Influence of hole mobility on the response characteristics of p-type nickel oxide thin film based glucose biosensor

RF sputtered p-type nickel oxide (NiO) thin film exhibiting tunable semiconductor character which in turns enhanced its functional properties. NiO thin film with high hole mobility is developed as a potential matrix for the realization of glucose biosensor. NiO thin film prepared under the optimized deposition conditions offer good electrical conductivity (1.5 × 10⁻³ Ω⁻¹-cm⁻¹) with high hole mobility (2.8 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹). The bioelectrode (GO_x/NiO/ITO/glass) exhibits a low value of Michaelis–Menten constant (K_m = 1.05 mM), indicating high affinity of the immobilized GO_x toward the analyte (glucose). Due to the high surface coverage (2.32 × 10⁻⁷ mol cm⁻²) of the immobilized enzyme on to the NiO matrix and its high electrocatalytic activity, the prepared biosensor exhibits a high sensitivity of 0.1 mA (mM⁻¹-cm⁻²) and a good linearity from 25 to 300 mg dL⁻¹ of glucose concentration with fast response time of 5 s. Various functional properties of the material (mobility, crystallinity and stress) are found to influence the charge communication feature of NiO thin film matrix to a great extent, resulting in enhanced sensing response characteristics.     

Existence of nonnegative solutions for a class of semilinear elliptic systems with indefinite weight

We prove the existence of nonnegative solutions to the system

     

Nonnegative solutions to reaction–diffusion system with cross-diffusion and nonstandard growth conditions

We establish the existence of nonnegative weak solutions to nonlinear reaction–diffusion system with cross-diffusion and nonstandard growth conditions subject to the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. We assume that the diffusion operators satisfy certain monotonicity condition and nonstandard growth conditions and prove that the existence of weak solutions using Galerkin's approximation technique.     

Preparation,crystal structure,and magnetic properties of β-Li3TiF6 = LiLi(TiF6)(TiF6)2 – a double fluoride?

Purple colored single crystals of the β-modification of Li₃TiF₆ have been prepared by heating an appropriate mixture of LiF and TiF₃ at 820°C under an argon atmosphere. β-Li₃TiF₆ crystallizes in C2/c with a = 14.452(2) Å, b = 8.798(1) Å, c = 10.113(1) Å and β = 96.30(1)º. The structure is isotypic to β-Li₃VF₆ and contains isolated compressed TiF₆ octahedra (d_Ti–F = 1.91–2.01 Å). Magnetic properties of β-Li₃TiF₆ were studied and discussed. Band structure calculations and calculations of the Madelung part of the lattice energy, MAPLE, were performed to discuss the chemical bonding.     

Alternation in Photosynthetic Characteristics of Anabaena doliolum Following Exposure to UVB and Pb

Abstract— Anabaena doliolum , when exposed to either ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation or Pb, showed reduced growth rate, carbon fixation, O₂-evolution, photosynthetic electron transport activity and ATP pool size. The rate of respiration was found to increase in UVB-treated cells; this increase was more pronounced in the cells exposed to UVB and Pb simultaneously. The UVB-induced inhibition of 2,6-dichlorophenol indophenol (DCPIP) photoreduction and lowering of chlorophyll a fluorescence could not be reversed by artificial electron donors (diphenyl carbazide, NH₂OH and MnCl₂). These electron donors, however, substantially reversed the inhibition caused by Pb, thereby suggesting that UVB primarily inhibits the photosys-tem II (PS II) reaction center and Pb arrests the electron flow at the water splitting site. Nevertheless, the suppressed fluorescence intensity and the reduced emission and excitation peaks of phycobilisomes indicate the involvement of Pb in inhibition of PS II. All combinations of UVB and Pb inhibited the different metabolic processes in a synergistic manner.     

DIFFERENTIAL EFFECT OF ULTRAVIOLET-B RADIATION ON CERTAIN METABOLIC PROCESSES IN A CHROMATICALLY ADAPTING Nostoc

The impact of UV-B radiation on growth, pigmentation and certain physiological processes has been studied in a N2-fixing chromatically adapting cyanobacterium, Nostoc spongiaeforme. A brownish form (phycoerythrin rich) was found to be more tolerant to UV-B than the blue-green (phycocyanin rich) form of N. spongiaeforme. Continuous exposure to UV-B (5.5 W m-2) for 90 min caused complete killing of the blue-green strain whereas the brown strain showed complete loss of survival after 180 min. Pigment content was more strongly inhibited in the blue-green strain than in the brown. Nitrogenase activity was completely abolished in both strains within 35 min of UV-B treatment. Restoration of nitrogenase occurred upon transfer to fluorescent or incandescent light after a lag of 5-6 h, suggesting fresh synthesis of nitrogenase. Unlike the above processes, in vivo nitrate reductase activity was stimulated by UV-B treatment, the degree of enhancement being significantly higher in the blue-green strain. Like the effect of UV-B on nitrogenase, 14CO2 uptake was also completely abolished by UV-B treatment in both strains. Our findings suggest that UV-B may produce a deleterious effect on several metabolic activities of cyanobacteria, especially in cells lacking phycoerythrin. Strains containing phycoerythrin appear to be more tolerant to UV-B, probably because of their inherent property of adapting to a variety of light qualities.     

Synthesis and characterization of complexes of Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) with macrocycle 3,4,11,12-tetraoxo-1,2,5,6,9,10,13,14-octaaza-cyclohexadeca-6,8,14,16-tetraene and their biological screening

A new series of complexes is synthesized by template condensation of glyoxal and oxalyldihydrazide in methanolic medium in the presence of divalent cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc and cadmium salts forming complexes of the type: [M(C₈H₈N₈O₄)X₂] where M = Co^(II), Ni^(II), Cu^(II), Zn^(II), Cd^(II) and X = Cl⁻¹, Br⁻¹, NO ₃ ⁻¹ , OAc⁻¹. The complexes have been characterized with the help of elemental analyses, conductance measurements, magnetic susceptibility measurements, electronic, n.m.r., infrared and far infrared spectral studies. On the basis of these studies, a six coordinate octahedral geometry for these complexes has been proposed. The biological activities of the metal complexes have been tested in vitro against a number of pathogenic bacteria to assess their inhibiting potential. Most of the compounds have been found to exhibit remarkable antibacterial activities.     

Dynamic Odd–Even Effect in Liquid n‐Alkanes near Their Melting Points

n‐Alkanes are the textbook examples of the odd–even effect: The difference in the periodic packing of odd‐ and even‐numbered n‐alkane solids results in odd–even variation of their melting points. However, in the liquid state, in which this packing difference is not obvious, it seems natural to assume that the odd–even effect does not exist, as supported by the monotonic dependence of the boiling points of n‐alkanes on the chain length. Herein, we report a surprising odd–even effect in the translational diffusional dynamic properties of n‐alkanes in their liquid states. To measure the dynamics of the molecules, we performed quasi‐elastic neutron scattering measurements near their melting points. We found that odd‐numbered n‐alkanes exhibit up to 30 times slower dynamics than even‐numbered n‐alkanes near their respective melting points. Our results suggest that, although n‐alkanes are the simplest hydrocarbons, their dynamic properties are extremely sensitive to the number of carbon atoms.