Selective Recovery of Cadmium,Cobalt, and Nickel from Spent Ni–Cd Batteries Using Adogen® 464 and Mesoporous Silica Derivatives

Spent Ni–Cd batteries are now considered an important source for many valuable metals. The recovery of cadmium, cobalt, and nickel from spent Ni–Cd Batteries has been performed in this study. The optimum leaching process was achieved using 20% H₂SO₄, solid/liquid (S/L) 1/5 at 80 °C for 6 h. The leaching efficiency of Fe, Cd, and Co was nearly 100%, whereas the leaching efficiency of Ni was 95%. The recovery of the concerned elements was attained using successive different separation techniques. Cd(II) ions were extracted by a solvent, namely, Adogen^® 464, and precipitated as CdS with 0.5% Na₂S solution at pH of 1.25 and room temperature. The extraction process corresponded to pseudo-2nd-order. The prepared PTU-MS silica was applied for adsorption of Co(II) ions from aqueous solution, while the desorption process was performed using 0.3 M H₂SO₄. Cobalt was precipitated at pH 9.0 as Co(OH)₂ using NH₄OH. The kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were also investigated. Nickel was directly precipitated at pH 8.25 using a 10% NaOH solution at ambient temperature. FTIR, SEM, and EDX confirm the structure of the products.     

Experimental measurements and numerical computation of nanofluid and microencapsulated phase change material in porous material

The electronic industry is increasingly investigating different approaches for the cooling of electronic equipment. The use of bulk phase change materials is also a promising approach for energy storage. The introduction of microencapsulated phase change materials combined with nanofluids can be beneficial. The combined use of a nanofluid and a metallic porous material can be used to mitigate problems resulting from small thermal conductivity. This study investigated a ternary mixture of water with a nanofluid and a microencapsulated phase change material in a porous medium. The model was previously validated with experimental data using a 0.5%vol concentration nanofluid in water. The results revealed that heat storage capability can be achieved as long as the microencapsulated phase change materials, which consists of encapsulated eicosane, is at a concentration of 20%. Because the melting temperature of microencapsulated phase change materials is approximately 36^°C , energy storage at a low flow rate and heat flux is recommended.     

Exosomes as Biomarkers for Female Reproductive Diseases Diagnosis and Therapy

Cell–cell communication is an essential mechanism for the maintenance and development of various organs, including the female reproductive system. Today, it is well-known that the function of the female reproductive system and successful pregnancy are related to appropriate follicular growth, oogenesis, implantation, embryo development, and proper fertilization, dependent on the main regulators of cellular crosstalk, exosomes. During exosome synthesis, selective packaging of different factors into these vesicles happens within the originating cells. Therefore, exosomes contain both genetic and proteomic data that could be applied as biomarkers or therapeutic targets in pregnancy-associated disorders or placental functions. In this context, the present review aims to compile information about the potential exosomes with key molecular cargos that are dysregulated in female reproductive diseases which lead to infertility, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), premature ovarian failure (POF), Asherman syndrome, endometriosis, endometrial cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and preeclampsia, as well as signaling pathways related to the regulation of the reproductive system and pregnancy outcome during these pathological conditions. This review might help us realize the etiology of reproductive dysfunction and improve the early diagnosis and treatment of the related complications.     

Synthesis of bisphenol a novolac epoxy resins for coating applications

Bisphenol A novolacs were synthesized in both melting and solution processes using p‐formaldehyde and formalin solution in presence of oxalic acid catalyst, respectively. Hydrogen nuclear magnetic resonance, ¹H NMR, investigations show a high methylene bridge contents in the novolacs synthesized in a melting process. These novolacs were analyzed by gel permation chromatography (GPC) and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The bisphenol A novolac was cured with 1‐(2‐amino ethyl) piprazine (AEP) as a curing agent for epoxy resins. The cured resins were evaluated as organic coating for steel. The mechanical properties of the cured epoxy resins were evaluated. The chemical resistances of the cured resins were evaluated through salt spray resistance, hot water, solvents, acid and alkali resistance measurements. The data indicate that the cured epoxy resins have excellent chemical resistances as organic coatings among other cured resins. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

The economic evaluation of the construction industry in Jordan

Demand for construction work follows the overall level of the economy. This detailed analysis is aimed at stimulating discussion and research into further ways of understanding the construction industry and avoiding dependence on quarrying and mining, which in the past have played a major part in financing construction projects and programmes.     

A new algorithm for cluster head selection in LEACH protocol for wireless sensor networks

In wireless sensor network, a large number of sensor nodes are distributed to cover a certain area. Sensor node is little in size with restricted processing power, memory, and limited battery life. Because of restricted battery power, wireless sensor network needs to broaden the system lifetime by reducing the energy consumption. A clustering‐based protocols adapt the use of energy by giving a balance to all nodes to become a cluster head. In this paper, we concentrate on a recent hierarchical routing protocols, which are depending on LEACH protocol to enhance its performance and increase the lifetime of wireless sensor network. So our enhanced protocol called Node Ranked–LEACH is proposed. Our proposed protocol improves the total network lifetime based on node rank algorithm. Node rank algorithm depends on both path cost and number of links between nodes to select the cluster head of each cluster. This enhancement reflects the real weight of specific node to success and can be represented as a cluster head. The proposed algorithm overcomes the random process selection, which leads to unexpected fail for some cluster heads in other LEACH versions, and it gives a good performance in the network lifetime and energy consumption comparing with previous version of LEACH protocols.