A facile approach to fabricate and embed multifunctional nano ZnO into soap matrix and liquid cleansing products for enhanced antibacterial and photostability for health and hygiene applications

This research demonstrates, a facile approach to fabricate the nano ZnO system in an unique combination of surfactant-polyol-assembly (SPA) acting as a caging agent restricting the ZnO crystallite size in nano-regime. This SPA is suitable for health and hygiene products and such optimized technique is among the very few researches exploring the impact of embedding low concentrations of nano ZnO system into the matrix of sodium salt of long chain fatty acids (soap bar) and liquid cleansing personal care products. The fabricated nano ZnO in SPA and infused products were systematically characterized using various advanced and appropriate techniques. The hexagonal wurtzite structure of nano ZnO-SPA is evaluated based on XRD pattern which also exhibit an average crystallite size as 20.18 nm and high specific surface area as 52.99 m²/g. The SEM-supported morphological assessment confirms the formation of agglomerates of ultrafine ZnO rods and spherical particles. Novel nano ZnO having wideband gap energy (3.66 eV) embedded in soap bar act as a UV-blocker preventing the oxidation of unsaturated long chain fatty acids. Soap bar without ZnO experienced degradation and reduction in whiteness to 17.85% whereas 2.5 mg/g nano ZnO infused soap shows the reduction to 7.9% which clearly reflects the increased photostability of soap bar. The antibacterial efficacy of nano ZnO-SPA and infused products are investigated against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) by Zone of Inhibition (ZOI) and European standard EN:1276. Infused products exhibited high antibacterial efficacy up to 4.43 log reduction equivalent to >99.99% germ kill.     

A branch-and-bound method for the minimum k−enclosing ball problem

The minimum k-enclosing ball problem seeks the ball with smallest radius that contains at least k of m given points. This problem is NP-hard. We present a branch-and-bound algorithm on the tree of the subsets of k points to solve this problem. Our method is able to solve the problem exactly in a short amount of time for small and medium sized datasets.     

Pattern transition and regulation in a subthalamopallidal network under electromagnetic effect

Although the significant roles of magnetic induction and electromagnetic radiation in the neural system have been widely studied, their influence on Parkinson's disease (PD) has yet to be well explored. By virtue of the magnetic flux variable, this paper studies the transition of firing patterns induced by magnetic induction and the regulation effect of external magnetic radiation on the firing activities of the subthalamopallidal network in basal ganglia. We find: (i) The network reproduces five typical waveforms corresponding to the severity of symptoms: weak cluster, episodic, continuous cluster, episodic, and continuous wave. (ii) Magnetic induction is a double-edged sword for the treatment of PD. Although the increase of magnetic coefficient may lead the physiological firing activity to transfer to pathological firing activity, it also can regulate the pathological intensity firing activity with excessive β-band power transferring to the physiological firing pattern with weak β-band power. (iii) External magnetic radiation could inhibit continuous tremulous firing and β-band power of subthalamic nucleus (STN), which means the severity of symptoms weakened. Especially, the bi-parameter plane of the regulation region shows that a short pulse period of magnetic radiation and a medium level of pulse percentage can well regulate pathological oscillation. This work helps to understand the firing activity of the subthalamopallidal network under electromagnetic effect. It may also provide insights into the mechanisms behind the electromagnetic therapy of PD-related firing activity.     

Densitometry and indirect normal‐phase HPTLC–ESI–MS for separation and quantitation of drugs and their glucuronide metabolites from plasma

The present work describes novel methods using densitometry and indirect or off‐line high performance thin‐layer chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPTLC–MS) for the simultaneous detection and quantification of asenapine, propranolol and telmisartan and their phase II glucuronide metabolites. After chromatographic separation of the drugs and their metabolites the analytes were scraped, extracted in methanol and concentrated prior to mass spectrometric analysis. Different combinations of toluene and methanol–ethanol–n‐butanol–iso‐propanol were tested for analyte separation and the best results were obtained using toluene–methanol–ammonia (6.9:3.0:0.1, v/v/v) as the elution solvent. All of the drug–metabolite pairs were separated with a homologous retardation factor difference of ≥22. The conventional densitometric approach was also studied and the method performances were compared. Both of the approaches were validated following the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines, and applied to spiked human plasma samples. The major advantage of the TLC–MS approach is that it can provide much lower limits of detection (1.98–5.83 pg/band) and limit of quantitation (5.97–17.63 pg/band) with good precision (?3.0% coefficient of variation) compared with TLC–densitometry. The proposed indirect HPTLC–MS method is simple yet effective and has tremendous potential in the separation and quantitation of drugs and their metabolites from biological samples, especially for clinical studies.     

Tuning Emission Wavelength of Polymorphous Crystal via Controllable Alkyl Chain Stacking and Its Vapor- and Thermo-Responsive Fluorescence

Tuning fluorescence colour of solid-state materials has become a topic of increasing interest for both fundamental mechanism study and practical applications such as sensors, optical recording and security printing. In this work, a fluorescent colour tuneable molecule BA-C16 is rationally designed and facilely synthesized by attaching flexible long alkyl chains to 2-hydroxybenzophenone azine ( BA ), which shows both aggregation-induced emission (AIE) and excited-state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) characteristics. Compared to BA , the simple introduction of long alkyl chains in BA-C16 leads to an emission wavelength redshift from 542 to 558 nm. This strategy of extending emission wavelength is rarely reported, and is ascribed to the enlarged through-space π-conjugation between interplanar molecules in the aggregate of BA-C16 . Three crystals of BA-C16 are obtained with green, yellowish green and yellow emission. According to characterization by X-ray crystallography, X-ray powder diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, alkyl chains play an important role in inducing different stacking modes of the three crystals, which further leads to polymorph-dependent fluorescence colour. BA-C16 exhibits tuneable solid-state fluorescence upon vapor fumigation, or annealing based on a transition between a “near-monomer” crystalline state and a “dimer” crystalline state. BA-C16 is further applied for rewritable fluorescence printing tuned by vapor- and thermal-treatment.     

Observation of field induced anomalous quantum criticality in Ce0.6Y0.4NiGe2 compound

We report the results of our investigation of magnetization and heat capacity on a series of compounds Ce${}_{1?x}$Y_xNiGe₂ ($x=0.1,0.2\text{ and }0.4$) under the influence of external magnetic field. Our studies of the thermodynamic quantity $?\mathrm{d}M/\mathrm{d}T$ on these compounds indicate that magnetic frustration persists in Ce_0.9Y_0.1NiGe₂, as also reported for the parent compound CeNiGe₂. The weak signature of this frustration is also noted in Ce_0.8Y_0.2NiGe₂, whereas, it is suppressed in Ce_0.6Y_0.4NiGe₂. Heat capacity studies on Ce_0.9Y_0.1NiGe₂ and Ce_0.8Y_0.2NiGe₂ indicate the presence of a new magnetic anomaly at high field which indicates that quantum criticality is absent in these compounds. However, for Ce_0.6Y_0.4NiGe₂ such an anomaly is not noted. For this later compound, the magnetic field (H) and temperature (T) dependence of heat capacity and magnetization obey $H/T$ scaling above critical fields. However, the obtained scaling critical parameter (δ) is 1.6, which is away from mean field value of 3. This deviation suggests the presence of unusual fluctuations and anomalous quantum criticality in these compounds. This unusual fluctuation may arise from disorderness induced by Y-substitution.     

Analysis of F-53B,Gen-X,ADONA, and emerging fluoroalkylether substances in environmental and biomonitoring samples: A review

The persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic properties of certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) raise concerns for environmental and human health. This has led to the gradual phase-out from production and commerce of some legacy PFAS. Fluoroalkylether compounds (ether-PFAS) are among the fluorinated alternative chemicals that are beginning to be reported in impacted and background environments. Extensive monitoring activities were conducted since 2015–2019 to bridge knowledge gaps on the environmental fate and effects of ether-PFAS including F-53B (6:2 chlorinated polyfluoroalkyl ether sulfonate [6:2 Cl-PFAES] and 8:2 Cl-PFAES), Gen-X (hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid [HFPO-DA]), and ADONA (dodecafluoro-3H-4,8-dioxanonanoate). In recent years, advances in nontarget screening using high-resolution mass spectrometry have revealed the identities of other infrequently monitored ether-PFAS. In this critical review, we provide an up-to-date inventory of the structures of ether-PFAS discovered in the recent literature. Their environmental occurrence, fate, and effects are discussed on a comparative perspective with some legacy PFAS such as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). Information on the methods employed for the quantitative and semi-quantitative analysis of ether-PFAS is also provided, including sample preparation and mass spectrometry analysis, analytical performance, and limitations. In particular, the compiled database of MS/MS fragment ions (n = 111) can be useful in spectrum interpretation of novel ether-PFAS. The concluding remarks open on possible research avenues and the challenges that remain to be addressed.     

Inducement of ferromagnetic–metallic phase and magnetoresistance behavior in charged ordered monovalent-doped Pr0.75Na0.25MnO3 manganite by Ni substitution

In this communication, the study on the effect of Ni²⁺ substitution on structural, magnetic and electrical transport properties were performed in Pr_0.75Na_0.25Mn_1-xNi_xO₃ (x = 0–0.10) ceramics synthesized using conventional solid-state method. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that all samples were present in single phase and crystallized in orthorhombic structure with Pnma space group. Rietveld refinement analysis revealed unit cell volume slight increase with increase Ni concentration, thereby indicating partial substitution of Ni²⁺ at Mn³⁺. The presence majority of Ni²⁺ states in the compound were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectrum. Tolerance factor calculation suggested that Ni substitution exerted no strong effect on structural distortion. For un-doped sample (x = 0), AC susceptibility (χ′) against temperature (T) curve showed paramagnetic (PM)–antiferromagnetic(AFM) behavior at Neel temperature (T_N) of approximately 170 K. Furthermore, resistivity (ρ) against temperature (T) curve showed an insulating behavior for the whole measured temperature range. The χ′ against T curve of x = 0 sample showed broad peak at approximately 218 K which was attributed to the onset of charge ordered (CO) state. No such broad peak was observed in Ni-substituted samples which indicated the weakening of CO state. Moreover, χ′ measurements exhibited successful inducement of PM–FM transition with Curie temperature (T_C), decreasing from 132 K (x = 0.02) to 92 K (x = 0.08). Electrical resistivity measurement on samples (x = 0.02–0.08) displayed inducement of metal–insulator transition, where transition temperature (T_MI) decreased and resistivity increased, with x before re-entrant insulating behavior at x = 0.10. Notably, upturn resistivity was observed below 40 K for x = 0.06 and 0.08 samples. The suppression of CO state and inducement of ferromagnetic-metallic (FMM) state beginning from x = 0.02 sample was attributed to the reduced degree of Jahn–Teller distortion and Coulomb interaction among Mn ions, as well as the presence of ferromagnetic superexchange (FM SE) interaction among Ni²⁺–O–Mn⁴⁺ which improved the alignment charge carrier spins and induced the double-exchange (DE) interaction among Mn³⁺–O–Mn⁴⁺. The decrease in T_C and T_MI with increased x may be due to the enhanced AFM SE interactions of Mn³⁺–O–Mn³⁺, Mn⁴⁺–O–Mn⁴⁺ and Ni²⁺–O–Ni²⁺ which decreased the FM SE interaction of Ni²⁺–O–Mn⁴⁺. Consequently, the effective DE interaction was decreased. In addition, the decreased metallic behavior and re-entrant insulating behavior for x = 0.10 sample was due to the strong AFM interaction between Ni²⁺ ions which consequently contributed to the suppression of FM SE and DE interactions. The observed upturn resistivity below 40 K for x = 0.06 and 0.08 samples was attributed to the Kondo-like effect which resulted from the interaction between itinerant conduction electron spin and localized spin impurity.     

Synthesis and characterization of indium and thallium immobilized on isonicotinamide‐functionalized mesoporous MCM‐41: Two novel and highly active heterogeneous catalysts for selective oxidation of sulfides and thiols to their corresponding sulfoxides and disulfides

Two highly ordered isonicotinamide (INA)‐functionalized mesoporous MCM‐41 materials supporting indium and thallium (MCM‐41‐INA‐In and MCM‐41‐INA‐Tl) have been developed using a covalent grafting method. A surface functionalization method has been applied to prepare Cl‐modified mesoporous MCM‐41 material. Condensation of this Cl‐functionalized MCM‐41 with INA leads to the formation of MCM‐41‐INA. The reaction of MCM‐41‐INA with In(NO₃)₃ or Tl(NO₃)₃ leads to the formation of MCM‐41‐INA‐In and MCM‐41‐INA‐Tl catalysts. The resulting materials were characterized using various techniques. These MCM‐41‐INA‐In and MCM‐41‐INA‐Tl catalysts show excellent catalytic performance in the selective oxidation of sulfides and thiols to their corresponding sulfoxides and disulfides. Finally, it is found that the anchored indium and thallium do not leach out from the surface of the mesoporous catalysts during reaction and the catalysts can be reused for seven repeat reaction runs without considerable loss of catalytic performance.