Iodine-doped polythiophene thin films are prepared by aerosol assisted plasma jet polymerization at atmospheric pressure and room temperature. The doping of iodine was carried out in situ by employing iodine crystals in thiophene monomer by weight mixing ratios of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7%. The chemical composition analyses of pure and iodine-doped and heat-treated polythiophene thin films are carried out by FTIR spectroscopy studies. The optical band gaps of the films are evaluated from absorption spectrum studies. Direct transition energy gaps are determined from Tauc plots. The structural changes of polythiophene upon doping and the reduction of optical band gap are explained on the basis of the results obtained from FTIR spectroscopy, UV–V

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanocrystalline thin films have been prepared by chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique on commercial glass substrates at 70ºC temperature. Cadmium chloride (CdCl₂) as a source of cadmium (Cd), thiourea (CS(NH₂)₂) as a source of sulfur and ammonia solution (NH₄OH) were added to maintain the pH value of the solution at 10. The characterization of thin films was carried out through the structural and optical properties by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and UV-VIS spectroscopy. A UV-VIS optical spectroscopy study was carried out to determine the band gap of the nanocrystalline CdS thin film and it showed a blue shift with respect to the bulk value (from 3.9 - 2.4eV). In present w

Enhancing asphalt binder performance against anticipated distresses is a critical focus in pavement engineering. This study investigates the synergistic influence of nano titanium dioxide (NT) and nano zinc oxide (NZ) on asphalt binder performance. Nine NT:NZ combinations (1:1 to 3:3) were prepared with 1–3% by binder weight, in addition to a reference binder (RB). The performance test program included; conventional tests (penetration, softening point, viscosity, and ductility), Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) for performance grading, Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) for rutting evaluation, and Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) for fatigue resistance. Furthermore, Statistical analysis (ANOVA) was performed to determine the significa

Concrete filled steel tube (CFST) columns are being popular in civil engineering due to their superior structural characteristics. This paper investigates enhancement in axial behavior of CFST columns by adding steel fibers to plain concrete that infill steel tubes. Four specimens were prepared: two square columns (100*100 mm) and two circular columns (100 mm in diameter). All columns were 60 cm in length. Plain concrete mix and concrete reinforced with steel fibers were used to infill steel tube columns. Ultimate axial load capacity, ductility and failure mode are discussed in this study. The results showed that the ultimate axial load capacity of CFST columns reinforced with steel fibers increased by 28% and 20 % for circular and square c

Silver nanoparticles synthesized by different species

The effect of Wood Flour addition to the gamma alumina powder used in the preparation of gamma alumina (ɤ-Al₂O₃) catalyst carrier extrudates on the pore volume and BET surface area physical properties was investigated. Two parameters which are size of wood flour particles and its quantity were studied. The sizes of wood flour particles used are 150 µm, 212 µm and 500 µm and the weight percentage added to the gamma alumina powder during the preparation of the extrudates are (1%, 3%, 5% and 10%). The results showed that the addition of wood flour to the gamma alumina powder in order to get gamma alumina extrudates used as catalyst carrier is one of the successful methods to improve the pore volume

    The aim of the current study is to demonstrate the effect of honey on the sperms characteristics (sperm concentration, sperm motility, grade of activity and sperm normal morphology) as well as pregnancy rate in mice. Sperms were obtained from caudal epididymis of male mice and prepared by adding10% of honey to the IVF medium using direct sperms activation technique for 30 minute incubation period before artificial insemination.

    The study revealed a significant (P > 0.05) increase in active sperm motility (grade A and grade B) 49% and pregnancy rate 53.3% in female mice artificially inseminated with sperms. On the other hand, there were no significant differences in sperm con

Data steganography is a technique used to hide data, secret message, within another data, cover carrier. It is considered as a part of information security. Audio steganography is a type of data steganography, where the secret message is hidden in audio carrier. This paper proposes an efficient audio steganography method that uses LSB technique. The proposed method enhances steganography performance by exploiting all carrier samples and balancing between hiding capacity and distortion ratio. It suggests an adaptive number of hiding bits for each audio sample depending on the secret message size, the cover carrier size, and the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Comparison results show that the proposed method outperforms state of the art methods

Data steganography is a technique used to hide data, secret message, within another data, cover carrier. It is considered as a part of information security. Audio steganography is a type of data steganography, where the secret message is hidden in audio carrier. This paper proposes an efficient audio steganography method that uses LSB technique. The proposed method enhances steganography performance by exploiting all carrier samples and balancing between hiding capacity and distortion ratio. It suggests an adaptive number of hiding bits for each audio sample depending on the secret message size, the cover carrier size, and the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Comparison results show that the proposed method outperforms state of the art methods

The 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