Spacelike intersection curve of three spacelike hypersurfaces in E14E_1^4

In this paper, we compute the Frenet vectors and the curvatures of the spacelike intersection curve of three spacelike hypersurfaces given by their parametric equations in four-dimensional Minkowski space $E_1^4$

Immobilization of gold nanoclusters inside porous electrospun fibers for selective detection of Cu(II): A strategic approach to shielding pristine performance

Here, a distinct demonstration of highly sensitive and selective detection of copper (Cu2+) in a vastly porous cellulose acetate fibers (pCAF) has been carried out using dithiothreitol capped gold nanocluster (DTT.AuNC) as fluorescent probe. A careful optimization of all potential factors affecting the performance of the probe for effective detection of Cu2+ were studied and the resultant sensor strip exhibiting unique features including high stability, retained parent fluorescence nature and reproducibility. The visual colorimetric detection of Cu2+ in water, presenting the selective sensing performance towards Cu2+ ions over Zn2+, Cd2+ and Hg2+ under UV light in naked eye, contrast to other metal ions that didn't significantly produce such a change. The comparative sensing performance of DTT.AuNC@pCAF, keeping the nonporous CA fiber (DTT.AuNC@nCAF) as a support matrix has been demonstrated. The resulting weak response of DTT.AuNC@nCAF denotes the lack of ligand protection leading to the poor coordination ability with Cu2+. The determined detection limit (50 ppb) is far lower than the maximum level of Cu2+ in drinking water (1.3 ppm) set by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). An interesting find from this study has been the specific oxidation nature between Cu2+ and DTT.AuNC, offering solid evidence for selective sensors

Investigation of polymerization of benzoxazines and thermal degradation characteristics of polybenzoxazines via direct prolysis mass spectrometry

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Polymerization of benzoxazines and thermal degradation mechanisms of polybenzoxazines were investigated using the direct pyrolysis mass spectrometry (DP-MS) technique. The benzoxazine structures were based on phenol and aniline and on bisphenol-A and methylamine or aniline. Polymerizations of the benzoxazines were carried out by curing them at elevated temperatures without addition of initiator or catalyst. DP-MS data showed the presence of chains generated by opposing polymerization reaction pathways indicating quite complex structures for the polybenzoxazines under investigation. Thermal decomposition of polybenzoxazines was started by the cleavage of methylamine or aniline linkages. It was determined that polybenzoxazines based on phenol were more stable than the corresponding bisphenol-A-based polybenzoxazines, while those based on methylamine were more stable than the corresponding polybenzoxazines incorporating aniline. Thus, it can be concluded that the presence of bulky groups decreased the extent of crosslinking which in return decreased the thermal stability. © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry

Gold nanoparticle/polymer nanofibrous composites by laser ablation and electrospinning

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Poly(vinylpyrolidone) (PVP) nanofibers incorporating gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) were produced in combination with laser ablation and electrospinning techniques. The Au-NPs were directly synthesized in PVP solution by laser ablation and then, the electrospinning of PVP/Au-NPs solution was carried out for obtaining nanofibrous composites. The presence of Au-NPs in the PVP nanofibers was confirmed by SEM, TEM and EDX analyses. The SEM imaging elucidated that the electrospun PVP/Au-NPs nanofibers were bead-free having average fiber diameter of 810 ± 480 nm. The TEM imaging indicated that the Au-NPs were in spherical shape having diameters in the range of 5 to 20 nm and the Au-NPs were more or less dispersed homogeneously in the PVP nanofiber matrix. The FTIR study suggested the presence of molecular interactions between PVP matrix and the Au-NPs in the nanofibrous composites. The UV–Vis measurement confirmed the enhancement of the optical properties of the PVP/Au-NPs nanofibers in the solid state due to the surface plasma resonance effect of Au-NPs

Toxicity of lanthanum oxide (La2O3) nanoparticles in aquatic environments

This study demonstrates the acute toxicity of lanthanum oxide nanoparticles (La2O3 NP) on two sentinel aquatic species, fresh-water microalgae Chlorella sp. and the crustacean Daphnia magna. The morphology, size and charge of the nanoparticles were systematically studied. The algal growth inhibition assay confirmed absence of toxic effects of La2O3 NP on Chlorella sp., even at higher concentration (1000 mg L-1) after 72 h exposure. Similarly, no significant toxic effects were observed on D. magna at concentrations of 250 mg L-1 or less, and considerable toxic effects were noted in higher concentrations (effective concentration [EC50] 500 mg L-1; lethal dose [LD50] 1000 mg L-1). In addition, attachment of La2O3 NP on aquatic species was demonstrated using microscopy analysis. This study proved to be beneficial in understanding acute toxicity in order to provide environmental protection as part of risk assessment strategies. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2015

The effect of regular physical activity on women's self-confidence levels: An exploratory research

Introduction: It is known that physical activity is good for many diseases such as obesity, heart diseases, various types of cancer, musculoskeletal disorders. Compared to men, women's participation in physical activity is more limited. Physical activity, on the other hand, contributes to both the increase in the quality of life and the socialization of people. In this context, the aim of this study is to determine the self-confidence levels of women who regularly participate in physical activity. Method: In the research, besides the personal information form prepared by the researchers, the self-confidence scale was used. The sample population survey in Turkey Kocaeli province has created 408 women participating regularly in physical activity. In the analysis of the data, arithmetic means, frequency and percentage values were taken. As a result of the normality test, it was seen that it showed a normal distribution. Accordingly, independent sample t-test was used in the analysis of paired groups and one way Anova tests were used in the analysis of multiple groups. Results: As a result of the analysis, no significant difference was found in any sub-dimension according to the marital status variable. Significant differences were observed in the sub-dimensions of the scale according to the variables of income level, physical activity duration, education level and age. Conclusion: It has been observed that as the duration of physical activity increases, the level of self-confidence increases. In addition, it was concluded that age and educational status were directly related to self-confidence, and as education level and age increased, self-confidence increased

HOT or not: examining the basis of high-occupancy target regions

High-occupancy target (HOT) regions are segments of the genome with unusually high number of transcription factor binding sites. These regions are observed in multiple species and thought to have biological importance due to high transcription factor occupancy. Furthermore, they coincide with house-keeping gene promoters and consequently associated genes are stably expressed across multiple cell types. Despite these features, HOT regions are solemnly defined using ChIP-seq experiments and shown to lack canonical motifs for transcription factors that are thought to be bound there. Although, ChIP-seq experiments are the golden standard for finding genome-wide binding sites of a protein, they are not noise free. Here, we show that HOT regions are likely to be ChIP-seq artifacts and they are similar to previously proposed 'hyper-ChIPable' regions. Using ChIP-seq data sets for knocked-out transcription factors, we demonstrate presence of false positive signals on HOT regions. We observe sequence characteristics and genomic features that are discriminatory of HOT regions, such as GC/CpG-rich k-mers, enrichment of RNA-DNA hybrids (R-loops) and DNA tertiary structures (G-quadruplex DNA). The artificial ChIP-seq enrichment on HOT regions could be associated to these discriminatory features. Furthermore, we propose strategies to deal with such artifacts for the future ChIP-seq studies

Photoluminescent electrospun polymeric nanofibers incorporating germanium nanocrystals

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The photoluminescent germanium nanocrystals (Ge-NCs) were successfully incorporated into electrospun polymeric nanofiber matrix in order to develop photoluminescent nanofibrous composite web. In the first step, the synthesis of Ge-NCs was achieved by nanosecond pulsed laser ablation of bulk germanium wafer immersed in organic liquid. The size, the structural and the chemical characteristics of Ge-NCs investigated by TEM, XPS, XRD and Raman spectroscopy revealed that the Ge-NCs were highly pure and highly crystalline having spherical shape within 3–20 nm particle size distribution. In the second step, Ge-NCs were mixed with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) polymer solution, and then, Ge-NC/PVA nanofibers were obtained via electrospinning technique. The electrospinning of Ge-NCs/PVA nanoweb composite structure was successful and bead-free Ge-NCs/PVA nanofibers having average fiber diameter of 185 ± 40 nm were obtained. The STEM analysis of the electrospun Ge-NCs/PVA nanofibers elucidated that the Ge-NCs were distributed homogeneously in the polymeric nanofiber matrix. The UV–Vis absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy studies indicated the quantum confinement effect of Ge-NCs on the optical properties of the electrospun Ge-NCs/PVA nanoweb