Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 516 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Fulltext An innovative probabilistic hesitant fuzzy set MCDM perspective for selecting flexible packaging bags after the prohibition on single-use plastics
    Jeon J, Krishnan S, Manirathinam T, Narayanamoorthy S, Nazir Ahmad M, Ferrara M, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2023 Jun 23;13(1):10206.
    PMID: 37353615 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37200-2
    The probabilistic hesitant elements (PHFEs) are a beneficial augmentation to the hesitant fuzzy element (HFE), which is intended to give decision-makers more flexibility in expressing their biases while using hesitant fuzzy information. To extrapolate a more accurate interpretation of the decision documentation, it is sufficient to standardize the organization of the elements in PHFEs without introducing fictional elements. Several processes for unifying and arranging components in PHFEs have been proposed so far, but most of them result in various disadvantages that are critically explored in this paper. The primary objective of this research is to recommend a PHFE unification procedure that avoids the deficiencies of operational practices while maintaining the inherent properties of PHFE probabilities. The prevailing study advances the hypothesis of permutation on PHFEs by suggesting a new sort of PHFS division and subtraction compared with the existing unification procedure. Eventually, the proposed PHFE-unification process will be used in this study, an innovative PHFEs based on the Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment Method-Analytic Hierarchy Process (WASPAS-AHP) perspective for selecting flexible packaging bags after the prohibition on single-use plastics. As a result, we have included the PHFEs-WASPAS in our selection of the most effective fuzzy environment for bio-plastic bags. The ranking results for the suggested PHFEs-MCDM techniques surpassed the existing AHP methods in the research study by providing the best solution. Our solutions offer the best bio-plastic bag alternative strategy for mitigating environmental impacts.
  2. Fulltext Designing mRNA- and Peptide-Based Vaccine Construct against Emerging Multidrug-Resistant Citrobacter freundii: A Computational-Based Subtractive Proteomics Approach
    Naveed M, Hassan JU, Ahmad M, Naeem N, Mughal MS, Rabaan AA, et al.
    Medicina (Kaunas), 2022 Sep 27;58(10).
    PMID: 36295517 DOI: 10.3390/medicina58101356
    Background and Objectives: Citrobacter freundii (C. freundii) is an emerging and opportunistic Gram-negative bacteria of the human gastrointestinal tract associated with nosocomial and severe respiratory tract infections. It has also been associated with pneumonia, bloodstream, and urinary tract infections. Intrinsic and adaptive virulence characteristics of C. freundii have become a significant source of diarrheal infections and food poisoning among immune-compromised patients and newborns. Impulsive usage of antibiotics and these adaptive virulence characteristics has modulated the C. freundii into multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria. Conventional approaches are futile against MDR C. freundii. Materials and Methods: The current study exploits the modern computational-based vaccine design approach to treat infections related to MDR C. freundii. A whole proteome of C. freundii (strain: CWH001) was retrieved to screen pathogenic and nonhomologous proteins. Six proteins were shortlisted for the selection of putative epitopes for vaccine construct. Highly antigenic, nonallergen, and nontoxic eleven B-cell, HTL, and TCL epitopes were selected for mRNA- and peptide-based multi-epitope vaccine construct. Secondary and tertiary structures of the multi-epitope vaccine (MEVC) were designed, refined, and validated. Results: Evaluation of population coverage of MHC-I and MHC-II alleles were 72% and 90%, respectively. Docking MEVC with TLR-3 receptor with the binding affinity of 21.46 (kcal/mol) occurred through the mmGBSA process. Further validations include codon optimization with an enhanced CAI value of 0.95 and GC content of about 51%. Immune stimulation and molecular dynamic simulation ensure the antibody production upon antigen interaction with the host and stability of the MEVC construct, respectively. Conclusions: These interpretations propose a new strategy to combat MDR C. freundii. Further, in vivo and in vitro trials of this vaccine will be valuable in combating MDR pathogens.
  3. Fulltext Gulf Asthma Diagnosis and Management in Adults: Expert Review and Recommendations
    Al Busaidi N, Alweqayyan A, Al Zaabi A, Mahboub B, Al-Huraish F, Hameed M, et al.
    Open Respir Med J, 2022;16:e187430642205230.
    PMID: 37273945 DOI: 10.2174/18743064-v16-e2205230
    The prevalence and incidence of asthma are increasing globally because of genetic and environmental influences. Prevalence of asthma in the Gulf has been reported to range from 4.7% to 32.0% and has a substantial economic burden. In this paper, we summarize current asthma management guidance for adults, present insights, and recommendations by key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the Gulf region, and key performance indicators for guiding clinical practice for asthma diagnosis, management, and treatment in the Gulf. While it is recommended that the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines should be followed wherever possible for the management of asthma, KOLs in the Gulf region have presented additional recommendations based on regional challenges and insights. There is a need for better diagnosis using objective testing, increased efforts in tackling the burden of comorbidities in the region, and greater provision of the necessary tools for phenotyping severe asthma. Furthermore, there is a need for greater education for physicians regarding asthma treatment, including the importance of inhaled-corticosteroid-containing controller medication. Regionally, there is also a need for specialist asthma clinics and asthma educators, which would serve to educate physicians and their patients as well as to improve the management of patients. Finally, the use of asthma registries, digital devices, and electronic templates would be of benefit in the management of asthma patients in the region.
  4. Fulltext Improving forecasting accuracy for stock market data using EMD-HW bagging
    Awajan AM, Ismail MT, Al Wadi S
    PLoS One, 2018;13(7):e0199582.
    PMID: 30016323 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199582
    Many researchers documented that the stock market data are nonstationary and nonlinear time series data. In this study, we use EMD-HW bagging method for nonstationary and nonlinear time series forecasting. The EMD-HW bagging method is based on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD), the moving block bootstrap and the Holt-Winter. The stock market time series of six countries are used to compare EMD-HW bagging method. This comparison is based on five forecasting error measurements. The comparison shows that the forecasting results of EMD-HW bagging are more accurate than the forecasting results of the fourteen selected methods.
  5. Sustainable wastewater treatment by biochar/layered double hydroxide composites: Progress, challenges, and outlook
    Zubair M, Ihsanullah I, Abdul Aziz H, Azmier Ahmad M, Al-Harthi MA
    Bioresour Technol, 2021 Jan;319:124128.
    PMID: 32979597 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.124128
    Biochar/layered double hydroxide (LDH) composites have gained considerable attention in recent times as low-cost sustainable materials for applications in water treatment. This paper critically evaluates the latest development in applications of biochar/LDH composites in water treatment with an emphasis on adsorption and catalytic degradation of various pollutants. The adsorption of various noxious contaminants, i.e., heavy metals, dyes, anions, and pharmaceuticals onto biochar/LDH composites are described in detail by elaborating the adsorption mechanism and regeneration ability. The synergistic effect of LDH with biochar exhibited significant improvement in specific surface area, surface functional groups, structure heterogeneity, stability, and adsorption characteristics of the resulting biochar/LDH composites. The major hurdles and challenges associated with the synthesis and applications of biochar/LDH composites in water remediation are emphasized. Finally, a roadmap is suggested for future research to assure the effective applications of biochar/LDH composites in water purification.
  6. Synthesis and biological evaluation of pyridylpiperazine hybrid derivatives as urease inhibitors
    Akash M, Zaib S, Ahmad M, Sultan S, Al-Hussain SA
    Front Chem, 2024;12:1371377.
    PMID: 38545466 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2024.1371377
    Urease, a nickel-dependent enzyme found in various life forms, catalyzes urea breakdown, concluding nitrogen metabolism by generating ammonia and carbamate. This process causes a rise in pH, supports the survival of pathogens, and can lead to infections such as gastric disorders like ulcers and cancer in humans. Helicobacter pylori employs urease for survival in the acidic environment of the stomach and in protein synthesis. To treat such infections and inhibit the growth of pathogens, it is mandatory to obstruct urease activity; therefore, derivatives of 1-(3-nitropyridin-2-yl)piperazine were synthesized (5a-o; 7a-k). All these newly synthesized compounds were investigated for urease inhibition by in vitro inhibition assays. The results showed that 5b and 7e are the most active inhibitors, having IC50 values of 2.0 ± 0.73 and 2.24 ± 1.63 µM, respectively. These IC50 values are lower than the IC50 value of the standard thiourea, which was 23.2 ± 11.0 µM. The hemolysis potential of 5b, 5c, 5i, 7e, and 7h was also determined; 7e and 7h exhibited good biocompatibility in human blood cells. Through in silico analysis, it was shown that both these potent inhibitors develop favorable interactions with the active site of urease, having binding energies of -8.0 (5b) and -8.1 (7e) kcal/mol. The binding energy of thiourea was -2.8 kcal/mol. Moreover, 5b and 7e have high gastrointestinal permeability as predicted via computational analysis. On the other hand, the IC50 value and binding energy of precursor compound 3 was 3.90 ± 1.91 µM and -6.1 kcal/mol, respectively. Consequently, 5b and 7e can serve as important inhibitors of urease.
  7. Fulltext Differential inequalities imposed by the extended hypergeometric function
    Ibrahim RW, Ahmad MZ, Al-Janaby HF
    Springerplus, 2016;5:375.
    PMID: 27066382 DOI: 10.1186/s40064-016-1996-9
    Recently, the generalized hypergeometric function is extended by utilizing the Beta function. Based on this type of function, we introduce a new operator in the open unit disk. The present article investigates some subordination and superordination results for certain normalized analytic functions in the open unit disk, which are acted upon by the generalized Noor integral operator. Some of outcomes improve and generalize previously known outcomes.
  8. Fulltext Mathematical model for adaptive evolution of populations based on a complex domain
    Ibrahim RW, Ahmad MZ, Al-Janaby HF
    Saudi J Biol Sci, 2016 Jan;23(1):S45-9.
    PMID: 26858564 DOI: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2015.09.012
    A mutation is ultimately essential for adaptive evolution in all populations. It arises all the time, but is mostly fixed by enzymes. Further, most do consider that the evolution mechanism is by a natural assortment of variations in organisms in line for random variations in their DNA, and the suggestions for this are overwhelming. The altering of the construction of a gene, causing a different form that may be communicated to succeeding generations, produced by the modification of single base units in DNA, or the deletion, insertion, or rearrangement of larger units of chromosomes or genes. This altering is called a mutation. In this paper, a mathematical model is introduced to this reality. The model describes the time and space for the evolution. The tool is based on a complex domain for the space. We show that the evolution is distributed with the hypergeometric function. The Boundedness of the evolution is imposed by utilizing the Koebe function.
  9. Fulltext Grouping and Sponsoring Centric Green Coverage Model for Internet of Things
    Kumar V, Kumar S, AlShboul R, Aggarwal G, Kaiwartya O, Khasawneh AM, et al.
    Sensors (Basel), 2021 Jun 08;21(12).
    PMID: 34201100 DOI: 10.3390/s21123948
    Recently, green computing has received significant attention for Internet of Things (IoT) environments due to the growing computing demands under tiny sensor enabled smart services. The related literature on green computing majorly focuses on a cover set approach that works efficiently for target coverage, but it is not applicable in case of area coverage. In this paper, we present a new variant of a cover set approach called a grouping and sponsoring aware IoT framework (GS-IoT) that is suitable for area coverage. We achieve non-overlapping coverage for an entire sensing region employing sectorial sensing. Non-overlapping coverage not only guarantees a sufficiently good coverage in case of large number of sensors deployed randomly, but also maximizes the life span of the whole network with appropriate scheduling of sensors. A deployment model for distribution of sensors is developed to ensure a minimum threshold density of sensors in the sensing region. In particular, a fast converging grouping (FCG) algorithm is developed to group sensors in order to ensure minimal overlapping. A sponsoring aware sectorial coverage (SSC) algorithm is developed to set off redundant sensors and to balance the overall network energy consumption. GS-IoT framework effectively combines both the algorithms for smart services. The simulation experimental results attest to the benefit of the proposed framework as compared to the state-of-the-art techniques in terms of various metrics for smart IoT environments including rate of overlapping, response time, coverage, active sensors, and life span of the overall network.
  10. Fulltext Saudi Nursing Students' Knowledge and Perception of Testicular Cancer Assessment and Management: A Cross-Sectional Study
    Saleh ZT, Elshatarat RA, Almarwani AM, Alahmadi HA, Elneblawi NH, Al-Za'areer MS, et al.
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2023 Apr 01;24(4):1289-1295.
    PMID: 37116151 DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2023.24.4.1289
    INTRODUCTION: Testicular cancer (TC) incidence is increasing worldwide. This study aimed to investigate Saudi nursing students' knowledge and perception about TC.

    METHOD: This cross-sectional study was done using convenience sampling method. In this study, 280 nursing students from different nursing schools in six cities of Saudi Arabia were recruited. A structured self-report questionnaire was used to collect data.

    RESULT: About 49.2% of the participants received education about TC in their nursing schools. The findings showed lack of enough knowledge about TC among Saudi nursing students. Mostly, the participants reported that heredity factor and having family history of TC (48.9%) and age between 56 and 70 years (41.8%) were the most common risk factors of TC. According to the participants, physical examination was the most common diagnostic test usually used for early detection of TC (40.4%) and biopsy test was the most accurate test to confirm TC diagnosis (45.4%). Only one third of the participants (34.6%) knew that between 75% and 100% of TC cases can be cured in case of early detection. About half of the participants (51.8%) reported that surgical procedure was the most common treatment for TC. The nursing students who had high GPA (r=0.86, p<0.001), were unwilling to get more information on TC (r=0.24, p=0.04), had family history of TC (r= 0.53, p=0.02), medical problems with testicles (r= 0.69, p=0.01), received education about TC in their school of nursing (r=0.65, p=0.02), and were more self-confident in assessing and managing TC (r=0.38, p=0.03) had higher level knowledge about TC.  Conclusion: Despite the importance of nurses' roles in assessing and managing TC, nursing students in Saudi Arabia still did not have enough knowledge about TC. Improving nursing programs' curricula and conducting health education programs are recommended.

  11. Fulltext Towards Green Computing Oriented Security: A Lightweight Postquantum Signature for IoE
    Rani R, Kumar S, Kaiwartya O, Khasawneh AM, Lloret J, Al-Khasawneh MA, et al.
    Sensors (Basel), 2021 Mar 08;21(5).
    PMID: 33800227 DOI: 10.3390/s21051883
    Postquantum cryptography for elevating security against attacks by quantum computers in the Internet of Everything (IoE) is still in its infancy. Most postquantum based cryptosystems have longer keys and signature sizes and require more computations that span several orders of magnitude in energy consumption and computation time, hence the sizes of the keys and signature are considered as another aspect of security by green design. To address these issues, the security solutions should migrate to the advanced and potent methods for protection against quantum attacks and offer energy efficient and faster cryptocomputations. In this context, a novel security framework Lightweight Postquantum ID-based Signature (LPQS) for secure communication in the IoE environment is presented. The proposed LPQS framework incorporates a supersingular isogeny curve to present a digital signature with small key sizes which is quantum-resistant. To reduce the size of the keys, compressed curves are used and the validation of the signature depends on the commutative property of the curves. The unforgeability of LPQS under an adaptively chosen message attack is proved. Security analysis and the experimental validation of LPQS are performed under a realistic software simulation environment to assess its lightweight performance considering embedded nodes. It is evident that the size of keys and the signature of LPQS is smaller than that of existing signature-based postquantum security techniques for IoE. It is robust in the postquantum environment and efficient in terms of energy and computations.
  12. Fulltext Social and psychological factors affecting eating habits among university students in a Malaysian medical school: a cross-sectional study
    Ganasegeran K, Al-Dubai SA, Qureshi AM, Al-abed AA, Am R, Aljunid SM
    Nutr J, 2012;11:48.
    PMID: 22809556 DOI: 10.1186/1475-2891-11-48
    BACKGROUND: Eating habits have been a major concern among university students as a determinant of health status. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of eating habits and its associated social and psychological factors among medical students.
    METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted among 132 medical students of pre-clinical phase at a Malaysian university. A self-administered questionnaire was used which included questions on socio-demography, anthropometry, eating habits and psychosocial factors.
    RESULTS: Mean (± SD) age of the respondents was 22.7 (± 2.4) years and (the age) ranged from 18 to 30 years. More than half had regular meals and breakfast (57.6% &, 56.1% respectively). Majority (73.5%) consumed fruits less than three times per week, 51.5% had fried food twice or more a week and 59.8% drank water less than 2 liters daily. Eating habits score was significantly low among younger students (18-22 years), smokers, alcohol drinkers and those who did not exercise. (p<0.05). Four psychological factors out of six, were significantly associated with eating habits (p<0.05). In multivariate analysis, age and 'eating because of feeling happy' were significantly associated with eating habits score (p<0.05).
    CONCLUSION: Most of the students in this study had healthy eating habits. Social and psychological factors were important determinants of eating habits among medical students.
    Study site: Management and Science University, Selangor, Malaysia
    Scales & Questionnaires: Compulsive Eating Scale
  13. The predictive machine learning model of a hydrated inverse vulcanized copolymer for effective mercury sequestration from wastewater
    Ghumman ASM, Shamsuddin R, Abbasi A, Ahmad M, Yoshida Y, Sami A, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2024 Jan 15;908:168034.
    PMID: 37924888 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168034
    Inverse vulcanized polysulfides (IVP) are promising sulfur-enriched copolymers with unconventional properties irresistible for diverse applications like Hg2+ remediation. Nevertheless, due to their inherent hydrophobic nature, these copolymers still offer low Hg2+ uptake capacity. Herein, we reported the synthesis of IVP by reacting molten sulfur with 4-vinyl benzyl chloride, followed by their functionalization using N-methyl D-glucamine (NMDG) to increase the hydration of the developed IVP. The chemical composition and structure of the functionalized IVP were proposed based on FTIR and XPS analysis. The functionalized IVP demonstrated a high mercury adsorption capacity of 608 mg/g (compared to <26 mg/g for common IVP) because of rich sulfur and hydrophilic regions. NMDG functionalized IVP removed 100 % Hg2+ from a low feed concentration (10-50 mg/l). A predictive machine learning model was also developed to predict the amount of mercury removed (%) using GPR, ANN, Decision Tree, and SVM algorithms. Hyperparameter and loss function optimization was also carried out to reduce the prediction error. The optimized GPR algorithm demonstrated high R2 (0.99 (training) and 0.98 (unseen)) and low RMSE (2.74 (training) and 2.53 (unseen)) values indicating its goodness in predicting the amount of mercury removed. The produced functionalized IVP can be regenerated and reused with constant Hg2+ uptake capacity. Sulfur is the waste of the petrochemical industry and is abundantly available, making the functionalized IVP a sustainable and cheap adsorbent that can be produced for high-volume Hg2+ remediation. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: This research effectively addresses the removal of the global top-priority neurotoxic pollutant mercury, which is toxic even at low concentrations. We attempted to remove the Hg2+ utilizing an inexpensive adsorbent developed by NMDG functionalized copolymer of molten sulfur and VBC. A predictive machine learning model was also formulated to predict the amount of mercury removal from wastewater with only a 0.05 % error which shows the goodness of the developed model. This work is critical in utilizing this low-cost adsorbent and demonstrates its potential for large-scale industrial application.
  14. Rhinitis associated with asthma is distinct from rhinitis alone: The ARIA-MeDALL hypothesis
    Bousquet J, Melén E, Haahtela T, Koppelman GH, Togias A, Valenta R, et al.
    Allergy, 2023 Feb 17.
    PMID: 36799120 DOI: 10.1111/all.15679
    Asthma, rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis (AD) are interrelated clinical phenotypes that partly overlap in the human interactome. The concept of "one-airway-one-disease," coined over 20 years ago, is a simplistic approach of the links between upper- and lower-airway allergic diseases. With new data, it is time to reassess the concept. This article reviews (i) the clinical observations that led to Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA), (ii) new insights into polysensitization and multimorbidity, (iii) advances in mHealth for novel phenotype definitions, (iv) confirmation in canonical epidemiologic studies, (v) genomic findings, (vi) treatment approaches, and (vii) novel concepts on the onset of rhinitis and multimorbidity. One recent concept, bringing together upper- and lower-airway allergic diseases with skin, gut, and neuropsychiatric multimorbidities, is the "Epithelial Barrier Hypothesis." This review determined that the "one-airway-one-disease" concept does not always hold true and that several phenotypes of disease can be defined. These phenotypes include an extreme "allergic" (asthma) phenotype combining asthma, rhinitis, and conjunctivitis. Rhinitis alone and rhinitis and asthma multimorbidity represent two distinct diseases with the following differences: (i) genomic and transcriptomic background (Toll-Like Receptors and IL-17 for rhinitis alone as a local disease; IL-33 and IL-5 for allergic and non-allergic multimorbidity as a systemic disease), (ii) allergen sensitization patterns (mono- or pauci-sensitization versus polysensitization), (iii) severity of symptoms, and (iv) treatment response. In conclusion, rhinitis alone (local disease) and rhinitis with asthma multimorbidity (systemic disease) should be considered as two distinct diseases, possibly modulated by the microbiome, and may be a model for understanding the epidemics of chronic and autoimmune diseases.
  15. Lactase can target cellular differentiation of Acanthamoeba castellanii belonging to the T4 genotype
    Simau FA, Ahmed U, Khan KM, Khan NA, Siddiqui R, Alharbi AM, et al.
    Parasitol Res, 2024 Jan 31;123(2):117.
    PMID: 38294565 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-024-08131-2
    The free living Acanthamoeba spp. are ubiquitous amoebae associated with potentially blinding disease known as Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) and a fatal central nervous system infection granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). With the inherent ability of cellular differentiation, it can phenotypically transform to a dormant cyst form from an active trophozoite form. Acanthamoeba cysts are highly resistant to therapeutic agents as well as contact lens cleaning solutions. One way to tackle drug resistance against Acanthamoeba is by inhibiting the formation of cysts from trophozoites. The biochemical analysis showed that the major component of Acanthamoeba cyst wall is composed of carbohydrate moieties such as galactose and glucose. The disaccharide of galactose and glucose is lactose. In this study, we analyzed the potential of lactase enzyme to target carbohydrate moieties of cyst walls. Amoebicidal assessment showed that lactase was ineffective against trophozoite of A. castellanii but enhanced amoebicidal effects of chlorhexidine. The lactase enzyme did not show any toxicity against normal human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT) at the tested range. Hence, lactase can be used for further assessment for development of potential therapeutic agents in the management of Acanthamoeba infection as well as formulation of effective contact lens disinfectants.
  16. Fulltext Stability risk assessment of slopes using logistic model tree based on updated case histories
    Ahmad F, Tang XW, Ahmad M, González-Lezcano RA, Majdi A, Arbili MM
    Math Biosci Eng, 2023 Nov 29;20(12):21229-21245.
    PMID: 38124595 DOI: 10.3934/mbe.2023939
    A new logistic model tree (LMT) model is developed to predict slope stability status based on an updated database including 627 slope stability cases with input parameters of unit weight, cohesion, angle of internal friction, slope angle, slope height and pore pressure ratio. The performance of the LMT model was assessed using statistical metrics, including accuracy (Acc), Matthews correlation coefficient (Mcc), area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and F-score. The analysis of the Acc together with Mcc, AUC and F-score values for the slope stability suggests that the proposed LMT achieved better prediction results (Acc = 85.6%, Mcc = 0.713, AUC = 0.907, F-score for stable state = 0.967 and F-score for failed state = 0.923) as compared to other methods previously employed in the literature. Two case studies with ten slope stability events were used to verify the proposed LMT. It was found that the prediction results are completely consistent with the actual situation at the site. Finally, risk analysis was carried out, and the result also agrees with the actual conditions. Such probability results can be incorporated into risk analysis with the corresponding failure cost assessment later.
  17. Kappaphycus alvarezii waste biomass: a potential biosorbent for chromium ions removal
    Kang OL, Ramli N, Said M, Ahmad M, Yasir SM, Ariff A
    J Environ Sci (China), 2011;23(6):918-22.
    PMID: 22066214
    The Cr(III) sorption experiments onto Kappaphycus alvarezii waste biomass were conducted at different pH values (2-6) under the conditions of initial metal concentration of 10-50 mg/L and the chemical compositions of Cr-Cu and Cr-Cd. The Cr(III) sorption capacities were slightly dependent on pH, and the maximum sorption capacity was 0.86 mg/g at pH 3. The sorption capacities increased with increase in the initial metal concentration, whereas it was suppressed by the presence of Cu(II) and Cd(III) in the solution. The Cr(III) sorption equilibrium was evaluated using Langmuir, Freundlich and BET isotherms. The sorption mechanisms were characterised using scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The main mechanisms were ion exchange coupled with a complexation mechanism. Kappaphycus alvarezii waste biomass represents a potential for Cr(III) ion removal from aqueous solution.
  18. Role of trees in climate change and their authentication through scanning electron microscopy
    Arshad S, Ahmad M, Saboor A, Ibrahim FH, Mustafa MRU, Zafar M, et al.
    Microsc Res Tech, 2019 Feb;82(2):92-100.
    PMID: 30511479 DOI: 10.1002/jemt.23106
    Climate change is the most realistic theory of this era. Sudden and drastic changes are happening on the earth and the survival of mankind is becoming questionable in the future. The plants play the key role in controlling the climate change. The study emphasizes on role of trees in the cop up or damaging the climate of this earth, whether they are medicinal trees or economically important trees. Due to the overgrazing and intense deforestation the climate is being affected hazardously. The global warming phenomenon is occurring due to the less availability of trees and more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In total 20 plants were collected from across the Pakistan on the basis of their abundance and their key roles. Out of which seeds of eight plants were scanned through scanning electron microscope for correct authentication and importance of these medicinally important trees in mitigating the climate change. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The role of forest sector in the climate's change mitigation. Medicinally and economically important tree species across Pakistan. By using SEM, Ultra seed sculpturing features as an authentication tool. To formulate some policies to stop or control deforestation.
  19. Retraction Note to: Estimation of Anticipated Performance Index and Air Pollution Tolerance Index and of vegetation around the marble industrial areas of Potwar region: bioindicators of plant pollution response
    Noor MJ, Sultana S, Fatima S, Ahmad M, Zafar M, Sarfraz M, et al.
    Environ Geochem Health, 2017 06;39(3):705.
    PMID: 26932557 DOI: 10.1007/s10653-016-9812-6
  20. Effective adsorption of cadmium and lead using SO3H-functionalized Zr-MOFs in aqueous medium
    Gul S, Ahmad Z, Asma M, Ahmad M, Rehan K, Munir M, et al.
    Chemosphere, 2022 Nov;307(Pt 1):135633.
    PMID: 35810866 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.135633
    Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) from industrial wastewater can bioaccumulate in the living organisms of water bodies, posing serious threats to human health. Therefore, efficient remediation of heavy metal ions of Cd (II) and Pb (II) in aqueous media is necessary for public health and environmental sustainability. In the present study, water stable Zirconium (Zr) based metal organic frameworks (MOFs) with SO3H functionalization were synthesized by solvothermal method and used first time for the adsorption of Cd (II) and Pb (II). Synthesis of UiO-66-SO3H, nano-sized (<100 nm) MOFs, was confirmed by FTIR, XRD, FESEM and BET. Effects of contact time, pH and temperature were investigated for adsorption of Cd (II) and Pb (II) onto SO3H-functionalized Zr-MOFs. The UiO-66-SO3H displayed notable rejections of 97% and 88% towards Cd (II) and Pb (II), respectively, after 160 min at 25 °C and pH (6) with an initial concentration of 1000 mg/L. Adsorption capacities of Cd (II) and Pb (II) were achieved as 194.9154 (mg/g) and 176.6879 (mg/g), respectively, at an initial concentration of 1000 mg/L. The Pseudo second-order kinetic model fitted well with linear regression (R2) of value 1. The mechanism was confirmed mainly as a chemisorption and coordination interaction between sulfone group (-SO3H) and metal ions Cd (IIa) and Pb (II). These results may support effective adsorption and can be studied further to enrich and recycle other heavy metals from wastewater.
Related Terms
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links