Mathematical analysis of the dynamics of COVID-19 in Africa under the influence of asymptomatic cases and re-infection

Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) hit the world in December 2019, and only less than 5% of the 15 million cases were recorded in Africa. A major call for concern was the significant rise from 2% in May 2020 to 4.67% by the end of July 15, 2020. This drastic increase calls for quick intervention in the transmission and control strategy of COVID-19 in Africa. A mathematical model to theoretically investigate the consequence of ignoring asymptomatic cases on COVID-19 spread in Africa is proposed in this study. A qualitative analysis of the model is carried out with and without re-infection, and the reproduction number is obtained under re-infection. The results indicate that increasing case detection to detect asymptomatically infected individuals will be very effective in containing and reducing the burden of COVID-19 in Africa. In addition, the fact that it has not been confirmed whether a recovered individual can be re-infected or not, then enforcing a living condition where recovered individuals are not allowed to mix with the susceptible or exposed individuals will help in containing the spread of COVID-19.     

Synergy effect of boron and cobalt in B2O3-SBA-15-(Co)Mo catalyst for efficient hydrodesulfurization of liquid fuels

Research on Chemical Intermediates - The contributory effect of surface acidity is significant to desulfurize heavy recalcitrant organosulfur compounds effectively. This research explores the...     

Opportunities and challenges of thin-film boron-doped diamond electrochemistry for valuable resources recovery from waste: Organic,inorganic, and volatile product electrosynthesis

Thin-film boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrochemistry has made a tremendous progress in electrochemical synthesis/recovery of high-added value products from aqueous and gaseous waste streams. The distinguished electrochemical characteristic of this electrode has made this material emerging and successfully used in electrosynthetic transformations, besides its destructive and powerful performance in disinfection and detoxification of wastewaters. Organic electrosynthesis is achieved by the oxyl radical oxidation formed at BDD, peroxo compounds electrosynthesis is attained by oxidation of corresponding anions at the BDD surface, whereas electrochemical conversion of SO₂, CO₂, NO₃^?, and NH₃ to value-added products occurs by BDD cathodic reduction process. There are still some challenges needed to address for seamless scale-up and translation into application of this future technology.     

Electrochemical advanced oxidation processes for wastewater treatment: Advances in formation and detection of reactive species and mechanisms

Over the past three decades, the knowledge of the mechanisms of electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) has progressively evolved with the advances in analytical and spectrometric techniques. A comprehensive understanding of the types and mechanisms of production of reactive species in EAOPs is a prerequisite to the understanding of their reactivities and elucidation of intermediate products generated during the oxidation process and degradation pathways. The type, nature, and quantity of reactive species generated in electrochemical treatment processes are controlled by many factors, including the type of the treatment technique, electrode/electrocatalyst materials, water/wastewater composition, water pH conditions, and operating parameters. Depending on the technique and operating parameters, single or multiple oxidants can be produced alone or combined electrochemical processes. However, the potency and reactivity of each oxidant are quite similar regardless of the technique, except in the case of heterogeneous and homogeneous hydroxyl radicals. This minireview presents the current state of mechanisms and models of reactive species generated in different EAOPs, highlighting different methods for their identification and reactivity.     

First report of toxicity of Xylopiaparviflora (A. Rich.) Benth (Annonaceae) root bark's essential oil against cowpea seed bruchid,Callososbruchus maculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae)

The fumigant toxicity of Xylopia parviflora (A. Rich.) Benth (Annonaceae) root bark's essential oil (EO) against cowpea seed bruchid, Callosobruchus maculatus, was investigated in the laboratory. Dose had significant (P < 0.0001) effect on mortality at 6 hours after treatment (HAT) at a concentration of 6.25 μL/mL air which exerted 81.70% mortality, while there was no mortality in all other lower doses. At 12 HAT, 75.05% and 90.00% mortality were observed at doses of 3.15 and 6.25 μL/mL air, respectively. It was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than the mortality (50.58%) observed when 0.78 μL/mL air was applied. The lethal time for 50% of assayed adults (LT₅₀) obtained when the bruchid was exposed to X. parviflora EO at a dose of 6.25 μL/mL air (2.71 h) was significantly lower than LT₅₀ obtained at exposure of bruchid to other lower doses of 0.78–3.15 μL/mL air.     

High-Accurate Transparent Boundary Conditions for Time-Dependent Quantum Wave Packet Method

Complex absorbing potential is usually required in a time-dependent wave packet method to accomplish the calculation in a truncated region. Usually it works effectively but becomes inefficient when the wave function involves translational energy of broad range, particularly involving ultra-low energy. In this work, a new transparent boundary condition (TBC) is proposed for the time-dependent wave packet method. It in principle is of spectral accuracy when typical discrete variable representations are applied. The prominent merit of the new TBC is that its accuracy is insensitive to the translational energy distribution of the wave function, in contrast with the complex absorbing potential. Application of the new TBC is given to one-dimensional particle wave packet scatterings from a barrier with a potential well, which supports resonances states.     

应用于量子含时波包方法的高精度透明边界条件

本文提出了一种适用于量子含时波包方法的透明边界条件. 该量子含时波包方法结合分离变量表象方法使用的时候,本质上是具有谱收敛性质的. 相对于以往的复数吸收势,该透明边界条件的突出优点是其对于波函数的能谱分布并不敏感. 采用具有共振态的一维势垒散射模型,本文对该方法的特点做了阐述.     

Hierarchical Hybrid Supports and Synthesis Strategies for Hydrodesulfurization of Recalcitrance Organosulfur Compounds

It is undisputed that there is a paradigm shift in the global trend of crude oil towards being more sour and heavier than usual light sources. Consequently, the hydrotreating activity becomes a bottleneck with high content of S, N, metals and other impurities than expected. On the other hand, the price of petroleum products lately witnessed instability and fell to the lowest average price (<USD 20) in recent times. In the same vein, the regulation to control the emission of toxic compounds in the atmosphere become stricter as promulgated by various policymakers. In this sense, robust hydrotreating catalysts with characteristics efficient catalytic activity, selectivity and stability are highly desirable. Recently, different approaches have been used to improve and cushion the unprecedented effect emanated from economic, social and environmental challenges posed by heavy and sour crude sources, price instability of the refined products and regulation to lower the sulfur to minimum level or zero parts per millions (ppm). Importantly, the role of support in catalysis cannot be over emphasized, whilst the surface area and porosity, mechanical and thermal stability, dispersion of active metals, acidity/basicity have been greatly improved, the increased activity, stability and selectivity has been observed significantly. In this review, hybrid supports based on aluminosilicates (zeolitic types) and other notable supports from recent literatures were explored and discussed for Ni(Co)Mo(W) supported catalysts for hydrodesulfurization (HDS) activity of heavy organosulfur molecules. The emphasis on the hybrid supports’ varied characteristics for HDS of organosulfur molecules, where there are necessities for fast diffusion of reactants and products, better dispersion of MoS₂ crystallites, high surface area and pore volume, and increased acidity of the catalysts are greatly emphasized. Furthermore, the progress made so far on different HDS active phases viz. noble metals, metal phosphides, intermetallic silicides, carbides and iron-zinc are highlighted in this write-up, irrespective of the support composition in the supported catalysts formulations. The need for application of predictive tools, like machine learning (ML) in the design and development of HDS catalysts, and performance evaluation of HDS activity towards achieving better catalytic operation was briefly highlighted. Finally, the review will serve as a summary of scientific efforts in this regards and bridge a gap for the newcomers to investigate the topic in a better way through proper selection and efficient catalysts design.