Two different polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl chloride (PVA/PVC) hollow fiber composite nanofiltration membranes were prepared after PVC hollow fiber membranes were coated using dip-coating method with PVA aqueous solution, which was composed of PVA, fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (AEO9), and water [PVA/AEO9/water (4:0.5:95.5) wt%]. Effect of two different PVC hollow fiber immersion times in coating solution were studied. Cross-section, internal and external surfaces of the PVC hollow fibers and PVA/PVC composite nanofiltration membranes structures were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), pure water permeation flux and solutes rejection. It was found that, the coating layer thickness on the outer surface of the 19 wt% PVC hollow fiber was thin and about (6μm), while the coating solution penetrates through the outer edge of the PVC hollow fiber and it looks like sponge-like structure with increase of the dip-coating time from 20 to 30 sec. Besides, the pure water permeation flux decreases and solutes rejection increases with an increase of the coating time from 20 to 30 sec for the two PVA/PVC composite nanofiltration membranes. Molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of the PVA/PVC composite nanofiltration membranes were in the range of NF (i.e. 200-3000 Mw).
Modified algae with nano copper oxide (CuO) were used as adsorption media to remove tetracycline (TEC) from aqueous solutions. Functional groups, morphology, structure, and percentages of surfactants before and after adsorption were characterised through Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Several variables, including pH, connection time, dosage, initial concentrations, and temperature, were controlled to obtain the optimum condition. Thermodynamic studies, adsorption isotherm, and kinetics models were examined to describe and recognise the type of interactions involved. Resultantly, the best operation conditions were at pH 7, contact time
... Show MoreWildfire risk has globally increased during the past few years due to several factors. An efficient and fast response to wildfires is extremely important to reduce the damaging effect on humans and wildlife. This work introduces a methodology for designing an efficient machine learning system to detect wildfires using satellite imagery. A convolutional neural network (CNN) model is optimized to reduce the required computational resources. Due to the limitations of images containing fire and seasonal variations, an image augmentation process is used to develop adequate training samples for the change in the forest’s visual features and the seasonal wind direction at the study area during the fire season. The selected CNN model (Mob
... Show MoreFlexible joint robot (FJR) manipulators can offer many attractive features over rigid manipulators, including light weight, safe operation, and high power efficiency. However, the tracking control of the FJR is challenging due to its inherent problems, such as underactuation, coupling, nonlinearities, uncertainties, and unknown external disturbances. In this article, a terminal sliding mode control (TSMC) is proposed for the FJR system to guarantee the finite-time convergence of the systems output, and to achieve the total robustness against the lumped disturbance and estimation error. By using two coordinate transformations, the FJR dynamics is turned into a canonical form. A cascaded finite-time sliding mode observer (CFTSMO) is construct
... Show MoreAbstract Bilastine, a second-generation antihistamine, is commonly prescribed for managing allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and urticaria due to its prolonged action. However, its therapeutic potential is constrained by poor water solubility and low oral bioavailability. This study aimed to enhance bilastine dissolution and patient compliance by formulating a nanosuspension-based orodispersible film (ODF). An anti-solvent precipitation method was employed to produce nanosuspension using different hydrophilic stabilizers (Soluplus®, Poloxamer 188, and PEG 6000). The influence of formulation parameters, such as the stabilizer ratio, the anti-solvent ratio, stirring speed, and the stabilizer type, on particle size and polydispersity index (PDI)
... Show MoreDiabetes imposes a substantial public health burden; according to the International Diabetes Federation, there were about 3.4 million diabetes related deaths worldwide in 2024, and in Iraq, the Federation reports that one in nine adults lives with diabetes in 2024, with 14,683 adult deaths attributable to diabetes and a total diabetes related health expenditure of 2,078 million United States dollars. The dataset analyzed in this study contains 1,000 records collected in 2020 from two Iraqi teaching hospitals and includes multiple clinical and laboratory measurements with three outcome classes, namely Non diabetic, Pre diabetic, and Diabetic, with a low prevalence of the Pre diabetic class and an imbalanced overall class distribution; the da
... Show MoreHigh vehicular mobility causes frequent changes in the density of vehicles, discontinuity in inter-vehicle communication, and constraints for routing protocols in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs). The routing must avoid forwarding packets through segments with low network density and high scale of network disconnections that may result in packet loss, delays, and increased communication overhead in route recovery. Therefore, both traffic and segment status must be considered. This paper presents real-time intersection-based segment aware routing (RTISAR), an intersection-based segment aware algorithm for geographic routing in VANETs. This routing algorithm provides an optimal route for forwarding the data packets toward their destination
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