The influence of the reaction gas composition during the DC magnetron sputtering process on the structural, chemical and optical properties of Ce-oxide thin films was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies confirmed that all thin films exhibited a polycrystalline character with cubic fluorite structure for cerium dioxide. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses revealed that cerium is present in two oxidation states, namely as CeO2 and Ce2O3, at the surface of the films prepared at oxygen/argon flow ratios between 0% and 7%, whereas the films are completely oxidized into CeO2 as the aforementioned ratio increases beyond 14%. Various optical parameters for the thin films (including an optical band gap in the range of 2.25–3.1 eV) were derived from the UV–Vis reflectance. A significant change in the band gap was observed as oxygen/argon flow ratio was raised from 7% to 14% and this finding is consistent with the high-resolution XPS analysis of Ce 3d that reports a mixture of Ce2O3 and CeO2 in the films. Density functional theory (DFT+U) implemented in the Cambridge Serial Total Energy Package (CASTEP) was carried out to simulate the optical constants of CeO2 clusters at ground state. The computed electronic density of states (DOSs) of the optimized unit cell of CeO2 yields a band gap that agrees well with the experimentally measured optical band gap. The simulated and measured absorption coefficient (α) exhibited a similar trend and, to some extent, have similar values in the wavelength range from 100 to 2500 nm. The combined results of this study demonstrate good correlation between the theoretical and experimental findings.
Pesticide poisoning is a serious global public health issue and is responsible for a sizable number of annual fatalities. This study was designed to examine the potentially harmful effects of adult rats being exposed to imidacloprid (IMD) as a nanoparticle by determining the chronic effect of inhalation of (5,10 and 20) mg/kg/b.w. of nano-imidacloprid for a duration of 60 days. The most important biochemical parameters of the serum liver function parameters were aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase ALP, kidney function [blood urea, creatinine, and urea], and oxidative stress parameters (MDA, GSH, and CAT) in all treated groups when
Chlorine disinfection is a globally used method to ensure the safety of drinking water. However, it has not always been successful against viruses and, therefore, it is important to find new methods to disinfect water. Seventeen different coliphages were isolated from the treated municipal wastewater. These coliphages and MS2 were treated with different dosages of chlorine in drinking water, and a combined chlorine/ultraviolet irradiation treatment for the chlorine-resistant coliphages. Chlorine disinfection with 0.3–0.5 mg/L total chlorine (free Cl-dosage 0.12–0.21 mg/L) for 10 min achieved 2.5–5.7 Log10-reductions for 11 sensitive coliphages. The six most resistant coliphages showed no reduction with these chlorine concentra
... Show MoreIn this research, a study is introduced on the effect of several environmental factors on the performance of an already constructed quality inspection system, which was designed using a transfer learning approach based on convolutional neural networks. The system comprised two sets of layers, transferred layers set from an already trained model (DenseNet121) and a custom classification layers set. It was designed to discriminate between damaged and undamaged helical gears according to the configuration of the gear regardless to its dimensions, and the model showed good performance discriminating between the two products at ideal conditions of high-resolution images. So, this study aimed at testing the system performance at poo
... Show MoreThe consumption of fresh fruits has increased nowadays due to the lifestyle of the consumers. Maintaining the quality and nutritional value of cut fruits during storage is difficult compared to whole fruits. Deterioration of internal and external quality usually occurs in freshly harvested fruits. It is necessary to use different techniques to maintain the quality and increase the shelf life of the freshly cut product. This research studied the effect of treating apple slices with cold plasma once and with filtered water again on quality characteristics (hardness, moisture content, sugar content, carbohydrate content, and color) after being stored for five days. The best treatment was determined using two different pressures of the plasma j
... Show MoreIn this research, a study is introduced on the effect of several environmental factors on the performance of an already constructed quality inspection system, which was designed using a transfer learning approach based on convolutional neural networks. The system comprised two sets of layers, transferred layers set from an already trained model (DenseNet121) and a custom classification layers set. It was designed to discriminate between damaged and undamaged helical gears according to the configuration of the gear regardless to its dimensions, and the model showed good performance discriminating between the two products at ideal conditions of high-resolution images.
So, this study aimed at testing the system performance at poor s
... Show MoreUniversity Campuses, as any lively physical entity, is subject to continuous variation due to . growth, development and change. This reality covers the existing or futuristic additives or additions, consecutively these changes may have a strong sensation of disorientation as a result of formatic changes in buildings, or in movement paths. And it epitomized the research problem to "the need for knowledge to clarify the impact of intellectual and executive policy in achieving coherence, functional and space organization of the elements of the university urban environment and in the stages of future growth and change," the search targeted "to highlight the study of constraction politics on campus Bmqomad
... Show MoreBackground: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a condition characterized by an elevation of oxidative stress, which has been implicated in diabetic progression and its vascular complications. Aim: Assessing the impact of gliclazide modified release (MR) versus glimepiride on oxidative stress markers, glycemic indices, lipid profile, and estimated glomerular filtration rate in uncontrolled type 2 diabetic patients on metformin monotherapy. Methods: This was an observational comparative study conducted in Thi-Qar specialized diabetic, endocrine, and metabolism center. Sixty-six patients were randomized into two groups based on the addition of the sulfonylureas (SUs). Group 1 (33 patients) was on gliclazide MR, whereas Group 2 (33 patients)
... Show MoreThe research aims to identify the effect of the training program that is based on integrating futuristic thinking skills with classroom interaction patterns on mathematics teachers in order to provide their students with creative solution skills. The research sample consisted of 31teachers (15 teachers for the experimental group and 16 for the control groups). The researcher developed a measure for the academic self-efficacy consisting of (39) items. Its validity, reliability, coefficient of difficulty and discriminatory power were estimated. To analyze the findings, the researcher adopted the Mann-Whitney (U) test and the effect size, and the findings were as follows: There is a statistically significant difference at the significance leve
... Show MoreIn order to evaluate the effect of seed size, plant growth regulators and some chemical materials on seed vigour and seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa L.) an experiment was conducted in 2015 at Laboratories of Agriculture and Marshes College, University of Thi-Qar. Factorial experiment in CRD was used with four replications in two factors. The first factor included three seed sizes (4.6-5.1, 5.2-5.7 and 5.8-6.3 mm). The second factor was seeds soaking treatments (KNO3 6 gl-1, CaCl2 20 gl-1, salicylic acid 20 mg l-1, cytokinin 40 mg l-1, gibberllic acid 400 mg l-1, ascorbic acid 40 mg l-1 and seeds soaked in distilled water). The results showed that the largest seed size influenced significantly and gave the higher averages of germinatio
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