AbstractPurpose: The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial potential and ex vivo skin permeation kinetics of cefixime from bionanocomposite films. Methods: The films were prepared by solvent casting method by using chitosan and starch. The fabricated films were tested for their antibacterial potential against three bacteria i.e. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, and Acetobacter aceti. In vitro permeation studies of cefixime from the films across rat skin was conducted using Franz diffusion cell. Results: The highest antibacterial effect was exhibited by F5 formulation (non-irradiated film) against Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia; however, antibacterial activity of the films was significantly (p < 0.05) reduced after their irradiation. F5 formulation showed the highest cumulative amount of permeated drug after 24 h, while F1 (100% chitosan) showed the lowest amount of permeated drug. Non-Fickian diffusion (anomalous) was the main mode of drug release from all films. The cross-linking of films by γ-radiations improved their mechanical properties. The percentage swelling ratio was the highest in non-irradiated films having a polymeric blend (50:50). Water uptake of irradiated films was appreciably reduced as compared to non-irradiated films. Conclusion: The synthesized bionanocomposites are promising therapeutic moieties which not only improve drug permeability across but also ameliorates antibacterial potential of cefixime.

AbstractMarine fishery is a highly mechanized sector, Industrialization and industrialization "Big agriculture. Among them, marine fishing is the main part of the fuel consumption of fishing vessels, which will produce a large amount of carbon emissions; the electricity consumption of advanced pond aquaculture and factory aquaculture in seawater will also bring high indirect emissions. It is of great practical significance to study the optimization of marine fishery industrial structure for promoting the high-quality development of marine fishery. Based on the data of marine fishery in Zhejiang Province from 2008 to 2017, this paper calculates the carbon emission efficiency of marine fishery and discusses the impact of industrial structure optimization of marine fishery on carbon emission efficiency. Based on the analysis of the research results, this paper puts forward some suggestions on optimizing the structure of marine fishery industry: increasing the technical input and personnel introduction of energy intensive industries, and developing five high-tech pillars strategically. From the perspective of regional industrial structure optimization, high-efficiency areas should enhance the ability of modern manufacturing industry to undertake international industrial transfer and form innovation clusters; the medium-efficiency areas should use industrial bases to develop characteristic leading industries and modern service industries; low-efficiency areas should develop high-tech industries in line with local resource endowments and advantageous industries, and improve the allocation efficiency of environmental protection investment expenditure. By optimizing the industrial structure of Zhejiang Province, carbon emission efficiency can be improved. Improve fishermen 's environmental awareness and management ability, vigorously develop and promote green aquaculture technology, and provide technical support for industrial transformation and upgrading.

AbstractIn graphene electronics applications, in order to obtain the size and pattern required for the device, it is often necessary to photolithography the graphene after growth, resulting in contamination of graphene by the photoresist which have doping effect. Therefore, in order to avoid this effect, this article focused on directly grown patterned graphene. Based on atmospheric pressure chemical vapour deposition (APCVD) technology, patterned graphene was successfully grown on SiO2/Si by metal proximity catalytic effect. The patterned graphene was characterized by Raman spectroscopy and optical microscope. The effects of parameters such as gas flow, growth temperature, and growth time on the growth of patterned graphene were explored, and the best results were obtained. Metal copper and cobalt thin films were used for assisted catalysis, respectively, and the mechanism of metal proximity catalysis was explored. The experimental results showed that proximity catalysis is a catalytic growth mechanism based on surface diffusion. The growth method avoids using photolithography to make patterns, and can grow patterned graphene on insulating substrates or semiconductors in one step, which is of great significance for making patterned graphene and applying them to semiconductor devices.

AbstractThe current work demonstrates the fabrication of kaolin supported Au nanoparticles (Au NPs-kaolin) mediated by Thymbra spicata extract as green reductant and capping agent without any toxic reagent. Physicochemical characteristics of the said nanocomposite were elucidated by field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, elemental mapping, X-ray diffraction and inductively coupled plasma techniques. The figures of the TEM display the black dots signifying Au NPs being dispersed over the kaolin surface. Size of spherical Au NPs are around 10–15 nm. In the in vivo, we established a rat calvaria defect model using a combination of collagen scaffold and nanoparticle. The experimental group was divided into three classifications: control, collagen matrix and nanoparticle with collagen. Histological analyses showed that nanoparticle increased bone formation activity when used in conjunction with collagen matrix. In the nanoparticle group, grafted materials were still present until 12 weeks after treatment, as evidenced by foreign body reactions showing multinucleated giant cells in chronic inflammatory vascular connective tissue. Other results revealed that the nanoparticle increased bone formation activity when used with collagen matrix. All groups showed almost the same histological findings until 7 weeks. In the experimental groups, new bone formation activity was found continuously up to 12 weeks.

AbstractIn this study, copper nanoparticles were synthesised according to green chemistry rules using the aqueous extract of Alhagi maurorum. The green-synthesised CuNPs were characterised using different techniques such as EDX, FE-SEM, XRD and FT-IR. The FE-SEM results confirm spherical morphology for the nanoparticles with a size of 42.68–68.87 nm. In vivo, the Mycoplasma pneumonia injection was applied for inducing pneumonia in the BALB/c mice, also the treatment was with CuNPs. The serum parameters such as inflammatory mediators (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-8, TGF and IL-1), total cell counts, and total protein content levels were evaluated. CuNPs regulated the levels of the inflammatory mediators in the infected mice. The cellular arrangements at the histopathological images were ameliorated with the administration of CuNPs. At the antioxidant test, the CuNPs and BHT removed 50% of free radicals at the concentrations of 181 and 110 µg/ml. In conclusion, the results revealed the ameliorative property of CuNPs green-formulated by A. maurorum aqueous extract on M. pneumoniae infected pneumonia mice model.

AbstractAs the basic unit structure of electromagnetic metamaterial, the structure size of open resonant ring directly determines the constitutive parameters of SRR (dielectric constant ε and permeability μ). In order to improve the energy exchange efficiency of the electromagnetic acoustic transducer, the coil backplane of the electromagnetic ultrasonic shear wave sensor was optimized. First, the influence of the thickness of the coil backplane on the ultrasonic signal is studied by the experimental method, and then, the magnetic field distribution of the coil backplane is simulated by the finite element simulation software. Finally, the SNR and lift distance of the shear wave sensor before and after the coil backplane optimization are compared by experiments. In this article, a multi-hypothesis data fusion method in distributed detection system is proposed, which extends the multi-sensor data fusion rules to more general cases. The results show that the optimum thickness of the coil back plate in the electromagnetic ultrasonic transverse wave sensor is 1.5–2.0 mm. Using iron powder with the same length and width as the working area of the coil as the coil backplane can significantly increase the magnetic field strength in the working area of the sensor. Compared with the coil backplane made of non-magnetic materials, the optimized backplane can increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the sensor by about one time and the lift-off distance by about 1 mm.

AbstractMWCNTs and ultra-fine steel microwires double-doped RPC are researched to determine the modification law of flexural strength and post-folding compressive strength in order to investigate the impact of nanoscale admixtures on the strength of high-rise building concrete. This research also examines the elastic modulus of the prismatic specimen as well as the flexural toughness and compressive toughness of the load-displacement curve. Through theoretical calculations of composite materials, this paper also investigates how MWCNTs and ultra-fine steel microwires double-doped fillers improve the mechanical properties of RPC. Additionally, this work uses experimental techniques for material preparation, performance analysis and simulation research in conjunction with intelligent models. The method suggested in this research has a certain effect, and has a certain promotion effect on the subsequent performance improvement of concrete materials, as can be observed from the data statistics.

AbstractGreen synthesis of bimetallic oxide nanocomposite with leaf extract of Eichhornia crassipes (1) is attracted much in recent researchers. The as-synthesized CuO/Ag2O/Ext (2) and CuO/Ag2O NCPs (3) were characterized by UV-Vis, FT-IR, SEM, XRD, and TGA. The disc diffusion method was used to assess the antibacterial potential of (1), (2), and (3) against a total of four human pathogens bacteria. S. aureus and S. epidermides were the growth inhibitory effect in the range of 6.3 ± 0.33 mm, 26 ± 0.58 to 30 ± 0.58 mm, and 23 ± 0.15 to 30 ± 0.58 mm and 6.7 ± 0.33 mm, 22.3 ± 0.88 to 26.3 ± 0.88 mm, and 26 ± 0.58 to 28 ± 0.58 mm for (1), (2), and (3), respectively. Whereas, E. coli and K. pneumonia showed in the range of 7.00 mm, 26.7 ± 0.88 to 29.3 ± 0.33 mm, and 22.7 ± 0.88 to 27.3 ± 0.88 mm and 6.3 ± 0.33 mm, 25 ± 0.88 to 27.3 ± 0.33 mm, and 25.7 ± 0.33 to 27 ± 0.58 mm for (1), (2), and (3), respectively. The XRD technique confirmed the nano-size structure of (2) and (3) (D = 33.41 nm and 28.22 nm, respectively).

AbstractIn this article, the strength characteristics of the cement mortar with waste glass powder of different size and content at different ages were studied. The mechanism of strength development was analysed from the microstructure of mortar specimens based on scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electronic dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that the compressive strength and flexural strength of the mortar specimens increase significantly with a higher age. There is an optimal content of glass powder corresponding to the maximum strength. The glass powder of smaller particle size clearly promotes the development of compressive strength and flexural strength in the mortar specimens. It is found from SEM-EDS that glass cement mortar has a larger amount of internal hydration products and higher density compared with ordinary cement mortar. The density of cement mortar incorporating 15 wt% glass powder increases gradually with the decrease of glass particle size. The hydration products and compactness of the cement mortar adding 200–500 mesh glass powder experience an increase and then a decrease with a rise in the glass content. The strength enhancement with the addition of glass powder are mainly attributed to the microaggregate filling effect and pozzolanic effect of the glass powder, as well as to changes in the interfacial transition zone.

AbstractSilver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used in biomedicine applications. Other drugs combined with the AgNPs can improve efficacy in the treatment of diseases, and most such studies have focused on antibiotics. We determined the synergistic effects of Phyllanthus emblica-derived AgNPs in combination with Vatica diospyroides cotyledon extracts (VCE) against bacteria using agar well diffusion, broth microdilution, and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Synergy of AgNPs and VCE was confirmed with the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI). To evaluate patterns of bacterial death, flow cytometry and electron microscopy were used. We found that the effective incubation time of AgNPs against bacteria was highly variable. Increasing AgNPs in the combination influenced antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis. The MIC values interpreted through FICI showed synergy against S. aureus and indifference against B. subtilis. Flow cytometric profiles confirmed that the fraction of S. aureus that respond to a combination of VCE with AgNPs increased in dose-dependent manner. The response patterns of bacteria proceeded simultaneously as the cells lost intracellular components and suffered membrane damage. Synergy of AgNPs with a plant extract has become a promising approach, as green AgNPs and plant extracts are biocompatible and cost-effective resources that can utilized for the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases.

AbstractThe antipsychotic drug Olanzapine was crystallized with aromatic acid, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid in isopropyl alcohol by slow evaporation which led to the formation of olanzapinium 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate crystalline salt. The structure of the compound was characterized by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The Hirshfeld analyses were performed to quantify the order and nature of intermolecular interactions in the crystal network. Employing computational approaches, the compound was tested for its affinity against antipsychotic activity by molecular docking and molecular dynamic simulation to attest the conformational stability over time step of 100 ns. Besides, bioactivity and ADMET properties were also predicted to ratify the result. The compound asserted neither carcinogenic nor mutagenic activity and has high oral bioavailability. Hence, this synthesized novel compound Olanzapinium 2,5-dihydroxybenzoate recognized in the study possesses high potential as an effective antipsychotic compound, and can further be examined for its efficiency by in vivo studies. The synthesized compound was submitted to NCBI PubChem database using accession substance ID: 441329256. The crystal structure was submitted to CCDC (Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre) with submission ID: 2010899.

AbstractTo establish a gold/silica hybrid, nanomaterials (Au/SiO2) were incorporated into a gelatin methacrylate/chitosan matrix. By using FESEM, compressive strength testing, and conductivity/resistance measurements on gelatin (G)/chitosan (C), G/C-Au@SiO2 hydrogels developed. Biocompatibility investigations on osteoblasts MG-63 cells were carried out to determine whether the cell was compatible with the conductive hydrogel as it had been created. The results indicated that HNPs had improved compressive strength and conductivity without losing the favourable features such as biodegradable nature and porous shape of G/C hydrogel. The mechanical properties and Elastic modulus of composites hydrogels were enhanced twofold when hybrid nanomaterials were added to the mixture. The cyclic compressive analysis shows that pure G/C hydrogels lost their mechanical stability within the first few cycles, but G/C-Au@SiO2 hydrogels lasted for up to fifty cycles. It was demonstrated that osteoblast proliferation and adhesion were increased on the hydrogel in the CCK-8 experiment. Further, the cell survival of the hydrogels with G/C-Au@SiO2 conductivity was enhanced by 15% compared to that of pure G/C hydrogels. The morphological features of the MG-63 cells experiments were performed by using a Fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis (FDA) staining assay. This work offers a unique method for enhancing mechanical integrity and electrical properties in gelatin-based G/C hydrogels by adding bifunctional hybrid nanomaterials (HNPs) for bone fracture tissue engineering applications.

AbstractChitosan-based nano-sized particles increase the penetration of the drug through the narrow junction into the bloodstream and target the specific site. The objective of this study was to prepare chitosan nanoparticles to entrap a hydrophobic drug (tamoxifen citrate), followed by the alginate coating of the developed nanoparticles to decrease their degradation in the acidic pH. Drug-loaded chitosan nanoparticles were prepared by the ionic gelation method. Alginate coating was done by dissolving sodium alginate to buffer solution and drug-loaded chitosan nanoparticles drop-wise under mild agitation. The size of alginate coated chitosan nanoparticles, zeta potential, surface morphology, in-vitro drug release, and entrapment efficiency was measured. The optimised formulation of both uncoated (SH3) and coated (SH7) formulation showed the particle size, PDI, and zeta potential with values 221 & 338 nm, 0.161 & 0.230 and 36.5 & −20.7 mV, respectively. The resulted nanoparticle surface was non-porous. The percentage yield of the optimised formulation SH3 was 28% and SH6 was 33%. The entrapment efficiency of the optimised formulation SH3 (uncoated formulation) and SH6 (coated formulation) is 69.5 and 58.51%, respectively. Chitosan nanoparticles were successfully prepared to entrap tamoxifen citrate. The coating of chitosan nanoparticles decreased their degradation in the acidic pH.

AbstractRegarding applicative, facile, green chemical research, a bio-inspired approach is being reported for the synthesis of Au nanoparticles by Mentha piperita as a natural reducing and stabilising agent in alkaline medium without using any toxic reducing agent. The biosynthesized Au NPs@Mentha piperita were characterised by advanced physicochemical techniques like ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) study. It has been established that Au NPs@Mentha piperita have a spherical shape with a mean diameter from ∼10 nm. To survey the cytotoxicity effects of Au NPs@Mentha piperita, MTT assay was used on HUVEC cell line. To survey the antioxidant properties of Au NPs@Mentha piperita, the DPPH test was used in the presence of butylated hydroxytoluene as the positive control. The Au NPs@Mentha piperita inhibited half of the DPPH molecules in the concentration of 113 µg/mL. In the in vivo, wistar rats were divided to four groups; non-sensitised, sensitised to ovalbumin, sensitised and treated with dexamethasone (1.25 μg/mL), and Au NPs@Mentha piperita (5 μg/mL) in drinking water for 21 days. The levels of total protein (TP), phospholipase A2 (PLA2), immunoglobulin E (IgE), IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio, interferon gamma (IFN-γ), and interleukin 4 (IL-4) in BALF, and lung pathological changes were examined. A significant increase in PLA2, IgE, IL-4, and TP levels, all lung pathological indices as well as significant decrease in IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio was seen in the asthmatic compared to the control rats. Treatment with Au NPs@Mentha piperita (5 μg/mL) resulted in decreased PLA2, IgE, IL-4, and TP levels, but increased IFN-γ/IL-4 ratio compared to untreated sensitised rats. The Au NPs@Mentha piperita significantly improved the pathological changes of sensitised rats. The improvement effects of higher concentrations of the Au NPs@Mentha piperita extract were significantly more than those of dexamethasone. The improvement effects of Au NPs@Mentha piperita on pathological changes, immunological and inflammatory markers in sensitised rats comparable or even more potent than dexamethasone suggests the therapeutic potential of the nanoparticle in asthma. After confirming these results in clinical trial studies, Au NPs@Mentha piperita can be used as a new drug for the treatment of asthma in humans.

AbstractCalendula officinalis is known as a popular plant with various uses as pharmaceutical agent or food additive around the world. In this study, cooper nanoparticles were green synthesized using the aqueous extract of Calendula officinalis as the stabilizing, reducing, and capping agents. The formation of CuNPs@C. officinalis was screened using different chemical technique such as FT-IR spectroscopy, XRD, SEM, and Energy EDS. The antioxidant and anti-cancer activity of CuNPs@C. officinalis was studied using common assay including free radical scavenging and MTT assays. The results confirm the green synthesized of CuNPs@C. officinalis with aspherical morphology in the range size of 19.64 to 39.15 nm. In the antioxidant test, the IC50 of CuNPs@C. officinalis and BHT against DPPH free radicals were 193 and 154 µg/mL, respectively. In the cellular and molecular part of the recent study, the treated cells with CuNPs@C. officinalis were assessed by MTT assay for 24, 48, and 72 h about the cytotoxicity and anti-human lung adenocarcinoma properties on normal (HUVEC) and lung adenocarcinoma cell lines, i.e. lung moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma (LC-2/ad), lung poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (PC-14), and lung well-differentiated bronchogenic adenocarcinoma (HLC-1). The IC50s of CuNPs@C. officinalis were 297, 328, and 514 µg/mL against PC-14, LC-2/ad, and HLC-1 cell lines, respectively. The viability of malignant lung cell line reduced dose-dependently in the presence of CuNPs@C. officinalis. It seems that the anti-human lung adenocarcinoma effect of recent nanoparticles is due to their antioxidant effects.

AbstractIn this study, tin nanoparticles were green synthesized using the aqueous extract of Calendula officinalis. Different techniques such as FE-SEM, XRD, FT-IR, and EDS analysis were used to characterize SnNPs@ C. officinalis. A 21.87 nm was obtained for the crystal size of the tin nanoparticles using XRD analysis. The FE-SEM images show a spherical morphology for SnNPs@ C. officinalis with a range size of 21.63–64.07 for the synthetic nanoparticles. The anti-breast cancer effects of biologically synthesized SnNPs@ C. officinalis against breast cancer cell lines were assessed. The anti-breast cancer properties of the SnNPs@ C. officinalis could significantly remove the MCF7, Hs 319.T, and MCF10 cancer cell lines in a time and concentration-dependent manner by MTT assay. The antioxidant activity of SnNPs@ C. officinalis was determined by the DPPH method. The SnNPs@ C. officinalis showed the highest antioxidant activity according to the IC50 value. It seems the anti-human breast cancer effect of recent nanoparticles is due to their antioxidant effects.

AbstractAlhagi maurorum (camelthorn) is one of the popular medicinal plants. The plant has many pharmaceutical uses in traditional medicine. In this study, nickel nanoparticles were synthesized according to green chemistry rules using the aqueous extract of A. maurorum. The green-synthesized NiNPs were characterized using different techniques such as EDX, FE-SEM, XRD, UV–vis and FT-IR. The FE-SEM results confirm spherical morphology for the nanoparticles with size of 20.56–36.63 nm. In the oncological part of the present study, the treated cells with NiNPs were assessed by MTT assay for 48 h about the cytotoxicity and anti-human ovarian cancer properties on normal (HUVEC) and ovarian cancer cell lines i.e. OVCAR-3, ES-2, TOV-21G, OV-90 and UWB1.289. The viability of malignant ovarian cell lines reduced dose-dependently in the presence of NiNPs. The IC50 of NiNPs was 191, 312, 250, 396 and 241 µg/mL against OVCAR-3, ES-2, TOV-21G, OV-90 and UWB1.289 cell lines respectively.

AbstractHydrogel, with excellent hydrophilicity biocompatibility and stimuli responsive, has been widely used in biomedical and artificial organs fields. However, synthetic hydrogel usually displays poor gel strength, poor toughness and slow speed of absorbing water. Therefore, extensive exploratory research is still required to develop new composite materials for the application of bionic viscera. In this work, we constructed a new kind of composite hydrogel by a facile wet chemistry method to cross-link three kinds of polymer resin, polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethyl cellulose, and carboxymethyl starch. The conductivity, moisture content and elastic modulus of hydrogel can be controlled by the dosage of potassium salt, sodium salt, water and glycerol. After molding and testing, the electrical conductivity, elastic modulus, and moisture content of the artificial liver and kidney organs were similar to those of the corresponding pig viscera, which is superior to most of the current research on hydrogels. This work provides a facile approach to synthesize highly efficient hydrogel, which accelerates the application of hydrogel in bionic organs.

AbstractAs fossil fuel is depleted day by day, there is a vast gap in the market and supply of fuel to the different industries that consume oil. In order to improve fuel properties, performance, combustion, and emissions from diesel engines, microalgae oil biodiesels are used as fuel with 20% of diesel on a mass basis by volume and 50 and 100 ppm of CeO2 nanoparticles as additives in combinations of biodiesel/diesel blends. The engine configuration consists of a single-cylinder, four-stroke, 3.5 kW, 1500 rpm diesel engine. Experiments were performed at constant speed on experimental test fuels for various load conditions. The addition of cerium oxide (CeO2) in the added biodiesel diesel blends improved the brake thermal performance (45%) compared to engine output. With CeO2 in the B20 blends, better combustion properties were observed, such as increased length of combustion (36 CA°), ignition delay (16 CA°), and heat release rate (55 J/deg) in the cylinder. The enhanced and improved fuel characteristics and combustion characteristics of CeO2 in the added biodiesel diesel blends minimise HC (0.54 g/kWh) and CO (4.6 g/kWh) emissions and smoke (0.61%) while increasing NOx (10.2 g/kWh) emissions from the engine cylinder.

AbstractIn this work, we have described the biogenic synthesized gold nanoparticles being supported over Kaolin mediated by Pomegranate peel extract as natural reducing and stabilizing agent under mild conditions without any toxic reagents. Pomegranate peel extract was used as a green reducing agent and an excellent stabilizer of the synthesized Au NPs. Physicochemical characterization of the as-synthesized Kaolin@extract/Au NPs nanocomposite was carried out through electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), elemental mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). In the cellular and molecular part of the recent study, the treated cells with Au NPs-Kaolin nanocomposite were assessed by MTT assay for 48 h about the cytotoxicity and anti-human oral squamous cell carcinoma properties on normal (HUVEC) and oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines i.e. HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4 and Ca9-22. It has been observed that the Au NPs with spherical shape and size were dispersed homogeneously on the modified-Kaolin surface. The significance of this study is the novel initiative to combine the gold nanoparticle with inexpensive Kaolin clay and utilization of them as anticancer agent. The IC50 of Kaolin@extract/Au nanocomposite were 277, 367, 250 and 545 µg/mL against HSC-2, HSC-3, HSC-4 and Ca9–22 cell lines, respectively. The viability of malignant human oral cell lines reduced dose-dependently in the presence of Kaolin@extract/Au NPs nanocomposite.