Walnut shell extract as sustainable, eco-friendly and cost-effective green corrosion inhibitor for fabrication of active protective nanocomposite coating based on mesoporous carbon hollow nanospheres

This paper presents anticorrosion performance of epoxy resin containing walnut extract as green inhibitor doped in mesoporous carbon hollow nanospheres (MCHNSs). In the first step, mesoporous silica hard templating method was used to fabricate carbon hollow nanospheres. In the second step, the extracted green inhibitor was loaded into the nanospheres (WE@MCHNSs) and on-demand active coating was fabricated by uniformly dispersing doped carbon nanospheres in epoxy matrix. The corrosion protection properties of the coatings were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), electrochemical noise measurement (ENM) and salt spray analysis. Corrosion resistance of the mild steel samples in the 3.5 wt. % NaCl solution in the presence and absence of walnut extract was compared. Salt spray and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results proved active protective behavior of the epoxy coating containing the doped MCNSs. It was shown that charge transfer resistance of the bare steel sample enhanced from ~ 610 Ω cm2 to ~ 4060 Ω cm2 in the presence of WE after 24 h immersion time. Also, the active corrosion protective performance of the scribed coatings was improved ~ 1450 % in the presence of WE@MCHNSs. The obtained results revealed that on-demand release of walnut green inhibitors from carbon nanospheres enhance protection performance of epoxy coatings. Furthermore, the fabricated epoxy coating demonstrated active protection behavior due to release of inhibitor caused by mechanical damage of carbon nanospheres shells (Figure 1). Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

DMMGAN: Diverse Multi Motion Prediction of 3D Human Joints using Attention-Based Generative Adverserial Network

Human motion prediction is a fundamental part of many human-robot applications. Despite the recent progress in human motion prediction, most studies simplify the problem by predicting the human motion relative to a fixed joint and/or only limit their model to predict one possible future motion. While due to the complex nature of human motion, a single output cannot reflect all the possible actions one can do. Also, for any robotics application, we need the full human motion including the user trajectory not a 3d pose relative to the hip joint. In this paper, we try to address these two issues by proposing a transformer-based generative model for forecasting multiple diverse human motions. Our model generates \textit{N} future possible motion by querying a history of human motion. Our model first predicts the pose of the body relative to the hip joint. Then the \textit{Hip Prediction Module} predicts the trajectory of the hip movement for each predicted pose frame. To emphasize on the diverse future motions we introduce a similarity loss that penalizes the pairwise sample distance. We show that our system outperforms the state-of-the-art in human motion prediction while it can predict diverse multi-motion future trajectories with hip movement

Pathways to Addiction: A Gender-Based Study on Drug Use in a Triangular Clinic and Drop-in Center, Kerman, Iran

Background: Addiction is characterized differently among women and men, and they begin using drugs for different reasons and motives. Objectives: The aim of the study was to explore the gendered experiences and patterns of illicit drug use initiation in an Iranian context. Patients and Methods: A total of 29 participants (15 men and 14 women) took part in in-depth interviews conducted at a HIV triangulation clinic (for men and women) and drop-in-center for women in Kerman in 2011. Results: The results of the study suggest that patterns of drug use are different among among Iranian men and women. Men often transit to drug use from cigarette smoking, whereas women’s drug use practices often begins with opium. Unlike women, men who used drugs were often single at their drug use debut. Conclusions: Different patterns of first exposure to drug use among men and women highlight the role of gendered expectations and socio-cultural norms in shaping drug use experiences of people who use drugs and call for gender-specific harm reduction interventions

A novel and cost-effective double-capsule nanocomposite coating based on carbon hollow spheres with self-healing performance for corrosion protection

The ability of a cost-effective self-healing nanocomposite system to restore its protection functionality in case of a coating defect is of pivotal importance to ensure durable performance under demanding corrosive conditions. In this research, a self-healing epoxy coating was fabricated by incorporation of carbon hollow spheres (CHSs) doped separately with epoxy and polyamine as film forming agents. Graphene-based CHSs were synthesized via silica templating method in presence of sucrose as a carbon precursor. After encapsulation of epoxy and polyamine agents in CHSs denoted as Ep-DCSs and Am-DCSs, respectively, 10 wt. % and 5 wt. % of Ep-DCSs and Am-DCSs were introduced in an epoxy matrix. The final nanocomposite coating was applied on the surface of mild steel substrates. A blank epoxy coating was also used as a control sample. The synthesized CHSs were characterized before and after the silica core removal using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The CHSs loaded with the film forming agents were evaluated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Furthermore, the protective and self-healing properties of the coatings were studied using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET) and salt spray testing. The obtained results showed that the fabricated nanocomposite epoxy coating can heal appropriately the scratches applied on the surface of the coating barricading the accessibility of corrosive species to the metal substrate (Figure 1). Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Electrochemical and Mechanical Properties of Ni/g-C3N4 ‎Nanocomposite Coatings with Enhanced Corrosion Protective ‎Properties: A Case Study for Modeling the Corrosion Resistance ‎by ANN and ANFIS Models

This work investigates the effect of electrolysis bath parameters on the corrosion, micro-hardness, and wear behavior of Ni coatings. The characterization of synthesized Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) was done by Fourier transform infrared, Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscope. The surface morphology of coated samples with various amounts of current density was studied by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The corrosion prevention effect of Ni/g-C3N4 nanocomposite coatings was investigated by EIS and polarization techniques. The experimental outcome demonstrates that an electrolysis bath of 0.3 g/L g-C3N4 and 0.1 A.cm-2 presents a Ni coating with the highest corrosion protection, wear resistance, and microhardness. The corrosion current densities of Ni/g-C3N4 coatings obtained by electrochemical tests were used for training two machine learning techniques (Artificial neural network (ANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)) based on current density, g-C3N4 concentration, and plating time as an input. Various statistical criteria showed that the ANFIS model (R2= 0.99) could forecast corrosion current density more accurately than ANN with R2= 0.91. Finally, due to the robust performance of ANFIS in modeling the corrosion behavior of Ni/g-C3N4 nanocomposite coating, the effect of each parameter was studied

The Impact of Greenhouse Density on Cognitive Function in Primary School Children Using the WISC Method

Exposure to pesticides is associated with various health concerns and may also be related to impaired cognitive function. This study investigated the relationship between greenhouse density and cognitive function in primary school children using Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and environmental sampling. This study was conducted on 128 children (6–9 years old) in Ebrahimabad village, Ashkezar, Yazd, Iran in 2019, and 10 students were excluded from the study after filling consent form. The WISC-IV measured children’s cognitive function, and a flame ionization detector for gas chromatography (GC-FID) instrument was used to detect environmental exposure to pesticides. There was a significant inverse relationship between greenhouse density in children’s homes and cognitive function scores with verbal thinking scores (P value=0.003) and the total scale (P value=0.0001) on the WISC. Further, the results showed that the obtained verbal thinking scores are significantly related to their fathers’ education (P value=0.008) and occupation (P value=0.014). Moreover, the results of environmental exposure measurement confirmed the presence of malathion, ethion, chlorpyrifos, dieldrin, and oxadiazine with a maximum concentration of 183 µg/m3 in response to malathion. The present study indicated that increasing the density of the greenhouse reduces children’s cognitive functions. The results of ambient air analysis confirmed the environmental exposure to pesticides as well. Due to long-term chemical effects, management measures such as public education, substituting crop types, and the use of eco-friendly methods are unavoidable

Effect of Calcium-D Supplementation on Glucose Control of Patients with Gestational Diabetes

Background: Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a complication of pregnancy that is characterized by intolerance to carbohydrates and metabolic diseases. Gestational diabetes has many maternal and fetal complications that need to be carefully controlled. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of calcium-D supplementation on glucose control of patients with gestational diabetes. Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was performed on 84 pregnant women with GDM. Some inclusion criteria included a positive one-step test during the 24th-28th week of pregnancy and definitive diagnosis of GDM and some exclusion criteria including patients with a previous history of diabetes who required insulin therapy during the intervention. The intervention group were given  routine treatment and calcium supplements plus vitamin D and the control group were given routine treatment only. Fasting blood glucose was measured monthly in both groups until the end of pregnancy. All analyses were performed using SPSS software version 16 and related tests like mean± SD, chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. Significant level was set at 0.05. Results: Of the 84 patients examined, the mean age was 29.4±5.2 years old and there were no significant differences between the two groups (Pvalue= 0.189). The mean BMI of all patients was 25.31±2.72 kg/m2 and there was no significant difference between the two groups (Pvalue= 0.312). The mean of the FBS level at the end of the study in the case group was 91.5±12.9 mg/dl and in the control group it was 98.9±15.8 mg/dl, which was significantly lower in the case group (p=0.014). GDM variables were significantly associated with a positive history of diabetes mellitus (Pvalue<0.033), previous history of GDM (Pvalue<0.013) and FBS (Pvalue<0.001) and there was no significant relationship with other variables. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that calcium-D supplementation has a significant effect on glucose control in patients with GDM and its use is recommended in these patients.  Keywords: Gestational diabetes, Calcium, Vitamin D, Glucose

The Effect of Calcium-D Supplementation on Glucose Control of Patients with Gestational Diabetes

Background: Gestational diabetes (GDM) is a complication of pregnancy that is characterized by intolerance to carbohydrates and metabolic diseases. Gestational diabetes has many maternal and fetal complications that need to be carefully controlled. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of calcium-D supplementation on glucose control of patients with gestational diabetes. Methods: This randomized clinical trial study was performed on 84 pregnant women with GDM. Some inclusion criteria included a positive one-step test during the 24th-28th week of pregnancy and definitive diagnosis of GDM and some exclusion criteria including patients with a previous history of diabetes who required insulin therapy during the intervention. The intervention group were given  routine treatment and calcium supplements plus vitamin D and the control group were given routine treatment only. Fasting blood glucose was measured monthly in both groups until the end of pregnancy. All analyses were performed using SPSS software version 16 and related tests like mean± SD, chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression. Significant level was set at 0.05. Results: Of the 84 patients examined, the mean age was 29.4±5.2 years old and there were no significant differences between the two groups (Pvalue= 0.189). The mean BMI of all patients was 25.31±2.72 kg/m2 and there was no significant difference between the two groups (Pvalue= 0.312). The mean of the FBS level at the end of the study in the case group was 91.5±12.9 mg/dl and in the control group it was 98.9±15.8 mg/dl, which was significantly lower in the case group (p=0.014). GDM variables were significantly associated with a positive history of diabetes mellitus (Pvalue<0.033), previous history of GDM (Pvalue<0.013) and FBS (Pvalue<0.001) and there was no significant relationship with other variables. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that calcium-D supplementation has a significant effect on glucose control in patients with GDM and its use is recommended in these patients.  Keywords: Gestational diabetes, Calcium, Vitamin D, Glucose

Antioksidacijska svojstva, oksidacijska stabilnost i hranjiva vrijednost ulja iz ljuske i jezgre iranske pistacije (Pistacia khinjuk)

In this study, in order to introduce natural antioxidative vegetable oil in food industry, the kolkhoung hull oil and kernel oil were extracted. To evaluate their antioxidant efficiency, gas chromatography analysis of the composition of kolkhoung hull and kernel oil fatty acids and high–performance liquid chromatography analysis of tocopherols were done. Also, the oxidative stability of the oil was considered based on the peroxide value and anisidine value during heating at 100, 110 and 120 °C. Gas chromatography analysis showed that oleic acid was the major fatty acid of both types of oil (hull and kernel) and based on a low content of saturated fatty acids, high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, and the ratio of ω-6 and ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, they were nutritionally well-balanced. Moreover, both hull and kernel oil showed high oxidative stability during heating, which can be attributed to high content of tocotrienols. Based on the results, kolkhoung hull oil acted slightly better than its kernel oil. However, both of them can be added to oxidation–sensitive oils to improve their shelf life.U ovom su radu iz ljuske i jezgre iranske pistacije ekstrahirana ulja koja se mogu koristiti u proizvodnji hrane kao prirodna biljna ulja s antioksidacijskim svojstvima. Da bi se utvrdio njihov antioksidacijski učinak, plinskom je kromatografijom analiziran sastav masnih kiselina, a visokodjelotvornom tekućinskom kromatografijom udjel tokoferola. Oksidacijska je stabilnost ulja ispitana određivanjem peroksidnog i anisidinskog broja tijekom zagrijavanja ulja na 100, 110 i 120 °C. Plinskom je kromatografijom utvrđeno da je u oba ulja najzastupljenija oleinska kiselina, a iz malog udjela zasićenih masnih kiselina, velikog udjela mononezasićenih masnih kiselina i omjera ω-6 i ω-3 polinezasićenih masnih kiselina zaključeno da su ulja nutritivno uravnotežena. Osim toga, velik je udjel tokotrienola u oba ulja vjerojatno utjecao na njihovu oksidacijsku stabilnost tijekom zagrijavanja. Rezultati pokazuju da je ulje dobiveno iz ljuske pistacije imalo nešto bolja svojstva od onog iz jezgre pistacije. Međutim, oba se ulja mogu dodati uljima koja lako oksidiraju, da im produlje rok trajanja