Wolbachia-bacteriophage WO is a good model system for studying interactions between bacteria and viruses. Previous surveys of insect hosts have been conducted via sampling from open or semi-open communities; however, no studies have reported the infection patterns of phage WO of insects living in a closed community. Figs and fig wasps form a peculiar closed community in which the Ficus tree pro...

PURPOSE To characterize the physicochemical properties of drug-loaded oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) Brij 97-based microemulsions in comparison to their blank counterparts and to investigate the influence of microemulsion type on in vitro skin permeation of model hydrophobic drugs and their hydrophilic salts. METHODS The microemulsion systems were composed of isopropyl palmitate (I...

Microemulsions are fluid and isotropic formulations that have been widely studied as delivery systems for a variety of routes, including the skin. In spite of what the name suggests, microemulsions are nanocarriers, and their use as topical delivery systems derives from their multiple advantages compared to other dermatological formulations, such as ease of preparation, thermodynamic stability ...

Synthesis of nanoparticles in microemulsions is an area of considerable current interest. This subject can be broadly divided into two sections defined by the nature of the host microemulsion reaction medium. Water-in-oil microemulsions have been used to prepare nanoparticles for more than two decades, and a wide variety of materials has been synthesised by these methods. Control parameters hav...

A tungsten trioxide (WO₃) nanoplate array is fabricated directly on the FTO/glass substrate and used as a platinum (Pt) nanoscale supporter for a highly efficient and low Pt-consumption counter electrode (CE) in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). A Pt/WO₃ composite structure, with Pt nanoparticles having a diameter of 2-3 nm, increases the electrochemical catalytic activity in catalyzing the re...

Tungsten trioxide (WO₃) nanorods are synthesized on the surface of graphene (GR) sheets by using a one-step in-situ hydrothermal method employing sodium tungstate (Na₂WO₄·2H₂O) and graphene oxide (GO) as precursors. The resulting WO₃/GR nanocomposites are characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectro...

We propose a mechanism for reentrant phase separation in globular microemulsions based on the combined effects of a shape transition and attractive interactions. Long cylindrical globules can phase separate at relatively low interglobular attractions. A transformation from elongated globules to compact spherical drops alters the balance between the entropy and effective interglobule interaction...

Nevertheless, the existence and application history of the microemulsions goes back to the very older times, but the oldest available reports in this field have been published by Schulman (Schulman & Hoar, 1943) and Winsor (Winsor, 1954). Their works are the starting point of efforts for the systematic understanding of the microemulsions. Meanwhile, the widespread generalization and application...

2014 The regions of stability of spherical, cylindrical, and lamellar phases of microemulsions are calculated within mean-field theory. In the cylindrical phase, thermal fluctuations determine a temperature dependent persistence length below which the cylinders are rigid (rod-like) and above which the cylinders are flexible (polymer-like). The length of the polymer-like chains depends on concen...

Tungsten oxide (WO₃) is prepared by a low-temperature ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method in air atmosphere, and it is used as an anode buffer layer (ABL) for organic solar cells (OSCs). The properties of the WO₃ transition metal oxide material as well as the mechanism of ultrasonic spray pyrolysis processes are investigated. The results show that the ultrasonic spray pyrolysized WO₃ ABL exhibits...