Investigation of Performance of hybrid nanoparticles Tio2/Sio2 in removing of Mercury from industrial waste water

Introduction: Mercury is a toxic compound. Biological accumulation of mercury especially in aquatic organisms has brought about many health problems. Various methods have been used to remove heavy metals from industrial wastewater. Adsorption is one of the chemical and physical techniques. This method is useful due to high efficiency, easy usage and availability of its different types. This study was performed to evaluate removal efficiency of TiO2/SiO2 hybrid nanoparticle so as to remove mercury from industrial waste. Methods: This study is experimental and was conducted on synthetic and real samples of Binalood paint factory wastewater from October to February 2012. The chemical quality of raw wastewater was determined and synthetic solutions were prepared. Then the effect of pH (3, 5, 7 and 9), the amount of adsorbent (0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 g/L), contact times (30, 60, 90, 120 minutes) and different concentrations of Hg (20, 30, 50, 70 and 90 mg/L) on removal efficiency were studied and optimal conditions were determined for each parameter. The same experiments were performed on real wastewater samples. Absorption kinetics and equilibrium isotherms were investigated to better understand the absorption processes. SPSS software version 16 was applied and regression test as well as pearson coefficients were used for data analysis. Results: The maximum percent of mercury removal was observed at pH=5, absorbent amount of 0.5 g/L and retention time of 30 minutes. Removal efficiency of synthetic and real solutions were 99.86% and 95.56%, respectively.It was found that mercury concentration of 50 mg/L causes the maximum removal percentage (99.86%).The results indicated that mercury adsorption follows Freundlich isotherm with a correlation coefficient of r2 = .56 and the first type synthetic reaction of r2=0.63. Conclusion: Due to high percentage of mercury removal at optimal conditions by hybrid nanoparticles, this method can be regarded as one of the effective ways to remove mercury compared with other methods

“Likes” in Social Media: Does It Carry Any Implications?

Social media usage has drastically increased in recent years. In particular, social media usage among medical providers has become commonplace. It may offer a variety of benefits in the medical arena, with respect to information dissemination, health promotion, and education. However, the implications of social media usage and engagement remain to be seen. This narrative review aimed to describe and highlight the effects of social media usage and engagement and to provide guidance for engaging in social media as a medical professional. Our review demonstrates that active social media engagement unequivocally affords the urologist with meaningful opportunities for self-promotion, branding, education, networking, research, and enhanced recruitment efforts, but this engagement comes with the risk for burdensome exposure to misinformation and harassment. We encourage adherence with American Urological Association/European Association of Urology (AUA/EAU) social media best practices and provide our own recommendations for social media engagement

“Likes” in Social Media: Does It Carry Any Implications?

Social media usage has drastically increased in recent years. In particular, social media usage among medical providers has become commonplace. It may offer a variety of benefits in the medical arena, with respect to information dissemination, health promotion, and education. However, the implications of social media usage and engagement remain to be seen. This narrative review aimed to describe and highlight the effects of social media usage and engagement and to provide guidance for engaging in social media as a medical professional. Our review demonstrates that active social media engagement unequivocally affords the urologist with meaningful opportunities for self-promotion, branding, education, networking, research, and enhanced recruitment efforts, but this engagement comes with the risk for burdensome exposure to misinformation and harassment. We encourage adherence with American Urological Association/European Association of Urology (AUA/EAU) social media best practices and provide our own recommendations for social media engagement

ChatGPT's Ability to Assess Quality and Readability of Online Medical Information: Evidence From a Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms have gained widespread attention for their distinct ability to generate automated responses to various prompts. However, its role in assessing the quality and readability of a provided text remains unclear. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the proficiency of the conversational generative pre-trained transformer (ChatGPT) in utilizing the DISCERN tool to evaluate the quality of online content regarding shock wave therapy for erectile dysfunction. Methods Websites were generated using a Google search of “shock wave therapy for erectile dysfunction” with location filters disabled. Readability was analyzed using Readable software ( Readable.com , Horsham, United Kingdom). Quality was assessed independently by three reviewers using the DISCERN tool. The same plain text files collected were inputted into ChatGPT to determine whether they produced comparable metrics for readability and quality. Results The study results revealed a notable disparity between ChatGPT's readability assessment and that obtained from a reliable tool, Readable.com (p<0.05). This indicates a lack of alignment between ChatGPT's algorithm and that of established tools, such as Readable.com . Similarly, the DISCERN score generated by ChatGPT differed significantly from the scores generated manually by human evaluators (p<0.05), suggesting that ChatGPT may not be capable of accurately identifying poor-quality information sources regarding shock wave therapy as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. Conclusion ChatGPT’s evaluation of the quality and readability of online text regarding shockwave therapy for erectile dysfunction differs from that of human raters and trusted tools. Therefore, ChatGPT's current capabilities were not sufficient for reliably assessing the quality and readability of textual content. Further research is needed to elucidate the role of AI in the objective evaluation of online medical content in other fields. Continued development in AI and incorporation of tools such as DISCERN into AI software may enhance the way patients navigate the web in search of high-quality medical content in the future.

Pilot Study: Next-generation Sequencing of the Semen Microbiome in Vasectomized Versus Nonvasectomized Men

BACKGROUNDApproximately half a million vasectomies are performed every year in the USA. There is a paucity of literature on the impact of male sterilization on the semen microbiome and whether it prompts microbiota dysbiosis. OBJECTIVETo investigate if vasectomy induces changes in the seminal microbiome via comparison of semen samples from men before and after vasectomy, and if the seminal microbiome profiles for vasectomized men follow a particular pattern with respect to diversity and abundance. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSFrom July 2021 to February 2022, we prospectively collected and analyzed semen samples from 58 men at one outpatient clinic. Eighteen men provided a semen sample before and 3 mo after vasectomy. We also collected semen samples from 22 fertile nonvasectomized men and from a further 18 vasectomized men at 3 mo after vasectomy. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSISSemen microbiome α-diversity, beta-diversity, and relative abundance were compared initially between paired and then between unpaired vasectomized and nonvasectomized samples. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), permutational multivariate ANOVA, and analysis of the composition of microbiomes with bias correction were used to assess differences. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONSIn both paired and unpaired sets of samples, a decreasing trend for α-diversity in semen after vasectomy was observed. Shannon diversity, the relative abundance of species with an abundance >2%, and composition were not significantly changed. Sphingomonas, Brevundimonas, and Paracoccus abundance decreased after vasectomy, while Corynebacterium abundance increased. The results may be limited by the sample size and lack of demographic heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONSVasectomy is followed by a decrease in α-diversity and changes in the relative abundance of bacterial species in the semen microbiome. Further investigation is necessary to understand the clinical significance of these changes after vasectomy. PATIENT SUMMARYWe evaluated changes in the bacteria species in semen after vasectomy. We found that vasectomy decreased the richness and evenness of bacteria species in semen, but the overall bacterial community remained similar. Further studies are needed to assess the implications of changes in semen bacteria after vasectomy