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Background: Cancer is one of the major heterogeneous disease with high morbidity and mortality with poor prognosis. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), alteration in redox balance, and deregulated redox signaling are common hallmarks of cancer progression and resistance to treatment. Mitochondria contribute mainly in the generation of ROS during oxidative phosphorylation. Elevated levels of ROS have been detected in cancers cells due to high metabolic activity, cellular signaling, peroxisomal activity, mitochondrial dysfunction, activation of oncogene, and increased enzymatic activity of oxidases, cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases, and thymidine phosphorylases. Cells maintain intracellular homeostasis by developing an immense antioxidant system including catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase. Besides these enzymes exist an important antioxidant glutathione and transcription factor Nrf2 which contribute in balancing oxidative stress. Reactive oxygen species–mediated signaling pathways activate pro-oncogenic signaling which eases in cancer progression, angiogenesis, and survival. Concomitantly, to maintain ROS homeostasis and evade cancer cell death, an increased level of antioxidant capacity is associated with cancer cells. Conclusions: This review focuses the role of ROS in cancer survival pathways and importance of targeting the ROS signal involved in cancer development, which is a new strategy in cancer treatment.

Due to the growing need for sustainable and ultra-high-strength construction materials, scientists have created an innovative ultra-high-performance concrete called Geopolymer based ultra-high-performance concrete (GUHPC). Besides, in the last few decades, there have been a lot of explosions and ballistic attacks around the world, which have killed many civilians and fighters in border areas. In this context, this article reviews the fresh state and mechanical properties of GUHPC. Firstly, the ingredients of GUHPC and fresh properties such as setting time and flowability are briefly covered. Secondly, the review of compressive strength, flexure strength, tensile strength and modulus of elasticity of fibrous GUHPC. Thirdly, the blast and projectile impact resistance performance was reviewed. Finally, the microstructural characteristics were reviewed using the scanning electron microscope and X-ray Powder Diffraction. The review outcome reveals that the mechanical properties were increased when 30% silica fume was added to a higher dose of steel fibre to improve the microstructure of GUHPC. It is hypothesized that the brittleness of GUHPC was mitigated by adding 1.5% steel fibre reinforcement, which played a role in the decrease of contact explosion cratering and spalling. Removing the need for cement in GUHPC was a key factor in the review, indicating a promising potential for lowering carbon emissions. However, GUHPC research is still in its early stages, so more study is required before its full potential can be utilized.

HighlightsThis review discusses the roles of MXenes in different positions/layers in perovskite solar cells.The issues in different layers/interfaces and their addressal with the incorporations of MXenes in perovskite solar cells are elaborately discussed.With an excellent power conversion efficiency of 25.7%, closer to the Shockley–Queisser limit, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have become a strong candidate for a next-generation energy harvester. However, the lack of stability and reliability in PSCs remained challenging for commercialization. Strategies, such as interfacial and structural engineering, have a more critical influence on enhanced performance. MXenes, two-dimensional materials, have emerged as promising materials in solar cell applications due to their metallic electrical conductivity, high carrier mobility, excellent optical transparency, wide tunable work function, and superior mechanical properties. Owing to different choices of transition elements and surface-terminating functional groups, MXenes possess the feature of tuning the work function, which is an essential metric for band energy alignment between the absorber layer and the charge transport layers for charge carrier extraction and collection in PSCs. Furthermore, adopting MXenes to their respective components helps reduce the interfacial recombination resistance and provides smooth charge transfer paths, leading to enhanced conductivity and operational stability of PSCs. This review paper aims to provide an overview of the applications of MXenes as components, classified according to their roles as additives (into the perovskite absorber layer, charge transport layers, and electrodes) and themselves alone or as interfacial layers, and their significant importance in PSCs in terms of device performance and stability. Lastly, we discuss the present research status and future directions toward its use in PSCs.

The study investigates the impact of Phase Change Material (PCM) and nano Phase Change Materials (NPCM) on solar still performance. PCM and a blend of NPCM are placed within 12 copper tubes submerged in 1 mm of water to enhance productivity. Thermal performance is assessed across four major scenarios with a fixed water level of 1 mm in the basin. These scenarios include the conventional still, equipped with 12 empty copper rods and 142 g of PCM in each tube, as well as stills with NPCM Samples 1 and 2. Sample 1 contains 0.75% nanoparticle concentration plus 142 g of PCM in the first 6 tubes, while Sample 2 features 2% nanoparticle concentration plus 142 g of PCM in the subsequent 6 tubes. Aluminum oxide (Al2O3) nanoparticles ranging in size from 20 to 30 nm are utilized, with paraffin wax (PW) serving as the latent heat storage (LHS) medium due to its 62 °C melting temperature. The experiments are conducted under the local weather conditions of Vaddeswaram, Vijayawada, India (Latitude-80.6480 °E, Longitude-16.5062 °N). A differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) is utilized to examine the thermal properties, including the melting point and latent heat fusion, of the NPCM compositions. Results demonstrate that the addition of nanoparticles enhances both the specific heat capacity and latent heat of fusion (LHF) in PCM through several mechanisms, including facilitating nucleation, improving energy absorption during phase change, and modifying crystallization behavior within the phase change material. Productivity and efficiency measurements reveal significant improvements: case 1 achieves 2.66 units of daily production and 46.23% efficiency, while cases 2, 3, and 4 yield 3.17, 3.58, and 4.27 units of daily production, respectively. Notably, the utilization of NPCM results in a 60.37% increase overall productivity and a 68.29% improvement in overall efficiency.

Modern retrosynthetic analysis in organic chemistry is based on the principle of polar relationships between functional groups to guide the design of synthetic routes 1 . This method, termed polar retrosynthetic analysis, assigns partial positive (electrophilic) or negative (nucleophilic) charges to constituent functional groups in complex molecules followed by disconnecting bonds between opposing charges 2 – 4 . Although this approach forms the basis of undergraduate curriculum in organic chemistry 5 and strategic applications of most synthetic methods 6 , the implementation often requires a long list of ancillary considerations to mitigate chemoselectivity and oxidation state issues involving protecting groups and precise reaction choreography 3 , 4 , 7 . Here we report a radical-based Ni/Ag-electrocatalytic cross-coupling of substituted carboxylic acids, thereby enabling an intuitive and modular approach to accessing complex molecular architectures. This new method relies on a key silver additive that forms an active Ag nanoparticle-coated electrode surface 8 , 9 in situ along with carefully chosen ligands that modulate the reactivity of Ni. Through judicious choice of conditions and ligands, the cross-couplings can be rendered highly diastereoselective. To demonstrate the simplifying power of these reactions, concise syntheses of 14 natural products and two medicinally relevant molecules were completed. We report a radical-based Ni/Ag-electrocatalytic cross-coupling of substituted carboxylic acids, enabling an approach to accessing complex molecular architectures, which relies on a silver additive that forms an active Ag nanoparticle-coated electrode surface along with carefully chosen ligands.

This study systematically studied the impact strength of Geopolymer concrete (GC) integrating fly ash, slag, and silica fume, reinforced with four natural fibers including sisal, jute, coir, and flax at varying aspect ratios. The primary objectives are to analyze the influence of fiber length on initial cracking number (J1), failure number (J2), crack-bridging mechanisms, and failure modes under impact loading. This study presents a unique contribution by thoroughly examining the impact of fiber aspect ratio in multi-binder GC, offering critical insights into optimizing fibrous GC for improved structural performance and resilience. The impact performance of GC was influenced by both fiber type and length. Coir fibers enhanced J1 by up to 66% and J2 by 171.43%, with optimal energy absorption at 60 mm. Flax and jute fibers showed peak performance at 40 mm, with J2 improvements of 75.82% and 100%, respectively, while longer lengths led to dispersion issues and diminished gains. Sisal fiber at 40 mm offered balanced enhancement (J1: 50%, J2: 117.58%), whereas the highest J2 (135.16%) was achieved with 60 mm, accompanied by a moderate drop in J1, indicating that excessive fiber lengths may hinder bonding efficiency.

Geopolymer concrete (GC), which is produced from industrial by-products rich in aluminosilicates such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, and silica fume, serves as an environmentally sustainable substitute for conventional Portland cement-based concrete. Fracture toughness is vital for GC, as its brittle matrix is prone to crack initiation and propagation, affecting structural safety. Enhancing fracture resistance ensures reliable performance under various loading modes. Coir and flax fibers were chosen for their availability, sustainability, and ability to bridge cracks and improve post-crack energy absorption, providing insights for optimizing natural fiber reinforcement. Researchers have turned to natural fibers such as coir and flax to overcome the limited ductility and mechanical shortcomings typical of geopolymer composites. These fibers were specifically chosen for their potential to enhance both toughness and post-cracking energy absorption in the matrix. This investigation focused on how different aspect ratios of coir and flax fibers affected the fracture properties of GC when exposed to various loading modes: Mode I, Mode III, and their combination. To ensure a controlled comparison, GC specimens were cast with fiber lengths set at 20 mm, 40 mm, and 60 mm, while maintaining a fixed fiber volume fraction of 0.5%. Additionally, the microstructure of the geopolymer composite was characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray Diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of 40 mm coir and flax fibres enhanced the fracture toughness of the GC by up to 20.65% under mixed-mode loading (loading angle = 20°), 18.96% under Mode I, and 9.70% under Mode III. In contrast, extending the fibre length to 60 mm led to a deterioration in performance, with FRTS values falling by as much as 2.64% below those of the control composite, a decline attributable to fibre agglomeration and the consequent disruption of effective stress transfer. Microstructural analyses reveal that a dense, continuous sodium aluminosilicate hydrate gel network augmented by residual crystalline phases such as quartz and mullite substantially reinforces the geopolymer matrix. Coir fibres exhibit superior interfacial bonding and more stable debonding characteristics than flax fibres, thereby promoting more effective crack bridging and yielding greater fracture toughness. Complementary thermal and chemical characterisation further indicates enhanced matrix stability, reduced porosity, and improved load-transfer efficiency, with partial carbonation imparting additional microstructural densification.

Establishing dependable, cost-effective electrical connections is vital for enhancing device performance and shrinking electronic circuits. MXenes, combining excellent electrical conductivity, high breakdown voltage, solution processability, and two-dimensional morphology, are promising candidates for contacts in microelectronics. However, their hydrophilic surfaces, which enable spontaneous environmental degradation and poor dispersion stability in organic solvents, have restricted certain electronic applications. Herein, electrohydrodynamic printing technique is used to fabricate fully solution-processed thin-film transistors with alkylated 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine functionalized Ti 3 C 2 T x (AD-MXene) as source, drain, and gate electrodes. The AD-MXene has excellent dispersion stability in ethanol, which is required for electrohydrodynamic printing, and maintains high electrical conductivity. It outperformed conventional vacuum-deposited Au and Al electrodes, providing thin-film transistors with good environmental stability due to its hydrophobicity. Further, thin-film transistors are integrated into logic gates and one-transistor-one-memory cells. This work, unveiling the ligand-functionalized MXenes’ potential in printed electrical contacts, promotes environmentally robust MXene-based electronics (MXetronics). Here, authors demonstrate the electrohydrodynamic printing of alkylated 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine functionalized MXene (AD-MXene) ink. The AD-MXene outperforms vacuum-deposited Au and Al electrodes, providing thin film transistors with good environmental stability due to its hydrophobicity.

This study investigates the thermal properties of hybrid nanofluids composed of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silicon dioxide (SiO2), synthesized via the sol–gel method at varying pH levels. The nanofluids, with concentrations between 0.1 and 0.5%, were prepared using a two-step process and characterized using a hydrometer, viscometer and rapid hot-wire technique. FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectra) analysis confirmed the formation of Ti–O and Ti–O–Si bonds, enhancing TiO2's structural and thermal properties due to SiO2 incorporation. The results showed significant thermal conductivity improvements, even at low concentrations, with performance increasing as concentration rises. Notably, a maximum specific heat capacity of 4177.02 J kg −1  K −1 was achieved at a 0.1% volume concentration, while thermal conductivity reached 0.62 W m −1  K −1 at a 0.5% volume concentration. Overall, the TiO2–SiO2 nanofluids demonstrated exceptional thermal properties, particularly under high-solar-energy conditions, making them promising for efficient thermal management applications.

The rising demand for sustainable concrete stems from resource scarcity, environmental concerns, and structural performance needs. Preplaced Aggregate Concrete (PAC) improves durability and efficiency but requires alternative binders to lessen dependence on Portland cement. This study explores the formulation of a sustainable geopolymer grout, incorporating red clay, slag, and fly ash, to address these concerns while promoting the reutilization of industrial by-products. This study investigates the synergistic integration of steel wire mesh (SWM) and advanced 5D steel fibers (2.5% by volume) to improve the impact resistance of PAC. Five distinct mesh sizes (M40, M30, M20, M10 and M5), with diameters ranging from 75 mm to 150 mm at 25 mm intervals, were strategically placed at the mid-height of the PAC. A total of 42 mixing combinations were developed and categorized into 10 groups based on variations in steel wire mesh sizes and fiber configurations. All specimens underwent evaluation using the drop-weight impact test in conformity with ACI Committee guidelines. The innovation combines sustainable geopolymer binders with hybrid reinforcement, creating a concrete system with enhanced impact strength. Microstructural analysis was also performed on the geopolymer grout used in PAC. SWM integration in PAC notably enhances failure impact number, especially with larger diameters (150 mm), while first crack sees only slight improvement. Combining SWM with steel fibers consistently boosts both initial crack and failure by improving crack control and energy absorption. Larger SWM diameters (e.g., 150 mm) lead to more distributed failure patterns and better energy dissipation than smaller diameters (e.g., 75 mm).