The use of piezocatalysis with photocatalysis in the degradation of organic pollutants has become an attractive research field due to the enhanced synergistic effect of the two processes. Herein, binary composites of AgBr decorated onto Br-doped g-C3N4 in different weight percentages (AgBr content was varied from 10 wt% to 40 wt%) have been built as heterojunction piezo-photo catalysts with a highly efficient performance. The 20 wt%AgBr/Br-g-C3N4 catalysts showed synergistically improved piezo-photo catalytic decomposition toward Methylene blue (MB) under visible-light and sonication exposure in a simple constructed split-plate airlift contactor, completing 99.7 % degradation of MB within 60 min. The heterogeneous junction established among AgBr and Br-g-C3N4, which, in combination with the piezoelectric effect that results in the acceleration of the photocharge separation process, and good self-mixing provided by airflow inside the airlift reactor, contributed to the boosted performance. The reaction mechanism has been deliberated, and approved by trapping trials. Besides, the reusability studies confirmed the high steadiness activity of the AgBr/Br-g-C3N4 catalyst. The piezo-photocatalytic activity decreased only from 99.7 % to only 95.6 % after five cycles.
Background: The gene responsible for encoding the protein of cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) has been found to be associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in different ethnic populations. But the association of +49A/G CTLA-4 polymorphism with susceptibility of RA among Iraqi Arab populations has not yet been determined. Methods: One hundred and seventy-eight patients were examined, 67 of them were males (mean age 54.71 ± 10.4 years), while 167 were examined for the control group, of whom 64 were males and the rest were females. CTLA-4 DNA genotyping was carried on to determine the +49 A/G (rs231775) polymorphism using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Enzyme-linked immuno
... Show MoreWith the recent growth of global populations, main roads in cities have witnessed an evident increase in the number of vehicles. This has led to unprecedented challenges for authorities in managing the traffic of ambulance vehicles to provide medical services in emergency cases. Despite the high technologies associated with medical tracks and advanced traffic management systems, there is still a current delay in ambulances’ attendance in times of emergency to provide patients with vital aid. Therefore, it is indispensable to introduce a new emergency service system that enables the ambulance to reach the patient in the least congested and shortest paths. However, designing an effici
Future wireless networks will require advance physical-layer techniques to meet the requirements of Internet of Everything (IoE) applications and massive communication systems. To this end, a massive MIMO (m-MIMO) system is to date considered one of the key technologies for future wireless networks. This is due to the capability of m-MIMO to bring a significant improvement in the spectral efficiency and energy efficiency. However, designing an efficient downlink (DL) training sequence for fast channel state information (CSI) estimation, i.e., with limited coherence time, in a frequency division duplex (FDD) m-MIMO system when users exhibit different correlation patterns, i.e., span distinct channel covariance matrices, is to date ve
... Show MoreSphingolipids are key components of eukaryotic membranes, particularly the plasma membrane. The biosynthetic pathway for the formation of these lipid species is largely conserved. However, in contrast to mammals, which produce sphingomyelin, organisms such as the pathogenic fungi and protozoa synthesize inositol phosphorylceramide (IPC) as the primary phosphosphingolipid. The key step involves the reaction of ceramide and phosphatidylinositol catalysed by IPC synthase, an essential enzyme with no mammalian equivalent encoded by the AUR1 gene in yeast and recently identified functional orthologues in the pathogenic kinetoplastid protozoa. As such this enzyme represents a promising target for novel anti-fungal and anti-protozoal drugs. Given
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