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A simple and sensitive sensor for the determination of caffeic Acid (CFA) is being reported. The developed sensor was characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray (...

India-China border has not been formally demarcated and there are areas where both sides have differing perception of Line of Actual Control (LAC), and its perception on ground have led to a number of skirmishes and standoffs, Doklam being the most recent. The differentiating factor in this standoff was that it took place in a third country, Bhutan. This crisis will remain an important indicator of Indian and Chinese strategic behaviour in any future crisis between the two emerging powers. This will also reflect on India’s relations with other countries in South Asia and vice versa. A major aspect of Indian strategic behaviour that emerged from this crisis was that India can play the game of military brinkmanship and win it. During this crisis, the Chinese strategy of Three Warfares was in full flow and all three components—public opinion/media, legal and psychological warfare—were unleashed on India. This article is based on Indian and Chinese government briefings and press releases, media both print and electronic of the two countries, social media, journals, government reports, and books of the two countries.

A novel graphite/gold nanoparticle modified glassy carbon electrode (GrNfs/AuNPs/GCE) sensor has been developed for the sensitive quantification of phytoestrogen genistein in solubilized system. Th...

Hydrogels are hydrophilic polymeric networks prepared by physical or chemical cross-linking of gelator molecules under optimum conditions. Being sensitive to external stimuli, hydrogels are integrated into signal transduction systems for generating possible responses upon interaction with target analytes to study various physiochemical/biochemical molecular recognition processes. In recent times, polymer based hydrogel materials have emerged as unique electrode modifying materials providing highly permeable matrix for easy diffusion of analytes and rapid electron transport. Polymeric architectures of hydrogels can accommodate different nanomaterials within its matrix through suitable interactions to form hydrogel nanocomposites. Further, high biocompatibility of hydrogels facilitates facile encapsulation and cross-linking of bioreceptors (eg. nucleic acid, protein) into polymer matrix and helps to retain their bioactivity during practical applications. Polymer hydrogel materials enable easy prototyping of electrodes using novel printing technologies for designing next generation advanced, flexible and portable bioelectronics with excellent sensing performances. The present article focuses on the implication of polymer hydrogels as high performance electrode materials. Taking relevant examples, nanomaterials incorporated polymer hydrogel based chemical sensors and bioreceptors embedded biosensors have been discussed for electrochemical detection of different analytes. Preparation of hydrogel modified electrodes and state-of-the-art sensing mechanisms have been briefly emphasized. Concluding remarks and future prospects regarding fabrication of hydrogel based smart electronics have been provided at the end.

The adsorption behavior of an anticonvulsant drug oxcarbazepine from aqueous solution onto 3D porous NiFe2O4 was studied at 30, 40, and 50 °C. The optimum conditions for the adsorption of the drug ...

The herbicide Triclopyr (TCP) is widely applied to minimize the growth of woody plants. Monitoring of TCP is of major environmental concern due to its adverse impact on aquatic organisms, soils and animals. Electrochemical behavior of TCP was investigated at C70 decorated PANI modified glassy carbon sensor (PANI/C70/GC). The experimental parameters, such as concentration, pH, amplitude, frequency, deposition potential were optimized. The modified sensor exhibited an excellent catalytic response towards the reduction of TCP with a well-defined reduction peak at 1.72 V. The developed sensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical measurements were carried out using square wave (SWV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The modified sensor exhibited linear calibration curve for TCP over a concentration range of 10 ngmL−1–100 ngmL−1 with detection limit of 1.9 ngmL−1. The developed sensor could detect TCP efficiently without any interference from the common metabolites. The voltammetric procedure was applied successfully to real sample analysis with high sensitivity and good selectivity.

A highly effective approach was developed for the determination of drotaverine hydrochloride (DRH), based on carbon nanofiber–modified glassy carbon electrode (CNF/GCE). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements reveal significant improvements in the conductivity and compatibility of a modified sensor in comparison to the bare GCE. Carbon nanofiber used as the modifier provides to the developed sensor a considerable enhanced electrocatalytic activity toward drotaverine reduction. Limit of detection (LOD) obtained was 5.0 ng mL−1. The developed method was also successfully applied to the determination of drotaverine in real samples, with recoveries in the range from 98.63 to 100.41%.

An ultrasensitive voltammetric sensor has been developed for selective determination of cinnamaldehyde (CNN) based upon electrocatalytic properties of titanium oxide and (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate). The fabricated sensor was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The electrochemical behavior of cinnamaldehyde at the modified sensor was studied using square wave voltammetry as a function of concentration of cinnamaldehyde. This titanium oxide and ionic liquid based sensor displayed excellent electrocatalytic activity toward reduction of cinnamaldehyde. Under optimized experimental conditions, the reduction peak current was linear over the concentration range from 0.02 μM to 0.14 μM, with limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification of 2.6 nM and 8.0 nM respectively. The fabricated sensor was also successfully employed for the analysis of cinnamaldehyde in real samples.

Ranolazine (RZ) is an anti-anginal drug with a distinct mechanism of action and widely employed in patients with chronic angina. Its measurement is essential in clinical environment to ensure adequate drug level and understand the redox mechanism which gives an idea of in-vivo fate of the drug. In view of this, an exemplary voltammetric approach is proposed here for determination of RZ utilizing glassy carbon electrode (GCE) fabricated with WO3 decorated graphene nanocomposite. The structural and morphological characterizations of modifier were made by employing XRD, FESEM, EDAX, HRTEM, XPS, Raman and FT-IR spectroscopy which revealed successful formation of the nanocomposite. As a result of high electrical conductivity and large effective surface area of WO3 nanoparticles and graphene nanosheets, the developed sensor WO3/Graphene/GCE displayed effectual and unrelenting electron interceding behavior exhibiting higher peak currents at lower potentials for RZ oxidation. Using square wave voltammetry, the drug showcased well-defined voltammetric response in Britton-Robinson buffer at pH 4.5 in concentration range from 0.2-1.4 μM and 1.4–14 μM with the low detection limit of 0.13 μM. The developed protocol was then implemented successfully to quantify RZ in commercially accessible pharmaceutical tablets with satisfactory recovery (99.8%–100.2%). The experimental results illustrated the applicability of the fabricated sensor for drug quality control and clinical analysis along with pharmacokinetic studies.

This paper discusses the synthesis and application of graphene oxide (GO)/1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [BMIM][BF4] nanocomposite. The nanocomposite, GO/[BMIM][BF4],was characterized using XRD, XPS, EDX, FESEM, TEM, FT-IR, and Raman techniques. The dispersion of [BMIM][BF4] ionic liquid (IL)in the graphene oxide nanochannels provided remarkable interfacial property to the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface. GO/[BMIM][BF4]modified GCE sensor enhanced the anodic peak current intensity of Embramine (EMB), which was found proportional to the drug concentration within the range of 4.9 to 24.7 ng l−1, with a detection limit of 1.5 ng l−1 and the quantification limit of 4.6 ng l−1. The redox behavior at varying scan rates revealed that the electro-oxidation process of EMB at GO/IL/GCE was an irreversible diffusion-controlled process. The applicability of the proposed method was further studied for the successful quantification of EMB in the pharmaceutical formulation and human blood plasma.

Introduction: The whole world is facing an ongoing global health emergency of COVID-19 disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Real-Time Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) is a gold standard in the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Presently, many single tube multiple gene target RT-PCR kits have been developed and are commercially available for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) diagnosis. Aim: To evaluate the performance of seven COVID-19 RT-PCR kits (DiagSure, Meril, VIRALDTECT II, TruPCR, Q-line, Allplex and TaqPath) which are commercially available for COVID-19 RT-PCR diagnosis. Materials and Methods: This observational study was conductedat the State Virology Laboratory (SVL), Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Seven commercially available kits have been evaluated on the basis of: (i) number of SARS-CoV-2 specific gene target; (ii) human housekeeping genes as internal control; (iii) RT-PCR run time; and (iv) kit performances to correctly detect SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative RNA samples. A total of 50 RNA samples (left over RNA) were included, master mix preparation, template addition and RT-PCR test has been performed according to kits literature. At the end of PCR run, mean and standard deviation of obtained cut-off of all kits were calculated using Microsoft Excel. Results: All seven RT-PCR kits performed satisfactory regarding the reproducibility and they could correctly identify 30 positive and 20 negative RNA samples. RNA samples (group C) having low viral loads with a high Cycle threshold (Ct) value (>30) were also detected by all these seven kits. Obtained Ct values of each group was in parallel range in comparison with the initial testing Ct values. Kits were found to be superior which contains primers and probes for three SARS-CoV-2 specific gene targets, have human housekeeping gene as internal control and taking less time to complete RT-PCR. Conclusion: All seven COVID-19 RT-PCR kits included in this study demonstrated satisfactory performance and can be used for the routine molecular diagnosis of COVID-19 disease.

Cyanogen chloride (CK) is a colorless gas with a bitter and pungent smell like pepper. It is extremely volatile and toxic in nature that obstructs the body's capability to oxygen consumption. As CK is used commercially in chemical synthesis and as a disinfectant byproduct (DBP) in chloraminated and chlorinated drinking water as well as in wastewater It is essential to have adequate knowledge about this gas with respect to its properties, effects, sources, treatment methods, and the recent research to prevent toxicological effects on environment and human. This chapter briefly discusses the risk factors, assessment, and management in risk analysis of CK.

Present paper reports multianalyte electroanalysis of hypertensive having amlodipine and nebivolol molecules in a single dose. Amlodipine and Nebivolol exhibited oxidation peaks at 0.70 and 0.90 V respectively on the Graphite/Polyaniline-Cerium Oxide/Carbon paste electrode. The linearity range was 0.1 to 1.6 μg ml−1 in Britton Robinson buffer (pH 8.0). The limit of detection was 20.0 ng ml−1 for Amlodipine and 30.0 ng ml−1 for Nebivolol and the limit of quantification was 80.0 ng ml−1 for Amlodipine and 100 ng ml−1 for Nebivolol respectively. These analytes were also determined in pharmaceutical formulation and human serum and good recovery was obtained for the developed method.

Motivation: Despite decades of R&D in algorithm-driven CAD, the design and implementation of SoCs requires an ever-increasing number of resources in terms of designers, compute servers and tool licenses. Design automation has not scaled with the complexity of deep sub-micron fabrication process or the complexity of optimizing power, performance and area (PPA) of modern SoCs. There seems to be a fundamental limit to algorithm-driven CAD that prevents tools from scaling to meet the increasing complexity. As technology scaling reaches its limits and the PPA gains from technology scaling get limited, the need for design tools to close PPA gap through design will increase significantly, making this problem worse.Problem statement:Approach:SoC design consists of taking a chip hardware spec and generating the fabrication mask spec, involving two main tasks: (1) logic synthesis and (2) physical design. While algorithm-driven CAD tools exist to automate both these tasks, they cannot meet the PPA without a large number of manually guided design iterations that consume manpower, compute and tool resources.Approach: Data-driven CAD can capture the learning from manual PPA optimization, and data-driven tools inherently scale with design complexity. We explore the open problems in using Data-driven CAD, to complement the automation capabilities of algorithm-driven CAD and meet the increasing PPA demands of modern SOCs in deep-submicron technologies.

Department of Chemistry, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam University, Indore-452 016, Madhya Pradesh, India Department of Chemistry, Jiwaji University, Gwalior-474 011, Madhya Pradesh, India E-mail: swatipc2011@gmail.com Manuscript received online 13 October 2020, revised and accepted 31 November 2020 Water pollution due to pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) has been gaining attention of researchers all over the world. The heterogeneous photocatalytic degradation in the presence of semiconductor and UV radiation has been getting much more attention because it is an efficient, inexpensive, eco-friendly method and doses not left any waste material in water/wastewater. In the present study, photocatalytic degradation of rizatriptan benzoate (RTB) has been investigated using titanium dioxide (TiO2 ) photocatalyst. The photocatalytic degradation activity of the nanocatalyst has been evaluated on the basis of Langmuir kinetic model. The effects of pH, concentration of H2O2 added, initial drug concentration and dosage of the catalyst have also been investigated. The best possible conditions for the degradation of the drug have been evaluated and found drug concentration 0.3 mg/mL, pH 11.5, and dose of catalyst 10 mg was optimum for this experiment. The effect of hydrogen peroxide on the degradation process was also done to study the effect of the electron acceptor and it was found that in the following process generation of hydroxyl radicals and retardation of electron-hole recombination both takes place. It was found by this study that photocatalytic degradation by titanium dioxide is a proficient, cost-effective and more rapidly form of degradation rizatriptan benzoate from aqueous solution.

© 2018, © 2018 International Building Performance Simulation Association (IBPSA). This study presents a novel computing technique for data exchange and coupling between a high-resolution weather simulation model and a building energy model, with a goal of evaluating the impact of urban weather boundary conditions on energy performance of urban buildings. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is initialized with the operational High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) dataset to provide hourly weather conditions over the Chicago region. We utilize the building footprint, land use, and building stock datasets to generate building energy models using EnergyPlus. We mapped the building exterior surfaces to local air nodes to import simulated microclimate data and to export buildings' heat emissions to their local environment. Preliminary experiments for a test area in Chicago show that predicted building cooling energy use differs by about 4.7% for the selected date when compared with simulations using TMY weather data and without considering the urban microclimate boundary conditions.

Herein, a binary composite electrode comprising CeO2 nanoparticles and g-C3N4 sheets were investigated for electrochemical determination of an anti-depressant drug Agomelatine (AG). The nanocomposite was utilized for fabrication of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) via simple casting method and characterized for morphology and composition using various advanced characterization tools which indicated successful loading of CeO2 nanoparticles on g-C3N4 sheets. The modified sensor was employed for electrochemical study of AG using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). A significant enhancement was observed in anodic peak current at CeO2/g-C3N4/GCE, as compared to bare electrode, due to reduction in charge transfer resistance and augmentation in electron transfer process. Electroactive surface area of modified sensor was found to be 0.204 cm2 which was almost 8 times higher than bare electrode. A diffusion-limited process involving equal number of protons and electrons controlled the electrochemical oxidation of AG with the sensor. Under optimized conditions, the modified sensor displayed linear response over a concentration range of 1-20 ng/ml, limit of detection (LOD) 0.96 ng/ml and limit of quantification (LOQ) 2.92 ng/ml. The developed method was successfully applied to determine AG in commercial tablets with satisfactory recovery results along with good reproducibility, selectivity and stability.

MXene has emerged as an amazing family of two dimensional (2D) layered materials and drawn great attention from researchers of diverse scientific fields. MXenes are the recent advancements of materials chemistry which include early transition metal carbides, nitrides and carbonitrides produced by exfoliation of selective MAX phases. MAX phase corresponds to the general formula Mn+1AXn (n = 1, 2, 3) where M represents early d-block transition metals, A stands for main group sp elements (specifically groups 13 and 14) and X is either C or N atoms. MXenes have left a prodigious impact on scientific communities with new technological advancements for a plethora of potential applications in the field of catalysis, clean energy, electronics, fuel cells, supercapacitors etc. With high metallic conductivity, hydrophilicity, low diffusion barrier, high ion transport properties, biocompatibility, large surface area and ease of functionalization, the MXenes act as fascinating interface for designing next generation detection systems exploiting their utilization in analytical chemistry. Recent progress in the field of MXenes emphasizing their significant role in analytical sensing has been well discussed in this review. Future perspectives with a motivated research in the field of MXenes based sensors have been focused at the end. The underlying goal of this review is to acquaint the readers with the sensing applications of MXenes and to document the latest advancements made in this area till date.

A simple, rapid, cost-effective, and eco-friendly method is proposed for the simultaneous determination of some common over-the-counter drugs (aspirin, paracetamol, and caffeine [APC]) in saliva and pharmaceutical formulations based on the coupling of ultrasound-assisted emulsification microextraction (USEME) with thin-layer chromatography (TLC)–image-processing analysis. The process involves the rapid injection of 65 μL of chloroform in diluted saliva samples (2 mL) followed by ultrasonication, which results in the formation of an emulsion. This solution is centrifuged, and 20 μL was spotted on TLC plate which was allowed to develop in mobile phase of ethyl acetate and acetic acid (95:5, v/v). The developed TLC plate was photographed, and the spots of APC were quantified by using the freely available ImageJ software (National Institute of Health [NIH], Bethesda, MD, USA). Factors which can influence the yield of USEME were screened using 27-4 Placket—Burman design (PBD), and significant factors were optimized using central composite design (CCD). The recoveries and detection limits for all the analytes were found to be in the range of 89.2–94.1% and 0.007–0.012 mg spot−1, respectively. The assay was found to be linear in the range of 0.04–0.2 mg spot−1 with correlation of coefficient of 0.990–0.994. Intra- and inter-day precision for the assay were found to be in the range of 3.12–4.93% and 5.66–8.61%, respectively. The developed method does not require any special instrument and handling skill for the quantitative analysis of APC in saliva and pharmaceutical formulations.

Titanium oxide nanoparticles and 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide modified glassy carbon electrode (TiO2/IL/GCE) has been fabricated for electrochemical sensing of flunarizine (FRH). The electrochemical properties and morphology of the prepared nanocomposite were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The response of the electrochemical sensor was found to be proportional to the concentrations of FRH in the range from 0.5 μgmL−1 to 16 μgmL−1. The detection limit obtained was 0.03 μgmL−1. The proposed method was also applied to the determination of FRH in pharmaceutical formulation and human serum with good recoveries.

With the emerging interest in layered transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), MoS2 has occupied a unique place in recent times as graphene (GR) analog. Development of novel state of the art electrochemical approaches at MoS2 modified working surfaces is an upcoming field and holds great promise for design and development of next generation sensing devices. Large available surface area, high biocompatibility and structural versatility of 2D/3D MoS2 nanostructures have produced numerous hybrid sensors and biosensors which have demonstrated their prominent role in biological, environmental, pharmaceutical, chemical, industrial and food analysis. A comprehensive and critical detail of recent advancements of MoS2 based sensors for real time applications have been presented in the present review. Overall conclusion related to sensing performances of MoS2 nanostructures and future needs to further exploit the unusual properties of mono and few layer of other TMDs for developing advance recognition systems have been concluded at the end.

A highly sensitive electrocatalytic polymer nanocomposite material of polypyrrole (Ppyl) and titanium dioxide (TiO2) was synthesized by interfacial polymerization of pyrrole and titanium dioxide. The synthetic nanocomposite material was used as a voltammetric sensor by modifying glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the quantification of sulfamoxole (SLM). Prior to the modification, synthetic nanocomposite material was studied for its various spectral characteristics by FTIR, XRD, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, the developed sensor (Ppyl/TiO2/GCE) was also characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and various voltammetric techniques. The developed Ppyl/TiO2/GCE sensor exhibited an exceptional electroanalytical performance as compared to Ppyl/GCE, TiO2/GCE, and bare GCE. Under optimized experimental conditions, the fabricated sensor exhibits a linear response for the oxidation of SLM over a concentration range from 1.25 to 12.50 μg mL−1 with the correlation coefficient of 0.9980 (r2), the detection limit of 1.24 ng mL−1 and quantification limit of 4.15 ng mL−1.

Biomolecules are integral constituents of living beings which regulate numerous biochemical functions of the body. Analysis of various small molecules (metabolites, neurotransmitters, amino acids, vitamins) and macromolecules (nucleic acids, proteins) is of prime importance in modern time due to increasing disbalance in natural metabolism of human body. Irregularities and alteration in concentration of biomolecules lead to different kinds of genetic, metabolic and cancerous diseases which have created a great requirement of highly sensitive, accurate and stable detection systems for their quick and specific screening. In this review, redox interactions of biomolecules at carbon based electrode interfaces have been discussed using voltammetry. It is divided into subsections, starting with an introduction into the field and a description of its current state. This is followed by a large section describing carbon nanomaterials (CNs) based voltammetric sensors for different small biomolecules and macromolecules. The next section of the review gives conclusion, challenges and future perspectives in sensing biomolecules at CNs based electrodes. Advanced approaches for fabrication of portable integrated electrochemical devices for various point of care diagnostic applications have also been included at the end.