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The degradation of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CFX), an extensively utilized antibiotic for bacterial infections, has been studied through the application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) including hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), ozonation (O3), the Fenton reaction, chemical oxidation, and hybrid AOPs such as HC/O3 and Fenton/O3. Among these, the hybrid combination of HC/O3 demonstrated the highest CFX degradation of 99.82 % within 180 min having an initial concentration of 1000 ppm. The optimization of the HC/O3 process was conducted by varying parameters including initial concentration, pH, ozone (O3) gas flowrate, and temperature. Throughout the degradation process, CFX underwent intermediate formation, which gradually degraded over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates, thermal properties of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and various polymorphs of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) as blends. The prepared calcite, aragonite, and vaterite forms of CaCO3 were confirmed by x‐ray diffraction (XRD). Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) revealed that, PEG‐calcite blend (composition 40/60 wt%), exhibited maximum enthalpy (112.9 ± 0.87 J/g). Aragonite and vaterite blends of similar composition displayed lower enthalpies (73.7 ± 0.61 J/g and 61.3 ± 0.75 J/g), which can be attributed to irregularities in crystal lattice and secondary interactions. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) of PEG‐calcite revealed its impressive thermal stability, as blend was stable up to 423°C, higher than decomposition temperature of PEG. DSC analysis of PEG‐calcite after 50 cycles showcased excellent thermal reliability of blend, with enthalpy decreasing to only 108.5 ± 0.52 J/g. Stability of material was further supported by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), where position and shape of peaks were found to be intact, suggesting no new compound formation. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) suggested strong adhesion and wrapping of PEG around calcite particles, facilitated by cross‐hydrogen bonding between carbonate group and PEG. PEG‐calcite blend exhibited high thermal conductivity (0.74 ± 0.05 W/mK), highlighting potential applications in thermal management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Childhood pneumonia, if identified early, is readily treatable through low-cost antibiotics. The study aimed to understand the family caregivers' knowledge and care-seeking behavior for the management of childhood pneumonia. The study was cross-sectional, with mixed methods assessing knowledge, perceptions, and practices of caregivers of under-five children on pneumonia using a vignette. Methodology: Systematic random sampling was used to select the participants. Of 107, more than half of the respondents were 18–25 years old. Results: Less than one-fourth were illiterate. Cough, flu, and stomach distention were the commonly reported symptoms. Food ingestion was reported as a main perceived cause; private doctors and traditional healers were the most reported source of help-seeking. Friend/family were reported as leading sources of information. Health education is to be imparted using local knowledge regarding childhood pneumonia. Traditional healers and private practitioners sensitize in early management and referral of childhood pneumonia cases. Conclusions: Information, education and communication messages need to be prepared in the local languages. Strengthening the public health sector is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation includes the synthesis and characterization of a new series of ionic liquids (ILs) based on the tetraalkylammonium dication for the absorption of CO2, a step towards the development of more efficient and sustainable technologies. It was possible to synthesize amine-substituted PEG diacrylate by modifying poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), which was then quaternized with 1-bromopentane to produce the IL PDBr. The other IL products, PDNTf2, PDBF4 and PDPF6, were synthesized via the metathesis of PDBr with the appropriate salt. The synthesized products were characterized using various techniques, such as FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR, elemental analysis, and density and viscosity meters, and evaluated as potential sorbents for CO2 capture. DSC and TGA were used to examine the thermal properties of the ILs. As observed from their thermal degradation behavior, the ILs exhibited two-stage disintegration with thermal stability up to 150 °C. The pressure drop method was used to study the sorption capacity of the ILs towards CO2. The sorption investigation showed that when the pressure is increased, the CO2 absorption increases. Equilibrium is reached in 40 minutes, demonstrating a rapid absorption rate. The IL with the [BF4]− anion (PDBF4) demonstrated a maximum sorption capacity of 0.577 mole fraction of CO2, and can be regenerated and reused efficiently with less than 0.5% variation from its original absorption capacity. The CO2 absorption capacity for the ILs with other anions follows the trend: Br ≈ NTf2 < PF6 < BF4. This work shows that tetraalkylammonium-based dicationic ILs are adaptable, making them a suitable material for many applications, including sustainable CO2 capture technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: In India, pneumonia deaths in the past decade show a decreasing trend in the child mortality rate from 74.6 to 45.4. However, NFHS-5 records an increase in prevalence to 2.8% from 2.7% in NFHS-4. The childhood pneumonia control strategies focus on strengthening the health system, skill-building health workers, counseling, and creating awareness about promoting healthy behaviors regarding the management of sick children. Aims: The study attempts to understand "caregivers" care-seeking behavior and the management of childhood pneumonia. Setting and Design: The study was conducted in the Akkalkuwa block of Nandurbar district, Maharashtra, India. We used episodic interviews, asking caregivers to recollect specific events linked to the need for treatment. Methods and Material: A total of 11 in-depth interviews of mothers were conducted whose under-five children had pneumonia in the past year. These interviews used vignettes from real pneumonia cases to discuss community priorities for health care and actions taken to improve child's health. In addition, the qualitative data from the in-depth interviews were thematically analyzed. Result: Cough, breathlessness, and disturbance in the routine schedule of the child were the major symptoms to identify pneumonia (vavlya) among children. Branding on the stomach, oil massage, and jadi-buti were commonly observed phenomena to seek help. Low priority, the influence of traditional healers and herbal medicines, and the inaccessibility of quality healthcare services were the main factors that led to the child's treatment. Conclusion: Culturally appropriate activities are to be imparted on recognition of symptoms and appropriate care seeking, and community health workers need capacity building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation deals with separation of various types of nitrophenols using SILM technique. Several ionic liquids were developed and the SILM parameters such as role of ILs, feed and strip phase concentration, wastewater pH, salt effect and mixture of pollutants were thoroughly investigated. The percentage extraction and stripping, flux, apparent rate constants and selectivity were evaluated. The selected ammonium IL being more polar than the imidazolium IL showed better separation of 2-nitrophenol. The SILM constituting an ammonium IL with SCN anion exhibited extraction efficiency of >96% and Ka: 0.264 h−1. The change in feed concentration showed maximum transport of nitrophenol at 300 ppm concentration (Ka: 0.673 h−1). The membranes were repeated for 4 cycles which demonstrated good stability for runs of more than 48 hours. The selectivity of 2-nitrophenol, 2,4-dinitrophenol, 2,4,6- trinitrophenol over nitrobenzene was 26, 36 and 58, respectively. The morphology of membranes was studied by using FTIR and FE-SEM and the transport mechanism was elucidated. With the optimized parameters, a concentration factor of 7 can be achieved in the present SILM system. The application of SILM including ammonium IL with SCN anion shows a promising potential for the treatment of various types of nitrophenol bearing wastewater. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The knowledge of polymer network characteristics is important to tune the properties of advanced energetic propellants based on nitrate ester plasticized polyol binder system. In this article, plasticized polyurethane networks of polycaprolactone (PCP) and hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) with different crosslinker content [0 to 0.20 parts] at various stoichiometric NCOOH ratios (r‐value) [0.8 to 1.0] were studied. Five numbers of polyurethane networks of 1,2,4‐butanediol trinitrate (BTTN) plasticised PCP were formulated at each r value 0.8, 0.9 and 1.0 using 0, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15 and 0.20 parts of trimethylolpropane (TMP) crosslinker. Similarly, five numbers of dioctyl adipate (DOA) plasticized HTPB based polyurethane networks were formulated at r‐value of 0.8. FT‐IR spectra of these polyurethane networks (PUNs) were recorded for functional group identification. Stress‐strain behavior of PUNs was studied for understanding the effect of TMP content and r value on mechanical properties. Hard segment content of PUNs were calculated and its influence on network characteristics and mechanical properties was evaluated. CLD values (ν) increased with increase of hard segment content of PUN and the values quantified by different approaches followed the trend νe (by solvent swelling method) > νne2(by Initial modulus method)>νne1 (by Mooney Rivlin method). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research describes systematic investigations on sensing of high explosives such as picric acid (PA), RDX, NTO, and trinitrotoluene (TNT) in aqueous medium via fluorescence quenching of quinine sulfate (QS). Although all the explosives exhibit fluorescence quenching of QS, highest response is observed for PA. Fluorescence quenching of ∼ 50% (in contrast to pristine QS) at ∼ 390 nm is observed for 10 nm (2.29 μ g of PA dissolved in 20 μ l of distilled water). The analysis of the Stern–Volmer (SV) plot implies dominance of static quenching mechanism in comparison to dynamic quenching mechanism. Furthermore, the effect of operational temperature on fluoresce quenching response for PA has been investigated, and values of enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy of interaction at various temperatures are estimated. The temperature-dependent studies reveal that fluorescence quenching is due to formation of strong hydrogen bonds, complemented by computational analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current demilitarization processes employ open burning/open detonation which is not permitted by the environmental protection agency. Therefore, a systematic study has been carried out to convert waste/rejected nitramine propellant (NP) and fuel-rich-based propellant (FRP) into liquid fertilizer by digesting in dilute nitric acid followed by neutralization with potassium hydroxide and phosphoric acid. The obtained liquid fertilizers were fully characterized for nitrate, phosphate and ammonium ions along with potassium. Further, the effect of liquid fertilizers of NP and FRP on cluster bean plants was studied by taking different concentrations from 25 to 150 mL, and their effects on germination pattern, shoot growth, thickness of stem, size and number of leaves, number of pods and length over a full-grown period of plants were investigated. The results reveal that the germination index increases as the content of liquid fertilizer increases and the same trend was observed with respect to root and shoot growth. Also, broadness and the number of leaves showed an encouraging effect as concentration increases. Further, the final product, i.e. the number of pods of cluster bean and length in each pod was found to be more for liquid fertilizer of NP compared to FRP-based liquid fertilizer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scalability and simplicity of the procedure makes PEG-CaCO SB 3 sb blends suitable for various applications in thermal management systems. The cover image by Prathamesh Ranjane, Madhura Deshpande, and Prashant S. Kulkarni depicts the study, which represents the first exploration of polymorphs of calcium carbonate (CaCO SB 3 sb ) as inorganic support for the development of shape stabilized phase change material. The presence of calcite, aragonite, and vaterite forms of CaCO SB 3 sb was confirmed using X-ray diffraction. [Extracted from the article]

Liquid–liquid equilibrium data for the system consisting of toluene,n-heptane and Aliquat 336 ionic liquid was obtained at 303.15 K and atmospheric pressure. The values of distribution coefficient and selectivity were evaluated. Mathematical model relating distribution coefficient and dispersion, dipolar interaction and hydrogen bonding has been developed. Hansen’s solubility parameters were used to determine the parameters. The model was applied for various ionic liquids as solvents. The model predicted the trends similar to the trend reported in the literature. Thus model can predict better solvent for the given extraction application. This methodology has great potential to act as a knowledge-based framework to aid development of new tailor-made solvents. This will save cost and time in experimentation and analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Hypergolic ionic liquids (HILs) have gained significant importance in recent years as green space propellants. It is mainly due to their attractive physicochemical properties, such as high density, negligible vapor pressure and wide liquid range. More importantly, they show low ignition delay with storable oxidizers viz. white fuming nitric acid (WFNA), red fuming nitric acid (RFNA), dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Therefore, investigation into the performance parameters of HILs, such as specific impulse (Isp), density and vacuum-specific impulse (ρIsp & Ivac), and characteristics velocity (C*), has received enormous attention. In the present study, 14 HILs have been selected for evaluation of their performance parameters using the NASA-CEC-71 program. Amongst them, three HILs have been developed in the laboratory by the authors. The effects of oxidizers, oxidizer to fuel ratio, heat of formation, hydrogen content of the HIL, and the chamber pressure parameters were studied in detail. The performance of HILs was also compared with that of a proven fuel, UDMH. The HILs 1-ethyl-3-methyl imidazolium cyanoborohydride, [EMIM][BH3CN], and 1,3-diallyl imidazolium cyanoborohydride, [diAIM][BH3CN], were particularly promising with all the oxidizers. The H2O2 seems to be a good potential oxidizer as it exhibited a higher value of ρIsp for most of the HILs than the UDMH. A propellant based on high-density HIL as a fuel and H2O2 as an oxidizer can be classified as a green propellant. Thus, the investigation helps in designing or selecting the best combination of HIL and oxidizer for rocket applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on phase change materials (PCM) has evolved significantly in the last few decades due to the need to manage the demands of energy requirements. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is established as an organic solid–liquid PCM offering a wide range of enthalpies and phase transition temperatures as a function of its molecular weight. Herein, we have focussed on three aspects including preparation methods, microencapsulation and applications. An attempt has been made to focus on thermal conductivity enhancement methods used in the preparation of PEG based PCMs to give way for the commercial utility of these materials. The concluding remarks address the future directions for investigation, challenges and new possibilities for practical implementation of these materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The N-doped TiO2photocatalyst was synthesized by the sol–gel method and characterized in detail in terms of its morphology, structure and composition. The prepared N-doped TiO2exhibited polycrystalline structure having particle sizes of around 50–120 nm and rod-shaped geometry. The N-doped TiO2was subsequently used for the photocatalytic degradation (PCD) of pharmaceutical micropollutants, namely ciprofloxacin HCl (CFX), naproxen (NPX) and paracetamol (PARA) and it was found that the rate of degradation of CFX and NPX is higher than that of PARA. To verify the beneficial effect of N-doped TiO2for PCD of CFX, similar experiments were carried out using commercially available Aeroxide P-25 TiO2. It was observed that N-doped TiO2was more efficient than Aeroxide®P-25 TiO2. It was also found that the PCD of CFX in the presence of N-doped TiO2was highly efficient under the solar radiation as compared with artificial radiation. The effect of various operating parameters, such as adsorption of CFX, pH of the aqueous solution, effect of co-existing ions on PCD of CFX, was investigated using artificial radiation and optimum conditions were established. The intermediates formed during the PCD of CFX were identified using liquid chromatography tandem mass chromatography (LC-MS/MS). The presented results demonstrate that N-doped TiO2photocatalyst shows excellent photocatalytic activity in the visible region for the degradation of pharmaceutical pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this work we report efficient molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) based carbon paste electrode sensor for the determination of diphenylamine in aged propellant. Initially, diphenylamine (DPA)-MIP was synthesized by using methacrylic acid (monomer) and ethylene glycol dimethyacrylate (cross-linker). Developed DPA-MIP was analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The sensor was incorporated as electrode in cyclic voltammetry. The sensor response was linear in the range of 0.5-3 mM DPA concentration. The lower detection limit obtained for sensor was 0.1 mM. The developed sensor was used for the determination of DPA in propellant systems. Same electrode was used for three repeated analysis without significant decrease in efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]