Recent advances in osmotic microbial fuel cell technology: A review

Integration of Forward Osmosis (FO) and Microbial Fuel Cell (MFC) technology is called Osmotic Microbial Fuel Cell (OMFC). It has several advantages, including improved performance in electricity generation and drinking water recovery compared to MFC. Making OMFC efficient for treatment and resource recovery, basic concepts of MFC and FO must be properly understood and implemented. Various researchers have focused on its components, degradation of wastewater, electron and proton transport mechanism, designs, the role of draw solution, etc. Recent publications have also shown growth in FO membrane composition and OMFC design. Utilizations of an efficient draw solution for better compatibility of anodic bacteria along with its recovery are also a big challenge. The aim of this review paper is to compile all the scattered information on the above aspects and present it in a more logical way in one place for the easy understanding of researchers. The paper also focuses on encouraging OMFC technology for commercial use by developing cost-effective FO membranes and electrodes, improving bacterial metabolic activity for energy production, and enhancing draw solution and cost-effective draw solution recovery methods. Therefore, OMFC technology seems the ultimate solution for wastewater treatment, electricity generation, and freshwater recovery in the coming future.     

Formation of defect,oxygen vacancy creation,and shifting of phonon mode by Li3+ swift heavy ion irradiation on Zn1 − x Mn x O thin films

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Thin films of pure, Mn-substituted ZnO were synthesized by dip coating technique and irradiated thin films by Li3+ swift heavy ions (SHIs) with fluence...     

One‐Pot Synthesis of Benzimidazoles from o‐Nitroanilines under Microwaves via a Reductive Cyclization

An efficient microwave irradiation synthesis of 2‐substituted benzimidazoles in one step via the Na₂S₂O₄ reduction of o‐nitroanilines in the presence of aldehydes is described. The method is simple and a good option to obtain the title compounds in a very short time.     

Cation‐Exchanged Resins: Efficient Heterogeneous Catalysts for Facile Synthesis of 1‐Amidoalkyl‐2‐naphthols from One‐Pot,Three‐Component Condensations of Amides/Ureas,Aldehydes, and 2‐Naphthol

One‐pot, three‐component condensation of 2‐naphthol, amides/ureas, and aldehydes takes place smoothly in the presence of cation‐exchange resins to afford the corresponding 1‐amidoalkyl‐2‐naphthols in good yield. Indion‐130 is found to be the best catalyst for the reaction and is recyclable. The method is simple, solvent free, and involves a short reaction time.     

Proton evolved local field solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance using Hadamard encoding: theory and application to membrane proteins

NMR anisotropic parameters such as dipolar couplings and chemical shifts are central to structure and orientation determination of aligned membrane proteins and liquid crystals. Among the separated local field experiments, the proton evolved local field (PELF) scheme is particularly suitable to measure dynamically averaged dipolar couplings and give information on local molecular motions. However, the PELF experiment requires the acquisition of several 2D datasets at different mixing times to optimize the sensitivity for the complete range of dipolar couplings of the resonances in the spectrum. Here, we propose a new PELF experiment that takes the advantage of the Hadamard encoding (HE) to obtain higher sensitivity for a broad range of dipolar couplings using a single 2D experiment. The HE scheme is obtained by selecting the spin operators with phase switching of hard pulses. This approach enables one to detect four spin operators, simultaneously, which can be processed into two 2D spectra covering a broader range of dipolar couplings. The advantages of the new approach are illustrated for a U-(15)N NAL single crystal and the U-(15)N labeled single-pass membrane protein sarcolipin reconstituted in oriented lipid bicelles. The HE-PELF scheme can be implemented in other multidimensional experiments to speed up the characterization of the structure and dynamics of oriented membrane proteins and liquid crystalline samples.     

High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Determination of Aceclofenac in the Bulk Drug and in Pharmaceutical Preparations

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC -     

Ultrasound-promoted synthesis of 1-amidoalkyl-2-naphthols via a three-component condensation of 2-naphthol, ureas/amides, and aldehydes, catalyzed by sulfamic acid under ambient conditions

A three-component one-pot condensation of 2-naphthol, ureas/amides and aldehydes catalyzed by sulfamic acid, under ultrasound irradiation and ambient conditions gives 1-amidoalkyl-2-naphthols in excellent yield and in short time.     

Remarks on the non-linear vibration of an axisymmetric circular disk near critical speed

We re-examine the large amplitude transverse oscillations of axisymmetric disks spinning near a critical speed resonance as considered by Raman and Mote (Int. J. Non-linear Mech. 34 (1) (1999) 139). Averaged equations in traveling wave based coordinates are shown to provide a transparent explanation for certain bifurcations presented in Raman and Mote (Int. J. Non-linear Mech. 34 (1) (1999) 139). The theoretical results in Raman and Mote (Int. J. Non-linear Mech. 34 (1) (1999) 139) are proved analytically, and an enhanced interpretation of their results is presented.     

Thermally induced natural-frequency variations in a thin disk

A number of studies has shown that natural frequencies and, accordingly, the minimum critical speed for the formation of a standing wave in thin, rotating, circular disks can be beneficially altered by purposely induced initial membrane stresses. The possibility of controlling natural frequencies by induced thermal membrane stresses, rather than initial stresses, has received some previous theoretical attention and is experimentally examined here for a stationary, constant-thickness, centrally clamped, circular disk. The primary advantages of thermal membrane stresses are manifested in the inherent flexibility in adjustment of the thermal as opposed to the initial stresses. Increases in the minimum critical speed, which is proportional here to the zero nodal circle—two nodal-diameter natural frequency, of 20 percent were determined with moderate heating. This can be considered a relatively small critical-speed increase when compared with variations expected in many common rotating disk environments. A thermal model, which utilizes as input the peripheral disk heat flux and the controlled disk temperature at some known radius, is shown to predict the temperature distribution and natural frequencies with reasonable accuracy. The applicability of this model enhances the potential practicality of the induced thermal-membrane-stress method of natural frequency and/or critical speed control.     

A novel method for ranitidine hydrochloride determination in aqueous solution based on fluorescence quenching of functionalised CdS QDs through photoinduced charge transfer process: spectroscopic approach

A novel method for the quantitative determination of ranitidine hydrochloride (RNH) based on the fluorescence quenching of functionalised CdS quantum dots (QDs) by RNH in aqueous solution was proposed. The method is simple, rapid, specific and highly sensitive with good precision. The thioglycolic acid (TGA)-capped CdS QDs were synthesized from cadmium nitrate and sodium sulfide in alkaline solution. Under the optimal conditions, the Stern-Volmer calibration plot of F(0)/F against concentration of RNH was linear in the range of 0.50-15.0 μg mL(-1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.996. The limit of detection (LOD) was 0.38 μg mL(-1). The method was satisfactorily applied to the direct determination of RNH in pharmaceutical formulations with no significant interference from excipients. The results were found to be in good agreement with those obtained by the reference method and the claimed value. The accuracy and reliability of the method were further ascertained by recovery studies via the standard-addition method, with percentage recoveries in the range of 98.47 to 102.30%. The possible fluorescence quenching mechanism for the reaction was also discussed.