Synergistic evaluation of AgO2 nanoparticles with ceftriaxone against CTXM and blaSHV genes positive ESBL producing clinical strains of Uro‐pathogenic E. coli

The silver oxide nanoparticles (AgO₂ ‐NPs) were synthesised using silver foil as a new precursor in wet chemical method. X‐ray diffraction analysis shows crystallographic structures of AgO₂ ‐NPs with crystallite size of 35.54 nm well‐matched with standard cubic structure. Scanning electron microscopy analysis clearly shows the random distribution of spherical‐shaped nanoparticles. Energy dispersive X‐ray analysis confirmed the purity of the samples as it shows no impurity element. Fourier transforms infra‐red analysis confirmed the formation of AgO₂ ‐NPs with the presence of Ag‐O‐Ag stretching bond. All the techniques also confirmed the loading of ceftriaxone drug on the surface of AgO₂ ‐NPs. This study also described the effect of AgO₂ ‐NPs having synergistic activity with β lactam antibiotic i.e. ceftriaxone against ESBL generating Escherichia coli (E. coli). Among isolated strains of E. coli, 60.0% were found to be ESBL producer. The synergistic activities of AgO₂ ‐NPs with ceftriaxone suggest that these combinations are effective against MDR‐ESBL E. coli strains as evident by increase in zone sizes. The present study observed rise in MDR‐ESBL E. coli with polymorphism of blaCTXM and blaSHV causing UTI infections in Pakistani population. The antibiotic and AgO₂ ‐NPs synergistic effect can be used as an efficient approach to combat uro‐pathogenic infections.Inspec keywords: antibacterial activity, nanofabrication, nanomedicine, drugs, nanoparticles, microorganisms, crystallites, scanning electron microscopy, silver compounds, X‐ray diffraction, X‐ray chemical analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectra, organic compounds, geneticsOther keywords: synergistic evaluation, clinical strains, silver oxide nanoparticles, silver foil, wet chemical method, X‐ray diffraction analysis, crystallographic structures, standard cubic structure, spherical‐shaped nanoparticles, energy dispersive X‐ray analysis, ceftriaxone drug, synergistic activity, ESBL producer, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared analysis, Escherichia coli, blaSHV gene positive ESBL, crystallite size, random distribution, β lactam antibiotics, MDR‐ESBL E. coli strains, polymorphism, blaCTXM, uro‐pathogenic infections, uro‐pathogenic E. coli, AgO₂      

CO2 capture using membrane contactors: a systematic literature review

With fossil fuel being the major source of energy, CO₂ emission levels need to be reduced to a minimal amount namely from anthropogenic sources. Energy consumption is expected to rise by 48% in the next 30 years, and global warming is becoming an alarming issue which needs to be addressed on a thorough technical basis. Nonetheless, exploring CO₂ capture using membrane contactor technology has shown great potential to be applied and utilised by industry to deal with post- and pre-combustion of CO₂. A systematic review of the literature has been conducted to analyse and assess CO₂ removal using membrane contactors for capturing techniques in industrial processes. The review began with a total of 2650 papers, which were obtained from three major databases, and then were excluded down to a final number of 525 papers following a defined set of criteria. The results showed that the use of hollow fibre membranes have demonstrated popularity, as well as the use of amine solvents for CO₂ removal. This current systematic review in CO₂ removal and capture is an important milestone in the synthesis of up to date research with the potential to serve as a benchmark databank for further research in similar areas of work. This study provides the first systematic enquiry in the evidence to research further sustainable methods to capture and separate CO₂.     

Correction to: Deposition of bismuth sulfide and aluminum doped bismuth sulfide thin films for photovoltaic applications

Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics -     

A Novel Action Transformer Network for Hybrid Multimodal Sign Language Recognition

Sign language fills the communication gap for people with hearing and speaking ailments. It includes both visual modalities, manual gestures consisting of movements of hands, and non-manual gestures incorporating body movements including head, facial expressions, eyes, shoulder shrugging, etc. Previously both gestures have been detected; identifying separately may have better accuracy, but much communicational information is lost. A proper sign language mechanism is needed to detect manual and non-manual gestures to convey the appropriate detailed message to others. Our novel proposed system contributes as Sign Language Action Transformer Network (SLATN), localizing hand, body, and facial gestures in video sequences. Here we are expending a Transformer-style structural design as a “base network” to extract features from a spatiotemporal domain. The model impulsively learns to track individual persons and their action context in multiple frames. Furthermore, a “head network” emphasizes hand movement and facial expression simultaneously, which is often crucial to understanding sign language, using its attention mechanism for creating tight bounding boxes around classified gestures. The model’s work is later compared with the traditional identification methods of activity recognition. It not only works faster but achieves better accuracy as well. The model achieves overall 82.66% testing accuracy with a very considerable performance of computation with 94.13 Giga-Floating Point Operations per Second (G-FLOPS). Another contribution is a newly created dataset of Pakistan Sign Language for Manual and Non-Manual (PkSLMNM) gestures.     

Stimulation of secondary metabolites by copper and gold nanoparticles in submerge adventitious root cultures of Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.)

Nanotechnology is one of the advance technologies that almost found implications in every field of science. The importance is due to the unique properties of nanoparticles. In this study, bimetallic alloys of copper (Cu) and gold (Au) were tested in submerge root cultures of Stevia rebaudiana for production of biomass and secondary metabolites. A known amount of inoculum roots were submerged in liquid Murashige and Skoog medium containing combination of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA; 0.5 mg l⁻¹) and different ratios of nanoparticles (NPs). NAA augmented medium was used as control. The addition of nanoparticles (30 µg l⁻¹) stimulated biomass accumulation (1.447 g/flask) on 27th day of log phases. The maximum total phenolics content (TPC; 16.17 mg/g‐DW) and total flavonoids content (TFC; 4.20 mg/g‐DW) were displayed using AuCu‐NPs (1:3) and NAA. The same combinations enhanced total phenolic production (TPP; 116 mg/L) and total flavonoid production (TFP; 29.5 mg/L) in submerged cultures. A strong correlation was observed between phenolics, flavonoids and dry biomass. Moreover, maximum 1, 1‐diphenyl‐2‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) activity of 79% was displayed by addition of AuCu (1:3) nanoparticles. In conclusion, nanoparticles application has shown a positive effect in enhancing biomass and secondary metabolites production in adventitious root cultures of Stevia rebaudiana.Inspec keywords: bimetals, copper, gold, nanoparticles, renewable materials, bioenergy conversion, toxicology, nanofabrication, nanobiotechnology, biochemistry, molecular biophysicsOther keywords: Au‐Ag, time 27 d, maximum DPPH activity, dry biomass, flavonoids, phenolics, NAA enhanced total phenolic production, total flavonoid content, maximum total phenolic content, log phases, bimetallic NPs stimulated biomass accumulation, NAA augmented medium, naphthalene acetic acid, Skoog medium, liquid Murashige, inoculum roots, culture development, seed‐derived roots, bimetallic alloys, nanotechnology, Stevia rebaudiana (Bert.), submerge adventitious root cultures, gold nanoparticles, copper nanoparticles, secondary metabolites     

Cellulose acetate (CA) hybrid membrane prepared by phase inversion method combined with chemical reaction with enhanced permeability and good anti-fouling property

The CA hybrid membrane with enhanced anti-fouling property and higher permeability was prepared by nonsolvent induced phase separation method combined with chemical reaction. The impacts of different solvents (N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, N, N- Dimethylacetamide, Dimethyl sulfoxide and N, N-Dimethylformamide), organic acids (citric acid/fumaric acid) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) on the separation performance and thermal stability of CA hybrid membranes were investigated. Results showed that the introduction of organic acids to membrane matrix caused asymmetry in the membrane structure with more uniform pore size distribution and higher porosity (82.5%). This is attributed to the production of CO₂ bubbles by a reaction between organic acid in the casting solution and salt in the coagulation bath. Meanwhile, a tremendous rise in anti-fouling property (from 89.7% to 94%), pure water flux (from 329.7 to 821.5 L/m² h) and permeation flux (from 265.8 to 546.3 L/m² h) indicates a significant improvement in the hydrophilicity and the permeability of prepared membranes. In addition, a significant improvement in thermal stability (by 90°C) was achieved owing to the formation of dative bonds between TiO₂ NPs and CA polymer. Therefore, this approach can significantly improve the anti-fouling property and the separation performance of the CA membrane.     

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia): a natural healthy vegetable

Bitter melon provides health benefits against various ailments for improving the quality of life. It is nutrient dense plant-based food containing versatility of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, polypeptide, vitamins, and minerals. Owing to presence of bioactive compounds, it has the ability to fight against various lifestyle related disorders, e.g. cancer insurgence, diabetes mellitus, abdominal pain, kidney (stone), fever, and scabies. Amongst bioactive moieties, p-insulin is similar to insulin whose subcutaneous injection significantly lower blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. It also contains steroidal saponins called charantin, act alike peptides and certain alkaloids that effectively control sugar level in blood. The therapeutic perspectives have been also highlighted as they are helpful in regulating blood cholesterol thus protecting the body from cardiovascular disorders like atherosclerosis. Whole fruit, seeds and leaves of bitter melon regulates impaired antioxidant status and suppress fat accumulation. Moreover, curative potential of its bioactive components and their utilization in value added food products are also the limelight of article.     

A study of the influence of crystallite size on the electrical and magnetic properties of CuFe2O4

An attempt has been made to clarify the fundamental assumption that the properties of materials change as the crystallite size of the material is reduced below 100 nm. CuFe₂O₄ samples of different crystallite sizes were prepared by the sol–gel and combustion methods and then analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal analyses (TGA/DTG) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. The magnetic properties were studied by measuring the AC magnetic susceptibility (χ) and the Mössbauer spectroscopy. The DC electrical resistivity, dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent, Curie temperature and hyperfine splitting of the samples change with the crystallite size. The change in the electrical properties is attributed to the formation of discrete energy levels instead of the bands. However, the magnetic parameters change due to the existence of non magnetic surface layers. The isomer shift and the hyperfine splitting show gradual increase with the increase in crystallite sizes.