Fabrication of Multifunctional Nanostructured Porous Materials

Nanostructured porous materials generally, and nanoporous noble metals specifically, have received considerable attention due to their superior chemical and physical properties over nanoparticles and bulk counterparts. This dissertation work aims to develop well-established strategies for the preparation of multifunctional nanostructured porous materials based on the combination of inorganic-chemistry, organic-chemistry and electrochemistry. The preparation strategies involved one or more of the following processes: sol-gel synthesis, co-electrodeposition, metal ions reduction, electropolymerization and dealloying or chemical etching. The study did not stop at the preparation limits but extended to investigate the reaction mechanism behind the formation of these multifunctional nanoporous structures in order to determine the different factors controlling the nanoporous structures formation. First, gold-silica nanocomposites were prepared and used as a building blocks for the fabrication of high surface area gold coral electrodes. Well-controlled surface area enhancement, film thickness and morphology were achieved. An enhancement in the electrode’s surface area up to 57 times relative to the geometric area was achieved. A critical sol-gel monomer concentration was also noted at which the deposited silica around the gold coral was able to stabilize the gold corals and below which the deposited coral structures are not stable. Second, free-standing and transferable strata-like 3D porous polypyrrole nanostructures were obtained from chemical etching of the electrodeposited polypyrrole-silica nanocomposite films. A new reaction mechanism was developed and a new structural directing factor has been discovered for the first time. Finally, silver-rich platinum alloys were prepared and dealloyed in acidic medium to produce 3D bicontinuous nanoporous platinum nanorods and films with a nanoporous gold-like structure. The 3D-BC-NP-Pt displayed high surface area, typical electrochemical sensing properties in an aqueous medium, and exceptional electrochemical sensing capability in a complex biofouling environment containing fibrinogen. The 3D-BC-NP-Pt displayed high catalytic activity toward the methanol electro-oxidation that is 30 times higher that of planar platinum and high volumetric capacitance of 400 F/cm3. These findings will pave the way toward the development of high performance and reliable electrodes for catalysis, sensing, high power outputs fuel cells, battery-like supercapacitors and miniaturized device applications

Synthesis and antioxidant evaluation of novel sophisticated carboxamides based on 3-(ethoxycarbonyl)-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1-benzothiophen-2-amine

Condensation of cyanoacetamide 3 with cycloalkanones and elemental sulfur in the presence of morpholine yielded the bisthiophenes 4 and 5. Also, its (3) condensation with terphthalaldehyde or coupling with p-phenylenedidiazonium chloride afforded compound 13 and 14, respectively. Furthermore, cyanoacetylation of compound 4 or 5 afforded the cyanoacetamides 6 and 7, respectively. Knoevenagel condensation of compound 7 with aromatic aldehyde afforded the arylidenes 10, 11 and coumarin 12, respectively. Treatment of compound 3 with CS2 in DMF/KOH followed by alkylation reaction with ethyl bromoacetate afforded the triester derivative 16, which gave 3-aminothiophene 17 upon heating in DMF/TEA. Moreover, refluxing of compound 23 with α-haloketones afforded 3-aminothiophenes 24 and 25. Identity of newly synthesized compounds was established by the spectral data and novel compounds were evaluated as antioxidant agents

The evolution of ontology in AEC: A two-decade synthesis, application domains, and future directions

Ontologies play a pivotal role in knowledge representation, particularly beneficial for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) sector due to its inherent data diversity and intricacy. Despite the growing interest in ontology and data integration research, especially with the advent of knowledge graphs and digital twins, a noticeable lack of consolidated academic synthesis still needs to be addressed. This review paper aims to bridge that gap, meticulously analysing 142 journal articles from 2000 to 2021 on the application of ontologies in the AEC sector. The research is segmented through systematic evaluation into ten application domains within the construction realm- process, cost, operation/maintenance, health/safety, sustainability, monitoring/control, intelligent cities, heritage building information modelling (HBIM), compliance, and miscellaneous. This categorisation aids in pinpointing ontologies suitable for various research objectives. Furthermore, the paper highlights prevalent limitations within current ontology studies in the AEC sector. It offers strategic recommendations, presenting a well-defined path for future research to address these gaps

Bioactive Compounds of Fresh and Dried Pleurotus ostreatus Mushroom

Chemical composition of the fresh and dried mushroom Pleurotus ostreatus and their bioactive secondary metabolic products were studied. The ethanolic extracts of the P. ostreatuscultivated on rice straw supplemented by wheat bran were studied by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. A total of hundred and seven metabolites were detected in tested samples. These include 56 metabolites only detected in fresh sample, 37 metabolites only detected in dry sample, and 14 metabolites were detected in the both samples. The detected metabolites could be classified into nine chemical groups including 2 metabolites related to acids, 5 alcohols, 27 alkane, 3 amides, 27 esters, 8 fatty acids, 4 terpenoids, 29 heterocyclic and 2 phenols. The bioactivity of the metabolic products could be classified: anticholesterol, anticancer and essential fatty acids which support human health. On comparison between fresh and dried P. ostreatussamples, we found that the high number of metabolites was recorded in the fresh extract. Fifty five aroma compounds were recorded and including (27 esters, 9 ketones, 7 thiols, 5 alcholos, 4 terpenoids, 2 phenols and 1 aldehyde). The selenium content in P. ostreatus samples was measured by using ACAL–APR -51-00 test methods and showed that the fresh sample has 58.24 mg/kg but the dry sample has 100.31 mg/kg

STR-864: PROPOSED STRUT-AND-TIE MODEL FOR CONCRETE DEEP BEAMS REINFORCED WITH FRP BARS

A compiled database of 53 tests of FRP-reinforced concrete deep beams with shear span–depth ratios of less than two was used to evaluate the strut-and-tie models (STM) provided in ACI 318 (2014), CSA S806 (2012), CEB-fib (1999), and JSCE (2007). All provisions were found to be inadequate in calculating the capacity of FRP-reinforced deep beams due to inherent shortcomings in each provision. Hence, a new STM-based procedure for FRP-reinforced deep beams was proposed. The new model incorporates the effect of shear span–depth ratio (a/d), concrete compressive strength (fc’), and tensile strain in the adjoining tie (ε1). The contribution of the web reinforcement on the strut efficiency factor was found to be insignificant. The new model was capable of predicting the ultimate capacity of the compiled FRP-reinforced concrete deep beams with satisfactory conservatism

Association between oral health-related quality of life and general health among dental patients: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Globally, the prevalence of chronic diseases is increasing significantly, causing deterioration of oral and general health and therefore quality of life. The present study was designed to assess the relationship between oral health-related quality of life and general health of dental patients. The study is part of the University’s plan to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals number 1, 3, 4 and 5. Dental school students’ satisfaction with their early engagement in clinical activities and research work was also evaluated. A convenience sample of 600 subjects attending dental clinics aged ≥18 years of both sexes was included in the study. Second-year dental students conducted the study under supervision of public health staff members over two successive academic years (2015–2016 and 2016–2017). Oral health-related quality of life was assessed using the Dental Impact on Daily Living (DIDL) questionnaire. Blood pressure, random blood glucose level, body mass index, and waist circumference were measured as indicators of general health. There were statistically significant inverse correlations between DIDL scores and both mean blood pressure (r = −0.215, p < 0.001) and mean blood glucose level (r = −0.272, p < 0.001). Non-significant inverse correlations were observed between DIDL scores and both body mass index (r = −0.062, p = 0.131) and waist circumference (r = −0.040, p = 0.340). Students’ satisfaction scores with research activities were high, ranging from 75.9% to 78%. Dentists must raise patients’ awareness about the importance of oral health and its impact on their quality of life and general health. Participation of dental students in dental research is encouraged even in their early academic years

STR-829: BEHAVIOR OF GFRP-REINFORCED CONCRETE SQUAT WALLS UNDER SIMULATED EARTHQUAKE LOADING

Steel-reinforced squat walls are used as the main component for earthquake resistance in low-rise structures. Deterioration due to corrosion of steel reinforcement is one of the major challenges facing the construction industry. Furthermore, given the low aspect ratio of squat walls, their behavior is dominated by inelastic shear deformations activated by the yielding of flexural reinforcement. These deformations degrade strength and stiffness with subsequent shear failure, preventing the wall from achieving its flexural capacity, which is a prerequisite for adequate seismic design. Using noncorrodible glass-fiber-reinforced-polymer (GFRP) bars represents an effective method for overcoming corrosion problems. In addition, the available experimental studies on mid-rise shear walls show that GFRP reinforcement can control shear deformation, which is a major problem with steel-reinforced squat walls. Our study was experimentally conducted to investigate the shear-deformation behavior of GFRP-reinforced squat walls. Two full-scale squat walls with an aspect ratio of 1.3 were constructed and tested to failure under quasi-static reversed cyclic lateral loading: one was reinforced with steel bars; the other with GFRP bars. The experimental results show that the GFRP-reinforced wall evidenced significantly enhanced behavior related to ultimate strength, drift ratio, control shear distortion, and mode of failure compared to the steel-reinforced wall