Analysis of mortality during the winter seasons in Mexico from 2000 to 2012

To analyze mortality from all causes in Mexico during the winter months. Methods: Data was extracted and tabulated on monthly all-cause mortality in the general population from 2000 to 2012 from the INEGI database. Coeficients of seasonal variation in mortality were calculated. Results: In Mexico there was an increase of 14 % in mortality in the general population during winter. The more susceptible age groups were older people and children, with increases of 18% and 13% respectively. The months with low levels of mortality were April, October and September for children, adolescents and older people respectively. Conclusions: Important increases in winter mortality occur in Mexico.

Industrial synthesis and characterization of nanophotocatalysts materials: titania

Despite the recent synthesis and identification of a diverse set of new nanophotocatalysts that has exploded recently, titanium dioxide (TiO2) remains among the most promising photocatalysts because it is inexpensive, non-corrosive, environmentally friendly, and stable under a wide range of conditions. TiO2 has shown excellent promise for solar cell applications and for remediation of chemical pollutants and toxins. Over the past few decades, there has been a tremendous development of nanophotocatalysts for a variety of industrial applications (i.e. for water purification and reuse, disinfection of water matrices, air purification, deodorization, sterilization of soils). This paper details traditional and new industrial routes for the preparation of nanophotocatalysts and the characterization techniques used to understand the physical chemical properties of them, like surface area, ζ potential, crystal size, and phase crystallographic, morphology, and optical transparency. Finally we present some applications of the industrial nanophotocatalysts.

Long-term influence of chitin concentration on the resistance of cement pastes determined by atomic force microscopy

The presence of sulfates potentialize damage on cementbased materials, leading to structural failures. Therefore, structures must be designed to compensate for this effect. The mechanical properties of cement–chitin mixtures are investigated with different percentages of chitin (0.5, 1.3, and 2.1 wt.%) and aging of composite in a joint nanoscopic- and macroscopic-scale by experimental study. The objective is to increase the durability of concrete elements at coastal aquifers where concrete structures are in constant exposure to sulfate ions, chloride ions among others. Tapping mode AFM was used to characterize the surface structure and roughness of the cement pastes. To verify the chitin addition and the formation of sulfate-based aggregates Raman and IR spectra were recorded and are presented in this work. Then, force spectroscopy was used to obtain the nanomechanical properties at three different exposure times (1 day, 6 months, and 1 year) into water or a SO4 2 environment. Macroscopic parameters (e.g., compression strength of cylindrical probes) were assessed for comparison following standard guidelines. The results show a decrease of its mechanical properties as a function of the polymer concentration but more importantly, they correlate the elasticity and adhesion at the nanoscale with the behavior of the bulk material.

Sonochemical synthesis of CuO nanostructures and their morphology dependent optical and visible light driven photocatalytic properties

A controlled synthesis of CuO nanostructures with various morphologies were successfully achieved by presence/absence of low frequency (42 kHz) ultrasound with two different methods. The size, shape and morphology of the CuO nanostructures were tailored by altering the ultrasound, mode of addition and solvent medium. The crystalline structure and molecular vibrational modes of the prepared nanostructures were analysed through X-ray diffraction and FTIR measurement, respectively which confirmed that the nanostructures were phase pure high-quality CuO with monoclinic crystal structure. The morphological evaluation and elemental composition analysis were done using TEM and EDS attached with SEM, respectively. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the prepared CuO nanostructures could be served as an effective photocatalyst towards the degradation of methyl orange (MO) under visible light irradiation. Among the various nanostructures, the spherical shape CuO nanostructures were found to have the better catalytic activities towards MO dye degradation. The catalytic degradation performance of MO in the presence of CuO nanostructures showed the following order: spherical\nanorod \layered oval \nanoleaf \triangular \shuttles structures. The influence of loading and reusability of catalyst revealed that the efficiency of visible light assisted degradation of MO was effectively enhanced and more than 95 % of degradation was achieved after 3 cycles

Structural and mechanical properties of La0.6Sr0.4M0.1Fe0.9O3-δ (M: Co, Ni and Cu) perovskites

La0.6Sr0.4M0.1Fe0.9O3-δ (M: Co, Ni and Cu) perovskite nanostructures were synthesized using low frequency ultrasound assisted synthesis technique and effect of substitution of Fe by Co, Ni and Cu on crystal structure and mechanical properties in La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ perovskite were studied. The HRTEM and Rietveld refinement analyses revealed the uniform equi-axial shape of the obtained nanostructures with the existence of La0.6Sr0.4M0.1Fe0.9O3−δ with mixed rhombohedral and orthorhombic structures. Substitution of Cu decreases the melting point of La0.6Sr0.4FeO3-δ. The results of mechanical characterizations show that La0.6Sr0.4Co0.1Fe0.9O3−δ and La0.6Sr0.4Ni0.1Fe0.9O3−δ have ferroelastic behavior and comparable elastic moduli, however, subtitution of Ni shows higher hardness and lower fracture toughness than Co in Bsite doping

Sonophotocatalytic mineralization of Norflurazon in aqueous environment

Norflurazon (4-chloro-5-(methylamino)-2-[3- trifluoromethyl)phenyl]pyridazin-3(2H)-one; C12H9ClF3N3O) is an excellent weed controlling agent being practiced in the agricultural lands. The excessive addition or the undissolved Norflurazon (maximum solubility 28 mg/L at 25 C) enters into the aquatic environment and causes the adverse effects associated with its high concentration. To avoid the perilous effects, visible light assisted photocatalysis set-up coupled with the 42 kHz ultrasound producing bath type sonicator is used to completely mineralize the Norflurazon. TiO2, ZnO and gold loaded zinc oxide nanocatalysts were utilized to study the mineralization of Norflurazon. AueZnO shows the greater efficiency for the sonophotocatalytic removal of Norflurazon among the various nanocatalysts employed to study the mineralization. The order of Norflurazon mineralization was sonophotocatalysis > sonocatalysis > photocatalysis. The additive effect was achieved for the sonophotocatalytic degradation. The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometric (LCMS) analyses were employed to identify the various intermediates produced during the mineralization. The identification of four pseudo molecular ions and various intermediates using the LCMS analysis evidently suggests the sonophotocatalytic degradation was preceded in various decay pathways. A suitable mechanism has been proposed for the sonophotocatalytic mineralization of Norflurazon

Microstructure, vibrational and visible emission properties of low frequency ultrasound (42 kHz) assisted ZnO nanostructures

Size and shape tuneable ZnO nanostructures were prepared by a low frequency ultrasound (42 kHz) route using various organic solvents as the reaction media. The crystalline nature, lattice parameters and microstructural parameters such as microstrain, stress and energy density of the prepared ZnO nanostructures were revealed through X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The organic solvents influenced the size and morphology of the ZnO nanostructures, and interesting morphological changes involving a spherical to triangular shaped transition were observed. The visible emission properties and lattice vibrational characteristics of the nanostructures were drastically modified by the changes in size and shape. Raman spectral measurements revealed the presence of multiphonon processes in the ZnO nanostructures. The intensity of the visible emission band was found to vary with the size and morphology of the structures. The strongest visible emission band corresponded to the structure with the largest surface/volume ratio and could be attributed to surface oxygen vacancies. The control over the size and morphology of ZnO nanostructures has been presented as a means of determining the intensity of the visible emission band

Effect of rare earth dopants on structural and mechanical properties of nanoceria synthesized by combustion method

Structural characteristics of combustion synthesized, calcined and densified pure and doped nanoceria with tri-valent cations of Er, Y, Gd, Sm and Nd were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The results showed that the as-synthesized and calcined nanopowders were mesoporous and calculated lattice parameters were close to theoretical ion-packing model. The effect of dopants on elastic modulus, microhardness and fracture toughness of sintered pure and doped ceria were investigated. It was observed that tri-valent cation dopants increased the hardness of the ceria, whereas the fracture toughness and elastic modulus were decreased.