The set of TXsub.3-TrXsub.2 (T = C, Si, Ge; Tr = B, Al, Ga; X = F, Cl, Br) molecules offers a rather unique opportunity to study both σ-hole and π-hole dimerization on the tetrel and triel ends, ...respectively. According to the molecular electrostatic potential (MEP) distribution, the π-hole extrema (acidic sites) were more intense than their σ-hole counterparts. The molecules owning the most (CXsub.3-AlXsub.2) and least (SiXsub.3-BXsub.2) intense π-holes were chosen to evaluate their capacities to attract one and two HCN molecules (Lewis bases). We discovered that the energetic characteristics of π-hole dimers severely conflict with the monomers MEP pattern since the weakest π-hole monomer forms a dimer characterized by interaction energy compared to those created by the monomers with noticeably greater power in the π-hole region. This outcome is due to the deformation of the weakest π-hole donor. Furthermore, the MEP analysis for monomers in the geometry of respective dimers revealed a “residual π-hole” site that was able to drive second ligand attachment, giving rise to the two “unusual trimers” examined further by the NCI and QTAIM analyses. Apart from them, the π-hole/π-hole and σ-hole/π-hole trimers have also been obtained throughout this study and described using energetic and geometric parameters. The SAPT approach revealed details of the bonding in one of the “unusual trimers”. Finally, Born-Oppenheimer Molecular Dynamics (BOMD) simulations were carried out to investigate the time evolution of the interatomic distances of the studied complexes as well as their stability.
A high prevalence of hypertension is found in Low- and Middle-income Countries (LMICs) including in Indonesia. However, hypertension awareness, treatment, and control are relativity poor. A ...community-based program to screen and educate people on non-communicable disease prevention (POSBINDU) was launched by the Indonesian government. However, the association between participation in the POSBINDU program with increasing knowledge, attitude, and practice of hypertension has not been widely assessed. In this study, we compared the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among people who accessed the POSBINDU and those who did not access the POSBINDU program. Subsequently, factors associated with the knowledge, attitudes, and practices among people who accessed the POSBINDU and those who did not access the POSBINDU were explored. This was an observational study with a cross-sectional design measuring the knowledge, attitudes, and practices for hypertension control in four districts in Indonesia from October 2019 to January 2020. A total of 1,988 respondents were included in this study. A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of hypertension. Simple logistic regression was used to investigate the correlation between the characteristics of respondents and knowledge, attitudes, and practice status. Multiple logistic regression tests were conducted to investigate factors associated with knowledge, attitudes, and practice status. We found that people who accessed POSBINDU had higher odds of having better knowledge (aOR:1.4; 95%CI:1.2-1.8), however, accessed to POSBINDU was associated with lower attitudes (aOR:0.6; 85%CI: 0.5-0.7) and had no association with hypertension-related practice. People who accessed POSBINDU have an association with good knowledge, but the association with good attitude and practice was less clear. Therefore, an improvement in the POSBINDU program is needed to increase the attitudes and practices of hypertension.
The challenge of improving the activity of TiOsub.2 by modifying it with metals and using it for targeted applications in microreactor environments is an active area of research. Recently, ...microreactors have emerged as successful candidates for many photocatalytic reactions, especially for the selective oxidation process. The current work introduces ultrasound-assisted catalyst deposition on the inner walls of a perfluoro-alkoxy alkane (PFA) microtube under mild conditions. We report Cu-Au/TiOsub.2 and Fe-Au/TiOsub.2 nanoparticles synthesized using the sol-gel method. The obtained photocatalysts were thoroughly characterized by UV-Vis diffuse-reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Nsub.2 physisorption. The photocatalytic activity under UV (375 nm) and visible light (515 nm) was estimated by the oxidation of lignin-based model aromatic alcohols in batch and fluoropolymer-based flow systems. The bimetallic catalyst exhibited improved photocatalytic selective oxidation. Herein, four aromatic alcohols were individually investigated and compared. In our experiments, the alcohols containing hydroxy and methoxy groups (coniferyl and vanillin alcohol) showed high conversion (93% and 52%, respectively) with 8% and 17% selectivity towards their respective aldehydes, with the formation of other side products. The results offer an insight into ligand-to-metal charge transfer (LMCT) complex formation, which was found to be the main reason for the activity of synthesized catalysts under visible light.
International business (IB) researchers have been slow to embrace a configurational approach in hypothesis formulation and empirical analysis. Yet, much of what IB scholars study is inherently ...configurational: various explanatory factors and their interplay simultaneously determine the outcome(s) studied, such as governance choice or firm-level performance. The mismatch between the nature of the empirical phenomena studied on the one hand, and hypothesis formulation and empirical methods deployed on the other, explains why many quantitative empirical studies in IB are overly reductionist, relying on hypotheses that assume linear (or simple, curvilinear), unifinal, and symmetrical effects. In this Editorial, we introduce IB scholars to contemporary configurational thinking and its analytical tool, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). We discuss this tool’s main tenets, advantages, and disadvantages. We review the limited prior IB research using this approach and present a wide range of IB phenomena where it could be usefully applied. We propose that contemporary configurational thinking and fsQCA can help scholars produce insights more closely aligned with the complex realities of international business than conventional research approaches.
Two kinds of core-shell composite particles, i.e., mesoporous-SiO.sub.2@Cu (m-SiO.sub.2@Cu) and mesoporous-SiO.sub.2@TiO.sub.2@Cu (m-SiO.sub.2@TiO.sub.2@Cu) microspheres, were synthesized by coating ...Cu nanoparticles on the surfaces of m-SiO.sub.2 and m-SiO.sub.2@TiO.sub.2 microspheres. Results show that the m-SiO.sub.2 spheres have rougher surfaces and larger specific surface areas than the SiO.sub.2 microspheres. Compared with the m-SiO.sub.2@Cu microsphere, the m-SiO.sub.2@TiO.sub.2@Cu microsphere has a hollow structure. Both catalysts showed high catalytic activity to degrade methyl violet and methylene blue dyes. The degradations of two dyes using the m-SiO.sub.2@Cu approached 100% after 30 min, while it is slightly less, around 90% for the m-SiO.sub.2@TiO.sub.2@Cu. The catalytic activity of m-SiO.sub.2@Cu lies in Cu nanoparticles, which have large specific surface areas and are insensitive to light. The catalytic activity of m-SiO.sub.2@TiO.sub.2@Cu not only lies in Cu nanoparticles, but also in TiO.sub.2, which is sensitive to light. What's more, Cu and TiO.sub.2 work as metal/semiconductor heterojunction, which enhances the electron-hole separation in m-SiO.sub.2@TiO.sub.2@Cu. Graphical abstract
Lactic acid bacteria produce a variety of antibacterial and larvicidal metabolites, which could be used to cure diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria and to efficiently overcome issues regarding ...insecticide resistance. In the current study, the antibacterial and larvicidal potential of Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate isolated from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum BCH-1 has been evaluated. Bioactive compounds were extracted by ethyl acetate and were fractionated by gradient column chromatography from crude extract. Based on FT-IR analysis followed by GC-MS and ESI-MS/MS, the active compound was identified to be Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate. Antibacterial potential was evaluated by disk diffusion against E. coli (12.33 ± 0.56 mm inhibition zone) and S. aureus (5.66 ± 1.00 mm inhibition zone). Larvicidal potency was performed against Culex quinquefasciatus Say larvae, where Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate showed 100% mortality at 250 ppm after 72 h with LCsub.50 of 67.03 ppm. Furthermore, after 72 h the acetylcholinesterase inhibition was observed as 29.00, 40.33, 53.00, 64.00, and 75.33 (%) at 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 ppm, respectively. In comet assay, mean comet tail length (14.18 ± 0.28 μm), tail DNA percent damage (18.23 ± 0.06%), tail movement (14.68 ± 0.56 µm), comet length (20.62 ± 0.64 µm), head length (23.75 ± 0.27 µm), and head DNA percentage (39.19 ± 0.92%) were observed at 250 ppm as compared to the control. The current study for the first time describes the promising antibacterial and larvicidal potential of Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum that would have potential pharmaceutical applications.
The article considers the current economic paradigm, defining new imperatives that increase the importance of strategies for building human resources and creating an effective structure and ...composition of human capital within organizations. This problem is caused by the transition to a qualitatively new model of ensuring the sovereignty and economic stability of Russia. The processes of evolutionary transformation of the economy and its departure from the supply model mainly due to the raw materials and speculative sectors of the economy in the direction that correlates with the new current paradigm of transition to the sixth technological order and informatization of processes, where advanced knowledge is the fundamental variable, served as a reason to rethink the paradigm of the education system. Considerable attention is paid to the justified necessity of using the competence-based approach as a component of the technologies for building an effective mechanism of competence-oriented personnel development. The article develops an evolutionary chronological map of the development of scientific schools with different interpretations of the meaning and role of competencies as a variable within the framework of personnel management, as well as the notional starting point of the Russian direction of the competence-based approach. The article identifies a number of problems caused by the lack of common views and interpretations of the theoretical and methodological aspects of the competence-based approach. Based on the results of the study of the genesis and development of the competence-based approach, a comparative analysis of the main schools and directions was made.
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