Comparative genome analysis between Southeast Asian and South American Zika viruses

Objective:To understand the cause for the differences between potentially mild Southeast Asian and the more pathogenic ZIKV in South America.Methods:A comparative genomic analysis was performed to determine putative causations stemming from ZIKV.Results:Phylogcnctic analyses integrating geographical and time factors revealed that Southeast Asian ZIKV might not be the direct source of South American outbreaks as previously speculated.Amino acid residues unique to South American ZIKV isolates at the envelope,pr and NS1 proteins are listed and shown in the structural context.These unique residues on external viral proteins are not found in Southeast Asian ZIKV and could be responsible for the ongoing outbreak either via an intrinsic property of the virus or interactions with human immunity.Only a selected few primer/probe sets currently in clinical use were identified of being capable of detecting ZIKV strains worldwide.The envelope proteins of dengue virus(DENV) and ZIKV also showed a remarkable degree of similarity especially at the surface residues.Conclusions:findings that may help explain the cross-reactivity of DENV antibodies to ZIKV.Thus,major caveats must be exercised in using existing diagnostic tools for ZIKV.

Efficiency enhancement of Cs_(0.1)(CH_(3)NH_(3))_(0.9)PbI_(3) perovskite solar cell by surface passivation using iso-butyl ammonium iodide

Efficiency enhancement of Cs_(0.1)(CH_(3)NH_(3))_(0.9)PbI_(3) solar cell devices was performed by using iso-butyl ammonium iodide(IBA)passivated on Cs_(0.1)(CH_(3)NH_(3))_(0.9)PbI_(3) films.The n-i-p structure of perovskite solar cell devices was fabricated with the structure of FTO/SnO_(2)/Cs_(0.1)(CH_(3)NH_(3))_(0.9)PbI_(3)(FTO,i.e.,fluorine doped tin oxide)and IBA/Spiro-OMeTAD/Ag.The effect of different weights of IBA passivated on Cs-doped perovskite solar cells(PSCs)was systematically investigated and compared with non-passivated devices.It was found that the 5-mg IBA-passivated devices exhibited a high power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 15.49%higher than 12.64%of non-IBA-passivated devices.The improvement of photovoltaic parameters of the 5-mg IBA-passivated device can be clearly observed compared to the Cs-doped device.The better performance of the IBA-passivated device can be confirmed by the reduction of PbI_(2) phase in the crystal structure,lower charge recombination rate,lower charge transfer resistance,and improved contact angle of perovskite films.Therefore,IBA passivation on Cs_(0.1)(CH_(3)NH)_(0.9)PbI_(3) is a promising technique to improve the efficiency of Cs-doped perovskite solar cells.

Review:Development of SARS-CoV-2 immuno-enhanced COVID-19 vaccines with nano-platform

Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19).Vaccine development approaches consist of viral vector vaccines,DNA vaccine,RNA vaccine,live attenuated virus,and recombinant proteins,which elicit a specific immune response.The use of nanoparticles displaying antigen is one of the alternative approaches to conventional vaccines.This is due to the fact that nano-based vaccines are stable,able to target,form images,and offer an opportunity to enhance the immune responses.The diameters of ultrafine nanoparticles are in the range of 1–100 nm.The application of nanotechnology on vaccine design provides precise fabrication of nanomaterials with desirable properties and ability to eliminate undesirable features.To be successful,nanomaterials must be uptaken into the cell,especially into the target and able to modulate cellular functions at the subcellular levels.The advantages of nano-based vaccines are the ability to protect a cargo such as RNA,DNA,protein,or synthesis substance and have enhanced stability in a broad range of pH,ambient temperatures,and humidity for long-term storage.Moreover,nano-based vaccines can be engineered to overcome biological barriers such as nonspecific distribution in order to elicit functions in antigen presenting cells.In this review,we will summarize on the developing COVID-19 vaccine strategies and how the nanotechnology can enhance antigen presentation and strong immunogenicity using advanced technology in nanocarrier to deliver antigens.The discussion about their safe,effective,and affordable vaccines to immunize against COVID-19 will be highlighted.

Physicochemical characterization of forest and sugarcane leaf combustion’s particulate matters using electron microscopy,EDS,XRD and TGA

Physical characteristics and quantitative elemental composition of PM and residual ash produced from sugarcane leaves(SCL)combustion were investigated using TEM-EDS compared with forest leaves(FRL).SEM-EDS was used to analyze the microstructure and chemical composition of biomass raw leaves and PM.XRD analysis was also performed to investigate the characterization of the crystalline nanostructure,structure of PM,and residual ash compared to the TEM image processing method.The oxidation kinetics of biomass raw materials,PM,and residual ash were investigated by TGA.The morphology of fine and ultrafine agglomerate structure of SCL soot and residual ash are not significantly different from the FRL soot and residual ash.The average diameter sizes of single primary nanoparticles of SCL and FRL soot are approximately 37 nm and 35 nm,while the sizes of residual ash are about 18 nm and 22 nm,respectively.The single primary nanoparticles of soot are mainly composed of curve line crystallites of carbon fringes,while residual ash is composed of straightline lattice fringes.The average fringe lengths of SCL and FRL soot are about 1.25 nm and 1.04 nm from the outer shell and 0.89 nm and 0.74 nm from the inner core.The interlayer spacing of curve line carbon fringes of SCL and FRL soot is approximately 0.359 nm and 0.362 nm by the TEM image analysis and it was matched with XRD analysis.The biomass PMs are mainly composed of soot,Si,Ca,and K compounds:SiO_(2),CaCO3,and KCl.

Multi-function adsorbent-photocatalyst MXene-TiO_(2) composites for removal of enrofloxacin antibiotic from water

MXenes,a new family of two-dimensional transition metal carbides or nitrides,have attracted tremendous attention for various applications due to their unique properties such as good electrical conductivity,hydrophilicity,and ion intercalability.In this work,Ti_(3)C_(2) MXene,or MX,is converted to MX-TiO_(2) composites using a simple and rapid microwave hydrothermal treatment in HCl/NaCl mixture solution that induces formation of fine TiO_(2) particles on the MX parent structure and imparts photocatalytic activity to the resulting MX-TiO_(2) composites.The composites were used for enrofloxacin(ENR),a frequently found contaminating antibiotic,removal from water.The relative amount of the MX and TiO_(2) can be controlled by controlling the hydrothermal temperature resulting in composites with tunable adsorption/photocatalytic properties.NaCl addition was found to play important role as composites synthesized without NaCl could not adsorb enrofloxacin well.Adding NaCl into the hydrothermal treatment causes sodium ions to be simultaneously intercalated into the composite structure,improving ENR adsorption greatly from 1 to 6 mg ENR/g composite.It also slows down the MX to TiO2 conversion leading to a smaller and more uniform distribution of TiO_(2) particles on the structure.MX-TiO_(2)/NaCl composites,which have sodium intercalated in their structures,showed both higher ENR adsorption and photocatalytic activity than composites without NaCl despite the latter having higher TiO2 content.Adsorbed ENR on the composites can be efficiently degraded by free radicals generated from the photoexcited TiO2 particles,leading to high photocatalytic degradation efficiency.This demonstrates the synergetic effect between adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of the synthesized compounds.