Synthesis and Characterization of Aqueous Curcumin Polyurethane Dispersions Using Isophorone Diisocyanate: Efficiency Evaluation as Textile Finishes

Noureen Arshad,Khalid Mahmood Zia,Muhammad Tahir Hussain,Muhammad Mubeen Arshad,Mohammad Zuber 한국섬유공학회 2022 Fibers and polymers Vol.23 No.7

This research is aimed at synthesizing some novel bio-based ecofriendly finishes for textile applications. A seriesof curcumin based aqueous polyurethane (PU) dispersions (CUR-WDPU-IPDI) was prepared using polyethylene glycol(PEG), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and dimethylolpropanoic acid (DMPA) via conventional pre-polymer process. Thedual functionality is incorporated by hindering the polyurethane pre-polymer with isocyanate (-NCO) groups and curcuminwas utilized to extend the polymeric chain to achieve the CUR-WDPU-IPDI dispersion. Structural characteristics of thesynthesized polymer were investigated by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrophotometer. The performance of PUdispersions for increasing the color fastness properties (washing, rubbing and perspiration fastness) of plain weave fabrics(poly/cotton, dyed and printed) was studied. Furthermore, the mechanical strength (pilling, tearing and tensile strength) of thesaid fabric (dyed, printed and white) was also evaluated. Results clearly exhibited that the color fastness properties andmechanical strength of the dyed, printed and white fabrics were improved significantly after treating with the PU finishes. These synthesized curcumin-based water dispersible polyurethanes (CUR-WDPU-IPDI) finishing agents are greenerproducts which are particularly derivatized from bio-resources. Owing to their biocompatibility, copious availability, lessnoxious, greener methodology and ecofriendly nature, these can be utilized as attractive ecofriendly alternatives for textileapplications.

Biomonitoring of Toxic Effects of Pesticides in Occupationally Exposed Individuals

Arshad, Muhammad,Siddiqa, Maryam,Rashid, Saddaf,Hashmi, Imran,Awan, Muhammad Ali,Ali, Muhammad Arif Occupational Safety and Health Research Institute 2016 Safety and health at work Vol.7 No.2

Background: Workers in pesticide manufacturing industries are constantly exposed to pesticides. Genetic biomonitoring provides an early identification of potential cancer and genetic diseases in exposed populations. The objectives of this biomonitoring study were to assess DNA damage through comet assay in blood samples collected from industry workers and compare these results with those of classical analytical techniques used for complete blood count analysis. Methods: Samples from controls (n = 20) and exposed workers (n = 38) from an industrial area in Multan, Pakistan, were subjected to various tests. Malathion residues in blood samples were measured by gas chromatography. Results: The exposed workers who were employed in the pesticide manufacturing industry for a longer period (i.e., 13-25 years) had significantly higher DNA tail length ($7.04{\mu}m$) than the controls ($0.94{\mu}m$). Workers in the exposed group also had higher white blood cell and red blood cell counts, and lower levels of mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), MCH concentration, and mean corpuscular volume in comparison with normal levels for these parameters. Malathion was not detected in the control group. However, in the exposed group, 72% of whole blood samples had malathion with a mean value of 0.14 mg/L (range 0.01-0.31 mg/L). Conclusion: We found a strong correlation ($R^2=0.91$) between DNA damage in terms of tail length and malathion concentration in blood. Intensive efforts and trainings are thus required to build awareness about safety practices and to change industrial workers' attitude to prevent harmful environmental and anthropogenic effects.

Digital Forensics: Review of Issues in Scientific Validation of Digital Evidence

Arshad, Humaira,Jantan, Aman Bin,Abiodun, Oludare Isaac Korea Information Processing Society 2018 Journal of information processing systems Vol.14 No.2

Digital forensics is a vital part of almost every criminal investigation given the amount of information available and the opportunities offered by electronic data to investigate and evidence a crime. However, in criminal justice proceedings, these electronic pieces of evidence are often considered with the utmost suspicion and uncertainty, although, on occasions are justifiable. Presently, the use of scientifically unproven forensic techniques are highly criticized in legal proceedings. Nevertheless, the exceedingly distinct and dynamic characteristics of electronic data, in addition to the current legislation and privacy laws remain as challenging aspects for systematically attesting evidence in a court of law. This article presents a comprehensive study to examine the issues that are considered essential to discuss and resolve, for the proper acceptance of evidence based on scientific grounds. Moreover, the article explains the state of forensics in emerging sub-fields of digital technology such as, cloud computing, social media, and the Internet of Things (IoT), and reviewing the challenges which may complicate the process of systematic validation of electronic evidence. The study further explores various solutions previously proposed, by researchers and academics, regarding their appropriateness based on their experimental evaluation. Additionally, this article suggests open research areas, highlighting many of the issues and problems associated with the empirical evaluation of these solutions for immediate attention by researchers and practitioners. Notably, academics must react to these challenges with appropriate emphasis on methodical verification. Therefore, for this purpose, the issues in the experiential validation of practices currently available are reviewed in this study. The review also discusses the struggle involved in demonstrating the reliability and validity of these approaches with contemporary evaluation methods. Furthermore, the development of best practices, reliable tools and the formulation of formal testing methods for digital forensic techniques are highlighted which could be extremely useful and of immense value to improve the trustworthiness of electronic evidence in legal proceedings.

Efficient removal of crystal violet and eosin B from aqueous solution using Syzygium cumini leaves: A comparative study of acidic and basic dyes on a single adsorbent

Arshad Mehmood,Sheher Bano,Aisha Fahim,Riffat Parveen,Shazia Khurshid 한국화학공학회 2015 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.32 No.5

The adsorption capabilities of Syzygium cumini leaves were investigated for crystal violet and eosin B using batch adsorption method. Removal conditions were optimized by varying operational parameters like pH, dose of adsorbent, contact time and temperature. Presence of salts had a profound effect on the adsorption and the experimental data for both adsorbates, providing good correlation with the Temkin, Langmuir and Freundlich patterns, but differing from Dubinin-Radushkevich model. Maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 38.75 mg/g for crystal violet and 16.28mg/g for eosin B respectively. Boyd-Adamson-Myers, Morris-Weber and Bangham’s surface mass transport models revealed that film diffusion was the rate controlling process and followed pseudo-second order kinetics. Activation energy was estimated to be 57.265 and 6.721 kJ/mol for crystal violet and eosin B respectively. Adsorption of crystal violet is endothermic and that of Eosin B is exothermic but both were spontaneous at all temperatures. To study the bulk removal of the dyes, column operations were made. The exhausted columns were regenerated by eluting HCl solution and almost 91.94% of CV and 58.08% of EB were recovered from columns, respectively.

Antimicrobial Evaluation and Characterization of Copper Nanoparticles Synthesized by the Simple Chemical Method

Arshad Hussain Wazir,Qudratullah Khan,Nisar Ahmad,Faizan Ullah,Imdadullah Quereshi,Hazrat Ali 한국재료학회 2022 한국재료학회지 Vol.32 No.2

Copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) are considered of great importance due to their high catalytic and antimicrobial activities. This study focuses on the preparation and characterization of CuNPs, and on their antibacterial/antifungal activities. A copper salt (copper sulfate pentahydrate) as precursor, starch as stabilizing agent, and ascorbic acid as reducing agent were used to fabricate CuNPs. The resulting product was characterized via different techniques such as X-ray diffractrometry (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to confirm its characteristic properties. Employing the Scherrer formula, the mean crystallite sizes of copper (Cu) and cuprous oxide (Cu2O) nanocrystals were found to be 29.21 and 25.33 nm, respectively, as measured from the main X-ray diffraction peaks. The functional groups present in the resulting CuNPs were confirmed by FTIR. In addition, the engineered CuNPs showed antibacterial and antifungal activity against tested pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains.

Interactive Effect of Nitrogen and Sulphur on Yield and Quality ofGroundnut (Arachis hypogea L.)

Arshad Jamal,Inayat Saleem Fazli,Saif Ahmad,Malik Zainul Abdin 한국작물학회 2006 Korean journal of crop science Vol.51 No.7

Randomized field experiments were conducted to study the interactive effect of sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) on seed, oil and protein yield of two cultivars of groundnut {Arachis hypogea: cv Amber (V1); cv Kaushal, (V2)}. Two dosage levels of sulphur (0 and 20 kg ha-1) and two dosage levels of N (23.5 and 43.5 kg ha-1) in various combinations were tested as micronutrient treatments, T1, T2, and T3. Results indicated significant enhancement of the yield components namely seed and oil yield as well as seed protein. Maximum response was observed with treatment T3 (having 20 kg S and 43.5 kg N ha-1). Increase in seed and oil yields of 90% and 103 % in V1, and 79 and 90 % in V2, respectively were recorded as compared to the control treatment T1 (having 0 kg S and 23.5 kg N ha-1). Effect of S and N interaction was observed on protein, N and S content in seeds. The results obtained by these experiments clearly suggest that judicious balanced application of N and S could improve the yield.

Surface analysis of GeC prepared by reactive pulsed laser deposition technique

Arshad Mahmood,A. Shah,F.F. Castillon,L. Cota Araiza,J. Heiras,M. Yasin Akhtar Raja,M. Khizar 한국물리학회 2011 Current Applied Physics Vol.11 No.3

Amorphous germanium carbide (a-Ge_(1-x)C_x) thin films were prepared by reactive pulsed laser deposition technique using several methane pressures. Surface analysis was performed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) to examine the composition and elemental bonding at the surface of the material. Optical analysis was carried out by spectroscopic ellipsometry to study the optical constants (n and k) and other parameters of the film. Results indicate that the carbon atoms to be incorporated in the germanium lattice, forming a-Ge_(1-x)C_x alloy, for concentrations below about 10 atomic % where the Ge atoms are uniformly distributed. There is formation of graphitic agglomerates for higher carbon concentrations.

Direct laser written channel and spin-coated thin film waveguides in an amorphous chalcogenide (Ga:La:S)

Arshad K. Mairaj,Richard J. Curry,Daniel W. Hewak 한국통신학회 2002 한국통신학회 기타 간행물 Vol.2002 No.10

Melamine-benzaldehyde tris-schiff base as an efficient corrosion inhibitor for mild steel in 0.5 molar hydrochloric acid solution: Weight loss, electrochemical, theoretical and surface studies

Arshad Ifzan,Qureshi Khizar,Lee Shern-Long,Khan Safia,Abid Muhammad Amin,Bokhari Awais,Bahajjaj Aboud Ahmed Awadh,Ahmed Muhammad Naeem 한국화학공학회 2023 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.40 No.10

In the current study, the N,N′,N″-(1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triyl)tris(1-phenylmethanimine) (MBSB) condensation product of melamine (triazine) and benzaldehyde was investigated as a mild steel corrosion inhibitor in a 0.5 M HCl. The ability of the synthesized tris-Schiff base to suppress corrosion was evaluated utilizing weight loss measurements and electrochemical techniques. The maximum inhibition efficiency of 94.78%, 93.99% and 93.80% was achieved using 100 ppm of MBSB in weight loss measurements, polarization, and EIS tests, respectively. It was observed that increasing inhibitor concentration enhanced inhibition performance, whereas increasing temperature lowered inhibition performance. The analyses demonstrated that the synthesized tris-Schiff base inhibitor followed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm, and the inhibitor was an effective mixed-type inhibitor having a low cathodic predominance. According to the electrochemical impedance measurements, the Rct values increased with the increase of inhibitor concentration. In addition, theoretical calculations using density functional theory (DFT) were performed to reveal the anticorrosion mechanism. The weight loss and electrochemical assessments were also supported by surface characterization analysis and show a substantial smoothness in the surface morphology.

Analysis of multiscale mortar mixed approximation of nonlinear elliptic equations

Arshad, Muhammad,Park, Eun-Jae,Shin, Dong-wook Elsevier 2018 COMPUTERS & MATHEMATICS WITH APPLICATIONS - Vol.75 No.2

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>A multiscale mortar mixed finite element method is established to approximate non-linear second order elliptic equations. The method is based on non-overlapping domain decomposition and mortar finite element methods. The existence and uniqueness of the approximation are demonstrated, and a priori <SUP> L 2 </SUP> -error estimates for the velocity and pressure are derived. An error bound for mortar pressure is proved. Convergence estimates of the mortar pressure are based on a linear interface formulation having the discrete-pressure dependent coefficient. Optimal order convergence is achieved on the fine scale by a proper choice of mortar space and polynomial degree of approximation. The quadratic convergence of the Newton–Raphson method is proved for the nonlinear algebraic system arising from the mortar mixed formulation of the problem. Numerical experiments are performed to support theoretic results.</P>