Zeolite 13X incorporated with Zn-Ce oxide nanocatalyst for removal of Reactive Red 120 dye: RSM-based approach.

In this study, the photocatalytic removal of Reactive Red 120 (RR120) dye was examined using zeolite 13X incorporated with Zn-Ce under UV irradiation. The synthesis of Zn-Ce nanoparticles incorporated with zeolite 13X was conducted through the co-precipitation method, and the features of the prepared nanocatalyst were analyzed using various techniques. The SEM and BET analyses indicated successful incorporation of ZnO-Ce oxides on the surface of zeolite 13X and a specific surface area of 359.39 m2/gm, respectively. Further, the average size of crystal grains was 28 nm. The response surface methodology (RSM) approach was employed to optimize operating parameters. The quadratic model suggested by the RSM approach, characterized by a high regression coefficient (R2 = 0.9632), indicates a high level of reliability. Moreover, under optimal conditions (catalyst loading of 4 mg, pH of 3, H2O2 amount of 0.2 mL, UV power of 25 W, and reaction time of 60 min), the highest RR120 dye removal percentage was 99.97%. Kinetic data indicated an increase in the reaction rate constant from 0.0631 to 0.1796 min-1. The zeolite 13X incorporated with Zn-Ce photocatalyst exhibited excellent stability over 5 cycles, with only a 5.50% decrease in RR120 dye removal yield. This study demonstrates the promising potential of zeolite 13X incorporated with Zn-Ce nanoparticles for the removal of RR120 dye from aqueous suspension.

Enhanced oil recovery by using modified ZnO nanocomposites in sandstone oil reservoirs.

Recently, nanocomposites were employed to improve the extraction of oil in different reservoirs. Due to the unique characteristics of nanoparticles such as small size, efficient altering main mechanisms such as IFT, CA, and viscosity reduction, have received wide attention among researchers. This study investigated the application of a newly designed ZnO-cerium N-composite for EOR at reservoir conditions, and the performance was compared to the standalone ZnO nanoparticles. After performing the morphology of the N-composite, the effect of the N-composites on the wettability alteration, interfacial tension, viscosity, Zeta potential, pH, and density was studied at different N-composites concentrations at reservoir conditions. Based on the results of rock/fluid interactions at the static phase, an optimum concentration was chosen for performing dynamic core flooding experiments. At 100 ppm, the highest stability and the highest reduction in capillary force were observed. The presence of Ce in the structure of the N-composite changes the pore volume of ZnO-Ce compared to ZnO nanoparticles, which affects the surface charge. IFT (mN/m), CA (°), and zeta potential (mV) were (22.51, 40.83, and - 44.36), and (30.50, 50.21, and - 31.05) for ZnO-Ce and ZnO, respectively at 100 ppm. By application of the optimized nanofluid in an oil displacement study, RF in the presence of ZnO-Ce, and ZnO were 37.11% and 71.40%, respectively.

Enhanced photocatalytic performance of milkvetch-derived biochar via ZnO-Ce nanoparticle decoration for reactive blue 19 dye removal.

In this research, the photocatalytic removal of reactive blue 19 (RB19) dye is investigated employing zinc oxide/cerium (ZnO@Ce) nanoparticles decorated with biochar under LED irradiation. Synthesis of ZnO@Ce nanoparticles decorated with biochar was performed utilizing the co-precipitation procedure and, then, the texture and morphology of the fabricated nanocomposite were analyzed using energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy techniques. Moreover, FE-SEM images demonstrate that ZnO-Ce nanoparticles were successfully decorated on the surface of biochar. The specific surface areas of biochar and biochar/ZnO-Ce were 519.75 and 636.52 m2/g, respectively. To achieve the maximum yield in the removal of RB19 dye, the effects of operating variables including dye concentration, LED lamp power, biochar@ZnO-Ce catalyst dose, pH and H2O2 dose were explored. Besides, the maximum percentage of RB19 dye removal was 96.47% under optimal conditions, i.e. catalyst dosage of 100 mg, H2O2 dosage of 1 mL, pH of 9, initial dye concentration of 5 ppm, LED power of 50 W, and reaction time of 140 min. Furthermore, the kinetic analysis reveals that the removal of RB19 dye follows the pseudo-first order kinetic model, with calculated values of a reaction rate constant of 0.045 min-1 and a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.99, respectively. Moreover, the reusability and recyclability of biochar@ZnO/Ce nanocatalyst was promising over five runs, with only a 6.08% decrease in RB19 dye removal efficiency. Therefore, it can be concluded that the biochar @ZnO/Ce photocatalyst can be promisingly applied for the removal of azo dyes in aqueous solutions.

LED-light-driven over ZnO/biochar nanocomposite for activation of peroxymonosulfate to enhanced photocatalytic removal of methyl orange dye in aqueous solutions.

ABSTRACTOrganic dyes are stable and persistent toxic compounds in the aquatic environment that are refractory to decompose by removal methods such as physico-chemical, optical and biological. Their presence in the aquatic media threatens human and wildlife. Herein, ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) due to good chemical durability, low cost and good photocatalytic performance was anchored on biochar (ZnO@biochar) nanocomposites were synthesized towards activation of peroxymonosulfate (PMS) for the photocatalytic removal of methyl orange (MO) dye. Several methods were used to characterization of the nanocomposites including FESEM, XRD, PL, EDS, FT-IR spectroscopy, and N2 adsorption/desorption. The results of the techniques demonstrated that the well-dispersed ZnO NPs were loaded onto the biochar surface. According to the particle size distribution graph, the average particle size of 64 nm was obtained for the ZnO NPs. BET analyzes showed that pore volume, the specific surface area (SSA) and average pore size of the synthesized nanocomposite increased. The survey of effective operational parameters indicated that the highest photocatalytic activity for MO removal was in the pH 3 of solution, 5 ppm initial dye concentration, 30 mg ZnO/biochar nanocomposite, and 20 mg PMS dose under LED-50W lamp irradiation (97.03% in the reaction time of 80 min). During the process, the reduction of the total organic carbon (TOC) contents and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were observed. Moreover, the MO degradation kinetics under optimal operating conditions were determined. It is concluded that the ZnO@biochar nanocomposite/PMS process was an efficient degradation method for the decomposition of the dye pollutant.

Household food insecurity and associated factors in the Northeast of Iran: a cross-sectional study : Household food security in Northern Iran.

BACKGROUND: Food Insecurity (FI) is a global health concern. For the first time, this study evaluated households' food insecurity and factors related to it in Golestan province, North of Iran. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 5129 randomly selected households in the Golestan Province in 2016. Sociodemographic characteristics, including age, ethnicity, household size, education level, and occupation status, were collected via interview. The prevalence and severity of food insecurity were identified by the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), whose scores are between 0 and 27, with larger values indicating more severe food insecurity. The prevalence of food insecurity based on the geographical area was presented using GIS. RESULTS: Out of 5129 households, 2216 (43.21%) had food security, and 2913 (56.79%) households had food insecurity, with a Mean ± SD HFIAS score of 4.86 ± 5.95. Out of 2913 households with FI, 1526 (52.39%), 956 (32.82%), and 431 (14.79%) had mild, moderate, and severe food insecurity, respectively. Among 14 regions of the province, three regions had the most cases of food insecurity. Food insecurity (moderate or severe) was significantly associated with mothers as the household head (adjusted OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.03-2.70) and lower education level of the household head. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of household food insecurity in the Golestan Province is higher than the national average. Factors such as literacy, employment status, and gender of the household head can be significantly associated with food insecurity.

Improving Simultaneous Water Alternative Associate Gas Tests in the Presence of Newly Synthesized γ-Al2O3/ZnO/Urea Nano-Composites: An Experimental Core Flooding Tests.

Nano-composites positively impact subsurface porous media's properties during enhanced oil recovery. In this paper, γ-Al2O3/ZnO/urea nano-composites were selected to improve simultaneous water alternative associate gas (SWAG) tests based on better results in comparison to pure γ-Al2O3 in the static phase. According to the interfacial tension (lowest), contact angle (lowest), zeta potential (highest absolute value), and viscosity (lowest) tests in the presence of nano-composites, 80 ppm was chosen as the optimum concentration (OP) to perform SWAG experiments. The interfacial tension (mN m-1) and contact angle (°) values of nano-fluids at concentrations of 20, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 ppm were higher than that of alumina and were (27.50, 130.12), (24.38, 80.32), (21.63, 70.98), (15.63, 40.69), (10.75, 8.50), and (6.80, 46.01) mN m-1, respectively. It was evident that considering effective, efficient parameters before performing the main SWAG test was important, and due to using OP, the recovery factor increased from 55.9 to 83.1% at a constant SWAG ratio (1:1) and temperature (40 °C). Furthermore, higher instant oil and lower produced water were seen as OP during the nano-composite-assisted SWAG test at 80 ppm.

The synergetic effect of lanthanide (La and Ce) and N co-doping of ZnO NPs for high-rate photocatalytic phenol degradation.

Simultaneously, lanthanide and N-modified ZnO NPs were synthesized and applied for the photocatalytic phenol degradation under LED irradiation. Among La and Ce, Ce-doped ZnO exhibited more efficiently photocatalytic activity. XRD analysis confirmed that most of Ce3+ was oxidized to Ce2O3/CeO2 over the photocatalyst surface as a secondary phase. This is due to the larger ionic radius of Ce3+ relative to that of Zn2+. Ce and N co-doping of ZnO led to narrowing the band gap and suppressing charge recombination rate. The effect of key variables, dopant type, dopant concentration, catalyst loading, initial dye concentration, light source power, solution pH, and H2O2 content on the photocatalytic degradation of phenol was systematically investigated. The utmost conversion of phenol, 100%, was observed by ZnO-Ce5-N0.33 sample under optimum conditions. Kinetics investigation revealed that under the optimum conditions, photodegradation of phenol follows a pseudo-first-order kinetics model with rate constant of 0.0631 min-1. Given the fact that the ZnO-Ce5-N0.33 is a heterostructure composed of Zn1-xCexO1-yNy and Ce2O3 and CeO2, a double Z-scheme pattern is suggested as a plausible charge transfer mechanism.

Experimental Core Flooding Investigation of New ZnO-γAl2O3 Nanocomposites for Enhanced Oil Recovery in Carbonate Reservoirs.

Generally, crude oil production in mature oil reservoirs is difficult. In this regard, some nanoparticles have been used to upgrade injected water into oil reservoirs. These nanoparticles can be used in a variety of injectable waters, including smart water (SMW) with special salinity. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the injection of SMW with ZnO-γAl2O3 nanoparticles in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The performance of SMW with ZnO-γAl2O3 nanoparticles in regard to contact angle (CA), interfacial tension (IFT) reduction, and oil production with core flooding tests was investigated. The newly prepared ZnO-γAl2O3 structure was characterized by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses in this research. The effects of different concentrations of nanofluids on zeta potential (ZP) and conductivity were investigated. The ZP test confirmed the results of the stability tests of the developed nanofluids in water-based solutions. After the introduction of ZnO-γAl2O3 nanoparticles into the formation of brine and SMW solutions, oil-water (O/W) IFT was reduced. Based on the results, the IFT decreased more when nanoparticles and ions were present in the system. The results of the present study showed that at the concentration of SW+300 ppm ZnO-γAl2O3, the IFT value reached 11 mN/m from 27.24 mN/m. The results of the CA tests showed that improving the capabilities of salt water in the presence of nanoparticles has resulted in a very effective reduction. Also, in this regard, very hydrophilic wettability was achieved using SMW with stable nanoparticles. Moreover, the results of the present study showed that at the concentration of SMW+300 ppm ZnO-γAl2O3 nanoparticles, the CA value reached 31 from 161°. In the end, the solution of SW+300 ppm ZnO-γAl2O3 improved the OR by 15 and 24%. This research indicated that it is possible to develop and implement different nanoparticles by combining SMW to manage reservoir rock wettability and maximize OR from carbonate reservoirs. Thus, this combination as an effective agent could significantly increase reservoir sweep efficiency. Thus, as a result, using the established hybrid technique has distinct advantages over using SMW flooding alone.

Applications of zeolite-zirconia-copper nanocomposites as a new asphaltene inhibitor for improving permeability reduction during CO2 flooding.

Using nanoparticles for adsorbing asphaltene was known as an efficient method among researchers for crude oil upgrading. In this study, zeolite-zirconia-copper nanocomposites (NCs) have been synthesized and characterized with Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX). Then, CO2-oil interfacial tension (IFT) tests, Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, asphaltene precipitation tests at static phase, and dynamic CO2 flooding tests were performed in the presence of NCs and the results were compared with zeolite nanoparticles. Based on the characterization results, zirconia-copper particles were distributed at the surface of zeolite with total dimensions less than 30 nm, and the specific surface areas of the NCs (327.82 m2/g) was less than the pure zeolite (369.48 m2/g). It was seen that NCs had a greater asphaltene adsorption capacity and the application of decreasing asphaltene precipitation was higher in comparison to the zeolite nanoparticles. Accordingly, NCs were selected for performing dynamic CO2 tests and investigation of the permeability and porosity reduction parameters at obtained static condition. After adding NCs at the dynamic phase, asphaltene depositions that occured after CO2 injection was decreased and permeability/porosity reduction parameters were improved.

Virus load and incidence of olfactory, gustatory, respiratory, gastrointestinal disorders in COVID-19 patients: A retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated the relationship between viral load and the incidence of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction (OD and GD), the incidence of respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms and the recovery of OD and GD in COVID-19 patients. DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: This study was conducted on 599 outpatients' cases in Golestan province between February and June 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The incidence, severity (complete or partial) and recovery time of OD and GD and their associations with cycle threshold (CT) values of SARS-CoV-2 polymerase chain reaction were assessed. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 38.27 ± 13.62 years. The incidence of general symptoms included myalgia 70.1%, headache 51.8%, fever 47.7% and dyspnoea 21.4%. 41.9% of patients had gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain 26.5%, diarrhoea 25.2%, nausea 20.5% and vomiting 12.9%. 12.2% of patients had comorbidity. The trimester recovery rates of OD and GD were 93.94% and 94.74% respectively. The mean recovery time of OD and GD was 14.56 ± 13.37 and 13.8 ± 3.77 days respectively. The mean CT value in all patients was 27.45 ± 4.55. There were significant associations between the mean of CT value with headache (p = 0.04), GD (p = 0.002) and OD (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The finding of this study indicates a possible association between viral load with incidence of OD and GD in COVID-19 patient's cases and assures the recovery of OD/GD in these patients.

Enhanced photocatalytic performance of UiO-66-NH2/TiO2 composite for dye degradation.

In this study, the performance of TiO2, ZnO, UiO-66-NH2 and UiO-66-NH2/TiO2 nanoparticles was investigated. They apply as photocatalysts for the destruction of organic reactive red dye 120 (RR120) under UV light. In order to determine the optimal conditions, effects of different catalysts and initial dye concentration, H2O2 content and catalyst loading parameters were examined. Taguchi-designed experimental method was used to obtain optimal test conditions. The physical and chemical properties of synthetic photocatalysts were investigated by SEM, XRD, EDX, BET and DRS. SEM images show that the globular particles of titania are well placed on the surface of the metal-organic framework (MOF). XRD and EDX analyses also confirmed the presence of titania in the synthesised UiO-66-NH2/TiO2 photocatalyst. Optimal values of H2O2, pH, the amount of catalyst, the dye concentration and the type of available photocatalyst to remove the RR120 dye, were obtained by 80 µl/l, 3 mg/l, 5 mg/l and 20 mg/l, UiO-66-NH2/TiO2 catalyst, respectively. The required time for complete removal of RR120 dye under detection limit of 0.136 mg/l in optimal conditions was 10 min. The RR120 photocatalytic degradation followed the first-order kinetic equation according to the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model (kapp = 0.407 min-1). The result of optimisation showed the 20 wt% of the titania on MOF (UiO-66-NH2) photocatalyst can be used in advanced oxidation processes, and it can be used as a suitable option for cleaning coloured effluent.

Carboxymethyl cellulose improved adsorption capacity of polypyrrole/CMC composite nanoparticles for removal of reactive dyes: Experimental optimization and DFT calculation.

In this study, polypyrrole/carboxymethyl cellulose nanocomposite particles (PPy/CMC NPs) were synthesized and applied for removal of reactive red 56 (RR56)and reactive blue 160 (RB160) as highly toxic dyes. The amount of CMC was found significantly effective on the surface adsorption efficiency. Different optimization methods including the genetic programming, response surface methodology, and artificial neural network (ANN) were used to optimize the effect of different parameters including pH, adsorption time, initial dye concentration and adsorbent dose. The maximum adsorption of RR56 and RB160 were found under the following optimum conditions: pH of 4 and 5, adsorption time of 55 min and 52 min for RR56 and RB160, respectively, initial dye concentration of 100 mg/L and adsorbent dose of 0.09 g for both dyes. were obtained for RR56 and RB160, respectively. Also, the results indicated that ANN method could predict the experimental adsorption data with higher accuracy than other methods. The analysis of ANN results indicated that the adsorbent dose is the main factor in RR56 removal, followed by time, pH and initial concentration, respectively. However, initial concentration mostly determines the RB160 removal process. The isotherm data for both dyes followed the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 104.9 mg/g and 120.7 mg/g for RR56 and RB160, respectively. In addition, thermodynamic studies indicated the endothermic adsorption process for both studied dyes. Moreover, DFT calculations were carried out to obtain more insight into the interactions between the dyes and adsorbent. The results showed that the hydrogen bondings and Van der Waals interactions are dominant forces between the two studied dyes and PPy/CMC composite. Furthermore, the interaction energies calculated by DFT confirmed the experimental adsorption data, where PPy/CMC resulted in higher removal of both dyes compared to PPy. The developed nanocomposite showed considerable reusability up to 3 cylces of the batch adsorption process.

Well-controlled vs poorly-controlled diabetes in patients with COVID-19: Are there any differences in outcomes and imaging findings?

AIMS: We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes and imaging findings between COVID-19 patients with well-controlled diabetes and those with poorly-controlled diabetes. METHODS: In this retrospective single-center study, 117 patients with coexistent COVID-19 and type 2 diabetes mellitus were included. Patients were divided into two groups based on HbA1c values. Clinical data and laboratory parameters were collected from patients' medical records. Also, the chest computed tomography (CT) score was defined by the summation of individual scores from 5 lung lobes: scores of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 were respectively assigned for each lobe if pulmonary involvement was 0%, less than 5%, 5%-25%, 26%-49%, 50%-75%, or more than 75% of each region. RESULTS: Among all patients with diabetes, 93 (79.5%) patients had poorly-controlled diabetes and 24 (20.5%) had well-controlled diabetes; 66 (56.4%) patients were male and the median age was 66 years (IQR, 55-75 years). The chest CT severity scores were not significantly different between patients with well-controlled diabetes and those with poorly-controlled diabetes (p = 0.33). Also, the mortality and recovery rates were similar between the two groups (p = 0.54 and p = 0.85, respectively). CONCLUSION: Based on the results, clinical outcomes and chest CT severity scores are similar between patients with well-controlled and poorly-controlled diabetes among the Iranian population with COVID-19.

Effects of various glutamine concentrations on gene expression and steviol glycosides accumulation in Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni.

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni is one of the most important biologically sourced and low-calorie sweeteners that contains a lots of Steviol glycosides. Tissue culture is the best method for propagation of stevia and micro nutrients can affect both morphological traits and steviol glycosides production. In the present study, we investigated the effect of different concentrations of glutamine (10, 20, 30 and 40 g/l) on expression of UGT74G1 and UGT76G1 genes and stevioside and rebaudioside A accumulation in the leaves of stevia under in vitro conditions. The highest level of expression for UGT74G1 (1.000 Total lab unit) was seen at plants grown in MS media without glutamine and the highest gene expression level for UGT76G1 (1.321 Total lab unit) was observed at plants grown in 2% glutamine. Based on HPLC results, the highest amount of stevioside (22.74) was accumulated in plants which were under 3% glutamine treatment and the lowest production level of stevioside (16.19) was resulted under MS (0 glutamine) medium. The highest rebaudioside A (12.19) accumulation was observed under 2% glutamine treatment and the lowest accumulation of rebaudioside A (8.41) was seen at plants grown in MS medium.

Evaluation of Cytogenetic Alterations in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes of Esophageal Cancer Patients Treated with Radiotherapy or Chemoradiotherapy using Cytokinesis-Blocked Micronucleus Assay.

The effects of combined radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy in the severity of cytogenetic alterations expressed as micronucleus (MN) in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients treated for esophageal cancer was evaluated. To do this, blood was obtained from 23 and 15 esophageal cancer patients scheduled for chemo-radiotherapy and RT alone, respectively, before, during, and after treatment. Blood samples were cultured in RPMI-1640 complete medium containing 1% phytohemagglutinin and incubated in a CO2 incubator. Cytochalasin-B was added to the cultures at a final concentration of 5 µg/ml. Finally, harvesting, slide making, and analysis were performed according to standard procedures. Results indicate that there was no significant difference between the frequencies of MN in lymphocytes of individuals before being treated with RT alone or chemo-radiotherapy. In the middle of treatment, (after 12 fractions of RT) the frequency of MN increased significantly compared with their concurrent pre-treatment samples in both groups (four-fold). However, the frequency of MN observed for RT patients was not significantly different with those received chemo- and radiotherapy. At the end of treatment, (after 24 fractions of radiotherapy) an increase in the MN frequency was observed for chemo-radiation group significantly higher than RT group (P=0.022). Mild increase in MN frequency in lymphocytes of patients receiving chemoradiation only after the completion of treatment course might be indicative of resistance induced by chemotherapeutics to the clastogenic effects of radiation. Therefore, using these agents repeatedly for cancer treatment in combination with radiation might not cause severe adverse biological effects in normal tissues.