Regulating Electronic Structure of Iron Nitride by Tungsten Nitride Nanosheets for Accelerated Overall Water Splitting

Two essential characteristics that are required for hybrid electrocatalysts to exhibit higher oxygen and hydrogen evolution reaction (OER and HER, respectively) activity are a favorable electronic configuration and a sufficient density of active sites at the interface between the two materials within the hybrid. In the present study, a hybrid electrocatalyst is introduced with a novel architecture consisting of coral-like iron nitride (Fe₂N) arrays and tungsten nitride (W₂N₃) nanosheets that satisfies these requirements. The resulting W₂N₃/Fe₂N catalyst achieves high OER activity (268.5 mV at 50 mA cm⁻²) and HER activity (85.2 mV at 10 mA cm⁻²) with excellent long-term durability in an alkaline medium. In addition, density functional theory calculations reveal that the individual band centers experience an upshift in the hybrid W₂N₃/Fe₂N structure, thus improving the OER and HER activity. The strategy adopted here thus provides a valuable guide for the fabrication of cost-effective multi-metallic crystalline hybrids for use as multifunctional electrocatalysts.     

Tailoring the electronic and photocatalytic properties of Mo1−xWx S2 monolayers via biaxial strain

Journal of Materials Science - Using total energy calculations, we thoroughly looked into the two-dimensional (2D) ternary Mo1?xWxS2 monolayers by exploring their electronic band structures...     

Optimal Resource Allocation and Quality of Service Prediction in Cloud

In the present scenario, cloud computing service provides on-request access to a collection of resources available in remote system that can be shared by numerous clients. Resources are in self-administration; consequently, clients can adjust their usage according to their requirements. Resource usage is estimated and clients can pay according to their utilization. In literature, the existing method describes the usage of various hardware assets. Quality of Service (QoS) needs to be considered for ascertaining the schedule and the access of resources. Adhering with the security arrangement, any additional code is forbidden to ensure the usage of resources complying with QoS. Thus, all monitoring must be done from the hypervisor. To overcome the issues, Robust Resource Allocation and Utilization (RRAU) approach is developed for optimizing the management of its cloud resources. The work hosts a numerous virtual assets which could be expected under the circumstances and it enforces a controlled degree of QoS. The asset assignment calculation is heuristic, which is based on experimental evaluations, RRAU approach with J48 prediction model reduces Job Completion Time (JCT) by 4.75 s, Make Span (MS) 6.25, and Monetary Cost (MC) 4.25 for 15, 25, 35 and 45 resources are compared to the conventional methodologies in cloud environment.     

Enzymatic mitigation of acrylamide in fried potato chips using asparaginase from Aspergillus terreus

Acrylamide in foods is declared as carcinogen. In the present work, the effect of enzymatic pretreatment and other parameters like enzyme concentration, frying conditions with respect to temperature and time, size of potato chips, and effect of sodium chloride and citric acid on mitigation of acrylamide were studied. The concentration of acrylamide in fried potatoes after the pretreatment was found to be 815.63 μg kg^?1. The optimised asparaginase concentration for the mitigation of acrylamide was calibrated as 4 U mL^?1, and optimised frying time and temperature were 15 min and 170 °C, respectively. An in‐depth kinetic relationship for the effect of asparaginase on the mitigation of acrylamide was studied. The prime novelty of the project is focused on the immobilisation of asparaginase to nanomagnetic particles for redundant usage with stabilised enzyme activity. The work projected three stables cycles of asparaginase activity and on further usage of the immobilised enzyme resulted in decreased activity. The repeated use of immobilised asparaginase provides the advantage of decreasing cost in processing.     

Enhanced antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of silver nanoparticles against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been used as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammtory, and antiangiogenic due to its unique properties such as physical, chemical, and biological properties. The present study was aimed to investigate antibacterial and anti-biofilm activities of silver nanoparticles alone and in combination with conventional antibiotics against various human pathogenic bacteria. Here, we show that a simple, reliable, cost effective and green method for the synthesis of AgNPs by treating silver ions with leaf extract of Allophylus cobbe. The A. cobbe-mediated synthesis of AgNPs (AgNPs) was characterized by ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, the antibacterial and anti-biofilm activity of antibiotics or AgNPs, or combinations of AgNPs with an antibiotic was evaluated using a series of assays: such as in vitro killing assay, disc diffusion assay, biofilm inhibition, and reactive oxygen species generation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumonia. The results suggest that, in combination with antibiotics, there were significant antimicrobial and anti-biofilm effects at lowest concentration of AgNPs using a novel plant extract of A. cobbe, otherwise sublethal concentrations of the antibiotics. The significant enhancing effects were observed for ampicillin and vancomycin against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively. These data suggest that combining antibiotics and biogenic AgNPs can be used therapeutically for the treatment of infectious diseases caused by bacteria. This study presented evidence of antibacterial and anti-biofilm effects of A. cobbe-mediated synthesis of AgNPs and their enhanced capacity against various human pathogenic bacteria. These results suggest that AgNPs could be used as an adjuvant for the treatment of infectious diseases.     

Influenza viral detection on microfluidic delivery assisted biosensors

Microsystem Technologies - Influenza is the pandemic seasonal virus, circulating among human, bird and pig, cause serious issues in respiratory system. With the seasonal changes and mutations,...     

Synthetic Applications of Aroyl- and Nitro-substituted 2-Aryl-Cyclopropane-1,1-Dicarboxylates

The synthetic applications of aroyl- and nitro-substituted D-A cyclopropanes probed in the authors’ laboratory are reviewed. These cyclopropanes, though looking similar, exhibit markedly different reactivity patterns. Lewis acid-mediated transformations of these cyclopropanes (in the presence or absence of a reaction partner) afford a variety of carbocycles and heterocycles. Mechanistic aspects of the reactions are discussed for clear understanding of the transformations.     

Fabrication of a Chitosan‐Coated Magnetic Nanobiocatalyst for Starch Hydrolysis

The preparation of chitosan‐coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and covalent immobilization of α‐amylase for starch hydrolysis was investigated. Surface morphology, chemical composition, and structural characteristics of the MNPs were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectrometry, and X‐ray diffractometry, respectively. Surface functional groups of MNPs, chitosan‐coated MNPs, and α‐amylase‐immobilized MNPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Response surface methodology based on three levels was implemented to optimize three immobilization conditions and a regression model was developed. α‐Amylase‐immobilized MNPs provided better stability towards pH and temperature. The prepared thermostable nanobiocatalyst is well‐suited for industrial processes involving starch hydrolysis.