Multifunctional carbon-coated magnetic sensing graphene oxide-cyclodextrin nanohybrid for potential cancer theranosis

Journal of Nanoparticle Research - Over the last years, an environmentally friendly and economically efficient way of nanoparticle production has been found in the biosynthesis of metal...     

Tualang Honey: A Decade of Neurological Research

Tualang honey has been shown to protect against neurodegeneration, leading to improved memory/learning as well as mood. In addition, studies have also demonstrated its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, a substantial part of this research lacks systematization, and there seems to be a tendency to start anew with every study. This review presents a decade of research on Tualang honey with a particular interest in the underlying mechanisms related to its effects on the central nervous system. A total of 28 original articles published between 2011 and 2020 addressing the central nervous system (CNS) effects of Tualang honey were analysed. We identified five main categories, namely nootropic, antinociceptive, stress-relieving, antidepressant, and anxiolytic effects of Tualang honey, and proposed the underlying mechanisms. The findings from this review may potentially be beneficial towards developing new therapeutic roles for Tualang honey and help in determining how best to benefit from this brain supplement.     

Time gap for temporal cloak based on spectral hole burning in atomic medium

We demonstrate the possibility of creating a time gap in the slow light based on spectral hole burning in a fourlevel Doppler broadened sodium atomic system. A time gap is also observed between the slow and the fast light in the hole burning region and near the burnt hole region, respectively. A cloaking time gap is attained in microseconds and no distortion is observed in the transmitted pulse. The width of the time gap is observed to vary with the inverse Doppler effect in this system. Our results may provide a way to create multiple time gaps for a temporal cloak.     

Modulating opto-electronic and magnetic responses of Mo- and Zn-adsorbed LiNbO3 (1 1 1) surface for advanced energy harvesting applications: A comprehensive study

This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the optoelectronic and magnetic properties of Mo, Zn/LiNbO₃ (1 1 1) material. The primary objectives were to understand the potential for manipulating the material's magnetism and to elucidate the origin of spin-polarized states and magnetic moments, particularly with respect to the unpaired d orbitals of Nb, Mo, and Zn atoms. To achieve these objectives, we employed the Pardew–Burke–Ernzerhof (PBE) method within the Generalized Gradient Approximation (GGA + U) framework. This computational approach allowed us to examine the optoelectronic and magnetic characteristics of the material in detail. Our research yielded several key findings that enhance our understanding of Mo, Zn/LiNbO₃ (1 1 1) material. We observed a modest improvement in the material's absorption capacity within the visible spectrum, accompanied by a discernible red-shift. Notably, our study involved the calculation of the dielectric function and refractive constant of the material, revealing a strong correlation between absorption trends and the dielectric constant. Furthermore, our investigation uncovered that Mo, Zn/LiNbO₃ (1 1 1) exhibits distinct conduction and valence bands, with p and d orbitals predominantly contributing to each, respectively. The energy gap of the material falls within a range of 0.30–1.04 eV. A particularly significant finding was the narrower band gap of Mo, Zn/LiNbO₃ (1 1 1) material, which can be attributed to the superposition of Mo-d and Zn-p orbit energy levels with O-p orbit energy levels, ultimately forming a covalent bond. Importantly, our research demonstrated the material's heightened optical absorption within the visible spectrum, suggesting its suitability for various photonic and optoelectronic applications. Additionally, we calculated a wide range of optical characteristics, including the dielectric function, absorption coefficient, energy loss, reflectivity, refractive index, extinction coefficient, and optical conductivity, providing a comprehensive assessment of the material's optical properties.     

QuEChERS method combined with GC‒MS for pesticide residues determination in water

A miniaturized, QuEChERS based, liquid–liquid extraction method followed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry was developed and validated for pesticide residues determination in water. Malathion, chlorpyrifos, profenofos, chlorfenapyr, pyriproxyfen, λ-cyhalothrin, coumaphos and α-cypermethrin were selected for this study. The accuracy, precision, specificity, linearity, limit of detection and limit of quantification were evaluated. The recovery ranged from 85.3 to 107% with RSD ranging from 1.8 to 15.4%. The linearity showed reliable range (0.995–0.999). The limit of detection ranged from 0.3 to 4 μg/L. Matrix effect was evaluated. The obtained results meet the European Commission standard legislations, implying that our method can be considered accurate and reproducible. The validated method was used to analyze river and well water samples. No residues of the investigated pesticides were detected in all collected water samples.     

Determination of gasoline and diesel residues on wool,silk, polyester and cotton materials by SPME–GC–MS

The identification of ignitable liquids is very important and challenging aspect in arson crime investigations. The detection of gasoline and diesel fuel components using solid phase micro-extraction prior to gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for the forensic analysis of fire debris has been carried out. Previous works show that the absorption characteristics of the substrate are one of the most important factors in determining the evaporation rate of the accelerants. In order to determine the presence of the fuel residues, four of the most common substrate materials were tested in this work; wool, cotton, silk and polyester. The obtained results indicate that both gasoline and diesel fuel accelerants persisted longer on wool and silk than on the other selected substrates. Such information illustrates the influence of fuel persistence times after extinguishing and the best materials to be scanned for ignitable liquids at the fire scene.     

Preferential synthesis of highly conducting Tl(TCNQ) phase II nanorod networks via electrochemically driven TCNQ/Tl(TCNQ) solid-solid phase transformation

Facile synthesis and characterization of the highly conducting, thermodynamically favored, Tl(TCNQ) phase II microrods/nanorods onto conducting (glassy carbon (GC)) and semiconducting (indium tin oxide (ITO)) surfaces have been accomplished via redox-based transformation of 7,7,8,8-tetracynoquinodimethane (TCNQ) microcrystals. This electrochemically irreversible process involves the one-electron reduction of surface-confined solid TCNQ into TCNQ·^? with concomitant incorporation of the Tl⁺ _(aq) cation, from the bulk solution, at the triple-phase boundary, GC or ITO│(TCNQ_(s)/TCNQ·^? _(s))│Tl⁺ _(aq), through a nucleation/growth mechanism. Consistent with the conceptually related M(TCNQ) systems (M⁺ = Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Ag⁺, and Cu⁺), the TCNQ/Tl(TCNQ) interconversion is strongly dependent upon scan rate, Tl⁺ _(aq) electrolyte concentration, and the method of attaching solid TCNQ onto the electrode surface. Spectroscopic (infrared (IR) and Raman), microscopic (scanning electron microscopy (SEM)), and surface science (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD)) characterization of the electrochemically synthesized material revealed formation of pure Tl(TCNQ) phase II. Importantly, the generic solid-state electrochemical approach used in this study not only offers facile protocol for controllable and preferential synthesis of Tl(TCNQ) phase II but also provides access to fabricate and tune the morphology to yield microrod/nanorod networks.

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Graphical abstract Controlled synthesis of the highly conducting Tl(TCNQ) phase II with either nanowire or rod-like morphologies is achieved via a redox-based solid-solid phase interconversion of TCNQ microcrystals in the presence of a Tl⁺ _(aq) electrolyte.

     

Statistical DOE-ILP based power-performance-process (P3) optimization of nano-CMOS SRAM

As technology continues to scale, maintaining important figures of merit of Static Random Access Memories (SRAMs), such as power dissipation and an acceptable Static Noise Margin (SNM), becomes increasingly challenging. In this paper, we address SRAM instability and power (leakage) dissipation in scaled-down technologies by presenting a novel design flow for simultaneous power minimization, performance maximization and process variation tolerance (P3) optimization of nano-CMOS circuits. The 45 and 32 nm technology node standard 6-Transistor (6T) and 8T SRAM cells are used as example circuits for demonstration of the effectiveness of the flow. Thereafter, the SRAM cell is subjected to a dual threshold voltage (dual-V_Th) assignment based on a novel statistical Design of Experiments-Integer Linear Programming (DOE-ILP) approach. Experimental results show 61% leakage power reduction and 13% increase in the read SNM. In addition, process variation analysis of the optimized cell is conducted considering the variability effect in twelve device parameters. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study which makes use of statistical DOE-ILP for optimization of conflicting targets of stability and power in the presence of process variations in SRAMs.     

Employee perception towards electronic monitoring at work place and its impact on job satisfaction of software professionals in Sri Lanka

Electronic monitoring is a rapidly growing phenomenon in Sri Lankan software industry. It allows employers to observe what employees do on the job and review employee communications, including e-mail and internet activity that employees consider private. Often, employers use electronic monitoring to ensure organizational confidentiality, limiting employer liability for employee misconduct. From the perspective of employees, electronic monitoring by employers involves several privacy and confidentiality concerns. Most of the time, employee performance and productivity aspects captured via electronic monitoring are effectively used by the Human Resources Departments, for decision making associated with the employees.Majority of the software development organizations in Sri Lanka today use some means of electronic technology to monitor their employee activities. Most of the time, employee perception towards electronic monitoring at work, contradicts with the need for law enforcement within the organization intended by the top management. Employers justify electronic monitoring at work place in terms of protecting the company’s confidential information, preventing the misuse of the organizational resources while uplifting the quality of work and productivity. On the other hand, the mutual trust that should be there between the employer and the employee is in question. Therefore, this study empirically investigated the relationship that might exist between the software professionals’ perception towards electronic monitoring at work place and its impact on their job satisfaction.Based on disproportionate stratified random sampling, data were collected from 380 software professionals in Sri Lanka, by administrating a structured questionnaire in which items were of 5 point Lickert scale. The data analysis included the univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses.In this study, Perceived Relevance to Work and Personal Judgment of Effectiveness which were two variables used to measure perception of electronic monitoring were positively correlated with Job Satisfaction. This means that the software professionals, who view electronic monitoring as something which is relevant to their work as well as which uplifts the quality of their work, are satisfied in their jobs. Perceived Invasion of Privacy was negatively correlated to Job Satisfaction, which sheds some light in organizational electronic monitoring policy making. Also, Perceived Task Satisfaction was negatively correlated to Job Satisfaction. This means that the software professionals, who thought that working in an electronically monitored environment makes their tasks more complex, are rather dissatisfied in the job. Also, it appeared that the impact of electronic monitoring at work place on the job satisfaction of software professionals becomes less significant along with higher professional experience.The findings of this research can be incorporated in IT security policy making in the software development organizations in Sri Lanka and in similar economics, with a special emphasis on the job satisfaction of their employees, which is the most valuable asset of the organization.     

What do we want specifically from the cell phone? An age related study

This study investigated the evolution of specific cell phone feature preferences among high school, undergraduate and graduate college students in Finland. Following the relevant literature review, the paper analyzed the responses of 118 high school, 268 undergraduate and 84 graduate students from educational institutions located in the metropolitan area of Tampere, Finland. The results indicate that the students in Finland appreciate the specific feature “clock”, “phone”, “high battery life”, “alarm”, and “calendar” as very important, and the specific features “TV connectivity”, “joystick”, “live TV”, “Twitter”, and “small screen size” as unimportant features. There were also significant differences in the specific feature preferences between the students between high school, undergraduate and graduate students. In addition there were differences in the way the respondents conceptualize the specific feature preferences of the cell phone. The paper concludes with a discussion regarding the academic and managerial implications.