The Investigation of Ti3C2Tx MXene Surface Chemistry for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Electrochemical energy storage devices, such as batteries and supercapacitors, play a pivotal role not only for the increasing demand on renewable energy storage but also for the growing electric vehicles industry. In this context, surface redox (pseudocapacitive) active materials have shown a remarkable increase in both energy and power densities. Titanium carbide Ti3C2Tx MXene is an efficient pseudocapacitive 2D material combining high metallic conductivity with hydrophilic surfaces. The Ti3C2Tx reveals large capacitance by using sulfuric acid as an electrolyte owing to the surface redox charging mechanism. The electrochemical performance of Ti3C2Tx MXene is significantly influenced by interlayer spacing between MXene nanosheets which is altered by the amount of the nanoconfined water and/or intercalants. In this work, X-ray-based techniques were used to study the impact of the MXene surface chemistry as well as its interlayer spacing on its overall electrochemical performance. Ti3C2Tx MXene were investigated using synchrotron-based soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM). The XAS peaks are very sensitive to changes in the local chemical environment induced by different types of intercalants and the nanoconfined water between the MXene layers. The oxidation state of the surface Ti atoms in Ti3C2Tx has been then extensively investigated as it constitutes a key element in the electrochemical performance. Here we show that the intercalation of organic molecules, like urea, as well as mono- and multi-valent cations such as Li+, Na+, K+, and Mg2+ affects the Ti oxidation state in different environments. We show that a controlled higher oxidation state increases the MXene capacitance. In addition, spatially resolved XA spectra were implemented to study the Ti oxidation state of pristine and intercalated single multi-layered Ti3C2Tx flakes. On the other hand, the interlayer spacing between Ti3C2Tx nanosheets was monitored by X-ray diffraction (XRD). In situ XRD patterns taken at different temperatures revealed for the first time the signature of the nanoconfined water in MXene at low temperatures, which shows the coexistence of hexagonal and cubic ice structures. This work illustrates the significance of the X-ray-based techniques to probe the electronic structure of transition metal oxide surfaces and the nanoconfined water of MXenes in various environments. It paves the way to operando XAS combined with electrochemical performance (cyclic voltammogram) which would help to identify the changes in chemical bonds during a redox reaction.Elektrochemische Energiespeicher, wie Batterien oder Superkondensatoren, spielen eine entscheidende Rolle in Zeiten steigendender Nachfrage an Speichern für erneuerbare Energien, sowie bei der Weiterentwicklung der Elektromobilität. Innerhalb dieses Rahmens konnte die Energie- und Leistungsdichte oberflächenaktiver Materialien, welche fähig sind zu reversiblen Redoxreaktionen (Pseudokapazität), bemerkenswert gesteigert werden. Ein effizientes, pseudokapazitives, zweidimensionales Material stellt Titancarbid in der Form Ti3C2Tx MXene dar. Es kombiniert eine hohe metallische Leitfähigkeit mit hydrophilen Oberflächen. Das Ti3C2Tx offenbart eine hohe elektrische Kapazität unter Verwendung von Schwefelsäure und aufgrund seiner redox-aktiven Oberfläche. Das elektrochemische Verhalten von Ti3C2Tx MXene wird dabei maßgeblich vom Schichtabstand zwischen den einzelnen MXene-Nanosheets beeinflusst. Dieser wird geformt durch Interkalationen und/ oder Wassereinschlüsse. In dieser Arbeit wurde der Einfluss von Oberflächenbeschaffenheit und Schichtabstand auf das allgemeine elektrochemische Verhalten mittels Röntgenspektroskopie studiert. Um das Ti3C2Tx MXene zu untersuchen, wurde die auf Synchrotronstrahlung basierende Röntgenabsorptionsspektroskopie (XAS) sowie die Photoemissionselektronenmikroskopie (XPEEM) verwendet. Die Röntgenabsorption spitze ist sensitiv auf die Änderung der lokalen chemischen Umgebung, hervorgerufen durch verschiedenartige Interkalationen sowie Wassereinschlüsse zwischen den einzelnen MXene-Schichten. Der Oxidationszustand der Ti Atome an der Oberfläche wurde ausgiebig untersucht und stellt ein Schlüsselelement in der elektrochemischen Funktion dar. Es wird gezeigt, dass der Einschluss organischer Moleküle, wie Harnstoff, ebenso wie einfach und mehrfach geladener Kationen, wie Li+, Na+ , K+ und Mg2+ die Oxidationsstufe des Ti beeinflussen können. Dabei wurde festgestellt, dass eine höhere Oxidation die Kapazität steigert. Zusätzlich wurde räumlich aufgelöste Röntgenabsorption angewandt um den Zustand des Ti in unveränderten Ti3C2Tx Spänen mit dem interkalierter und mehrfachgeschichteter Ti3C2Tx Späne zu vergleichen. Die Schichtabstände wurden zusätzlich mittels Röntgenbeugung (XRD) analysiert. Von besonderer Bedeutung ist dabei die Tatsache, in situ Röntgenbeugung dass zum Ersten Mal die Signatur von eingeschlossenem Wasser bei niedrigen Temperaturen aufgezeichnet werden konnte, zeigt die koexistenz von hexagonalen und kubischen Eisstrukturen. Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt auf, von welcher Bedeutung die Verwendung röntgenbasierter Methoden für die Untersuchung der elektronischen Struktur von übergangsmetalloxidischen Oberflächen und Wassereinschlüssen im MXene in verschiedenen Umgebungen ist. Damit ist der Weg bereitet für operando XAS kombiniert mit elektrochemischer Leistung (cyclic Voltammogram), die helfen würde, die Veränderungen chemischer Bindungen während einer Redoxreaktion zu identifizieren

Burden of Right Ventricular Infarction in Patients with Inferior Myocardial Infarction in Babylon

هدف الدراسة: هده الدراسة تهدف الى المقارنة في نسبة حصول الصدمة القلبية والوفاة للمرضى الدين يحصل لديهم احتشاء للعضلة القلبية السفلى والمرضى الدين بحصل لديهم احتشاء للعضلة القلبية السفلى مع احتشاء البطين الايمن . طريقة الدراسة : هده دراسة مقارنة اجريت في مدينة مرجان الطبية في وحدة الانعاش للفترة من 1-2-2014 الى 30-9-2014 للمرضى الدين الدين  أصيبوا باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى .تم تقسيم المرضى الى مجموعتين ,المجموعة الاولى هم المرضى المصابين باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى والمجموعة الثانية هم المرضى المصابين باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى مع احتشاء البطين الايمن للقلب .تم متابعة المرضى طول فترة بقائهم بالمستشفى لأي تعقيدات ممكن ان تحدث. النتائج: مجموع 80 مريض ادخلوا في الدراسة وقسموا الى مجموعتين : المجموعة الاولى26 مريض أصيبوا باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى مع احتشاء البطين الايمن ,والمجموعة الثانية 54 اصيبوا باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى ,المجموعتين لديهم نفس الخصائص .معدل العمر للمرضى هو 59.30 للمجموعة الاولى , 55.03 للمجموعة الثانية .نسبة الذكور للمجموعة الاولى هو 17 (65.4%)  و33(61.1%) للمجموعة الثانية .نسبة الوفيات للمجموعة الاولى هو 4(15.4) و1 (1.9) للمجموعة الثانية . قيمو البي 0.036 وتعتبر نسبة مهمة .عدد المرضى الدين اصيبوا بالصدمة القلبية للمجموعة الاولى هو 7(26.9) وللمجموعة الثانية هو 5(5.6) ,قيمة البي هي 0.011 وتعتبر مهمة . الاستنتاجات: 1-المرضى المصابين باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى والبطين الايمن لديهم نسبة عالية لحدوث الصدمة القلبية اكثر من المرضى المصابين باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى في فترة بقائهم بالمستشفى . 2- المرضى المصابين باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى والبطين الايمن لديهم نسبة عالية للوفاة  اكثر من المرضى المصابين باحتشاء العضلة القلبية السفلى في فترة بقائهم بالمستشفىAim of study:the study aim to comparing the rate of cardiogenic shock and mortality rate between patient with RV infarction and inferior MI and the patient with inferior MI alone. Patient and method: Across sectional study conducted in coronary care unit in merjan medical city at time from the first of March 2014 to the 30th of September 2014 for patient with inferior MI. patients were divided  to two group, the first group for patients with inferior MI and RV infarction and the second group for patients with inferior MI alone. The both groups were monitor in the hospital for any complications that can take place in the hospital stay. Result: A total of 80 patient were enrolled in the study and divided  to two groups, the first group (26 patients) for patients with inferior MI and RV infarction and the second group (54 patients) for patients with inferior MI alone,  both group had the same baseline characteristic. The mean age was 59.30 ± 7.56 for first group and it was 55.03 ± 5.18 for second group, male patients were 17 (65.4%) and 33 (61.1%) in the first and second group respectively. The in hospital mortality was 4 (15.4%) and 1(1.9%) in the first and second group respectively and the P value was 0.036 (significant).The risk of cardiogenic shock was 7 (26.9%) and 5 (5.6%) for first and second group respectively with P value 0.011(significant). Conclusion: 1- The patients with RV infarction and inferior MI expose to higher rate of cardiogenic shock than the patients with inferior MI alone during the time of his hospital stay. 2- The patient with RV infarction and inferior MI had higher in hospital mortality rate when compared with patient with inferior MI alone. &nbsp

Attribute Selection Based on a Hybrid Approach for Improving Classification of Breast Cancer Recurrence

Background: A commonly occurring disease among women worldwide is breast cancer, the second deadliest form of cancer. However, death chances are remarkably reduced when the cancer is detected and prevented at an early stage. Materials and Methods: The main contribution of the current study is to propose a hybrid approach to attribute selection by combining the information gain method with the correlation method and to exploit the strengths of these methods for improving classification accuracy. The dataset has been obtained from the publicly open UCI machine learning repository. The dataset is used to classify the target class into breast cancer recurrence and non-recurrence. Classification algorithms Naïve Bayes, J48 Decision Tree, and Multi-Layer Perceptron were adopted for performing the accuracy of prediction. Results: The proposed hybrid approach has been combined with each classification model, improving the performance of each model through the reduction of lower-ranked attributes, due to their insignificant contribution and the possibility of misguiding the classifying algorithm. After selecting a set of upper-ranked attributes carefully, it has been found that the accuracy rate, RMSE, and computational costs have improved for all three algorithms. The J48 Decision Tree achieved a significant performance, and it obtained a relatively higher accuracy (75.87 %). Conclusions: It can be concluded that (Inv nodes, deg-malig, node-caps, tumor size, irradiat, and breast) are strong attributes in a dataset and (Age, breast-quad, and menopause) are weak attributes. As noted, the implementation of the hybrid approach improved the accuracy of all classifiers

A Novel Placement Algorithm for the Controllers Of the Virtual Networks (COVN) in SD-WAN with Multiple VNs

The escalation of communication demands and the emergence of new telecommunication concepts such as 5G cellular system and smart cities requires the consolidation of a flexible and manageable backbone network. These requirements motivated the researcher to come up with a new placement algorithm for the Controller of Virtual Network (COVN). This is because SDN and network virtualisation techniques (NFV and NV), are integrated to produce multiple virtual networks running on a single SD-WAN infrastructure, which serves the new backbone. One of the significant challenges of SD-WAN is determining the number and the locations of its controllers to optimise the network latency and reliability. This problem is fairly investigated and solved by several controller placement algorithms where the focus is only on physical controllers. The advent of the sliced SD-WAN produces a new challenge, which necessitates the SDWAN controllers (physical controller/hosted server) to run multiple instances of controllers (virtual controllers). Every virtual network is managed by its virtual controllers. This calls for an algorithm to determine the number and the positions of physical and virtual controllers of the multiple virtual SD-WANs. According to the literature review and to the best of the author knowledge, this problem is neither examined nor yet solved. To address this issue, the researcher designed a novel COVN placement algorithm to compute the controller placement of the physical controllers, then calculate the controller placement of every virtual SD-WAN independently, taking into consideration the controller placement of other virtual SD-WANs. COVN placement does not partition the SD-WAN when placing the physical controllers, unlike all previous placement algorithms. Instead, it identifies the nodes of the optimal reliability and latency to all switches of the network. Then, it partitions every VN separately to create its independent controller placement. COVN placement optimises the reliability and the latency according to the desired weights. It also maintains the load balancing and the optimal resources utilisation. Moreover, it supports the recovering of the controller failure. This novel algorithm is intensively evaluated using the produced COVN simulator and the developed Mininet emulator. The results indicate that COVN placement achieves the required optimisations mentioned above. Also, the implementations disclose that COVN placement can compute the controller placement for a large network ( 754 switches) in very small computation time (49.53 s). In addition, COVN placement is compared to POCO algorithm. The outcome reveals that COVN placement provides better reliability in about 30.76% and a bit higher latency in about 1.38%. Further, it surpasses POCO by constructing the balanced clusters according to the switch loads and offering the more efficient placement to recover controller-failure

Sleep Quality and Academic Performance Among Medical College Students

المقدمة: يعتبر اخد القسط الكافي من النوم عنصر مهم جدا لصحة الانسان.ان اضطراب النوم وعدم الحصول على القسط الكافي منه يعتبر من اهم المشاكل في حياة طلبة كلية الطب والكليات الاخرى مما يؤدي الى ضعف المستوى الدراسي. طريقة العمل: الدراسه هي دراسه مقطعيه لتحديد نسبة قلة وضعف نوعية النوم عند طلبة كليه الطب –جامعة بابل. النتائج: معدل ضعف نوعية النوم واضطرابه عند طلبة كليه الطب –جامعة بابل هو (60.4%) ووجد تاثير سلبي لضعف نوعية النوم على المستوى العلمي للطالب. الاستنتاج:اضطراب النوم وعدم الحصول على القسط الكافي منه يعتبر من اهم المشاكل في حياة طلبة كلية الطب.معدل ضعف نوعية النوم واضطرابه عند طلبة كليه الطب –جامعة بابل هو (60.4%) مما يؤثر سلباًعلى المستوى العلمي للطالب.Background:Sleep plays a very important role in a human health. Poor sleep quality remains as a frequent feature of student life. Quantity and quality of sleep in addition to average sleep time are strongly linked with students’ learning abilities and academic performance. Subjects and method:The study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted to assess sleep quality among medical college students – University of Babylon using Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). This study was done during April 2016. Results:Mean age of students was (20.63 ± 0.65). Majority was female. According to PSQI(60.4%) of students were poor sleeper. Significant association between quality of sleep and academic performance was found in our study, (72.9%) of those fail in one or more subjects have poor sleep quality. Conclusion: Poor sleep quality was regarded as an important problem among medical college students. Majority of students (60.4%) was poor sleepers. Our study shows significant relation between sleep quality and academic performance among students of Babylon University –College of Medicine

A superior active portfolio optimization model for stock exchange

Due to the vast number of stocks and the multiple appearances of developing investment portfolios, investors in the financial market face multiple investment opportunities. In this regard, the investor task becomes extremely difficult as investors define their preferences for expected return and the amount to which they want to avoid potential investment risks. This research attempts to design active portfolios that outperform the performance of the appropriate market index. To achieve this aim, technical analysis and optimization procedures were used based on a hybrid model. It combines the strong features of the Markowitz model with the General Reduced Gradient (GRG) algorithm to maintain a good compromise between diversification and exploitation. The proposed model is used to construct an active portfolio optimization model for the Iraq Stock Exchange (ISX) for the period from January 2010 to February 2020. This is applied to all 132 companies registered on the exchange. In addition to the market portfolio, two methods, namely, Equal Weight (EW) and Markowitz were used to generate active portfolios to compare the research findings. After a thorough review based on the Sharpe ratio criterion, the suggested model demonstrated its robustness, resulting in maximizing earnings with low risks

Cloning, Protein Expression, and Characterization of Interleukin 1 Alpha

Recombinant DNA technology and the ability to produce recombinant proteins have significantly changed the world of pharmaceutical market. Recombinant DNA technology using E. coli cells has successfully produced many therapeutic proteins. In this study, the designed tag Ark-RUBY-tag facilitates rapid, and reproducible purification of recombinant proteins expressed as inclusion bodies in E. coli cells. Purification of Ark-RUBY-fused recombinant protein(s) can be obtained by using imidazole fractions. Target protein can be easily removed from the Ark-RUBY-tag by enzymatic cleavage. Ark-RUBY-fused recombinant proteins can be quantitatively detected using polyclonal antibodies. Ark-RUBY-tag can be used to purify small peptides. By using Ark-RUBY-tag, purified recombinant protein regains fully biologically active form. Therefore, bioactive protein has wide range of application in drug-delivery. Copper is crucial in many cellular functions. It is known that copper is necessary in non-classical secretion by inducing multiprotein realize complex, but the involvement of copper in complex formation is not clear. In this study, the role of copper in non-classical protein secretion of IL-1α was investigated. This framework demonstrates the role of copper to induce IL-1α dimerization under in vitro conditions. The dimerization mechanism is mediated by the single cysteine at position 143 that gets oxidized resulting in the formation of an inter-disulfide bond. The ratio of copper to induce IL-1α dimerization is one to two that means one copper can induce two molecules of IL1-α. The binding affinity of IL-1α to copper study showed that IL-1α binds to copper with Kd value 1.9 μM, which suggests IL-1α is copper binding protein. Also, some binding affinity experiments were conducted to elucidate whether copper is the only metal that induce dimerization. Some metals showed good binding affinity, but no one induced dimerization. Interestingly, corpus form showed high binding affinity, but it did not induce dimerization. Also, the monomer and the dimer forms of IL-1α have binding affinity to S100A13 with Kd values 1.30 μM and 1.34 μM respectively, which could be crucial in the non-classical secretion of signal-less IL-1α. The study also shows that Amlexanox (AMX), the anti-allergic drug, can bind to IL-1α and chelates copper with kd 1.9 μM and 1.6 μM respectively. It also inhibits the copper induced dimer formation of IL-1α. The mechanism that underlies dimer formation inhibition of AMX is either because it binds close to cysteine 143 of IL-1α where copper can bind and inhibits the induction of homodimer formation of IL-1α by masking the thiol group of Cys134 or by chelating copper and preventing it from binding to IL-1α. The results of AMX role in inhibiting dimer formation of IL-1α may help in designing a drug that inhibits non-classical secretion of IL-1α

Measurement of (IL-11 ) Levels in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

     التهاب المفاصل الروماتويدي (RA) هو مرض مناعي ذاتي التهابي مزمن يصيب المفاصل بشكل أساس  ، ويعد التهاب الغشاء المفصلي والغضاريف وتآكل العظام من أبرز الأعراض للمرض . مراحل تطور هذا المرض معقدة للغاية ، يتم خلالها تكاثر الخلايا الزليليّة التي تتلف وتشكل التهاب الغشاء الزليلي ، يليه الغضاريف وتدهور العظام.  السيتوكينات هي بروتينات تلعب دورًا حاسمًا في ظهور المرض وتطوره. كان الهدف من هذا البحث معرفة المزيد عن الإنترلوكين -11 ، وهو سايتوكين ينتجه الجهاز المناعي ، والانترليوكين -11 ينتمي إلى عائلة إلانترلوكين -6 ، والتي لها إمكانات مؤيدة ومضادة للالتهابات وعلاقتها بالمرض عن طريق القياس لمستوى تركيز (IL-11).   طرق العمل: اشتملت الدراسة الحالية على 45 مريضًا مصابًا بـ (RA) ، بالإضافة إلى 45 (يبدو أنهم أصحاء) كمجموعة ضابطة للدراسة. جمعت هذه العينات من مستشفى المرجان بمحافظة بابل (وحدة المفاصل) خلال الفترة من 1/11/2021  إلى 15/3/2022. تم فحص امصال جميع المرضى والمجموعة الضابطة لتحديد مستوى تركيز IL-11 باستخدام مقياس الممتز المناعي المرتبط بالإنزيم (ELISA). الاستنتاجات: ، كشفت نتائج الدراسة عن انخفاض كبير في مستوى IL-11  عند مستوى احتمالية (P≤0.05) للمرضى الذين يعانون من (الروماتيزم الرثوي) عند مقارنة معدلات نفس المعايير لمجموعة السيطرة.Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease that affects the joints principally. Synovitis , cartilage and bone erosion are the most prominent symptoms of (RA).  Stages of development of this disease are very complex, Synovial cells that rupture and form inflammation in the synovium, followed by cartilage and bone deterioration. Cytokines are proteins that play a crucial role in the onset arise causing and progression of the disease. This research aims to learn more about interleukin-11, which is a protein produced by the immune system. A cytokine belongs to the interleukin-6 family. It has pro- and anti-inflammatory potentials and its relationship to the disease can be determined by measuring the level of (IL-11) concentration. Materials and Methods: The current study included 45 patients with (RA), in addition to 45 (apparently healthy) subjects as a control group of the study.  These samples were collected from Marjan Hospital in Babylon Governorate (joints unit) during the period from 1/11/2021 to 3/15/2022.  The sera of all patients and control group were examined for determination of IL-11 concentration level, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, which are a type of immunoassay in which the enzyme is coupled to (ELISA). Results: At the likelihood level, the study's findings have revealed a considerable decrease in IL-11 level (P≤0.05) for patients with (RA), when comparing the rates of the same criteria for the control group. Conclusion: The concentration of interleukin 11 in the sera of rheumatoid arthritis patients was found to be less than in the control group in the current investigation

Theoretical Study of the Effect of Hydroxy Subgroup on the Electronic and Spectroscopic Properties of Azulene Molecule: As a Nano Structure DFT Calculations

Theoretical studies on Nono hydroxyl azulene molecules group in different positions were performed using DFT. Based on B3LYP with 6-31(d,p)basis set was used to investigate the effect of different position of hydroxyl(electron–withdrawing groups) on the electronic and structural properties of Nano hydroxyl azulene molecules.The optimized orientation and optimized parameters show that these stractures have nano dimensions comfared with the original molecule, The optimized structure, total energies, electronic states, energy gaps, ionization potentials, electron affinities, chemical potential, global hardness, softness, global electrophilictity, dipole moment and dipole polarizability were calculated. The harmonic vibration frequencies calculated and analyzed. The results showed a decrease in gap energies and improve the electronic properties.   Keywords: B3LYP/DFT, Ionization potential, electron affinity, energy gap, and IR spectru