Influence of Deicing Salts on the Water-Repellency of Portland Cement Concrete Coated with Polytetrafluoroethylene and Polyetheretherketone

Sustainable super water/ice-repellent pavements are gaining attention as a smart solution for mitigating problems associated with winter pavement maintenance of roadways and airfields. Such smart pavements can facilitate surface drainage and prevent or curb ice formation or snow accumulation. While a conventional method for melting ice and snow is the use of deicing chemicals, such materials can transfer to the surface of nanotechnology-based pavements and influence their water/icerepellency by changing the chemistry of water or ice. This study focused on characterizing the degree of hydrophobicity of Portland cement concrete (PCC) nanocoated with polytetrafluoroethylene/polyetheretherketone (PTFE/PEEK). A layer-bylayer (LBL) spray deposition technique was used for spraying the binding agent and water-repellent materials. The liquid-repellency was characterized by measuring the static liquid contact angles (LCAs) and calculating the works of adhesion (WA). The liquid types used included distilled water and two types of deicing chemicals prepared by dissolving salts in distilled water. Data analysis results revealed that salt contamination improves the water-repellency of nano-coated surfaces

Therapeutic Effects of Allium sativum and Allium cepa in Schistosoma mansoni experimental infection

The effects of both garlic (Allium sativum) and onion (Allium cepa) on some biochemical parameters in Schistosoma mansoni infected mice individually and mixed either with or without the currently used drug, praziquantel (PZQ) were investigated. These involved some immunological parameters, namely IgM, IgG, interleukins 2 and 6 (IL-2 and 6) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), some antioxidant enzymes [catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX)]. In addition, parasitological and histopathological investigations were performed. No changes were observed in the normal control mice treated with dry extract of onion or garlic, individually or mixed, with or without PZQ, compared to the normal healthy control group. Infection with S. mansoni showed an increase in IgG, IgM, IL-2, IL-6, TNF-α and catalase enzyme, accompanied with a decrease in GPX and SOD antioxidant enzyme activities. Remarkable amelioration was noticed in the levels of all the measured parameters in S. mansoni infected mice after administration of the studied extracts. Moreover a significant reduction in worm burden, hepatic and intestinal eggs and oogram count was noticed which was reflected in normalization of liver architecture