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Mechanism and kinetic of piezo-catalytic desulfurization of model and actual fuel samples over CexOy/SrO nanocomposite at room temperature
Full text linkSOx emissions are primarily caused by compounds containing sulfur in petroleum and fuels, which lead to severe air pollution. For this reason, it is necessary to develop a fast and simple desulfurization method in order to comply with ever-increasing environmental regulations. The newly discovered piezo-catalyst nanocomposite CexOy/SrO can convert mechanical energy directly into chemical energy, thereby enabling mechanically oxidative sulfur desulfurization. 320 W of bath sonication were used to polarize and activate the prepared piezo-catalyst nanocomposite CexOy/SrO for sulfur removal from thiophene and dibenzothiophene as model fuels and kerosene as a real fuel. Using uniform and spherical CeO2/SrO nanocomposites resulted in the highest desulfurization rates of 95.4 %, 97.3 %, and 59.7 %, respectively, for thiophene and dibenzothiophene. This study examined the effect of several parameters, such as sulfur concentration, pH of fuel, dosage of CexOy/SrO nanocomposite, power and time of ultrasonic, and shaking time, on the piezo-desulfurization of thiophene (TP) and dibenzothiophene (DBTP). To identify the major active species in piezo desulfurization, radical trapping experiments were conducted. This study investigated the possibility of reusing the catalyst, and the piezo-desulfurization activity that was demonstrated in the removal of TP and DBTP after 11 cycles as well as the ability of the catalyst to remove real fuel even after 14 cycles was promising. As the kinetic results show, the reaction follows the second order with K = 0.0050. Also, thermodynamic results showed the oxidation of sulfide to sulfoxide and sulfoxide is endothermic. Activation energy for second order rate constant is (3.824 Kj/mole). 0.0236 mol-1. Sec−1 was calculated for Arrhenius Constant
Malaria vaccine efficacy, safety, and community perception in Africa: a scoping review of recent empirical studies
Full text linkAim The review summarizes the recent empirical evidence on the efcacy, safety, and community perception of malaria
vaccines in Africa.
Methods Academic Search Complete, African Journals Online, CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo, and two gray literature
sources were searched in January 2023, and updated in June 2023. Relevant studies published from 2012 were included.
Studies were screened, appraised, and synthesized in line with the review aim. Statistical results are presented as 95% Confdence Intervals and proportions/percentages.
Results Sixty-six (N=66) studies met the inclusion criteria. Of the vaccines identifed, overall efcacy at 12 months was
highest for the R21 vaccine (N=3) at 77.0%, compared to the RTS,S vaccine (N=15) at 55%. The efcacy of other vaccines
was BK-SE36 (11.0–50.0%, N=1), ChAd63/MVA ME-TRAP (− 4.7–19.4%, N=2), FMP2.1/AS02A (7.6–9.9%, N=1),
GMZ2 (0.6–60.0%, N=5), PfPZ (20.0–100.0%, N=5), and PfSPZ-CVac (24.8–33.6%, N=1). Injection site pain and fever
were the most common adverse events (N=26), while febrile convulsion (N=8) was the most reported, vaccine-related
Serious Adverse Event. Mixed perceptions of malaria vaccines were found in African communities (N=17); awareness
was generally low, ranging from 11% in Tanzania to 60% in Nigeria (N=9), compared to willingness to accept the vaccines, which varied from 32.3% in Ethiopia to 96% in Sierra Leone (N=15). Other issues include availability, logistics, and
misconceptions.
Conclusion Malaria vaccines protect against malaria infection in varying degrees, with severe side efects rarely occurring.
Further research is required to improve vaccine efcacy and community involvement is needed to ensure successful widespread use in African communities
Editorial: Ethnoforestry and its link to socio-ecological changes
Full text linkForestry science has thus far mainly viewed forests as arenas whose management must be optimized for ecological services (sustainable exploitation of timber or NTFPs—non-timber forest products, particularly berries and mushrooms) or as pristine spaces to be strictly protected, often isolating them from human interactions. Forestry studies have rarely addressed sociocultural dimensions, i.e., the interactions between forestry systems and human communities, such as forest use and perceptions, often, but not exclusively, captured in traditional/local ecological knowledge and practice (LEK) systems. Although LEK has been the focus of several studies conducted in the past few decades, those studies were primarily devoted to mere descriptions of folk uses and the management of forest environments and their products. These works have often envisioned the potential of LEK for local rural development programs; however, more information is still needed about how LEK systems and their changes are transmitted, especially how LEK copes with global and local socio-ecological changes. Even less has been done regarding the processes through which forestry LEK intersects with concrete projects, i.e., empowering local communities toward sustainable development of their local resources, exploring new strategies for the dynamic conservation of forests, and fostering inclusive platforms shared among local communities, institutions, and external stakeholders
Editorial: Traditional knowledge in food activism and governance
Full text link“Traditional Knowledge” (TK) refers to the knowledge, insights, practices, abilities,
skills, beliefs, worldviews, and perspectives passed down through generations by
Indigenous and local communities and traditional societies. For specific natural
places, “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” (TEK) encompasses local communities’
understanding of the environment and their methods for managing it to meet their needs
while maintaining its dynamic equilibrium (Berkes, 2012). Therefore, TK and TEK are
deeply embedded into the co-evolution of specific environments and their inhabitants,
serving as a crucial asset for environmental stewardship and cultural preservation
Author Correction: Phytochemical analysis, biological activities of methanolic extracts and an isolated flavonoid from Tunisian Limoniastrum monopetalum (L.) Boiss: an in vitro and in silico investigations
Full text linkCorrection to: Scientifc Reports https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46457-6, published online 06 November 2023
Te original version of this Article contained errors in the spelling of the authors Omar Messaoudi and Giovanni
Vidari which were incorrectly given as Omar Messoudi and Vidari Giovanni.
Te original Article has been corrected
A comparative study of lexical bundles in linguistics and biology Ph.D. dissertations
Full text linkLexical bundles are considered as one of the main rhetorical features in
academic genres. The appropriate use of these features adds to the coherence and
naturalness of the texts. Recently, genre analysis studies tend to investigate the
similarities and differences across different academic disciplines and the effects of
the first language of writers on the employment of these linguistic features. There are
limited studies, however, in the field with a mere focus on the use of lexical bundles
in PhD dissertations and the similarities and differences on the employment of these
features among native and non-native English writers. In this regard, the current
study, following a comparative corpus-based approach, investigated the use of lexical
bundles in English PhD dissertations written by native English-speaking and nonnative Kurdish-speaking writers across the two disciplines of biology and linguistics.
All the compiled dissertations were selected from the ones published between 2010
to 2020 in British universities to keep the compiled corpora comparable. In the next
phase, the distribution, linguistic structures, and functions of bundles used in
introduction and literature review sections of the compiled dissertations were
analyzed using WordSmith 6th edition concordancing software. The analysis provides
a list of the most frequently used lexical bundles in each scientific field and among
the two groups of writers. The structural analysis showed that noun phrases and
prepositional phrases were the most frequently used bundles between both groups of
writers and of disciplines. It was also found that passive structures were commonly
used in biology dissertations. The functional analysis revealed that non-native
Kurdish writers tended to use more research-oriented and text-oriented bundles in
comparison with their native counterparts. It was suggested that the rhetorical
differences and similarities between the two groups of writers and the disciplines
could be attributed to the experience or proficiency levels of writers and the
conventions, knowledge construction principles and research approaches of each academic discourse community. Pedagogically speaking, it is discussed that teaching
discursive features and including language teaching tasks drawn from authentic texts
such as text analysis tasks, focused tasks, extended writing tasks enable EAP learners
to learn how to employ these linguistic features effectively to improve the flow of
information, coherence and fluency in their academic texts
Periorbital Oedema Associated with Hypothyroidism – A Case Report
Full text linkIntroduction:
Pituitary microadenomas are said to be common, with an incidence of 27%. Hypothyroidism causing periorbital oedema (PO) remains rare in the literature, but it is still within the etiological factors.
Patient Concerns:
This study presents a 53-year-old patient who presented with PO and visited the dental clinic to exclude dental infection.
Diagnosis:
Based on the evaluation of proper haematological and radiological investigations, pituitary microadenoma was identified with an abrupt increase in the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level.
Follow-up:
The patient was followed with further studies to identify the primary cause of PO. It was concluded that the disruption in the drug regimen caused an increase in the TSH and led to PO rather than microadenoma
Investigating contemporary dental practice in restorative dentistry and Dentists-related factors in placing and replacing restorations in Kurdistan, Iraq
Full text linkAim: to assess if there is any relationship in dental practice between direct restoration placement or replacement to the dentist’s gender and experience. Method: a cross-sectional study included two hundred general practitioner dentists whose experiences from 1-20 years were divided into two groups (1-10 and 11-20 years). The participants were instructed to collect data about the number of placed and replaced restorations, the reason for placement, and the type of materials from patients aged 14- > 60. The Pearson Chi-Square test (with continuity correction and Fisher's exact test, if necessary). It was considered that a P-value less than ≤ 0.05 was significant. Results: Both male and female dentists placed restorations more than they replaced and the difference between placement and replacement was statistically significant (P = 0.000). Clinicians with professional experience between 1-10 years performed more restoration replacement than the older group and this difference showed statistical significance (P = 0.000). Secondary caries was the most diagnosed reason for replacement by both male and female clinicians. Significant differences between secondary caries and other causes (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Accuracy is required in diagnosing defects in previously performed fillings and whether they are worth replacing or not, as well as motivating dentists to follow minimally invasive dentistry
AI Integrated Grammar Teaching in Language Preparatory School
Full text linkThe main goal of this research is to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT and chatbots on the acquisition of grammar skills, punctuation, subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, and others among students. Within this setting, a series of groups were established, consisting of twelve control groups and twelve experimental groups, employing the convenience sampling technique. The control group adhered to the traditional method of grammar instruction, whereas the experimental group employed a grammar learning approach that incorporated artificial intelligence capabilities. Based on the findings from tests and interview analyses, it has been ascertained that the integration of artificial intelligence in grammar education has a good impact on students’ academic achievement. Implementing Chatbot and ChatGPT technologies in education may provide some challenges, although it may also be an enjoyable endeavor. Simultaneously, conducting controlled tests in broader areas will yield more efficient outcomes. The pre-test data were analyzed using SPSS 27 statistical software. Initially, the students’ levels exhibited no variation. However, during the ten-week research, a statistically significant difference of .004 was observed. The experimental group exhibited a statistically significant increase of 27.25% in their success in learning grammar. The study revealed the presence of worries regarding privacy and addiction among students alongside the beneficial features. However, it was determined that the benefits surpassed the drawbacks, and this study will be a useful resource for scholars who will investigate the impact of artificial intelligence tools in education in the future
Assessing the Impact of Varied Dark Chocolate Concentrations on Enamel and Dentine Microhardness
Full text link(1) Background: The objective of the current investigation was to determine how different dark chocolate concentrations impacted the enamel and dentine microhardness. (2) Methods: Twenty noncarious premolar teeth extracted for orthodontic reasons were used in this study. Each tooth was divided mesiodistally to obtain 40 specimens of enamel and dentine 4 × 4 mm. Initial and final assessments of the surface microhardness of the enamel and dentine were created using a Digital Micro Vickers Hardness Tester (Laryee, Beijing, China) under (0.24 N load for 15 s). Four random groups (n = 10) were created: G1 (control, immersed in artificial saliva), G2 (70%), G3 (85%), and G4 (100% dark chocolate). Each sample underwent four cycles of 60-s immersion in suggested concentrations, followed by 30 min in artificial saliva. The attained values underwent statistical analysis employing SPSS version 26, with the utilization of T-tests and ANOVA. (3) Results: The results revealed a significant, incremental increase in the average microhardness values for enamel, specifically 61.72 ± 22.729, 64.17 ± 23.397, and 109.15 ± 34.625, and for dentin from 57.91 ± 8.332 to 72.29 ± 2.752 and ultimately reaching 88.67 ± 8.602, corresponding to the escalating concentrations of dark chocolate (70%, 85%, and 100%) (p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: Immersing the specimens in different concentrations of dark chocolate had a significant positive impact on the microhardness of both enamel and dentine