Synthesis, reactions and antimicrobial activity of benzothiazoles

Benzothiazoles have been proven to be potent antimicrobial agents. In this study, 3-(5,6-dimethoxy-2-oxo-1,3-benzothiazol-3(2H)-yl)propanohydrazide has been utilized as a scaffold for synthesis of pyrrole, indolylidene, pyrazoles, mercaptotriazole, oxadiazole, triazole and oxothiazolidine derivatives. Structures of the synthesized compounds were elucidated on the basis of elemental analyses and spectral data. All the synthesized compounds were screened for their antimicrobial activity

Synthesis, X-ray, Hirshfeld, and AIM Studies on Zn(II) and Cd(II) Complexes with Pyridine Ligands

The synthesis and crystal structures of three heteroleptic complexes of Zn(II) and Cd(II) with pyridine ligands (ethyl nicotinate (EtNic), N,N-diethylnicotinamide (DiEtNA), and 2-amino-5-picoline (2Ampic) are presented. The complex [Zn(EtNic)2Cl2] (1) showed a distorted tetrahedral coordination geometry with two EtNic ligand units and two chloride ions as monodentate ligands. Complexes [Zn(DiEtNA)(H2O)4(SO4)]·H2O (2) and [Cd(OAc)2(2Ampic)2] (3) had hexa-coordinated Zn(II) and Cd(II) centers. In the former, the Zn(II) was coordinated with three different monodentate ligands, which were DiEtNA, H2O, and SO42−. In 3, the Cd(II) ion was coordinated with two bidentate acetate ions and two monodentate 2Ampic ligand units. The supramolecular structures of the three complexes were elucidated using Hirshfeld analysis. In 1, the most important interactions that governed the molecular packing were O···H (15.5–15.6%), Cl···H (13.6–13.8%), Cl···C (6.3%), and C···H (10.3–10.6%) contacts. For complexes 2 and 3, the H···H, O···H, and C···H contacts dominated. Their percentages were 50.2%, 41.2%, and 7.1%, respectively, for 2 and 57.1%, 19.6%, and 15.2%, respectively, for 3. Only in complex 3, weak π-π stacking interactions between the stacked pyridines were found. The Zn(II) natural charges were calculated using the DFT method to be 0.8775, 1.0559, and 1.2193 for complexes 1–3, respectively. A predominant closed-shell character for the Zn–Cl, Zn–N, Zn–O, Cd–O, and Cd–N bonds was also concluded from an atoms in molecules (AIM) study

DZ-BAU2021-14N AS NOVEL PYRAZOLOPYRIDINE NANOCRYSTALS: APPRAISAL OF ANTICANCER ACTIVITY AGAINST HCT-116 AND HT-29 COLORECTAL CANCER CELL LINES

Mentioning DZ-BAU2021-14 (C19H17N5O2,347.370 g/mol) developed in BAU Labs, its promising preliminary antitumor effect nominated it to be selected as a lead antiproliferative compound against colorectal cancer cell lines owing to its proved Cyclin Dependent Kinase 2 (CDK2) inhibition (Kassem et al., 2021). Solving many problems restricting traditional cancer therapy, nanotechnology is offering safety margins and targeted delivery of poorly soluble drug. The potential effect of this compound was combined with the advantages of nanotechnology, precisely nanocrystals to achieve better antiproliferative and hopeful less cytotoxic patterns. The nanocrystals DZ-BAU2021-14N were prepared by an antisolvent precipitation technique using Poloxamer 407 and Cremophor® RH 40 as stabilizers. The nanocrystals were obtained with a nanometric particle size (89.80 ± 11.2 nm) and a negative zeta potential (-32.6 ± 0.50 mV) and were stable at 4 ± 0.5°C with no significant change in particle size or zeta potential. The anticancer activity of DZ-BAU2021-14 and DZ-BAU2021-14N were assessed. Their antiproliferative effects against colorectal cancer cell lines HCT-116 and HT-29 were studied via viability assay. In addition, their cytotoxic effects on non-tumorigenic cell lines NCM-460D were evaluated and respective IC50 values were determined. Different responses were obtained; DZ-BAU2021-14N provided lower IC50 on HCT-116 compared to the free drug DZ-BAU2021-14 (27 and 22 µM, respectively). The safety profile of the free drug was reflected by its IC50 on NCM-460D of 200µM while that of drug nanocrystals showed relative cytotoxicity with IC50 of 33µM, and this requires further investigation to study this response

Solar-Powered Solutions for the Water and Energy Shortage Problem: The Case Study of Nahr El Bared, Lebanon

Solar power is an effective way to reduce the dependency on conventional fuels and mitigate the water and energy shortage issue. The main aim of the current paper is to assess and compare the techno-economic feasibility of rooftop grid-connected photovoltaic energy systems for generating electricity and generating drinkable water in Nahr El Bared, Lebanon. To this aim, the present paper first reviews previous scientific studies associated with the water resources and energy situation to summarize the current status in Lebanon. According to this review, Lebanon's water resources are highly polluted, domestic and industrial sewage is largely untreated, and intolerable agricultural practices further exacerbate the situation. Furthermore, population and economic growth and the continuous utilization of old power plants have led to an increase in the number of hours of power outages in the country. Accordingly, the proposed project aims to evaluate the viability of using solar energy as an alternative solution to the shortage of water and energy in the country. Secondly, the techno-economic performance of the proposed system in the selected region was evaluated based on the variations in financial parameters using RETScreen Experts software. The results demonstrate that 11770–13451kWh/yr could be generated from the solar system, which can help reduce the energy shortage and generate drinkable water. Furthermore, the investment was found to be economically viable and attractive for investors. This paper concludes that solar energy can be able to solve the energy shortage of electricity, reduce the country's electricity costs, and produce freshwater for drinking and domestic use in the country

Exploring Solar and Wind Energy as a Power Generation Source for Solving the Electricity Crisis in Libya

The current study is focused on the economic and financial assessments of solar and wind power potential for nine selected regions in Libya for the first time. As the existing meteorological data, including wind speed and global solar radiation, are extremely limited due to the civil war in the country, it was therefore decided to use the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) database as a source of meteorological information to assess the wind and solar potential. The results showed that the country has huge solar energy potential compared to wind energy potential. Additionally, it is found that Al Kufrah is a suitable region for the future installation of the Photovoltaic (PV) power plant due to high annual solar radiation. Based on the actual wind speed analysis, Benghazi and Dernah are the best regions for large-scale wind farm installation in the future taking into account existing meteorological data limitations. The values of the wind power density in all regions are considerable and small-scale wind turbines can be used to generate electricity based on NASA average monthly wind data for 37 years (1982–2019). Moreover, this work aimed to evaluate the wind/PV systems technical and economically through RETScreen Expert (Version 6.0, CanmetENERGY Varennes Research Centre of Natural Resources Canada, Varennes, Canada). Focusing on the power supply crisis in the country, the potential of electricity production by 5 kW grid-connected residential/household rooftop PV in all regions is proposed and presented. Additionally, this paper evaluated a techno-economic analysis of the 50MW wind/PV system in suitable places. The performance of a 5 kW and 50 MW PV solar system with three PV technologies, namely mono-crystalline silicon, poly-crystalline silicon, and thin-film (CdTe), was also analyzed. The results demonstrated that the development of the wind/PV system in the selected regions is both technically and economically feasible. The outcomes of this study can help decision-makers in designing and installing PV power plants as an alternative source for the future

Techno-Economic Feasibility of Grid-Connected Solar PV System at Near East University Hospital, Northern Cyprus

The growth of populations and economy in Northern Cyprus has led to continuing utilization of fossil fuels as the primary source of electricity, which will raise environmental pollution. Thus, utilizing renewable energy, particularly solar energy, might be a solution to minimize this issue. This paper presents the potential of grid-connected solar PV power generation at Near East University Hospital (NEU Hospital), one of the largest and leading medical facilities in Northern Cyprus, to meet the energy demand during the daytime to reduce energy bills. For this purpose, the first objective of the study is to evaluate the solar energy potential as a power source for the NEU Hospital based on four datasets (actual measurement, Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring (CMSAF), Surface Radiation Data Set-Heliosat (SARAH), and ERA-5, produced by the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast). The results showed that the solar resource of the selected location is categorized as excellent (class 5), that is, the global solar radiation is within the range of 1843.8–2035.9 kWH/m2. The second objective is to investigate the impact of orientation angles on PV output, capacity factor, economic feasibility indicators, and CO2 emissions by using different PV modules. The results are compared with optimum orientation angles found by Photovoltaic Geographical Information System (PVGIS) simulation software. This objective was achieved by using RETScreen Expert software. The results demonstrated that the highest performance of the proposed system was achieved for orientation angles of 180° (azimuth angle) and −35° (tilt angle). Consequently, it is recommended that orientation angles, PV modules, and market prices are considered to maximize energy production and reduce electricity production costs

Regulation of core body temperature using virtual instrument technology

This project involved designing, creating, and assembling a LabVIEW based temperature regulating device for mice, and other small animals. The device essentially consisted of a rectal thermistor probe reading temperature into a LabVIEW virtual Instrument which in turn employed an algorithm to proportionally control a solenoid valve. The valve was connected to a hot water bath on one side, and a heating plate on the other. The overall system promoted a critically damped temperature vs time response up to a set point temperature. The device, however, is highly adaptable, and can be manipulated to output a critically damped, or an underdamped response based on the required application

Biodiesel Production from Four Residential Waste Frying Oils: Proposing Blends for Improving the Physicochemical Properties of Methyl Biodiesel

The physicochemical properties of biodiesel fuels and their blends prepared from four residential waste vegetable frying oils (sunflower (FSME), canola (FCME), mixture of sunflower and rapeseed (FSRME) and corn (FSCME)) were evaluated and measured to determine the best blend. The results indicate that the stability of 10 biodiesel blends was above 10 h for 0-month, meeting the stability requirement regulated in EN 14214:2014 by adding FSCME, which depends on the concentration amount of FSCME. Besides, the results showed that all fuel samples did not meet the requirements of diesel fuel standards. Therefore, automobile gasoline is used as an additive to unmixed biodiesel in various concentrations to reduce the kinematic viscosity, density and cold flow properties. The results indicate that BG85 and BG80 have met the mixed pure biodiesel with gasoline fulfilled diesel fuel quality standard. Therefore, the samples with stability above 10 h were mixed with gasoline in 15% and 20% to reduce the cold flow properties and meet the specifications of the diesel fuel standards. Moreover, the effect of long-term storage on the properties of all samples was investigated under different storage conditions. The results indicate that higher storage temperatures and longer storage periods negatively influenced the properties of the fuel samples

A Prediction of Rainfall of Haifa Using MLR and ARIMA Models

         This study was conducted to predict the rain fall of Haifa the third largest city of Israel with a population around 285,300 people, which is a part of a sizable metropolis with 962,500 inhabitants and is situated on a bay in the northeastern Mediterranean Basin. The city is a representative of a number of Mediterranean sub-climatic areas due to its distinctive sea-land meteorology and complex hilly topography       In order to get the best fit based on the best distribution value, this work aims to develop combining strategies for rainfall prediction in Haifa based on ARIMA and MLR models. This will aid farmers in making agricultural decisions, hydrological department water storage decisions, and analysis of groundwater level decisions. It was conducted using of Modeling of monthly precipitation using MLA and ARMA including the best distribution graphic produced by the model and to find the best fit of various distributions displayed by the models which displaces the smallest value of AD. The data obtained and used in this study are monthly rainfall satellite data from Terraclimate using Haifa, the third largest city of Israel from 1958-2020 (62yrs) time interval. Result shows that long-term continuous data forecasting, the ARIMA model outperforms the MLR models. By its efficiency and precision, ARIMA may be a more appealing option to MLR. As the numerous numbers show, there isn't much of a distinction comparing ARIMA and MLR models. The Logistic distribution plot is the best fit or recommended distribution. From the summary displaced, it can be seen from the numerous distribution plots used to decide which the best match for histogram exhibition is. The best-fit distribution plot has the lowest AD value.      Using precipitation as one of the factors to determine which distribution plot is the best as displaced in the summary table of the AD values of the various plots, it was evaluated that the best fit is the distribution function of the Probability Plot of ppt (mm) of Logistic parameter with the smallest AD value of 59.435 which has the lowest AD value in the Different parameter distribution plot