Towards Perfect Absorption of Single Layer CVD Graphene in an Optical Resonant Cavity: Challenges and Experimental Achievements

Graphene is emerging as a promising material for the integration in the most common Si platform, capable to convey some of its unique properties to fabricate novel photonic and optoelectronic devices. For many real functions and devices however, graphene absorption is too low and must be enhanced. Among strategies, the use of an optical resonant cavity was recently proposed, and graphene absorption enhancement was demonstrated, both, by theoretical and experimental studies. This paper summarizes our recent progress in graphene absorption enhancement by means of Si/SiO2-based Fabry–Perot filters fabricated by radiofrequency sputtering. Simulations and experimental achievements carried out during more than two years of investigations are reported here, detailing the technical expedients that were necessary to increase the single layer CVD graphene absorption first to 39% and then up to 84%. Graphene absorption increased when an asymmetric Fabry–Perot filter was applied rather than a symmetric one, and a further absorption increase was obtained when graphene was embedded in a reflective rather than a transmissive Fabry–Perot filter. Moreover, the effect of the incident angle of the electromagnetic radiation and of the polarization of the light was investigated in the case of the optimized reflective Fabry–Perot filter. Experimental challenges and precautions to avoid evaporation or sputtering induced damage on the graphene layers are described as well, disclosing some experimental procedures that may help other researchers to embed graphene inside PVD grown materials with minimal alterations.

Application of chitosan and its derivatives in drug delivery

Drug delivery is a method of delivering drug to the patients in a way which increases the concentration of drug to the relevant site by directing the drug to the specific site of action. Polymeric drug delivery systems are mostly preferred to take the drug to the specific site of action and achieve the therapeutic effect. Among different types of biocompatible polymers, carbohydrate-based polymers or polysaccharides are the most common natural polymers with complex structures consisting of long chains of monosaccharide or disaccharide units bound by glycosidic linkages. One such polymer is chitosan which is used in drug delivery. Chitosan’s appealing properties, especially of natural origin, may mediate the protection against degradation of the biologically active substance, control the release of the drug, boost the absorption, increase the physiological action and result in a consequent reduction in the rate of administration. Another advantage of using chitosan is its chemical structure that could be modified easily which makes chitosan derivatives used for different applications. The main objective is to provide an overview on chitosan and its derivatives applications in drug delivery.

The Role of Iron for Supporting Children’s Growth and Development

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Iron Deficiency (ID) affects around 2 billion people worldwide. Early childhood ID has been associated with permanent cognitive deficits associated with CNS structural, metabolic impairment, growth retardation, impaired immune response, psychological abnormalities, and behavioral delays. This literature review will focus on the important role of iron in child growth and development. Iron is necessary for various cellular processes in the growing brain especially when it comes to memory and learning. Children with early ID show cognitive deficits that persist; however, prompt iron treatment soothes the problem. A chronic ID group reported substantially lower scores of vocabularies, ambient sound perception, and motor measurements in a recent study relative to infants with normal nutritional iron status at 6 months and 14-18 months. Children's iron requirement differentiates based on individual age. The daily iron requirement for one- to three-year-old children is 7 mg. Some risk factors of infants and toddlers in developing ID are insufficient food intake, poor bioavailability, reduced absorption, increase demand, increase losses, cow’s milk enteropathy hookworm infection, and maternal gestation. Iron plays an important role in promoting children's growth and development. Physical health and nutrition are important in the first two years of life. Children who are unable to achieve iron adequacy will possibly show permanent cognitive deficit and impaired motor growth. Thus, iron supplementation may only be successful in early prescription after diagnosing iron deficiency.

Effect of Water Leaching on Photodegraded Scots Pine and Spruce Timbers Monitored by FTIR Spectroscopy

The goal of this research was the systematic study and comparison of the divided individual effects of UV light irradiation and water leaching during artificial weathering. Spruce (Picea abies Karst.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) samples were irradiated by ultraviolet (UV) light. Another sequence of samples was treated with the combination of UV irradiation and water leaching. The total extent of UV treatment was 20 days for both series of samples. Time relation of UV irradiation and water leaching was 2:1. The chemical changes were observed by FTIR spectroscopy. The difference spectrum was used for determination of the chemical changes. Degradation of lignin was greater for the leached samples than for the pure UV treated samples. Scots pine suffered greater lignin degradation than spruce, and produced higher absorption increase on the absorption region of unconjugated carbonyls. The unconjugated carbonyl groups were the most responsive chemical elements to leaching. Spruce was more susceptible to leaching of unconjugated carbonyl groups than Scots pine. Two absorption bands of unconjugated carbonyl groups at 1706 and 1764 cm−1 wavenumbers were produced by photodegradation. The absorption band at 1764 cm−1 was more sensitive to water leaching than the band at 1706 cm−1.

Allergic Reactions to Current Available COVID-19 Vaccinations: Pathophysiology, Causality, and Therapeutic Considerations

Vaccines constitute the most effective medications in public health as they control and prevent the spread of infectious diseases and reduce mortality. Similar to other medications, allergic reactions can occur during vaccination.While most reactions are neither frequent nor serious, anaphylactic reactions are potentially life-threatening allergic reactionsthat are encountered rarely, but can cause serious complications.The allergic responses caused by vaccines can stem fromactivation of mast cells via Fcε receptor-1 type I reaction, mediated by the interaction between immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies against a particular vaccine, and occur within minutes or up to four hours. The type IV allergic reactions initiate 48 h after vaccination and demonstrate their peak between 72 and 96 h. Non-IgE-mediated mast cell degranulation via activation of the complement system and via activation of the Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor X2 can also induce allergic reactions. Reactions are more often caused by inert substances, called excipients, which are added to vaccines to improve stability and absorption, increase solubility, influence palatability, or create a distinctive appearance, and not by the active vaccine itself. Polyethylene glycol, also known as macrogol, in the currently available Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, and polysorbate 80, also known as Tween 80, in AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines, are excipients mostly incriminated for allergic reactions. This review will summarize the current state of knowledge of immediate and delayed allergic reactions in the currently available vaccines against COVID-19, together with the general and specific therapeutic considerations. These considerations include:The incidence of allergic reactions and deaths under investigation with the available vaccines, application of vaccination in patients with mast cell disease, patients who developed an allergy during the first dose, vasovagal symptoms masquerading as allergic reactions, the COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy, deaths associated with COVID-19 vaccination, and questions arising in managing of this current ordeal.Careful vaccine-safety surveillance over time, in conjunction with the elucidation of mechanisms of adverse events across different COVID-19 vaccine platforms, will contribute to the development of a safe vaccine strategy.Allergists’ expertise in proper diagnosis and treatment of allergic reactions is vital for thescreening of high-risk individuals.

Characterization of Stratospheric Smoke Particles over the Antarctica by Remote Sensing Instruments

Australian smoke from the extraordinary biomass burning in December 2019 was observed over Marambio, Antarctica from the 7th to the 10th January, 2020. The smoke plume was transported thousands of kilometers over the Pacific Ocean, and reached the Antarctic Peninsula at a hight of 13 km, as determined by satellite lidar observations. The proposed origin and trajectory of the aerosol are supported by back-trajectory model analyses. Ground-based Sun–Sky–Moon photometer belonging to the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) measured aerosol optical depth (500 nm wavelength) above 0.3, which is unprecedented for the site. Inversion of sky radiances provide the optical and microphysical properties of the smoke over Marambio. The AERONET data near the fire origin in Tumbarumba, Australia, was used to investigate the changes in the measured aerosol properties after transport and ageing. The analysis shows an increase in the fine mode particle radius and a reduction in absorption (increase in the single scattering albedo). The available long-term AOD data series at Marambio suggests that smoke particles could have remained over Antarctica for several weeks after the analyzed event.

Posidonia oceanica as a Source of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter for the Oligotrophic NW Mediterranean Coast

Posidonia oceanica is a well-recognized source of dissolved organic matter (DOM) derived from exudation and leaching of seagrass leaves, but little is known about its impact on the chromophoric fraction of DOM (CDOM). In this study, we monitored for two years the optical properties of CDOM in two contrasting sites in the Mallorca Coast (Balearic Islands). One site was a rocky shore free of seagrass meadows, and the second site was characterized by the accumulation of non-living seagrass material in the form of banquettes. On average, the integrated color over the 250–600 nm range was almost 6-fold higher in the beach compared with the rocky shore. Furthermore, the shapes of the CDOM spectra in the two sites were also different. A short incubation experiment suggested that the spectral differences were due to leaching from P. oceanica leaf decomposition. Furthermore, occasionally the spectra of P. oceanica was distorted by a marked absorption increase at wavelength < 265 nm, presumably related to the release of hydrogen sulfide (HS−) associated with the anaerobic decomposition of seagrass leaves within the banquettes. Our results provide the first evidence that P. oceanica is a source of CDOM to the surrounding waters.

Effect of Fibrous Jacket on Behavior of RC Columns

This paper presented an extensive study about the strengthening of RC square short columns with high strength concrete jackets reinforced with steel fiber. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of confinement by fibrous jacket on the behavior of RC column. A comparative study is performed on 23 square columns (six of them were unconfined columns where the remaining seventeen were confined columns) with varied parameters such as steel fibers ratio and type, jacket thickness, partial and full strengthening, type of confining jacket (hoop and composite), use of epoxy as bond material between the concrete column and strengthening jacket, and length parameter. The test results showed that the strengthened columns showed a significant improvement in the ultimate stress, load-carrying capacity, maximum strain, ductility, and energy absorption. Increase the steel fibers ratio (1, 1.5 and 2%) increased the ultimate stress by (22.5, 12.3 and 12.5%) respectively. The use of epoxy as bond material enhanced the ultimate stress by an average improvement by (55%). Composite case in the strengthening enhanced the load-carrying capacity larger than hoop case by (28.7 and 42%) for FRC jackets with hooked and straight fibers respectively but in case of stress capacity, hoop jacket carries stresses more than composite according to the stressed cross-sectional area. Increase jacket thickness (25 and 35 mm) enhanced the ultimate stress by (28.7 and 15.5%) respectively. Partial strengthening has a good enhancement in the ultimate load but was less than full strengthening. Increase the length by (25 cm) decreased the enhancement in load capacity of the column with hoop jacket by (45.3%). Concrete jackets enhanced Energy absorption and ductility which improved the deformation capacity. The compressive behavior of stub concrete columns was also modeled, simulated, and analyzed numerically by a 3D nonlinear finite element model. The verification process was performed against the reported data of the experimental test which proved the results of experimental results and showed a good agreement between experimental and numerical outcomes.

Absorption and Emission Spectroscopic Investigation of the Thermal Dynamics of the Archaerhodopsin 3 Based Fluorescent Voltage Sensor QuasAr1

QuasAr1 is a fluorescent voltage sensor derived from Archaerhodopsin 3 (Arch) of Halorubrum sodomense by directed evolution. Here we report absorption and emission spectroscopic studies of QuasAr1 in Tris buffer at pH 8. Absorption cross-section spectra, fluorescence quantum distributions, fluorescence quantum yields, and fluorescence excitation spectra were determined. The thermal stability of QuasAr1 was studied by long-time attenuation coefficient measurements at room temperature (23 ± 2 °C) and at 2.5 ± 0.5 °C. The apparent melting temperature was determined by stepwise sample heating up and cooling down (obtained apparent melting temperature: 65 ± 3 °C). In the protein melting process the originally present protonated retinal Schiff base (PRSB) with absorption maximum at 580 nm converted to de-protonated retinal Schiff base (RSB) with absorption maximum at 380 nm. Long-time storage of QuasAr1 at temperatures around 2.5 °C and around 23 °C caused gradual protonated retinal Schiff base isomer changes to other isomer conformations, de-protonation to retinal Schiff base isomers, and apoprotein structure changes showing up in ultraviolet absorption increase. Reaction coordinate schemes are presented for the thermal protonated retinal Schiff base isomerizations and deprotonations in parallel with the dynamic apoprotein restructurings.

Prevalence of neutral gas in centres of merging galaxies−II: nuclear H i and multiwavelength properties

Using a sample of 38 radio-loud galaxy mergers at z ≤ 0.2, we confirm the high detection rate (∼84 per cent) of H i 21-cm absorption in mergers, which is significantly higher (∼4 times) than in non-mergers. The distributions of the H i column density [$N(\rm{H\,{\small I}}$)] and velocity shift of the absorption with respect to the systemic redshift of the galaxy hosting the radio source in mergers are significantly different from that in non-mergers. We investigate the connection of the nuclear H i gas with various multiwavelength properties of the mergers. While the inferred $N(\rm{H\,{\small I}}$) and gas kinematics do not show strong (i.e. ≥3σ level) correlation with galaxy properties, we find that the incidence and $N(\rm{H\,{\small I}}$) of absorption tend to be slightly higher at smaller projected separations between the galaxy pairs and among the lower stellar mass-radio galaxies. The incidence, $N(\rm{H\,{\small I}}$) and line width of H i absorption increase from the pre-merger to the post-merger stages. The 100 per cent detection rate in post-mergers indicates that the neutral gas in the circumnuclear regions survives the coalescence period and is not yet quenched by the nuclear radio activity.