Sequestration of Cr(VI) onto polyethyleneimine-derivatized cellulose and its effect on the enzymatic degradation and microbiome viability.

The extremely hazardous nature of Cr(VI) necessitates its sequestration in a sustainable and effective manner. Cellulose-derived materials, known for their eco-friendly properties, are widely employed in environmental remediation. To improve its adsorption capabilities for heavy metals, cellulose is often derivatized with moieties like amine, thiol, carboxylic acid, etc.

One-Step Nanoimprinting of FeO/AgBr Thin Films for Dark-Light Active Antibiofilm and Bacterial-Free Cell Culture Surfaces.

The resuscitation of bacteria through biofilms presents a critical challenge in controlling microbial pathogenesis and addressing antimicrobial resistance. Continuous antibiofilm activity, particularly on frequently contacted surfaces, is therefore critical. In this study, a scalable is introduced, one-step fabrication of FeO/AgBr nanoimprints using a polymerizable sol-gel (PSG) approach to create functional nanostructured thin films with strong antimicrobial properties.

The Evolution of Nucleic Acid-Based Diagnosis Methods from the (pre-)CRISPR to CRISPR era and the Associated Machine/Deep Learning Approaches in Relevant RNA Design.

Nucleic acid tests (NATs) are considered as gold standard in molecular diagnosis. To meet the demand for onsite, point-of-care, specific and sensitive, trace and genotype detection of pathogens and pathogenic variants, various types of NATs have been developed since the discovery of PCR. As alternatives to traditional NATs (e.

Changes in high-order interaction measures of synergy and redundancy during non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by meditation, hypnosis, and auto-induced cognitive trance.

High-order interactions are required across brain regions to accomplish specific cognitive functions. These functional interdependencies are reflected by synergistic information that can be obtained by combining the information from all the sources considered and redundant information (i.e.

Overcoming microbial resuscitation using stable ultrafine gold nanosystems.

While ultrafine gold nanosystems (UGNs) are being extensively studied for their antimicrobial activities, hitherto, no report is available on their propensity towards mitigating bacterial resuscitation-a potential factor contributing to the antimicrobial resistance. The investigations herein with two categories of gold nanosystems-modulated for their stability and surface accessibility through glutathione capping-have provided insights into overcoming resuscitation. Additionally, the study cautions that even moderate resistance development in bacteria exposed to nanosystems can result in significant cross-resistance against conventional antibiotics.

Polymerizable sol-gel synthesis of dark-visible light antibacterial magnetically-recoverable AgBr-loaded iron oxide/alumina nanocomposite.

The demand for a facile approach for synthesizing multifunctional nanocomposites is increasingly vital across diverse applications. In this study, a polymerizable sol-gel synthesis has been reported to obtain nanocomposites of magnetic iron oxide deposited over alumina nanopowder. The synthesis is mediated by the deposition of a calculated amount of iron(III) methacrylate, along with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate crosslinker, over alumina nanopowder, followed by thermally-inducing free radical polymerization at 125 °C for 30 min.

Amplifying bactericidal activity: Surfactant-mediated AgBr thin film coating over two-dimensional vertically aligned ZnO nanorods for dark-light dual mode disinfection.

Thin film coatings with potent antibacterial properties find critical applications in diverse domains such as medical devices, frequently touched surfaces, and food packaging for combating microbial proliferation across diverse scenarios. Two-dimensional photocatalytic antimicrobial coatings, offering a substantial actual-to-apparent surface ratio, hold immense potential for achieving this objective. However, realizing antibacterial performance not just under light but also in dark conditions remains a challenge.

Probing the Effects of Antimicrobial-Lysozyme Derivatization on Enzymatic Degradation of Poly(ε-caprolactone) Film and Fiber.

Surface derivatization is essential for incorporating unique functionalities into biodegradable polymers. Nonetheless, its precise effects on enzymatic biodegradation still lack comprehensive understanding. In this study, a facile solution-based method is employed to surface derivatize poly(ε-caprolactone) films and electrospun fibers with lysozyme, aiming to impart antimicrobial properties and examine the impact on enzymatic degradation.

Bio-inspired artificial synapse for neuromorphic computing based on NiO nanoparticle thin film.

The unprecedented need for data processing in the modern technological era has created opportunities in neuromorphic devices and computation. This is primarily due to the extensive parallel processing done in our human brain. Data processing and logical decision-making at the same physical location are an exciting aspect of neuromorphic computation.

Room-Temperature Deep-UV Photoluminescence from Low-Dimensional Hexagonal Boron Nitride Prepared Using a Facile Synthesis.

Identification and evaluation of defect levels in low-dimensional materials is an important aspect in quantum science. In this article, we report a facile synthesis method of low-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) and study light emission characteristics due to the defects. The thermal annealing procedure is optimized to obtain clean multilayered h-BN as revealed by transmission electron microscopy.

Assessment of submentalis muscle activity for sleep-wake classification of healthy individuals and patients with sleep disorders.

This work proposes a method utilizing only the submentalis EMG channel for the classification of sleep and wake states among the healthy individuals and patients with various sleep disorders such as sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome, dyssomnia, etc. We extracted autoregressive model parameters, discrete wavelet transform coefficients, Hjorth's complexity and mobility, relative bandpowers, Poincaré plot descriptors and statistical features from the EMG signal. We also used the energy of each epoch as a feature to distinguish between the sleep and wake states.

Single EOG channel performs well in distinguishing sleep from wake state for both healthy individuals and patients.

Using a single EOG channel, sleep-wake states of patients with different sleep disorders are accurately classified. We used polysomnography data of 27 patients (mixed apnea, periodic limb movement syndrome, sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome, and dyssomnia) from DRMS-PAT and 20 healthy subjects from DRMS-SUB databases. We extracted a 67-dimensional feature vector, involving statistical features derived from ensemble empirical mode decomposition, approximate entropy, and relative powers in different frequency bands.

Patterning at the Resolution Limit of Commercial Electron Beam Lithography.

It has been long known that low molecular weight resists can achieve a very high resolution, theoretically close to the probe diameter of the electron beam lithography (EBL) system. Despite technological improvements in EBL systems, the advances in resists have lagged behind. Here we demonstrate that a low-molecular-mass single-source precursor resist (based on cadmium(II) ethylxanthate complexed with pyridine) is capable of a achieving resolution (4 nm) that closely matches the measured probe diameter (∼3.

Boronic acid chemistry for fluorescence-based quantitative DNA sensing.

Contrary to the long-standing opinion of boronic acids being typically reactive with 1,2- and 1,3-diols and hence not suitable for quantitative sensing of DNA containing only a mono-ol unit, this proof-of-concept study has successfully shown the feasibility to quantitatively detect DNA in the concentration range of 5 to 50 nM plausibly through boronic acid-mediated bridging of two DNA double helices the 3' hydroxy groups, which opens up new avenues in the realm of oligonucleotide biochemistry.

Signature of weak-antilocalization in sputtered topological insulator BiSe thin films with varying thickness.

We report a low-temperature magneto transport study of BiSe thin films of different thicknesses (40, 80 and 160 nm), deposited on sapphire (0001) substrates, using radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique. The high-resolution x-ray diffraction measurements revealed the growth of rhombohedral c-axis {0003n} oriented BiSe films on sapphire (0001). Vibrational modes of BiSe thin films were obtained in the low wavenumber region using Raman spectroscopy.

Fluorescence-based simultaneous dual oligo sensing of HCV genotypes 1 and 3 using magnetite nanoparticles.

Nucleic acid tests (NATs) have gained an important position in biosensing in the context of the increasing need to meet the stringent requirements for accurate diagnosis of infectious diseases with high sensitivity and selectivity. Recently, the development of new strategies towards multiplex detection of analytes in a single assay is gaining impetus since such an approach would lead to high throughput analysis, leading to substantial benefits in terms of time, infrastructure, labor, and cost. In this work, we demonstrate a facile fluorescence-based simultaneous dual oligo sensing of genotypes 1 and 3 by employing two target sequences (36-mers each) derived from the NS4B and NS5A regions of HCV genome, respectively.

Enhanced antibacterial, antioxidant and anticancer activity of caffeic acid by simple acid-base complexation with spermine/spermidine.

Caffeic acid (CA) is a naturally occurring plant-derived polyphenol possessing diverse biological properties. However, the poor water-solubility of CA restricts its widespread applications. On the other hand, biogenic amines such as spermine and spermidine are natural constituents in eukaryotes.

Quaternized Polydopamine Coatings for Anchoring Molecularly Dispersed Broad-Spectrum Antimicrobial Silver Salts.

Because of the broad-spectrum antimicrobial efficacy, silver-based coatings have emerged as the popular choice to apply over frequently touched surfaces for mitigating the spread of nosocomial infections. Despite the advancements through various coating strategies, clustering of the active component remains a bottleneck in achieving the molecular-scale dispersion of silver. To circumvent this, the current study takes advantage of the recent findings of quaternary ammonium moieties forming molecular complexes with silver salts that differ from the simple adduct between the individual components.

An Efficient Sleep Scoring Method using Visibility Graph and Temporal Features of Single-Channel EEG.

This work proposes a method utilizing the fusion of graph-based and temporal features for sleep stage identification. EEG epochs are transformed into visibility graphs from which mean degrees and degree distributions are obtained. In addition, autoregressive model parameters, Higuchi fractal dimension, multi-scale entropy, and Hjorth's parameters are calculated.

Lactobacillus amylovorus derived lipase-mediated silver derivatization over poly(ε-caprolactone) towards antimicrobial coatings.

Owing to the probiotic origin, lipases-derived from the Lactobacilli sp. are considered to be promising biomaterials for in vivo applications. On a different note, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-an FDA-approved polymer for implantable applications-lacks inherent antimicrobial property, because of which suitable modifications are required to render it with bactericidal activity.

Genotyping simplified: rationally designed antisense oligonucleotide-mediated PCR amplification-free colorimetric sensing of viral RNA in HCV genotypes 1 and 3.

Molecular diagnosis of viral genotyping devoid of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification in clinical cohorts has hitherto been challenging. Here we present a simplified molecular diagnostic strategy for direct genotyping of hepatitis C virus (HCV) 1 and 3 (prevalent worldwide) using a combination of rationally designed genotype-specific antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and plasmonic gold nanoparticles. The ASOs specific to genotypes 1 and 3 have been designed from the nonstructural region 5A (NS5A) of the viral genome using the ClustalW multiple sequence alignment tool.

Naked-eye colorimetric detection of HCV RNA mediated by a 5' UTR-targeted antisense oligonucleotide and plasmonic gold nanoparticles.

The increasing incidence of hepatitis C viral (HCV) infection worldwide is a major concern for causing liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Currently, the prevalence of HCV infection is estimated to be in the range of ∼3%. According to the World Health Organization, antiviral drugs can cure more than 95% of the HCV infected cases, if timely diagnosis and treatment are provided.