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to compare growth rate and capsule production. Four liquid media namely brain heart infusion broth (BHI), trypticase soy broth (TSB), Mueller Hinton Broth (MHB) and Gonococci broth (GC) with added supplements (1% hemoglobin, 1% Isovitalex) were used. The growth was measured by colony counting (CFU/ml) using serial dilution. Four of the isolates showed the highest growth rate with the average of 1013 CFU/ml on BHI broth while TSB had the second highest growth of more than 1010 CFU/ml in an 18-hour culture at 37 ºC culture. In the next step, the amount of capsular polysaccharide (CPS-b) antigen which is made of Polyribosyl ribitol phosphate (PRP) was assessed all isolates by two methods: modified Indirect Sandwich Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Bial method to select the isolate producing the highest amount of PRP. The antisera used in sandwich ELISA were prepared by immunization of Rabbit and Rat. The maximal amount of PRP was produced by isolate Hib (5s) with the amount of 321 mg/lit.

Traditional porcelain tiles often lack self-cleaning properties and suffer from aesthetic limitations. This study presents a novel approach for fabricating superhydrophobic, self-cleaning porcelain tiles with enhanced visual appeal. We strategically combined SiO2 and ZnO nanolayers with an antifouling material, applied via spray and drop coating methods. Characterizations (FE-SEM, FTIR, contact angle, UV-Vis, colorimetry, roughness, illuminance, and stain resistance) confirmed the effectiveness of our approach. Heat treatment of the antifouling coating (400 °C) significantly increased hydrophobicity (WCA=119°). SiO2 and ZnO intermediate layers enhanced water repellency, achieving 154° and 149° water contact angles, respectively. This demonstrates superhydrophobicity, in line with Cassie-Baxter's model, and mimics the lotus leaf's self-cleaning mechanism. Low surface energy, likely due to antifouling nanoparticle bonds, contributes to water repellency with roll-off angles of 6° and 7° and causes anti-stain properties on the tile surface. Importantly, these layers optimize surface roughness, boosting hydrophobicity and improving the whiteness and brightness of polished tiles. Surface roughness values of 308 nm (SiO2) and 158 nm (ZnO), along with superior whiteness values (116.4 and 106, respectively), were observed, exceeding surfaces without intermediate layers (57.5). Rayleigh scattering theory explains the whiteness enhancement. Stain resistance significantly improved with intermediate layers, while surface gloss remained unchanged. This research demonstrates the potential of our coating approach to create highly functional and visually appealing polished tiles for diverse industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthesis of high-color intensity blue pigments and using less amount of cobalt is intended in many papers. We also tried to study a highly intensified blue pigment using the least amount of cobalt in experimental and theoretical methods. In this work, the Zn(2−x)CoxSiO4 [x = 0, 0.056, and 0.167] structures were synthesized by the conventional ceramic method. Theoretical calculations were performed using DFT, DFT + U, and many-body Fxc kernel for the long-range correction (LRC) model. We studied the structural, electronic, and optical properties of the structures. A good match was observed between the experimental and theoretical results for all doped and undoped samples. The calculations of electronic properties revealed a decrease in the gap and Fermi energies of the theoretical samples as the doping concentration increased. The optical analysis, which utilizes UV–Vis spectroscopy and CIE L*a*b* calorimetric methods, showed a high blue color intensity (b* = − 49.3, − 46.71) obtained for pigments. Additionally, a comparison was made between the gap energy and color of the experimental and the theoretical samples. These findings highlight the capability of DFT, DFT + U, and Fxc kernel for the LRC model for ceramic pigments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this manuscript is to introduce and analyze a stochastic finite difference scheme for Itô stochastic partial differential equations. We also discuss the consistency, stability, and convergence for the stochastic finite difference scheme. The numerical simulations obtained from the proposed stochastic finite difference scheme show the efficiency of the suggested stochastic finite difference scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The title complex has been prepared using (4-fluoro-phenyl)-pyridin-2-ylmethylene-amine bidentate Schiff base ligand (L) and HgCl2. The Hg(II) center in the title compound, [HgCl2(C12H9FN2)], is covalently bonded to three Cl atoms and two N atoms of the diimine ligand. Mercury ion mononuclear fragment that forms a polymeric structure due to bridging chloride ligands is in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal coordination environment formed by the bis-chelating N-heterocyclic ligand, two bridging Cl ligands and one terminal Cl ligand. One of the bridging Hg–Cl bonds is significantly longer than the other. In the crystal, weak C–H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds are observed in addition to π–π stacking interactions. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P212121 with a = 7.2248(3) Å, b = 8.7713(3) Å, c = 20.0217(7) Å, α = 90.00°, β = 90.00°, γ = 90.00°, V = 1268.79(8) Å3, R1 = 0.023 and wR2 = 0.062 (I > 2σ(I)]. The antibacterial activities of the complex, ligand and metal salt were tested against Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli studied by disk diffusion method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we classify proper Lk-biharmonic hypersurfaces M, in the unit Euclidean sphere should have two principal curvatures and we show that they are open pieces of standard products of spheres. Also we study proper Lk- biharmonic compact hypersurfacesM with respect to tr(S2 o Pk) and Hk where S is the shape operator, Pk is the Newton transformation and Hk is the k-th mean curvature of M, and by definiteness assumption of Pk, we show that Hk+1 is constant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photocatalytic degradation of Reactive Blue 19 (RB19) dye has been studied using TiO2 nanofibre as the photocatalyst in aqueous solution under UV irradiation. Titanium dioxide nanofibre was prepared using a templating method with tetraisopropylorthotitanate as a precursor. The experiments were carried out in the presence of the TiO2 nanofibre, and the effects of pH and electron acceptors on the degradation process were investigated. In order to observe the quality of the aqueous solution, chemical oxygen demand (COD) measurements were also carried out before and after the treatments. The photocatalytic decomposition of RB19 was most efficient in acidic solution. With the addition of hydrogen peroxide and potassium persulphate, as electron acceptors, into illuminated TiO2 nanofibre suspensions, a synergistic effect was observed leading to an enhancement of the decolorization. From experimental results, under the condition of 1 g TiO2 nanofibre L-1, pH 3, and UVC light irradiation, decolorization would be complete in two hours. A significant decrease in the COD values was observed, which clearly indicates that the photocatalytic method offers good potential for the removal of RB19 from aqueous solution. The kinetic of photocatalytic removal of RB19 followed the Langmuir-Hinshelwood model. These results suggest that TiO2 nanofibres with UV photocatalysis can be envisaged as a method for the treatment of coloured wastewaters, in particular in textile industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]