46 research outputs found

    Photocatalytic performance of textiles coated with titanium dioxide-reduced graphene oxide system for degradation of crude petroleum under similar solar irradiation

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    The pollution caused by oil and its toxic derivatives presents a considerable risk to the public health and the environment. This work is devoted to the study of the influence of TiO2 nanoparticles immobilized on three types of textiles materials (Cotton, Entretela, and Polylactic Acid-PLA) coated with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) to be used for degradation of crude petroleum under simulated solar irradiation. The morphological studies of the functionalized textiles substrates were performed by using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, which indicated an excellent dispersion and adhesion of nanoparticles of about 60% (atomic %Ti) on the textile fibers covered with RGO after washing. Ultraviolet-visible Diffuse Reflectance spectra suggest a reduction in the band gap energy of TiO2 up to 2.86 eV due to the presence of RGO. The functionalized textiles presented at least 60% of photocatalytic efficiency measured by Rhodamine B degradation, decreasing less than 12% after the rigorous washing. The excitation/emission Synchronous Fluorescence Spectroscopy and Fourier-transform Infrared spectroscopies demonstrated a great potential for photocatalytic degradation of the functionalized textiles substrates as the appearance of the hydroxyl, carboxyl, and the C-O bands confirm the photoinduced oxidation of the organic compounds implying with high prospects in petroleum and wastewater treatment areas. Moreover, this environmentally friendly, sustainable, and inclusive research work can be included in clean technologies, contributing to the novel socio-economic model recognized as "Green Recovery".[GRAPHICS].This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2019 and the project PTDC/FIS-MAC/6606/2020. Also, the third author would like to acknowledge the FCT for the Ph.D. scholarship (SFRH/BD/137421/2018). Moreover, the authors would like to acknowledge Sociedade Nacional de Combusti ' veis de Angola (Sonangol), which partially provided the crude oil samples

    Photocatalytic performance of textiles coated with TiO2-RGO system for degradation of crude petroleum under similar solar irradiation

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    The pollution caused by oil and its toxic derivatives presents a considerable risk to the public health and the environment. Here, we studied the influence of TiO2 nanoparticles immobilized on three types of textiles materials (Cotton, Entretela and PLA) coated with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) to be used for degradation of crude petroleum under simulated solar irradiation. The morphological studies of the functionalized textiles substrates were performed by using Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy, which indicated an excellent dispersion and adhesion of nanoparticles on the textile fibres covered with RGO. Ultraviolet–visible Diffuse Reflectance spectra suggests a reduction in the band gap energy of TiO2 due to the presence of RGO. The excitation/emission Synchronized Fluorescence and Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopies demonstrated that the functionalized textiles substrates exhibit a great potential for photocatalytic degradation of organic compounds with high prospects in petroleum and wastewater treatment areas

    Prevalence and factors associated with rotavirus infection among children admitted with acute diarrhea in Uganda

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rotavirus remains the commonest cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea among children worldwide. Children in developing countries die more because of several factors including poorer access to hydration therapy and greater prevalence of malnutrition. Hitherto, the magnitude of rotavirus disease in Uganda has remained unknown. This study was therefore done to determine the prevalence and factors associated with rotavirus infection among children aged 3-59 months admitted with acute diarrhea to paediatric emergency ward of Mulago Hospital, Uganda</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Three hundred and ninety children, aged between 3-59 months with acute diarrhoea were recruited. The clinical history, socio-demographic characteristics, physical examination findings and laboratory investigations were recorded. Stool samples were tested for rotavirus antigens using the DAKO IDEIA rotavirus EIA detection kit.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of rotavirus infection was 45.4%. On multivariate analysis rotavirus was significantly associated with a higher education (above secondary) level of the mother [OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-2.7]; dehydration [OR 1.8; 95% CI 1.1-3.0] and breastfeeding [OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.4-4.0]. Although age was significantly associated with rotavirus on bivariate analysis; this association disappeared on multivariate analysis. No significant association was found between rotavirus infection and nutritional status, HIV status and attendance of day care or school.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Rotavirus infection is highly prevalent among children with acute diarrhoea admitted to Mulago Hospital in Uganda.</p
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