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  • Lauritzen Quinn posted an update 6 days, 21 hours ago

    Hemoglobin is one of the most important blood elements, and its optical properties will determine all other optical properties of human blood. Since the refractive index (RI) of hemoglobin plays a vital role as a non-invasive indicator of some illnesses, accurate calculation of it would be of great importance. Moreover, measurement of the RI of hemoglobin in the laboratory is time-consuming and expensive; thus, developing a smart approach to estimate this parameter is necessary. In this research, four viable strategies were used to make a quantitative correlation between the RI of hemoglobin and its influencing parameters including the concentration, wavelength, and temperature. First, alternating conditional expectations (ACE), a statistical approach, was employed to generate a correlation to predict the RI of hemoglobin. Then, three different optimized intelligent techniques-optimized neural network (ONN), optimized fuzzy inference system (OFIS), and optimized support vector regression (OSVR)-were used to model the RI. A bat-inspired (BA) algorithm was embedded in the formulation of intelligent models to obtain the optimal values of weights and biases of an artificial neural network, membership functions of the fuzzy inference system, and free parameters of support vector regression. The coefficient of determination, root-mean-square error, average absolute relative error, and symmetric mean absolute percentage error for each of the ACE, ONN, OFIS, and OSVR were found as the measure of each model’s accuracy. Results showed that ACE and optimized models (ONN, OFIS, and OSVR) have promising results in the estimation of hemoglobin’s RI. Collectively, ACE outperformed ONN, OFIS, and OSVR, while sensitivity analysis indicated that the concentration, wavelength, and, lastly, temperature would have the highest impact on the RI.With an ever-increasing population and unpredictable climate changes, meeting energy demands and maintaining a sustainable environment on Earth are two of the greatest challenges of the future. Biogas can be a very significant renewable source of energy that can be used worldwide. However, to make it usable, upgrading the gas by removing the unwanted components is a very crucial step. CO2 being one of the major unwanted components and also being a major greenhouse gas must be removed efficiently. Different methods such as physical adsorption, cryogenic separation, membrane separation, and chemical absorption have been discussed in detail in this review because of their availability, economic value, and lower environmental footprint. Three chemical absorption methods, including alkanolamines, alkali solvents, and amino acid salt solutions, are discussed. Their primary works with simple chemicals along with the latest works with more complex chemicals and different mechanical processes, such as the DECAB process, are discussed and compared. These discussions provide valuable insights into how different processes vary and how one is more advantageous or disadvantageous than the others. However, the best method is yet to be found with further research. Overall, this review emphasizes the need for biogas upgrading, and it discusses different methods of carbon capture while doing that. Methods discussed here can be a basic foundation for future research in carbon capture and green chemistry. This review will enlighten the readers about scientific and technological challenges regarding carbon dioxide minimization in biogas technology.Fluorescent dyes and probes play an indispensable role in bioimaging. The mitochondrion is one of the crucial organelles which takes charge of energy production and is the primary site of aerobic respiration in the cell. To illuminate mitochondria, a series of supramolecular fluorescent imaging probes were developed based on the host-guest assembly of 1,4-bis[2-(4-pyridyl)ethenyl]-benzene (BPEB) derivatives and cucurbituril[6] (CB[6]). These host-guest conjugates can be efficiently internalized into cells due to their water solubility and target mitochondria according to their positive charges. In response to the intracellular microenvironments, these conjugates start dynamic disassembly. The released BPEBs show a highly hydrophobic feature, which can crystallize to form fluorescent solids that illuminate the mitochondria. The intracellular disassembly of the host-guest probes was evidenced by fluorescence lifetime imaging in situ. These smart mitochondrion-targeting fluorescent imaging probes can be available to investigate the structures and functions of mitochondria, which are of great significance in the intracellular dynamic transformation of supramolecular assemblies.Glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was electrochemically activated using a repetitive cyclic voltammetric technique to develop an activated glassy carbon electrode (AGCE). The developed AGCE was optimized and utilized for the electrochemical assay of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and dopamine (DA). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was employed to investigate the electrochemical behavior of the AGCE. Compared to the bare GCE, the developed AGCE exhibits a significant increase in redox peak currents of 4-NP and DA, which indicates that the AGCE significantly improves the electrocatalytic reduction of 4-NP and oxidation of DA. The electrochemical signature of the activation process could be directly associated with the formation of oxygen-containing surface functional groups (OxSFGs), which are the main reason for the improved electron transfer ability and the enhancement of the electrocatalytic activity of the AGCE. The effects of various parameters on the voltammetric responses of the AGCE toward 4-NP and DA were studied and optimized, including the pH, scan rate, and accumulation time. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) was also utilized to investigate the analytical performance of the AGCE sensing platform. The optimized AGCE exhibited linear responses over the concentration ranges of 0.04-65 μM and 65-370 μM toward 4-NP with a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 0.02 μM (S/N = 3). Additionally, the AGCE exhibited a linear responses over the concentration ranges of 0.02-1.0 and 1.0-100 μM toward DA with a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 0.01 μM (S/N = 3). Moreover, the developed AGCE-based 4-NP and DA sensors are distinguished by their high sensitivity, excellent selectivity, and repeatability. The developed sensors were successfully applied for the determination of 4-NP and DA in real samples with satisfactory recovery results.Diabetes is a global menace, and its severity results in various disorders including cardiovascular, retinopathy, neuropathy, and nephropathy. Recently, diabetic conditions are diagnosed through the level of glycated hemoglobin. The level of glycated hemoglobin is determined with enzymatic methodology. Although the system is sensitive, it has various restrictions such as long processing times, expensive equipment required for testing, and complex steps involved in sample preparation. These limitations are a hindrance to faster results. The limitations of the developed methods can be eliminated through biosensors. In this work, an electrochemical platform was fabricated that facilitates the identification of glycated hemoglobin protein in diabetic patients. The working electrode on the integrated circuit was modified with molecularly imprinted polymer decorated with tungsten disulfide nanoparticles to enhance its analytical properties. The analytical properties of the biosensor were studied using electrochemical techniques. The obtained detection limit of the nanoelectronic sensor was 0.01 pM. The calculated sensitivity of the biosensor was observed to be 0.27 μA/pM. Also, the sensor promises to operate in a dynamic working concentration range and provide instant results.A conjugated polymer-based fluorescence sensor, namely, PTNPy, was constructed on the basis of a polythiophene scaffold coupled with dimethylpyridylamine (DPA) groups in side chains for the consecutive detection and quantification of Cu2+ and Hcy in a perfect aqueous medium. A dramatic fluorescence quenching of PTNPy by the addition of Cu2+ was observed in Tris-HCl buffer solution (2 mM, pH 7.4), demonstrating a quick ( less then 1 min) and highly selective response to Cu2+ with a low limit of detection of 6.79 nM. Subsequently, the Cu2+-quenched fluorescence of PTNPy can be completely recovered by homocysteine (Hcy), showing excellent selectivity to Hcy over other competitive species such as cysteine and glutathione. buy SAR405838 Thanks to the low cytotoxicity and lysosomal targeting ability of PTNPy, it was further applied as an optical sensor for the sequential imaging of Cu2+ and Hcy in HeLa cells. More importantly, Hcy concentration was linearly related to the fluorescence intensity of PTNPy in living cells, demonstrating huge potential for real-time monitoring the fluctuation of Hcy levels in living cells.Biomass-derived heteroatom-doped carbons have been considered to be excellent lithium ion battery (LIB) anode materials. Herein, ultrathin g-C3N4 nanosheets anchored on N,P-codoped biomass-derived carbon (N,P@C) were successfully fabricated by carbonization in an argon atmosphere. The structural characteristics of the resultant N,P@C were elucidated by SEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, XPS, Raman, and BET surface area measurements. The results show that N,P@C has a high specific surface area (S BET = 675.4 cm3/g), a mesoporous-dominant pore (average pore size of 6.898 nm), and a high level of defects (I D/I G = 1.02). The hierarchical porous structural properties are responsible for the efficient electrochemical performance of N,P@C as an anode material, which exhibits an outstanding reversible specific capacity of 1264.3 mAh/g at 100 mA/g, an elegant rate capability of 261 mAh/g at 10 A, and a satisfactory cycling stability of 1463.8 mAh/g at 1 A after 500 cycles. Because of the special structure and synergistic contributions from N and P heteroatoms, the resultant N,P@C endows LIBs with electrochemical performance superior to those of most of carbon-based anode materials derived from biomass in the literature. The findings in this present work pave a novel avenue toward lignin volarization to produce anode material for use in high-performance LIBs.Ureaplasma urealyticum is a common genital mycoplasma in men and women, which can cause reproductive tract infection and infertility, and is also related to adverse pregnancy outcomes and neonatal diseases. Pathogen culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are the main methods for the diagnosis of U. urealyticum. However, pathogen culture takes too long, and PCR requires professional personnel and sophisticated instruments. Here, we report a simple, convenient, sensitive, and specific detection method, which combines catalytic hairpin assembly with a lateral flow immunoassay strip. Only a water bath and a fluorescence reader are needed to detect the results in 30 min. We can realize the point-of-care testing of U. urealyticum by this method. To verify this method, we selected 10 clinical samples for testing, and the test results were exactly the same as the clinical report.We report here that thioamides can distinguish C-C double bonds and C-C triple bonds chemoselectively when subjected to a reaction with pent-1-en-4-yn-3-ol derivatives in the presence of Ca(OTf)2. This protocol offers a fast, efficient, and high-yielding synthesis of functionalized thiazoles. Interestingly, this reaction offers a time-dependent formation of kinetic and thermodynamic products. The products showed stereoselectivity concerning the alkene geometry. Further, we extended this protocol to synthesize oxazoles from propargyl alcohols and ibuprofen (NSAID) was converted into amide and then subjected to oxazole formation with tert-propargyl alcohols.