The role of a combination between citric acid (CA) and ethylenediaminetetra acetic acid (EDTA) as chelating agents in preparation of BaCe0.54Zr0.36Y0.1O2.95powder by a modified sol-gel method is reported. The precursor solutions were prepared from metal nitrate salts (M+), chelating agents (C), and ethylene glycol (EG) at molar ratio of M+ : C : EG = 3 : 2 : 3. Chemical and phase transformation of samples during thermal decomposition were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. TGA results show that the sample prepared by a combination of CA-EDTA exhibited the lowest thermal decomposition temperature,Ttdsince there was no significant weight loss after 750°C. After calcined at 1100°C, the carbonates residue remained in the samples as proven by FTIR results. It was found that the used combination of CA-EDTA acts as a better combustion reagent to increase the reaction rate and influence the thermal decomposition behaviour compared to a single citric acid and EDTA, respectively. Apparently, calcination temperatures above 1100°C are needed to produce a pure perovskitic BaCe0.54Zr0.36Y0.1O2.95.

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The present study focused on the preparation of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) and nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) from pineapple (Ananas comosus L.) leaves using chemical treatments followed by acid hydrolysis. Pineapple leaves could be used in medical applications such as drug delivery carriers. Advanced spectroscopy techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to analyze the physical, chemical, and morphological features of the isolated MCC and NCC; the results indicated the needle-shaped form of nanostructures with good purity and high crystallinity index of 75.00 and 76.38%, respectively. In addition, inhibition of the treated MRC-5 cells with all the samples revealed that the percentage of cell viability was less than 30%, which is an interesting finding given their role in the cytotoxicity effect of MCC and NCC. It appears that MCC and NCC derived from pineapple leaves have lower toxicity. As a result, the developed MCC and NCC can be used in pharmaceutical applications as a novel drug delivery system. Molecular docking was performed to understand the non-bonding interaction of cellulose with human acid-beta-glucosidase (β-Glc) (PDB: 1OGS). The docking result shows that cellulose unit docked within the active pocket of the enzyme by forming hydrogen bonds against ASN19, THR21, and VAL17 with distances of 2.18, 1.93, and 2.92 Å, respectively, with binding energy (−5.0 kcal/mol) resulting in close interaction of cellulose unit with the receptor.

Development of multichannel analyzer using sound card ADC for nuclear spectroscopy system AIP Conference Proceedings 1584, 50 (2014) Abstract. This paper presents the design of new digital radiation survey meter with LND7121 Geiger Muller tube detector and Atmega328P microcontroller. Development of the survey meter prototype is carried out on Arduino Uno platform. 16-bit Timer1 on the microcontroller is utilized as external pulse counter to produce count per second or CPS measurement. Conversion from CPS to dose rate technique is also performed by Arduino to display results in micro Sievert per hour (μSvhr -1 ). Conversion factor (CF) value for conversion of CPM to μSvhr -1 determined from manufacturer data sheet is compared with CF obtained from calibration procedure. The survey meter measurement results are found to be linear for dose rates below 3500 μSv/hr.

It has been shown that in the last decades nanotechnology plays a key role not only in science but more and more often in industry as well. Recent research has shown that agricultural waste is a possible feedstock to produce  nanocellulose  which can be used for different applications, such as a biosensor, semiconductor and reinforcing agent. The use of agro-waste as a precursor not only offers advantages for raw material costs, but also for the climate, low processing costs, availability and convenience. It also helps to address environmental issues, such as illness, foul odor and concerns with indoor use. Different processes, such as chemical treatment, mechanical treatment and chemo-mechanical treatment, have been used to extract nanocellulose from agro-waste. This article highlights the latest technologies used to acquire agro-waste nanocellulose, as well as existing advances in and applications of nanocellulose technologies.