Novel pure α-, ß-, and mixed-phase α/ß-Bi2O3 photocatalysts for enhanced organic dye degradation under both visible light and solar irradiation.

Combining the pure α- and ß-phases of bismuth oxide enhances its photocatalytic activity under both visible and solar irradiation. α-Bi2O3, ß-Bi2O3, and α/ß-Bi2O3 were synthesized by a solvothermal calcination method. The structural, optical, and morphological properties of the as-synthesized catalysts were analyzed using XRD, UV-DRS, XPS, SEM, TEM, and PL. The bandgaps of α/ß-Bi2O3, α-Bi2O3, and ß-Bi2O3 were calculated to be 2.59, 2.73, and 2.34 eV, respectively. The photocatalytic activities of the catalysts under visible and solar irradiation were examined by the degradation of carcinogenic reactive blue 198 and reactive black 5 dyes. The kinetic plots of the degradation reactions followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. α/ß-Bi2O3 exhibited higher photocatalytic activity (∼99%) than α-Bi2O3 and ß-Bi2O3 under visible and solar irradiation. The TOC and COD results confirmed the maximum degradation ability of α/ß-Bi2O3, and the decolorization percentage remained above 90%, even after five cycles under visible irradiation. The photocatalytic dye degradation mechanism employed by α/ß-Bi2O3 was proposed based on active species trapping experiments.

Intracardiac Leiomyomatosis Arising from a Uterine Leiomyoma - A Rare Case Requiring a Multidisciplinary Laparotomy-Thoracotomy Approach.

A 37-year-old lady, when being evaluated in gynecology for pain in the abdomen, was found to have a pelvic mass suspicious of ovarian cancer with markers negative. There was an ovarian vein thrombosis extending to the right atrium in the contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan. A fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography ruled out any other lesions. The patient underwent surgery under general anesthesia with transesophageal echocardiography to monitor the atrial thrombus. Intraoperatively, a retroperitoneal mass is seen arising from the right adnexal region of the uterus extending to the lumbar area. After the hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, tumor resection, and baring and looping of the retroperitoneal vessels, a sternotomy was done, and she was put on cardiopulmonary bypass. The tumor thrombus had two limbs both arising from the mass, one through the ovarian and the second through the iliac veins and joining together inside the inferior vena cava (IVC). With the excision of the ovarian vein at its junction, atrial incision, and incisions over the iliac veins and IVC, the thrombus was removed completely in a single sitting. Final histopathology revealed intravenous leiomyomatosis and no malignancy. We report this case as a rare disease, with both ovarian and iliac thrombus being a further rarity and a multidepartment joint effort with a successful outcome.

Magnetic field reversal in the turbulent environment around a repeating fast radio burst.

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief, intense flashes of radio waves from unidentified extragalactic sources. Polarized FRBs originate in highly magnetized environments. We report observations of the repeating FRB 20190520B spanning 17 months, which show that the FRB's Faraday rotation is highly variable and twice changes sign. The FRB also depolarizes below radio frequencies of about 1 to 3 gigahertz. We interpret these properties as being due to changes in the parallel component of the magnetic field integrated along the line of sight, including reversing direction of the field. This could result from propagation through a turbulent magnetized screen of plasma, located 10-5 to [Formula: see text] parsecs from the FRB source. This is consistent with the bursts passing through the stellar wind of a binary companion of the FRB source.