Fabrication and optimization of polypyrrole/cerium oxide/glassy carbon sensing platform for the electrochemical detection of flupirtine

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - In spite of single nanomaterials, nanocomposites have come to be the superior modifying materials for electrochemical sensing. Herein, the highly...     

Effect of chitosan and Dysphania ambrosioides on the bone regeneration process: A randomized controlled trial in an animal model

The focus of this triple‐blind study was on evaluating the effect of chitosan combined with Dysphania ambrosioides (A) extract on the bone repair process in vivo. In total, 60 male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) weighing between 260 and 270 g were randomly selected for this study and distributed into four groups (n = 15). Group C (chitosan), Group CA5 (chitosan + 5% of D. ambrosioides), Group CA20 (chitosan + 20% of D. ambrosioides), and Group CO (Control‐Blood clot). In each animal, bone defects measuring 2 mm in diameter were performed in both tibias for placement of the substances. After 7, 15, and 30 days, the animals were sedated and sacrificed using the cervical dislocation technique and the tissues were analyzed under optical microscope relative to the following events: inflammatory infiltrate, necrosis, osteoclasts, osteoblasts, fibroblasts, periosteal, and endosteal bone formation. The data were evaluated to verify distribution using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and variance, using the Levene test; as distribution was not normal, data were subjected to the Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn nonparametric tests (p < .05). A significant inflammatory infiltrate was observed in Group CA5 (p = .008) in the time interval of 7 days, and in Group C at 15 (p = .009) and 30 (p = .017) days. Osteoblastic activity was more significant in Group CA20 (p = .027) compared with CA5 in the time interval of 7 days. Group CA20 demonstrated a significantly higher endosteal and periosteal bone formation value in the time interval of 7 (p = .013), 15 (p = .004), and 30 days (p = .008) compared with the other groups. The null hypothesis was refuted, bone regeneration was faster in spheres with an association of chitosan and 20% extract, and complete bone repair occurred clinically at 15 days and histologically at 30 days. The spheres proved to be a promising method for the biostimulation of alveolar bone repair and bone fractures.     

Exploration of highly correlated Co‐based quaternary Heusler alloys for spintronics and thermoelectric applications

The half‐metallic character of new quaternary Heusler alloys CoXMnAs (X = Ru, Rh) is established along with their thermoelectric, mechanical, and thermodynamic properties. The optimization of energy suggests that alloys are stable in Y2‐type structure with a ferromagnetic character. The electronic band profile through generalized gradient approximation and modified Becke‐Johnson potential indicates the metallic character of alloys. However, with inclusion of Hubbard potential to generalized gradient approximation, the alloys depict half‐metallic character with semiconducting nature in spin‐down state. The alloys possess high magnetic moment, CoRuMnAs has 5 μB, whereas CoRhMnAs has 6 μB, following Slater‐Pauling rule M_T = Z_T ? 24. The narrow band gap in spin‐down channel enhances the thermoelectric properties. The maximum value for thermopower (|S|) obtained is 44.3 and 53.44 μV/K for CoRuMnAs and CoRhMnAs, respectively. The variation of electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and figure of merit affirm increasing trend with temperature, which is a good indication of materials to be used in thermoelectric technology. The mechanical stability along with ductile nature of alloys is determined through elastic constants. Further, we have calculated thermodynamic properties and have established their dependence on temperature and pressure using quasi‐harmonic Debye model. The half‐metallic nature with efficient thermoelectric parameters strongly supports the possible application of alloys for spin devices and green energy generation.     

Vital parameters for high gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) production by an industrial soy sauce koji Aspergillus oryzae NSK in submerged-liquid fermentation

Food Science and Biotechnology - In submerged-liquid fermentation, seven key parameters were assessed using one-factor-at-a-time to obtain the highest GABA yield using an industrial soy sauce koji...     

Modification of glass ionomer cement by incorporating hydroxyapatite-silica nano-powder composite: Sol–gel synthesis and characterization

A nanohydroxyapatite–silica powder was synthesized using an ethanol based sol–gel technique. The synthesized powder was incorporated into commercial glass ionomer powder (Fuji II GC) and characterized using FTIR, ²⁹Si CP/MAS NMR, EDX and XRD spectroscopy. ²⁹Si CP/MAS NMR results showed the presence of higher degree of cross-linking of silyl species between silica and GIC, which makes the Nano-HA–Silica–GIC composite much stronger. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (TEM) was employed to investigate the morphology of the synthesized powder. Results revealed that higher content of nanosilica produced a denser and stronger GIC. Thus, the application of nanohydroxyapatite–silica–GIC with improved properties are envisioned to be of great clinical importance, especially in stress bearing areas.     

Study of strengthening solutions for glued-laminated wood beams of maritime pine wood

The application of the concept of glued-laminated wood (glulam) to improve the mechanical properties of the solid wood of the maritime pine (Pinus pinaster) is the subject of this work. Two reinforced glued-laminated wood beams are proposed and assessed. The first is based on a concept of laminated wood composite with fiber glass; the second is based on the application of pultruded lamellas glued to the most stressed tensile region of the glued-laminated beams. In order to demonstrate the potential of the proposed strengthening solutions, a comparison between their mechanical behaviors and the mechanical behaviors of the conventional glued-laminated and solid beams are performed. Static load–deflection curves, an equivalent Young’s modulus, the ultimate strain and modulus of rupture are determined using 3-point quasi-static bending tests. In general, it is demonstrated the beneficial effect of the proposed strengthening solutions both in terms of resistance and ductility.     

An ANFIS-based approach for predicting the bed load for moderately sized rivers

A total of 346 sets of bed-load data obtained from the Kinta River, Pari River, Kerayong River and Langat River were analyzed using four common bed-load equations. These assessments, based on the median sediment size (d₅₀), show that the existing equations were unable to predict the measured bed load accurately. All existing equations over-predicted the measured values, and none of the existing bed-load equations gave satisfactory performance when tested on local river data. Therefore, the present study applies a new soft computing technique, i.e. an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), to better predict measured bed-load data. Validation of the developed network (ANFIS) was performed using a new set of bed-load data collected at Kulim River. The results show that the recommended network can more accurately predict the measured bed-load data when compared to an equation based on a regression method.