Association of fasting with heavy metals and minerals

Millions of Muslims fast during the month of Ramadan and avoid eating and drinking during this month (1). Fasting is a healthy and non-pharmacological way to improve your health and weight loss (2, 3). During fasting days, nutritional patterns and the amount of food consumed will change (4). It can be concluded that these changes can lead to changes in the metabolism of the human body. The purpose of this review is to investigate the effect of fasting on the rate of secretion and absorption of heavy metals and minerals. According to the former studies during the fasting period, the amount of heavy metal adsorption and disposal and its toxic effects increase. On the other hand, by addition of calcium and phosphorus supplements, it is possible to reduce heavy metal adsorption. Moreover, due to the increase in the absorption of minerals with the empty stomach, individuals with mineral deficiencies can take more of these minerals and trace elements during fasting. Also, Fasting can reduce body mass and release mercury from tissues

Thienoisoindigo-Based Semiconductor Nanowires Assembled with 2-Bromobenzaldehyde via Both Halogen and Chalcogen Bonding

We fabricated nanowires of a conjugated oligomer and applied them to organic field-effect transistors (OFETs). The supramolecular assemblies of a thienoisoindigo-based small molecular organic semiconductor (TIIG-Bz) were prepared by co-precipitation with 2-bromobenzaldehyde (2-BBA) via a combination of halogen bonding (XB) between the bromide in 2-BBA and electron-donor groups in TIIG-Bz, and chalcogen bonding (CB) between the aldehyde in 2-BBA and sulfur in TIIG-Bz. It was found that 2-BBA could be incorporated into the conjugated planes of TIIG-Bz via XB and CB pairs, thereby increasing the pi - pi stacking area between the conjugated planes. As a result, the driving force for one-dimensional growth of the supramolecular assemblies via pi - pi stacking was significantly enhanced. TIIG-Bz/2-BBA nanowires were used to fabricate OFETs, showing significantly enhanced charge transfer mobility compared to OFETs based on pure TIIG-Bz thin films and nanowires, which demonstrates the benefit of nanowire fabrication using 2-BB

Scattering Study of Conductive-Dielectric Nano/Micro-Grained Single Crystals Based on Poly(ethylene glycol), Poly(3-hexyl thiophene) and Polyaniline

Two types of rod-coil block copolymers including poly(3-hexylthiophene)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (P3HT-b-PEG) and PEG-block-polyaniline (PANI) were synthesized using Grignard metathesis polymerization, Suzuki coupling, and interfacial polymerization. Afterward, two types of single crystals were grown by self-seeding methodology to investigate the coily and rod blocks in grafted brushes and ordered crystalline configurations. The conductive P3HT fibrillar single crystals covered by the dielectric coily PEG oligomers were grown from toluene, xylene, and anisole, and characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and grazing wide angle X-ray scattering (GIWAXS). Longer P3HT backbones resulted in folding, whereas shorter ones had a high tendency towards backbone lamination. The effective factors on folding of long P3HT backbones in the single crystal structures were the solvent quality and crystallization temperature. Better solvents due to decelerating the growth condition led to a higher number of foldings. Via increasing the crystallization temperature, the system decreased the folding number to maintain its stability. Poorer solvents also reflected a higher stacking in hexyl side chain and π-π stacking directions. The dielectric lamellar PEG single crystals sandwiched between the PANI nanorods were grown from amyl acetate, and analyzed using the interface distribution function (IDF) of SAXS and AFM. The molecular weights of PANI and PEG blocks and crystallization temperature were focused while studying the grown single crystals

Scrolled/Flat Crystalline Structures of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and Poly(ethylene glycol) Block Copolymers Subsuming Unseeded Half-Ring-Like and Seeded Cubic, Epitaxial, and Fibrillar Crystals

Three distinct types of poly­(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)-based crystals were developed using unseeded and seeded protocols. First, unseeded flat fibrillar and scrolled half-ring-like crystals were prepared by isothermal crystallization of homo-P3HT and P3HT-<i>b</i>-poly­(ethylene glycol) (PEG) block copolymers. Anisotropic accumulation of grafted coily PEG blocks on the opposite surfaces of P3HT half-rings having extended backbones reflected scrolling, and their subsequent crystallization also further intensified this scrolling. The PEGs assembled into lamellae on both sides of P3HT half-rings with dissimilar crystalline features, i.e., the outer PEG lamella was thicker (17.4 nm) and wider (23.1 nm) compared to the inner one (15.0 and 18.1 nm). Furthermore, the crystallinity of PEG coily blocks accumulated on the P3HT crystals did not change the extended state of P3HT backbones (17.5 nm) and also the thickness of half-rings (11.0 nm). Second, with seeding homogeneous P3HT₇₀₀₀-<i>b</i>-PEG₅₀₀₀ solution using homo-PEG₅₀₀₀ tiny crystals, the cubic PEG single crystals were sandwiched between grafted regioregular P3HT chains (>99%). The appearance of (020)_P3HT and (100)_P3HT spots for tethered P3HTs beside (120)_PEG prisms demonstrated flat-on orderly tethered P3HT backbones on the PEG single crystalline substrate. Via conjunction between block copolymer and homopolymer single crystals in channel (PEG)/wire (P3HT-covered PEG)/channel (PEG) epitaxials, the P3HT rigid brushes were found to be extended (17.35 nm) on lamellar PEG substrate (6.15 nm). Third, when homogenized P3HT₇₀₀₀-<i>b</i>-PEG₅₀₀₀ solutions were seeded by homo-P3HT₇₀₀₀ tiny crystals, the edge-on orientated fibrillar P3HT single crystals were acquired. Although the thickness (20–22 nm) and length (60–63 μm) of P3HT₇₀₀₀-<i>b</i>-PEG₅₀₀₀ fibrillar single crystals resembled those of homo-P3HT₇₀₀₀ ones, their backbone lamination in the <i>c</i> axis were significantly different (2 versus 21); because the P3HT backbones were not capable of laminating from the coily block sides