Influence of Fermions on Vortices in SU(2)-QCD

Bioremediation of cardboard recycling industrial wastewater using isolated native fungal strains

Activation of persulfate by Fe2+ for saline recalcitrant petrochemical wastewater treatment: Intermediates identification and kinetic study

Saline waste waters would be re-mediated via various physical, chemical and biological techniques. In recent years, the application of advanced oxidation processes, based on the production of radical per-sulfate instead of radical hydroxyl, has been favored, due to increasing potential for oxidation of per-sulfate (EO = 2.01 V), compared to hydroxyl (EO = 2.8 V). In this study, the efficiency of Fe2+/per-sulfate process in COD removal from wastewater as well as improvement of wastewater biodegradability were studied. Result indicated that organic matter was rapidly degraded at pH = 3 which shows that lower pH values will be favorable for COD removal. The maximum removal efficiencies for COD were obtained 67 and 69% after 30 min and 120 min time intervals, respectively. With increasing per-sulfate/ Fe2+ ratio from 0.5:1 to 6:1, the efficiencies of COD removal were increased from 35 to 67% and with a further increase of up to 10:1 ratio, the removal efficiency was declined. In this study, the AOS values before and after process optimization (pH = 3, PS: 10 mM and reaction time 30 min) were obtained +3.27 and +2.23, respectively. So, AOS indices showed an increasing trend of mineralization. The main products of the wastewater degradation were oxime-, 2-propanone, pentanamide, propanenitrile, benzenamine, 1, 4-dichloro-2-(methylthio) benzene, 4-cyclopentene-1,3-dione, 4-chloro-2e(chloromethyl)-1-butene, 4,5-bromm acetyl benzo cyclobutene, p-benzoquinone, niceke-6, hydroquinone.

Degradation of CEX antibiotic from aqueous environment by US/S2O82–/NiO process: optimization using Taguchi method and kinetic studies

The extensive production and consumption of antibiotics have led to an increasing occurrence of antibiotic residuals in various aquatic compartments, presenting a significant threat to both the ecosystem and human health. This study aimed to investigate the removal of cephalexin (CEX) antibiotic from aqueous solutions by ultrasonic/persulfate/nickel oxide NPs (US/S2O8/NiO) hybrid process. To increase the removal efficiency, affecting parameters on the US/S2O8/NiO hybrid process were investigated and optimized by adopting the Taguchi design of experiments approach. The controllable factors such as solution pH, reaction time, initial concentration of CEX antibiotic, S2O8 concentration and NiO nanoparticle were optimized. Under optimum conditions (pH = 3, reaction time = 90 min, CEX = 20 mg/L, NiO = 5 mg/L and S2O8 = 400 mg/L) and using the US/S2O8/NiO process, the CEX, COD and TOC removal efficiencies were 96.05%, 68.02% and 47.14%, respectively. The studies to determine the percentage contribution of each controllable factor was also carried out. The pH of the solution was identified as the most influential factor, and its percentage contribution value was up to 70% in the studied process. Considering the parameters of the kinetics, it was found that the removal CEX antibiotic using the hybrid process obeys the pseudo-first-order kinetics. The results showed that US/S2O8/NiO hybrid process could be optimally used to treat the wastewater containing antibiotics such as CEX and could be considered as an effective and ecofriendly method.

The Antifungal Effects of Two Herbal Essences in Comparison with Nystatin on the Candida Strains Isolated from the Edentulous Patients

AIMThe aim of this study is to evaluate the anticandidal effects of essential oils derived from fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and cumin (Cuminum cyminum) on Candida strains isolated from edentulous patients.MATERIALS AND METHODSCandida samples were isolated from 30 edentulous patients and the strains were identified using the CHROMagar method. Using the macro-broth dilution method and punched-hole tests, the effectiveness of fennel and cumin essential oils (prepared through distillation by water) was clarified. Nystatin was used as a positive control.RESULTSNystatin (44 μg/mL) had the strongest antifungal effect, followed by cumin [minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) = 662 μg/mL; minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) = 630 μg/mL] and fennel (MIC = 1,074 μg/mL; MFC = 1,227 μg/mL). The average diameter of the fungal growth inhibition zone was 23 mm for Nystatin, 14 mm for cumin essential oil, and 5 mm for fennel essential oil.CONCLUSIONThe anti-Candida effects of fennel and cumin show promise as alternatives to conventional drugs for the treatment of Candida infections.

An Observational Study of QTc Prolongation in Critically Ill Patients: Identification of Incidence and Predictors

Despite the importance of abnormal QTc interval values in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, there is a paucity of information on this topic. The current study was designed to identify the incidence and predictors of QTc prolongation in medical (M), surgical (S), and emergency (E) ICUs.

Researching natural disaster preparedness through health behavioral change models

There have been an increasing number of studies conducted on community preparedness, particularly on changing individual health behaviors in ways that minimizes individual risk to cope with the stress of a natural disaster. A variety of behavioral change theories and models used by disaster academics scrutinize the manner in which individual behavior is sought and transformed into disaster preparedness. This reflects the lack of knowledge about how these models identify certain behaviors regarding natural disaster preparation. This article seeks to address this lack of knowledge. It presents a set of health behavioral change models that can be used by scholars to comprehend variation in the nature and extent of individual disaster preparedness. The purpose of this study is to provide a review of the existing models on the subject, and also to present a comparative analysis of the models that may contribute to ways of understanding the investigation on natural disaster preparedness behaviors.

Assessment of doctors’ knowledge, attitude and practice for hepatitis C virus infection control guidelines in Egypt

Hepatitis C virus is a blood-borne infection and one of the major global problems. In Egypt, the prevalence is reported to be the highest. Infection through unsafe medical procedures is considered now the primary cause of infection. The study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of doctors regarding infection control guidelines in Ismailia governorate. Material and methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on a sample of physicians (355) in Ismailia governorate using a questionnaire to collect data on their knowledge and attitude concerning the control measures related to their years of experiences. Results: Most of the physicians (89.6%) regardless of their years of experience have had contact with blood products. Those who had a history of needle stick injury accounted for 56.3%, with a statistically significant difference as to the highest number being middle career physicians. Concerning knowledge about infection control policies in their hospitals, it was relatively low among all groups. Conclusions: Despite all efforts exerted by the infection control professionals, infections still remain a major unpleasant side effect of health care, often causing harm to patients.. Although Egypt has made great progress in implementing the infection control procedures and policies, there is still a huge problem as the practices of physicians do not really reflect their knowledge and they still do not follow the infection control policies. Education, monitoring, improved availability of resources and disciplinary measures are necessary to improve infection control in health facilities that should be applied to all physicians.

Investigating the sexual protective behaviour among HIV-positive women in Tehran, Iran

Comparative Study Between Decision Trees and Neural Networks to Predictfatal Road Accidents in Lebanon