A circuit-level methodology for leakage power reduction of high-efficient compressors in 22-nm CMOS technology

Analog Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing - A new circuit-level methodology called input controlled leakage restrainer transistor (ICLRT) compatible with single threshold CMOS technology is...     

New food safety challenges of viral contamination from a global perspective: Conventional,emerging, and novel methods of viral control

Food- and waterborne viruses, such as human norovirus, hepatitis A virus, hepatitis E virus, rotaviruses, astroviruses, adenoviruses, and enteroviruses, are major contributors to all foodborne illnesses. Their small size, structure, and ability to clump and attach to inanimate surfaces make viruses challenging to reduce or eliminate, especially in the presence of inorganic or organic soils. Besides traditional wet and dry methods of disinfection using chemicals and heat, emerging physical nonthermal decontamination techniques (irradiation, ultraviolet, pulsed light, high hydrostatic pressure, cold atmospheric plasma, and pulsed electric field), novel virucidal surfaces, and bioactive compounds are examined for their potential to inactivate viruses on the surfaces of foods or food contact surfaces (tools, equipment, hands, etc.). Every disinfection technique is discussed based on its efficiency against viruses, specific advantages and disadvantages, and limitations. Structure, genomic organization, and molecular biology of different virus strains are reviewed, as they are key in determining these techniques effectiveness in controlling all or specific foodborne viruses. Selecting suitable viral decontamination techniques requires that their antiviral mechanism of action and ability to reduce virus infectivity must be taken into consideration. Furthermore, details about critical treatments parameters essential to control foodborne viruses in a food production environment are discussed, as they are also determinative in defining best disinfection and hygiene practices preventing viral infection after consuming a food product.     

Fe3O4-carbon spheres core–shell supported palladium nanoparticles: A robust and recyclable catalyst for suzuki coupling reaction

Suzuki-Miyaura (S-M) is regarded the most powerful way for synthesis biaryls, triaryls, or incorporating of substituted aryl moieties in organic preparation by the cross-coupling of aryl boronic acid with aryl halides using the Pd catalyst. This work reports the combining of the hydrothermal and microwave-assisted protocol to convert the glucose to magnetic carbon spheres (Fe₃O₄-CSPs) decorated with Pd nanoparticles (NPs) as the catalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. The physicochemical properties in the produced composite were examined using FESEM, HRTEM, nitrogen isotherms, Raman spectroscopy, FTIR, XPS, and XRD. The as-fabricated composite Pd/Fe₃O₄-CSPs is mostly spherical with a core–shell structure and possesses a great surface area of 253.2 m²·g^-1. Its catalytic performance demonstrates that the composite has excellent stability and high tolerance Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions in 30 min at 80 ℃. Both activated and deactivated aryl halides provided excellent yield. The as-fabricated catalyst was recycled for up to four catalytic cycles without a substantial decline in performance. Moreover, this research offers a facile roadmap for synthesizing Pd/Fe₃O₄-CSPs composites and promoting the practical implementation of Pd/Fe₃O₄-CSPs catalysts for organic transformation processes.     

Instant Cyclohexene Epoxidation Over Ni-TUD-1 Under Ambient Conditions

Catalysis Letters - To avoid the aggregation problem and activity loss of nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles (NPs) in organic reactions, NiO NPs were incorporated into TUD-1 mesoporous material....     

DFNS/PEI/Cu Nanocatalyst for Reduction of Nitro-aromatic Compounds

Catalysis Letters - Nitro-aromatic pollution in industrial waste streams threat wellbeing of water resources. This study investigates the performance of a copper-based nano catalyst to reduce...     

Mangiferin Inhibits Apoptosis in Doxorubicin-Induced Vascular Endothelial Cells via the Nrf2 Signaling Pathway

Doxorubicin increases endothelial permeability, hence increasing cardiomyocytes’ exposure to doxorubicin (DOX) and exposing myocytes to more immediate damage. Reactive oxygen species are major effector molecules of doxorubicin’s activity. Mangiferin (MGN) is a xanthone derivative that consists of C-glucosylxanthone with additional antioxidant properties. This particular study assessed the effects of MGN on DOX-induced cytotoxicity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells’ (HUVECs’) signaling networks. Mechanistically, MGN dramatically elevated Nrf2 expression at both the messenger RNA and protein levels through the upregulation of the PI3K/AKT pathway, leading to an increase in Nrf2-downstream genes. Cell apoptosis was assessed with a caspase-3 activity assay, transferase-mediated dUTP-fluorescein nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining was performed to assess DNA fragmentation, and protein expression was determined by Western blot analysis. DOX markedly increased the generation of reactive oxygen species, PARP, caspase-3, and TUNEL-positive cell numbers, but reduced the expression of Bcl-2 and antioxidants’ intracellular concentrations. These were effectively antagonized with MGN (20 μM), which led to HUVECs being protected against DOX-induced apoptosis, partly through the PI3K/AKT-mediated NRF2/HO-1 signaling pathway, which could theoretically protect the vessels from severe DOX toxicity.     

Synthesis,Characterization, Speciation,and Biological Studies on Metal Chelates of Carbohydrates with Molecular Docking Investigation

The role of starch aerogel (St-AG) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as biolgical active compounds, when they subjected for complexation with metal ions, is assessed in this work. The complexation is carried out with palladium(II) and copper(II) ions, in solid state. Different tools of analysis are carried out to characterize and elucidate the structures of these complexes, namely: elemental analysis, IR, thermal analysis, magnetic measurement and molar conductance techniques. All synthesized complexes are formed with 1:2 (metal:ligand) stoichiometry except the case of aerogel starch 1:1 (Pd:starch). All isolated complexes show a satisfactory cytotoxic effect results against colon cancer cell lines HCT11. Additionally, these complexes are screened for their antibacterial activities against two types of Gram positive and negative bacteria. Molecular docking investigation confirmed the cytotoxicity and antibacterial results. Proton–ligands association constants and their complex formation constants with some bivalent metal ions, using potentiometric method show that the complexes formed in solution have a stoichiometry of 1:1 [metal:ligand]. The effects of metal ion, ionic radius, electronegativity and nature of ligand on the formation constants are discussed. The formation constants of the complexes with 3D transition metals followed the order Mn²⁺ < Co²⁺ < Ni²⁺ < Cu²⁺ > Zn²⁺.     

Characterization,in vitro bioactivity and biological studies of sol-gel-derived TiO2 substituted 58S bioactive glass

Bioactive glasses (BGs) have been used for bone formation and bone repair processes in recent years. This study investigated the titanium substitution effect on 58S BGs (Ti-BGs) 60SiO₂-(36 − X)CaO-4P₂O₅-XTiO₂ (X = 0, 3, and 5 mol.%) prepared by the sol-gel technique, and the main goal was to find the optimum amount of titanium in Ti-BGs. Synthesized BGs, which were investigated after immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF), were tested by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy. Moreover alkaline phosphate (ALP) activity, 3-(4,5dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, and antibacterial studies were employed to investigate the biological properties of Ti-BGs. According to the FTIR and XRD test results, hydroxyapatite (HA) formation on Ti-BGs surfaces was confirmed. Meanwhile, the presence of 5 mol.% compared to 3 mol.% increased the HA grain distribution and their size on the Ti-BGs surface. Additionally, MTT and ALP results confirmed that the optimal amount of titanium substitution in BG was 5 mol.%. Since 5 mol.% Ti incorporated BG (BG-5) had the highest biocompatibility level, antibacterial properties, maximum cell proliferation, and ALP activity among the synthesized Ti-BGs, it is presented as the best candidate for further in vivo investigations.