Pharmaceuticals have been widely remaining contaminants in wastewater, and diclofenac is the most common pharmaceutical pollutant. Therefore, the removal of diclofenac from aqueous solutions using activated carbon produced by pyrocarbonic acid and microwaves was investigated in this research. Apricot seed powder and pyrophosphoric acid (45 wt%) were selected as raw material and activator respectively, and microwave irradiation technique was used to prepare the activated carbon. The raw material was impregnated in pyrophosphoric acid at 80◦C with an impregnation ratio of 1: 3 (apricot seeds to phosphoric acid), the impregnation time was 4 h, whereas the power of the microwave was 700 watts with a radiation time of 20 min. A series of experiments were conducted at constant mixing speed (300 revolutions per minute) to evaluate the effect of experimental factors likes, adsorption time, pH of diclofenac solution, diclofenac initial concentration, and dosage of activated carbon on removal efficiency. The design of experiments (version 13 Stat-Ease) was implemented using the central composite method to define the optimum effect of the process factors on the removal efficiency. The analysis of variance showed that the quadratic model for the experiment was significant with a very low probability value (P- value < 0.0001). The adjusted R2 of the model was 0.9826 and the predicted R2 was 0.9574. Whereas the optimum conditions suggested by the model for the process variable were found to be 150 min, 3.25 pH, 30 mg/L, 0.267g, for adsorption time, pH of diclofenac solution, diclofenac initial concentration, a dosage of activated carbon, respectively and the maximum removal efficiency was found to be 94.6%. The data obtained from the experiments were fitted with Langmuir and Freundlich models and the results show that the data was well fitted Langmuir model with R2 = 0.9685 as compared to the Freundlich model which has R2 = 0.93249. Likewise, the data was analyzed by pseudo first and second-order kinetic models and the results show that the adsorption on apricot-activated carbon was well adequate with the pseudo-second-order model.
The aim of this study is to investigate the antibacterial capabilities of different coating durations of three nanoparticle (NP) coatings: molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta), and zinc oxide (ZnO), and their effects on the surface characteristics of 316L stainless steel (SS). The coated substrates underwent characterization utilizing field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), and X-ray diffractometer (XRD) techniques. The antibacterial efficacy of NPs was evaluated using the agar diffusion method. The FE-SEM and EDX images confirmed the presence of nano-sized particles of Mo, Ta, and ZnO on the surface of the substrates with perfectly symmetrical spheres and a uniform distribution of
... Show MoreThe antimicrobial activity of ginger extracts ( cold-water, hot-water, ethanolic and essential oil ) against some of pathogenic bacteria ( Escherichia coli , Salmonella sp , Klebsiella sp , Serratia marcescens, Vibrio cholerae , Staphylococcus aureus , Streptococcus sp) was investigated using Disc diffusion method , and the results were compared with the antimicrobial activity of 12 antibiotics on the same bacteria . The results showed that the ginger extracts were more effective on gram-positive bacteria than gram-negative . V. cholerae and S. marcescens,were the most resistant bacteria to the extracts used , while highest inhibition was noticed against Streptococcus sp (28 mm) . The ethanolic extract showed the broadest antibacterial ac
... Show MoreAbstract Twelve isolates of bacteria were obtained from samples of different soils and water amended with 100µg/ml of five heavy metals chlorides (i.e: Aluminum Al+2, Iron Fe+2, Lead Pb+2, Mercury Hg+2 and Zinc Zn+2). Four isolates were identified as Bacillus subtilis and B. subtilis (B2) isolate was selected for this study according to their resistance to all five heavy metals chlorides. The ability of B. subtilis (B2) isolate for growing in different concentration of heavy metals chlorides ranging from 200-1200 µg/ml was tested. The highest conc. that B. subtilis (B2) isolate tolerate was 1000 µg/ml for Al+2, Fe+2, Pb+2, and Zn+2and 300 µg/ml for Hg+2 for 24hour. The effect of heavy metals chlorides on bacterial growth for 72 hrs was
... Show MoreThe Karolinka earth-fill dam was constructed between 1977 and 1984 on the Stanovnice river above the town of Karolinka in the region of Vsetínsko in Czech Republic. Because of leakage on the downstream dam face due to technological indiscipline when filling dam layers during the dam construction stage, there were some steps to improve state dam safety. The final rehabilitation is to construct the diaphragm walls from self-hardening cement-bentonite suspension along the length of the dam. In addition to connecting the gallery and abutment (2 × 25 m long) by using jet piles. The article presents numerical modeling of safety factor evaluation associated with the state of the dam body and foundation; before, and after seal
... Show MoreThe aim of this study is to investigate the role of prodigiosin on P. aeruginosa' s biofilm genes involved in the pathogenicity and persistency of the bacteria; Materials and methods: Gram negative bacterial isolates were taken from burn and wounds specimen obtained from some of Baghdad hospitals. Forty six isolates were identified as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and four isolates as Serratia marcescens by using biochemical tests and VITEK 2 compact system. Susceptibility test was performed for all P. aeruginosa isolates, the results showed that 100% were resistant to Amikacin and 98% were sensitive to Meropenem. Resistant isolates were tested for biofilm formation; the strong and moderate isolates (17) were detected by PCR for AlgD gene
... Show MoreBackground: the primary objective for many researches carried out in dental implantology was to reduce the period needed for functional implant loading, simvastatin (cholesterol lowering medication) had many pleiotropic effects, one of which was increasing bone density around titanium implants (1) and subsequently establishing faster osseointegrated dental implants (2,3). This study aims to reduce the period of time needed to establish secondary stability of dental implant measured in ISQ (Implant Stability Quotient) by investigating the effect of orally administered simvastatin on bone. Materials and methods: simvastatin tablets (40mg/day for three months) were administered orally for 11 healthy women aged (40-51) years old who received 1
... Show MoreThis study aims to evaluate and compare the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of a modified heat-cured acrylic denture base material containing 15% phosphoric acid 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate ester (PA2HEME) with those of nonmodified PMMA. Discs with a diameter of 12 mm and a thickness of 2 mm were prepared using a heat-cured PMMA denture base material and divided into control and experimental groups. The experimental group was modified with 15% phosphoric acid 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate ester (PA2HEME). The modified and nonmodified materials were tested via FTIR, and the effect of modification on surface roughness was evaluated with AFM. An in vitro test was conducted to examine the cytotoxicity and biocompatibility of heat-cured acry
... Show MoreCompaction of triticale grain with three moisture contents (8%, 12%, and 16% wet basis) was measured at five applied pressures (0, 7, 14, 34, and 55 kPa). Bulk density increased with increasing pressure for all moisture contents and was significantly (p < 0.0001) dependent on both moisture content and applied pressure. A Verhulst logistic equation was found to model the changes in bulk density of triticale grain with R2 of 0.986. The model showed similar beha
This study aimed to identify the political factors influencing the performance of specialized journalists in Iraqi electronic newspapers. The significance of the study stems from the role of communication in newspapers that have established themselves in reality due to their wide dissemination, multiple uses, expanding freedom base, and the current diversity in perspectives. These newspapers highlight and publish societal issues of concern. The importance of these newspapers is associated with their creators who face various factors affecting their value and performance, whether positively or negatively. In light of this, the political factor was identified as the primary driver for other influencing factors. The
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