Sponge-based materials for oil spill cleanups: A review

Elimination of leaked oil from aquatic environs has recently gained importance owing to the disasters associated with leakages into marine environments. The need for an environmentally friendly and viable line of action concerning the environs has brought forward numerous affordable, non-toxic, and decomposable materials; further, diverse biomasses for fabricating nano- to micro-scale materials, membranes, and sponges/aerogels have also been incorporated for the elimination and retrieval of oils from water. Moreover, selectivity, sorption capacity, and reusability of these materials after the retrieval of oils are also desired from the viewpoint of sustainability. This review encompasses the recent progress in the field of elimination and retrieval of oil spills using various sponge-based materials.     

Effect of the temperature of cerium nitrate–NaCl solution on corrosion inhibition of mild steel

In this study, the effect of temperature on corrosion inhibition is studied in the absence and presence of an optimal concentration of cerium nitrate (600 mg/L) as an inhibitor of mild steel in sodium chloride. Corrosion tests are carried out through electrochemical techniques such as impedance spectroscopy and d.c. polarization measurements. The surface morphology of the films is investigated by optical microscopy, white-light interferometry, and scanning electronic microscopy, coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy analysis for chemical composition. The results obtained show that the activation energy for the corrosion inhibition process to occur increases in the presence of a cerium nitrate inhibitor. However, the corrosion resistance of mild steel is somewhat lost upon increasing the solution temperature up to 55°C, which leads to more cracked films. The enthalpy and entropy values suggest a mixed mechanism of chemisorption and physisorption inhibition, with a major dominance of physisorption control.     

Passivity-based Voltage Controller for Tidal Energy Conversion System with Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - Nonlinear dynamical and time varying parameters of the permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG), make it difficult to control. This...     

The Cul4-DDB1-WDR3/WDR6 Complex Binds SPAK and OSR1 Kinases in a Phosphorylation-Dependent Manner

SPAK and OSR1 are two protein kinases that play critical roles in regulating ion homeostasis. They are activated under osmotic stress through phosphorylation by their upstream WNK kinases at a conserved threonine site on their T-loops. Additionally, WNK kinases phosphorylate SPAK and OSR1 at a highly conserved serine residue on their S-motif, the function of which remains elusive. Using affinity pull down and mass spectrometry, we identified the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex Cullin 4-DDB1-WDR3/WDR6 as a binder to OSR1 kinase in a SPAK/OSR1 S-motif phosphorylation-dependent manner. This binding was found to be compromised by S-motif phosphorylation following osmotic stress. Using proteasomal and neddylation inhibitors, we subsequently showed that OSR1 ubiquitylation was abolished under osmotic stress when its S-motif is phosphorylated. These results provide the first example of an E3 ubiquitin ligase system that binds the OSR1 kinase and, thus, links the CRL4 complex to ion homeostasis.     

Gabor filter-based texture for ancient degraded document image binarization

Pattern Analysis and Applications - Binarization of ancient degraded document images is a very important step for their preservation and digital use. In this paper, a new simple threshold-based...     

A new framework for metaheuristic-based frequent itemset mining

This paper proposes a novel framework for metaheuristic-based Frequent Itemset Mining (FIM), which considers intrinsic features of the FIM problem. The framework, called META-GD, can be used to steer any metaheuristics-based FIM approach. Without loss of generality, three metaheuristics are considered in this paper, namely the genetic algorithm (GA), particle swarm optimization (PSO), and bee swarm optimization (BSO). This allows to derive three approaches, named GA-GD, PSO-GD, and BSO-GD, respectively. An extensive experimental evaluation on medium and large database instances reveal that PSO-GD outperforms state-of-the-art metaheuristic-based approaches in terms of runtime and solution quality.     

Dielectric and dye adsorption properties of luminescent-superparamagnetic MFe2O4 (M = Mn,Mg)/reduced graphene oxide composites

MFe₂O₄ (M = Mn, Mg)/reduced graphene oxide (MFe₂O₄/RGO) nanocomposites were synthesized through a simple and novel pressure cooker assisted solvothermal method. The nanocomposites were characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The optical analyses showed that, the MFe₂O₄/RGO materials have good photoluminescence (PL) with excitation dependent PL properties while magnetic characterization indicated that, the as-synthesized MFe₂O₄/RGO nanocomposites exhibits superparamagnetic behavior. Dielectric spectroscopy analysis showed enhanced dielectric constant, dielectric loss and AC conductivity for MFe₂O₄/RGO, compared to graphite oxide (GO). The study on methyl blue (MB) dye adsorption revealed that, the as-prepared nanocomposites have strong and recyclable adsorption for MB.     

The Anthelmintic Drug Niclosamide and Its Analogues Activate the Parkinson's Disease Associated Protein Kinase PINK1

Mutations in PINK1, which impair its catalytic kinase activity, are causal for autosomal recessive early‐onset Parkinson's disease (PD). Various studies have indicated that the activation of PINK1 could be a useful strategy in treating neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD. Herein, it is shown that the anthelmintic drug niclosamide and its analogues are capable of activating PINK1 in cells through the reversible impairment of the mitochondrial membrane potential. With these compounds, for the first time, it is demonstrated that the PINK1 pathway is active and detectable in primary neurons. These findings suggest that niclosamide and its analogues are robust compounds for the study of the PINK1 pathway and may hold promise as a therapeutic strategy in PD and related disorders.