Exploring the potential of a Ephedra alata leaf extract: Phytochemical analysis, antioxidant activity, antibacterial properties, and green synthesis of ZnO nanoparticles for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue

Ephedra alata leaf extracts have therapeutic properties and contain various natural compounds known as phytochemicals. This study assessed the phytochemical content and antioxidant effects of a Ephedra alata leaf extract, as well as zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticle production. The extract contained phenolic acids, including vanillic acid, chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, p-coumaric acid, vanillin and rutin. Its total phenolic content and total flavonoid content were 48.7 ± 0.9 mg.g-1 and 1.7 ± 0.4 mg.g-1, respectively. The extract displayed a DPPH inhibition rate of 70.5%, total antioxidant activity of 49.5 ± 3.4 mg.g-1, and significant antimicrobial activity toward Gram-positive and negative bacteria. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles had spherical shape, crystallite size of 25 nm, particle size between 5 and 30 nm, and bandgap energy of 3.3 eV. In specific conditions (90 min contact time, pH 7, and 25°C), these nanoparticles efficiently photodegraded 87% of methylene blue, suggesting potential applications for sustainable water treatment and pollution control

Effect of Rayleigh Number on Internal Eccentricity in a Heated Horizontal Elliptical Cylinder to its Coaxial Square Enclosure

This paper deals with numerical investigation of a natural convective flow in a horizontal annular space between a heated square inner cylinder and a cold elliptical outer cylinder with a Newtonian fluid. Uniform temperatures are imposed along walls of the enclosure. The governing equations of the problem were solved numerically by the commercial code Fluent, based on the finite volume method and the Boussinesq approximation. The effects of Geometry Ratio GR and Rayleigh numbers on fluid flow and heat transfer performance are investigated. The Rayleigh number is varied from 103 to 106. Throughout the study the relevant results are presented in terms of isotherms, and streamlines. From the results, we found that the increase in the Geometry Ratio B leads to an increase of the heat transfer coefficient. The heat transfer rate in the annulus is translated in terms of the average Nusselt numbers along the enclosure’s sides. Tecplot 7 program was used to plot the curves which cleared these relations and isotherms and streamlines which illustrate the behavior of air through the channel and its variation with other parameters. The results for the streamlines, isotherms, local and average Nusselt numbers average Nusselt numbers are compared with previous works and show good agreement

Effect of Rayleigh Number on Internal Eccentricity in a Heated Horizontal Elliptical Cylinder to its Coaxial Square Enclosure

This paper deals with numerical investigation of a natural convective flow in a horizontal annular space between a heated square inner cylinder and a cold elliptical outer cylinder with a Newtonian fluid. Uniform temperatures are imposed along walls of the enclosure. The governing equations of the problem were solved numerically by the commercial code Fluent, based on the finite volume method and the Boussinesq approximation. The effects of Geometry Ratio GR and Rayleigh numbers on fluid flow and heat transfer performance are investigated. The Rayleigh number is varied from 103 to 106. Throughout the study the relevant results are presented in terms of isotherms, and streamlines. From the results, we found that the increase in the Geometry Ratio B leads to an increase of the heat transfer coefficient. The heat transfer rate in the annulus is translated in terms of the average Nusselt numbers along the enclosure’s sides. Tecplot 7 program was used to plot the curves which cleared these relations and isotherms and streamlines which illustrate the behavior of air through the channel and its variation with other parameters. The results for the streamlines, isotherms, local and average Nusselt numbers average Nusselt numbers are compared with previous works and show good agreement

Numerical study of heating transfer by natural convection in an inclined elliptical cylinder charged with nanofluid

In this paper, thermal transfer with natural convection in a tilted annular cylinder with a Cu-water nanofluid has been numerically studied. The hot interior and cold exterior elliptical surfaces of the enclosure were maintained at constant temperatures Th and Tc , respectively. The governing equations were solved by the stream function-vorticity approach. The finite volume approach was utilized to discretise the controlling equations. The volume fraction range of the nanoparticles and the Rayleigh number was as follows: 0<ϕ<0.08 and 10^4<Ra<10^6, respectively. The inclination angles were γ=30°,45°,and 60°. Results were given as isotherm contours, streamlines, average and local Nusselt numbers. The results indicate that the thermal transfer ratio increases with an increase in the tilt angle, regardless of the nanoparticle size values. and the impact of the inclination angle on the heating transfer rate is more important the higher the Rayleigh number and the more convection there is

Heat transfer by natural convection from a heated square inner cylinder to its elliptical outer enclosure utilizing nanofluids

In this paper a numerical study of natural convection of stationary laminar heat transfers in a horizontal ring between a heated square inner cylinder and a cold elliptical outer cylinder is presented. A Cu-water nanofluid flows through this annular space. Different values of the Rayleigh number and volume fraction of nanoparticles are studied. The system of equations governing the problem was solved numerically by the fluent calculation code based on the finite volume method and on the Boussinesq approximation. The interior and exterior surfaces are kept at constant temperature. The study is carried out for Rayleigh numbers ranging from 310 to 510. We have studied the effects of different Rayleigh numbers and volume fraction of nanoparticles on natural convection. The results are presented as isotherms, isocurrents, and local and mean Nusselt numbers. The aim of this study is to study the influence of the thermal Rayleigh number and volume fraction of nanoparticles on the heat transfer rate

“Enhancing heat transfer in high-pressure transformers: A study on nanoparticle-doped insulating fluids”

The impact of doping electrical insulating fluids with nanoparticles on the thermal characteristics of the resulting nanofluids and heat transfer for cooling high-power transformers is covered in this study. The base fluid in this case was the synthetic ester. It investigated how adding Barium titanate (BaTiO3)nanoparticles to dielectric fluids affected thermal characteristics, including convection and thermal conductivity. Comparisons were made between the cooling performance of basic fluids and nanofluids. An examination of the Rayleigh and Nusselt values confirms this comparison. The effects were represented as functions of the solid volume particle from the nanoparticles (0 ≤ φ < 10 %) and the thermal Rayleigh number (Rat = 103 and 106). The findings demonstrate that increasing the solid particle size of nanoparticles by 10 % increases the employed liquid's effectiveness as a conductor and raises the heat transfer rate by about 10 % compared to the base liquid

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

BackgroundWe previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15-20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in similar to 80% of cases.MethodsWe report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded.ResultsNo gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5-528.7, P=1.1x10(-4)) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR=3.70[95%CI 1.3-8.2], P=2.1x10(-4)). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR=19.65[95%CI 2.1-2635.4], P=3.4x10(-3)), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR=4.40[9%CI 2.3-8.4], P=7.7x10(-8)). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD]=43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P=1.68x10(-5)).ConclusionsRare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old

Correction: Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

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