Erratum: Bicritical states in temperature-modulated Rayleigh-Bénard convection [Phys. Rev. E 92, 013005 (2015)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevE.92.013005.

Association between problem gambling and personality traits: a longitudinal study among the general Norwegian population.

Objective: The present study investigates the longitudinal relationship between problematic gambling (PG) and the five factor model's personality traits using autoregressive cross-lagged models. Methods: The data used in the current study was collected by a national survey in 2013 (n = 10,081) and a follow-up study (n = 5,848) in 2015. PG was measured using Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI) while personality was assessed using Mini-International Personality Item Pool (MINI-IPIP). Participants who completed the CPGI and all the personality items during both waves (n = 2,702) were analysed. Results: The results show that neuroticism had positive cross-lagged associations with CPGI. In contrast, conscientiousness and agreeableness in 2013 were found to have inverse cross-lagged effect on CPGI in 2015. Finally, openness and extraversion did not have any cross-lagged associations with CPGI. Conclusion: PG poses serious negative implications for the involved individuals as well as their associated close social circle. Hence, it is important to understand predictors of PG for prevention purposes. Personality traits are one of the influential frameworks for examining uncontrolled psychopathological behaviors like PG. The study findings offer significant theoretical as well as practical implications.

An empirical study on attitudes toward gambling when sportswashing is involved.

Sportswashing is defined as individuals, groups, companies, or countries/regimes' involvement in sports to improve their own reputation and/or to distract from or normalize wrongdoing. This cross-sectional survey is the first empirical study on sportswashing in relation to gambling. The sample consisted of United Kingdom residents who reported past 12-month gambling (N = 786, 50% women, mean age = 45.6, SD = 15.2). We investigated how many were familiar with sportswashing and their attitudes toward gambling when sportswashing is involved. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted on the attitudes scale that was developed for the current study. Multiple regressions were used to examine if individual differences in terms of age, gender, personality, moral foundations, political trust and efficacy, and/or gambling risk were associated with such attitudes. Finally, we examined the percentage of people who avoid gambling on teams/events when sportswashing is involved, including group differences in avoidance and motivations for avoidance according to gambling risk. The results showed that only 32% had heard about sportswashing prior to the survey. CFA indicated that attitudes toward sportswashing and gambling as conceptualized in the scale used in the current study can broadly be categorized into two dimensions: How individuals relate to sportswashing when gambling ("self-factor") and how individuals think gambling companies and regulators should regulate sportswashing and gambling [an "external-factor," p < 0.001, CFI = 0.0.996, RMSEA = 0.090, 90% CI (0.077, 0.104)]. Multiple regressions indicated that measures of individual differences explained a significant amount of variance in self-oriented (F (17, 765) = 7.19, p < 0.001, adjusted R2 = 0.12) and external-oriented (F (17, 765) = 8.40, p < 0.001. adjusted R2 = 0.14) attitude toward gambling and sportswashing. Avoidance of betting when sportswashing is involved was reported by 43%. The proportion was lower among those with moderate gambling risk/problem gambling (35%) compared to those with no/low gambling risk (45%). It is concluded that further scale development could help elucidate individual differences in attitudes toward sportswashing and gambling. Sportswashing remains an important social issue, and the present study indicates that this has high relevance for the gambling field.

C-terminal lysine residues enhance plasminogen activation by inducing conformational flexibility and stabilization of activator complex of staphylokinase with plasmin.

Staphylokinase (SAK), a potent fibrin-specific plasminogen activator secreted by Staphylococcus aureus, carries a pair of lysine at the carboxy-terminus that play a key role in plasminogen activation. The underlaying mechanism by which C-terminal lysins of SAK modulate its function remains unknown. This study has been undertaken to unravel role of C-terminal lysins of SAK in plasminogen activation. While deletion of C-terminal lysins (Lys135, Lys136) drastically impaired plasminogen activation by SAK, addition of lysins enhanced its catalytic activity 2-2.5-fold. Circular dichroism analysis revealed that C-terminally modified mutants of SAK carry significant changes in their beta sheets and secondary structure. Structure models and RING (residue interaction network generation) studies indicated that the deletion of lysins has conferred extensive topological alterations in SAK, disrupting vital interactions at the interface of SAK.plasmin complex, thereby leading significant impairment in its functional activity. In contrast, addition of lysins at the C-terminus enhanced its conformational flexibility, creating a stronger coupling at the interface of SAK.plasmin complex and making it more efficient for plasminogen activation. Taken together, these studies provided new insights on the role of C-terminal lysins in establishment of precise intermolecular interactions of SAK with the plasmin for the optimal function of activator complex.

Genotoxic Risks to Male Reproductive Health from Radiofrequency Radiation.

During modern era, mobile phones, televisions, microwaves, radio, and wireless devices, etc., have become an integral part of our daily lifestyle. All these technologies employ radiofrequency (RF) waves and everyone is exposed to them, since they are widespread in the environment. The increasing risk of male infertility is a growing concern to the human population. Excessive and long-term exposure to non-ionizing radiation may cause genetic health effects on the male reproductive system which could be a primitive factor to induce cancer risk. With respect to the concerned aspect, many possible RFR induced genotoxic studies have been reported; however, reports are very contradictory and showed the possible effect on humans and animals. Thus, the present review is focusing on the genomic impact of the radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) underlying the male infertility issue. In this review, both in vitro and in vivo studies have been incorporated explaining the role of RFR on the male reproductive system. It includes RFR induced-DNA damage, micronuclei formation, chromosomal aberrations, SCE generation, etc. In addition, attention has also been paid to the ROS generation after radiofrequency radiation exposure showing a rise in oxidative stress, base adduct formation, sperm head DNA damage, or cross-linking problems between DNA & protein.

Comparative study of the short-range structure of α-V2O5, α-TeO2 and xV2O5-(100 - x)TeO2 glasses using X-ray diffraction, Rietveld analysis and reverse Monte Carlo simulations.

Vanadium-tellurite glasses, tetragonal TeO2 and orthorhombic V2O5 crystalline samples were characterized for their atomic structure properties by synchrotron X-ray diffraction, pair distribution function analysis, reverse Monte Carlo simulations (RMC) and Rietveld analysis. The pair correlation function, G(r), of V2O5 shows the first peak at 1.61 Å. G(r) of TeO2 shows three peaks at 1.57, 2.13 and 2.88 Šdue to Te-O linkages of three different lengths, whereas the Te-Te atomic pair correlation shows a peak at 3.85 Å. The average coordination number of V with O in crystalline V2O5 is 4.39 while that of Te with O in crystalline TeO2 is 3.71. G(r) of the vanadium tellurite glass shows the first peak at 1.90 Šdue to overlapping Te-O and V-O atomic pair correlations. The RMC analysis on diffraction data of glasses found that the V-O coordination number is in the range 5.27-5.59 and the Te-O coordination number is 5.39-5.67. However, it is found that these coordination numbers cannot be clearly defined due to short-range disorder.

Problem gaming and suicidality: A systematic literature review.

Background: No studies have so far synthesised the current evidence concerning a possible relationship between problem gaming and suicidality. We therefore conducted a systematic review of the literature. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between problem gaming and suicidality. The review was funded by the Norwegian Competence Center for Gambling and Gaming Research. Methods: The review was pre-registered in PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews (CRD42021279774). Searches were conducted in Web of Science, PsycINFO, EMBASE, PubMed and Google Scholar, September 2021. Studies that reported data on the relationship between problem gaming and suicidality, published between 2000 and 2021, and written in any European language were included. Studies investigating internet addiction/problematic internet use and not problem gaming, specifically, and studies investigating mental health in general or mental health outcomes other than suicidality, were excluded. Data from the included studies were extracted independently by two coders who also evaluated for risk of bias using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale. The results from each included study were presented in a table. Results: A total of 12 cross-sectional studies, with in total 88,732 participants, were included in the review. In total 10 studies investigated the association between problem gaming and suicidal ideation. One of these also investigated the association between problem gaming and suicide attempts. Two studies combined suicidal ideation and suicide attempts into one variable and investigated the association between that variable and problem gaming. In total 11 of the 12 included studies found positive, crude associations between problem gaming and suicidal ideation/attempts. Five studies adjusted for possible confounding variables. Three of these still found significant associations between problem gaming and suicidal ideation, one found a positive but not statistically significant association, and the fifth found an inverse, non-significant association. Discussion: The current findings indicate that there is an association between problem gaming and suicidal ideation, and likely between problem gaming and suicide attempts. The most important limitation of the included studies is the lack of longitudinal designs. Future studies should aim to investigate the causality and mechanisms in the relationships using more stringent designs.

Liposomal Formulations Enhance the Anti-Inflammatory Effect of Eicosapentaenoic Acid in HL60 Cells.

Dietary omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), including docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), have been reported to be beneficial for cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Such diseases share a common pathophysiological feature of inflammation responses, such as unbalanced oxidative stress and increased cytokine release. PUFAs show anti-inflammatory effects, and thus, they are potential therapeutics to treat inflammatory disorders. Here, we proposed a novel liposomal formulation of EPA (EPA-liposomes), and the liposome was PEGylated to increase their stability. In the study, we measured the physicochemical characteristics of EPA-liposomes and their anti-inflammatory effects in neutrophil-like cells (HL 60 cells). The results showed that EPA-liposomes dramatically decreased the production of NO, ROS, and cytokines compared to EPA alone, and the molecular mechanism is associated with biosynthesis of RvE1 from EPA, and RvE1 binds to GPCRs to mediate the anti-inflammatory effects.

Trends in Medicare utilization and reimbursement for wound debridement procedures 2012-2017.

Wound care accounts for more than $6 billion of health expenditure in the United States annually. In addition, Medicare reimbursement per relative value unit has remained flat with respect to inflation over the past 20 years. Yet, physicians face increasing operating costs. The economic effects of declining inflation-adjusted Medicare physician reimbursement on the use of wound debridement procedures have yet to be elucidated. This study describes trends in Medicare reimbursement, utilization, and total Medicare expenditure for wound debridement procedures. Using Medicare claims data, we aggregated the volume of services and average Medicare reimbursement for wound debridement procedures over the calendar years 2012 to 2017. For each billing code, we estimated inflation-adjusted total Medicare expenditure by multiplying the average inflation-adjusted Medicare reimbursement by the aggregate volume of services. The average inflation-adjusted payment for wound debridement procedures decreased by 6% from 2012 to 2017. Over this time period, the utilization of wound care procedures increased 32%. Total inflation-adjusted annual Medicare expenditure on wound care increased 24% from 2012 to 2017. Therefore, despite declining physician reimbursement rates, total Medicare expenditure on wound debridement increased from 2012 to 2017. This increase in total Medicare expenditure was driven by higher utilization of wound debridement procedures.

The Relationship Between Gambling Problems and the Five-Factor Model of Personality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: The aim of the present meta-analysis was to synthesize results from the association between problem gambling (PG) and dimensions of the five factor model of personality and to identify potential moderators (gambling diagnosis: yes/no, comorbidity: yes/no and trait assessment: four or fewer items vs. five items or more) of these associations in meta-regressions. Methods: Searches were conducted in six databases; Medline, Web of Science, PsychInfo, Google Scholar, OpenGrey, and Cochrane Library (conducted on February, 22, 2021). Included studies: (1) reported a relationship between PG and at least one of the personality traits in the five-factor model, (2) contained information of zero-order correlations or sufficient data for such calculations, and (3) were original articles published in any European language. Case-studies, qualitative studies, and reviews were excluded. All articles were independently screened by two authors. Final agreement was reached through discussion or by consulting a third author. Risk of bias of the included studies was assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Data were synthesized using a random effects model. Results: In total 28 studies, comprising 20,587 participants, were included. The correlations between PG and the traits were as follows: Neuroticism: 0.273 (95% CI = 0.182, 0.358), conscientiousness -0.296 (95% CI = -0.400, -0.185), agreeableness -0.163 (95% CI = -0.223, -0.101), openness -0.219 (95% CI = -0.308, -0.127), and extroversion -0.083 (95% CI = -0.120, -0.046). For all meta-analyses the between study heterogeneity was significant. Presence of gambling diagnosis was the only moderator that significantly explained between-study variance showing a more negative correlation to extroversion when participants had a gambling diagnosis compared to when this was not the case. Discussion: The results indicated some publication bias. Correcting for this by a trim-and-fill procedure showed however that the findings were consistent. Clinicians and researchers should be aware of the associations between personality traits and PG. Previous studies have for example showed neuroticism to be related to treatment relapse, low scores on conscientiousness to predict treatment drop-out and agreeableness to reduce risk of treatment drop-out. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42021237225).

Stability and Change of the Personality Traits Languidity and Flexibility in a Sample of Nurses: A 7-8 Years Follow-Up Study.

The traits languidity (tendency to become tired/sleepy upon losing sleep) and flexibility (ability to sleep and work at odd times) have been implicated in shift work tolerance. However, there is a dearth of knowledge about their temporal stability. The aim of the present study was to explore these traits during a long follow-up (FU) period and identify factors related to potential changes in trait scores over time. In all, 1,652 nurses completed the Circadian Type Inventory-revised (CTI-r), which measures languidity and flexibility, at both 2008/2009 (baseline, BL) and again in 2016 (FU). The latent scores of these two constructs at BL, in addition to age, sex, childcare responsibility, marital status, night work status, and insomnia status, were regressed on the corresponding latent scores at follow-up using a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Stability was found for both languidity (rho = 0.59) and flexibility (rho = 0.58). Both composite scores declined significantly from baseline (20.62 and 12.48) to follow-up (19.96 and 11.77). Languidity at baseline was positively associated with languidity at follow-up (ß = 0.89, p < 0.009). Undertaking childcare responsibility between baseline and follow-up was inversely related to languidity at follow-up (ß = -0.09, p < 0.05). Starting night work was positively related to languidity at follow-up (ß = 0.06, p < 0.05). Developing insomnia between baseline and follow-up (ß = 0.15, p < 0.05) was positively, whereas remitting from insomnia during the same period was negatively (ß = -0.11, p < 0.01) associated with languidity at follow-up. Flexibility at baseline was positively associated with flexibility at follow-up (ß = 0.64, p < 0.05). Having childcare responsibility at baseline, but not at follow-up was inversely related to flexibility at follow-up (ß = -0.05 p < 0.05). Becoming cohabitant with a partner between baseline and follow-up (ß = -0.07, p < 0.05) was negatively associated with flexibility at follow-up. Starting night work between baseline and follow-up (ß = 0.17, p < 0.01) and reporting night work at both baseline and follow-up (ß = 0.18, p < 0.01) were both positively associated with flexibility at follow-up, whereas stopping working nights was negatively (ß = -0.09, p < 0.05), associated with flexibility at follow-up. The personality traits languidity and flexibility show fairly high stability, albeit the mean scores were significantly reduced during the 7-8 years follow-up period. The results suggest that these personality traits are partly modifiable.

Development and validation of a prognostic 40-day mortality risk model among hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

OBJECTIVES: The development of a prognostic mortality risk model for hospitalized COVID-19 patients may facilitate patient treatment planning, comparisons of therapeutic strategies, and public health preparations. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the electronic health records of patients hospitalized within a 13-hospital New Jersey USA network between March 1, 2020 and April 22, 2020 with positive polymerase chain reaction results for SARS-CoV-2, with follow-up through May 29, 2020. With death or hospital discharge by day 40 as the primary endpoint, we used univariate followed by stepwise multivariate proportional hazard models to develop a risk score on one-half the data set, validated on the remainder, and converted the risk score into a patient-level predictive probability of 40-day mortality based on the combined dataset. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 3123 hospitalized COVID-19 patients; median age 63 years; 60% were men; 42% had >3 coexisting conditions. 713 (23%) patients died within 40 days of hospitalization for COVID-19. From 22 potential candidate factors 6 were found to be independent predictors of mortality and were included in the risk score model: age, respiratory rate ≥25/minute upon hospital presentation, oxygenation <94% on hospital presentation, and pre-hospital comorbidities of hypertension, coronary artery disease, or chronic renal disease. The risk score was highly prognostic of mortality in a training set and confirmatory set yielding in the combined dataset a hazard ratio of 1.80 (95% CI, 1.72, 1.87) for one unit increases. Using observed mortality within 20 equally sized bins of risk scores, a predictive model for an individual's 40-day risk of mortality was generated as -14.258 + 13.460*RS + 1.585*(RS-2.524)^2-0.403*(RS-2.524)^3. An online calculator of this 40-day COVID-19 mortality risk score is available at www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org/CovidRS. CONCLUSIONS: A risk score using six variables is able to prognosticate mortality within 40-days of hospitalization for COVID-19. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04347993.

Changes Over Time and Predictors of Online Gambling in Three Norwegian Population Studies 2013-2019.

Objectives: To investigate changes over time and identify predictors of online gambling among gamblers by using three Norwegian representative samples covering a 6-year (2013-2019) period. We also aimed to identify different characteristics (including video game participation and video gaming problems) of online compared to offline gamblers. Methods: Data from gamblers (N = 15,096) participating in three cross-sectional surveys (2013, 2015, and 2019) based on random sampling from the Norwegian Population Registry were analyzed. Participants were asked how frequently they engaged in online gambling on different platforms (e.g., mobile phone). Data on sociodemographics, games gambled, gambling problems, gaming, and problem gaming were collected and analyzed by logistic regression analyses. Results: Overall, an increase in online gambling from 2013 to 2015 was found (a larger percentage of gamblers reported having gambled online at least once during the last year), and an increase in online gambling from 2015 to 2019 was found (more gamblers reported having gambled online at least once last year and at least once per week). The increase was largest for gambling on mobile phone. Consistent predictors of online gambling (at least once last year and at least once per week) were male gender, high income, being unemployed, being on disability pension, having work assessment allowance, being a homemaker or retiree, number of games gambled, and gambling problems. Conclusions: Online gambling, especially on mobile phones, has increased significantly during the last 6 years in Norway. Hence, gambling availability seems to have grown, which may pose a risk for development of gambling problems. Compared to offline gamblers, online gamblers were more likely to be men, young, not working or studying, gambling on several games, and having gambling problems. Responsible gambling efforts aiming at preventing or minimizing harm related to online gambling should thus target these groups.

Neutrophils and Macrophages as Targets for Development of Nanotherapeutics in Inflammatory Diseases.

Neutrophils and macrophages are major components of innate systems, playing central roles in inflammation responses to infections and tissue injury. If they are out of control, inflammation responses can cause the pathogenesis of a wide range of diseases, such as inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases. Precisely regulating the functions of neutrophils and macrophages in vivo is a potential strategy to develop immunotherapies to treat inflammatory diseases. Advances in nanotechnology have enabled us to design nanoparticles capable of targeting neutrophils or macrophages in vivo. This review discusses the current status of how nanoparticles specifically target neutrophils or macrophages and how they manipulate leukocyte functions to inhibit their activation for inflammation resolution or to restore their defense ability for pathogen clearance. Finally, we present a novel concept of hijacking leukocytes to deliver nanotherapeutics across the blood vessel barrier. This review highlights the challenges and opportunities in developing nanotherapeutics to target leukocytes for improved treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Structural and optical characterization of Er-doped CaMoO4 down-converting phosphors.

xEr2O3-(1-x)CaMoO4 (x = 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 mol%) nanoparticles were synthesized by solid-state sintering at 800°C. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the tetragonal crystal structure of CaMoO4, while the doped samples show the co-existence of cubic Er2O3 and tetragonal CaMoO4 and rule out the replacement of Ca2+ by Er3+ in the structure. The crystal unit-cell dimensions, phase concentration and atomic position coordinates were determined by Rietveld refinement. The short-range structure of CaMoO4 consists of tetrahedral MoO4 and snub disphenoid deltahedral CaO8 units, while the unit cell of Er2O3 consists of two types of ErO6 octahedral units. All MoO4 units contain Mo-O bonds of equal lengths, whereas two types of slightly different Ca-O bond lengths exist in CaO8. Raman spectra of the doped samples show only Mo-O vibrational modes and the Raman peaks of Er2O3 are masked by Mo-O bond vibrations. CaMoO4 shows bluish-green emission at 500 nm, while Er-doped samples show strong green emission under UV excitation. UV irradiation (380 nm) induces down-conversion green emission at 531 nm and 552 nm and good color purity in 1 mol% Er2O3-CaMoO4 sample which makes it a potential candidate for applications in optical devices.

Behavioral reasoning perspectives on organic food purchase.

Consumers' rising interest in organic food has drawn the attention of the academic community. The literature on the topic is growing, but it mostly focuses either on the acceptance of or resistance toward organic food. However, marketing scholars argue that the development of more in-depth insights into consumers' reasoning processes, and especially the roles of values and context-specific reasons are needed. The present study bridges this gap by utilizing the novel behavioral reasoning theory (BRT) framework. Cross-sectional data from 307 consumers and non-consumers from India were collected to investigate associations among attitudes, reasoning, value, and purchase intentions. This research studies the moderating role of food safety concerns and buying involvement. Additionally, the mediating role of reasons and attitudes is examined. The results suggest that value was positively associated with reasons (for and against), whereas attitude and reasons (for) resulted in favorable purchase intentions. Reasons (for and against) fully mediate the association between value and attitude. Furthermore, attitude partially mediates the association of reasons and purchase intentions. The moderation effect was not found for food safety concerns, but a limited effect among studied associations was observed for buying involvement. The findings raise significant implications for marketers and policymakers.

Synchrotron-based VUV excitation-induced ultrahigh quality cool white light luminescence from Sm-doped ZnO.

We report that the rare-earth (RE) ion, Sm-doped ZnO, acts as white light emitting vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) phosphors and possesses an ultrahigh color rendering index (CRI) and color quality scale (CQS). The VUV-excited emission spectra measured from the synchrotron source reveal the emergence of multi-color emission bands in the visible-IR region and substantially depend on the concentration of Sm3+ ions. A mechanism is proposed to elucidate the origin behind the high-energy bandgap excitation of the host charge carrier and subsequent energy transfer to the Sm3+ states leading to additional green-yellow-orange emission bands of Sm3+(4G5/2→6HJ(J=5/2,7/2,and9/2)). High-quality cool white light (correlated color temperature 5600 K) having CIE coordinates (0.33, 0.35) with a CRI as high as 95.89 and a CQS value of 94.49 is achieved for Zn0.985Sm0.015O under synchrotron VUV radiations. This Letter demonstrates that RE activated ZnO-based phosphors are expected to be a promising candidate in solid state lighting, as well as plasma display devices.

Bicritical states in a vertical layer of fluid under two-frequency temperature modulation.

In this paper, the effect of two-frequency modulation of boundary temperatures on the onset of natural convection in a layer of fluid (with Prandtl number <12.5) between two vertical parallel planes is considered. The ratio of the two forcing frequencies and the mixing angle for the amplitude of modulation provide an efficient way of controlling the underlying instability. At the onset of instability, the fluid layer executes harmonic and subharmonic oscillations. The transition between harmonic and subharmonic responses is found to occur through an intermediate bicritical state. In addition to bicritical states, the instability is found to exhibit an almost tricritical state for a particular combination of the modulation parameters. The onset of the instability depends upon the modulation parameters and Prandtl number of the fluid.

Coadministration of Polypeptide-k and Curcumin Through Solid Self-Nanoemulsifying Drug Delivery System for Better Therapeutic Effect Against Diabetes Mellitus: Formulation, Optimization, Biopharmaceutical Characterization, and Pharmacodynamic Assessment.

An attempt has been made to prepare solid self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) of polypeptide-k (PPK) and curcumin (CRM) using Labrafil M1944 CS as oil, Tween-80 as surfactant, Transcutol P as cosurfactant and Aerosil-200 (A-200) as porous hydrophobic carrier for improving their antidiabetic potential through oral delivery. Box-Behnken Design was used to optimize the liquid formulation based on the results of the mean droplet size, polydispersity index, percentage drug loading, and zeta potential. The formulation was adsorbed on Aerosil-200 through spray drying. The formulation showed desirable micromeritic, disintegration, and dissolution properties. About fivefold rise in the dissolution and permeation rate for drugs was observed from formulations vis a vis their unprocessed forms. The formulation was found to be stable with variation in pH, dilution, and temperature. The individual solid SNEDDS formulation of PPK and CRM and their combination were evaluated for antidiabetic potential and the results were compared with their naive forms on streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The results revealed better control of serum glucose level and other biochemical tests, such as liver parameters, lipid profiles, and antioxidant levels, as well as histological evaluation of pancreatic tissues in all the solid SNEDDS formulation as compared with their naive forms.

Influence of defect structure on colour tunability and magneto optical behaviour of WO3 nanoforms.

The present study reports the impact of thermal annealing on the structural, optical and magnetic properties of WO3 nanostructures, synthesized using an acid precipitation method by, employing various spectroscopic and magnetic measurements. The X-ray diffraction and Raman measurements confirmed the orthorhombic structure of as dried WO3·H2O and monoclinic structure of WO3 nanopowders annealed at or above 500 °C. The morphological characterization shows the formation of different microstructures like nanosheets, nanoplatelets and nanocuboids in the micro-scale with the variation of annealing temperatures. The optical band gap has been calculated using the Kubelka-Munk function. The room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra recorded at different excitation wavelengths show intense near ultraviolet (NUV) emission which might be due to the presence of localized states associated with oxygen vacancies, and the surface states in the conduction band. The emissions in visible region correspond to the structural defects such as oxygen vacancies present within the band gap and band to band transitions. The spectral chromaticity colour coordinates indicate that the light emitted from the prepared samples shows shift from violet to red region with the change of excitation wavelength. Magnetic measurements show decrease in room temperature ferromagnetism (FM) with annealing temperature. The X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) measurements at O K-edge show the significant change in the W-O hybridizations. The decrease in PL intensity and ferromagnetic ordering with increase in annealing temperatures are directly correlated with the filling up of oxygen vacancies in the samples. The oxygen vacancies based F-Center exchange model is discussed to understand the origin of FM in WO3 nanostructures.