Unveiling carcinogenic pollutant levels in environmental water samples through facile fabrication of gold nanoparticles on sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride.

Extensive utilization of pesticides and herbicides to boost agricultural production increased the environmental health risks, which can be mitigate with the aid of highly sensitive detection systems. In this study, an electrochemical sensor for monitoring the carcinogenic pesticides in the environmental samples has been developed based on sulfur-doped graphitic-carbon nitride-gold nanoparticles (SCN-AuNPs) nanohybrid. Thermal polycondensation of melamine with thiourea followed by solvent exfoliation via ultrasonication leads to SCN formation and electroless deposition of AuNPs on SCN leads to SCN-AuNPs nanohybrid synthesis.

Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution from Artificial Seawater Splitting over Amorphous Carbon Nitride: Optimization and Process Parameters Study via Response Surface Modeling.

Photocatalytic water splitting has garnered tremendous attention for its capability to produce clean and renewable H fuel from inexhaustible solar energy. Until now, most research has focused on scarce pure water as the source of H, which is not consistent with the concept of sustainable energy. Hence, the importance of photocatalytic splitting of abundant seawater in alleviating the issue of pure water shortages.

Electrostatic Contribution to the Photo-Assisted Piezoresponse Force Microscopy by Photo-Induced Surface Charge.

The surging interest in manipulating the polarization of piezo/ferroelectric materials by means of light has driven an increasing number of studies toward their light-polarization interaction. One way to investigate such interaction is by performing piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) while/after the sample is exposed to light illumination. However, caution must be exercised when analyzing and interpreting the data, as demonstrated in this paper, because sizeable photo-response observed in the PFM amplitude image of the sample is shown to be caused by the electrostatic interaction between the photo-induced surface charge and tip.

Nanoscale plasma-activated aerosol generation for in situ surface pathogen disinfection.

Plasma treatment constitutes an efficient method for chemical-free disinfection. A spray-based system for dispensing plasma-activated aerosols onto surfaces would facilitate disinfection of complex and/or hidden surfaces inaccessible to direct line-of-sight (for example, UV) methods. The complexity and size of current plasma generators (for example, plasma jet and cometary plasma systems)-which prohibit portable operation, together with the short plasma lifetimes, necessitate a miniaturized in situ technique in which a source can be simultaneously activated and administered on-demand onto surfaces.

Fractal grid-induced turbulence strength characterization via piezoelectric thin-film flapping velocimetry.

The centerline streamwise and cross-sectional (x/D = 0.425) turbulence characteristics of a 2D planar space-filling square-fractal-grid (SFG) composed of self-similar patterns superimposed at multiple length-scales is experimentally unveiled via piezoelectric thin-film flapping velocimetry (PTFV). The fluid-structure-interaction between a flexible piezoelectric thin-film and SFG-generated turbulent flow at Re = 4.

Energy Band Gap Modulation in Nd-Doped BiFeO/SrRuO Heteroepitaxy for Visible Light Photoelectrochemical Activity.

The ability of band offsets at multiferroic/metal and multiferroic/electrolyte interfaces in controlling charge transfer and thus altering the photoactivity performance has sparked significant attention in solar energy conversion applications. Here, we demonstrate that the band offsets of the two interfaces play the key role in determining charge transport direction in a downward self-polarized BFO film. Electrons tend to move to BFO/electrolyte interface for water reduction.

Simulation of improper food hygiene practices: A quantitative assessment of Vibrio parahaemolyticus distribution.

Kitchen mishandling practices contribute to a large number of foodborne illnesses. In this study, the transfer and cross-contamination potential of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from bloody clams to ready-to-eat food (lettuce) was assessed. Three scenarios were investigated: 1) direct cross-contamination, the transfer of V.

Tunable Spectrum Selectivity for Multiphoton Absorption with Enhanced Visible Light Trapping in ZnO Nanorods.

Observation of visible light trapping in zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods (NRs) correlated to the optical and photoelectrochemical properties is reported. In this study, ZnO NR diameter and c-axis length respond primarily at two different regions, UV and visible light, respectively. ZnO NR diameter exhibits UV absorption where large ZnO NR diameter area increases light absorption ability leading to high efficient electron-hole pair separation.

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Isolated from Short Mackerels () in Malaysia.

Numerous prevalence studies and outbreaks of infection have been extensively reported in shellfish and crustaceans. Information on the quantitative detection of in finfish species is limited. In this study, short mackerels () obtained from different retail marketplaces were monitored with the presence of total and pathogenic strains of .

Heteroatom Nitrogen- and Boron-Doping as a Facile Strategy to Improve Photocatalytic Activity of Standalone Reduced Graphene Oxide in Hydrogen Evolution.

Owing to its superior properties and versatility, graphene has been proliferating the energy research scene in the past decade. In this contribution, nitrogen (N-) and boron (B-) doped reduced graphene oxide (rGO) variants were investigated as a sole photocatalyst for the green production of H and their properties with respect to photocatalysis were elucidated for the first time. N- and B-rGOs were facilely prepared via the pyrolysis of graphene oxide with urea and boron anhydride as their respective dopant source.

Tunable photoelectrochemical performance of Au/BiFeO3 heterostructure.

Ferroelectric photoelectrodes, other than conventional semiconductors, are alternative photo-absorbers in the process of water splitting. However, the capture of photons and efficient transfer of photo-excited carriers remain as two critical issues in ferroelectric photoelectrodes. In this work, we overcome the aforementioned issues by decorating the ferroelectric BiFeO3 (BFO) surface with Au nanocrystals, and thus improving the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performance of BFO film.

Tuning electronic transport in a self-assembled nanocomposite.

Self-assembled nanocomposites with a high interface-to-volume ratio offer an opportunity to overcome limitations in current technology, where intriguing transport behaviors can be tailored by the choice of proper interactions of constituents. Here we integrated metallic perovskite oxide SrRuO3-wurzite semiconductor ZnO nanocomposites to investigate the room-temperature metal-insulator transition and its effect on photoresponse. We demonstrate that the band structure at the interface can be tuned by controlling the interface-to-volume ratio of the nanocomposites.

Molecular cloning and sequencing analysis of the interferon receptor (IFNAR-1) from Columba livia.

Objective: Partial sequence cloning of interferon receptor (IFNAR-1) of Columba livia.

Material And Methods: In order to obtain a certain length (630 bp) of gene, a pair of primers was designed according to the conserved nucleotide sequence of Gallus (EU477527.1) and Taeniopygia guttata (XM_002189232.

Novel MDM2 splice variants identified from oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Introduction: The presence of a variety of MDM2 splice variants has been reported in a range of different tumor types and is associated with poor patient prognosis. Furthermore, several MDM2 variants have been shown to have oncogenic properties. Despite this, MDM2 splice variants have not been comprehensively characterized in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).