NixCo1−x alloy nanoparticle-doped carbon nanofibers as effective non-precious catalyst for ethanol oxidation

Alloy structure generates special characteristics for the nano-metallic compounds which make this interesting class of materials promising candidates for many application fields. Moreover, the performance of the nanostructural catalysts is strongly influenced by the morphology; nanofibers reveal distinct catalytic activity compared to the nanoparticles. In this study, non-precious electrocatalysts based on alloy structure and nanofibrous morphology are introduced. Briefly, Ni_xCo_1−x (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1.0) alloy nanoparticles incorporated in carbon nanofibers are investigated as electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation. Preparation of the introduced nanofibers could be achieved by calcination of electrospun nanofibers composed of nickel acetate tetrahydrate, cobalt acetate tetrahydrate and poly(vinyl alcohol) in argon atmosphere at 800 °C. Polycondensation characteristic of the utilized metals precursors led to produce good morphology electrospun nanofibers as well as preserved the nanofibrous morphology during the calcination process for all formulations. The catalytic activity of cobalt enhanced the carbonization of the utilized polymer which resulted in producing nickel/cobalt alloys nanoparticles embedded in carbon nanofibers. Electrochemical investigation of the introduced nanofibers toward ethanol oxidation indicated that the alloy structure has a strong influence. For instance, the corresponding current densities of Ni- and Ni_0.9Co_0.1-doped carbon nanofibers were 37 and 142 mA/cm², respectively. Moreover, very low onset potential (−50 mV vs. Ag/AgCl) was observed when Ni_0.1Co_0.9-doped carbon nanofibers were utilized. Furthermore, Ni_0.9Co_0.1-doped carbon nanofibers could oxidize ethanol solution up to 5 M due to the observed active layer regeneration. The introduced nanofibers have good stability because of the alloy structure. Overall, this study opens new avenue for the transition metals alloys and the nanofibrous morphology to produce novel and effective non-precious electrocatalysts.     

Inactivation kinetics of inoculated Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica on strawberries by chlorine dioxide gas

Inactivation kinetics of inoculated Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica on strawberries by chlorine dioxide gas at different concentrations (0.5, 1, 1.5, 3 and 5 mgl(-1)) for 10 min were studied. A cocktail of three strains of each targeted organism (100 microl) was spotted onto the surface of the strawberries (approximately 8-9 log ml(-1)) separately followed by air drying, and then treated with ClO(2) gas at 22 degrees C and 90-95% relative humidity. Approximately a 4.3-4.7 logCFU reduction per strawberry of all examined bacteria was achieved by treatment with 5 mgl(-1) ClO(2) for 10 min. The inactivation kinetics of E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes and S. enterica were determined using first-order kinetic models to establish D-values and z-values. The D-values of E. coli, L. monocytogenes and S. enterica were 2.6+/-0.2, 2.3+/-0.2 and 2.7+/-0.7 min, respectively, at 5 mgl(-1) ClO(2). The z-values of E. coli, L. monocytogenes and S. enterica were 16.8+/-3.5, 15.8+/-3.5 and 23.3+/-3.3 mgl(-1), respectively. Furthermore, treatment with ClO(2) gas significantly (p < or = 0.05) reduced the initial microflora (mesophilic, psychrotrophic bacteria, yeasts and molds) on strawberries. Treatment with ClO(2) gas did not affect the color of strawberries and extended the shelf-life to 16 days compared to 8 days for the untreated control.     

O serogroup specific real time PCR assays for the detection and identification of nine clinically relevant non-O157 STECs

TaqMan™ real time PCR assays were designed for each of the non-O157 STEC O serogroups most commonly associated with human illness: O26, O45, O91, O103, O111, O113, O121, O128, and O145. The nine RT-PCR assays can be run as single assays when a known pathogen is of concern, or multiplexed in three reactions, to quickly screen for the most clinically relevant O serogroups. All assays included an internal amplification control constructed from the green fluorescent protein gene as an indicator of PCR inhibition. Of 103 strains tested, the inclusive tests accurately identified the O serogroup for 101 strains. The exclusive tests for each assay yielded no false positives for over 120 Escherichia coli strains and 23 non-E. coli bacteria tested. Furthermore, the RT-PCR assays were tested by inoculating four food matrices, milk, apple juice, lettuce, and ground beef, at ≤30 CFU/25 g or mL. Following a 24 h selective enrichment, the RT-PCR assays detected STECs in all foods except for one ground beef sample inoculated with O111, and all apple juice samples inoculated with O113. The assays could also detect each O serogroup in human stool specimens inoculated with STECs at 1000 CFU/0.5 g of stool following 24 h enrichment.     

Ginger and its health claims: molecular aspects

Recent research has rejuvenated centuries-old traditional herbs to cure various ailments by using modern tools like diet-based therapy and other regimens. Ginger is one of the classic examples of an herb used for not only culinary preparations but also for unique therapeutic significance owing to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory potential. The pungent fractions of ginger, namely gingerols, shogaols, paradols, and volatile constituents like sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes, are mainly attributed to the health-enhancing perspectives of ginger. This review elucidates the health claims of ginger and the molecular aspects and targets, with special reference to anticancer perspectives, immunonutrition, antioxidant potential, and cardiovascular cure. The molecular targets involved in chemoprevention like the inhibition of NF-κB activation via impairing nuclear translocation, suppresses cIAP1 expression, increases caspase-3/7 activation, arrests cell cycle in G2 + M phases, up-regulates Cytochrome-c, Apaf-1, activates PI3K/Akt/I kappaB kinases IKK, suppresses cell proliferation, and inducts apoptosis and chromatin condensation. Similarly, facts are presented regarding the anti-inflammatory response of ginger components and molecular targets including inhibition of prostaglandin and leukotriene biosynthesis and suppression of 5-lipoxygenase. Furthermore, inhibition of phosphorylation of three mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2), and c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) are also discussed. The role of ginger in reducing the extent of cardiovascular disorders, diabetes mellitus, and digestive problems has also been described in detail. Although, current review articles summarized the literature pertaining to ginger and its components. However, authors are still of the view that further research should be immediately carried out for meticulousness.     

All in the family: TGF-beta family action in testis development

To achieve and maintain fertility, the adult mammalian testis produces many generations of sperm. While testicular integrity is established in the fetus and develops further in juvenile life, sperm production does not ensue until much later in life, following the onset of puberty. Signals from the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily of proteins are vital for governance of testis development and spermatogenesis, and this review discusses our current understanding of the mechanisms and processes in which they have been implicated with a focus on the fetal and juvenile testis.     

TICP: Transport Information Collection Protocol

We present and validateTicp, a TCP-friendly reliable transport protocol to collect information from a large number of sources spread over the Internet.Ticp is a stand-alone protocol that can be used by any application requiring the reliable collection of information. It ensures two main functions: (i) the information arrives at the collector entirely and correctly, (ii) the implosion at the collector and the congestion of the network are avoided. The congestion control inTicp is done by having the collector probe the sources at a rate function of network conditions. The probing rate increases and decreases in a way similar to how TCP adapts its congestion window. We implementTicp in ns-2 and validate its performance. In particular, we show how efficientTicp is in quickly and reliably collecting information from a large number of sources, while avoiding network congestion and being fair with competing traffic.     

Natural fibers and zinc hydroxystannate 3D microspheres based composite paper sheets for modern bendable energy storage application

For modern high-tech flexible energy storage devices, it becomes important to synthesize micro-/nanostructures as per the required shape and morphology with superior physical and electro-active characteristics. This work shares the fabrication and characterization of ZnSn(OH)₆ (Zinc hydroxystannate [ZHS]) prepared by facile microwave-assisted technique and furthermore converted into flexible sheets by employing lignocelluloses (LC) known as natural fibers, collected from Carica papaya leaf petiole as a substrate to provide the flexible matrix. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm the successful crystalline structure of ZHS. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed the solid spherical structure of ZHS microspheres. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the composite formation of ZHS and LC-based composite sheets (ZHS/LC sheets). Electrochemical measurements that is, cyclic voltammetry (CV), Galvanostatic charge/discharge, and electrochemical impedance (EIS) spectroscopy revealed the electroactive behavior of ZHS/LC paper sheets as working electrode for energy storage applications. CV measurements revealed the specific capacitance of 100 F/g and EIS measurements confirmed the decrease in the resistance of LC fiber after the growth of ZHS microspheres. Presented flexible ZHS based paper sheets will be highly feasible for the modern bendable/flexible/disposable energy storage applications.     

Cancellable Multi-Biometric Feature Veins Template Generation Based on SHA-3 Hashing

In this paper, a novel cancellable biometrics technique called Multi-Biometric-Feature-Hashing (MBFH) is proposed. The MBFH strategy is utilized to actualize a single direction (non-invertibility) biometric shape. MBFH is a typical model security conspire that is distinguished in the utilization of this protection insurance framework in numerous sorts of biometric feature strategies (retina, palm print, Hand Dorsum, fingerprint). A more robust and accurate multilingual biological structure in expressing human loneliness requires a different format to record clients with inseparable comparisons from individual biographical sources. This may raise worries about their utilization and security when these spread out designs are subverted as everybody is acknowledged for another biometric attribute.The proposed structure comprises of four sections: input multi-biometric acquisition, feature extraction, Multi-Exposure Fusion (MEF) and secure hashing calculation (SHA-3). Multimodal biometrics systems that are more powerful and precise in human-unmistakable evidence require various configurations to store a comparative customer that can be contrasted with biometric wellsprings of people. Disparate top words, biometrics graphs can’t be denied and change to another request for positive Identifications (IDs) while settling. Cancellable biometrics is may be the special procedure used to recognize this issue.     

A Component Selection Framework of Cohesion and Coupling Metrics

Component-based software engineering is concerned with the development of software that can satisfy the customer prerequisites through reuse or independent development. Coupling and cohesion measurements are primarily used to analyse the better software design quality, increase the reliability and reduced system software complexity. The complexity measurement of cohesion and coupling component to analyze the relationship between the component module. In this paper, proposed the component selection framework of Hexa-oval optimization algorithm for selecting the suitable components from the repository. It measures the interface density modules of coupling and cohesion in a modular software system. This cohesion measurement has been taken into two parameters for analyzing the result of complexity, with the help of low cohesion and high cohesion. In coupling measures between the component of inside parameters and outside parameters. The final process of coupling and cohesion, the measured values were used for the average calculation of components parameter. This paper measures the complexity of direct and indirect interaction among the component as well as the proposed algorithm selecting the optimal component for the repository. The better result is observed for high cohesion and low coupling in component-based software engineering.