No abstract

Epsomite (MgSO 4 .7H 2 O) is a hydrogen bonded crystal having a wide range of applications in various fields. Pure and glycine added Epsomite (a total of six) single crystals have been grown and characterized in order to investigate the effect of glycine as an impurity on the properties of Epsomite crystals.The densities and lattice parameters observed indicate that the impurity molecules have entered into the crystal matrix. The grown crystals exhibit good optical transparency in the wavelength range 210-1100 nm. Second harmonic generation measurements indicate that they are nonlinear optically active. Results obtained through microhardness measurements follow the normal indentation size effect. Electrical (AC and DC) measurements indicate that all the six crystals grown in the present study exhibit a normal dielectric behavior and the electrical conduction is understood to be due to the protonic movement. Moreover, glycine addition is found to reduce ε r value significantly indicating the possibility of Epsomite crystal becoming a low-ε r value dielectric material.

Induction periods were measured for various supersaturated aqueous solutions of urea doped separately with NH4NO3 and NaNO3 and thiourea doped separately with NaCI and KC! by the direct vision method. Based on classical theory for homogeneous crystal nucleation various critical nucleation parameters were calculated and the results are reported and discussed. In all the cases, the critical nucleation parameters increased with increase in doping concentration.

The usage of abused illicit drugs remains an increasing challenge for drug regulatory authorities and therefore, it is important to develop advanced sensor technology that able to identify and determine drugs concentration in seized samples, biological fluids and food samples. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the usage of narcotic drugs legally for the medical treatments. Thus, many reports indicated that the higher dosage level led to drug addiction and mental disorders in humans. The United States record showed about 0.46 million cases of deaths due to the overdose of opioids-related drugs every year. This review discusses the electrochemical analysis (DPV, CV, EIS spectra, etc.) of various narcotic drugs using electrochemical transducers made of nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles, single-walled carbon nanotubes, Zn2SnO4/graphene nanocomposite, cysteamine functionalized gold nanoparticle conjugated with an aptamer, etc. There were many challenges reported during the electro-analysis of narcotic drugs. Some of the wearable devices were also made for the sensing of narcotic drugs. Specifically, electro-analysis of nicotine, morphine, codeine and cathonine using 2D nanomaterials and their nanocomposites-based electrochemical sensors fabricated on flexible substrates were discussed. In particular, the linear range of detection, limit of detection (LOD), interference and real-world sample analysis were highlighted. It was concluded that wearable sensors could be used for the monitoring of illicit drugs and their derivatives in day-to-day life.

SummaryAdministration of pentazocine lactate (3 mg/kg body weight per day) for 10 or 20 days to male rats decreased testicular weight and significantly reduced the protein, DNA, and RNA contents of the testes. Testicular lipids increased significantly after the treatment. Activities of the esterase and acid phosphatase decreased significantly after pentazocine treatment, whereas the alkaline phosphatase activity was found to be elevated. The data suggest that pentazocine analgesia interferes with biochemical components and metabolic activities of the testis, which interference results in the accumulation of lipids. This is possibly due to the suppressed steroidogenesis and spermatogenesis.