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Forward osmosis (FO) has emerged as a highly promising and energy-efficient technology for seawater desalination. This study investigates the enhancement of polyethersulfone/polysulfone FO membranes by incorporating graphene oxide (GO) for seawater desalination. The effects of different GO concentrations on membrane properties and FO desalination performance were examined. Among the tested membranes, the one with 0.04 wt% GO exhibited optimal hydrophilicity, as indicated by a lower contact angle (53.93[degrees] [+ or -] 5.61[degrees]), higher porosity (69.86 [+ or -] 0.66), and a minimal structure parameter (312.33 [micro]m). The GO.04 membrane demonstrated significantly improved water flux ([J.sub.w]) of 106 L/[m.sup.2] h and low reverse salt flux ([J.sub.s]) of 0.69 g/[m.sup.2] h. Compared to the GOO membrane without GO, the water flux was 103% higher without compromising salt selectivity ([J.sub.s]/[J.sub.w] = 0.0065 g/L) when using distilled water as the feed solution (FS) and 1 M NaCl as the draw solution. However, over a threshold of 0.09%, GO concentration on membrane surfaces and pores can impede water flow, reducing porosity and increasing resistance to membrane transport. The GO.04 membranes also exhibited high water flux (113, 94.28, and 84.64 L/[m.sup.2] h) when brackish water with different NaCl concentrations (5000, 10,000, and 15,000 mg/L) was used as the FS. Moreover, under real seawater conditions from the Suez Canal, the GO.04 FO membrane showed a significantly higher water flux of 94.3 L/[m.sup.2] h. These findings provide valuable insights into the desalination of actual seawater from the Suez Canal, offering significant potential for the advancement of water treatment and resource management practices. KEYWORDS blend membranes, forward osmosis brackish water, graphene oxide, polyethersulfone, polysulfone, real seawater, INTRODUCTION Regardless of the fact that water is essential for human survival, its unequal distribution and accessibility to a wide range of pollution sources are considered serious challenges our world [...]

Abstract: Communication technology helps protesters organize, but also allows the government to monitor and repress their actions. We study this trade‐off in a model where protesters want to show up at the same time and place, but also want to avoid government forces. If leaders of a movement can send messages observed only by other protesters, they can successfully coordinate on a variety of sites and force the government to spread resources thin, helping the success of the movement. If the government always observes the messages too, protesters can do no better than always going to a “focal site” knowing that the government will send all resources there as well, and thus experience higher levels of repression for the sake of coordinating tactics. Intermediate cases where messages are partially observed generate dynamics where new technologies and media that are relatively known to other protesters and not the government are used until the government can reliably infiltrate them and the protesters move on to a new medium. When some protesters are more informed than others, the model can explain protest tactics observed in recent prominent cases like having smaller “parallel” protests at the same time but different location of the main gathering.

Abstract\nKey points:Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has the potential to impair cardiac function and cause heart failure. We aimed to study the cardioprotective influence of Galactin-3 (Gal-3) inhibitor; modified citrus pectin (MCP) in isoprenaline induced myocardial infarction (MI) in T2DM rats. Forty rats were allocated into 4 groups; groups I and II served as control. T2DM was provoked in groups III and IV by serving them high fat diet followed by a single low dose of Streptozotocin (STZ), then group IV were administered MCP in drinking water for 6 weeks. Groups III and IV were then subcutaneously injected isoprenaline hydrochloride once daily on the last 2 successive days to induce MI. MCP restored echocardiographic parameters with significant decline in Gal-3 area % in cardiac tissue alongside protection against cardiac remodelling. our data showed that there is a protective potential for Gal-3 inhibitor (MCP) against cardiac injury in isoprenaline induced MI in T2DM.Type 2 Diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has the potential to impair cardiac function and cause heart failure (HF).Gal-3 inhibition with MCP for 6 weeks caused effective protection against cardiac fibrosis, LV dysfunction, and ensuing heart failure progress in type 2 diabetic rats with an isoprenaline-induced myocardial infarction.The defending effect of Gal-3 inhibitor; MCP seems to be exerted by modulating cardiac cell response to injury, through decreasing incidence of cardiac inflammation, oxidative stress, apoptosis and decreased cardiac Gal-3 immuno-reactivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissidents mobilizing against a repressive regime benefit from using public information for tactical coordination since widespread knowledge about an upcoming event can increase participation. But public calls to protest make dissidents' anticipated activities legible to the regime, allowing security forces to better stifle mobilization. I examine collective action during Sudan's 2018–19 uprising and find that mobilization appeared to be publicly coordinated through social movement organizations and internet and communicative technology, consistent with common channels identified by existing literature. Yet embedded field research reveals that some dissidents independently used public calls to secretly organize simultaneous contentious events away from publicized protest sites, perceiving that their deviations would make the regime's repressive response relatively less efficient than the resulting efficiency losses on the movement's mobilization. These findings push future work to interrogate more deeply the mechanisms by which dissidents use coordination channels that are also legible to the regime they are mobilizing against. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Achondroplasia, an autosomal dominant congenital enchondral ossification, is clinically characterized by short stature, craniofacial, and bone deformities. Ophthalmic features include telecanthus and strabismus; cone-rod dystrophy can also be present. A 12-year-old male presented with decreased vision bilaterally, nystagmus, and achondroplasia. The best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) was Log MAR 1.0 in the right eye and Log MAR 0.8 in the left eye, the anterior segments showed no abnormalities, however the fundus showed bilateral macular coloboma. On electrophysiological assessment, there was also bilateral cone-rod dysfunction. As ophthalmic associations are common in Achondroplasia, thorough ophthalmological examination as well as electrophysiological assessment are mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]