In this study, zinc ferrite magnetic nanoparticles (ZnFe2O4, ZFO MNPs) were employed as a sorbent for the removal of oil spill from water surfaces. ZFO MNPs were synthesized via a sol-gel process and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Both the apparent density and magnetic force were determined. ZFO MNPs presented a considerable magnetic force (40.22 mN) and an adequate density (0.5287 g/cm3), which are important for the magnetic separation and flotation. Four oil samples (gasoline engine oil, crude oil, used motor oil and diesel engine oil) were used to investigate the gravimetric oil removal capability of ZFO MNPs. The oil sorption capacities were found to be 23.00-6.13, 27.65-7.42, 22.62-7.01 and 30.54-9.93 g/g for crude, diesel engine, gasoline engine, and used motor oil, respectively. The current findings demonstrate that ZFO MNPs exhibit good properties (e.g., magnetic and density) and can be used as a sorbent for oil spill cleaning-up from water surfaces.
In the present study, the aim was made to identify the relationship between thyroid autoimmunity (TAI) and female infertility. The study was performed on 30 infertile women and 22 age-matched healthy fertile control age (33 ± 5 years). Overall, serum prolactin (PRL), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) assay is the key test for the diagnosis and management of hypo and hyperthyroidism. Anti-TPO Ab and anti-TG Ab were measured. The mean ± SE of serum PRL (31.080 ± 3.06) ng/ml was significantly (P<0.05) higher in infertile group compared with control (16.191±1.36) ng/ml. Serum TSH was significantly (P<0.05) higher in infertile group (5.689 ± 1.12) μIU/ml compared to control group (2.282 ± 0.18) μIU/ml. The prevalence of positive
... Show MoreIt is certain that marriage has the favor of the continuity of human kind since the Prophet Adam till now. But this important event is threatened by some justifications which lead to its delay or abandonment. In the West, sexual relations, illegal friendships, and disrespect of marriage sacredness lead to this delay. While the reasons behind the delay of marriage in the Arab world refer to high dowries, women go out to work, and the religious and scientific ignorance of the need and importance of marriage. The problem also differs according to the difference between the rural and urban regions. On one hand, we find that early marriage is a necessity in the rural regions; on the other hand, the delay of marriage is a clear and nat
... Show MoreBackground: Obesity tends to appear in modern societies and constitutes a significant public health problem with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.
Objective: This study aims to determine the agreement between actual and perceived body image in the general population.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted with a sample size of 300. The data were collected from eight major populated areas of Northern district of Karachi Sindh with a period of six months (10th January 2020 to 21st June 2020). The Figure rating questionnaire scale (FRS) was applied to collect the demographic data and perception about body weight. Body mass index (BMI) used for ass
... Show MoreBack ground: Colorectal cancer is one of the leading causes of death allover the world especially in the developed countries. Each year approximately one million veterans aged 50 and older will develop colorectal cancer over the remainder of their lives and nearly 433,000 will die from it. Because most cancers are diagnosed after local or regional spread, nearly half of all patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer will die lWarly detection and management definitely decrease mortality.
Patient and methods: This is a prospective study on fifty patients with colorectal cancer admitted at the first surgical unit in Baghdad teaching hospital since March 2000 till March 2003 The data collected from those fifty patients were analyzed accor
In this paper, the Active Suspension System (ASS) of road vehicles was investigated. In addition to the conventional stiffness and damper, the proposed ASS includes a fuzzy controller, a hydraulic actuator, and an LVDT position sensor. Furthermore, this paper presents a nonlinear model describing the operation of the hydraulic actuator as a part of the suspension system. Additionally, the detailed steps of the fuzzy controller design for such a system are introduced. A MATLAB/Simulink model was constructed to study the proposed ASS at different profiles of road irregularities. The results have shown that the proposed ASS has superior performance compared to the conventional Passive Suspension System (PSS), where the body displacemen
... Show MoreCerium oxide (CeO2), or ceria, has gained increasing interest owing to its excellent catalytic applications. Under the framework of density functional theory (DFT), this contribution demonstrates the eect that introducing the element nickel (Ni) into the ceria lattice has on its electronic, structural, and optical characteristics. Electronic density of states (DOSs) analysis shows that Ni integration leads to a shrinkage of Ce 4f states and improvement of Ni 3d states in the bottom of the conduction band. Furthermore, the calculated optical absorption spectra of an Ni-doped CeO2 system shifts towards longer visible light and infrared regions. Results indicate that Ni-doping a CeO2 system would result in a decrease of the band gap. Finally,
... Show MoreBuffering of Local anaesthesia (LA) has been suggested as a mechanism to improve injection comfort and hasten the onset of anaesthesia. Aim This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of buffered LA in the extraction of maxillary premolars and molars. Materials and Methods This randomized controlled study included 100 patients who were indicated for extraction of maxillary posterior teeth, they were randomly divided into two groups; a study group that received infiltration of buffered 2% lidocaine hydrochloride with 1:80,000 epinephrine LA, and a control group that received non-buffered 2% lidocaine hydrochloride with 1:80,000 epinephrine LA. The buffering was performed using the Onset® LA buffering system (Onpharma®). The outcome va
... Show MoreMeasurement of construction performance is essential to a clear image of the present situation. This monitoring by the management team is necessary to identify locations where performance is exceptionally excellent or poor and to identify the primary reasons so that the lessons gained may be exported to the firm and its progress strengthened. This research attempts to construct an integrated mathematical model utilizing one of the recent methodologies for dealing with the fuzzy representation of experts’ knowledge and judgment considering hesitancy called spherical fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (SFAHP) method to assess the contractor’s performance per the project performance pa
Interest in belowground plant growth is increasing, especially in relation to arguments that shallow‐rooted cultivars are efficient at exploiting soil phosphorus while deep‐rooted ones will access water at depth. However, methods for assessing roots in large numbers of plants are diverse and direct comparisons of methods are rare. Three methods for measuring root growth traits were evaluated for utility in discriminating rice cultivars: soil‐filled rhizotrons, hydroponics and soil‐filled pots whose bottom was sealed with a non‐woven fabric (a potential method for assessing root penetration ability). A set of 38 rice genotypes including the Oryza
The advancement of digital technology has increased the deployment of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in our daily life. However, locating sensor nodes is a challenging task in WSNs. Sensing data without an accurate location is worthless, especially in critical applications. The pioneering technique in range-free localization schemes is a sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) method, which utilizes network connectivity to estimate sensor location without additional hardware. This study presents a comprehensive survey of state-of-the-art SMC localization schemes. We present the schemes as a thematic taxonomy of localization operation in SMC. Moreover, the critical characteristics of each existing scheme are analyzed to identify its advantages
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