Increasing the photocatalytic and fungicide activities of Ag3PO4 microcrystals under visible-light irradiation

The present study reports for the first time the performance of silver phosphate (Ag₃PO₄) microcrystals as photocatalyst (degradation of Rodamine B-RhB) and antifungal agent (against Candida albicans–C. albicans) under visible-light irradiation (455 nm). Ag₃PO₄ microcrystals were synthesized by a simple co-precipitation (CP) method at room temperature. The structural and electronic properties of the as-synthetized Ag₃PO₄ have been investigated before and after 4 cycles of RhB degradation under visible light using X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy, UV–Vis spectrophotometer and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) images. The antifungal activity was analyzed in planktonic cells and 48h-biofilm of C. albicans by colony forming units (CFU) counting, confocal laser and FE-SE microscopies. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPSS software. Morphological and structural modifications of Ag₃PO₄ were observed upon recycling. After 4 recycles, the material maintained its photodegradation property; an eightfold increase in the efficiency of Ag₃PO₄ was observed in planktonic cells and a two fold increase in biofilm when irradiated under visible light. Thus, higher antifungal effectiveness against C. albicans was obtained when associated with visible-light irradiation.     

Motion of a Robot Mower with Directional Control

Russian Engineering Research - The stability of robot-mower motion in a specific direction is considered. The direction is regulated by means of an angular sensor and a programmable controller...     

Quantitative Analysis of Valley–Orbit Coupling in Germanium Doped with Group-V Donors

Semiconductors - The wave functions of electrons localized at P, As, and Sb shallow donors in Ge are calculated in the envelope function approximation taking into account valley–orbit...     

Personalized web service recommendation through mishmash technique and deep learning model

Multimedia Tools and Applications - Discovering the relevant web services for specific applications in the dynamically changing business world becomes very critical. Researchers have used many...     

Smart Edge Computing for 5 g/6 g Satellite IOT for Reducing Inter Transmission Delay

Mobile Networks and Applications - 5G/6G communication are first generation high speed wireless communication network which integrates the aerial data, terrestrial data and maritime data via...     

Analyzing the Conditions for the Electrolytic Formation of Ensembles from Metal Nanowires in the Pores of Track Membranes

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - The effect of the electrolyte composition, mass-transfer conditions, pore diameter, interpore distance, and electric parameters on the formation of...     

Phase formation,structure and properties of light-weight aluminosilicate proppants based on clay-diabase and clay-granite binary mixes

One of the drawbacks of fusible clays is the narrow sintering interval due to a sharp increase in the amount of iron-silicate melt at a temperature of 1000–1100 °C, which hardens in the form of a glass phase upon cooling. This leads to a relatively low mechanical strength of the calcined samples and causes the danger of melting the granular material surface from such clays during the firing process. To increase the strength of samples of fusible clays, the influence of diabase and granitoid rocks was considered. It was found that the strengthening effect of diabase and granitoid rock additives in an amount of 20–50% in a mixture with fusible clay is due to an increase of total content of the crystalline phase (mullite, cristobalite and residual quartz) from 18–20% in clays without additives to 22–28 % - in mixtures with diabase and to 28–34% - with granitoid additives) at a temperature of 1050–1100 °C. This increase is due to the activation of synthesis processes of secondary mullite and crystallization from alkali-rich feldspar melt of amorphous silica, released from the structure of clay minerals. The established influence of the igneous rocks used made it possible to develop compositions and propose process flow sheet for producing aluminosilicate proppants based on fusible clays. The use of granitoid and diabase rocks in an amount of 20–70% with fusible clays produces lightweight aluminosilicate proppants with bulk density of 1.40–1.46 g/cm³ at temperature range of 1050–1100 °C, which can endure destructive pressures up to 34.5–52 MPa.     

Graphical Methodology to Study the Corona Onset Voltage for Electrostatic Precipitation of Nanoparticles

Theoretical Foundations of Chemical Engineering - The corona onset voltage is an important operating parameter in the electrostatic precipitation of nanoparticulate, however, its experimental...     

Some Molecular and Cellular Stress Mechanisms Associated with Neurodegenerative Diseases and Atherosclerosis

Chronic stress is a combination of nonspecific adaptive reactions of the body to the influence of various adverse stress factors which disrupt its homeostasis, and it is also a corresponding state of the organism’s nervous system (or the body in general). We hypothesized that chronic stress may be one of the causes occurence of several molecular and cellular types of stress. We analyzed literary sources and considered most of these types of stress in our review article. We examined genes and mutations of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes and also molecular variants which lead to various types of stress. The end result of chronic stress can be metabolic disturbance in humans and animals, leading to accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), oxidative stress, energy deficiency in cells (due to a decrease in ATP synthesis) and mitochondrial dysfunction. These changes can last for the lifetime and lead to severe pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases and atherosclerosis. The analysis of literature allowed us to conclude that under the influence of chronic stress, metabolism in the human body can be disrupted, mutations of the mitochondrial and nuclear genome and dysfunction of cells and their compartments can occur. As a result of these processes, oxidative, genotoxic, and cellular stress can occur. Therefore, chronic stress can be one of the causes forthe occurrence and development of neurodegenerative diseases and atherosclerosis. In particular, chronic stress can play a large role in the occurrence and development of oxidative, genotoxic, and cellular types of stress.