Interactions between Silica Particles in the Presence of Multivalent Coions

Forces between charged silica particles in solutions of multivalent coions are measured with colloidal probe technique based on atomic force microscopy. The concentration of 1:z electrolytes is systematically varied to understand the behavior of electrostatic interactions and double-layer properties in these systems. Although the coions are multivalent the Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek (DLVO) theory perfectly describes the measured force profiles. The diffuse-layer potentials and regulation properties are extracted from the forces profiles by using the DLVO theory. The dependencies of the diffuse-layer potential and regulation parameter shift to lower concentration with increasing coion valence when plotted as a function of concentration of 1:z salt. Interestingly, these profiles collapse to a master curve if plotted as a function of monovalent counterion concentration

Attitudes towards Nutrition Education among Pediatricians and Guardians

Presented as a poster at 2020 IUSM Education Day.Childhood obesity rates in the United States are at historic highs. In Lake County, Indiana, the obesity rates of WIC children ages 2-5 years old is 12.1%. While the causes of obesity are well known within the scientific community, there appears to be a disconnect when relaying this information to patients. One cause of this disconnect is the inadequate nutrition education that physicians receive during medical school and residency. A survey found that the average medical school devotes less than 20 hours to nutrition education. Additionally, the biochemical nutrition education that students receive in medical school cannot be easily translated to patient intervention. Since 62% of patients believe that their physicians can help them lose weight, having physicians who do not have adequate education on nutrition leaves patients without the help they need. Our surveys were developed to assess the level of nutrition counseling provided by pediatricians and how patients/guardians prefer to be educated. Our hypothesis is that pediatricians will benefit from further nutrition education in medical school, and that guardians will desire in person instructions in pediatric offices as well as easy and accessible online sources. Two surveys were created, one for physicians and another for parents/guardians of children ages 1-12 years old residing in Lake County. The physician survey contained 15 items that evaluated attitudes toward nutrition and obesity education. Topics included level of nutrition counseling education received in medical school and residency, how much time physicians spend educating patients/parents on nutrition, what nutrition education resources they currently provide, opinion on whose responsibility it is to provide nutrition education, and what approach they think would be best to educate patients and parents. The guardian survey contained 21 items that evaluated dietary behaviors. The dietary behaviors included family dynamics (who typically feds the children, if food is prepared in the home, and how much is spent on food each week) and child eating habits (how many snacks per day, how often the child eats fast food, and how often the child consumes sweetened beverages). The surveys will be utilized for future research, and the results will help determine the approach for educating physicians and guardians. A booklet of healthy recipes was also developed to educate on healthy eating and as a participation benefit. The goal of the booklet was to choose easy, child friendly recipes that the family could cook together. To gain background on nutrition education, we observed the different education methods of local pediatricians and reviewed the literature. Intervention at both the clinical and community levels will be important for improving long-term health outcomes in pediatric patients. The knowledge gained from these surveys will aide in the development of programs needed to provide physicians, guardians,and patients with proper nutrition education

Zirconia based photocatalysts in degradation of selected herbicides

Hydrothermally synthesized zirconia nanopowders: pure and doped with Si4+ ions were spectroscopically characterized and used as photocatalysts for degradation of herbicides sulcotrione and fluroxypyr. Zirconia is wide band gap ceramic (Eg ~ 5 eV) however, synthesized nanopowders showed unexpected, modest absorbance in visible light range. That fact inspired photocatalytical degradation of herbicides with wide utilization, using solar irradiation (SI) in laboratory conditions. In the scope of this study, degradation of herbicides was only slightly achieved (irradiation time 2h).XV International Conference on Fundamental and Applied Aspects of Physical Chemistry : Proceedings. Vol. 1, September 20-24,2021, Belgrad

Water-Active Titanium/Molybdenum/Mixed-Oxides: Removal Efficiency of Organic Water Pollutants by Adsorption and Photocatalysis and Toxicity Assessment

A new titanium/molybdenum/mixed-oxides (TMO) contact-type heterojunction photocatalyst was prepared by a simple, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly mixing-calcination solid-state method. A microstructural investigation by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showsirregularly shaped agglomerated morphology of TMO that consists of firmly connected globular TiO2 and rod-like MoO3 particles. The detailed structure and optical bandgap investigation by X-ray diffraction, Raman, and UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed the TMO’s composition of ~37 wt.% rutile TiO2, ~25 wt.% of anatase TiO2, and ~38 wt.% of molybdite MoO3 phase and an absorption threshold of around 380 nm, which implies more probability of desirable higher visible light absorption. The removal efficiency of pesticides quinmerac (QUI) and tembotrione (TEM), and pharmaceuticals metoprolol (MET), amitriptyline (AMI), ciprofloxacin (CIP),and ceftriaxone (CEF) from water in the presence of starting pure TiO2, MoO3, and prepared TMO were investigated under different pH values and UV irradiation/simulated sunlight (SS). Each starting metal-oxide precursors and prepared TMO showed a different affinity for adsorption of tested pesticides and pharmaceuticals, and, in general, better photocatalytic degradation efficiency under UV irradiation than under simulated sunlight. The highest photocatalytic degradation efficiency under UV irradiation was 81.6% for TEM using TMO; using TiO2 was 65.0% for AMI, and using MoO3 was 79.3% for CEF after 135 min. However, TMO showed a very high synergic adsorption/photocatalytic under-SS efficiency in the removal of CIP of almost 80% and under UV irradiation of 90% CIP removal after 75 min. The toxicity of catalysts, starting compounds, and their intermediates formed during the removal process was assessed using a rat hepatoma cell line (H-4-II-E). The highest hepatotoxic effects were obtained by using UV irradiated QUI and MET suspension with TMO for up to 60 min