| 1. |
- Khan, Kifayatullah, et al.
(författare)
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Heavy metals in five commonly consumed fish species from River Swat, Pakistan, and their implications for human health using multiple risk assessment approaches
- 2023
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Ingår i: Marine Pollution Bulletin. - 0025-326X .- 1879-3363. ; 195
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study analyzed the levels of heavy metals bioaccumulation in commonly consumed riverine fish species, including G. cavia, T. macrolepis, G. gotyla, S. plagiostomus, and M. armatus from River Swat in Pakistan, and quantify their potential risk to children and adults in general and fisherfolk communities using multiple pollution and risk assessment approaches. The highest metal detected by inductive coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was Zn, which ranged from 49.61 to 116.83 mg/kg, followed by Fe (19.25–101.33 mg/kg) > Mn (5.25–40.35 mg/kg) > Cr (3.05–14.59 mg/kg) > Ni (4.26–11.80 mg/kg) > Al (1.59–12.25 mg/kg) > Cu (1.24–8.59 mg/kg) > Pb (0.29–1.95 mg/kg) > Co (0.08–0.46 mg/kg) > Cd (0.01–0.29 mg/kg), demonstrating consistent fluctuation with the safe recommendations of global regulatory bodies. The average bioaccumulation factor (BAF) values in the examined fish species were high (BAF > 5000) for Pb, Zn, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, and Cd, bioaccumulate (1000 > BAF < 5000) for Co, and probable accumulative (BAF <1000) for Fe, and Al, while the overall ∑heavy metals pollution index (MPI) values were greater than one (MPI > 1) indicating sever heavy metals toxicity in G. cavia, followed by S. plagiostomus, M. armatus, G. gotyla, and T. macrolepis. The multivariate Pearson's correlation analysis identified the correlation coefficients between heavy metal pairs (Ni Cr, Cu Cr, Pb Cr, Al Co, Cu Ni, and Pb Ni), the hierarchical cluster analysis (CA) determined the origin by categorizing heavy metal accumulation into Cluster-A, Cluster-B, and Cluster-C, and the principal component analysis (PCA) discerned nearby weathering, mining, industrial, municipal, and agricultural activities as the potential sources of heavy metals bioaccumulation in riverine fish. As per human risk perspective, S. plagiostomus contributed significantly to the estimated daily intake (EDI) of heavy metals, followed by G.cavia > M. armatus > G. gotyla > T. macrolepis in dependent children and adults of the fisherfolk followed by the general population. The non-carcinogenic target hazard quotient (THQ) and hazard index (HI) values for heavy metal intake through fish exposure were < 1, while the carcinogenic risk (CR) for individual metal intake and the total carcinogenic risk (TCR) for cumulative Cr, Cd, and Pb intake were within the risk threshold of 10−6–10−4, suggesting an acceptable to high non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk for both children and adults in the fisherfolk, followed by the general population.
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| 2. |
- Ahmad, Bashir, et al.
(författare)
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Effect of Salicylic Acid and Amino Acid on Pea Plant (Pisum sativum) Late Season, Growth and Production
- 2023
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Ingår i: Polish Journal of Environmental Studies. - : HARD Publishing Company. - 1230-1485 .- 2083-5906. ; 32:3, s. 1987-1994
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Salicylic acid and amino acid are plant growth promoters. Therefore, the study entitled "Effect of salicylic acid and amino acid on late season peas growth and production" was conducted. The study has two factors: amino acid (Glycine) and salicylic acid each having four levels that were sprayed on peas. Analysis of data showed that maximum germination percentage (92.50 %), plant height (63.16 cm), primary branches plant-1 (2.80), leaves plant-1 (264.27), leaf chlorophyll content (57.25 SPAD), pods plant-1 (49.25), seeds pod-1 (10.41), pod length (11.74 cm) and yield ha-1 (1922.5 kg) having least days to flowering and pod formation (50.13 and 5.12 days) were noted in 225 mg L-1 amino acid. Salicylic acid levels showed that maximum germination percentage (95.83 %) height of plants (71.85 cm), leaves plant-1 (257.13), primary branches plant-1 (3.25), leaf chlorophyll content (55.81 SPAD), pods plant-1 (52.16), seeds pod-1 (10.91), pod length(11.05 cm) and yield ha-1 (1895.0 kg) having least days to pod formation and flowering (5.26 and 48.30 days) were noted in salicylic acid level of 300 mg L-1. The combined effect of 225 mg L-1 amino acid and 300 mg L-1salicylic acid levels positively improved primary branches plant-1 (3.93), pod plant-1 (66.33), pod length (13.77 cm), seeds pod-1 (12.44), leaf chlorophyll content (64.49 SPAD) and maximum yield ha-1 (1942.66 kg). It is concluded that for higher growth and yield pea cultivar Climax when cultivated late could be applied with 225 mg L-1 amino acid and 300 mg L-1 salicylic under Peshawar climatic conditions.
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| 3. |
- Subhan, Sidra, et al.
(författare)
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Ultra-fast and highly efficient catalytic oxidative desulfurization of dibenzothiophene at ambient temperature over low Mn loaded Co-Mo/Al2O3 and Ni-Mo/Al2O3 catalysts using NaClO as oxidant
- 2019
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Ingår i: Fuel. - : Elsevier. - 0016-2361 .- 1873-7153. ; 237, s. 793-805
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study reports the ultra-fast and highly efficient oxidative desulfurization (ODS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) at room temperature over low Mn (0.5 wt%) incorporated Co-Mo/Al2O3 and Ni-Mo/Al(2)O(3 )catalysts using NaClO as oxidant. The effect of disparate operating parameters i.e. mode of catalyst preparation, DBT initial concentration, reaction time, temperature, catalyst and oxidant dose, oxidant type and reaction pH on oxidation process was investigated. Results revealed that remarkably high and ultra-fast A DBT conversion of 100% was achieved within 5 min utilizing 15 mL sample of 2000 ppm (347 ppm sulfur), 0.1 mL of 0.138 M NaClO (O/S6.6 mol/mol), 0.1 g Mn-Co-Mo/Al2O3 catalyst at pH 12, and 25 degrees C reaction temperature. A reaction mechanism for the highly efficient ODS activity of Mn promoted catalysts accredited to the synergistic effect of Mn active phase and high oxidizing power of NaClO was proposed. An overall ODS catalytic activity order of: Mn-Co-Mo/Al2O3 > Mn-Ni-Mo/Al2O3 > Co-Mo/Al2O3 > Ni-Mo/Al2O3 > Mo/Al2O3 was observed. Discernment of the surface morphology and textural properties of fresh and spent catalysts were characterized using Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX), and BET surface area analysis which helped in evaluating the catalytic activity results. Due to ultra-fast and highly efficacious nature, simple and safe mechanization, cost effectiveness, and operation at ambient reaction conditions, this study can be envisaged as an effective approach for the ODS of fuel oils on industrial level.
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| 4. |
- Yaseen, Azeema, et al.
(författare)
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Dimensionality Reduction for Internet of Things Using the Cuckoo Search Algorithm : Reduced Implications of Mesh Sensor Technologies
- 2020
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Ingår i: Wireless Communications & Mobile Computing. - : WILEY-HINDAWI. - 1530-8669 .- 1530-8677. ; 2020
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The internet of things is used as a demonstrative keyword for evolution of the internet and physical realms, by means of pervasive distributed commodities with embedded identification, sensing, and actuation abilities. Imminent intellectual technologies are subsidizing internet of things for information transmission within physical and autonomous digital entities to provide amended services, leading towards a new communication era. Substantial amounts of heterogeneous hardware devices, e.g., radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, sensors, and various network protocols are exploited to support object identification and network communication. Data generated by these digital objects is termed as "Big Data" and incorporates high dimensional space with noisy, irrelevant, and redundant features. Direct execution of mining techniques onto such kind of high dimensionality attribute space can increase cost and complexity. Data analytic mechanisms are embedded into internet of things to permit intelligent decision-making capabilities. These notions have raised new challenges regarding internet of things from a data and algorithm perspective. The proposed study identifies the problem in the internet of things network and proposes a novel cuckoo search-based outdoor data management. The technique of the feature extraction is used for the extraction of expedient information from raw and high-dimensional data. After the implementation for the cuckoo search-based feature extraction, few test benchmarks are introduced to evaluate the performance of mutated cuckoo search algorithms. The consequential low-dimensional data optimizes classification accuracy along with reduced complexity and cost.
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| 5. |
- Yaseen, Noor, et al.
(författare)
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Synergistic impacts of high-volume fly ash and sugarcane bagasse ash on performance of cementitious composites reinforced with polyvinyl alcohol fibers
- 2023
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Ingår i: Results in Materials. - : Elsevier. - 2590-048X. ; 20
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Disposal of waste materials in fertile land is one of the pressing environmental issues, disrupting human, animal, and plant life. This has led the researchers to process and use such waste in ecofriendly construction products like mortar and concrete. Their usage as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) would reduce the quantity of cement used in the manufacturing of cement-based materials, lowering CO2 emissions related with cement production. In this regard, this study examines the feasibility of replacing high-volume of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in engineered cementitious composites (ECC) with two widely used waste materials, sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) and fly ash (FA) as SCMs. Five different mixes were produced, each containing a fixed amount of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibers at a dosage of 1.5 % by volume of the mix and a constant cement content of 50 % by weight of the binder (OPC + FA + SCBA). However, FA was replaced with SCBA in these mixes up to 100 % by the combined weight of the waste materials (FA + SCBA) in increments of 25 % (i.e., FA100-SCBA0, FA75-SCBA25, FA50-SCBA50, FA25-SCBA75, and FA0-SCBA100). The results showed that the compressive strength and flexural strength of the composites with the increasing levels of SCBA were reduced. Interestingly, the 28-day compressive strength of composite incorporating 50 % FA and 50 % SCBA was still as high as 25.58 MPa, which satisfied the minimum compressive strength requirement of ASTM C270, making the newly produced ECC suitable for use in normal construction works and repairs. The same optimum mix (FA50-SCBA50) produced an average density of 1867.96 kg/m3 as a result of substituting a significant amount of binder with SCBA, demonstrating that it has evolved into a lightweight engineered cementitious composite. Furthermore, the ultrasonic pulse velocity of the mixes decreased whereas water absorption increased as the proportion of SCBA to FA increased. According to microstructural analysis, unreacted SCBA particles were mostly responsible for the detrimental effects of rising SCBA levels on properties of ECC. Based on the aforementioned results, this research concludes that sugarcane bagasse ash, when combined with fly ash, could be a viable alternative for replacing regular cement up to 50 % by weight in the production of cost-effective and environmentally friendly cementitious composites.
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| 6. |
- Axfors, Cathrine, et al.
(författare)
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Mortality outcomes with hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in COVID-19 from an international collaborative meta-analysis of randomized trials
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - : Springer Nature. - 2041-1723. ; 12:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Substantial COVID-19 research investment has been allocated to randomized clinical trials (RCTs) on hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine, which currently face recruitment challenges or early discontinuation. We aim to estimate the effects of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine on survival in COVID-19 from all currently available RCT evidence, published and unpublished. We present a rapid meta-analysis of ongoing, completed, or discontinued RCTs on hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine treatment for any COVID-19 patients (protocol: https://osf.io/QESV4/). We systematically identified unpublished RCTs (ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, Cochrane COVID-registry up to June 11, 2020), and published RCTs (PubMed, medRxiv and bioRxiv up to October 16, 2020). All-cause mortality has been extracted (publications/preprints) or requested from investigators and combined in random-effects meta-analyses, calculating odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), separately for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. Prespecified subgroup analyses include patient setting, diagnostic confirmation, control type, and publication status. Sixty-three trials were potentially eligible. We included 14 unpublished trials (1308 patients) and 14 publications/preprints (9011 patients). Results for hydroxychloroquine are dominated by RECOVERY and WHO SOLIDARITY, two highly pragmatic trials, which employed relatively high doses and included 4716 and 1853 patients, respectively (67% of the total sample size). The combined OR on all-cause mortality for hydroxychloroquine is 1.11 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.20; I-2=0%; 26 trials; 10,012 patients) and for chloroquine 1.77 (95%CI: 0.15, 21.13, I-2=0%; 4 trials; 307 patients). We identified no subgroup effects. We found that treatment with hydroxychloroquine is associated with increased mortality in COVID-19 patients, and there is no benefit of chloroquine. Findings have unclear generalizability to outpatients, children, pregnant women, and people with comorbidities. Hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine have been investigated as a potential treatment for Covid-19 in several clinical trials. Here the authors report a meta-analysis of published and unpublished trials, and show that treatment with hydroxychloroquine for patients with Covid-19 was associated with increased mortality, and there was no benefit from chloroquine.
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| 7. |
- Iqbal, Muhammad Ayyan, et al.
(författare)
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Development of Sugarcane Bagasse Ash Blended Cementitious Composites Reinforced with Carbon Nanotubes and Polypropylene Fibers
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Composites Science. - : MDPI. - 2504-477X. ; 8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Cement-based composites, as primary construction materials, have undergone significant advancements over the years, yet researchers still face challenges in terms of their durability and impact on the environment. The goal of this research is to develop environmentally friendly cementitious composites blended with sugarcane bagasse ash (SCBA) and reinforce them with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and polypropylene (PP) fibers. Because of the high cost associated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and PP fibers, as well as CO2 emission, which affect the economic and environmental aspects of this field, an agricultural waste such as SCBA was introduced in the current study that is both economically and environmentally viable. For this purpose, five mixes were designed by varying the CNTs content whilst keeping the PP fibers and SCBA contents constant at 1.5% and 15% by weight of the binder (ordinary Portland cement + SCBA), respectively. The developed blends were tested for various mechanical and durability properties, i.e., compressive strength, flexural strength, impact strength, water absorption, and ultrasonic pulse velocity. Moreover, the microstructures of the newly developed low-carbon SCBA-based composites reinforced with PP fibers and CNTs were studied through scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results showed that the developed blends incorporating 15% SCBA, 1.5% PP fibers, and 0.08% CNTs, by weight of the binder, demonstrated the compressive, flexural, and impact strengths as 15.30 MPa, 0.98 MPa, and 0.11 MPa, respectively. The investigated blends proved to be cost-effective and environmentally beneficial, rendering them suitable for utilization in general construction and maintenance works.
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| 8. |
- Li, Jing, et al.
(författare)
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Fabrication and application of polyurea formaldehyde-bioasphalt microcapsules as a secondary modifier for the preparation of high self-healing rate SBS modified asphalt
- 2020
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Ingår i: Construction and Building Materials. - : Elsevier. - 0950-0618 .- 1879-0526. ; 246
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, microcapsules were prepared from polyurea formaldehyde (as microcapsules wall) and bio-asphalt (as microcapsules core) and were in turn applied to prepare microcapsule-styrene-butadiene styrene (microcapsule/SBS) modified asphalt. When the asphalt wall was broken, the bio-asphalt (core) drifted out and was well blended with the SBS modified asphalt to repair the damaged gap, thereby improving the self-healing ability of the pristine SBS modified asphalt. Ductility test showed that the healing rate of microcapsule/SBS modified asphalt was much greater than that of pure SBS modified asphalt. Dynamic shear rheometer and multi-stress creep recovery tests revealed that microcapsule/SBS modified asphalt exhibited better viscoelasticity, high temperature stability (by thermogravimetric analysis) and rutting resistance than pure SBS modified asphalt attributed to the even dispersion of microcapsules in SBS as confirmed by fluorescent microscopy. Compared with the pure SBS modified asphalt, the storage modulus and loss modulus of 0.4% microcapsule/SBS modified asphalt increased by 24.8% and 17.7% at 46 degrees C, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses revealed spherical morphology of the microcapsules with wrinkled depressions on the surface, while the wall of microcapsule coated the core. This study can be envisioned of great promise for the preparation of alternative types of modified asphalt for practical applications in construction and highway industries.
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| 9. |
- Li, Jing, et al.
(författare)
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Preparation and properties of modified graphene oxide incorporated waterborne polyurethane acrylate
- 2019
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Ingår i: Polymer international. - : Society of Chemical Industry. - 0959-8103 .- 1097-0126. ; 68:6, s. 1091-1101
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, a new modifier (KPG) was prepared by modifying graphene oxide with gamma-glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane (KH560) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). KPG was in turn added to aqueous urethane acrylate for the fabrication of waterborne polyurethane polyacrylate emulsion modified with KH560-PDMS composite (KPG/WPUA). Textural characterizations of the KPG/WPUA coating were achieved via Fourier transform infrared, SEM, TGA and AFM techniques, which revealed that the KPG/WPUA film possessed a smooth surface. The synthesized KPG/WPUA films were tested for mechanical properties, hydrophobicity and acid/water corrosion performance which suggested their highly hydrophobic surface. KPG/WPUA with 0.1% KPG showed a contact angle of 118.35 degrees, 30.35 degrees higher than that of pristine WPUA. The KPG/WPUA film exhibited higher thermal stability, i.e. a 5% weight loss temperature of 305 degrees C, which was 30 degrees C higher than that of pristine WPUA film. The Young's modulus and elongation at break of the KPG/WPUA film were 34.1 MPa and 74.88% respectively, which were higher than that of WPUA film. Furthermore, KPG/WPUA films exhibited greater resistance (without obvious blistering and the white spotting phenomenon) to H2O2, HCl and water corrosion than pristine WPUA. The superior performance of KPG/WPUA films was attributed to the network chain structure formed upon the introduction of KPG into WPUA. The outstanding performance of KPG/WPUA films in terms of mechanical properties, thermal stability and high resistance to acidic and water corrosion makes them interesting alternative contenders for target applications. (c) 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
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| 10. |
- Meng, Fei, et al.
(författare)
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Analysis of Virgin Asphalt Brands via the Integrated Application of FTIR and Gel Permeation Chromatography
- 2020
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Ingår i: Arabian journal for science and engineering. - : Springer. - 2193-567X .- 2191-4281. ; 45, s. 7999-8009
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Counterfeit asphalts have often been deliberately adulterated to reduce costs, which has seriously impeded the development of road and highway construction. In this study, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were applied in combination to explore a fast, accurate, low-cost and efficient method to better identify the brand and quality of asphalt. Results revealed that ATR-FTIR spectra of seven brands of asphalt were basically identical, while they differ in benzene ring substituent content and (-CH2-)n (n >= 4) content. The fingerprint intervals of virgin asphalt were 1770-1636 cm-1, 1060-985 cm-1 and 920-690 cm-1. The aging degree of the same brand of asphalt was identified by 1770-1636 cm-1 and 1060-985 cm-1, while 920-690 cm-1 range was used to identify the fingerprint interval of the original asphalt brand. GPC analysis revealed that the large molecular size (LMS) content of original Fu Lian and Shuang Long asphalt brands greatly differed which were not identified by FTIR. Owing to the thermal oxidation, the LMS content of the same brand of virgin asphalt increased by 4-6% after short-term aging. The present study based on the integrated operation of GPC-FTIR for the fast and accurate recognition and distinguishing between different brands of asphalts could be of potential practical applications.
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