Hydrophobizing polyether sulfone membrane by sol-gel for water desalination using air gap membrane distillation

ABSTRACT

The hydrophobic polyether sulfone membranes were prepared by the sol-gel method to be applied in an air gap membrane distillation setup for desalination. The surface modifications were carried out using Trimethylsilyl chloride (TMSCl) and Methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) solutions. The membranes were characterized using Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Optical Contact Angle (OCA) methods. The effects of membrane preparation as well as operating conditions such as temperature difference, salt concentration, feed rotation speed, and cold-side temperature on membrane performance were investigated using central composite design method. It was found that feed temperature has the largest effect among the parameters on the permeation flux. The flow rate and salt rejection of the membrane in the optimum conditions were 4.47 Kg m^?2 h^?1 and 99.37%, respectively.     

A systematic study on the effects of synthesis conditions of polyamide selective layer on the CO2/N2 separation of thin film composite polyamide membranes

Different top layer fabrication methods (amine-first, acid-first, spin coating), organic phase solvents (hexane, heptane, mixed hexane/heptane), acid acceptors (triethylamine, sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide), and surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate concentrations (0, 0.05, and 0.1 wt%) were utilized to fabricate thin film composite polyamide membranes for CO₂/N₂ separation. The results, according to an L9 orthogonal array of Taguchi approach, showed that employing acid-first method increases both CO₂ permeance and CO₂/N₂ selectivity of the membranes at a feed gas pressure of 3 bars. On the other hand, sodium hydroxide, and triethylamine should be used, as acid acceptors, to maximize CO₂ permeance and CO₂/N₂ selectivity, respectively. Moreover, the use of hexane solvent and 0 wt% surfactant led to maximum permeance, while, hexane solvent and 0.1 wt% surfactant were needed to reach the highest selectivity. The above level setting of synthesis parameters also resulted in the minimum sensitivity of the fabrication process to the noise factors effects. As shown by the analysis of variance, acid acceptor, and organic solvent types were the most influential parameters on CO₂ permeance and CO₂/N₂ selectivity, respectively. The effects of fabrication method and surfactant concentration, as single factors, on permeation/selectivity responses were also investigated.     

Green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using Amygdalus scoparia Spach stem bark extract and their applications as an alternative antimicrobial,anticancer, and anti-diabetic agent

For the first time in this study, Zinc oxide nanoparticles were biosynthesized by the eco-friendly and cost-effective procedure using Amygdalus scoparia stem bark extract then used as antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, and anti-diabetic agents. The characterization techniques confirmed the biosynthesis, crystalline nature, structure, size, elemental composition of ZnO NPs and bioactive compounds that exist in A. scoparia extract accounting for Zn²⁺ ion reduction, capping and stabilization of ZnO NPs. The ZnO NPs displayed remarkable inhibitory activity against E. coli, E. aerigenes, S. aureus, P. oryzae, F. thapsinum, and F. semitectum compared to antibiotic standards. The ZnO NPs showed significant inhibitory effects on cancer cell lines, while it had no toxic effect on Vero normal cell line. The ZnO NPs (30 mg/kg)-treated diabetic rats showed significantly higher levels of insulin and lower AST, ALT and blood glucose compared with the STZ induced diabetic group and other treated groups (P < 0.05). The ZnO NPs- and extract-treated rats showed significantly higher levels of IR, GluT2, and GCK expression and lower TNFα expression compared with the STZ induced diabetic rats. Our findings showed that ZnO NPs represented an outstanding performance for biological applications.     

Effect of baking in different ovens on the quality and structural characteristics of saltine crackers

The aim of the study was to evaluate the physical and microstructural characteristics of crackers baked in four different industrial baking ovens (indirect radiation-cyclotherm, indirect convection, hybrid and industrial tunnel-ITO). Indirect convection and cyclotherm ovens provide the highest (5685.43 ± 51 W m⁻²) and the lowest (4860 ± 38.87 W m⁻²) amount of heat flux, respectively. Despite the amount of heat flux, indirect convection led to crackers with the highest moisture (7.86% vs. 4.82% in clyclotherm) and specific volume, but the lowest hardness. Cyclotherm resulted in crackers with lower specific volume, surface area, porosity, smooth and regular surface. Conversely, the hybrid and ITO ovens showed closer heat flux, leading to crackers with similar moisture content, texture parameters, specific volume, browning and inner porosity. Overall results show the potential of baking using different ovens for modifying the quality parameters of the crackers.     

A globally convergent BFGS method for pseudo-monotone variational inequality problems

In this paper, we propose a globally convergent BFGS method to solve Variational Inequality Problems (VIPs). In fact, a globalization technique on the basis of the hyperplane projection method is applied to the BFGS method. The technique, which is independent of any merit function, is applicable for pseudo-monotone problems. The proposed method applies the BFGS direction and tries to reduce the distance of iterates to the solution set. This property, called Fejer monotonicity of iterates with respect to the solution set, is the basis of the convergence analysis. The method applied to pseudo-monotone VIP is globally convergent in the sense that subproblems always have unique solutions, and the sequence of iterates converges to a solution to the problem without any regularity assumption. Finally, some numerical simulations are included to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.     

Investigating the effect of custom‐made insoles and exercises on lower limb and back discomfort in assembly‐line workers in a rubber tire factory: A randomized controlled trial

Many occupations require standing for prolonged periods, which can be a major contributor to musculoskeletal problems and cause disturbances in different parts of the body, especially the lower back and lower extremities. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of custom‐made insoles and exercise training on the lower limb and lower back discomfort in workers on a production line at a rubber tire factory. One hundred male workers (mean age 35.96 years, work experience of 10.62 years, standing time 6.58 hr) participated in this randomized controlled trial. The men were randomly assigned to one of four groups: (a) custom‐made insole plus lower limb exercises, (b) insoles only, (c) lower limb exercises only, and (d) no intervention. Discomfort level was recorded with a visual analog scale and a body map. The data were analyzed with analysis of covariance. The results showed a significant difference in discomfort levels between groups in the lower back (p = .001), thigh (p = .001), and knee (p = .001) areas. The combined insole and exercise group had less discomfort in the lower back, thigh, and knee. In the group that used the insole only without exercises, the discomfort level in the lower back area was reduced. The results indicate that the simultaneous use of insoles and exercises might be an effective intervention to reduce discomfort in the lower limbs and lower back in workers who remain standing for prolonged periods.     

On the numerical solution of Fredholm integral equations utilizing the local radial basis function method

The current investigation describes a computational technique to solve one- and two-dimensional Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. The method estimates the solution using the discrete collocation method by combining locally supported radial basis functions (RBFs) constructed on a small set of nodes instead of all points over the analysed domain. In this work, we employ the Gauss–Legendre integration rule on the influence domains of shape functions to approximate the local integrals appearing in the method. In comparison with the globally supported RBFs for solving integral equations, the proposed method is stable and uses much less computer memory. The scheme does not require any cell structures, so it is meshless. We also obtain the error analysis of the proposed method and demonstrate that the convergence rate of the approach is high. Illustrative examples clearly show the reliability and efficiency of the new method.     

Prolonged drug release using PCL–TMZ nanofibers induce the apoptotic behavior of U87 glioma cells

In situ prolonged delivery of drugs at the site of tumor can be satisfactorily accelerated patient recovery. We compared the effect of temozolomide while incorporated by polycaprolactone nanofibers on the apoptotic behavior of U87 glioma cells. After biocompatibility evaluation of nanofibers by scanning electron microscope and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide analysis, the apoptosis of U87 cells was evaluated using p53, Bcl2 and Bax genes expression. It was found that nanofiber-temozolomide group showed a greater ability to induce apoptosis as well as have a significantly diminished initial burst release of drug compared with other groups and have promising potential in treating cancer.     

PEG-PLA-PCL based electrospun yarns with curcumin control release property as suture

This work presents an interesting method using an electrospinning process to fabricate suture yarns loaded with curcumin to achieve reasonable mechanical properties as well as tunable drug release behavior. Different structures including different yarn counts and twists as well as core-sheath structures were used to adjust drug release properties along with improving the yarn's mechanical properties. The core parts were made of polycaprolactone and the sheath parts were made of polyethylene glycol, polylactic acid, and polycaprolactone. Drugs can be incorporated in both parts based on the required condition and application. Electrospun yarns were compared using both structural properties and their drug release profiles as metrics. The results of comparing drug release profiles of six electrospun yarns with different yarn counts and twists showed that yarns with finer fiber diameters in the core part have more drug release as well as more initial release. Overall evaluations showed that core-sheath drugloaded yarn with appropriate physical and mechanical properties can be a useful material as a drug delivery system to the site of damaged tissue. It can also be concluded that the amount and duration of drug release can be controlled using the structural parameters of electrospun yarns as an engineering tool for designing suture yarns with required properties.     

The Acute Toxicity of SiO2 and Fe3O4 Nano-particles on Daphnia magna

Silicon - SiO2 nano-particles are applied in different industries such as ceramic producing, glass making, cosmetic products, medicines, magnetic mixtures, heat and electric insulators and glazing...