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We report an efficient [3+2] cycloaddition protocol for the synthesis of pyrazolo[1,2‐a]pyrazolones from Morita‐Baylis‐Hillman adducts and N,N'‐cyclic azomethine imines. The R‐BINOL chiral phosphoric acid was identified as the suitable catalyst for the reported cycloaddition protocol. Almost all MBH adducts regioselectively delivered 7‐oxo‐pyrazolo[1,2‐a]pyrazoles at an efficient yield of 69–91 %. With exception, the MBH adducts derived from acrylonitrile deliver 5‐oxo‐pyrazolo[1,2‐a]pyrazoles comparatively at a higher yield than the 7‐oxo‐pyrazolo[1,2‐a]pyrazoles. The density functional theory (DFT) studies demonstrate that the reaction is thermodynamically more feasible in the presence of R‐BINOL chiral phosphoric acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass resources are often disposed of inefficiently and it causes environmental degradation. These wastes can be turned into bio‐products using effective conversion techniques. The synthesis of high‐value bio‐products from biomass adheres to the principles of a sustainable circular economy in a variety of industries, including agriculture. Recently, fluorescent carbon dots (C‐dots) derived from biowastes have emerged as a breakthrough in the field, showcasing outstanding fluorescence properties and biocompatibility. The C‐dots exhibit unique quantum confinement properties due to their small size, contributing to their exceptional fluorescence. The significance of their fluorescent properties lies in their versatile applications, particularly in bio‐imaging and energy devices. Their rapid and straight‐forward production using green/chemical precursors has further accelerated their adoption in diverse applications. The use of green precursors for C‐dot not only addresses the biomass disposal issue through a scientific approach, but also establishes a path for a circular economy. This approach not only minimizes biowaste, which also harnesses the potential of fluorescent C‐dots to contribute to sustainable practices in agriculture. This review explores recent developments and challenges in synthesizing high‐quality C‐dots from agro‐residues, shedding light on their crucial role in advancing technologies for a cleaner and more sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drying is an important unit operation in the turmeric processing chain. This research investigates the kinetics of drying turmeric slices using infrared dryer. The drying was performed at temperatures of 50, 60, and 70°C for slice thickness of 2, 4, and 6 mm. The drying temperature 70°C and slice thickness of 2 mm showed the highest drying rate. The highest curcumin and oleoresin yield with color retention was observed at the drying temperature of 60°C at 2-mm slice thickness. Thirteen thin-layer drying models were employed to evaluate the experimental drying kinetics of turmeric slices. The model Verma et al. showed the best fit with an R2 value of 0.99 with the least RMSE and chi-squared values as 0.0193 and 3.73E04, respectively. The activation energy for the turmeric slices of thickness 2, 4, and 6 mm ranged between 37.31 and 52.95, 48.78 and 57.51, and 46.79 and 57.37 kJ/mol for 50, 60, and 70°C, respectively. Practical applications This research offers significant potential for improving the efficiency and quality of turmeric drying in industrial settings. The infrared drying enables accelerated drying of turmeric. The optimized infrared drying conditions (60°C and 2-mm slice thickness) can significantly reduce drying time compared to conventional methods. This translates to increased throughput and minimized postharvest losses, especially in largescale turmeric processing facilities. The preservation of curcumin, oleoresin, and color at the optimized conditions ensures the production of high-value turmeric products with superior nutritional and sensory attributes. This can lead to increased consumer appeal, brand differentiation, and potentially higher market prices for turmeric-based foods, supplements, and nutraceuticals. The infrared drying technology can be prescribed to the industries over the existing industrial drying techniques. The costeffectiveness of the method, coupled with its potential for quality improvements and reduced drying time, makes it a viable option for turmeric processors seeking to enhance their operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated incorporating fish scale powder (FSP) as a bio‐filler into polylactic acid (PLA) raw material for polymeric 3D printing. The PLA/FSP filaments were evaluated for various properties (tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation, diameter deviation, thermogravimetric analysis, surface roughness, and SEM analysis) at different compositions (PLA, PLA/FSP10, PLA/FSP20, and PLA/FSP30 wt%). The results revealed that PLA filaments reinforced with 20 wt% FSP achieved the highest tensile strength, and modulus is 44.49 MPa and 2.83 GPa. The filaments reinforced with neat PLA and PLA with 10 wt% fish scale powder exhibited minor diameter deviations of +0.002 and −0.002. The surface roughness of the neat PLA filament is notably higher, registering a value of 1.459 μm. This finding highlights the importance of considering surface characteristics in filament selection for 3D printing applications. The microscopic analysis confirmed a uniform distribution of FSP particles in the 20 wt% composition PLA/FSP filaments. These results suggest that PLA/FSP (20 wt%) is an optimal feedstock for 3D printing, especially in developing biomaterials like bio‐scaffolds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major scope of this research is to scrutinize the effects of multiple slips on unstable magnetohydrodynamic micropolar fluid past a stretched sheet with a non‐Darcy porous medium. In the momentum equation, the non‐Darcy porous medium effect is also taken into consideration. The effects of uneven heat source/sink and thermal radiation in the energy equation are also analyzed. By implementing the similarity transmission, the mathematical modeling of the set of managing partial differential equations is reframed into nonlinear ordinary differential equations. These equations are numerically solved by applying Matlab built‐in solver bvp5c. The implications of foremost parameters such as micropolar parameter, magnetic parameter, permeability parameter, Prandtl, Eckert, and Schmidt numbers, Chemical reaction, slip parameters on velocity, microrotation, temperature as well as concentration profiles are displayed pictorially and explained. It is worthwhile to mention that the improving values of micropolar parameter K $K$ escalate the velocity as well as microrotation profiles. However, the upsurge in non‐Darcy porous medium Fs ${F}_{s}$ will cause a declining nature in the velocity profile. Also, an enhancement in the unsteadiness parameter A $A$ brings about a lessening in all the profiles. Increment in all the three usual slip parameters will bring a declining nature in the respective profiles. An increase in Schmidt number will give a deduction nature in velocity as well as concentration profile. Moreover, the physical quantities are defined and Nusselt numbers are formulated in the table, and it enlarges while boosting up Pr $Pr$ and R $R$, whilst a reverse nature is noticed for others. This present study compared with the earlier studies in special cases holds a better agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nano surface roughness of metallic materials is important in engineering and medical fields for specific applications. Magneto rheological abrasive flow finishing (MRAFF) process was performed on nickel-free austenitic stainless workpieces in order to obtain surface roughness at the nano level and also to forecast the performance of the MRAFF process in terms of responses such as surface roughness (SR) and material removal rate (MRR). These two responses are affected by process factors such as hydraulic pressure, current to the electromagnet, and the number of cycles performed during the machining process. The design of experiments (DOE) was used to determine the contributions of process parameters to output responses. The techniques of grey relational analysis (GRA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used in these experimental investigations to discover the process factors that minimise the final Ra and maximise MRR. Through the DOE, a minimum SR of 63.24 nm and a maximum MRR of 2.34 mg/sec were obtained on the samples for the combination of 30 bar pressure, 6 A current, and 300 number of cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the detection and identification of flaws in Plug valves. The Plug valve thermal image is acquired using a Fluke thermal camera [TiS20]. Thermal images of the Plug valve are used for the identification of flaws such as Crack, Porosity, Corrosion, and Internal defects. The thermal images detect the surface flaws and never subsurface flaws in Plug valves. The subsurface flaws detection is a challenging problem in valve inspection. In this paper, the thermal images obtained after the dye penetrates the surface valve detect the surface flaws more efficiently after applying the Fuzzy Deep Learning Algorithms. DyePenetrating Test (DPT) combined with Infrared Thermography is proposed to identify heat flux changes and flaws in the faulty metal surface of Plug valves. In DPT, thinned paint is employed on the metal surface that displays metal porosity and even fine cracks. After DPT, thermal images of the Plug valve are processed through the Fuzzy Deep Learning Algorithm to evaluate flaws. The Fuzzy Algorithm is utilized prior to Deep Learning to simplify and speed up the classification task. The flaws are identified using Slicing operation and the following parametric quantities such as Accuracy, Mathew's Correlation Coefficient (MCC), Local Self-Similarity Descriptor (LSS), Precision/Recall, F-measure, and Jaccard Index. The parametric quantities depict corresponding variations with regard to surface coarseness and metal flaws. The DPT and Fuzzy Deep Learning Algorithm identify metal defects with 80.67% accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the identification and categorization of plug valve defects. We utilize a thermal fluke camera to obtain the plug valve thermal images. The thermal camera utilizes passive infrared thermography towards the identification of plug valve defects such as cracks, porosity, and internal defects. These flaws depict variation in surface temperature induced by heat flux. Infrared thermography is capable of identification of surface flaws such as cracks and subsurface flaws such as porosity. Its flaw identification range is effective only up to a certain depth in the metal. The heat flux variations are clearly visible for surface cracks and subsurface porosity. However, the heat flux shows no fluctuations for internal defects. Hence, to identify the internal defects in the metal, we opt for a combination of passive infrared thermography and dye penetrating test. In the dye penetrating test, a thinned paint is applied over the metal surface that aids in the identification of cracks, porosity, and internal defects as well. The PIT-DPT (passive infrared thermography-dye penetrating test) works in combination with weighted local variation pixel-based fuzzy clustering (WLVPBFC) to measure the depth of the defects. The defects were measured against parametric quantities such as F-value, precision, recall, accuracy, Jaccard index, TP, FP, TN, FN, FP rate, TP rate, and MCC. These parameters depict variations with regard to surface texture and extent of defect level. The PIT-DPT and WLVPBFC techniques identify metal flaws with 87.88% efficiency when evaluated against other existing algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consequence of periodic body acceleration and thermal radiation in the pulsating flow of MHD Casson nanofluid through a porous channel is addressed. A flow of the nanofluid injected through the lower plate is considered while sucked out through the upper plate with a similar velocity. The thermal radiation term is incorporated in the heat transfer equation. The governing equations corresponding to velocity and temperature are converted from partial differential equations to a system of ordinary differential equations by employing similarity variables. The perturbation technique is applied to solve the governing flow equations. The impact of diverse parameters on flow features is graphically analyzed. The result reveals that adding the nanoparticle has enhanced the velocity profile of the base fluid. Moreover, an increase in the periodic body acceleration results in enlarging velocity and temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures of the red polymorph (space group P1) and the black polymorph (space group P21/c) of 4,4′‐dimethyl‐6,6′‐dichlorothioindigo were solved from single‐crystal samples. For both polymorphs, the spatial stacking of the flat molecules is driven by π‐stacking and noncovalent interactions within the layers. Spectroscopic (UV–vis, IR and photoluminescence) and thermal properties of the red polymorph were investigated experimentally. The bandgap of this polymorph was estimated as 2.08 eV at room temperature. It is demonstrated that the electric conductivity of the red polymorph follows the hopping mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a novel design of compact cavity‐backed slot antenna based on substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is presented for dual‐frequency communication services. A single layer printed circuit board is applied to implement the proposed antenna. The bowtie‐ring slot engraved on the SIW square cavity is excited using two orthogonal microstrip feed lines to operate at two distinct frequencies (6.62 GHz and 11.18 GHz). The proposed antenna allows each of these frequencies to be designed independently. A prototype of the proposed cavity‐backed antenna that radiates at both 6.62 GHz and 11.18 GHz is fabricated and measured. The port isolation better than 29.3 dB is achieved by utilizing the transmission zeros (TZs), which are produced due to the orthogonal feed lines, TE110 mode and coupling between the TE120 and TE210 modes. The measured peak gains of the proposed diplexing antenna are 5.77 dBi and 5.81 dBi at lower and upper resonating frequencies, respectively. The proposed dual‐frequency antenna exhibits the front‐to‐back‐ratio (FTBR) and cross‐polarization level greater than 26 dB and 21 dB, respectively, at both resonating frequencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a highly miniaturized second harmonic suppressed 3‐dB branch‐line hybrid (BLH) with wideband performance is developed by employing a novel transmission‐line architecture (TLA). The proposed architecture consists of a coupled‐line, a series microstrip‐line and two open‐ended stubs. The even‐odd mode technique is used to formulate the required design equations. In order to reduce the size of the BLH, the internal areas between the branches are properly utilized for accommodating the proposed TLA structures with parameter values calculated using the derived formulas. To demonstrate this technique, a wideband three‐section BLH operating at 0.9 GHz is designed and fabricated. The measurement results show the proposed technique reduces the total circuit‐area of the BLH by 90.24% compared to the traditional three‐section hybrid while maintaining a fractional bandwidth greater than 53%. In addition, the second harmonic is eliminated utilizing the spurious response produced by the open‐ended stubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this article, an equal split triple‐band Wilkinson power divider is reported. The triple‐frequency operation is obtained by employing an extended cross‐shaped microstrip line. This proposed geometry is constructed using a cross‐shaped structure attached with two series microstrip lines at two ports. The circuit parameters are computed from the graphical solutions plotted based on the derived formulas. To validate the synthesis approach, a triple‐band power divider intended to operate at 0.9/3.15/5.4 GHz is developed, fabricated and tested. A good consistency is observed on the tested and simulated performances. The measured isolation and return loss are greater than 28 dB at all the operating frequencies. The prototype provides a good insertion loss of 3 ± 0.3 dB at the center of each frequency band. Considering minimum 15 dB return loss and maximum 0.5 dB amplitude imbalance, the bandwidths at 0.9, 3.15, and 5.4 GHz are obtained as 140, 130, and 110 MHz, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this letter, a highly miniaturizedal‐band frequency selective surface (FSS) is designed and experimentally verified. The proposed structure has orthogonally meandered metallic strips with an opening at one point in the loop. This single sided FSS operates at 1.23 and 3.3 GHz with a compact unit cell size dimension of 0.033λ0 × 0.033λ0 × 0.003λ0 where λ0 stands for the free space wavelength at the lower resonating frequency. Parametric and circuit analyses of the formulated structure has been carried out to have a comprehensive understanding of the model. The structure has stable resonance for TE and TM polarizations at various incident angles. The presented FSS is fabricated and measured. A good similitude between the simulation and measurement has been obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this article, a tri‐band 180‐degree directional coupler with spurious suppression is proposed. This coupler is realized using the extended π‐shaped Microstrip operating at 3 different frequencies. The design equations of the extended π‐shaped structure are obtained through the ABCD matrix method. The designed coupler provides tri‐frequency response at 1.8, 3.5, and 5.2 GHz corresponding to Global System for Mobile communication, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, and wireless local area network applications, respectively. The fractional bandwidth variations of the isolation, matching, phase and amplitude imbalance at sum and difference ports are discussed in detail. In addition, the spurious bands beyond the operating frequencies are also suppressed. To validate the performances, the proposed tri‐band coupler is fabricated and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel approach in the design of broadband circularly polarized antennas is presented in this article. The design uses a simple monopole structure with a triangular tapered feed. Right-/left-hand circular polarization (CP) is achieved by protruding L-shaped strip and inverted L-shaped strip along the left/right radiating edge of the monopole. It is proposed that the 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth (AR-BW) can be enhanced when the length of these strips is equal to λg/4 at the center frequency of their respective CP bands. This principle is verified by fabricating the prototype on 1 mm thick FR4 substrate occupying a compact area of 0.19 λ0 × 0.19 λ0. From the measurement results, it is observed that the overlapped bandwidth ( S11 ≤ −10 dB and AR ≤ 3 dB) of the antenna is 129.04% (1.38-6.4 GHz) which covers all the major WLAN bands including the WiMAX. The proposed antenna has bi-directional radiation characteristics with a broadside gain of 3.49 dBic in the CP band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a novel design of quad-band matching network (QBMN) with ultra-high impedance transforming ratios (UHTRs) is proposed and designed based on ABCD matrix method. The QBMN is capable of matching a very large real load impedance at four different frequencies simultaneously. The quad-band structure is composed of π-section with series connected coupled lines at each port. The design formulas of QBMN are derived analytically to obtain the quad-band operation. In order to validate the proposed idea, three examples of QBMN for different load impedances (500, 1000, and 1500 Ω) are considered. Finally, two QBMNs with transforming ratios of 10 and 20 are fabricated and demonstrated. For both the prototypes, the measured S11 is better than 15 dB at all working frequencies. The experimental performances are consistent with the simulated results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel modified T-shaped transmission line, comprised of a transmission line centre tapped with open stub and parallel open stubs is proposed to reduce the size and suppress the unwanted harmonics of branch line coupler (BLC), to a great extent. The low impedance open-stub limitation of traditional T-shaped unit is rectified by the proposed unit for extended harmonic suppression of BLC. Besides, the 35.35 and 50 Ω quarter wavelength transmission lines of the BLC are reduced to 39.6° and 37.8°, respectively. Lossless transmission line model analysis is used to derive the design equations and graphs. To validate the proposed approach, a prototype operating at 0.9 GHz is fabricated. The proposed BLC size is 74% smaller than the conventional one and exhibits a wide-range harmonic suppression of up to at least eighth harmonic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This article presents the size-miniaturized, wide-bandwidth, and harmonic-suppressed 10 dB branch line coupler (BLC) using cascaded symmetric PI sections. The complete design equations are derived to obtain the physical parameters of cascaded PI sections. To validate the proposed design, a 10 dB BLC operating at 0.9 GHz is designed, fabricated, and tested. The reported BLC is having dimensions of 0.175 λg × 0.25 λg and is 76.6% smaller than the conventional coupler. The measured results show that the designed coupler fractional bandwidth is >52% and up to 4th harmonic is suppressed with a level better than 20 dB. Good agreement is found between the theoretical predictions and experimental results. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 58:1610-1613, 2016 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A deep and wide rejection bandwidth, sharp cutoff and compact low-pass filter design using open complementary split ring resonator (OCSRR), and open stub is presented in this article.OCSRR is counterpart of the open split ring resonator. The proposed low-pass filter consist of two OCSRR connected in series. The open stubs are attached on both sides of the OCSRR. At the 3 dB cutoff frequency of 1.08 GHz, the proposed filter offers a sharp rejection and wide rejection bandwidth of more than 20 dB up to six times the cutoff frequency. The filter size is very small as 0.22 λ × 0.18 λ, where λ is the guided wavelength at the cutoff frequency. The proposed filter is fabricated and tested; the experimental results are found to be in good agreement with the simulation results. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:845-848, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.25874 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Left atrium (LA) remodeling has a crucial adverse impact on outcome and prognosis in mitral stenosis. Few studies have reported the effect of balloon mitral valvuloplasty (BMV) on LA volume. The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of LA volume immediately and 1 month after successful BMV in patients in sinus rhythm. Methods: Thirty-three consecutive patients (70% women; age 31 ± 8 years; range 19-45) with moderate to severe mitral stenosis (mitral valve area ≤1.5 cm) who underwent successful BMV were included prospectively. Using two-dimensional echocardiography, and according to the prolate ellipse method, LA volume and LA volume indexed to body surface area were determined before BMV, and 24 hours and 1 month after BMV. Tricuspid and pulmonary regurgitation jets were recorded systematically using continuous-wave Doppler. Pulmonary artery-right ventricular (PA-RV) gradients, reflecting pulmonary pressures, and pulmonary vascular resistance were measured. Results: Mitral valve area increased from 0.88 ± 0.16 to 1.55 ± 0.26 cm (P < 0.0001). Mean mitral valve gradient (MVG) decreased from 16 ± 6 to 6 ± 2 mmHg (P < 0.0001) immediately after BMV. Indexed LA volume fell from 56 ± 14 to 48 ± 12 mL/m (P = 0.0002) immediately after BMV and to 45 ± 13 mL/m at 1 month (P < 0.0001). Only patients with a median LA volume ≥55 mL/m before BMV had a significant reduction in LA volume (P = 0.0001). Decrease in LA volume was correlated with decreases in PA-RV peak diastolic gradient (r = 0.45, P = 0.008) and MVG (r = 0.35, P = 0.04). Conclusion: In patients with mitral stenosis in sinus rhythm, successful BMV results in an immediate decrease in LA volume. This reduction, maximal immediately after BMV, correlates with decreases in MVG and PA-RV peak diastolic gradient, and is significant only when LA volume before BMV is severely enlarged. (Echocardiography 2011;28:154-160) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bio-diesel industrial waste, Pongamia pinnata seed shell was utilized as a potential adsorbent for the toxic textile dye 'Reactive Red 2'. Preliminary information was gathered by batch mode contact time adsorption studies, which include effect of pH, contact time, dye concentration and temperature. Plausible mechanism of the on going adsorption process and thermodynamic parameters involved were obtained by carrying out kinetic measurements. To identify whether the on going process is particle diffusion or film diffusion, the treatment given by Boyd and Reichenberg was employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which examines the biopolishing of cotton fabrics with total cellulases derived from Trichoderma reesei and optimization of process parameters. The study uses Taguchi methods, analysis of variance and confirmation test to determine process optimization such as mechanical agitations. Result shows that the parameters have affected weight loss, fabric strength while cellulases and duration of treatment affect thickness, bursting and flexural rigidity of the fabrics.

This study compared the induction time, haemodynamic changes, recovery characteristics and patient satisfaction for sevoflurane and propofol when used as the main anaesthetic agents for cardioversion. Sixty-one unpremedicated patients scheduled for elective cardioversion were anaesthetised with either inhaled sevoflurane 8% or an intravenous propofol target-controlled infusion set at 6 microg.ml(-1). There was no significant difference in induction time between the two groups: mean (SD) = 90.1(40) s in the sevoflurane group vs. 83.7(35) s in the propofol group. Mean (SD) time to recovery was significantly shorter in the sevoflurane group than in the propofol group: 318 (127) s vs.738 (355) s, respectively, p < 0.001. At recovery, the patients in the propofol group had significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures than those in the sevoflurane group, p < 0.001. The incidence of complications was low in both groups, with similar patient satisfaction expressed after the procedure. We conclude that sevoflurane is a suitable choice for anaesthesia for cardioversion and may provide greater haemodynamic stability than a target-controlled infusion of propofol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary The interaction between biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 and 0.01–5 mM gold chloride was investigated using flow-cells. Scanning confocal laser microscopy (SCLM) of these biofilms revealed the formation of two distinct structural features: (i) confluent areas of uniform thickness and (ii) cell clusters which often emerged as 30–40 µm, tall narrow pillars (or pedestals) of cells and exopolymeric substance (EPS). When 5-day-old, quasi-steady state biofilms (as indicated by the stability of film thickness and overall structure) were exposed to relatively high AuCl3 (i.e. 0.5–5 mM) for 30 min at 20°C, reduction of the auric ion resulted in the formation of both extracellular and intracellular metallic gold colloids, as revealed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Most mineralization occurred on cell surfaces with lesser amounts within cells and little throughout the EPS. Little to no mineralization of gold was seen at 0.01–0.1 mM concentrations. As initial AuCl3 concentrations approached 0.5 mM or greater, more gold particles were seen and cell viability, as determined by a BacLight® live/dead viability probe, approached zero. At an intermediate concentration of 0.1 mM, the live:dead ratio increased to 4:1. However, when planktonic cells were exposed to this same 0.1 mM concentration, it resulted in a 4-log reduction in viable counts as determined by plating. The higher resistance of biofilm cells to 0.1 mM gold can be attributed to its binding to the EPS and cell surfaces of the biofilm which ensured a (presumably) low effective cytoplasmic concentration of gold (i.e. no gold crystals were seen in cells by TEM). In addition, SCLM revealed the formation of larger extracellular gold crystals at the substratum (coverslip) level of the biofilms, with a higher proportion of crystals detected beneath pillars (cell cluster structures), suggesting the possibility of unique cell types,... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three-dimensional structure of diferric buffalo lactoferrin has been determined at 3.3 Å resolution. The structure was solved by molecular replacement using the coordinates of diferric human lactoferrin as a search model and was refined by simulated annealing (X-PLOR). The final model comprises 5316 protein atoms for all 689 residues, two Fe3+ and two CO32- ions. The final R factor was 21.8% for 11711 reflections in the resolution range 17.0-3.3 Å. The folding of buffalo lactoferrin is essentially similar to that of the other members of the transferrin family. The significant differences are found in the dimensions of the binding cleft and the interlobe orientation. The interlobe interactions are predominantly hydrophobic in nature, thus facilitating the sliding of two lobes owing to external forces. The interdomain interactions are comparable in the N and C lobes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An open complementary split-ring resonator (OCSRR) based T-junction power divider working at 900 MHz frequency is proposed in this paper. By embedding the OCSRR in the microstrip transmission line, slow wave effect is introduced to achieve size reduction. The proposed power divider size is 47% smaller than the conventional power divider. Besides, the proposed power divider provides better third harmonic suppression. The simulated results are verified with the experimental results. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 53:2897-2899, 2011; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI 10.1002/mop.26393 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, an open slot split ring resonator (OSSRR) is introduced to realize a composite right/left handed (CRLH) transmission line structure in microstrip technology.The CRLH line is synthesized by etching OSSRR in the ground plane and interdigital capacitor in the microstrip line. Simulated and measured scattering parameter of the structure is presented. The dispersion characteristic of proposed structure is also shown. The proposed structure is 15% smaller than the conventional complementary split ring resonator structure. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 52: 1729–1731, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.25330 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Software defined radio (SDR) technology supports multiple air interfaces and modulation formats for wireless devices, which is vital when paralleled with the proliferation of wireless standards. To achieve such flexibility and functionality, SDR uses Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) with reconfigurable fabric. In the proposed work, different modulation techniques available in SDR are presented. Design and implementation procedure on Xilinx FPGA are also discussed. The VHDL hardware description language is used for designing and implementing the various modulators. The Xilinx EDA tool is used to synthesize the proposed one. The reconfiguration of bits is used to select the various modulation techniques dynamically with the help of Xilinx software. This proposed design makes the implementation of SDR based modulators very simple and fast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an obituary for K. M. Matthew, plant taxonomist and conservationists.

Transcription therapy is an emerging approach that centers on identifying the factors associated with the malfunctioning gene transcription machinery that causes diseases and controlling them with designer agents. Until now, the primary research focus in therapeutic gene modulation has been on small-molecule drugs that target epigenetic enzymes and critical signaling pathways. However, nucleic acid-based small molecules have gained popularity in recent years for their amenability to be pre-designed and realize operative control over the dynamic transcription machinery that governs how the immune system responds to diseases. Pyrrole-imidazole polyamides (PIPs) are well-established DNA-based small-molecule gene regulators that overcome the limitations of their conventional counterparts owing to their sequence-targeted specificity, versatile regulatory efficiency, and biocompatibility. Here, we emphasize the rational design of PIPs, their functional mechanisms, and their potential as targeted transcription therapeutics for disease treatment by regulating the immune response. Furthermore, we also discuss the challenges and foresight of this approach in personalized immunotherapy in precision medicine., (© 2023 The Authors. Allergy published by European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In the title compound, C11H10O4, the methyl acrylate sub-stituent adopts an extended E conformation with all torsion angles close to 180°. The conformation of the keto group with respect to the olefinic double bond is typically S-trans. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via pairs of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers with an R 2 (2)(8) graph-set motif. The dimers are further linked via C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along [001], which enclose R 3 (2)(16) graph-set ring motifs. The keto group O atomaccepts two C-H⋯O interactions.

In the title solvate, C29H30N2O3·CHCl3, the dihedral angle between the indole ring system (r.m.s. deviation = 0.050 Å) and the 4-methyl-pyrrolidine ring is 88.88 (8)°. The latter ring adopts an envelope conformation with the N atom as the flap. Its mean plane makes dihedral angles of 86.94 (11) and 42.08 (9)° with the phenyl and di-methyl-benzene rings, respectively. The mol-ecular conformation is stabilized by intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which generate S(6) and S(9) ring motifs. The chloro-form solvent mol-ecule is linked to the organic mol-ecule by a C-H⋯O hydrogen bond involving the carbonyl O atom of the carboxyl-ate group. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via bifurcated N-H⋯(N,O) and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains propagating along [001].

In the title compound, C27H24Cl2N2O3, the indole ring system is essentially planar, with a maximum deviation of 0.082 (2) Å for the carbonyl C atom. It makes a dihedral angle of 88.53 (6)° with the mean plane of the 4-methyl-pyrrolidine ring, which adopts an envelope conformation with the N atom at the flap position. The mol-ecular structure is stabilized by intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which generate S(6) and S(7) ring motifs, and an intra-molecular π-π inter-action involving the benzyl and di-chloro-substituted benzene rings [centroid-centroid distance = 3.6291 (11) Å]. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming C(7) chains running parallel to [10-1].

In the title compound, C29H29BrN2O3, the indole ring system is essentially planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.079 Å) and makes a dihedral angle of 85.23 (10)° with the mean plane of the 4-methyl-pyrrolidine ring. This ring adopts an envelope conformation with the N atom at the flap. The pyrrolidine ring of the indole ring system adopts a twisted conformation on the C-C(=O) bond. The mol-ecular structure is stabilized by an intra-molecular C-H⋯O hydrogen bond, which generates an S(6) ring motif. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked via pairs of C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming inversion dimers with an R 2 (2)(14) ring motif. These dimers are further linked by N-H⋯O and C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming two-dimensional networks lying parallel to (10-1).