Applied Research最新文献

{"title":"Callistemon citrinus: A plant-mediated synthesis of sustainable Rhodium nanoparticles and their antimicrobial activity","authors":"Enas Ismail,&nbsp;Abubaker Mohamed,&nbsp;Ernest Maboza,&nbsp;Mokhotjwa Simon Dhlamini,&nbsp;Razia Z. Adam","doi":"10.1002/appl.202300130","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202300130","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This work investigates the potential of using <i>Callistemon citrinu</i> flower extract, commonly known as bottlebrush, in the environmentally friendly synthesis of Rhodium nanoparticles (Rh NPs). <i>Callistemon citrinu</i> flower extract contains a high concentration of flavonoids and other phytochemicals. Hence, the extract was used to provide the essential components for an environmentally, sustainable synthesis method of Rh NPs. Different characterization analyses were used to evaluate the different properties of the synthesized particles. UV spectroscopy analysis demonstrated a continuous UV absorption spectrum attributed to the formation of Rh NPs. The XRD data and SAED analysis showed an amorphous nature of the synthesized Rh NPs. The HRTEM imaging provided morphological information about the Rh NPs tested sample, where the efficiency of <i>Callistemon citrinu</i> flower extract as a capping agent was reported. Furthermore, Raman spectra displayed the characteristic vibrational bands of the synthesized Rh NPs. The antimicrobial activity of the synthesized samples was tested against several dental pathogens, that play a role in dental caries, <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> (SA), <i>Bacillus subtilis</i> (BS), <i>Candida albicans</i> (CA), <i>Escherichia coli</i> (Eco), and <i>Staphylococcus epidermidis</i> (S. Epi). In comparison with the control, Chlorhexidine (CHX), Rh NPs showed a greater impact on <i>C. albicans</i> (20 ≤ Zone of inhibition (ZOI) (mm) ≤ 26). The statistical analysis demonstrated that Rh NPs had a greater mean ZOI than the <i>Callistemon citrinu</i> flower extract. These results reveal the considerable potential and biological capacity Rh NPs have as an antifungal agent for dental applications.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202300130","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140233366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Design modification and comparative analysis of glycol-based natural gas dehydration plant","authors":"Chimene Omeke Wosu,&nbsp;Jackson Gunorubon Akpa,&nbsp;Animia Ajor Wordu,&nbsp;Emmanuel Ehirim,&nbsp;Ernest Mbamalu Ezeh","doi":"10.1002/appl.202300093","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202300093","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Natural gas production from reservoirs is often associated with water, which poses numerous challenges, such as methane hydrate formation, sludge, corrosion and flow assurance issues in gas processing plants and sales gas transmission pipelines. To effectively remove water from natural gas, there is a need to design, compare and modify dehydration plants. This study investigated the performance difference between a conventional triethylene glycol (TEG)-based dehydration system with a cooler at the TEG inlet to the contactor, and a newly proposed TEG-based dehydration system with a heat exchanger replacing the cooler at the TEG inlet with the contactor. The advanced process simulation software Aspen HYSYS was used to design and compare two dehydration system configurations. The modified design configuration exhibited better performance in terms of energy conservation and water-removal capability. The material balance of molar flow, mass flow and volume flow of dry gas produced in the absorber/contactor column showed a higher volume of dry gas produced in the modified system configuration, indicating that it is a better design. The modified design configuration also produced dry gas within the recommended temperature range for underground storage and transmission. There was a significant difference in the percentage difference of 64% between the conventional and modified designs in terms of energy consumption, whereas the percentage differences of 0% and 0.6% showed nonsignificant and significant differences between the two plant design configurations. Both plant design configurations showed a significant reduction (from 0.005 to 0.0002 mol%) in the water composition of natural gas after the simulation.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202300093","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140234419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unraveling florfenicol's effects on splenic histology, erythrocytes, and hematology of healthy Oreochromis niloticus juveniles","authors":"Avishek Bardhan,&nbsp;Thangapalam J. Abraham,&nbsp;Ratnapriya Das,&nbsp;Prasanna K. Patil","doi":"10.1002/appl.202400017","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202400017","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The study aimed to investigate the impact of administering the antibiotic florfenicol (FFC) through dietary means on <i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>. The experiment involved exposing the fish to FFC at doses 0–10 times the therapeutic dose of 15 mg/kg biomass per day for 10 consecutive days. The group receiving the therapeutic dose showed 100% survival on the 10th day of dosing. Histological analysis revealed dose-dependent changes in the spleen, including an increase in sinusoidal space, splenic necrosis, white pulp proliferation, splenitis, and red pulp hemorrhages. Additionally, there was an exponential rise in leukocyte counts accompanied by a significant decrease in erythrocyte counts, indicating the development of anemia due to FFC. The observed splenic histological damage, along with increased erythrophagia, erythro-membrane breakage, and poikilocytosis, highlighted the splenotoxic and hemotoxic effects of FFC at higher doses. Importantly, these toxic effects showed considerable reduction upon discontinuation of FFC dosing. The study emphasized the need to consider FFC-induced splenotoxic and hemotoxic outcomes in <i>O. niloticus</i> during its application in aquaculture.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202400017","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140239251","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Physicochemical and sensory evaluation of lemon grass leaves extracts enriched soy yoghurt from soybeans (Glycine max) milk","authors":"Nyiranshuti Angelique,&nbsp;Kipkorir Koskei,&nbsp;Marguerite Niyibituronsa","doi":"10.1002/appl.202400013","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202400013","url":null,"abstract":"<p>There are challenges in the utilization of soybean-based foods due to undesirable associated flavors. This study aimed to prepare soybean based yoghurt with different amounts of lemon grass extract in the ratios of 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 µL/L of soy yoghurt as shown by Figure 1. The Table 1 and 2 summarized results of different treatments of Soybeans based yoghurt analyzed for protein by Kjedhal method, fats by Soxhlet method, total ash by muffle furnace method. Soluble crude fiber was determined by dry oven method, pH, titratable acidity, syneresis and viscosity, by AOAC method, total phenolic compounds by spectrophotometric method. Sensory analysis was done by effective tests with 10 panelists using five hedonic scale tools. From the study, the results indicate that moisture content range from (89.3 to 89.6%); protein content (5.5−6.8%); fat (2.7−3.6%); total ash (0.43−0.53%); crude fiber (0.06−0.33%) and carbohydrate (0.59−0.93%). The level of pH range from 4.30 to 5.59; viscosity (2.85−3.17 pa.s); titratable acidity, (0.01−0.07 gL) and synersis (6.44−7.56) and total phenolic compound (8.59−18.40 mg/g). Most of the parameters did not show any significant variations while the pH and total phenolic compounds varied significantly between the treatments. In addition, Figure 2 detailed sensory evaluation results of treatments and that the treatment with highest level of lemon grass extract was the most liked. In conclusion, incorporation of lemon grass extract can help improved the level of phenolic compounds and sensory properties of yoghurt.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202400013","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140240760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synthesis and photo-initiated radical polymerization of methacrylates derived from bio-based ω-hydroxycarboxylic acids","authors":"Markus Heinz,&nbsp;Maximilian Kepkow,&nbsp;Bernd Strehmel,&nbsp;Veronika Strehmel","doi":"10.1002/appl.202300124","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202300124","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The bio-based methacrylates 9-(methacryloyloxy)-10,18-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acid/9,18-dihydroxy-10-(methacryloyloxy)octadecanoic acid isomer mixture and 22-methacryloyloxydocosanoic acid were synthesized from 9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid and 22-hydroxydocosanoic acid. The white crystalline 9,10-epoxy-18-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid and cream-colored 22-hydroxydocosanoic acid were isolated from both the bark of <i>Betula pendula</i> and cork of <i>Quercus suber</i> after extraction of the milled plant materials with methanol, treating the insoluble residues with 2-propanole containing suspended sodium hydroxide, application of a working up procedure developed in this work for the resulting mixture, and purification of the products obtained. The new bio-based methacrylates show higher reactivity in the photoinitiated polymerization in comparison with the commercial laurylmethacrylate as detected by photo-differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). For comparison, traditional free radical polymerization of the new bio-based methacrylates was carried out in dimethylsulfoxide using 2,2'-azobis-(2-propionitrile) as initiator. Furthermore, the quantitative conversion of the bio-based monomers during the photoinitiated polymerization makes these bio-based monomers interesting for application in coatings. As expected, the photopolymer made from the 9-(methacryloyloxy)-10,18-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acid/9,18-dihydroxy-10-(methacryloyloxy)octadecanoic acid isomer mixture is amorphous. Interestingly, the photopolymer made from the 22-methacryloyloxydocosanoic acid contains crystalline structures as detected by DSC investigation.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202300124","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140237387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Optimizing the series cascade control structure for nonminimum phase system regulation","authors":"Ashish Kumar Singhal,&nbsp;Manish Yadav,&nbsp;Vijay Yadav,&nbsp;Jyoti Deshmukh,&nbsp;Manish Billore,&nbsp;Hirak Mazumdar","doi":"10.1002/appl.202300051","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202300051","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This work elucidates the control of integrating a nonminimum phase system via a series cascade scheme with fractional-order P.I. (Proportional–Integral) plus D (Derivative) controller. The traditional Internal Model Control (IMC) is adopted for inner loop controller design. The feedback D controller is synthesized with the outer loop process model, showing the proposed work's universality. The outer loop controller is suggested in the IMC framework after the accountability of fractional-filter and inverse response compensator. This combination is revealed to enhance performance without compromising robustness. The Riemann sheet principle is explored to compute the stability of the suggested controller. The sensitivity analysis has asserted the robustness. More importantly, the optimal value of controller settings is achieved via the Teaching Learning Based Optimization (TLBO) algorithm. This TLBO algorithm uses an objective function that minimizes Integral Square Error. Two illustrative problems are utilized to examine the recommended control structure's virtue.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202300051","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140260839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leveraging wastewater surveillance to actively monitor Covid-19 community dynamics in rural areas with reduced reliance on clinical testing","authors":"Michelle M. Jarvie,&nbsp;Thu N. T. Nguyen,&nbsp;Benjamin Southwell,&nbsp;Derek Wright","doi":"10.1002/appl.202400012","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202400012","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in the community has become more difficult to gauge utilizing clinical testing due to a decrease in reported test results stemming from the availability of at-home test kits and a reduction in the number of cases seeking medical treatment. The purpose of this study was to examine the trend of diminishing correlation between reported clinical cases of Covid-19 and wastewater-based surveillance epidemiological data as home testing became available in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Wastewater grab samples were collected weekly from 16 regional locations from June 2021 to December 2022. Samples were analyzed for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) N1 and N2 viral particles using reverse transcriptase digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (RT ddPCR). N1 and N2 gene copies were correlated with clinical cases. The <i>t</i> test was used to determine the correlation deterioration point. Clinical cases postdeterioration were calculated for high-correlated predeterioration locations using linear regression. Correlation between the wastewater-based surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and reported clinical cases deteriorated after February 1, 2022. This corresponds with the timeframe in which commercially available at-home test kits became available in the United States. The increase in at-home testing for SARS-CoV-2 likely contributed to the decrease in reported clinical positive tests in early 2022, providing an unrealistic picture of the presence of Covid-19 in the community. As measures to reduce exposure such as personal masking, clinical testing, social isolating, and quarantining continue to decline, wastewater surveillance for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 may be the best method for public health professionals to remain aware of virus dynamics in localized regions. Time-series modeling adds another layer of information when clinical data is unobtainable or underreported.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202400012","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140263421","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Narrowing lab-to-market gaps: Device innovations in fuel generation, solar-cell, and photodetection","authors":"Sukanta Nandi,&nbsp;Raaghesh Vijayan,&nbsp;Manjeet Chhetri","doi":"10.1002/appl.202300109","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202300109","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Academic translational research efforts to industry are often an underlying sought-after goal among various researchers. Through the interchanges of research endeavors between academia-industry, great innovations can/has been achieved that cater to the real-world application by bridging “industrially relevant” problem solving with pursuing fundamental studies. It is pertinent that most of the studies from university-level research works may not translate into demonstrable market products due to various reasons. Funding support, individual researcher goals, socioeconomic factors, and most importantly the technical know-how of generating revenue strategies for startups, are a few of the factors that have slowed the pace of collaborative efforts. However, we believe that the most crucial component is the identification of the critical parameters that solve long-standing problems that hinder the scale-up of the lab scale research into marketable products considering the techno-economic analysis. To illustrate this, we take the three most relevant examples of devices for fuel generation, devices to utilize solar radiation, and devices for detection and other related applications. In this perspective, we provide an in-depth case study of each of these critical parameters to comment on the direction of research avenues that can serve as step-stones for the commercialization of university-level lab research studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202300109","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140263527","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Epitaxial silicon transition zone measurements by spreading resistance profiling and Fourier transform infrared reflectometry","authors":"Eszter E. Najbauer,&nbsp;Lucza Sinkó,&nbsp;Szilvia Biró,&nbsp;Zsolt Durkó,&nbsp;Peter Basa","doi":"10.1002/appl.202300146","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202300146","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Silicon epitaxy is an essential building block in the manufacturing of complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) devices. Accurate determination of epitaxial layer thickness is indispensable for a uniform and reproducible process. In this paper, we compare thickness values of the transition zone (TZ) in silicon epitaxial wafers obtained by two of Semilab's production-compatible electrical and optical characterization techniques: Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) reflectometry and spreading resistance profiling (SRP). We demonstrate a high correlation between TZ thicknesses obtained from the optical modeling of FTIR reflectance spectra and SRP profiles. The dependence of TZ thickness change on the high-temperature annealing steps is also examined. FTIR reflectometry thus offers a quick, contactless alternative for obtaining structural parameters of an epitaxial layer, and these values can be well matched to those given by SRP.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202300146","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140087922","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Alternative during-growth chlorination of sputtered CdTe films and their implementation as activating layers in CdS/CdTe solar cells","authors":"Abraham Israel Calderón-Martínez,&nbsp;Omar Jiménez-Sandoval,&nbsp;Francisco Rodríguez-Melgarejo,&nbsp;Martín Adelaido Hernández-Landaverde,&nbsp;Francisco Javier Flores-Ruiz,&nbsp;Sergio Joaquín Jiménez-Sandoval","doi":"10.1002/appl.202300143","DOIUrl":"10.1002/appl.202300143","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Cadmium telluride is an efficient light absorbing material successfully used in solar cell technology. The efficiency of such photovoltaic devices is strongly dependent on post-deposition thermal treatments in the presence of chlorine. The benefits of this process on the absorbing layer include removal of intragrain defects, grain growth enhancement, and grain boundaries passivation. The absorber chlorination is a crucial step for which CdCl₂ is the most common choice. Its use, however, has been overshadowed by the toxicity of Cd- and Cl-containing vapors and residues. In this work, chlorine was incorporated in CdTe films during growth using sputtering targets with different chloride compounds: CdCl₂, TeCl₄, BaCl₂, CaCl₂, or LiCl. After characterizing these films, CdTe:CdCl₂ and CdTe:TeCl₄ were selected as feasible absorbers for testing their performance in photovoltaic devices. Efficiencies near 7% were obtained in <i>as-grown</i> unoptimized cells in which the absorber consisted of two layers: pristine CdTe and CdTe:CdCl₂ or CdTe:TeCl₄. The chlorinated layers acted as Cl sources for the adjacent CdTe and CdS, which produced a homogeneous distribution of chlorine throughout the cell. In the during-growth activating-layer (DG-AL) method used here, the chlorine diffusion during growth had a doping effect, passivated grain boundaries and defects, improved the back contact characteristics by reducing the CdTe work function, and lowered the pinhole formation probability by producing a compact chlorinated CdTe layer.</p>","PeriodicalId":100109,"journal":{"name":"Applied Research","volume":"3 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/appl.202300143","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140421429","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}