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Background: The most frequent cancer in women is breast cancer (BC), which unfortunately has high mortality in Sudan whereas most of the patients are diagnosed at late stages of this disease sequence either due to a lack of awareness or unavailability of screening programs. objective: to asses of the knowledge and awareness of breast cancer detection among Sudanese women 2022 - 2023. Material and Methods: a community representative descriptive cross-sectional study of women aged 17 to 70 years in different Sudanese provinces was included using a semi-structural interview questionnaire. Results: out of 200 participants, the mean age was 39.8 (±12.13) years and the majority of them were aged between 41 and 50 years 54 (27%). 120 (60%) had no prior experience with breast cancer at all and 73 (36.5%) had never heard of breast self-examination for BC. The study resulted that the dominant of interviewed women 181 (90.5%) had a good awareness of breast cancer, and 161 (80.5%) believed that breast screening must require for the early detection of breast tumors. Breast changes, discharge, and lump pain were the most common prevalent reasons for breast screening in this study 95 (38.7%), 46 (18.7%), and 45 (18.3). It was clear that education level has a significant effect on the level of knowledge of breast cancer and its diagnostic screening tools among participants, with graduated women having adequate knowledge in comparison to those not graduated women 92 (50.5%) and 89 (49.2%) (p-value = 0.004 < 0.05). As well, the central resident participants had good knowledge about breast cancer 112 (70 %) in comparison with other residents. Conclusion: awareness and knowledge of BC detection increase with increasing educational levels and central urban living, there is an urgent need for intensive breast cancer awareness programs and the availability of screening centers authorities in Sudanese periphery areas.

TiN films with different thicknesses (17.9–102.8 nm) were prepared using rf magnetron sputtering to study the effect thickness on the plasmonic, electrical, and optical properties. X-ray diffraction revealed the amorphous-like structure for thinner films with thicknesses lower than 50.3 nm, whereas polycrystalline of face-centered cubic TiN structure was observed for thicker films. Scanning electron microscopy observations revealed rounded nano-crystallites morphology for TiN films. The EDAX depicted oxygen in the TiN films which attributed to the residual oxygen inside the sputtering chamber and to the partial surface oxidation resulted from the exposure to atmospheric air. As the thickness increased from 17.9 to 102.8 nm, the carrier concentration increases from 1.47 × 1022 to 3.51 × 1022 cm−3 and the carrier mobility increased from 0.091 to 0.489 cm2/V.s, which resulted in a resistivity decrease from 4.65 × 10–3 to 3.64 × 10–4 Ω cm. Two absorption bands around 250 and 1000 nm were observed. The band around 1000 nm was ascribed to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) and increased with increasing the film thickness. The optical band gap and refractive index values decreased monotonically with increasing the film thickness. It is also inferred that the thickness has a strong influence on the values of real and imaginary parts of the dielectric function. Applying various figures of merit indicated that the prepared TiN films are probably not practical for LSPR device fabrication however they are probably suitable for practical transformation optics and superlens device applications.

Developing anatase/rutile phase-junction in TiO2 to construct Z-scheme system is quite effective to improve its photoelectrochemical activity. In this work, the anatase/rutile phase-junction Ag/TiO2 nanocomposites are developed as photocathodes for hydrogen production. The optimized Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite achieves a high current density of 1.28 mA cm−2, an incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 10.8 %, an applied bias photon-to-current efficiency (ABPE) of 0.32 at 390 nm and a charge carriers’ lifetime up to 2000s. Such enhancement on photoelectrochemical activity can be attributed to: (i) the generated Z-scheme system in the anatase/rutile phase-junction Ag/TiO2 photocathode enhances the separation, diffusion and transformation of electron/hole pairs inside the structure, (ii) Ag nanodots modification in the anatase/rutile phases leading to the tuned band gap with enhanced light absorption and (iii) the formed Schottky barrier after Ag nanodots surface modification provides enough electron traps to avoid the recombination of photogenerated electrons and holes. Our results here suggest that developing phase-junction nanocomposite as photocathode will provide a new vision for their enhanced photoelectrochemical generation of hydrogen.

Herein we develop a novel and effective alkoxide hydrolysis approach to in-situ construct the trimanganese tetraoxide (Mn3O4)/graphene nanostructured composite as high-performance anode material for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). This is the first report on the synthesis of Mn3O4/graphene composite via a facile hydrolysis of the manganese alkoxide (Mn-alkoxide)/graphene precursor. Before hydrolysis, two dimensional (2D) Mn-alkoxide nanoplates are closely adhered to 2D graphene nanosheets via Mn-O chemical bonding. After hydrolysis, the Mn-alkoxide in-situ converts to Mn3O4, while the Mn-O bond is preserved. This leads to a robust Mn3O4/graphene hybrid architecture with 15 nm Mn3O4 nanocrystals homogeneously anchoring on graphene nanosheets. This not only prevents the Mn3O4 nanocrystals agglomeration but also inversely mitigates the graphene nanosheets restacking. Moreover, the flexible and conductive graphene nanosheets can accommodate the volume change. This maintains the structural and electrical integrity of the Mn3O4/graphene electrode during the cycling process. As a result, the Mn3O4/graphene composite displays superior lithium storage performance with high reversible capacity (741 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1), excellent rate capability (403 mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1) and long cycle life (527 mAg g−1 after 300 cycles at 500 mA g−1). The electrochemical performance highlights the importance of rational design nanocrystals anchoring on graphene nanosheets for high-performance LIBs application.

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries have attracted significant attention for their high specific capacity, non-toxic and harmless advantages. However, the shuttle effect limits their development. In this work, small-sized tin disulfide (SnS2) nanoparticles are embedded between interlayers of two-dimensional porous carbon nanosheets (PCNs), forming a multi-functional nanocomposite (PCN-SnS2) as a cathode carrier for Li-S batteries. The graphitized carbon nanosheets improve the overall conductivity of the electrode, and the abundant pores not only facilitate ion transfer and electrolyte permeation, but also buffer the volume change during the charge and discharge process to ensure the integrity of the electrode material. More importantly, the physical confinement of PCN, as well as the strong chemical adsorption and catalytic reaction of small SnS2 nanoparticles, synergistically reduce the shuttle effect of polysulfides. The interaction between a porous layered structure and physical-chemical confinement gives the PCN-SnS2-S electrode high electrochemical performance. Even at a high rate of 2 C, a discharge capacity of 650 mA h g−1 is maintained after 150 cycles, underscoring the positive results of SnS2 based materials for Li S batteries. The galvanostatic intermittent titration technique results further confirm that the PCN-SnS2-S electrode has a high Li+ transmission rate, which reduces the activation barrier and improves the electrochemical reaction kinetics. This work provides strong evidence that reducing the size of SnS2 nanostructures is beneficial for capturing and reacting with polysulfides to alleviate their shuttle effect in Li-S batteries.

Li-Se battery is a promising energy storage candidate owing to its high theoretical volumetric capacity and safe operating condition. In this work, for the first time, we report using the whole organic Melamine-based porous polymer networks (MPNs) as a precursor to synthesize a N, O, S co-doped hierarchically porous carbon nanobelts (HPCNBs) for both Li-ion and Li-Se battery. The N, O, S co-doping resulting in the defect-rich HPCNBs provides fast transport channels for electrolyte, electrons and ions, but also effectively relieve volume change. When used for Li-ion battery, it exhibits an advanced lithium storage performance with a capacity of 345 mAh g−1 at 500 mA g−1 after 150 cycles and a superior rate capacity of 281 mAh g−1 even at 2000 mA g−1. Further density function theory calculations reveal that the carbon atoms adjacent to the doping sites are electron-rich and more effective to anchor active species in Li-Se battery. With the hierarchically porous channels and the strong dual physical–chemical confinement for Li2Se, the Se@ HPCNBs composite delivers an ultra-stable cycle performance even at 2 C after 1000 cycles. Our work here suggests that introduce of heteroatoms and defects in graphite-like anodes is an effective way to improve the electrochemical performance.

We report the well-designed active {1 1 0} and {1 1 1} faceted Cu2O hollow nanospheres (Cu2O-HNs) for the quick removal of the high concentration pollutants in water. For the first time, these Cu2O-HNs combine the advantages of the active facets, hollow structure and nanostructures. The abundance of dangling Cu atoms in two active facets results in positively charged surface to effectively react with the negatively charged pollutants. The hollow structure provides the opportunity to take full use of these active sites. Consequently, the active faceted Cu2O-HNs demonstrate excellent adsorption and photodegradation capacities for high concentrated anionic dyes. The smallest Cu2O-HNs (~100 nm) can adsorb ~90% of methyl blue (MB) (100 mg L−1) in 10 min and degrade ~92% of MB (100 mg L−1) in 10 min under visible-light. In particular, a film consisting of the smallest Cu2O-HNs can quickly remove high concentrated organic dyes and be reused after solar light irradiation for 10 min in air, showing the promising practical application for the removal of organic pollutants.

Lithium-sulfur batteries with high theoretical specific capacity are quite promising in energy storage systems. The application of lithium-sulfur batteries however has mainly been hampered by the severe shuttle effect of polysulfides during the charging/discharging process. Here, we report the in situ self-assembling of ultra-thin flexible polyaniline layer decorated manganese dioxide nanoparticles (PANI-MnO2) to form a three-dimensional hierarchically porous network as a sulfur host for lithium-sulfur batteries. The hierarchically porous PANI-MnO2 network not only provides a porous structure to alleviate the volume expansion, but also offers fast channels to accelerate the transfer of active species, electrons and ions to improve the redox reaction kinetics. The as-fabricated PANI-MnO2-S electrode thus demonstrates excellent electrochemical performance, with a stable capacity up to 1195 mA h g-1 at 0.5C after 100 cycles. In particular, the hierarchically porous PANI-MnO2 network employs an extraordinary chemical process for polysulfides to form active thiosulfates, which are further converted into Li2S. This significantly suppresses the shuttle effect, thus providing the possibility for fast charging. As a result, the PANI-MnO2-S electrode exhibits a discharge capacity of 640 mA h g-1 at 2C after 500 cycles. Even at a high sulfur loading of 4.0 mg cm-2, a stable areal capacity of ∼3.12 mA h cm-2 is achieved at 1C after 200 cycles.

The development of lithium-ion batteries using transition metal oxides has recently become more attractive, due to their higher specific capacities, better rate capability, and high energy densities. Herein, the in situ growth of advanced mesoporous CuO/O-doped g-C3N4 nanospheres is carried out in a two step hydrothermal process at 180 °C and annealing in air at 300 °C. When used as an anode material, the CuO/O-doped g-C3N4 nanospheres achieve a high reversible discharge specific capacity of 738 mAhg-1 and a capacity retention of ∼75.3% after 100 cycles at a current density 100 mAg-1 compared with the pure CuO (412 mAhg-1, 47%) and O-doped g-C3N4 (66 mAhg-1, 53%). Even at high current density 1 Ag-1, they exhibit a reversible discharge specific capacity of 503 mAhg-1 and capacity retention ∼80% over 500 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance of the CuO/O-doped g-C3N4 nanocomposite is attributed to the following factors: (I) the in situ growing CuO/O-doped g-C3N4 avoids CuO nanoparticle aggregation, leading to the improved lithium ion transfer and electrolyte penetration inside the CuO/O-doped g-C3N4 anode, thus promoting the utilization of CuO; (II) the porous structure provides efficient space for Li+ transfer during the insertion/extraction process to avoid large volume changes; (III) the O-doping g-C3N4 decreases its band gap, ensuring the increased electrical conductivity of CuO/O-doped g-C3N4; and (IV) the strong interaction between CuO and O-doped g-C3N4 ensures the stability of the structure during cycling.

The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) achieved via electrochemical and photoelectrochemical measurements in an acid electrolyte (0.5 M H2SO4) was examined on hexagonal WO3 photoanodes of different morphological structures comprised of WO3 nanotubes (NT), nanorods (NR) and nanospheres (NS). The WO3 synthesized using free (NR) and inorganic templates (NS and NT) thru a new sonication/hydrothermal route was comprehensively characterized utilizing XRD, TEM-SAED, photoluminescence, UV–Vis diffuse reflectance, Raman, FTIR and N2 adsorption techniques. Herein, the WO3 NT with an average diameter of 2.9 nm and energy gap of 2.3 eV shows the best HER activity with an overpotential of −500 mV to offer a current density of 8.0 mA cm−2 that strikingly enhanced into 14 mA cm−2; at −410 mV, under visible light illumination (λ > 420). The electrochemical properties determined by cyclic voltammetry, EIS and Tafel plots argued that the activity of WO3 NT is accelerated due to small size, enhanced wettability (WO3.H2O); so as to facilitating the reaction with the electrolyte, together with the 1D assisted electron transfer. It was also emphasized that the HER activity is mainly controlled by the high oxygen vacancies; emphasized via XPS technique, decreased resistances and crystal orientations when using WO3 NTs rather than the high surface texturing properties devoted for the WO3 NRs (SBET = 54.3 m2 g−1, Vp = 0.084 cm3 g−1, pore radius = 6.5 nm). This wok provides a new approach for synthesizing a free Pt WO3 NTs photo-electrocatalyst with excellent stability; towards a remarkable HER, as examined via chronopotentiometry technique for 100 h.

ZnO thin films were prepared by chemical vapour transport method in inductively coupled plasma (ICP). The films were synthesized at different substrate positions and various oxygen/argon ratios. X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that all the synthesized films at different positions are mixture of hexagonal ZnO and hexagonal Zn phases. The relative peak integrated intensity (RPII) of the ZnO phase is 83.6, 25.3 and 45.3%, for positions 1, 2 and 3, respectively. Morphology of ZnO films was found to be sensitive to substrate position. Flat flakes, bended nanowires (NWs) and nanoparticles morphologies are observed for positions 1, 2 and 3, respectively. The sample synthesized at 1 is stoichiometric, whereas the samples prepared in positions 2 and 3 are sub-stoichiometric. The films prepared at positions 1 and 3 have relatively high transmittance and low reflectance values, whereas the film prepared at position 2 has low transmittance and high reflectance. The ZnO film prepared at position 2 is hydrophobic with water contact angle of 112.2°, which can be used as self-cleaning coating. For ZnO films prepared with various O2 ratios, the RPII was 83.2, 88.0, 96.4 and 100% for films prepared with 10, 20, 30 and 40%, respectively. With increasing O2 ratio, the nanograins became bigger and the stoichiometry improved. The transmittance and optical bandgap increased, whereas the reflectance and refractive index decreased with increase in O2 ratio. The ZnO film synthesized with 30% O2 ratio has the highest figure of merit (FOM) value; thus, this film may be considered as the best ZnO film for transparent conducting coating applications.

Two dimensional (2D) nanostructures are promising to provide a new hierarchical architecture for transition metal oxides (TMOs) with outstanding lithium storage. In this work, we grew ordered CuO nanorods on 2D Cu/g-C3N4 nanosheets to form the hierarchical CuO@Cu/g-C3N4 nanorods film as freestanding anode for advanced lithium storage. This assembled freestanding film demonstrates a high discharge specific capacity at 726 mAhg−1 after 200 cycles at 0.1C and a discharge specific capacity of 457 mAhg−1 after 625 cycles at 1C, among the best performance in CuO and CuO based nanostructures for lithium storage. Its outstanding stability and cyclic performance are ascribed to the following aspects during the reaction process: (i) the unique 2D nanostructure provides large exposed area for Li+ insertion, (ii) the ordered CuO nanorods provide interior spaces to accommodate the volume change and offer more paths for charges and Li+ transfer, (iii) the existence of Cu nanosheets increases the electrons transport and (iv) the porous g-C3N4 nanosheets endow the prepared structure more active sites for facilitating Li+ transport and accommodating volume change. Our strategy on growing ordered nanostructures on 2D nanosheets will be an effective way to modify TMOs for advanced lithium-ion batteries.

The effect of high and low temperature and microwave radiation on the adult of the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) infested wheat seeds was studied. At high temperature (55°C), 29% of the death occurred after 30 minutes and the complete death occurred after 60 minutes. The lethal time of 50% mortality (LT50) and lethal time of 90% mortality (LT90) values were 36.96 and 63.4 minutes. Cold temperature (-7°C) caused 12% mortality after 20 minutes and complete succumb was obtained after 75 minutes. The LT50 and LT90 values were 38.6 and 71.3 minutes. Microwave at power of 2450 MHZ caused 33% mortality after 10 seconds and 100% mortality after 35 seconds. The LT50 and LT90 values on this power were 12.8 and 26.3 seconds. The mean germination rate of wheat seeds was 5% for microwave treatment (2450 MHZ, 30 seconds). However, 70% germination rate was achieved when the seeds were exposed to low temperature (-7°C, 3 months), and 77.5% when high temperature (55°C, 60 minutes) were used. In conclusion, the present study showed that, cold temperature (-7°c), high temperature (55°c), and microwave radiation had been successfully controlled R. dominica in a short period of time, however, microwave radiation had adverse effects on the germination of wheat seeds. Radiation seeds should therefore not be used in planting.

Lithium-selenium (Li–Se) and sodium-selenium (Na–Se) batteries have recently attracted increasing interest because of their high volumetric specific capacity. However, the practical application of the Se cathode is still hindered by volumetric expansion, slow redox reaction kinetics, low area Se-loading, and shuttle effect in ether electrolyte. In this work, we present hierarchically micro/meso/macroporous nitrogen-doped Murray carbon fibers (MCFs) inspired by generalized Murray's law with the engineered quasi-optimal Se/C interface as a free-standing high–Se-loading host for high-performance Li/Na–Se batteries at elevated temperature. Such a hierarchically porous framework not only provides adequate space to accommodate Se for reaction with structural stability but also ensures the rapid electron and ion transport to improve the redox reaction kinetics and to form uniform catholyte electrolyte interphase. At a high area Se-loading of 4 mg/cm2, the Se@MCF cathode maintains a discharge capacity of 425 mAh/g at 5 C after 200 cycles for the Li–Se battery and a discharge capacity of 490 mAh/g at 0.5 C after 200 cycles for the Na–Se battery. Even at high temperatures of 50 and 80 °C, the Se@MCF cathodes demonstrate stable cycling performance and decreased polarization. Our work here not only presents significant progress in the development of the high–Se-loading cathode for ultra-stable and high-capacity Li/Na–Se batteries but also sheds some light on the preparation of advanced free-standing electrodes for other energy storage systems.

An metal(II) mononuclear complexes of Cu(II) (1) & Zn(II) (2) holding tetrazole core ligand have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, UV-Vis, and EPR spectroscopy. The five coordinated square pyramidal geometry was determined by means of electronic absorption and EPR spectral methods. The complexes interact strongly with the receptor kinase VEGFR2 and their B.E values -24.04 (1) and -9.41 (2) kcal/mol for the complexes, respectively.

Here, three natural dyes were extracted from different fruits and leaves and used as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Chlorophyll was extracted from spinach leaves using acetone as a solvent. Anthocyanin was extracted from red cabbage and onion peels using water. Different characterizations for the prepared natural dyes were conducted including UV-vis absorption, FTIR, and steady-state/time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. Various DSSCs based on the extracted dyes were fabricated. The degradation in the power conversion efficiencies was monitored over a week. The effect of the TiO2 mesoporous layers on the efficiency was also studied. The interfaces between the natural dyes and the TiO2 layers were investigated using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

The present work demonstrates the structural and photophysical properties of mixed zinc tin oxide (Zn:SnO2) nanowires (NWs) synthesized via vapor transport technique with Zn content of 10, 25 and 50 wt%. The XRD spectra reveals the tetragonal phase of SnO2 for 10 wt% Zn content, whereas a combination of tetragonal SnO2 and hexagonal ZnO phases were observed for higher Zn ratios. The SEM images reveals the formation of smooth NWs for low Zn content, whereas a combination of NWs along with spherical nanoparticles have been observed for 50 wt% Zn:SnO2 sample. The optical band gap was decreased from 3.21 eV (10% Zn:SnO2) to 2.84 eV (50% Zn:SnO2), whereas the corresponding Urbach energy increased from 971 meV to 1132 meV. The refractive index values increased from 2.28 to 2.64 when Zn content increased from 10 to 50 wt%. The absorption spectra showed a red shift and the appearance of new band with increasing Zn wt.%, signaling the formation of new electronic states below the conduction band. The fabricated films displayed a broad steady state emission with peak around 462 nm, which intensity decreased with the increasing of Zn ratio. The effective life time of charge carrier was decreased from 198 ps for 10 wt% Zn:SnO2 to 172 ps for 50 wt% Zn:SnO2.

Hydrothermal method as a facile bottom-up synthesis technique has many advantages for manufacturing various nanomaterials with controlled properties. In this work, lead telluride nanostructures were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method at different surfactant concentrations. It was observed that the surfactant concentration has considerable effect on the morphology, and size of the synthesized nanostructures and thus the thermoelectric performance. In the present work, several techniques were used to characterize the structure, morphology, composition and optical properties of the synthesized PbTe nanostructures including XRD, TEM, EDS as well as PL and Raman spectroscopy. The electrical and thermoelectric properties were studied in the temperature range from 300 to 550 K. The results demonstrate that increasing the surfactant concentration improves the power factor due to a significant enhancement in the Seebeck coefficient.

Developing of thin film technologies is promising to enhance the efficiency and the stability of photocatalyst materials for hydrogen production, owing to their low cost production for large-scale photocatalytic applications, large surface areas for light harvesting and good electronic properties for charge transfer. Herein, cadmium sulfide (CdS) films supported on ITO glass have prepared by using chemical bath deposition (CBD) technique at different times (3–12 h) at 60 °C, then annealed up to 300 °C for 2 h. When developed as photoanode for water splitting, ITO/CdS/Au electrode successfully achieve high current density Jph,(0.54 mA cm-2), IPCE efficiency(2.34%) and ABPE efficiency (0.42%) compared with ITO/CdS electrode (0.22 mA cm-2,1.35% and 0.10%),respectively. Moreover, the stability of the current density for the prepared films has been prolonged up to 2000 s. The improvement in PEC behavior of the prepared electrodes could be attributed to (i) control the growth mechanism of the prepared CdS thin films which can enhance the light harvesting,(ii) the existence of the Au layer which can facilitate the electron transport. The obtained results endow the prepared CdS ITO/CdS/Au electrode a promising strategy for hydrogen evaluation.

The aim of this work was to examine the influence of radio frequency (rf) power on ZnO films synthesized by means of chemical vapor transport technique in inductively coupled plasma (ICP). As the rf power increased, with a fixed processing time of only 8 min, the temperature inside the reactor tube, the thickness and surface roughness of the formed polycrystalline ZnO films increased. The morphology of the ZnO films changed to oblate, webby like cloud-grains, nanoslices, and a mixture of nanorods and nanograins with changing the rf power from 300 to 500 W. Mixed phases of hexagonal ZnO and hexagonal Zn were found for samples synthesized at 300 and 500 W whereas single hexagonal ZnO was synthesized at 350, 400 and 450 W. The optical band gap decreased from 3.35 eV to 3.05 eV with increasing the rf power from 300 W to 500 W. The refractive index and extinction coefficient values were mainly increased with increasing the rf power. The electrical resistivity was generally decreased with increasing rf power and has values between 1.38 × 10−2 - 2.83 × 10−3 Ωcm. The obtained results might be important for useful applications of ZnO films grown by chemical vapor transport with the assistance of ICP.

In this research, stoichiometric Pb1-xSmxTe (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08) nanostructures were synthesized using the hydrothermal technique. The synthesized nanostructures were examined using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscope and photoluminescence spectroscope. The results revealed that the samples were crystallized mainly in a cubic phase characterizing the PbTe compounds. However, the samples containing Sm content above x ≥ 0.06 exhibited small minor peaks correspond to the Pb phase. The PL spectra show a strong quantum confinement effectand exhibit a strong peak around 400 nm at room temperature that might be ascribed to the high level transition in the PbTe semiconductor. The thermoelectric measurements verified the domination of p-type semiconducting behavior. The reduction in the thermal conductivity through nanostructuring gives a high ZT of 0.7 at 398 K when Sm content reaches x = 0.06. The value is comparable to that of previously reported best PbTe-based thermoelectric materials.

Titanium oxynitride (TiOxNy) films capped with 10 nm titanium oxide (TiO2) layer were prepared using reactive direct current magnetron sputtering from pure Ti target. Part of the samples was annealed. Energy dispersive analysis of X-ray revealed that all the samples contain nitrogen and the incorporation of nitrogen into the oxynitrides is not linear. Phase investigation by X-ray diffraction showed structural variation with changing oxygen and nitrogen gas flow rates as well as annealing. Anatase, brookite, rutile and titanium nitride were detected individually or mixed in the as-prepared and annealed samples. The optical properties were found to be controlled by a structure and chemical composition. Transmittance and reflectance measurements were carried out by a high performance double beam ultraviolet-visible-near infrared spectrophotometer. Based on that, the energy band gap, refractive index and extinction coefficient were derived. The obvious difference between the dark and light currents indicated the validity of the TiO2/TiOxNy bilayer samples to act as photoanodes. All the annealed samples have photoelectrochemical water splitting response better than the as-prepared samples. The as-prepared TiO2/TiOxNy bilayer films were hydrophobic (contact angels, 81° - 93°) and their contact angles were independent from the nitrogen content. The annealed samples have lower contact angles than the as-prepared samples. The wettability of the as-prepared and annealed samples was changed from hydrophobic to more hydrophilic with increasing illumination time. These results are of important interest for the self-cleaning surfaces.

TiN/TiOxNy bilayer films with various TiN thicknesses were prepared using direct current (d.c.) reactive magnetron sputtering. The ratio of N/O in the bilayer films increased with increasing TiN top layer thickness. The observed crystalline peaks for the bilayer films, for different TiN layer thicknesses, were indexed to anatase TiO2 with tetragonal structure. Only 0.31° peak shift, to lower 2θ angles was detected. FESEM indicated that the morphology of TiOxNy single layer is consisted of elongated nanocrystals with diameters in the range of 27.9–46.8 nm and the diameters of the nanocrystallites changed slightly with increasing the thickness of TiN layer. The transmittance, absorbance, reflectance spectra and the optical constants of the bilayer films were presented. The photoelectrochemical performance for water splitting of TiN/TiOxNy bilayer films was studied by examination both the continuous and chopped photocurrent density under light illumination. The photocurrent density increases with increasing TiN top layer up to a thickness of 9 nm, after which a reduction in photocurrent is observed. The wettability of TiN/TiOxNy bilayer films could be transformed by UV illumination from hydrophobic to hydrophilic.

Herein, we report the synthesis of MoO3−x nanorods via an environmentally solvothermal/annealing route, which involves refluxing of an ethanolic solution of (NH4)6Mo7O24.4H2O for 5 h at 70 °C followed by drying and calcination at 350 °C for 2 h. Graphene oxide (GO) incorporation at 1% ratio into MoO3 increases the oxygen deficient ratio (20.6%) compared to GO free MoO3 catalyst (17.3%), as emphasized by XPS results. A comprehensive characterization using XRD, TEM-SAED, UV–vis, FTIR, Raman, photoluminescence and N2 sorptiometry was illustrated. The irregular circular shape of 1%GO.MoO3−x; of Eg equal 2.7 eV, and an average diameter of 40 nm has shown higher photocatalytic action towards MB degradation (20 ppm) under visible light illumination (160 W, >420 nm) giving a rate constant of 0.016 min−1 exceeding that of MoO3−x by 18 times. Although 1%GO.MoO3−x exhibits lower surface area and pore volume than those in GO free MoO3−x, the potentiality of the former is mainly dependent on the strong linkage formed between MoO3−x and graphene sheets. Based on increasing the oxygen deficiency in 1%GO.MoO3−x, powerful oxidizing moieties are depicted to affect the MB degradation including in situ generated H2O2, O2¯ and O H species. The gas sensing property of 1%GO.MoO3−x towards 100 ppm NH3 at 200 °C was increased by 6.4 times that of GO free MoO3−x nanorods. This was mainly due to the hetero-junction formed between n-(MoO3−x) and p-type (partially reduced GO) conducting channels; affirmed via Mott-schottky plot, and the facile electron transfer from GO into MoO3−x. The mechanism of the oxygen deficit 1%GO.MoO3−x structure is also discussed, exploring that this type of sensor has a promising application to other reducing gases. The 1%GO.MoO3−x sensor exhibited long-term stability at different NH3 concentrations as well as high selectivity exceeding the corresponding pure counterparts.

In this work, the closed-cell aluminium foams were fabricated via powder metallurgy route with organic space holder which also known as carbamide (urea). Carbamide was added with aluminium powder at different compositions from 50wt% to 70wt%. Then the influences of sintering temperatures were also investigated at 500°C, 550°C and 600°C. Physical and mechanical tests were conducted on the fabricated closed cell aluminium foam samples. The result showed that the porosity inversely proportional with density, that means the porosity decreases as the density of the foam increased. Also, it was revealed that the highest compressive strength was obtained at sintering temperature of 550°C. However, the compressive strength of the closed-cell aluminium foam decreased at the sintering temperature of 600°C. This is due to the occurrence of oxidation problem. It can be concluded that carbamide can be proposed as one of the organic space holder material in the fabrication of closedcell aluminium foam. Then, the experimental parameters such as sintering temperature, type of space holder and composition gave great influence to the mechanical and physical properties of the fabricated closed-cell aluminium foam.

Adsorption and desorption isotherms for two different varieties of peanuts, namely: Ismailia1 “Is1” and Giza5 “G5” were evaluated using the dynamic method of equilibrium moisture content “EMC”. Three different temperatures of the circulated air “T”: 30, 36 and 43 o C; four different levels of relative humidity “RH” namely: 2.5, 32, 46 and 87% were studied. Non-linear regression analysis was made for evaluating the compatibility of the experimental data to Henderson’s model. Multiple regression analysis was also used to sensitize a generalized model and for determining the effect of peanut variety, adjacent air temperature and relative humidity on the EMC of peanut for both adsorption and desorption tests for the previously defined range of both T and RH. The main objective of the present study is to evaluate the best fit model for the equilibrium moisture content to be available in analytical study for drying, storage and practical design of drying systems of peanut.

Thirty isolates of root-nodulating bacteria obtained from Acacia cyanophylla, A. karroo, A. cyclops, A. tortilis (subsp.raddiana), Faidherbia albida and Acacia sp., grown in different regions of Libya, were studied by performing numerical analysis of 104 characteristics. Three fast- and one slow-growing reference strains from herbaceous and woody legumes were included. Five distinct clusters were formed. The fast-growing reference strains were separated from the isolates whereas the slow-growing was included in cluster 4. With the exception of one cluster, the majority of clusters were formed regardless of the host plant or site of origin. Based on plant tests, generation times, acid production and carbon utilization the isolates were diverse (fast and slow-growing isolates). Like slow-growing isolates, most of the fast-growing isolates appeared to be non-specific, nodulated many species from the same genus notably F. albida, known to nodulate only with slow-growing strains. Most clusters grew at temperatures 35 °C and 37 °C; some grew at temperatures above 40 °C. The majority of isolates grew at acid and alkaline pH and only one isolate grew below pH 4. Most isolates were able to utilize many amino acids as nitrogen sources and to reduce nitrate. Urea was hydrolysed by all clusters. Monosaccharides and polyols were used by slow and fast-growing isolates as the only carbon sources whereas assimilation of disaccharides varied: Some isolates, like slow-growing isolates, failed to utilize these carbon sources. Most isolates were unable to utilize polysaccharides. Regarding tolerance to NaCl on agar medium, the majority of isolates were unable to grow at a concentration of 2% NaCl, but some were highly resistant and there was one isolate which grew at 8% NaCl. Most isolates were resistant to heavy metals and to antibiotics.

Coprinus comatus and C. atramentarius utilized cellulose in pre-white rotted sycamore wood and cellulose and lignin in straw, causing significant weight loss. Neither decayed sound sycamore or birch wood to any great extent. C. atramentarius may grow on buried wood functioning as a secondary wood rot, C. comatus probably utilizes non-woody plant debris as its resource. Lacrimaria velutina decayed straw, pre-rotted and sound wood, utilizing cellulose in prerotted wood and lignin and cellulose in sound wood and straw. It is a potential white rot of wood. Intolerance of competition and inhibition by tree leaf phenols are possibly important in restricting the distribution of these species to grassy habitats, bare soils and man-disturbed sites. They appear to be predominantly R-selected. Melanoleuca grammopodia caused little weight loss from straw, pre-rotted or sound wood. Tests for polyphenol oxidase and plant cell-wall-degrading enzymes were negative. It is speculated that it may be a symbiont.

Dissolved oxygen in water is determined by its oxidation of manganese(II) to manganese(III) in alkaline medium and formation of the red manganese(III) ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid complex on acidification to pH 4. The range of determination is 7-3160 μg of oxygen in a final volume of 500 ml.