The current study objective is to synthesize activated carbon (AC) from compressed wood using the ZnCl2 activating agent and to assess the ciprofloxacin (CIP) elimination efficiency in simulated wastewater. The produced AC was characterized using multiple techniques, including SEM, BET, FTIR, AFM, and XRD. The adsorbent demonstrates high adsorption performance, achieving 91% removal of CIP within 5 hours at an initial pollutant concentration of 100 mg/L with an AC dose of 2 g/L. Experimental data correspond to the Freundlich isotherm model (R² = 0.995) as well as the Langmuir competitive fitting (R² = 0.99), while the root mean square error (RMSE) equation best fits the Langmuir model. Moreover, the pseudo-second-order model (R² = 0.999) was used to describe the kinetic data. The adsorption thermodynamics indicate spontaneous adsorption with exothermic behavior (ΔG◦<0, ΔH◦<0, ΔS◦<0). A combination of mechanisms contributed to the CIP adsorption process (π-π interaction, hydrophobic interaction, bulk diffusion, hydrogen bonds, in addition to physical and chemical adsorption mechanisms). Pyrolysis recoverability shows a good result after three cycles (qe = 101.08 mg/g, compared to 170.13 mg/g in the first cycle). In conclusion, compressed wood AC offers a sustainable, low-cost adsorbent for treating wastewater and presents a prospect for addressing ecosystem contamination challenges.
Sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an economically important vegetable crop. Wilt disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. capsici is a specific pathogen that affects the pepper. Four isolates of F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici Fo3, Fo6, Fo7 and Fo8 were obtained from diseased pepper plants that were collected from different pepper fields in Baghdad. Fo6 isolate that has high pathogenicity to pepper seeds, Trichoderma harzianum (Th) was tested in vitro against F. oxysporum f. sp. capsici showed a high inhibition rate for the isolate Fo6, the concentration of chelated iron Fe-EDDHA 0.5% reduced the radial growth of Fo6 whi
... Show MoreDue to economic reasons or need for environmental conservatism or also preserve the natural resources; there has been an increasing shift towards the use of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials in the pavement construction industry. Therefore, use the Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP) has been enormously increased in pavement construction and has been become common practice in many countries. Nevertheless, this is a relatively new concept in Iraq, and has to be remarked that is not used RAP in the production of HMA and this valuable material is mostly degraded. For this purpose, the reclaimed materials were collected from deteriorated pavement segments. The components of asphalt mixtures consist of: two asphalt penetration grades (40-5
... Show MoreTo ensure fault tolerance and distributed management, distributed protocols are employed as one of the major architectural concepts underlying the Internet. However, inefficiency, instability and fragility could be potentially overcome with the help of the novel networking architecture called software-defined networking (SDN). The main property of this architecture is the separation of the control and data planes. To reduce congestion and thus improve latency and throughput, there must be homogeneous distribution of the traffic load over the different network paths. This paper presents a smart flow steering agent (SFSA) for data flow routing based on current network conditions. To enhance throughput and minimize latency, the SFSA distrib
... Show MoreIn order to scrutinize the impact of the decoration of Sc upon the sensing performance of an XN nanotube (X = Al or Ga, and XNNT) in detecting sarin (SN), the density functionals M06-2X, τ-HCTHhyb, and B3LYP were utilized. The interaction of the pristine XNNT with SN was a physical adsorption with the sensing response (SR) of approximately 5.4. Decoration of the Sc metal into the surface of the AlN and GaN led to an increase in the adsorption energy of SN from −3.4 to −18.9, and −3.8 to −20.1 kcal/mol, respectively. Also, there was a significant increase in the corresponding SR to 38.0 and 100.5, the sensitivity of metal decorated XNNT (metal@XNNT) is increased. So, we found that Sc-decorating more increases the sensitivity of GaNN
... Show MoreTheoretical and experimental investigations of the transient heat transfer parameters of constant heat flux source subjected to water flowing in the downward direction in closed channel are conducted. The power increase transient is ensured by step change increase in the heat source power. The theoretical investigation involved a mathematical modeling for axially symmetric, simultaneously developing laminar water flow in a vertical annulus. The mathematical model is based on one dimensional downward flow. The boundary conditions of the studied case are based on adiabatic outer wall, while the inner wall is subjected to a constant heat flux. The heat & mass balance equation derived for specified element of bulk water within the annulu
... Show MoreAs an alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), the alkali-activated binders have been developed with better technical characteristics and more extended durability. The Alkali-Activated Iraqi Natural Pozzolans (AANP) could produce geopolymer cementation building materials and make them ecologically acceptable. The primary advantage of geopolymer cement is that it has a lower environmental effect that contributes to it. The engineering characteristics of geopolymer concrete produced using activated Iraqi natural Pozzolan are summarized in this research. The mechanical properties, modulus of elasticity, and ultrasonic pulse velocity of various concrete mixes were determined via experimental study. The impact of essential variables like w
... Show MoreAs an alternative to Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), the alkali-activated binders have been developed with better technical characteristics and more extended durability. The Alkali-Activated Iraqi Natural Pozzolans (AANP) could produce geopolymer cementation building materials and make them ecologically acceptable. The primary advantage of geopolymer cement is that it has a lower environmental effect that contributes to it. The engineering characteristics of geopolymer concrete produced using activated Iraqi natural Pozzolan are summarized in this research. The mechanical properties, modulus of elasticity, and ultrasonic pulse velocity of various concrete mixes were determined via exp
Carnosol, a phenolic diterpene, is one of the effective anticancer agents naturally occurring in rosemary, sage, parsley, and oregano. The chemoresistance problem increased with the routinely used chemotherapy. Therefore, the efforts to find a substitute with safe and low cost have become crucial worldwide. The current study attempts to inspect the anticancer molecular mechanisms of Carnosol on modulating up- and down- regulation of multiple genetic carcinogenesis pathways. The cytotoxicity of Carnosol on Hela cells was evaluated by MTS assay. Flow cytometry was used to assess apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. The apoptotic morphological changes were obvious by dual apoptosis assay. The differential gene expression after treatment wi
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