Chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) are toxic chemical entities emitted invariably from stationary thermal operations when a trace of chlorine is present. Replacing the high-temperature destruction operations of these compounds with catalytic oxidation has led to the formulation of various potent metal oxides catalysts; among them are ceria-based materials. Guided by recent experimental measurements, this study theoretically investigates the initial steps operating in the interactions of ceria surface CeO2(111) with three CVOC model compounds, namely chloroethene (CE), chloroethane (CA) and chlorobenzene (CB). We find that, the CeO2(111) surface mediates fission of the carbon–chlorine bonds in the CE, CA and CB molecules via modest reaction barriers. As a result of localization of excess electrons left behind after creation of oxygen vacancies, analogous fission over an oxygen vacant surface systematically necessitates lower energy barriers. Dehydrochlorination of CE and CA molecules preferentially proceeds via a dissociative addition route; however, subsequent desorption of vinyl and ethyl moieties requires less energy than surface assisted β C–H bond breakage. The profound stability of hydrocarbon species on the surface contributes to the observed deactivation of ceria at temperatures as low as 580 K under pyrolytic conditions. Adsorption of an oxygen molecule at an oxygen vacant site initiates decomposition of the adsorbed phenyl moiety. Likewise, adsorbed surface hydroxyl groups serve as the hydrogen source in the observed conversion of CB into benzene. A plausible mechanism for the formation of 1,4-dichlorobenzene incorporates abstraction of a para hydrogen in the CB molecule by an O− surface anion followed by chlorine transfer from the surface. Plotted conversion–temperature profiles via a simplified kinetic model against corresponding experimental profiles exhibit a reasonable agreement. The results from this study could be useful in the ongoing efforts to improve ceria's catalytic capacity for destroying CVOCs.
Bobbin friction stir welding (BFSW) is a variant of the conventional friction stir welding (CFSW); it can weld the upper and lower surface of the work-piece in the same pass. This technique involves the bonding of materials without melting. In this work, the influence of tool design on the mechanical properties of welding joints of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy with 6.25 mm thickness produced by FSW bobbin tools was investigated and the best bobbin tool design was determined. Five different probe shapes (threaded straight cylindrical, straight cylindrical with 3 flat surfaces, straight cylindrical with 4 flat surfaces, threaded straight cylindrical with 3 flat surface and threaded straight cylindrical with 4 flat surfaces) with various dimensio
... Show MoreBackground: Poly-ether-ether-ketone(PEEK) has been introduced to many dental fields. Recently it was tested as a retainer wire‎ following orthodontic treatment. This study aimed to investigate the effect of changing the bonding spot size and location on the performance of PEEK retainer wires. Methods: A biomechanical study involving four three-dimensional finite element models was performed. The basic model was with a 0.8 mm cylindrical cross-section PEEK wire, bonded at the center of the lingual surface of the mandibular incisors with 4 mm in diameter composite spots. Two other models were designed with 3 mm and 5 mm composite sizes. The last model was created with the composite bonding spot of the canine away from the center of t
... Show MoreBackground: The roles of AI in the academic community continue to grow, especially in the enhancement of learning outcomes and the improvement of writing quality and efficiency. Objectives: To explore in depth the experience of senior pharmacy students in using artificial intelligence for academic purposes. Methods: This qualitative study included face-to-face individual interviews with senior pharmacy students from March to May 2023 using a pre-planned interview guide of open-ended questions. All interviews were audio-recorded. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: The results were obtained from 15 in-depth face-to-face interviews with senior pharmacy students (5th and 4th years). Eight participants were male, an
... Show MoreObjectives The gold standard in the field of periodontal research currently is to find a valid biomarker that can reliably be used for diagnosing periodontal diseases. Given the limitations of the current diagnostic tools that stall to predict susceptible individuals and determine whether active tissue destruction is occurring, there is an increased urge to develop alternative diagnostic techniques that would compensate for the problems inherited in these available methods, such as measuring levels of biomarkers present in oral fluids such as saliva; so the aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic potential of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and IL-10 to differentiate periodontal health
A novel Schiff base (SB) ligand, abbreviated as HDMPM, resulted from the condensation of 2-amino-4-phenyl-5-methyl thiazole and 4-(diethylamino)salicyaldehyde, and its metal complexes with [Co(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II)] ions in high yield were formed. The physico-chemical techniques such as elemental analysis, molar conductance, IR, 1H and 13C NMR, mass spectroscopy, and electronic absorption studies were utilized to characterize the synthesized compounds. The studied compounds were examined for their possible anticancer activity against a number of human cancerous cell lines, including A549 lung carcinoma, HepG2 liver cancer, HCT116 colorectal cancer, and MCF-7 breast cancer cell lines, with doxorubicin serving as the standard. The s
... Show MoreThe effects of using aqueous nanofluids containing covalently functionalized graphene nanoplatelets with triethanolamine (TEA-GNPs) as novel working fluids on the thermal performance of a flat-plate solar collector (FPSC) have been investigated. Water-based nanofluids with weight concentrations of 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.075%, and 0.1% of TEA-GNPs with specific surface areas of 300, 500, and 750 m2/g were prepared. An experimental setup was designed and built and a simulation program using MATLAB was developed. Experimental tests were performed using inlet fluid temperatures of 30, 40, and 50 °C; flow rates of 0.6, 1.0, and 1.4 kg/min; and heat flux intensities of 600, 800, and 1000 W/m2. The FPSC’s efficiency increased as the flow rate and hea
... Show MoreIn this study, the energy charging mechanism is mathematically modeled to determine the impact of design modifications on the thermofluidic behavior of a phase change material (PCM) filled in a triplex tube containment geometry. The surface area of the middle tube, where the PCM is placed, is supported by single or multi-internal frustum tubes in vertical triplex tubes to increase the performance of the heating and cooling of the system. In addition to the ordinary straight triplex tubes, three more scenarios are considered: (1) changing the middle tube to the frustum tube, (2) changing the inner tube to the frustum tube, and (3) changing both the internal and central tubes to the frustum tubes. The impact of adopting the tube desig
... Show MoreSevere periodontitis is ranked as the sixth most prevalent disease affecting humankind, with an estimated 740 million people affected worldwide. The diagnosis of periodontal diseases mainly relies upon assessment of conventional clinical parameters. However, these parameters reflect past, rather than current, clinical status or future disease progression and, likely, outcome of periodontal treatment. Specific and sensitive biomarkers for periodontal diseases have been examined widely to address these issues and some biomarkers have been translated as point-of-care (PoC) tests. The aim of this review was to provide an update on PoC tests for use in the diagnosis and management of periodontal diseases. Among the PoC tests developed so
... Show MoreABSTRACT Background: resin cement type and intraoral temperature fluctuations may affect the fracture performance of successful zirconia restorations. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the influence of thermocycling on fracture resistance and mode of failure of monolithic zirconia crowns luted with Rely X™ U200 and BreezeTMself-adhesive resin cements as well as imply the effect of adding 2 % of polylysine (PLS) to these cements. Materials: 64 maxillary premolars were milled out of zirconia blocks using CAD/CAM milling system. They were divided into four groups (n = 16) according to the cement type. Four different resin cements were used (RelyXTMU200, Breeze™, RelyX™ U200 with 2 % PLS
... Show More