Topic Review
Unraveling Physical and Chemical Effects of Textile Microfibers
Microfibers are the most prevalent microplastics in most terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biota as well as in human tissues and have been collected from environmental compartments across most ecosystems and species sampled worldwide. These materials, made of diverse compound types, range from semi-synthetic and treated natural fibers to synthetic microfibers. Microfibers expose organisms across diverse taxa to an array of chemicals, both from the manufacturing process and from environmental adsorption, with effects on organisms at subcellular to population levels. Untangling the physical versus chemical effects of these compounds on organisms is challenging and requires further investigations that tease apart these mechanisms. 
  • 542
  • 27 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Unpacking Phthalates from Obscurity in the Environment
Phthalates (PAEs) are a group of synthetic esters of phthalic acid compounds mostly used as plasticizers in plastic materials but are widely applied in most industries and products. As plasticizers in plastic materials, they are not chemically bound to the polymeric matrix and easily leach out. Logically, PAEs should be prevalent in the environment, but their prevalence, transport, fate, and effects have been largely unknown until recently. This has been attributed, inter alia, to a lack of standardized analytical procedures for identifying them in complex matrices.
  • 185
  • 20 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Unfired Clay Bricks
Bricks are typically made through the high-temperature firing process or by stabilizing the mixture with binders such as lime and cement. These bricks have a large carbon footprint and high levels of grey energy. In many parts of the world, the excessive use of clay as a natural raw material for the production of conventional bricks will lead to its scarcity. The mixing of clay with lignocellulosic ash during brick manufacturing leads to a better and more reliable solution that conserves scarce natural resources and reduces the impact of environmental pollution. 
  • 1.5K
  • 31 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Uncompetitive Inhibitor
Uncompetitive inhibition, also known as anti-competitive inhibition, takes place when an enzyme inhibitor binds only to the complex formed between the enzyme and the substrate (the E-S complex). Uncompetitive inhibition typically occurs in reactions with two or more substrates or products. While uncompetitive inhibition requires that an enzyme-substrate complex must be formed, non-competitive inhibition can occur with or without the substrate present. Uncompetitive inhibition is distinguished from competitive inhibition by two observations: first uncompetitive inhibition cannot be reversed by increasing [S] and second, as shown, the Lineweaver–Burk plot yields parallel rather than intersecting lines. This behavior is found in the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by tertiary amines (R3N). Such compounds bind to the enzyme in its various forms, but the acyl-intermediate-amine complex cannot break down into enzyme plus product.
  • 17.7K
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Unc-51-like Autophagy-Activating Kinase Inhibitors as Anticancer Agents
Autophagy is a cellular process that removes damaged components of cells and recycles them as biochemical building blocks. Autophagy can also be induced to protect cells in response to intra- and extracellular stresses, including damage to cellular components, nutrient deprivation, hypoxia, and pathogenic invasion. Dysregulation of autophagy has been attributed to various diseases. In particular, autophagy protects cancer cells by supporting tumor cell survival and the development of drug resistance. The ULK complex is an early-stage regulator of autophagy and attracted particular attention as a drug target. Among ULK isoforms, ULK1, ULK2, ULK3, ULK4, and serine/threonine-protein kinase 36 (STK36), ULK1 have been most extensively studied.
  • 589
  • 20 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Unbiunium
Check temperatures Ubu: no input for C, K, F. Check temperatures Ubu: no input for C, K, F. Unbiunium, also known as eka-actinium or simply element 121, is the hypothetical chemical element with symbol Ubu and atomic number 121. Unbiunium and Ubu are the temporary systematic IUPAC name and symbol respectively, until a permanent name is decided upon. In the periodic table of the elements, it is expected to be the first of the superactinides, and the third element in the eighth period: analogously to lanthanum and actinium, it could be considered the fifth member of group 3 and the first member of the fifth-row transition metals. It has attracted attention because of some predictions that it may be in the island of stability, although newer calculations expect the island to actually occur at a slightly lower atomic number, closer to copernicium and flerovium. Unbiunium has not yet been synthesized. Nevertheless, because it is only three elements away from the heaviest known element, oganesson (element 118), its synthesis may come in the near future; it is expected to be one of the last few reachable elements with current technology, and the limit may be anywhere between element 120 and 124. It will also likely be far more difficult to synthesize than the elements known so far up to 118, and still more difficult than elements 119 and 120. The team at RIKEN in Japan has plans to attempt the synthesis of element 121 in the future after its attempts on elements 119 and 120. The position of unbiunium in the periodic table suggests that it would have similar properties to its lighter congeners, scandium, yttrium, lanthanum, and actinium; however, relativistic effects may cause some of its properties to differ from those expected from a straight application of periodic trends. For example, unbiunium is expected to have a s2p valence electron configuration instead of the s2d of its lighter congeners in group 3, but this is not expected to significantly affect its chemistry, which is predicted to be that of a normal group 3 element; it would on the other hand significantly lower its first ionisation energy beyond what would be expected from periodic trends.
  • 4.9K
  • 25 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Unbibium
Unbibium /uːnˈbɪbiəm/, also known as eka-thorium or simply element 122, is the currently hypothetical chemical element in the periodic table with the placeholder symbol of Ubb and atomic number 122. Unbibium and Ubb are the temporary systematic IUPAC name and symbol respectively, until a permanent name is decided upon. In the periodic table of the elements, it is expected to follow unbiunium as the second element of the superactinides, or the g-block and the fourth element of the 8th period. It has attracted recent attention, for similarly to unbiunium, it is expected to fall within the range of the island of stability. Despite many attempts, unbibium has not yet been synthesized, and therefore no natural isotopes have been found to exist. It is currently predicted that it has a g-orbital, the second element of which to have such besides unbiunium, which also has yet to be synthesized. It will most likely require nuclear fission to be produced artificially. In 2008, it was claimed to have been discovered in natural thorium samples but that claim has now been dismissed by recent repetitions of the experiment using more accurate techniques.
  • 2.9K
  • 29 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Ultraviolet-C for mask disinfection
Change in the title since the subject is more specific 
  • 453
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Ultrasonic Welding
The ultrasonic welding (UW) technique is an ultra-fast joining process used to join thermoplastics, metals and thermoplastic polymer matrix composites.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis
In the field of synthesis and processing of noble metal nanoparticles, the study of the bottom-up method, called Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis (USP), is becoming increasingly important. This review analyses briefly the features of USP, to underline the physical, chemical and technological characteristics for producing nanoparticles and nanoparticle composites with Au and Ag. The main aim is to understand USP parameters, which are responsible for nanoparticle formation. There are two nanoparticle formation mechanisms in USP: Droplet-To-Particle (DTP) and Gas-To-Particle (GTP). This review shows how the USP process is able to produce Au, Ag/TiO2, Au/TiO2, Au/Fe2O3 and Ag/(Y0.95 Eu0.05)2O3 nanoparticles, and presents the mechanisms of formation for a particular type of nanoparticle. Namely, the presented Au and Ag nanoparticles are intended for use in nanomedicine, sensing applications, electrochemical devices, and catalysis, in order to benefit from their properties, which cannot be achieved with identical bulk materials. The development of new noble metal nanoparticles with USP is a constant goal in Nanotechnology, with the objective to obtain increasingly predictable final properties of nanoparticles.
  • 2.7K
  • 14 Aug 2020
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