Sugar beet is one of the greatest sources for producing sugar worldwide. However, a group of bacteria grows on beets during the storage process, leading to a reduction in sucrose yield. Our study focused on identifying common bacterial species that grow on beets during manufacturing and contribute to sucrose loss. The ultimate goal was to find a potential antibacterial agent from various plant extracts and oils to inhibit the growth of these harmful bacteria and reduce sucrose losses. The screening of bacterial species that grow on beet revealed that a large group of mesophilic bacteria, such as Bacillus subtilis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter baumannii, Staphylococcus xylosus, Enterobacter amnigenus, and Aeromonas species, in addition to a dominant thermophilic species called Bacillus thermophilus, were found to be present during the manufacturing of beets. The application of 20 plant extracts and 13 different oils indicated that the extracts of Geranium gruinum, Datura stramonium, and Mentha spicata were the best antibacterials to reduce the growth of B. thermophilus with inhibition zones equal to 40, 39, and 35mm, respectively. In contrast, the best active oils for inhibiting the growth of B. thermophilus were Mentha spicata and Ocimum bacilicum, with an inhibitory effect of 50 and 45mm, respectively. RAPD-PCR with different primers indicated that treating sugar juice with the most effective oils against bacteria resulted in new recombinant microorganisms, confirming their roles as strong antibacterial products. The characterization of Mentha spicata and Ocimum bacilicum oils using GC/MS analysis identified cis-iso pulegone and hexadecanoic acid as the two main bioactive compounds with potential antibacterial activity. An analysis of five genes using DD-PCR that have been affected due to antibacterial activity from the highly effective oil from Mentha spicata concluded that all belonged to the family of protein defense. Our findings indicate that the application of these pure antibacterial plant extracts and oils would minimize the reduction of sucrose during sugar production.

A microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a biochemical cell which is able to transform the chemical energy in organic or inorganic substrates into electrical energy through biochemical pathways. The current study explained the role of methylene blue (MB) as an exogenous electron mediator on the efficiency of bioelectricity generation from sugarcane molasses as a substrate by an anode respiring yeast (biocatalyst) via a microbial fuel cell technology. An anode respiring yeast was isolated from sugarcane molasses and was identified according to 18S rRNA as Meyerozyma guilliermondii STRI3 with accession number in GenBank (KP764968). The results showed that methylene blue (MB) enhances the power generation in comparison with power output without MB. The maximum power density (Pmax) and the current density (ID) of the MFC with MB as an exogenous mediator achieved 94 ± 0.9 mW/m2 and 300 mA/m2, which consider higher than MFC without MB (27.9 ± 0.9 mW/m2 and 142 mA/m2, respectively). The COD removal reached 56% at 830 mg/L, while it was 15% at 3045 mg/L after 7 days of MFC operation. These presented results suggested the potentiality of electricity generation by M. guilliermondii STRI3 as a biocatalyst from sugarcane molasses using MB as an electron mediator. The finding of this work proposes the use of M. guilliermondii and MB as an exogenous mediator as a new way to increase the performance of the MFC for further applications. 

Cladosporium parasphaerospermum, Cladosporium chlamydosporigenum, and Cladosporium compactisporum have all been discovered and characterized as new Cladosporium species. The three new species seemed to generate cold‑active pectinases with high activity at pH 6.0 and 10 °C, pH 6.0 and 15 °C, and pH 5.0 and 15 °C, respectively, with the most active being C. parasphaerospermum pectinase. In submerged fermentation (SmF), C. parasphaerospermum produced the most cold‑active pectinase with the highest activity and specific activity (28.84 U/mL and 3797 U/mg) after 8 days. C. parasphaerospermum cold‑active pectinase was isolated using DEAE‑Cellulose anion exchange resin and a Sephadex G 100 gel filtration column. The enzyme was purified 214.4‑fold and 406.4‑fold greater than the fermentation medium using DEAE‑cellulose and Sephadex G 100, respectively. At pH 7.0 and 10 °C, pure pectinase had the highest activity (6684 U/mg), with  Km and  Vmax determined to be 26.625 mg/mL and 312.5 U/min, respectively. At 5 mM/mL, EDTA,  MgCl2, and SDS inhibited the activity of pure pectinase by 99.21, 96.03, and 94.45%, respectively. The addition of 10 U/mL pure pectinase enhanced the yield of apple, orange, apricot, and peach juice by 17, 20, 13, and 24%, respectively, and improved the clarity and colour of orange juice by 194 and 339%, respectively. We can now add cold‑active pectinase production to the long list of Cladosporium species that have been identified. We also report three new species that can be used in biotechnological solutions as active microbial pectinase producers. Although further research is needed, these distinct species might be used to decompose difficult and resistant pertinacious wastes as well as clear fruit juices.
 

We present here the FT-IR, DFT computation, XRD, optical, and photophysical characterization of a heterocyclic compound with thienopyrimidine and pyran moieties. TD-DFT/DMOl3 and TD-DFT/ CASTEP computations were used to study the geometry of isolated and dimer molecules and their optical behavior. The indirect (3.93 eV) and direct (3.29 eV) optical energy bandgaps, HOMO–LUMO energy gap (3.02 eV), and wavelength of maximum absorption (353 nm) were determined in the gas phase with M062X/6-31+G (d, p). A thin flm of the studied molecule was studied using XRD, FT-IR, and UV–Vis spectroscopy. The average crystallite size was found as 74.95 nm. Also, the photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed that the compound exhibited diferent emission bands at the visible range with diferent intensities depending on the degree of molecular aggregation. For instance, solutions with diferent concentrations emitted blue, cyan, and green light. On the other hand, the solid-state material produced a dual emission with comparable intensities at λmax = 455, 505, and 621 nm to cover the entire visible range and produce white emission from a single material with CIE coordinates of (0.34, 0.32) that are very similar to the ideal pure white light. Consequently, these fndings could lead to the development of more attractive new luminous materials.

New compounds of (E)-1-(3-chloro-1H-indol-2-yl)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)methanimine [Indol-M] and (E)-1-(4- (((3-chloro-1H-indol-2-yl)methylene)amino)phenyl)ethan-1-one [Indol-A] were synthesized and subsequently converted to thin films via physical vapor deposition technique. Numerous characterization techniques were used including FTIR, nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and optical spectroscopy. Additionally, the optimization using TD-DFTD/Mol3 and Cambridge Serial Total Energy Bundle (TD-FDT/CASTEP) was performed. The XRD and FTIR spectra recorded experimentally were confirmed by TDDFT calculations, proving their molecular structure. As determined by XRD, the crystallite size of [Indol-M]TF and [Indol-A]TF is 72.26 and 62.05 nm, respectively. SEM image depicts a one-dimensional morphological structure made up of tightly packed nanorods. The direct optical energy bandgaps computed using Tauc’s equation for the [Indol-M]TF and [Indol-A]TF are 4.49 eV and 3.31 eV, respectively. As predicted by CASTEP TDDFT, the optical properties agree well with the experimental values. [Indol-M]TF and [Indol-A]TF present good candidates for optoelectronics and solar cell applications

The first-order ferrimagnet ErCo2 attracts interest not only because of metamagnetism and magnetocaloric effect just above TC ≈ 32–34 K but also because it is closely related with the itinerant metamagnetism of YCo2 and LuCo2. We study the electronic structure of single crystals with hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (HAXPES). Magnetization measurements reconfirm the first-order magnetic transition, metamagnetism, and strong magnetic anisotropy. Calculated ErCo2 band structures of the ferrimagnetic and paramagnetic phases are presented in detail. In the ferrimagnetic state, the density of states just below EF is smaller than in the paramagnetic phase. Valence band spectra in the paramagnetic state show strong polarization dependence. Furthermore, the change across the first-order ferrimagnetic transition in the valence band electronic structures is observed. These experimental data are well described by the band structure calculation incorporated with the polarization dependent cross-sections of orbitals. We further discuss possible effects of electron correlation and spin fluctuation.

The powder form of the new indole derivative 4-(((3-chloro-1H-indol-2-yl) methylene) amino) phenol [Indol4Ap] was synthesized and subsequently converted to a thin film [Indol-4Ap]TF using the Sol-Gel spin coating technique. Numerous characterization techniques, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) optical spectroscopy were used to characterize [Indol-4Ap]TF. Additionally, using density functional theory (DFT), optimization tvia TD-DFTD/ Mol3 and Cambridge Serial Total Energy Bundle (TD-FDT/CASTEP) was developed. The DFT calculations accurately matched the observed NMR and FTIR spectra and validated the molecular structure of the examined materials. The average crystallite size of [Indol-4Ap]TF, as determined by XRD calculations, is 12.02 nm. The optical properties of the films were determined using optical absorbance spectrophotometric measurements in the 200–800 nm wavelength range. The optical energy bandgaps computed using Tauc’s equation for the [Indol4Ap]TF are 3.152 and 2.751 eV, respectively. Whereas the [Indol-4Ap]iso has a bandgap of 3.074 eV as determined by TD-DFT/DMol3 . The optical characteristics predicted by CASTEP in TD-DFT are in excellent agreement with the experimental values. The investigated compound has a large optical energy bandgap which is advantageous for some energy storage applications.

A thin film of 7-oxo-thiazolopyrimidine-3,8-dicarbonitrile derivative [7-ThPyDi]TF was prepared using a spin coating technique. The surface morphology and molecular structure are studied using various techniques such as XRD, FTIR, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Moreover, the quantum chemical calculations were carried out through time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) to investigate some reactivity descriptors such as softness and electronegativity. Also, Au/[7-ThPyDi]TF/p-Si/Al heterojunction diodes were fabricated. It was revealed that the energy bandgap value of [7-ThPyDi] as an organic thin film is 3.58 eV for direct transitions and 3.94 eV for indirect transitions, respectively, and this value falls within the semiconductor material range. The atomic force microscope demonstrated that the surface roughness of the thin film is approximately 32.2 nm. Because of its high refractive index, this material has the potential application as an antireflection coating for solar cells and as lenses with a wide focal range. We investigated a blue luminescent thiazolopyrimidine compound; the maximum emission in the more aggregated state (higher solution concentration) exhibits a notable blue shift compared to the more diluted solution. This uncommon phenomenon has been understood by structural analyses using density functional theory. The chemical structure of the molecule [planar conjugated cores and strong polar groups (–CO and –CN)] enables it to interact with both itself and the polar solvent. The intermolecular interactions result in the bending of the conjugated plane. As a result, the blue shift happens upon aggregation when the conjugated effect becomes weaker. The studied molecule gave different emission colors (blue, yellow, and reddish green) depending on the molecular packing.

In the present paper, we introduce new types of generalized closed sets called ij -pre-generalized closed sets and study some of their properties in bitopological spaces. Also, we use them to construct new types of separation axioms. Further, we introduce and study the concepts of pairwise operation pc-open sets and pairwise operation pc-separation axioms in bitopological spaces. Several interesting characterizations of different spaces are discussed. The relationships between these spaces are given.

DOI: 10.2478/tmmp-2023-0027

In this article, we introduce two new rough set models based on the concept of double fuzzy relations. These models are called optimistic and pessimistic multi-granulation double fuzzy rough sets. We discuss their properties and explore the relationship between these new models and double fuzzy rough sets. Our study focuses on the lower and upper approximations of these models, which generalize the conventional rough set model. In addition, we suggest that the development of the multi-granulation double fuzzy rough set model is significant for the generalization of the rough set model.
 

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