Israr Ul Hassan

Diabetes is a major worldwide health issue, impacting millions of people around the globe and putting pressure on healthcare systems. Accurate detection of glucose is critical for efficient diabetes care, because it allows for prompt action to control blood sugar levels and avoid problems. Reliable glucose-sensing devices provide individuals with real-time information, allowing them to make more educated food, medicine, and lifestyle decisions. The progress of glucose sensing holds the key to increasing the quality of life for diabetics and lowering the burden of this prevalent condition. The present investigation addresses the synthesis of a CuO@lemon-extract nanoporous material using the sol–gel process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to analyze the morphological properties of the composite, which revealed a homogeneous integration of CuO nanoparticles (NPs) on the surface of the matrix. The existence of primarily oxidized copper species, especially CuO, was confirmed by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) investigation in combination with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. The CuO@lemon-extract-modified glassy carbon electrode (CuO@lemon-extract GCE) performed well in non-enzymatic electrochemical sensing applications such as differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and amperometric glucose detection. The electrode achieved a notable sensitivity of 3293 µA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² after careful adjustment, with a noticeable detection limit of 0.01 µM (signal-to-noise ratio of 3). The operational range of the electrode was 0.01 µM to 0.2 µM, with potential applied of 0.53 V vs. Ag/AgCl. These findings underscore the CuO@lemon-extract GCE’s promise as a robust and reliable platform for electrochemical glucose sensing, promising advances in non-enzymatic glucose sensing (NEGS) techniques.

The purpose of this research was to identify “threshold” concepts in introductory statistics courses by surveying engineering students. Threshold concepts are those ideas that bind a subject together and are fundamental to the thinking and practice within a discipline. In this exploratory study, the aim was to answer the following questions: What are the learners’ assessments of the proposed threshold concepts? Based on the learners’ assessments, which of the four threshold characteristics best describes the selected threshold concepts? What are the final proposed threshold concepts that incorporate the learners’ perspectives? What is the perception held by learners about the theory’s impact on the learning and teaching processes? Using qualitative and quantitative exploratory analysis to answer these questions, all students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science who took one of the 29 sections of the course Introductory Statistics offered at the University of Colorado at Boulder were surveyed. The findings reveal there are differences in threshold concepts identified by instructors and learners. The learners added 11 concepts to the 18 proposed by the instructors as threshold concepts. Based on these inputs, a list of potential threshold concepts incorporating the two perspectives—that of instructor and that of learner—was created, and a framework of knowledge to support curriculum design was developed. An important suggestion for future research is to explore how to incorporate these threshold concepts in redesigning the syllabi of such courses, depending on the proposed framework.

Contagious diseases are the principal cause of mortality, particularly respiratory viruses, a real menace for public health and economic development worldwide. Therefore, timely diagnosis and treatments are the only life-saving strategy to overcome any epidemic and particularly the ongoing prevailing pandemic COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2. A rapid identification, point of care, portable, highly sensitive, stable, and inexpensive device is needed which is exceptionally satisfied by sensor technology. Consequently, the researchers have directed their attention to employing sensors targeting multiple analyses of pathogenic detections across the world. Nanostructured materials (nanoparticles, nanowires, nanobundles, etc.), owing to their unique characteristics such as large surface-to-volume ratio and nanoscale interactions, are widely employed to fabricate facile sensors to meet all the immediate emerging challenges and threats. This review is anticipated to foster researchers in developing advanced nanomaterials-based sensors for the increasing number of COVID-19 cases across the globe. The mechanism of respiratory viral detection by nanomaterials-based sensors has been reported. Moreover, the advantages, disadvantages, and their comparison with conventional sensors are summarized. Furthermore, we have highlighted the challenges and future potential of these sensors for achieving efficient and rapid detection.

Heterocyclic compounds are indispensable organic structures because of their promising potential applications in medicinal, pharmaceutical and other related fields of chemistry. Exploring these heterocyclic compounds by evaluating metal nanoparticles as efficient nanocatalysts have attracted the researchers over the past decades, due to their stability, recyclability, reusability rather than conventional catalysts. Most of the nano-catalyzed organic reactions are taking place in benign and under green conditions. In this mini-review, we have documented synthesis of some of the recent N-containing heterocyclic compounds by utilizing advanced nanoparticles as effective catalysts. It has been concluded that exercising these nanocatalysts for the synthesis of N-containing heterocyclic compounds not only enhanced the yield of the product but has extensively increased the selectivity of the desired products via greener approach.

The Dhofar region of Oman is extremely opulent in plant biodiversity in comparison to other parts of the country. Most of the cultivated, medicinal and wild plants of the region are available in the mountainous side and hilly areas of Dhofar. The plants produce products from primary metabolism and others from secondary metabolism. On the basis of active constituents plants can be categorized into two groups:1. Medicinal plants and2. Aromatic plants.Over 250 complex chemicals have been recognized and extracted from herbal sources. In this review article, we discuss a selection of medicinal plants of the Dhofar region of Oman which are rich in active constituents and through recent reports discuss the application of the most active constituents. Among the medicinal plants of the Dhofar region, frankincense is also a well-known indicator of the region and has a unique position through its medicinal properties of its oil and gum resin.