupancy of the parking network. This paper sheds light on the importance of accounting for competition between parking searchers and the effects of dynamically changing occupancy. To this end, we investigate the accuracy of two probabilistic models, namely the binomial approximation and a model proposed by Cao and Menéndez (CaM). We utilize an agent-based microscopic parking simulation model as a benchmark for comparison purposes. Our findings highlight the significance of considering the competitive dynamics among drivers in the quest for parking spaces and the fluctuations in parking occupancy rates over short time intervals. We highlight the ranges of occupancies for which the binomial approximation and the CaM model provide more reliable estimations of parking search times. The CaM model provides, in general, more accurate estimations of search times since it accounts for various parking network characteristics such as competition and varying occupancy. The binomial approximation underestimates parking search times more substantially at high occupancies with a large number of searching vehicles, whereas the CaM model performs worse for lower spacing between parking spots and lower parking occupancies. Insights from this research are then used to discuss policy implications of accounting for competition and short-term occupancy variations when designing either parking models or parking-related control strategies. • We perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of two probabilistic parking search time estimation models. • We explore how competition and dynamic fluctuations in occupancy levels influence the estimation of parking search times. • Neglecting competition between drivers can have significant implications on parking policies. • We illustrate why the binomial approximation underestimates search times for high occupancy levels. • We find that the CaM model fares worse with lower parking occupancies and tighter spacing between parking spots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to develop a plasticized starch (PS) based film loaded with chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs, 1, 2, 3, and 4%) as a reinforcing and antibacterial agent. We examined the morphology, biodegradability, mechanical, thermo-mechanical, and barrier properties of the PS/CNPs films. The antimicrobial activity against both Gram-positive (S. aureus) and Gram-negative (E. coli) bacteria was investigated by colony forming unit (CFU) and disc diffusion methods. A dense structure was obtained for all PS/CNPs films and, thus, their complete biodegradation occurred in more days than neat PS. The increase in the CNPs percentage led to improved mechanical behaviour and barrier properties. PS-CNPs composite films revealed inhibition zones against both E. coli and S. aureus , with the 100% reduction in CFU against S. aureus. The current study exhibited that PS-CNPs films were more effective in inhibiting bacteria growth than neat PS film, confirming the composite films potential application as antimicrobial food packaging. [Display omitted] • Compact chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs)/plasticized starch (PS) films with rough surface • Progressive improvement of the mechanical behaviour with the CNPs amount • Improved barrier properties (reduced WVP and WVTR values) due to the CNPs addition • Excellent antimicrobial properties against G-negative and, mainly, G-positive bacteria • Potential use of CNPs loaded PS films for active food packaging applications [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The disposal of colored textile effluent into canals, rivers and sea has adverse effect on aquatic plants and animal life due to reduced penetration of sunlight into water. The aim of this study was to investigate the color removal of textile dyeing effluents with voltage-assisted photocatalytic activity of carbon fabrics containing ZnO nanorods. ZnO nanorods were grown on the oxidized carbon fabric samples by seeding technique using zinc acetate dihydrate and NaOH, followed by hydrothermal process using zinc nitrate hexahydrate (Zn(NO 3) 2 ·6H 2 O) and hexamethylenetetramine (C 6 H 12 N 4). The surface morphology of functionalized carbon fabric was characterized using scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope and X-ray diffractometer. It was found that the degradation of dyes in aqueous solutions, with voltage-assisted photocatalytic activity of ZnO nanorods on carbon fabrics, follows Langmuir-Hinshelwood kinetics. The study concludes that increase in the applied voltage significantly increases the rate of degradation of dyes by enhancing the photocatalytic activity of carbon fabrics containing ZnO nanorods. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Growth of ZnO nanorods on carbon fabric. • Effect of voltage on photocatalytic activity of nanorods treated carbon fabric. • Enhanced photocatalytic dye degradation due to voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this communication we describe the fabrication of nano-hydroxyapatite/chitosan-tamarind seed polysaccharide (n-HA/CS-TSP) nanocomposite with a weight ratio of 70/20/10, 70/15/15 and 70/10/20, respectively through a co-precipitation method. A comparative assessment of the properties of n-HA/CS-TSP and n-HA/CS nanocomposites was done by FT-IR, SEM–EDX, TEM, TGA/DTA, XRD and mechanical testing. The results suggested strong chemical interactions between the three components, decreased particle size and homogeneous dispersion of n-HA particles in n-HA/CS-TSP as compared to n-HA/CS. The n-HA/CS-TSP (70/10/20) showed the most porous and rough surface, enhanced thermal stability and highest compressive strength (4.0 MPa) and modulus (81 MPa). In addition, n-HA/CS-TSP (70/10/20) exhibited greater swelling character, acceptable degradation and increased biomineralization in simulated body fluid (SBF) as compared to n-HA/CS-TSP (70/20/10, 70/15/15) and n-HA/CS nanocomposites. The superior non-toxic response with MG-63 cells and better haemocompatibility was observed with n-HA/CS-TSP (70/15/15). Thereby, n-HA/CS-TSP nanocomposites could be promising alternative biomaterials in the field of bone tissue engineering compared to the n-HA/CS nanocomposite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]