This research investigates the pre- and post-cracking resistance of steel fiber-reinforced concrete specimens with Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars subjected to flexural loading. The purpose is to modify the ductility and cracking resistance of GFRP-reinforced beams, which are prone to early cracking and excessive deflections instigated by the low modulus of elasticity of GFRP. Six self-compacting concrete specimens (1500×240×200 mm), incorporating steel fibers of two lengths (25 mm and 40 mm) with varying distribution depths, were tested to assess their structural performance. The results indicate significant enhancements in cracking resistance, stiffness, energy absorption, ductility, and flexural strength. Tested beam

Catalytic reduction is considered an effective approach for the reduction of toxic organic pollutants from the environment, but finding an active catalyst is still a big challenge. Herein, Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst was synthesized through polyol reduction method and applied for catalytic reduction (conversion) of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The Ag decorated CeO2 catalyst displayed an outstanding reduction activity with 99% conversion of 4-NP in 5 min with a 0.61 min−1 reaction rate (k). A number of structural characterization techniques were executed to investigate the influence of Ag on CeO2 and its effect on the catalytic conversion of 4-NP. The outstanding catalytic performances of the Ag-CeO2 catalyst can be assigne

Piperine, a crystalline alkaloid compound isolated from Piper nigrum, piper longum, and other types of piper, has had many fabulous pharmacological advantages for preventing and treating some specific diseases, such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, antimetastatic, antithyroid, immunomodulatory, antitumor, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's, and improving the bioavailability of other drugs. However, its potential for clinical use through oral usage is hindered by water solubility and poor bioavailability. The low level of oral bioavailability is caused by low solubility in water and is photosensitive, susceptible to isomerization by UV light, which causes piperine concentration to decrease. Many different

In this work, synthesis of conducting polymeric films namely, PVC thin films was carried out containing Schiff base (L) with Cu²⁺, Cr³⁺, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, in addition to inspecting the possibilities of measuring energy gap values of PVC-L-M with variety metal ions. These new polymeric films (PVC-L-M) were characterized by FTIR spectrophotometry, energy gap and surface morphology. The optical data recorded that the band gap values are influenced by the type of metals. All modified films have a red shift in optical properties in the ultraviolet region. The PVC-L-Co(II) was the lowest value of the optical band gap, 3.1 eV.

In this work, pure and Ag-doped nickel oxide (NiO) thin films were deposited on glass substrates with different dopant concentrations (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 wt.%) by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) technique at room temperature. These films were annealed at temperature of 450 °C. The structural and optical properties of the prepared thin films were studied. It was found that annealing process has lead to increase the transmittance of the deposited films. Also, the transmittance was found to increase with doping concentration of silver in the deposited NiO films. The optical energy gap was decreased from 3.5 to 3.2 eV as the doping concentration was increased to 0.4 %.