Modern humanity wades daily through various radiations, resulting in frequent exposure and causing potentially important biological effects. Among them, the brain is the organ most sensitive to electromagnetic radiation (EMR) exposure. Despite numerous correlated studies, critical unknowns surround the different parameters used, including operational frequency, power density (i.e., energy dose), and irradiation time that could permit reproducibility and comparability between analyses. Furthermore, the interactions of EMR with biological systems and its precise mechanisms remain poorly characterized. In this review, recent approaches examining the effects of microwave radiations on the brain, specifically learning and memory capabilities, as well as the mechanisms of brain dysfunction with exposure as reported in the literature, are analyzed and interpreted to provide prospective views for future research directed at this important and novel medical technology for developing preventive and therapeutic strategies on brain degeneration caused by microwave radiation. Additionally, the interactions of microwaves with biological systems and possible mechanisms are presented in this review. Treatment with natural products and safe techniques to reduce harm to organs have become essential components of daily life, and some promising techniques to treat cancers and their radioprotective effects are summarized as well. This review can serve as a platform for researchers to understand the mechanism and interactions of microwave radiation with biological systems, the present scenario, and prospects for future studies on the effect of microwaves on the brain.

In this study, nitrogen fixation in the electrolyte was achieved by atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma generated by a sinusoidal power supply (with an applied voltage of 10 kV and frequency of 33 kHz). Ammonia measurements on plasma exposed electrolyte at several working gas and purging gas conditions revealed that nitrogen plasma on the same gas environment is more favorable for plasma-assisted ammonia synthesis. In addition, photo-electrochemical water splitting was performed by irradiating UV light (316 nm) on a titanium dioxide semiconductor photo-anode to generate hydrogen donor in nitrogen reduction reaction. The amount of ammonia synthesized by this synergistic process of photo-electrochemical water splitting and nitrogen plasma is six times higher than that obtained by nitrogen plasma alone. An increase in the co-synthesized N O X concentrations and background contamination at reaction site reduces the ammonia synthesis rate and Faraday efficiency. However, the ammonia production efficiency was increased up to 72% by using a proton-exchange membrane which prevent the diffusion of oxygen evolved from water splitting into the plasma, and by reducing the axial distance between the plasma electrode and reaction site. The sustainable nitrogen fixation process reported herein can be performed at atmospheric pressure conditions without a direct input of hydrogen gas or any catalyst.

The BP/h-BN/ReSe2 heterostructure demonstrates the highest tunneling-based rectification ratio and responsivity. The tunneling device operates in switching operation at up to GHz frequency.

Vertical heterostructures of transition-metal dichalcogenide semiconductors have attracted considerable attention and offer new opportunities in electronics and optoelectronics for the development of innovative and multifunctional devices. Here, we designed a novel and compact vertically stacked two-dimensional (2D) n-WS2/p-GeSe/n-WS2 van der Waals (vdW) heterojunction bipolar transistor (2D-HBT)-based chemical sensor. The performance of the 2D-HBT vdW heterostructure with different base thicknesses is investigated by two configurations, namely, common-emitter and common-base configurations. The 2D-HBT vdW heterostructure exhibited intriguing electrical characteristics of current amplification with large gains of α ≈ 1.11 and β ≈ 20.7. In addition, 2D-HBT-based devices have been investigated as chemical sensors for the detection of NH3 and O2 gases at room temperature. The effects of different environments, such as air, vacuum, O2, and NH3, were also analyzed in dark conditions, and with a light of 633 nm wavelength, ultrahigh sensitivity and fast response and recovery times (6.55 and 16.2 ms, respectively) were observed. These unprecedented outcomes have huge potential in modern technology in the development of low-power amplifiers and gas sensors.