Tuning the optical properties of gold nanoparticles photoactive liquid crystalline azo ligands.

In the field of modern nanoscience, the ability to tailor the properties of nanoparticles is essential for advancing their applications. A key approach for achieving this control involves manipulating surface plasmon resonance (SPR) to modify optical properties. This study introduces a novel method for synthesizing gold nanoparticles capped with photoactive liquid crystalline azo ligands, accomplished without reducing agents.

The interplay of chirality and restricted rotation: stabilisation of chiral, frustrated mesophases over a wide thermal range.

Introducing restricted rotation in a molecule, often achieved through the incorporation of double or triple bonds, constitutes a crucial approach to induce a frustrated mesophase. Furthermore, the inclusion of a chiral moiety, such as cholesterol, serves to enhance the stabilization of chiral frustrated mesophases. This study presents the synthesis and characterization of novel optically active dimers incorporating cholesterol and phenyl 3-phenylpropiolate segments interconnected by an ω-oxyalkanoyloxy spacer with varying lengths and parity.

A Situational Analysis of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Digital Health Research Initiatives in South Asia.

The objective of this paper was to evaluate and compare the quantity and sustainability of digital health initiatives in the South Asia region before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study used a two-step methodology of (a) descriptive analysis of digital health research articles published from 2016 to 2021 from South Asia in terms of stratification of research articles based on diseases and conditions they were developed, geography, and tasks wherein the initiative was applied and (b) a simple and replicable tool developed by authors to assess the sustainability of digital health initiatives using experimental or observational study designs. The results of the descriptive analysis highlight the following: (a) there was a 40% increase in the number of studies reported in 2020 when compared to 2019; (b) the three most common areas wherein substantive digital health research has been focused are health systems strengthening, ophthalmic disorders, and COVID-19; and (c) remote consultation, health information delivery, and clinical decision support systems are the top three commonly developed tools.

Assessment of the effect of frequency of low-level laser therapy exposure at different intervals on orthodontic tooth movement - A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: To assess the optimal intervals of exposure of low-level LASER therapy (LLLT) that would optimally accelerate orthodontic tooth movement. Second objective was to quantitatively analyze the difference in the time taken for alignment of anterior teeth with and without the application of LASER.

Materials And Methods: PROSPERO database registry was done (CRD42020196472) and review was conducted based on PRISMA guidelines.

Phase behaviour and adsorption of deoxyribonucleic acid onto an azobenzene liquid crystalline ligand at the interfaces.

Azobenzene liquid crystalline (ALC) ligand contains a cholesteryl group linked to an azobenzene moiety through a carbonyl dioxy spacer (C7) and terminated with an amine group as a polar head. The phase behaviour of the C7 ALC ligand at the air-water (A-W) interface is investigated employing surface manometry. The surface pressure-area per molecule isotherm shows that C7 ALC ligand exhibit two different phases following the phase sequence viz.

A highly selective electron affinity facilitated HS sensor: the marriage of tris(keto-hydrazone) and an organic field-effect transistor.

Conjugated polymers (CPs) are emerging as part of a promising future for gas-sensing applications. However, some of their limitations, such as poor specificity, humidity sensitivity and poor ambient stability, remain persistent. Herein, a novel combination of a polymer-monomer heterostructure, derived from a CP (PDVT-10) and a newly reported monomer [tris(keto-hydrazone)] has been integrated in an organic field-effect transistor (OFET) platform to sense HS selectively.

Chiral plasmonic liquid crystal gold nanoparticles: self-assembly into a circular dichroism responsive helical lamellar superstructure.

Owing to their proven and promising potential in various technological endeavors ranging from catalysis and sensing to invisibility cloaks made from metamaterials, chiral plasmonic superstructures resulting from the directed self-assembly of optically active metal nanoparticles (MNPs) have been pursued intensively in recent years. Several strategic efforts have emerged especially to accomplish advanced nanomaterials assembling into liquid crystalline (LC) helical structures, where MNPs are regularly packed in fluid/frozen arrays/layers or wires (columns). While the helical fluid columnar arrays (molecular wires) showing circular dichroism (CD) have been realized, the discovery of fluid chiral lamellar ordering, where the dielectric and conducting regimes are arranged alternatively, has hitherto remained highly elusive.

Green and low-cost synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles and their application in transistor-based carbon monoxide sensing.

There has been steady progress in developing reliable and cost-effective strategies for the clean production of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) owing to their unique structural and wide functional characteristics. While the green synthesis of such NPs from plant extracts has emerged as a sustainable and eco-friendly protocol, it is greatly restricted owing to the scarcity of potential natural precursors necessitating comprehensive investigations in this direction. Herein, we report a facile, low-cost green synthesis and characterization of ZnO NPs along with the demonstration of their usage as an active media in organic field-effect transistor (OFET) devices for sensing carbon monoxide (CO) gas.

Light-Emitting Chiral Nematic Dimers with Anomalous Odd-Even Effect.

In this report, based on the results derived from the extensive study into the thermal and photophysical properties, an anomalous mesomorphic behavior of photoluminescent, chiral nematic (N*) liquid crystalline dimers, belonging to two different series has been revealed. They comprise cholesterol and fluorescent three-ring Schiff base or salicylaldimine core interlinked via an ω-oxyalkanoyloxy spacer of varying length and parity. The effect of molecular structure on the liquid crystal (LC) behavior and photophysical properties of both the series has been probed by varying the length of the terminal n-alkoxy tails for a fixed (odd or even) parity of the spacer.