Organic additive assisted hydrothermal synthesis and photoluminescence properties of CeF<Subscript>3</Subscript>:Tb<Superscript>3+</Superscript> and NaCeF<Subscript>4</Subscript>:Tb<Superscript>3+</Superscript> nanoparticles

A series of Tb³⁺ doped CeF₃ and NaCeF₄ nanoparticles with different morphology and dimension were synthesized via hydrothermal method. Different organic additives, including sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB), oleic acid (OA), polyethylene glycol (PEG), trisodium citrate (Cit) were introduced to control the crystallite size and morphology. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), fourier transform infra-red spectra (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and down-conversion (DC) photoluminescence spectra were used to characterize the samples. The emission peaks of all the prepared samples centered at 490, 545, 585 and 621 nm which can be ascribed to the ⁵D₄→⁷F_J (J?=?6, 5, 4, 3) transitions respectively of Tb³⁺ ion. However, emission intensities are strongly controlled by morphology and particle sizes which are influenced by different organic additives used in synthesis. Moreover, the crystal growth process was monitored through a series of time-dependent experiments and a possible formation mechanism has been proposed.     

Advances in the chemical leaching (inorgano-leaching), bio-leaching and desulphurisation of coals

International Journal of Coal Science & Technology - Coal still remains an important source of power generation world over. Along with its usage, comes unwanted generation of noxious gas...     

Hydrogen storage properties of various carbon supported NaBH4 prepared via metathesis

Sodium borohydride nanoparticles prepared via the metathesis reaction between LiBH₄ and NaCl were successfully deposited on various carbon supporting materials such as graphite, graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes. The X-ray diffraction analyses were conducted to identify the phase of NaBH₄ deposited on various carbon supporting materials. The transmittance electron micrograph analyses were also conducted to investigate the particle size and dispersion of NaBH₄ within carbon supporting materials. The particle size and size distribution of NaBH₄ on graphite were observed to be larger and broader than of other two supporting materials, graphene oxide and CNT due to the lower surface energy as compared to GO and CNT. The bonding state of NaBH₄ was confirmed by the Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy analysis. The TG and PCT results show that the hydrogen desorption of the NaBH₄ deposited on carbon supports takes place at temperature (130 °C～) significantly lower than that of pure NaBH₄ (above 500 °C) and the amount of desorption was in the order of graphene oxide (12.3 mass %) > CNT (9.8 mass %) > graphite (5.7 mass %). The reversibility of hydrogen adsorption after five cycles of adsorption-desorption showed that NaBH₄/GO and NaBH₄/CNT were much better than that of pure NaBH₄ due to excellent structural stability.     

Sodium Effects on the Diffusion,Phase, and Defect Characteristics of Kesterite Solar Cells and Flexible Cu2ZnSn(S,Se)4 with Greater than 11% Efficiency

Improving the efficiency of kesterite (Cu₂ZnSn(S,Se)₄; CZTSSe) solar cells requires understanding the effects of Na doping. This paper investigates these effects by applying a NaF layer at various positions within precursors. The NaF position is important because Na produces Na-related defects in the absorber and suppresses the formation of intrinsic defects. By investigating precursors with various NaF positions, the sulfo-selenization mechanism and the characteristics of defect formation are confirmed. Applying a NaF layer onto a Zn layer in a CZTSSe precursor limits Zn diffusion and suppresses Cu-Zn alloy formation, thus changing the sulfo-selenization mechanism. In addition, the surface NaF layer provides reactive Se and S to the absorber layer by generating Na₂Se_x and Na₂S_x liquid phases during sulfo-selenization, thus limiting the incorporation of Na into the absorber and reducing the Na effects. Efficiency values of 11.16% and 11.19% are obtained for a flexible CZTSSe solar cell by applying NaF between the Zn layer and back contact and between the Cu and Sn layers, respectively. This study presents methods for doping with alkali metals and improving the efficiency of photovoltaics.     

GC–MS-based metabolomics approach reveals metabolic variations between probiotics incorporated cow and goat milk yoghurt

The work is aimed at elucidation of metabolite profile of probiotic yoghurts prepared from cow milk (CPY) and goat milk (GPY) using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics approach. A total of 192 metabolites including 49 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) were observed, wherein amino-acids, peptides and analogues constituted 41.93% of the metabolite sub-class. Acetic acid, glycine, Thr-Ala, octanoic acid, l -kynurenine and 2-amino adipic acid were among the top 15 DEMs. A significant relationship with seven key metabolic pathways including glycolysis, lysine degradation, purine metabolism, fatty acid biosynthesis, tryptophan metabolism, nicotinate and nicotinamide metabolism and glycine, serine and threonine metabolism has been established based on their impact values.     

Insights from principal component analysis applied to Py-GCMS study of Indian coals and their solvent extracted clean coal products

The present work aims at studying five Indian coals and their solvent extracted clean coal products using Py-GCMS analysis and correlating the characterization ...     

D,L-Lysine-Acetylsalicylate + Glycine (LASAG) Reduces SARS-CoV-2 Replication and Shows an Additive Effect with Remdesivir

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing the coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is still challenging healthcare systems and societies worldwide. While vaccines are available, therapeutic strategies are developing and need to be adapted to each patient. Many clinical approaches focus on the repurposing of approved therapeutics against other diseases. However, the efficacy of these compounds on viral infection or even harmful secondary effects in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection are sparsely investigated. Similarly, adverse effects of commonly used therapeutics against lifestyle diseases have not been studied in detail. Using mono cell culture systems and a more complex chip model, we investigated the effects of the acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) salt D,L-lysine-acetylsalicylate + glycine (LASAG) on SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. ASA is commonly known as Aspirin^® and is one of the most frequently used medications worldwide. Our data indicate an inhibitory effect of LASAG on SARS-CoV-2 replication and SARS-CoV-2-induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and coagulation factors. Remarkably, our data point to an additive effect of the combination of LASAG and the antiviral acting drug remdesivir on SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro.     

Emulsification properties of sodium caseinate‐based conjugates with selected polysaccharides

Sodium caseinate (SC) was conjugated with polysaccharides, viz. maltodextrin (MD), pectin (P) and gum arabic (GA) at protein:polysaccharide weight ratio of 1:2, 1:1 and 2:1. The emulsifying properties and other relevant chemical properties of these conjugates were compared. The visible colour change, SDS‐PAGE analysis and available reducing groups confirmed greater conjugation in SC‐MD conjugate than the SC‐GA and SC‐P conjugates. SC‐P conjugate at the weight ratio of 1:2 exhibited the best emulsifying properties (emulsifying activity – 46.7%, emulsion stability – 7 days at 5 ± 1 °C storage) and had better solubility (33.5%) near the iso‐electric pH.     

Effect of different storage conditions on coagulating properties and cheese quality of Withania coagulans extract

The effects of different storage conditions on the coagulating properties of extracts of Withania coagulans berries were investigated in terms of coagulation time, pH and quality attributes of cheese prepared from buffalo milk. The extracts were stored under different conditions, viz. room temperature (27 ± 3 °C), refrigerated storage (4 °C), frozen storage (?20 °C) and lyophilisation. The milk‐coagulating activity of the plant extracts was measured on a fortnightly basis for a period of 5 months. There was a nonsignificant change in pH and the milk coagulating properties of the lyophilised extract. Physiochemical analysis revealed that cheese prepared with lyophilised extract retained the highest content of ash (2.3%), fat (23.8%), total solids (48.7%) and crude protein (22.7%), and resulted in the highest cheese yield (17.6%) compared to other tested treatments. Thus, it is concluded that lyophilisation has good potential for storage of vegetable extract coagulants.     

Tissue Proteome of 2-Hydroxyacyl-CoA Lyase Deficient Mice Reveals Peroxisome Proliferation and Activation of ω-Oxidation

Peroxisomal fatty acid α-oxidation is an essential pathway for the degradation of β-carbon methylated fatty acids such as phytanic acid. One enzyme in this pathway is 2-hydroxyacyl CoA lyase (HACL1), which is responsible for the cleavage of 2-hydroxyphytanoyl-CoA into pristanal and formyl-CoA. Hacl1 deficient mice do not present with a severe phenotype, unlike mice deficient in other α-oxidation enzymes such as phytanoyl-CoA hydroxylase deficiency (Refsum disease) in which neuropathy and ataxia are present. Tissues from wild-type and Hacl1^−/− mice fed a high phytol diet were obtained for proteomic and lipidomic analysis. There was no phenotype observed in these mice. Liver, brain, and kidney tissues underwent trypsin digestion for untargeted proteomic liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis, while liver tissues also underwent fatty acid hydrolysis, extraction, and derivatisation for fatty acid gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. The liver fatty acid profile demonstrated an accumulation of phytanic and 2-hydroxyphytanic acid in the Hacl1^−/− liver and significant decrease in heptadecanoic acid. The liver proteome showed a significant decrease in the abundance of Hacl1 and a significant increase in the abundance of proteins involved in PPAR signalling, peroxisome proliferation, and omega oxidation, particularly Cyp4a10 and Cyp4a14. In addition, the pathway associated with arachidonic acid metabolism was affected; Cyp2c55 was upregulated and Cyp4f14 and Cyp2b9 were downregulated. The kidney proteome revealed fewer significantly upregulated peroxisomal proteins and the brain proteome was not significantly different in Hacl1^−/− mice. This study demonstrates the powerful insight brought by proteomic and metabolomic profiling of Hacl1^−/− mice in better understanding disease mechanism in fatty acid α-oxidation disorders.