Engineering of Multifunctional Nanocomposite Membranes for Wastewater Treatment: Oil/Water Separation and Dye Degradation.

Multifunctional membrane technology has gained tremendous attention in wastewater treatment, including oil/water separation and photocatalytic activity. In the present study, a multifunctional composite nanofiber membrane is capable of removing dyes and separating oil from wastewater, as well as having antibacterial activity. The composite nanofiber membrane is composed of cellulose acetate (CA) filled with zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) in a polymer matrix and dipped into a solution of titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs). Membrane characterization was performed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and water contact angle (WCA) studies were utilized to evaluate the introduced membranes. Results showed that membranes have adequate wettability for the separation process and antibacterial activity, which is beneficial for water disinfection from living organisms. A remarkable result of the membranes' analysis was that methylene blue (MB) dye removal occurred through the photocatalysis process with an efficiency of ~20%. Additionally, it exhibits a high separation efficiency of 45% for removing oil from a mixture of oil-water and water flux of 20.7 L.m-2 h-1 after 1 h. The developed membranes have multifunctional properties and are expected to provide numerous merits for treating complex wastewater.

Effect of Protective Layer on the Performance of Monocrystalline Silicon Cell for Indoor Light Harvesting.

The development of renewable energy sources has grown increasingly as the world shifts toward lowering carbon emissions and supporting sustainability. Solar energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources, and its harvesting potential has gone beyond typical solar panels to small, portable devices. Also, the trend toward smart buildings is becoming more prevalent at the same time as sensors and small devices are becoming more integrated, and the demand for dependable, sustainable energy sources will increase. Our work aims to tackle the issue of identifying the most suitable protective layer for small optical devices that can efficiently utilize indoor light sources. To conduct our research, we designed and tested a model that allowed us to compare the performance of many small panels made of monocrystalline cells laminated with three different materials: epoxy resin, an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), under varying light intensities from LED and CFL sources. The methods employed encompass contact angle measurements of the protective layers, providing insights into their wettability and hydrophobicity, which indicates protective layer performance against humidity. Reflection spectroscopy was used to evaluate the panels' reflectance properties across different wavelengths, which affect the light amount arrived at the solar cell. Furthermore, we characterized the PV panels' electrical behavior by measuring short-circuit current (ISC), open-circuit voltage (VOC), maximum power output (Pmax), fill factor (FF), and load resistance (R). Our findings offer valuable insights into each PV panel's performance and the protective layer material's effect. Panels with ETFE layers exhibited remarkable hydrophobicity with a mean contact angle of 77.7°, indicating resistance against humidity-related effects. Also, panels with ETFE layers consistently outperformed others as they had the highest open circuit voltage (VOC) ranging between 1.63-4.08 V, fill factor (FF) between 35.9-67.3%, and lowest load resistance (R) ranging between 11,268-772 KΩ.cm-2 under diverse light intensities from various light sources, as determined by our results. This makes ETFE panels a promising option for indoor energy harvesting, especially for powering sensors with low power requirements. This information could influence future research in developing energy harvesting solutions, thereby making a valuable contribution to the progress of sustainable energy technology.

Detection of cellular and humoral markers (IL-2, IFN-gamma and IgE) in sera of patients with urinary schistosomiasis.

Schistosomiasis continues to be major health problem throughout the developing world. Infection with Schistosoma haematobium is associated with very high morbidity. The work aimed at the determination of role of cellular immune response (IL-2, and IFN-gamma) and specific humoral IgE in protective immunity in human urinary schistosomiasis, as a function of both age and infection intensity including examination of changes in immunoresponsiveness following curative therapy. The study revealed that IL-2,IFN-gamma level were higher in all patients compared to the normal control group and the levels were higher in lightly infected groups than heavily infected ones with no respect to age. IgE levels showed higher values compared to normal individuals and IgE levels were higher in children groups than in adults regardless of the intensity of infection. IL-2, IFN-gamma and IgE levels were higher in patients with mixed S. mansoni and S. haematobium infections than monoinfected patients. Follow up of patients 2 months, 4 months and 12 months after Praziquantel treatment showed that the level of IL-2 and IgE fell back to normal values after 4 months while IFN-gamma remained high, IL-2, IFN-gamma and IgE were raised once more after 12 months.

Toxoplasma infection of stray cats in Egypt.

A seroepidemiological survey of cats for Toxoplasma antibody revealed a high infection rate. No significant difference was detected between males and females or between rural and urban areas, although acute infection seems to be more prevalent in males and in rural areas as revealed by the high titres of the dye test. Toxoplasmosis in cats, as revealed by serologic surveys, seems to prevail more during the warm rather than the hot season of the year being favoured by milder temperature and higher relative humidity and rainfall in the former season. Futhermore, it was concluded that infection rate with Toxoplasma increases with the age of the host. Toxoplasma antibody in the young age groups is to a great extent of maternal origin. Study of the relationship of Toxoplasma to Isospora showed no cross immunity. They follow a reversed pattern with increasing age of the host. Data also shows the high specificity of dye testing for detection of Toxoplasma antibody. Feeding experiments show that a relatively high percentage of cats shed oocysts in their faeces. Not only seropositive but also seronegative cats excrete oocysts, though at a lower rate in the latter case. The majority of cats shedding oocysts are those with either low positive titres or seronegative cats.