This contribution reports a comprehensive investigation into the structural, electronic and thermal properties of bulk and surface terbium dioxide (TbO2); a material that enjoys wide spectra of catalytic and optical applications. Our calculated lattice dimension of 5.36 Å agrees well with the corresponding experimental value at 5.22 Å. Density of states configuration of the bulk structure exhibits a semiconducting nature. Thermo-mechanical properties of bulk TbO2 were obtained based on the quasi-harmonic approximation formalism. Heat capacities, thermal expansions and bulk modulus of the bulk TbO2 were obtained under a wide range of temperatures and pressures. The dependency of these properties on operational pressure is very evident. Cleaving bulk terbium dioxide affords six distinct terminations. Bader's charge distribution analysis for the bulk and the surfaces portrays an ionic character for Tb-O bonds. In an analogy to the well-established finding pertinent to stoichiometric CeO2 surfaces, the (111):Tb surface appears to be the thermodynamically most stable configuration in the nearness of the lean-limit of the oxygen chemical potential. For the corresponding non-stoichiometric structures, we find that, the (111):O + 1VO surface is the most stable configuration across all values of accessible oxygen chemical potentials. The presence of an oxygen vacant site in this surface is expected to enable potent catalytic-assisted reactions, most notably production of hydrogen from water
Carbon dioxide geo-sequestration (CGS) into sediments in the form of (gas) hydrates is one proposed method for reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere and, thus reducing global warming and climate change. However, there is a serious lack of understanding of how such CO2 hydrate forms and exists in sediments. We thus imaged CO2 hydrate distribution in sandstone, and investigated the hydrate morphology and cluster characteristics via x-ray micro-computed tomography in 3D in-situ. A substantial amount of gas hydrate (∼17% saturation) was observed, and the stochastically distributed hydrate clusters followed power-law relations with respect to their size distributions and surface area-volume relationships. The layer-
... Show MoreThis work concerns the thermal and sound insulation as well as the mechanical properties of polymer matrix composite reinforced with glass fibers. These fibers may have dangerous effect during handling, for example the glass fibers might cause some damage to the eyes, lungs and even skin. For this reason the present work, investigates the behavior of polymer composite reinforced with natural fibers (Plant fibers) as replacement to glass fibers. Unsaturated Polyester resin was used as matrix material reinforced with two types of fibers, one of them is artificial (Glass fibers) and the other type is natural (Jute, Fronds Palm and Reed Fibers) by hand lay-up technique. All fibers are untreated with any chemical solvent. The Percentage of mi
... Show MoreInflammasome is a multiprotein oligomer complex which is the precursor procaspase-1 and is a component of the innate immune system so that this study aimed to determine the serum levels of interleukin-1? and 18 in patients with T2D and simple obesity in an attempt to clarify the role of inflammasome in these disorders.Twenty five known cases of T2D, twenty four patients with simple obesity and twenty healthy subjects were randomly recruited from AL-Kindy Teaching Hospital in Baghdad to enroll in this study. All the data about the demographic characteristics and anthropometric measurements were determined in all patients, also the C-reactive protein and serum interleukin (IL)-1? and IL-18 levels were obtained from each patient. The results s
... Show MoreThe Ligand 2-(4-nitrophenyl azo)-2,4-dimethylphenol derived from 4-nitroaniline and 2,4-dimethylphenol was synthesized. The prepared ligand was identified by FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic techniques. Treatment of the ligand with the following metal ions ( CuII , ZnII ,CdII and HgII) in aqueous ethanol with a 1:2 M:L ratio. Characterization of these compounds has been done on the basis of FT-IR and UV-Vis, as well as magnetic susceptibility and conductivity measurements. On the basis of physicochemical data tetrahedral geometries were assigned for the complexes.
Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase in salivary pleomorphic adenoma, and to correlate the two studied markers with each other and with clinicopathological parameters including: age, sex, tumor site and histopathological presentation. Methods: Sections of twenty five formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue blocks specimens of salivary pleomorphic adenoma were immunostained using monoclonal antibodies (Fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase) to assess their expression in this tumor. Results: The expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 and Heparanase were positive in all pleomorphic adenoma cases (100%). The positive expression of fibroblast growth factor-2 was signi
... Show MoreIn recent years , the interest in gold (III) species have gained more and more attention for cancer chemotherapy , this was stimulating by the possibility to develop new agents with mode of action and clinical profile different from the established platinum metalodrugs.
With this frame, recently new square planar Au(III) complexes (Au(L)(L')n); where L=SCH2COO- ; L'=HSCH2COO- had been synthesized with S/O – donor ligands.
In this article and by the aim to replace, one of (L') ligand by anion chloride ligand (which supposedly more relevant for the biodistribution of the compound than for its pharmacodynamic effects), new complex (Au(L')
This study is an attempt to find whether arginine metabolism dysregulation by arginase activity is related to hyperglycemia, followed by changes in nitric oxide (NO) generation in type 2 diabetic patients. This study includes 42 control subjects (Group I), and 92 Iraqi patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The patient group was subdivided into two groups: Group II (54) with T2DM only and Group III (38) with T2DM and dyslipidemia (who were treating with atorvastatin along with diabetes treatment). The samples were obtained to measure arginase activity and NO levels. Serum arginase activity increased significantly in patients(groupII and groupIII) compared to control group. While serum NO level was significantly lower in diabetic pa
... Show MoreBackground: Interleukine-2 is a multifunctional cytokine, considered a central regulator of host resistance against a variety of pathogens and has been recently demonstrated to exert an active role in the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of scaling and root planning on level of IL-2 in serum and saliva of patients with chronic generalized periodontitis, in relation to clinical parameters. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 subjects were enrolled, of which 25 had chronic generalized periodontitis and 25 periodontally healthy subjects as control. The clinical parameters included: gingival index, pocket probing depth, clinical attachment level and bleeding on probing. The level of
... Show MoreThe ongoing COVID‐19 pandemic caused by SARS‐CoV‐2 is associated with high morbidity and mortality. This zoonotic virus has emerged in Wuhan of China in December 2019 from bats and pangolins probably and continuing the human‐to‐human transmission globally since last two years. As there is no efficient approved treatment, a number of vaccines were developed at an unprecedented speed to counter the pandemic. Moreover, vaccine hesitancy is observed that may be another possible reason for this never ending pandemic. In the meantime, several variants and mutations were identified and causing multiple waves globally. Now the safety and efficacy of these vaccines are debatable and recommended to d