Technological behavior of porcelain stoneware bodies with Egyptian syenites

The progressive depletion of the main feldspathic flux deposits in the World is forcing the ceramic industry to search for suitable substitutes. The aim of this study is to assess the potential of some feldspar sources in the Egyptian Eastern Desert, particularly syenites from Abu Khruq, in the manufacture of ceramic tiles. Beneficiated samples obtained by laboratory-scale mineral processing were tested into porcelain stoneware batches (from 10% to 30% wt in replacement of feldspars) and compared with a reference body through a laboratory reproduction of the industrial processing. The technological behavior of unfired tiles does not suffer any significant alteration due to the use of syenites. On the other hand, syenite-bearing bodies exhibit some changes in the phase composition and the chemistry of the melt, that turns richer in alkali, especially K2O. The consequently increased sintering rate depends mainly on the viscosity of the liquid phase formed during firing. In conclusion, syenites can be used without technological hindrances to manufacture porcelain stoneware tiles. The firing behavior of syenite-bearing batches can be reasonably adjusted by setting key parameters (eg, the feldspar amount and the Na/K ratio), but the darker color of fired bodies requires to further lower the iron oxide

Treatment of Sweet Pepper with Stress Tolerance-Inducing Compounds Alleviates Salinity Stress Oxidative Damage by Mediating the Physio-Biochemical Activities and Antioxidant Systems

Salinity stress occurs due to the accumulation of high levels of salts in soil, which ultimately leads to the impairment of plant growth and crop loss. Stress tolerance-inducing compounds have a remarkable ability to improve growth and minimize the effects of salinity stress without negatively affecting the environment by controlling the physiological and molecular activities in plants. Two pot experiments were carried out in 2017 and 2018 to study the influence of salicylic acid (1 mM), yeast extract (6 g L−1), and proline (10 mM) on the physiological and biochemical parameters of sweet pepper plants under saline conditions (2000 and 4000 ppm). The results showed that salt stress led to decreasing the chlorophyll content, relative water content, and fruit yields, whereas electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde (MDA), proline concentration, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the activities of antioxidant enzymes increased in salt-stressed plants. The application of salicylic acid (1 mM), yeast extract (6 g L−1), and proline (10 mM) markedly improved the physiological characteristics and fruit yields of salt-stressed plants compared with untreated stressed plants. A significant reduction in electrolyte leakage, MDA, and ROS was also recorded for all treatments. In conclusion, our results reveal the important role of proline, SA, and yeast extracts in enhancing sweet pepper growth and tolerance to salinity stress via modulation of the physiological parameters and antioxidants machinery. Interestingly, proline proved to be the best treatment.</jats:p

Systematic review and meta-analysis of the value of initial biomarkers in predicting adverse outcome in febrile neutropenic episodes in children and young people with cancer

Background: Febrile neutropenia is a frequently occurring and occasionally life-threatening complication of treatment for childhood cancer. Many biomarkers have been proposed as predictors of adverse events. We aimed to undertake a systematic review and meta-analysis to summarize evidence on the discriminatory ability of initial serum biomarkers of febrile neutropenic episodes in children and young people. Methods: This review was conducted in accordance with the Center for Reviews and Dissemination Methods, using three random effects models to undertake meta-analysis. It was registered with the HTA Registry of systematic reviews, CRD32009100485. Results: We found that 25 studies exploring 14 different biomarkers were assessed in 3,585 episodes of febrile neutropenia. C-reactive protein (CRP), pro-calcitonin (PCT), and interleukin-6 (IL6) were subject to quantitative meta-analysis, and revealed huge inconsistencies and heterogeneity in the studies included in this review. Only CRP has been evaluated in assessing its value over the predictive value of simple clinical decision rules. Conclusions: The limited data available describing the predictive value of biomarkers in the setting of pediatric febrile neutropenia mean firm conclusions cannot yet be reached, although the use of IL6, IL8 and procalcitonin warrant further study

Camel molar tooth enamel response to gamma rays using EPR spectroscopy.

Tooth enamel samples from molar teeth of camel were prepared using a combined procedure of mechanical and chemical tooth treatment. Based on electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the dose response of tooth enamel samples was examined and compared to that of human enamel. The EPR dose response of the tooth enamel samples was obtained through irradiation to gamma doses from 1 Gy up to 100 kGy. It was found that the radiation-induced EPR signal increased linearly with gamma dose for all studied tooth enamel samples, up to about 15 kGy. At higher doses, the dose response curve leveled off. The results revealed that the location of the native signal of camel tooth enamel was similar to that of enamel from human molars at 2.00644, but different from that of enamel from cows and goats. In addition, the peak-to-peak width (Delta H (pp)) for human and camel molar teeth was similar. It was also found that the response of camel enamel to gamma radiation was 36% lower than that of human enamel. In conclusion, the results indicate the suitability of camel teeth for retrospective gamma dosimetry

Silica nanofluid flooding for enhanced oil recovery in sandstone rocks

Enhanced oil recovery is proposed as a solution for declining oil production. One of the advanced trends in the petroleum industry is the application of nanotechnology for enhanced oil recovery. Silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) are believed to have the ability to improve oil production, while being environmentally friendly and of natural composition to sandstone oil reservoirs.In our work, we investigated the effect of silica nanoparticles flooding on the amount of oil recovered. Experiments were carried using commercial silica of approximately 20 nm in size. We used sandstone cores in the core flooding experiments. For one of the cores tertiary recovery is applied where brine imbibition was followed by nanofluid imbibition. While in the other cores secondary recovery was applied where primary drainage is directly followed by nanofluid imbibition. We investigated the effect of concentration of nanofluid on recovery; in addition, residual oil saturation was obtained to get the displacement efficiency. Silica nanofluid of concentration 0.01 wt%, 0.05 wt%, 0.1 wt% and 0.5 wt% were studied.The recovery factor improved with increasing the silica nanofluid concentration until optimum concentration was reached. The maximum oil recovery was achieved at optimum silica nanoparticles concentration of 0.1 wt%. The ultimate recovery of initial oil in place increased by 13.28% when using tertiary flooding of silica nanofluid compared to the recovery achieved by water flooding alone. Based on our experimental study, permeability impairment was investigated by studying the silica nanoparticles concentration, and the silica nanofluid injection rate. The permeability was measured before and after nanofluid injection. This helped us to understand the behavior of the silica nanoparticles in porous media. Results showed that silica nanofluid flooding is a potential tertiary enhanced oil recovery method after water flooding has ceased. Keywords: Enhanced oil recovery (EOR), Porous media, Dispersed silica nanoparticle, Nanoflooding, Nanoparticles stability, Nanoflui

تأثير مستوى الرطوبة النسبية على فطريات وانبات حبوب الارز في مصر

The changes in the composition of paddy grain-borne fungi in the germination capacity, and in the moisture content of paddy grains at various levels of relative humidity (r.h.) (~ 0-100%) stored at 20°C for 1, 2, 3 and 4 months, were investigated. The total count of fungi significantly increased with the increase of moisture content and storage periods and the highest counts were estimated at 92% and 100% r.h. after 4 and 3 months, respectively. The preceding increases up in the total counts were mainly related to the flourishing of numerous species such as. Aspergillus Candidas, A. sydowii, A. tamarii, A. versicolor, A. flavus, Penicillium chrysogenum, Fusarium oxysporum and Cladosporium cladosporioides. At all levels, except at ~ 0%, of relative humidity the germination capacity of grain decreased slowly or rapidly with the increase of the storage period and the rate of decrease was enhanced with the rise of relative humidity which increased the moisture contents of grains, and complete mortality (100%) was recorded at 92% r.h. after 4 months and at 100% after 3 months, when the moisture contents of paddy grains rose to 21.6%'and 22.6% respectively.تمت دراسة التغيرات التي تحدث في فطريات الحبوب المحمولة وانبات الحبوب ومحتواها المائي عند تخزين حبوب الارز عند مستويات مختلفة من الرطوبة النسبية (تقريبا صفر ، 55% ، 76% ، 92%و 100%) والتحضين عند 28 م ولمدة 1 ، 2 ، 3 ، 4 شهور ، وجد أن التعداد الكلي للفطريات يزداد زيادة معنوية بزيادة المحتوى المائي للبذور وفترات التخزين وسجل أعلى تعداد للفطريات عند 92% و 100% رطوبة نسبية بعد 4 ، 3 شهور علي التوالي . وترجع هذه الزيادة إلى ازدهار وزيادة أعداد فطريات عديدة مثل : اسبيرجيلس كانديدس ، اسبيرجيلس سيدوي ، اسبيرجيلس تامرياي ، اسبيرجيلس فيرسيكلر ، اسبيرجليس فلافس ، بنيسيليوم كريزوجيتم ، فيوزاريوم اوكسيسبورم وكلادوسبوريم كلادوسبوريدسن . وجد أن جميع مستويات الرطوبة النسبية (عدا صفر) تؤدي إلى تناقص معدلات انبات الحبوب مع زياده فترات التحضين ، وتزداد معدلات التناقص في الانبات سريعا مع زيادة الرطوبة النسبية التي تؤدي إلى زيادة المحتوى المائي للبذور ، وسجل موت جميع الحبوب عند 92%و 100% رطوبة نسبية والتحضين لمدة 4 و 3 شهور حيث ارتفع المحتوى المائي للحبوب إلى21.6% و22.6% على التوالي