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Frequent washing of textiles poses a serious hazard to the ecosystem, owing to the discharge of harmful effluents and the release of microfibers. On one side, the harmful effluents from detergents are endangering marine biota, while on the other end, microplastics are observed even in breastfeeding milk. This work proposes the development of sunlight-driven cleaning and antibacterial comfort fabrics by immobilizing functionalized Zn-doped TiO2 nanoparticles. The research was implemented to limit the use of various detergents and chemicals for stain removal. A facile sol–gel method has opted for the fabrication of pristine and Zn-doped TiO2 nanoparticles at three different mole percentages of Zn. The nanoparticles were successfully functionalized and immobilized on cotton fabric using silane coupling agents via pad–dry–cure treatment. As-obtained fabrics were characterized by their surface morphologies, availability of chemical functionalities, and crystallinity. The sunlight-assisted degradation potential of as-functionalized fabrics was evaluated against selected pollutants (eight commercial dyes). The 95–98% degradation of dyes from the functionalized fabric surface was achieved within 3 h of sunlight exposure, estimated by color strength analysis with an equivalent exposition of bactericidal activities. The treated fabrics also preserved their comfort and mechanical properties. The radical trapping experiment was performed to confirm the key radicals responsible for dye degradation, and h+ ions were found to be the most influencing species. The reaction pathway followed the first order kinetic model with rate constant values of 0.0087 min−1 and 0.0131 min−1 for MB and MO dyes, respectively.

Background Noise induced hearing loss is the one of the most preventable causes of hearing loss in all age groups. Occupational, environmental, infectious and genetic factors all play a role in determining the level of hearing loss. However, the use of headphones and personal listening devices is now very common, especially in younger generations. Healthy habits are needed to prevent them from developing hearing loss over time. We aim to assess the awareness level of hearing loss among residents of Hail region and its relation to personal listening devices. Methodology This is a cross-sectional survey based study that was conducted in 2021 over a duration of four months. The survey purpose was to assess the level of awareness about the Relation of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss and Use of Headphones. The questionnaire had a total of 37 questions which were divided into 6 categories. All data was analyzed using SPSS 21, and a p-value of, Highlights • Hearing loss prevalence rate has been increasing in the past decade. • The most common preventable type of hearing loss is noise-induced hearing loss. • Young generations are more exposed to noises due to increase use of headphones, headsets and other devices. • Assessing the awareness of hearing loss and its relation to the personal listening devices using pattern is beneficial to reduce rates of noise-induced hearing loss.