Expanded use of antibiotics may increase the ability of pathogenic bacteria to develop antimicrobial resistance. Greater attention must be paid to applying more sustainable techniques for treating wastewater contaminated with antibiotics. Semiconductor photocatalytic processes have proven to be the most effective methods for the degradation of antibiotics. Thus, constructing durable and highly active photocatalytic hybrid materials for the photodegradation of antibiotic pollutants is challenging. Herein, FeTiO3/Fe-doped g-C3N4 (FTO/FCN) heterojunctions were designed with different FTO to FCN ratios by matching the energy level of semiconductors, thereby developing effective direct Z-type heterojunctions. The photodegradation behaviors of the FTO/FCN hybrids were systematically explored toward spiramycin (SPY) destruction under visible-irradiation. Using the FTO/FCN (1:2) photocatalyst, the photodegradation efficiency of the bare FTO boosted from 41.6 % to 96.6 %, which was due to suitable band positions of both photocatalysts and thus Z-type heterojunction transfer pathway to prevent the recombination of photo-charge carriers. More importantly, the FTO/FCN hybrid photocatalysts show broad applicability, as they can decompose other organic contaminants including ibuprofen (IBU), ciprofloxacin (CIP), bisphenol A (BPA), and Rhodamine B (RhB). The photodegradation rates of IBU, CIP, BPA and RhB were 90.9 %, 93.4 %, 80.6 %, and 86.2 %, respectively, after 120 min. The trapping analyses were performed and exhibited that the key reactive-species in the SPY photodegradation were •O2 and h+, while •OH and electrons were secondary species in the reaction. The FTO/FCN composite photocatalyst has the properties of high photo-stability and recycling (the SPY photodegradation and mineralization efficiencies decreased only by 4 % and 5.2 %, respectively).
Aluminum doped zinc oxide nanoparticles (AZO) with different doping concentrations were prepared by Nd-YAG laser ablation of target in deionized water. The characterization of these nanoparticles was performed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and photoluminance spectroscopy (PL). FTIR spectra confirmed the formation of vibrational bonds for ZnO NPs and AZO NPs. SEM images illustrated that the size and shape of the NPs changed with changing the number of laser pulses. Photoluminescence peaks exhibited two emission peaks, one at the UV region and the second in the visible region, which were modified as the number of laser pulses and doping concentration were ch
... Show MoreLead-free ferroelectric nano ceramics of BaZrxTi1-xO3 (x=0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) were prepared by means of microwave assisted chemical route. The structural, dielectric and electrical properties were examined. The crystalline structure of the specimens was studied by X-ray diffraction patterns. All the samples showed pure single phase of perovskite structure with space group of I4/mcm. X-ray diffraction data illustrated that there is no secondary phases exist. Structural and electrical properties of barium titanate ceramics are influenced significantly by small additions of Zr. The electrical conductivity showed higher values at x=0.2 and decreased at higher Zr content. The Hall charge mobility is found
... Show MoreBackground: Patients on maintenance hemodialysis are at increased risk of infection with parentally transmitted viral agents. In recent years a high prevalence of hepatitis G virus infection among end stage renal diseases and chronic hemodialysis patients has been well documented.
Objectives: To assess the percentage and risk factors of HGV in hemodialysis patients, and to evaluate the clinical consequences of HGV in this population.
Patients and methods: Fifty (50) patients with chronic renal failure who underwent maintenance hemodialysis. Patients were currently attending hemodialysis department of Baghdad teaching hospital during the period of October 2011 to January 2012, compared to forty one (41) healthy blood donors who unde
This work aims to detect the associations of C-peptide and the homeostasis model assessment of beta-cells function (HOMA2-B%) with inflammatory biomarkers in pregnant-women in comparison with non-pregnant women. Sera of 28 normal pregnant women at late pregnancy versus 27 matched age non-pregnant women (control), were used to estimate C-peptide, triiodothyronine (T3), and thyroxin (T4) by Enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fasting blood sugar (FBS) by automatic analyzer Biolis 24i, hematology-tests by hematology analyzer and the calculation of HOMA2-B% and homeostasis model assessment of insulin sensitivity (HOMA2-S%) by using C-peptide values instead of insulin. The comparisons, correlations, regression analysis tests were perfo
... Show MoreA spectrophotometric study of Fe(III) mixed ligand complex has been
performed involving 1,4 phenylenediamine (A) and anthran i lic acid (B) ligand at 25°C and aconstant ionic strength of µ= 0.05M NaC I04• The optimum pH was found to be pH=4.l. The format ion rat io of the new complex is determined to be 2:1:4 of Fe(III):(A):(B). The molar absorptivity was determined to be :::::: 0.5 x I 04• Stepwise spectrum change of the complex formation is recorded by continuous flow system. Keywords: Mixed ligand
... Show MoreNew evidence on nanotechnology has shown interest in the creation and assessment of nanoparticles for cancer treatment. Worldwide, a wide range of tumor-targeted approaches are being developed to reduce side effects and boost the efficacy of cancer therapy. One strategy that shows promise is the use of metallic nanoparticles to increase the radio sensitization of the cancer cells while reducing or maintaining the normal tissue complication probability during radiation therapy. In this study, atmospheric plasma was created using argon gas to create Au NPs using the plasma jet scheme, and their ability to induce apoptosis as an anticancer mechanism was tested. Aqueous gold tetrachloride salts (HAuCl4·3H2O) ere used to produce gold nanopartic
... Show MoreA new modified differential evolution algorithm DE-BEA, is proposed to improve the reliability of the standard DE/current-to-rand/1/bin by implementing a new mutation scheme inspired by the bacterial evolutionary algorithm (BEA). The crossover and the selection schemes of the DE method are also modified to fit the new DE-BEA mechanism. The new scheme diversifies the population by applying to all the individuals a segment based scheme that generates multiple copies (clones) from each individual one-by-one and applies the BEA segment-wise mechanism. These new steps are embedded in the DE/current-to-rand/bin scheme. The performance of the new algorithm has been compared with several DE variants over eighteen benchmark functions including sever
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