Can Li Atoms Anchored on Boron- and Nitrogen-Doped Graphene Catalyze Dinitrogen Molecules to Ammonia? A DFT Study.

The most successful electrochemical conversion of ammonia from dinitrogen molecule reported to date is through a Li mediated mechanism. In the framework of the above fact and that Li anchored graphene is an experimentally feasible system, the present work is a computational experiment to identify the potential of Li anchored graphene as a catalyst for N to NH conversion as a function of (a) minimum number of Li atoms needed for anchoring on graphene sheets and (b) the role of chemical modification of graphene surfaces. The studies bring forth an understanding that Li anchored graphene sheets are potential catalysts for ammonia conversion with preferential adsorption of N through end-on configuration on Li atoms anchored on doped and pristine graphene surfaces.

Explicating the recognition phenomenon of hazardous nitro-aromatic compound from contaminated environmental and cellular matrices by rationally designed pyridine-functionalized molecular probes.

In the quest of recognizing hazardous nitro-aromatic compounds in water, two pyridine-functionalized Schiff-base chemosensors, DMP ((E)-N-(3,4-dimethoxybenzylidene)(pyridin-2-yl)methanamine)) and MP (4-((E)-((pyridin-2-yl)methylimino)methyl)-2-ethoxyphenol) have been synthesized to detect mutagenic 2,4,6-Trinitrophenol (TNP) in soil, water as well as cellular matrices by producing turn-off emission responses as a combined consequence of PET and RET processes. Several experimental analyses including ESI-MS, FT-IR, photoluminescence, H NMR titration, and the theoretical calculations ascertained the formation and sensing efficacies of the chemosensors. The analytical substantiations revealed that structural variation of the chemosensors played a significant role in improving the sensing efficiency, which would certainly be worthwhile in developing small molecular TNP sensors.

() fortified functional foods ameliorate iron and protein malnutrition by improving growth and modulating oxidative stress and gut microbiota in rats.

The present study was aimed at developing () fortified traditional foods of the Indian subcontinent, namely sattu (multigrain beverage mix) and chikki (peanut bar) and evaluating their ability to promote recovery from protein and iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) using albino Wistar rats. Addition of (at 4% w/w inclusion levels) enriched the protein content by 20.33% in sattu and 15.

Metal-organic framework-derived advanced oxygen electrocatalysts as air-cathodes for Zn-air batteries: recent trends and future perspectives.

Electrochemical energy storage devices with stable performance, high power output, and energy density are urgently needed to meet the global energy demand. Among the different electrochemical energy storage devices, batteries have become the most promising energy technologies and ranked as a highly investigated research subject. Recently, metal-air batteries especially Zn-air batteries (ZABs) have attracted enormous scientific interest in the electrochemical community due to their ease of operation, sustainability, environmental friendliness, and high efficiency.

Valorization of biowastes as fermentative substrate for production of Exiguobacterium sp. GM010 pigment and toxicity effect in rats.

Bioconversion of biowastes chicken feather (CF), prawn carapace (PC), fish scale (FS), and corncob (CC) were used for Exiguobacterium sp. GM010 pigment production to reduce environmental pollution. Maximum pigment was produced in 4 % PC hydrolysate medium at pH 8 and 30 °C (0.

Edible rose flowers: A doorway to gastronomic and nutraceutical research.

The world is moving towards a healthier lifestyle where people are changing their eating habits, which influenced edible rose flowers to emerge as a pioneer in the field of nutraceutical and food industries. Roses are a good source of dietary phytochemicals viz., flavonoids (anthocyanins, flavonols, and flavonols), carotenoids, and phenolic acids.

Unravelling faradaic electrochemical efficiencies over Fe/Co spinel metal oxides using surface spectroscopy and microscopy techniques.

Cobalt and iron metal-based oxide catalysts play a significant role in energy devices. To unravel some interesting parameters, we have synthesized metal oxides of cobalt and iron ( FeO, CoO, CoFeO and CoFeO), and measured the effect of the valence band structure, morphology, size and defects in the nanoparticles towards the electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The compositional variations in the cobalt and iron precursors significantly alter the particle size from 60 to <10 nm and simultaneously the shape of the particles (cubic and spherical).

Effect of Protonation and Deprotonation on Electron Transfer Mediated Decay and Interatomic Coulombic Decay.

Electronically excited atoms or molecules in an environment are often subject to interatomic/intermolecular Coulombic decay (ICD) and/or electron transfer mediated decay (ETMD) mechanisms. A few of the numerous variables that can impact these non-radiative decay mechanisms include bond distance, the number of nearby atoms or molecules, and the polarisation effect. In this paper, we have studied the effect of protonation and deprotonation on the ionization potential (IP), double ionization potential (DIP), and lifetime (or decay width) of the temporary bound state in these non-radiative decay processes.

Efficient Point-of-Care Detection of Uric Acid in the Human Blood Sample with an Enhanced Electrocatalytic Response Using Nanocomposites of Cobalt and Mixed-Valent Molybdenum Sulfide.

This work efficiently detects uric acid (UA) in a human blood sample using cobalt nanoparticle-immobilized mixed-valent molybdenum sulfide on the copper substrate in a point-of-care (PoC) device. The sensor electrode was fabricated by micromachining of Cu clad boards employing an engraver to generate a three-electrode system consisting of working electrode (WE), reference electrode (RE), and counter electrode (CE). The WE was subjected to physical vapor deposition of mixed-valent MoS layers by a reaction between Mo(CO) and HS at ∼200 °C using a simple setup following which CoNPs were electrochemically deposited.

LnTeO (Ln = La, Gd, and Eu) "Anti-Glass" Phase-Assisted Lanthanum-Tellurite Transparent Glass-Ceramics: Eu Emission and Local Site Symmetry Analysis.

The presence of lanthanide-tellurite "anti-glass" nanocrystalline phases not only affects the transparency in glass-ceramics (GCs) but also influences the emission of a dopant ion. Therefore, a methodical understanding of the crystal growth mechanism and local site symmetry of doped luminescent ions when embedded into the precipitated "anti-glass" phase is crucial, which unfolds the practical applications of GCs. Here, we examined the LnTeO "anti-glass" nanocrystalline phase growth mechanism and local site symmetry of Eu ions in transparent GCs produced from 80TeO-10TiO-(5 - )LaO-5GdO-EuO glasses, where = 0, 1, 2.

Genome wide identification of MADS box gene family in Musa balbisiana and their divergence during evolution.

MADS box gene family is transcription factor gene family that is involved in growth and development of eukaryotes. In plants the MADS box gene family is mainly associated with floral meristem identity and flower development, apart from being involved in nearly all the phases of plant growth. The MADS box gene family has also been shown to be involved during fruit development and ripening.

High-Alkaline Water-Splitting Activity of Mesoporous 3D Heterostructures: An Amorphous-Shell@Crystalline-Core Nano-Assembly of Co-Ni-Phosphate Ultrathin-Nanosheets and V- Doped Cobalt-Nitride Nanowires.

Introducing amorphous and ultrathin nanosheets of transition bimetal phosphate arrays that are highly active in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) as shells over an electronically modulated crystalline core with low hydrogen absorption energy for an excellent hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) can boost the sluggish kinetics of the OER and HER in alkaline electrolytes. Therefore, in this study, ultrathin and amorphous cobalt-nickel-phosphate (CoNiPO ) nanosheet arrays are deposited over vanadium (V)-doped cobalt-nitride (V -Co N) crystalline core nanowires to obtain amorphous-shell@crystalline-core mesoporous 3D-heterostructures (CoNiPO @V-Co N/NF) as bifunctional electrocatalysts. The optimized electrocatalyst shows extremely low HER and OER overpotentials of 53 and 270 mV at 10 mA cm , respectively.

Enhanced photocatalytic properties of a chemically modified blue phosphorene.

It is high time to placate the peak demand for an efficient, economic and green fuel in the form of H through photocatalytic water splitting. Several low dimensional materials have been explored for their photocatalytic properties on account of their surface to volume ratio. The present study illustrates the excellent photocatalytic potential of a two-dimensional material, a chemically tempered blue-phosphorene sheet, with single atom thickness and high carrier mobility.

Selective recognition of ammonia and aliphatic amines by C-N fused phenazine derivative: A hydrogel based smartphone assisted 'opto-electronic nose' for food spoilage evaluation with potent anti-counterfeiting activity and a potential prostate cancer biomarker sensor.

In real day scenario, it is an urge to provide a single solution of multiple problems. In this regard, herein rapid, selective and highly efficient chromo-fluorogenic detection of ammonia/aliphatic amines over aromatic amines has been investigated by means of a novel "opto-electronic nose", CN-2, synthesized in a single-step via multiple inter/intramolecular C-N fusion reactions. The in-situ generated mono-protonated CN-2 can selectively detect primary to secondary to even tertiary aliphatic amines over aromatic amines within ∼40 S with extremely low detection threshold values of 27.

Mapping the Finite-Temperature Behavior of Conformations to Their Potential Energy Barriers: Case Studies on SiB and SiB Clusters.

Dynamical simulations of molecules and materials have been the route to understand the rearrangement of atoms within them at different temperatures. Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamical simulations have further helped to comprehend the reaction dynamics at various finite temperatures. We take a case study of SiB and SiB clusters and demonstrate that their finite-temperature behavior is rather mapped to the potential energy surface.

Knoevenagel condensation triggered synthesis of dual-channel oxene based chemosensor: Discriminative spectrophotometric recognition of F, CN and HSO with breast cancer cell imaging, real sample analysis and molecular keypad lock applications.

A novel oxene based unusual sensory receptor (HyMa) has been synthesized via.Knoevenagel condensation triggered carbon-heteroatom (oxygen) intramolecular bond formation reaction at room temperature for discriminative detection of multi-analytes like HSO, CN & F by spectro-photometric alterations with profound selectivity with the detection limit of 38 ppb, 18 ppb & 94 ppb respectively. Examination of the sensing mechanism was exhaustively investigated through several spectroscopic means like H NMR, FT-IR, absorption and fluorescence spectra etc.

An Imaging and Computational Algorithm for Efficient Identification and Quantification of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps.

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are associated with multiple disease pathologies including sepsis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, systemic lupus erythematosus, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and COVID-19. NETs, being a disintegrated death form, suffered inconsistency in their identification, nomenclature, and quantifications that hindered therapeutic approaches using NETs as a target. Multiple strategies including microscopy, ELISA, immunoblotting, flow cytometry, and image-stream-based methods have exhibited drawbacks such as being subjective, non-specific, error-prone, and not being high throughput, and thus demand the development of innovative and efficient approaches for their analyses.

Amine-substituent induced highly selective and rapid "turn-on" detection of carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane from purely aqueous and vapour phase with novel post-synthetically modified d-MOFs.

Herein, an amine decorated Cd(II) metal-organic framework (MOF) with a uninodal 6-c topology was synthesized as a suitable platform for facile post-synthetic modification (PSM). The as-synthesized parent d-MOF (1) with free -NH centers, when functionalized with two different carbonyl substituents (1-naphthaldehyde and benzophenone) of varying conjugation, produces two novel luminescent MOFs (LMOFs) PSM-1 and PSM-2. The judicious incorporation of carbonyl substituents into the skeleton of 1 was rationalized ESI-MS, H-NMR, FT-IR and PXRD analyses.

Decay Processes in Cationic Alkali Metals in Microsolvated Clusters: A Complex Absorbing Potential Based Equation-of-Motion Coupled Cluster Investigation.

We have employed the highly accurate complex absorbing potential based ionization potential equation-of-motion coupled cluster singles and doubles (CAP-IP-EOM-CCSD) method to study the various intermolecular decay processes in ionized metals (Li, Na, K) microsolvated by water molecules. For the Li atom, the electron is ionized from the 1s subshell. However, for Na and K atoms, the electron is ionized from 2s and both 2s and 2p subshells, respectively.

Molecular Crowded ″Water-in-Salt″ Polymer Gel Electrolyte for an Ultra-stable Zn-Ion Battery.

Recently, the use of a gel polymer electrolyte for the development of robust, flexible, quasi-solid, ultra-stable, high-performance zinc-ion batteries (ZiBs) as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries has attracted widespread attention. However, the performance of ZiBs is limited due to the lack of suitable gel electrolytes. Herein, a ″water-in-salt″ (WiS)-based hydrophilic molecular crowded polymer gel electrolyte and binder free VO@MnO cathode are introduced to augment the durability, flexibility, safety, and electrochemical performance of ZiBs.

Insights of Extracellular Vesicles of Mesenchymal Stem Cells: a Prospective Cell-Free Regenerative Medicine for Neurodegenerative Disorders.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent, adult stem cells which are found in numerous tissues like the umbilical cord, Wharton's jelly, bone marrow, and adipose tissue. They possess the capacity of self-renewal by dividing and differentiating into various cellular lineages. Their characteristic therapeutic potential exploited so far has made them a desirable candidate in regenerative medicine.

Neutrophil and remnant clearance in immunity and inflammation.

Neutrophil-centred inflammation and flawed clearance of neutrophils cause and exuberate multiple pathological conditions. These most abundant leukocytes exhibit very high daily turnover in steady-state and stress conditions. Various armours including oxidative burst, NETs and proteases function against pathogens, but also dispose neutrophils to spawn pro-inflammatory responses.

3-D printed electrode integrated sensing chip and a PoC device for enzyme free electrochemical detection of blood urea.

Herein we report a novel electrochemical sensing chip and a point-of-care device (PoC) for enzyme-free electrochemical detection of urea in human blood. The electrochemical sensing chip was developed by 3-D printing of conductive Ag ink and subsequent electrodeposition of AuNP-rGO nanocomposite. Material characterization of the sensing chip was conducted to find a plausible mechanism for the electrochemical reaction with urea.

DNA-Modified Cobalt Tungsten Oxide Hydroxide Hydrate Nanochains as an Effective Electrocatalyst with Amplified CO Tolerance during Methanol Oxidation.

Direct methanol fuel cell technology implementation mainly depends on the development of non-platinum catalysts with good CO tolerance. Among the widely studied transition-metal catalysts, cobalt oxide with distinctively higher catalytic efficiency is highly desirable. Here, we have evolved a simple method of synthesizing cobalt tungsten oxide hydroxide hydrate nanowires with DNA (CTOOH/DNA) and without incorporating DNA (CTOOH) by microwave irradiation and subsequently employed them as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation.

Tiny Flies: A Mighty Pest That Threatens Agricultural Productivity-A Case for Next-Generation Control Strategies of Whiteflies.

Whiteflies are a group of universally occurring insects that are considered to be a serious pest in their own way for causing both direct and indirect damages to crops. A few of them serve as vectors of plant viruses that are detrimental to the crop in question and cause an actual loss in productivity. A lot of attention is focused on pest control measures under the umbrella of IPM.