Women's empowerment and fertility preferences of married women: analysis of demographic and health survey’2016 in Timor-Leste

A recently independent state, Timor-Leste, is progressing towards socioeconomic development, prioritizing women empowerment while its increased fertility rate (4.1) could hinder the growth due to an uncontrolled population. Currently, limited evidence shows that indicators of women''s empowerment are associated with fertility preferences and rates. The objective of this study was to assess the association between women empowerment and fertility preferences of married women aged 15 to 49 years in Timor-Leste using nationally representative survey data. The study was conducted using the data of the latest Timor-Leste Demographic and Health Survey 2016. The study included 4040 rural residents and 1810 urban residents of Timor-Leste. Multinomial logistic regression has been performed to assess the strength of association between the exposures indicating women''s empowerment and outcome (fertility preference). After adjusting the selected covariates, the findings showed that exposures that indicate women empowerment in DHS, namely, the employment status of women, house and land ownership, ownership of the mobile phone, and independent bank account status, contraceptive use, and the attitude of women towards negotiating sexual relations are significantly associated with fertility preferences. The study shows higher the level of education, the less likely were the women to want more children, and unemployed women were with a higher number of children. Our study also found that the attitude of violence of spouses significantly influenced women''s reproductive choice. However, employment had no significant correlation with decision-making opportunities and contraceptive selection due to a lack of substantial data. Also, no meaningful data was available regarding decision-making and fertility preferences. Our findings suggest that women''s empowerment governs decision-making in fertility preferences, causing a decline in the fertility rate.     

早产儿视网膜病变伴黄斑裂孔的视网膜脱离

目的：描述早产儿视网膜病变的黄斑裂孔视网膜脱离及其手术处理和疗效。方法：回顾性分析4例早产儿视网膜病变患儿和1例表现为早产儿视网膜病变的足月儿。均出现伴黄斑裂孔视网膜脱离并且接受手术治疗。结果：4例早产儿视网膜病变的平均孕周是26周。5例患儿发现黄斑裂孔前均有玻璃体手术史。4例再次手术治疗的患儿视网膜部分或完全复位。有走动的视力。结论：采用玻璃体手术合并气-液交换不能闭合婴儿中因早产儿视网膜病变引起视网膜脱离的黄斑裂孔。非热性黄斑部巩膜扣带术能封闭裂孔和复位视网膜。可能是值得选择的方法。     

Amorphization and modified release of ibuprofen by post-synthetic and solvent-free loading into tailored silica aerogels

Promising active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) often exhibit poor aqueous solubility and thus a low bioavailability that substantially limits their pharmaceutical application. Hence, efficient formulations are required for an effective translation into highly efficient drug products. One strategy is the preservation of an amorphous state of the API within a carrier matrix, which leads to enhanced dissolution. In this work, mesoporous silica aerogels (SA) were utilized as a carrier matrix for the amorphization of the poorly water-soluble model drug ibuprofen. Loading of tailored SA was performed post-synthetically and solvent-free, either by co-milling or via the melting method. Thorough analyses of these processes demonstrated the influence of macrostructural changes during the drying and grinding process on the microstructural properties of the SA. Furthermore, interfacial SA-drug interaction properties were selectively tuned by attaching terminal hydrophilic amino- or hydrophobic methyl groups to the surface of the gel. We demonstrate that not only the chemical surface properties of the SA, but also formulation-related parameters, such as the carrier-to-drug ratio, as well as process-related parameters, such as the drug loading method, decisively influence the ibuprofen adsorption efficiency. In addition, the drug-loaded SA formulations exhibited a remarkable physical stability over a period of 6 months. Furthermore, the release behavior is shown to change considerably with different surface properties of the SA matrix. Hence, the reported results demonstrate that utilizing specifically processed and modified SA offers a compelling technique for enhancement of the bioavailability of poorly-water soluble APIs and a versatile adjustment of their release profile.     

Finite Element Analysis of Steel Plates with Rectangular Openings Subjected to Axial Stress

Steel plates with openings are among the important ship structural components used in the ship’s hull to withstand the hydrostatic forces of the ocean, which cause sagging and hogging moments at the ship’s bottom. The existence of openings on plates can cause structural rupture, stress concentration and a decrease in ultimate strength. This research is aimed at investigating the influence of selected parameters on the ultimate capacity of steel plates with rectangular holes subjected to axial stress, using ANSYS finite element analysis (FEA) under its non-linear static structural programme. The main parameters investigated in this paper are the plate thickness, opening aspect ratio, number of openings, position of openings, and the boundary condition of the plate. The influence of these parameters on the stress of plates and their deformation was evaluated. The comparison of the numerical simulation with the well-established analytical method using the Navier solution and Roark’s Formulas showed a good agreement.     

Construction of 0D/2D Schottky Heterojunctions of ZnO and Ti3C2 Nanosheets with the Enriched Transfer of Interfacial Charges for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution

The development of cost-effective co-catalysts of high photocatalytic activity and recyclability is still a challenge in the energy transformation domain. In this study, 0D/2D Schottky heterojunctions, consisting of 0D ZnO and 2D Ti₃C₂, were successfully synthesized by the electrostatic self-assembling of ZnO nanoparticles on Ti₃C₂ nanosheets. In constructing these heterojunctions, Ti₃C₂ nanosheets acted as a co-catalyst for enhancing the transfer of excitons and their separation to support the photocatalytic response of ZnO. The as-prepared ZnO/Ti₃C₂ composites demonstrate an abbreviated charge transit channel, a huge interfacial contact area and the interfacial electrons’ transport potential. The extended optical response and large reactive area of the ZnO/Ti₃C₂ composite promoted the formation of excitons and reactive sites on the photocatalyst’s surface. The ZnO/Ti₃C₂ Schottky heterojunction showed significantly high photocatalytic activity for hydrogen production from a water–ethanol solution under the light illumination in the visible region. The hydrogen evolution overoptimized the ZnO/Ti₃C₂ composition with 30 wt.% of Ti₃C₂, which was eight times higher than the pristine ZnO. These findings can be helpful in developing 0D/2D heterojunction systems for photocatalytic applications by utilizing Ti₃C₂ as a low-cost co-catalyst.     

Theoretical investigation of the optoelectronic response of highly correlated Cu3P photocatalyst

Photocatalytic materials attract immense scientific interest due to their possible applications in energy harvesting. These applications are strongly dependent on the material''s band gap and efficient visible light absorption, which ultimately relies on the underlying electronic structure of the material. In this work, we have theoretically studied the electronic and optical response of a Cu₃P semiconductor. We have used Density Functional Theory (DFT), and the Many-Body Perturbation Theory (MBPT) based Bethe–Salpeter Equation (BSE). Cu₃P has intriguing band gap nature, as DFT predicts a semi-metallic state which was corrected by employing the Hubbard potentials. Only astronomically large values of Hubbard potentials reproduced the semiconducting state of Cu₃P. The optical response of the material is computed within a Random Phase Approximation (RPA) and using the BSE on top of DFT+U wavefunctions and on the ground state computed with the PBE0 functional. The BSE captures the excitonic physics, and the optical absorption obtained from it was red-shifted compared to the RPA, which shows the significance of electron–hole interactions in Cu₃P. The comparison of the BSE with experiments suggests that BSE@PBE0 reproduces the optical absorption much more closely to the experimental data.

The optical absorption from BSE@PBE0 is in better agreement with the experiment than BSE@DFT+U. The electron–hole interaction and strong correlation between electrons play a vital role in the optoelectronic response of Cu₃P.     

Functionalization of Se-Te Nanorods with Au Nanoparticles for Enhanced Anti-Bacterial and Anti-Cancer Activities

The use of medical devices for therapeutic and diagnostic purpose is globally increasing; however, bacterial colonization on therapeutic devices can occur, causing severe infections in the human body. It has become an issue for public health. It is necessary to develop a nanomaterial based on photothermal treatment to kill toxic bacterial strains. Appropriately, high photothermal conversion and low-cost powerful photothermal agents have been investigated. Recently, gold nanocomposites have attracted great interest in biological applications. Here, we prepared rod-shaped Se-Te@Au nanocomposites of about 200 nm with uniform shape and surface-coated with gold nanoparticles for the first time showing high anti-bacterial and anti-cancer activities. Se-Te@Au showed proper structural consistency and natural resistance to bacterial and cancer cells. The strong absorption and high photothermal conversion efficacy made it a good photothermal agent material for the photothermal treatment of bacterial and cancer cells. The Se-Te@Au rod showed excellent anti-bacterial efficacy against Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus, with highest recorded inhibition zones of 25 ± 2 mm and 22 ± 2 mm, respectively. More than 99% of both types of strains were killed after 5 min with a near-infrared (NIR) laser at the very low concentration of 48 µg/mL. The Se-Te@Au rod’s explosion in HeLa cells was extensively repressed and demonstrated high toxicity at 100 µg/mL for 5 min when subjected to an NIR laser. As a result of its high photothermal characteristics, the exceptional anti-bacterial and anti-cancer effects of the Se-Te@Au rod are considerably better than those of other methods previously published in articles. This study could open a new framework for sterilization applications on the industrial level.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Metal Foams Fabricated via Melt Foaming and Powder Metallurgy Technique: A Review

Metal foams possess remarkable properties, such as lightweight, high compressive strength, lower specific weight, high stiffness, and high energy absorption. These properties make them highly desirable for many engineering applications, including lightweight materials, energy-absorption devices for aerospace and automotive industries, etc. For such potential applications, it is essential to understand the mechanical behaviour of these foams. Producing metal foams is a highly challenging task due to the coexistence of solid, liquid, and gaseous phases at different temperatures. Although numerous techniques are available for producing metal foams, fabricating foamed metal still suffers from imperfections and inconsistencies. Thus, a good understanding of various processing techniques and properties of the resulting foams is essential to improve the foam quality. This review discussed the types of metal foams available in the market and their properties, providing an overview of the production techniques involved and the contribution of metal foams to various applications. This review also discussed the challenges in foam fabrications and proposed several solutions to address these problems.     

Recent Advances in Adsorptive Nanocomposite Membranes for Heavy Metals Ion Removal from Contaminated Water: A Comprehensive Review

Water contamination is one of the most urgent concerns confronting the world today. Heavy metal poisoning of aquatic systems has piqued the interest of various researchers due to the high toxicity and carcinogenic consequences it has on living organisms. Due to their exceptional attributes such as strong reactivity, huge surface area, and outstanding mechanical properties, nanomaterials are being produced and employed in water treatment. In this review, recent advances in the use of nanomaterials in nanoadsorptive membrane systems for wastewater treatment and heavy metal removal are extensively discussed. These materials include carbon-based nanostructures, metal nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, nanocomposites, and layered double hydroxide-based compounds. Furthermore, the relevant properties of the nanostructures and the implications on their performance for water treatment and contamination removal are highlighted. The hydrophilicity, pore size, skin thickness, porosity, and surface roughness of these nanostructures can help the water permeability of the nanoadsorptive membrane. Other properties such as surface charge modification and mechanical strength can improve the metal adsorption effectiveness of nanoadsorptive membranes during wastewater treatment. Various nanocomposite membrane fabrication techniques are also reviewed. This study is important because it gives important information on the roles of nanomaterials and nanostructures in heavy metal removal and wastewater treatment.