Superfluid-insulator transition in disordered boson systems

We review the localization problem in two dimensions for interacting bosons in a random potential. This problem is intimately related to the study of ⁴ He adsorbed in porous media, Josephson junction arrays, disordered superconducting films and vortex glasses. Using path integral Monte Carlo techniques, we find a superfluid, a localized or Bose glass insulator with gapless excitations, and (at commensurate densities) a Mott insulator with a finite gap to excitations.     

Quantum Inspired Broadband Photonic Absorber: Potential Application as Solar Sail along with Mobility Analysis

Electromagnetic wideband absorption is still perceived as a critical and formidable challenge to address with an unambiguous photonic absorber. Subwavelength metamaterial (MM) unit cells with unique and controlled features have recently gained considerable interest. However, meta-atoms, generated using a quantum-inspired pattern distribution, are underwhelming in existing literature to design photonic absorbers and their potential application to manufacture solar sails is still quite uncommon. In this article, to create a flexible, polarization-insensitive, ultrathin, and broadband MM absorber, quantum interference pattern-inspired design is utilized. Herein, a novel approach to fabricating solar sails for the space exploration incorporates the proposed broadband photonic absorber rather than conventional reflectors. The quantum-inspired meta-absorber (QIMA) exhibits an absorption of over 91% for the visible domain, i.e., 380–800 nm under a conventional plane-polarized source. It is shown in the study that broadband absorbers are almost equivalent to excellent reflectors to design the solar sails in terms of the time-averaged force calculated by utilizing the Maxwell stress tensor method. Thus, the QIMA has the potential to be a viable alternative to reflectors in the design of futuristic solar sails for space exploration. The interference theory model is also utilized to assure the dependability of calculated data, and additionally, the standard AM1.5 solar spectrum is utilized to demonstrate the QIMA's solar-harvesting potentiality.     

Efficient Body-Transfer Wheelchair for Assisting Functionally ImpairedPeople

Functionally impaired people always have difficulty accomplishing activities of daily living. In this regard, tasks including toileting and bathing have a higher prevalence rate of injuries and greater risk of falling. In this study, a body-transfer wheelchair was developed to assist people in transferring from bed to wheelchair for bathing, and toileting. The body-transfer wheelchair is a semi-automatic wheelchair that has features such as a controlled leg and backrest, linkage commode slot, and height adjustment. The wheelchair consists of a seat and a main frame that can be detached to enable bathtub transfer. This mechanism lets the user stay on the seat while being transferred into the bathtub without any risk of falling. A linkage mechanism was developed as a part of the seat for ease of toileting. Kinematic and force analysis was conducted to calculate the force required for each actuator. It has been proved by the experimental results that the wheelchair can securely and comfortably transfer a patient from the bed to the toilet or bathtub. A survey has been conducted to evaluate the wheelchair prototype design idea. Two focus groups were chosen: one comprised of functionally impaired people, and the other comprised of caregivers. The results of the survey show that 60% of both functionally impaired people and caregivers would like to use the body-transfer wheelchair for toileting and bathing purpose. Additionally, on average 65% of both focus groups find it convenient to operate the body-transfer wheelchair independently.     

Selective determination of urea using urease immobilized on ZnO nanowires

Well-aligned zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire arrays were fabricated on gold-coated plastic substrates using a low-temperature aqueous chemical growth (ACG) method. The ZnO nanowire arrays with 50–130 nm diameters and ∼1 μm in lengths were used in an enzyme-based urea sensor through immobilization of the enzyme urease that was found to be sensitive to urea concentrations from 0.1 mM to 100 mM. Two linear sensitivity regions were observed when the electrochemical responses (EMF) of the sensors were plotted vs. the logarithmic concentration range of urea from 0.1 mM to 100 mM. The proposed sensor showed a sensitivity of 52.8 mV/decade for 0.1–40 mM urea and a fast response time less than 4 s was achieved with good selectivity, reproducibility and negligible response to common interferents such as ascorbic acid and uric acid, glucose, K⁺ and Na⁺ ions.     

Sulphur dioxide loadings over megacity Lahore (Pakistan) and adjoining region of Indo-Gangetic Basin

This article presents spatial and temporal variations of planetary boundary layer (PBL) sulphur dioxide (SO₂) over megacity Lahore and adjoining region, a typical representative area in the Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) largely influenced by transported volcanic SO₂ from Africa, Middle East, and southern Europe, by using data retrieved from satellite-based Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) during October 2004–September 2015. We find a positive trend of 2.4% per year (slope 0.01 ± 0.005 with y-intercept 0.35 ± 0.03 Dobson Unit (DU), correlation coefficient r = 0.55 and 2-tailed p-value at 0.1) of OMI-SO₂ column with the average value of 0.4 ± 0.05 DU. Strong seasonality of OMI-SO₂ column is observed over the region linked with local meteorology, patterns of anthropogenic emissions, crop residue burning, and vegetation cover. There exists a seasonal high value in winter 0.56 ± 0.24 DU with a peak in December 0.67 ± 0.26 DU. The seasonal lowest value is observed to be 0.29 ± 0.11 DU in wet summer with minimum value in July 0.25 ± 0.06 DU. High growth rates of OMI-SO₂ column over the study region have been observed in January, June, October, and December ranging from 5.7% to 11.6% per year. Satellite data show elevated OMI-SO₂ columns in 2007, 2008, 2011, and 2012 largely contributed by trans-boundary volcanic SO₂. A detailed analysis of volcanic SO₂ transported from Africa and Middle East (Jabal Al-Tair, Dalaffilla, and Nabro volcanoes) over the study area is presented. Air mass trajectories suggest the presence of long-range transported volcanic SO₂ at high altitude levels over Lahore and IGB region during the volcanic episodes. The SO₂ enhancements in PBL during winter season are generally due to significant vertical downdraft of high-altitude volcanic SO₂. For the first time, we present significant influence of volcanic SO₂ from southern Europe (Mt. Etna volcano) reaching over the study area. Daily mean OMI-SO₂ levels up to 21.4, 10.0, 5.6, and 2.4 DU have been noticed due to the eruptions from Dalaffilla, Mt. Etna, Nabro, and Jabal Al-Tair volcanoes, respectively.     

Synthesis and Anti-Cancer Activity of New Pyrazolinyl-Indole Derivatives: Pharmacophoric Interactions and Docking Studies for Identifying New EGFR Inhibitors

Newly designed series of indole-containing pyrazole analogs, pyrazolinylindoles, were synthesized, and their structures were confirmed based on the spectral data of the ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and HR-MS analyses. Preliminary anti-cancer activity testings were carried out by the National Cancer Institute, United States of America (NCI, USA). Compounds HD02, HD05, and HD12 demonstrated remarkable cytotoxic activities against nine categories of cancer types based cell line panels which included leukemia, colon, breast, melanoma, lungs, renal, prostate, CNS, and ovarian cancer cell lines. The highest cytotoxic effects were exhibited by the compounds HD02 [1-(5-(1-H-indol-3-yl)-3-(p-tolyl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-phenylethanone], HD05 [1-(3-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(1H-indol-3-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-2-phenoxyethanone], and HD12 [(3-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(1H-indol-3-yl)-4,5-dihydro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)(pyridin-4-yl)methanone] against some of the 56 types of NCI-based cell lines in different panels. Compound HD05 showed the maximum range of cancer cell growth inhibitions against all categories of the cell lines in all nine panels. On average, in comparison to the referral standard, imatinib, at a dose level of 10 µM, the HD05 showed significant activity against leukemia in the range of 78.76%, as compared to the imatinib at 9% of cancer cells’ growth inhibitions. Molecular docking simulation studies were performed in silico on the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase, in order to validate the activity.     

Inhibition of FLT3: A Prototype for Molecular Targeted Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Modern therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) began in 1973 with the first report of the successful combination of daunorubicin and cytarabine, which led to complete remission in approximately 45% of patients. Accurate AML diagnosis was dependent on morphology, aided initially only by cytochemistry. Unlike acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), immunophenotyping offered little in the diagnosis of AML, at least during the 1970s and 1980s. The advent of reliable cytogenetics changed the entire prognostic outlook of AML. With karyotypic analysis, different groups of AML could be classified and stratified for various therapies. Unique mutational profiling was a major advance in further categorizing AML patients, aided by the immunophenotypic identification of antigenic markers on the cells. All these advances were occurring as the understanding of the importance of the tumor burden—known as minimal residual disease (MRD)—became crucial for the management of AML patients. The efficacy of MRD has rapidly progressed in the past decade, from a specificity of 10⁻³ with immunophenotyping to 10⁻⁴ with polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is only appropriate for some patients with AML, and finally to 10⁻⁵ or even 10⁻⁶ cells with the extraordinary sensitivity of next-generation sequencing (NGS). All of these advances have promoted the concept of personalized medicine, which has led to the advent of targeted agents that can accurately be used for specific diagnostic subtypes. Responses can be predicted and measured accurately. Such targeted agents have now become a cornerstone in the management of AML, increasing efficacy and dramatically reducing toxicity. The focus of this review is on one of the most well-studied targeted agents in AML: the FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitors, which have impacted the prognostication and therapeutics of AML. This review selectively discusses the FLT3 inhibitors in detail, as a model for the other burgeoning targeted agents that have already been approved, as well as those that are currently in development.     

Influence of Y~(3+),Yb~(3+),Gd~(3+) cations on structural and electromagnetic properties of CuFe_2O_4 nanoferrites prepared via one step sol-gel method

Rare earths(REs) play a key role in distorting spinel structure by creating some defects at the lattice sites and make them suitable for magnetodielectric applications.In the present study,the nanoferrites of CuRE_(0.02)Fe_(1.98)O_4,where REs=Y~(3+),Yb~(3+),Gd~(3+),were prepared using one step sol-gel method.The prepared samples are copper ferrite(CFO),yttrium doped copper ferrite(Y-CFO),ytterbium doped copper ferrite(Yb-CFO) and gadolinium doped copper ferrite(Gd-CFO),respectively.The single-phase structure of all the REs doped nanoferrites was determined by X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis.The porosity,agglomerations and grain size of the REs doped copper ferrite were examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy(FESEM) analysis.Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR)elaborates the phase formation and environmental effects on the REs doped nanoparticles(NPs).The recorded room temperature M-H loops from a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM) elucidate the magnetic properties of the REs doped spinel nanoferrites.The magnetic saturation(M_s) was calculated in the range of 23.08 to 51.78 emu/g.The calculated coercivity values(272.6 to 705.60 Oe) confirm the soft magnetic behavior of REs doped copper ferrites.Furthermore,the electromagnetic and dielectric properties were assessed using a Vector network analyzer(VNA) from 1 to 6 GHz.The permeability,permittivity,dielectric tangent loss and electric modulus of the REs doped spinel ferrites illustrate that the prepared NPs may be suitable for microwave and high frequency applications.