Removing hazardous organic pollutants, such as 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) and Congo red (CR) dyes from aqueous media and CO2 from the atmospheric medium remains a significant challenge. Herein, we report a facile in-situ synthetic approach for fabricating CuO-ZnO heterostructure photocatalysts through the surfactant-assisted co-precipitation method. The catalytic results demonstrate that the Cu1O-ZnO photocatalyst exhibits excellent activity under direct sunlight irradiation, owing to the heterostructure formation between the CuO and ZnO. The Cu1O-ZnO photocatalyst showed higher reaction rate constant (k) values of 0.20 min−1 for 4-NP and 0.09 min−1 for CR compared to previous reports. Additionally, efficient CO2 reduction was also achieved over Cu1O-ZnO photocatalyst. The optical and structural characterization results indicate that the improved photocatalytic reduction and degradation observed for the Cu1O-ZnO photocatalyst can be attributed to the strong synergistic interaction between p-type CuO and n-type ZnO and the construction of the p-n heterojunction. As a result, the absorption of visible light distinctly increased and inhibited the recombination rate of the photo-created electron-hole (e−/h+). Furthermore, the Cu1O-ZnO photocatalyst exhibited remarkable durability and recyclability, retaining high photoactivity (≥ 93%) after five cycles, demonstrating its potential for real-world applications in the photocatalytic reduction and degradation reactions under direct sunlight irradiation.
Background: Oil refinery workers are continuously exposed to numerous hazardous materials. Petroleum contains the heavy metals as a natural constituent or as additives. These metals induce the production of ROS which associated with an oxidative damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids. This study was conducted to assess the salivary levels of heavy metals, salivary oxidative status, oral immunological activity (salivary sIgA) and assessment of the oral findings among the workers of Al-Daura oil refinery in Baghdad city. Subjects, Materials and Methods: This study was done in Al-Daura oil refinery; samples consist of 60 workers involved in refinery processes (study group) and 20 non-workers (control group). Oral examination and saliva collection
... Show MoreBackground: Cervical ectopy advanced to erosion is one of the common conditions in gynecological and pathological study. It is considered as a physiologic condition resulting from columnar epithelium migration from the cervical canal into the vaginal portion of the cervix, in which no treatment for asymptomatic cervical ectropion can be given. Treatment can be accomplished via thermal cauterization (Electro cautery), Cryosurgery. CO2 laser therapy is another modality of treatment.
Objective: To study the effectiveness of CO2 laser therapy and evaluate it as a biomedical tool for the treatment of cervical ectropion. The study was done at Laser Medicine Research Clinic at the
... Show MoreObjective: To evaluate the functional outcome of percutaneous cross two K wires fixation for Gartland types II and III fractures of humerus. Methodology: This prospective study included80 patients with supracondylar humeral fracture, who underwent closed reduction and fixation by two crossed Kirschner wires. We included children with age < 15 years with closed fractures with Gartland types II and III, while the patient with vascular injury, open, irreducible fractures were excluded. The patients were following up for 6 months and assessed functionally by Flynn’s criteria. Results: The mean age of patients was 8.1 years. Trauma while child playing was the main mechanism of injury in 43 (59.8%) children and 46 (57.5%) fractures were of the
... Show MoreThis paper represents an experimentalattempt to predict the influence of CO2-MAG welding variables on the shape factors of the weld joint geometry. Theinput variables were welding arc voltage, wire feeding speed and gas flow rate to investigate their effects on the shape factorsof the weld joint geometry in terms of weld joint dimensions (bead width, reinforcement height, and penetration). Design of experiment with response surface methodology technique was employed to buildmathematical models for shape factors in terms of the input welding variables. Thepredicted models were found quadratic type and statistically checked by ANOVA analysis for adequacy purpose. Also, numerical and graphical optimizations were carried out
... Show MoreIn present work an investigation for precise hole drilling via continuous wave (CW) CO2 laser at 150 W maximum output power and wavelength 10.6 μm was achieved with the assistance of computerized numerical controlled (CNC) machine and assist gases. The drilling process was done for thin sheets (0.1 – 0.3 mm) of two types of metals; stainless steel (sst) 321H, steel 33 (st). Changing light and process parameters such as laser power, exposure time and gas pressure was important for getting the optimum results. The obtained results were supported with computational results using the COMSOL 3.5a software code.
This study evaluated the structural changes of enamel treated by the Regenerate system and carbon dioxide (CO2) laser against acid challenge. Thirty human enamel slabs were prepared and assigned into three groups: Group I: untreated (control); Group II: treated with the Regenerate system; and Group III exposed to CO2 laser. All specimens were subjected to an acid challenge (pH 4.5–7.0) for 14 days. Specimens were evaluated and compared at 120 points using five Raman microspectroscopic peaks; the phosphate vibrations ν1, ν2, ν3, and ν4 at 960, 433, 1029, and 579 cm−1, respectively, and the carbonate at 1070 cm−1, followed by Vickers microhardness test. The ratio of carbonate to phosphate was correlated to the equivalent mic
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