Fergusonberger0289

Three growth methods were tested for producing high-transition temperature superconducting Bi2Sr2Ca n-1Cu n O2n+4+δ whiskers, employing different ways to focus a compressive stress and size effect of the precursors. First, thermographic imaging was used to investigate thermal stress from temperature distribution in the precursors during growth annealing. To enhance thermal stress in the precursors, a thermal cycling method and a Ag-paste coating method were proposed and found to significantly accelerate the whisker growth. The use of pulverized precursors also promoted whisker growth, possibly due to contribution from the vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism. The obtained whiskers revealed the typical composition, diffraction patterns, and superconducting properties of the Bi-2212 phase. The proposed methods were able to stably produce longer whiskers compared to the conventional method. Using the obtained whiskers, electrical transport measurements under high pressure were successfully performed up to around 50 GPa.Nanoparticles made of amphiphilic block copolymers are commonly used in the preparation of nano-sized drug delivery systems. Poly(styrene)-block -poly(acrylic acid) (PS-PAA) copolymers have been proposed for drug delivery purposes; however, the drug loading capacity and cytotoxicity of PS-PAA nanoparticles are still not fully recognized. Herein, we investigated the accumulation of a model hydrophobic drug, curcumin, and its spatial distribution inside the PS-PAA nanoparticles. Experimental methods and atomistic molecular dynamics simulations were used to understand the molecular structure of the PS core and how curcumin molecules interact and organize within the PS matrix. The hydrophobic core of the PS-PAA nanoparticles consists of adhering individually coiled polymeric chains and is compact enough to prevent post-incorporation of curcumin. However, the drug has a good affinity for the PS matrix and can be efficiently enclosed in the PS-PAA nanoparticles at the formation stage. At low concentrations, curcumin is evenly distributed in the PS core, while its aggregates were observed above ca. 2 wt %. The nanoparticles were found to have relatively low cytotoxicity to human skin fibroblasts, and the presence of curcumin further increased their biocompatibility. Our work provides a detailed description of the interactions between a hydrophobic drug and PS-PAA nanoparticles and information on the biocompatibility of these anionic nanostructures which may be relevant to the development of amphiphilic copolymer-based drug delivery systems.Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were synthesized using Cassia siamea flower petal extract (CSFE) as a reducing agent for the first time. In its presence and absence, the correlative effects of the anionic surface-active agent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) were studied with respect to the development and texture of Ag NPs. Under different reagent compositions, the Ag NPs were inferred by localized surface plasmon resonance peaks between 419 and 455 nm. In the absence of SDS, there was a small eminence at 290 and around 350 nm, pointing toward the possibility of irregular polytope Ag NPs, which was confirmed in the transmission electron microscopy images. This elevation vanished beyond the cmc of [SDS], resulting in spherical and oval shaped Ag NPs. The effects of reagent concentrations were studied at 25 °C and around 7 and 9 pH in the absence and presence of SDS, respectively. Also, kinetic studies were performed by UV-visible spectrophotometry. Prodigious effects on shape and size were found under different synthesis conditions in terms of hexagonal, rod-, irregular-, and spherical shaped Ag NPs. Furthermore, the antimycotic activity of the synthesized Ag NPs was established on different Candida strains, and best results were found pertaining Candida tropicalis. The ensuing study impels the control of texture and dispersity for Ag NPs by CSFE and SDS, and the resultant polytope Ag NPs could be a future solution for drug-resistant pathogenic fungi.We report a practical chemical vapor deposition (CVD) route to produce bilayer graphene on a polycrystalline Ni film from liquid benzene (C6H6) source at a temperature as low as 400 °C in a vertical cold-wall reaction chamber. The low activation energy of C6H6 and the low solubility of carbon in Ni at such a low temperature play a key role in enabling the growth of large-area bilayer graphene in a controlled manner by a Ni surface-mediated reaction. All experiments performed using this method are reproducible with growth capabilities up to an 8 in. wafer-scale substrate. Raman spectra analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and selective area electron diffraction studies confirm the growth of Bernal-stacked bilayer graphene with good uniformity over large areas. Electrical characterization studies indicate that the bilayer graphene behaves much like a semiconductor with predominant p-type doping. These findings provide important insights into the wafer-scale fabrication of low-temperature CVD bilayer graphene for next-generation nanoelectronics.Glycoproteins are post-translationally modified proteins that take part in nearly every biological process and make up a large percent of the proteome. N-Linked glycosylation can be performed by N-glycosyltransferase (NGT), which recognizes the consensus amino acid sequence, -Asn-X-Ser/Thr- (NXT), within the protein. The enzyme catalyzes glycosidic bond formation between the oligosaccharide donor, containing nucleoside phosphatase, and the amide nitrogen of the asparagine residue. The attachment of the sugar moiety can influence physiological and biological properties of the protein by affecting their folding, modulating interactions with other biomolecules, and modifying their functions at the cellular level. We are specifically interested in the properties of membrane glycoproteins, which are key components in a number of different disease states. Therefore, the use of in vitro protein glycosylation can help further evaluate the effects of the properties for these important macromolecules. In vitro studies at contain an N-glycosylation consensus sequence can be glycosylated by NGT in membrane-mimetic environments.Macroporous TiO2 monoliths were synthesized by self-sustained combustion reactions of molded pellets made up of a mixture of TiCl4 as a precursor, urea as a fuel, ammonium nitrate as an oxidizer, and starch as a binder. The porous TiO2 monoliths were found to be a heterostructure of anatase and rutile phases, in addition to being doped with carbon. Variation in the amount of starch yielded porous monoliths of different anatase-rutile ratios (increasing rutile component from 0 to 40%) but comparable Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area (∼30 m2 g-1). The porous monoliths obtained, where the TiCl4/starch mass ratio was 2.17, exhibit exceptional photocatalytic activity in the degradation of dyes (methylene blue and methyl orange) and selective oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde under natural sunlight. The synergistic combination of high surface area, porous network, lowered band gap due to heterostructured anatase-rutile polymorphs, and the presence of doped carbon renders the macroporous TiO2 an efficient photocatalyst.Hydrocolloids are a class of functional ingredients that are widely used in the development of food structures. The hydrocolloids are mainly polysaccharides and some proteins that are applied in various food products. For this reason, natural sources that are friendly to the environment must be sought for their extraction. Therefore, this study aimed to extract hydrocolloids from butternut squash (Cucurbita moschata) peels-HBSP-and determine the proximal composition and rheological properties as well as their use effect in a microstructure product like fruit jam from Carica papaya. Hydrocolloids were obtained from butternut squash at pH 3, 7, and 10 and at different temperatures, presenting higher yield values at 80 °C with higher carbohydrate and protein contents and non-Newtonian flow behavior type shear-thinning. In order to analyze the influence of HBSP on the rheological properties of the microstructured product, the samples were employed as a partial substitute of pectin in C. papaya jam (CPJ), showing a positive effect on the jam matrix due to the addition of hydrocolloids. The physicochemical properties of jams did not present significant differences. CPJ presents non-Newtonian behavior type shear-thinning adjusting to the Herschel-Bulkley model. The dynamic viscoelastic rheological test characterized the jam as a gel-like state when the storage modulus values were higher than the loss modulus values in the frequency ranges studied. Regarding the addition of HBSP, this modified the color parameter, presenting a reddish color with an increase in tonality, and the sensory evaluation showed that the M3 sample was better than the other products, with a higher level of satisfaction. The obtained results show that butternut squash peel is suitable for the obtention of hydrocolloids, and they can be used as a raw material in the development and formulation of food products, as well as their byproducts can be used to solve problems with organic waste from the agroindustry in an environmentally friendly way.Silica minerals are a kind of important minerals and widespread on the earth's surface. They play an irreplaceable role in the whole geochemistry and environment processes. The diversity in the crystal structure of SiO2 polymorphs might lead to the heterogeneity in their surface microstructures and properties. As two common SiO2 polymorph minerals in soil and sediments, α-quartz and α-cristobalite have been studied for the effects of their surface heterogeneity on adsorption behaviors toward crystal violet (CV) by batch adsorption experiments in different specific surface areas (SSAs) and at different pH values and temperatures, as well as by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) investigation. Owing to the larger surface site density, the saturated adsorption amount of α-quartz was larger than that of α-cristobalite. It was also indicated by the larger slope of adsorption lines as a function of SSA. WM-8014 clinical trial The adsorption capacity of both increased with increasing pH and temperature. In the thermodynamic study, therface. The CV monomers adsorbed on α-quartz presented a larger average tilt angle because of its larger surface reactive site density, while α-cristobalite did conversely.The emergence of flat one- and two-dimensional materials, such as graphene and its nanoribbons, has promoted the rapid advance of the current nanotechnology. Silicene, a silicon analogue of graphene, has the great advantage of its compatibility with the present industrial processes based on silicon nanotechnology. The most significant issue for silicene is instability in the air due to the nonplanar puckered (buckled) structure. Another critical problem is that silicene is usually synthesized by epitaxial growth on a substrate, which strongly affects the π conjugated system of silicene. The fabrication of free-standing silicene with a planar configuration has long been pursued. Here, we report the strategy and design to realize the flat zigzag silicene nanoribbon. We theoretically investigated the stability of various silicene nanoribbons with substituents at the zigzag edges and found that zigzag silicene nanoribbons with beryllium (Be) bridges are very stable in a planar configuration. The obtained zigzag silicene nanoribbon has an indirect negative band gap and is nonmagnetic unlike the magnetic buckled silicene nanoribbons with zigzag edges.