New operations over hesitant fuzzy sets

Hesitant fuzzy sets are considered to be the way to characterize vague phenomenon. Their study has opened a new area of research and applications. Set operations on them lead to a number of properties of these sets which are not evident in classical (crisp) sets make the area mathematically also very productive. Since these sets are defined in terms of functions and set of functions, which is not the case when the sets are crisp, it is possible to define several set operations. Such a study enriches the use of these sets. In this paper, four new operations are envisaged, defined and taken up to study a score of new identities on hesitant fuzzy sets.     

Strategic engineering of alkyl spacer length for a pH-tolerant lysosome marker and dual organelle localization

Long-term visualization of lysosomal properties is extremely crucial to evaluate diseases related to their dysfunction. However, many of the reported lysotrackers are less conducive to imaging lysosomes precisely because they suffer from fluorescence quenching and other inherent drawbacks such as pH-sensitivity, polarity insensitivity, water insolubility, slow diffusibility, and poor photostability. To overcome these limitations, we have utilized an alkyl chain length engineering strategy and synthesized a series of lysosome targeting fluorescent derivatives namely NIMCs by attaching a morpholine moiety at the peri position of the 1,8-naphthalimide (NI) ring through varying alkyl spacers between morpholine and 1,8-naphthalimide. The structural and optical properties of the synthesized NIMCs were explored by ¹H-NMR, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Afterward, optical spectroscopic measurements were carefully performed to identify a pH-tolerant, polarity sensitive, and highly photostable fluoroprobes for further live-cell imaging applications. NIMC6 displayed excellent pH-tolerant and polarity-sensitive properties. Consequently, all NIMCs were employed in kidney fibroblast cells (BHK-21) to investigate their applicability for lysosome targeting and probing lysosomal micropolarity. Interestingly, a switching of localization from lysosomes to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was also achieved by controlling the linker length and this phenomenon was subsequently applied in determining ER micropolarity. Additionally, the selected probe NIMC6 was also employed in BHK-21 cells for 3-D spheroid imaging and in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) for in vivo imaging, to evaluate its efficacy for imaging animal models.

A series naphthalimide-based fluorophores were designed by alkyl spacer length engineering to discover a pH-tolerant lysosomal marker. This approach also allows to probe lysosome-related organelles in C. elegans and communication between organelles.     

Dielectric permittivity studies of nematogenic compounds and their binary mixtures showing induced smectic Ad phase

The binary mixture of 4-n-pentyl phenyl 4-n′-hexyloxy benzoate (ME6O.5) and p-cyanophenyl trans-4-pentyl cyclohexane carboxylate (CPPCC) shows the presence of induced Smectic A_d phase. In the present work the phase diagram as well as static dielectric permittivity measurements of different mixtures throughout the composition range, are reported. The observed variation of dielectric anisotropy with molar concentration in the nematic and smectic phases is explained, assuming the formation of both homo- and hetero-dimers in the mixture.     

Unexpected Macrocyclic Multinuclear Zinc and Nickel Complexes that Function as Multitasking Catalysts for CO2 Fixations

Unique self‐assembled macrocyclic multinuclear Zn^II and Ni^II complexes with binaphthyl‐bipyridyl ligands (L) were synthesized. X‐ray analysis revealed that these complexes consisted of an outer ring (Zn₃L₃ or Ni₃L₃) and an inner core (Zn₂ or Ni). In the Zn^II complex, the inner Zn₂ part rotated rapidly inside the outer ring in solution on an NMR timescale. These complexes exhibited dual catalytic activities for CO₂ fixations: synthesis of cyclic carbonates from epoxides and CO₂ and temperature‐switched N‐formylation/N‐methylation of amines with CO₂ and hydrosilane.     

Investigation of Ti/CuO interface by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy

The Ti/CuO interface has been studied by the techniques of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. Thin films of titanium were deposited on a CuO substrate at room temperature by the e-beam technique. The photoelectron spectra of titanium and copper were found to exhibit significant chemical interaction at the interface. The titanium overlayer was observed to get oxidized to TiO₂, while the CuO was observed to get reduced to elemental copper. This chemical interaction was observed to occur until a thickness of 7 nm of the titanium overlayer. For thicknesses greater than this value, the presence of unreacted titanium in the sample was detected. Barrier characteristics at the Ti/CuO interface were also carried out for substrate temperatures of 300°C, 400°C, 500°C, and 600°C as a function of the titanium overlayer thickness. A linear trend in the barrier thickness of the overlayer was observed between 400°C and 600°C substrate temperatures. The atomic force microscopy micrographs of the unannealed samples depicted layer-by-layer growth of elemental titanium on copper. At the Ti/CuO interface in such samples, the micrographs exhibited island formation of TiO₂ corresponding to the Volmer-Weber growth model. This formation has been interpreted as the relaxation in the strain energy. The percentage coverage of the underlying substrate by the TiO₂ islands showed a linear trend for the thicknesses of the titanium overlayer investigated. The average size of these islands also showed a linear trend as a function of the thickness of the overlayer.     

New lignan glycosides from Cissus quadrangularis stems

Phytochemical investigation of Cissus quadrangularis stems led to the isolation of one new phenolic glycoside (1) and two new lignan glycosides (7 &; 8) along with twelve known compounds (2–6 &; 9–15). Their chemical structures were determined on the basis of extensive spectroscopic analysis using 1D, 2D NMR, and mass spectrometric analysis. Among the known compounds, 4–6, 9 and 12 were isolated for the first time from the genus Cissus whereas compounds 10, 11 and 13 for the first time from this plant.     

Defect-Induced intrinsic magnetism in wide-gap III nitrides

Cation-vacancy induced intrinsic magnetism in GaN and BN is investigated by employing density-functional theory based electronic structure methods. The strong localization of defect states favors spontaneous spin polarization and local moment formation. A neutral cation vacancy in GaN or BN leads to the formation of a net moment of 3 muB with a spin-polarization energy of about 0.5 eV at the low density limit. The extended tails of defect wave functions, on the other hand, mediate surprisingly long-range magnetic interactions between the defect-induced moments. This duality of defect states suggests the existence of defect-induced or mediated collective magnetism in these otherwise nonmagnetic sp systems.     

Application of advanced nuclear analytical techniques for the electrocatalyst's characterization: Paving the path for mechanistic investigations

As the application of electrocatalyst continues to expand, envisaging the hidden mechanisms occurring at various length scale affecting the catalytic efficiency became important. To enhance the stability of electrocatalyst and reduce the cost, it is of paramount importance to reveal the active site's dynamics (using in situ techniques for getting the real-time information) which directly affect the reactions such as oxygen evolution reaction, hydrogen evolution reaction, and so on. Since such reactions are crucial for many engineering and scientific applications, in situ characterization techniques are required, which could capture such reactions happening at a different length and time scale. This article analyzes the recent progress made in the field of electrocatalyst's characterization using in situ neutron techniques. The article also paves the future path and has delineated the future challenges involved in multiscale correlative techniques (e.g., neutron techniques in the combination of synchrotron or microscopic techniques) used for getting the multiscale (atomic to micrometer range) mechanistic information about the electrocatalyst's working and degradation.     

Effect of two-step electrodeposited Cu–TiO2 nanocomposite coating on pool boiling heat transfer performance

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In order to decrease the energy consumptions in energy conversion devices, boiling heat transfer augmentation is one of the important research...