Optimization of Laser-Wavelength Dependence for Open-Air Atmospheric Pressure Pulsed Laser Deposition of AlCrFeMnTi High-Entropy Alloy for Tailored Surface Properties.

High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have garnered significant attention in different fields due to their exceptional mechanical and physical properties, making them promising candidates for various applications. Several techniques, including physical vapor deposition and pulsed laser deposition (PLD), have been employed for the fabrication of HEA thin films. In this study, we explore a novel approach to synthesizing the lightweight HEA (LWHEA) AlCrFeMnTi using PLD in air at atmospheric pressure with a particular focus on the influence of the laser wavelength on the deposition process and the resulting alloy characteristics.

Recent Advances in the Support Layer, Interlayer and Active Layer of TFC and TFN Organic Solvent Nanofiltration (OSN) Membranes: A Review.

Although separation of solutes from organic solutions is considered a challenging process, it is inevitable in various chemical, petrochemical and pharmaceutical industries. OSN membranes are the heart of OSN technology that are widely utilized to separate various solutes and contaminants from organic solvents, which is now considered an emerging field. Hence, numerous studies have been attracted to this field to manufacture novel membranes with outstanding properties.

Evaluating the effectiveness of probiotics in relieving constipation in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of probiotics on the treatment of constipation in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) by analyzing data from published randomized clinical trials (RCTs). PD is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by clinical symptoms such as rigidity, bradykinesia, and resting tremor. Constipation is a common complaint reported by PD patients.

Multilayered Mesoporous Composite Nanostructures for Highly Sensitive Label-Free Quantification of Cardiac Troponin-I.

Cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) is a well-known biomarker for the diagnosis and control of acute myocardial infarction in clinical practice. To improve the accuracy and reliability of cTnI electrochemical immunosensors, we propose a multilayer nanostructure consisting of FeO-COOH labeled anti-cTnI monoclonal antibody (FeO-COOH-Ab) and anti-cTnI polyclonal antibody (Ab) conjugated on Au-Ag nanoparticles (NPs) decorated on a metal-organic framework (Au-Ag@ZIF-67-Ab). In this design, FeO-COOH was used for separation of cTnI in specimens and signal amplification, hierarchical porous ZIF-67 extremely enhanced the specific surface area, and Au-Ag NPs synergically promoted the conductivity and sensitivity.

One-pot multi-component synthesis of novel chromeno[4,3-b]pyrrol-3-yl derivatives as alpha-glucosidase inhibitors.

A green and efficient one-pot multi-component protocol was developed for the synthesis of some novel dihydrochromeno[4,3-b]pyrrol-3-yl derivatives through the reaction of arylglyoxals, malono derivatives, and different 4-amino coumarins in ethanol at reflux condition. In this method, all products were obtained in good to excellent yield. Next, all synthesized derivatives were evaluated for their α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.

Influence of structurally and morphologically different nanofillers on the performance of polysulfone membranes modified by the assembled PDDA/PAMPS-based hybrid multilayer thin film.

A highly efficient nanofiltration membrane should exhibit high separation performance in removing divalent salts and organic solutes, as well as high permeation to meet practical separation and purification applications in aqueous media. Here, we designed a series of hybrid multilayer thin film membranes filled with the structurally and morphologically different nanofillers such as hexagonal boron nitride (HBN) nanosheets and metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles, consisting of 3 and 6 layer pairs of polyelectrolyte through the layer-by-layer self-assembly technique (LBL) and characterized them in terms of dye and salt separation, as well as permeation. The rejection performance and permeability of the designed membranes manifested that HBN nanosheets were more effective than MOF nanoparticles in achieving a high-performance membrane.

In Vitro Cellular Uptake Studies of Self-Assembled Fluorinated Nanoparticles Labelled with Antibodies.

Nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with antibodies (Abs) on their surface are used in a wide range of bioapplications. Whereas the attachment of antibodies to single NPs to trigger the internalization in cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis has been widely studied, the conjugation of antibodies to larger NP assemblies has been much less explored. Taking into account that NP assemblies may be advantageous for some specific applications, the possibility of incorporating targeting ligands is quite important.

Impact of educational intervention by community pharmacists on asthma clinical outcomes, quality of life and medication adherence: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

What Is Known And Objective: Community pharmacists can play an important role in controlling chronic diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of pharmacists' educational interventions in the community pharmacy settings on asthma control and severity, quality of life (QOL) and medication adherence.

Methods: Databases PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science were searched for evidence regarding asthma severity and control, QOL, and medication adherence after pharmacists' interventions in community pharmacy settings.

Spatioselective Deposition of Passivating and Electrocatalytic Layers on Silicon Nanowire Arrays.

Metal-silicon nanowire array photoelectrodes provide a promising architecture for water-splitting because they can afford high catalyst loading and decouple charge separation from the light absorption process. To further improve and understand these hybrid nanowire photoelectrodes, control of the catalyst amount and location within the wire array is required. Such a level of control is currently synthetically challenging to achieve.

Prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 in rheumatic patients and evaluation of the effect of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.

One of the most controversial issues among rheumatologists is the best approach to managing a rheumatic patient (RP) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of COVID-19 in RPs compared to the general population and to relatively assess the potential role of RPs' treatment regimen against COVID-19. In a cross-sectional study, all RPs with an updated medical record between December 1, 2019, and February 29, 2020, at the rheumatology clinic of Shahid Beheshti Hospital, Qom, Iran were included (as the case group), and the prevalence of COVID-19 was compared to the paired control group-individuals without RDs, randomly selected from the Qom Health Network's database.

Morphology-Graded Silicon Nanowire Arrays via Chemical Etching: Engineering Optical Properties at the Nanoscale and Macroscale.

We report on a quick, simple, and cost-effective solution-phase approach to prepare centimeter-sized morphology-graded vertically aligned Si nanowire arrays. Gradients in the nanowire diameter and shape are encoded through the macroscale substrate via a "dip-etching" approach, where the substrate is removed from a KOH etching solution at a constant rate, while morphological control at the nanowire level is achieved via sequential metal-assisted chemical etching and KOH etching steps. This combined approach provides control over light absorption and reflection within the nanowire arrays at both the macroscale and nanoscale, as shown by UV-vis spectroscopy and numerical three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain simulations.

Enhanced Gene Delivery in Bacterial and Mammalian Cells Using PEGylated Calcium Doped Magnetic Nanograin.

Background: Beyond viral carriers which have been widely used in gene delivery, non-viral carriers can further improve the delivery process. However, the high cytotoxicity and low efficiency impedes the clinical application of non-viral systems. Therefore, in this work, we fabricated polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated, calcium doped magnetic nanograin (PEG/Ca(II)/FeO) as a genome expression enhancer.

Recent Development of Polyolefin-Based Microporous Separators for Li-Ion Batteries: A Review.

Secondary Li-ion batteries have been paid attention to wide-range applications of power source for the portable electronics, electric vehicle, and electric storage reservoir. Generally, lithium-ion batteries are comprised of four components including anode, cathode, electrolyte and separator. Although separators do not take part in the electrochemical reactions in a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, they conduct the critical functions of physically separating the positive and negative electrodes to prevent electrical short circuit while permitting the free flow of lithium ions through the liquid electrolyte that fill in their open porous structure.

Bottom-up synthesis of nitrogen and oxygen co-decorated carbon quantum dots with enhanced DNA plasmid expression.

In this paper, a bottom-up hydrothermal route is reported for the synthesis of oxygen and nitrogen co-decorated carbon quantum dots (CQDs) using ammonium hydrogen citrate (AHC) as a single precursor. DLS data approved the formation of 4.0 nm (average size) CQDs.

Gelatin-Graphene Nanocomposites with Ultralow Electrical Percolation Threshold.

Gelatin-graphene conductive biopolymer nanocomposites (CPCs) with ultralow percolation threshold are designed by reducing in situ graphene oxide nanosheets with ascorbic acid and suppressing the aggregation of the graphene nanosheets. The resulting conductive nanocomposites show a record-low electrical percolation threshold of 3.3 × 10(-2) vol%, which arises from the homogeneous dispersion of the graphene nanosheets within the gelatin matrix.

Antioxidant activity of low molecular weight alginate produced by thermal treatment.

By definition, antioxidants are molecules that inhibit the oxidation of other molecules. Therefore, such compounds have very important clinical roles. In this study alginate polymer was depolymerized by heat treatment.

Extraordinarily water permeable sol-gel formed nanocomposite nanofibrous membranes.

Electrospun nanofibrous membranes (ENMs) are considered as a state of the art in water filtration technology mainly owing to their high interconnected porosity and tunable pore size assumed to offer a very high permeability also selectivity. However, the extremely high surface area makes the ENMs prone to mechanical breakdown and lack of wettability lowering the filtration efficiency. Hence, any attempt to enhance both the mechanical properties and hydrophilicity of the ENMs is highly recommended.

(3-Amino-phen-yl)diphenyl-phosphine oxide-2-propanol (1/1).

The title compound, C(18)H(16)NOP·C(3)H(8)O, was synthesized by the reduction of (3-nitro-phen-yl)diphenyl-phosphine oxide in the presence of 2-propanol as recrystallization solvent. There are two molecules in the asymmetric unit. Each P atom is tetra-coordinated by three C and one O atom from two phenyl fragments, one aniline group and one double-bonded O atom in a distorted tetra-hedral geometry.