This study investigated the impact of lime stabilization on the fate and transformation of AgNPs. It also evaluated the changes in the population and diversity of the five most relevant bacterial phyla in soil after applying lime-stabilized sludge containing AgNPs. The study was performed by spiking an environmentally relevant concentration of AgNPs (2 mg AgNPs/g TS) in sludge, applying lime stabilization to increase pH to above 12 for two hours, and applying lime-treated sludge to soil samples. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were used to investigate the morphological and compositional changes of AgNPs during lime stabilization. After the application of lime stabilized sludge to the soil, soil samples were periodically analyzed for total genomic DNA and changes in bacterial phyla diversity using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The results showed that lime treatment effectively removed AgNPs from the aqueous phase, and AgNPs were deposited on the lime molecules. The results revealed that AgNPs did not significantly impact the presence and diversity of the assessed phyla in the soil. However, lime stabilized sludge with AgNPs affected the abundance of each phylum over time. No significant effects on the soil total organic carbon (TOC), heterotrophic plate count (HPC), and percentage of the live cells were observed.
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers significant benefits to biomedical research and academic writing. Nevertheless, using AI-powered writing aid tools has prompted worries about excessive dependence on these tools and their possible influence on writing proficiency. The current study aimed to explore the academic staff’s perspectives on the impact of AI on academic writing. This qualitative study incorporated in-person interviews with academic faculty members. The interviews were conducted in a semi-structured manner, using a predetermined interview guide consisting of open-ended questions. The interviews were done in person with the participants from May to November 2023. The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Ten academics aged
... Show MoreInfrastructure, especially wastewater projects, plays an important role in the life of residential communities. Due to the increasing population growth, there is also a significant increase in residential and commercial facilities. This research aims to develop two models for predicting the cost and time of wastewater projects according to independent variables affecting them. These variables have been determined through a questionnaire distributed to 20 projects under construction in Al-Kut City/ Wasit Governorate/Iraq. The researcher used artificial neural network technology to develop the models. The results showed that the coefficient of correlation R between actual and predicted values were 99.4% and 99 %, MAPE was
... Show MoreA simple, accurate, precise, rapid, economical and a high sensitive spectrophotometric method has been developed for the determination of tadalafil in pharmaceutical preparations and industrial wastewater samples, which shows a maximum absorbance at 204 nm in 1:1 ethanol-water. Beer's law was obeyed in the range of 1-7?g/ mL ,with molar absorptivity and Sandell ? s sensitivity of 0.783x105l/mol.cm and 4.97 ng/cm2respectively, relative standard deviation of the method was less than 1.7%, and accuracy (average recovery %) was 100 ± 0. 13. The limits of detection and quantitation are 0.18 and 0.54 µg .ml-1, respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of tadalafil in some pharmaceutical formulations
... Show MoreBiosorption is an effective method to remove toxic metals from wastewaters. In this study biosorption of lead and chromium ions from solution was studied using Citrobacter freundii and Citrobacter kosari isolated from industrial wastewater. The experimental results showed that optimum grwoth temperature for both bacteria is 30oC and the optimum pH is 7 &6 for C. freundii and C. kosari respectively. While the optimum incubation period to remove Pb and Cr for C. freundii and C. kosari is 4 days and 3days respectively. Also the biosorption of Pb and Cr in mixed culture of bacteria and mixed culture of Pb and Cr was investigated. Result indicate that uptake of Cr and Pb for C.freundii, C. kosari and in mixes culture of both bacteria is 58%, 53%
... Show MoreAdsorption techniques are widely used to remove certain classes of pollutants from wastewater. Phenolic compounds represent one of the problematic groups. Na-Y zeolite has been synthesized from locally available Iraqi kaolin clay. Characterization of the prepared zeolite was made by XRD and surface area measurement using N2 adsorption. Both synthetic Na-Y zeolite and kaolin clay have been tested for adsorption of 4-Nitro-phenol in batch mode experiments. Maximum removal efficiencies of 90% and 80% were obtained using the prepared zeolite and kaolin clay, respectively. Kinetics and equilibrium adsorption isotherms were investigated. Investigations showed that both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms fit the experimental data quite well. On the
... Show MoreIntroduction: The current study investigated the use of acid-treated rice husks to remove heavy metals and organic pollutants from water containing heavy metals (R2C and Cd2) and organic pollutants (phenol and atrazine). Methods: The adsorption effect of acid-treated rice husks was compared with other adsorbents such as activated carbon, chitosan, and bentonite clay. Result: both acid-treated rice husks and activated carbon were highly efficient materials, and thus, rice husks were established as a cost-effective alternative. It was revealed that acid treatment of rice husks enhanced adsorption capacity by half, and lead removal was nearly doubled. The most effective pH value for optimizing organic pollutants and heavy metals while
... Show MoreBackground: Titanium implant is widely used in dentistry because of its extraordinary biocompatibility and mechanical properties. To increase bone–implant connection and provide early loading after placement, implant is stored in different storage medium and treated with UV light. Both of them are applicable methods to increase the bioactivity of titanium and overcome the biological aging. This study was designed to assess the effect of vacuum storage method and air storage with and without UV light treated of Cp Ti implant mechanically and histologically. Materials and methods: Titanium screws were acid etched and prepared in four different modes using different storage methods (air or vacuum and, with or without UV treatment. The implan
... Show MoreObjective: The goal of this research was to evaluate where selenium nanoparticles impact the activity of antibodies in immunized lambs with foot and mouth vaccines by modulating the immune system. Materials and Methods: Two groups of lambs of 3–4 months of age were injected with 1 ml of ARRIAH-VAC vaccine intramuscularly in the neck, five Lambs were given selenium nanoparticles (size 100 nm) oral administration of selenium nano dose of 0.1 mg/kg of body mass once every day for sixty days considered as group one (G1) while the other five used as control Group 2 (G2). Results: This resulted in the establishment of an immune response, as evidenced by a rise in antibody titer in the blood using the ELISA test for three serotypes A,
... Show MoreDynamic Thermal Management (DTM) emerged as a solution to address the reliability challenges with thermal hotspots and unbalanced temperatures. DTM efficiency is highly affected by the accuracy of the temperature information presented to the DTM manager. This work aims to investigate the effect of inaccuracy caused by the deep sub-micron (DSM) noise during the transmission of temperature information to the manager on DTM efficiency. A simulation framework has been developed and results show up to 38% DTM performance degradation and 18% unattended cycles in emergency temperature under DSM noise. The finding highlights the importance of further research in providing reliable on-chip data transmission in DTM application.
The optimum design is characterized by structural concrete components that can sustain loads well beyond the yielding stage. This is often accomplished by a fulfilled ductility index, which is greatly influenced by the arrangement of the shear reinforcement. The current study investigates the impact of the shear reinforcement arrangement on the structural response of the deep beams using a variety of parameters, including the type of shear reinforcement, the number of lacing bars, and the lacing arrangement pattern. It was found that lacing reinforcement, as opposed to vertical stirrups, enhanced the overall structural response of deep beams, as evidenced by test results showing increases in ultimate loads, yielding, and cracking of
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