A simple colorimetric method for the assay of penicillin G salt and penicillamine by oxidation with iodate

A simple colorimetric procedure is described for determination of penicillin G salt and penicillamine. It is based on oxidation with potassium iodate at room temperature and measurement of the liberated iodine at 520 nm after extraction with carbon tetrachloride. Compared with other procedures, this method proved to be more rapid, highly reproducible and reasonably accurate. The relative standard deviation did not exceed 0.9% and 0.4% for penicillin and penicillamine, respectively. The procedure has been successfully applied to pharmaceutical preparations containing either of the two compounds.     

Development of a ~3He Gas Filling Station at the China Spallation Neutron Source

At the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS), we have developed a custom gas-filling station, a glassblowing workshop, and a spin-exchange optical pumping(SEOP) system for producing high-quality ~3He-based neutron spin filter(NSF) cells. The gas-filling station is capable of routinely filling ~3He cells made from GE180 glass of various dimensions, to be used as neutron polarizers and analyzers on beamlines at the CSNS. Performance tests on cells fabricated at our gas-filling station are conducted via neutron transmission and nuclear-magneticresonance measurements, revealing nominal filling pressures, and a saturated ~3He polarization in the region of 80%, with a lifetime of approximately 240 hours. These results demonstrate our ability to produce competitive NSF cells to meet the ever-increasing research needs of the polarized neutron research community.     

Linker engineering in metal–organic frameworks for dark photocatalysis

Dark reactions featuring continuous activity under light off conditions play a critical role in natural photosynthesis. However, most artificial photocatalysts are inactive upon the removal of the light source, and the artificial photocatalysts with dark photocatalysis abilities have been rarely explored. Herein, we report a Ti-based metal–organic framework (MOF), MIL-125, exhibiting the capability of dark photocatalytic hydrogen production. Remarkably, the introduction of different functional groups onto the linkers enables distinctly different activities of the resulting MOFs (MIL-125-X, X = NH₂, NO₂, Br). Dynamic and thermodynamic investigations indicate that the production and lifetime of the Ti³⁺ intermediate are the key factors, due to the electron-donating/-withdrawing effect of the functional groups. As far as we know, this is the first report on dark photocatalysis over MOFs, providing new insights into the storage of irradiation energy and demonstrating their great potential in dark photocatalysis due to the great MOF diversity.

A Ti-based MOF with long-lived Ti³⁺ can achieve dark photocatalysis. The different groups on the organic linker modulate electron storage ability and the lifetime of Ti³⁺, significantly regulating dark photocatalytic activity in H₂ production.     

Gamow Temperature in Tsallis and Kaniadakis Statistics

Relying on the quantum tunnelling concept and Maxwell–Boltzmann–Gibbs statistics, Gamow shows that the star-burning process happens at temperatures comparable to a critical value, called the Gamow temperature (T) and less than the prediction of the classical framework. In order to highlight the role of the equipartition theorem in the Gamow argument, a thermal length scale is defined, and then the effects of non-extensivity on the Gamow temperature have been investigated by focusing on the Tsallis and Kaniadakis statistics. The results attest that while the Gamow temperature decreases in the framework of Kaniadakis statistics, it can be bigger or smaller than T when Tsallis statistics are employed.     

High‐mobility solution‐processed zinc oxide thin films on silicon nitride

A high effective electron mobility of 33 cm² V^–1 s^–1 was achieved in solution‐processed undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films. The introduction of silicon nitride (Si₃N₄) as growth substrate resulted in a mobility improvement by a factor of 2.5 with respect to the commonly used silicon oxide (SiO₂). The solution‐processed ZnO thin films grown on Si₃N₄, prepared by low‐pressure chemical vapor deposition, revealed bigger grain sizes, lower strain and better crystalline quality in comparison to the films grown on thermal SiO₂. These results show that the nucleation and growth mechanisms of solution‐processed films are substrate dependent and affect the final film structure accordingly. The substantial difference in electron mobilities suggests that, in addition to the grain morphology and crystalline structure effects, defect chemistry is a contributing factor that also depends on the particular substrate. In this respect, interface trap densities measured in high‐κ HfO₂/ZnO MOSCAPs were about ten times lower in those fabricated on Si₃N₄ substrates. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

     

Nigella sativa L. and COVID-19: A Glance at The Anti-COVID-19 Chemical Constituents,Clinical Trials,Inventions, and Patent Literature

COVID-19 has had an impact on human quality of life and economics. Scientists have been identifying remedies for its prevention and treatment from all possible sources, including plants. Nigella sativa L. (NS) is an important medicinal plant of Islamic value. This review highlights the anti-COVID-19 potential, clinical trials, inventions, and patent literature related to NS and its major chemical constituents, like thymoquinone. The literature was collected from different databases, including Pubmed, Espacenet, and Patentscope. The literature supports the efficacy of NS, NS oil (NSO), and its chemical constituents against COVID-19. The clinical data imply that NS and NSO can prevent and treat COVID-19 patients with a faster recovery rate. Several inventions comprising NS and NSO have been claimed in patent applications to prevent/treat COVID-19. The patent literature cites NS as an immunomodulator, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, a source of anti-SARS-CoV-2 compounds, and a plant having protective effects on the lungs. The available facts indicate that NS, NSO, and its various compositions have all the attributes to be used as a promising remedy to prevent, manage, and treat COVID-19 among high-risk people as well as for the therapy of COVID-19 patients of all age groups as a monotherapy or a combination therapy. Many compositions of NS in combination with countless medicinal herbs and medicines are still unexplored. Accordingly, the authors foresee a bright scope in developing NS-based anti-COVID-19 composition for clinical use in the future.     

Current and frequency modulation characteristics for continuous-wave quantum cascade lasers at 9.06 μm

We report the characteristics of current induced frequency modulation (FM) for two continuous-wave quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) at 9.06 μm. Both the frequency tuning rate and the phase shift between intensity modulation and FM are measured at different modulation frequencies from 10 Hz to 200 kHz. The frequency tuning rate of the QCLs depends on both the modulation frequency and amplitude. The tested QCL has been used to detect ambient water vapor with wavelength modulation spectroscopy for validation with a numerical model.     

Index for vehicle acoustical comfort inside a passenger car

Sound quality is among the main factors that influence customers’ preference for choosing good automobile products. It all started more than 10 years ago and grows up so fast due to high competition in the automotive industries. A-weighted noise levels and sound power are usually utilised to measure the noise but they are not adequate to characterise the impact sound inside a car. The most popular approach to determine sound quality of a product is to define an annoyance or specific index, which involves both subjective and objective evaluations. Subjective and objective tests should be studied concurrently in order to determine the sound quality inside a passenger car. This approach is used in this paper to evaluate vehicle comfort index according to most frequently used sound quality metrics, namely; Zwicker loudness, sharpness, roughness and fluctuation strength. As a result researchers of different fields of automotive acoustics investigations can use this index according to the type of road (international road roughness) without any need to perform time-consuming jury tests. The metrics are correlated with jury test results that show which of them and how much has affected the acoustical comfort of the vehicle. The relation between road roughness and vehicle acoustical comfort index is another point of interest in this research.     

Artificial neural network‐based modeling of snow properties using field data and hyperspectral imagery

This study attempts to model snow wetness and snow density of Himalayan snow cover using a combination of Hyperspectral image processing and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). Initially, a total of 300 spectral signature measurements, synchronized with snow wetness and snow density, were collected in the field. The spectral reflectance of snow was then modeled as a function of snow properties using ANN. Four snow wetness and three snow density models were developed. A strong correlation was observed in near‐infrared and shortwave‐infrared region. The correlation analysis of ANN modeled snow density and snow wetness showed a strong linear relationship with field‐based data values ranging from 0.87–0.90 and 0.88–0.91, respectively. Our results indicate that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach, using a combination of Hyperspectral image processing and ANN, can be efficiently used to predict snow properties (wetness and density) in the Himalayan region. Recommendations for resource managers

• Snow properties, such as snow wetness and snow density are mainly investigated through field‐based survey but rugged terrains, difficult weather conditions, and logistics management issues establish remote sensing as an efficient alternative to monitor snow properties, especially in the mountain environment.
• Although Hyperspectral remote sensing is a powerful tool to conduct the quantitative analysis of the physical properties of snow, only a few studies have used hyperspectral data for the estimation of snow density and wetness in the Himalayan region. This could be because of the lack of synchronized snow properties data with field‐based spectral acquisitions.
• In combination with Hyperspectral image processing, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) can be a useful tool for effective snow modeling because of its ability to capture and represent complex input‐output relationships.
• Further research into understanding the applicability of neural networks to determine snow properties is required to obtain results from large snow cover areas of the Himalayan region.

     

The effect of porosity on the laser induced damage threshold of TiO2 and ZrO2 single layer films

Monolayer ZrO₂ and TiO₂ films were prepared on BK7 glass by physical vapor deposition (PVD) and were subsequently annealed for 1 h at 300 °C. By using the transmission spectra of two samples and the envelope method, the refractive index dispersion and extinction coefficients have been calculated. Laser induced damage threshold (LIDT) measurement shows that despite slight differences between the extinction coefficients of the two samples, the LIDT parameter of the ZrO₂ film is greater than that of the TiO₂ film. This fact leads us to consider thermal conductivity as an important parameter for interpreting the LIDT difference. According to our theoretical analysis, as a consequence of increase in the number of thermal barriers along poorer film, its thermal conductivity, and hence LIDT, decreased, which is in agreement with our experimental results. The measured porosity of the two samples shows higher porosity for TiO₂ single layer, which is in agreement with atomic force (AFM) images. The gradual and smooth damage morphology of ZrO₂ observed in optical images implies higher thermal conductivity than TiO₂.