Analogous Conditions Research Articles

Particle-resolved simulation and modeling of the conversion rate of coal char in chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling

The high concentration of CO2 and low concentration of O2 at relatively low temperatures of 1123-1223 K are typical reactive atmospheres in the fuel reactor of a chemical looping with oxygen uncoupling (CLOU) unit. Char within this environment can be converted via lean-O2 oxidation and/or rich-CO2 gasification. Conventional models, which either considered the oxidation only or considered the oxidation and gasification contributions independently by simply adding the two individual conversion rates together, seem arbitrary. Therefore, it is necessary to quantitatively explore the contributions of the oxidation and the gasification reactions as well as their interactions in CLOU conditions through more detailed particle-resolved simulations.In this work, a single particle model which described a spherical reacting porous particle with its reacting boundary layer was developed to investigate the conversion characteristics of pulverized coal char in lean-O2 and/or rich-CO2 conditions (analogous CLOU conditions). The heterogeneous reaction kinetics developed by Tilghman and Mitchell [35] and the simplified GRI-Mech 3.0 gas-phase reaction kinetics were adopted. It was found that the char conversion rate in CLOU conditions could be basically modeled as the sum of the full oxidation consumption rate and the partial gasification consumption rate, i.e. rmix=φ1rgasi+roxid. The interactions between the oxidation and gasification reactions were elaborated in two aspects: on the one side, the oxidation of coal char in CLOU conditions is within the weak zone II burning region, where the oxidation reaction only happens peripherally and is nearly unaffected by the high concentration of CO2; on the other side, the gasification reaction within the external layer of the coal char particle is inhibited by the oxidation reaction, consequently the gasification reaction only happens inside the coal char particle where O2 cannot penetrate into. Based on these understandings, a correlation between the coefficient, φ1, and the effectiveness factor of the oxidation reaction, η, was proposed to describe the overall char conversion rate in CLOU conditions. Through fitting the simulation results under typical CLOU conditions, the quantitative relationship between φ1 and η was finally attained.

Bladder attack: transient bladder ischemia leads to a reversible decrease in detrusor compliance.

The deleterious effects of chronic ischemia on bladder function have been extensively studied; however, evaluation and characterization of the effects of acute ischemia and hypoxia are lacking. The present study examined pig and human detrusor smooth muscle (DSM) strips, in combination with an isolated perfused working pig bladder model to evaluate the relationship between transient ischemia and bladder function. Organ bath and myographic studies were performed using pig and human DSM strips exposed to starvation/hypoxia conditions. Analogous conditions were then recreated in the ex vivo bladder preparation. Filled bladders were then treated with intravascular carbachol to induce contraction and subsequent void. An intravesical transducer continuously monitored changes in bladder pressure, while a tissue pO2 monitor analyzed changes in oxygenation. After 120 min in starved/hypoxic conditions, both pig and human DSM strips demonstrated significantly increased resting tone, with a greater than two-fold increase in force over control. This was effectively blocked with atropine. DSM strips also demonstrated significantly weaker contractions; however, contractile force was nearly recovered following 15-min exposure to replete/oxygenated buffer. In the ex vivo bladder preparation, filling under ischemic conditions yielded a 225% increase in end-fill vesical pressures (Pves) compared to controls. End-fill Pves returned to baseline with reperfusion during a subsequent filling cycle. Transient ischemia/hypoxia leads to an acute increase in tone in both DSM strips and ex vivo pig bladder. Remarkably, the effect is reversible with re-perfusion and may be blocked with anticholinergics, suggesting a relationship between acute ischemia and increased local acetylcholine release.

Intra-eruptive trachyte-phonolite transition: Natural evidence and experimental constraints on the role of crystal mushes

Abstract The generation of silica undersaturated phonolite from silica saturated trachytes is uncommon, as it implies the crossing of the thermal barrier and critical plane of silica undersaturation. Nevertheless, a co-genetic suite displaying compositional transition from benmoreite-trachyte to phonolite has been observed within the Al Shaatha pyroclastic sequence in the Harrat Rahat Volcanic Field (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). We performed crystallization experiments on benmoreite and trachyte starting compositions to simulate the pressure-temperature-volatile conditions that generated the observed liquid line of descent. The experimental conditions were 200–500 MPa, 850–1150 °C, 0–10 wt% H2O, 0.0–0.5 wt% CO2, and NNO+2 oxygen buffer. The experimental mineral assemblage consists of clinopyroxene, feldspar, and titanomagnetite, as well as glass in variable proportions. The degree of crystallinity of hydrous runs is lower than that of anhydrous ones at analogous pressure and temperature conditions. Clinopyroxene crystallizes with compositions diopside-augite and augite-hedenbergite, respectively, at 500 and 200 MPa. The saturation of feldspar is primarily controlled by temperature and volatile content, with the more potassic composition equilibrating at low temperature (850–900 °C) and anhydrous (for benmoreite) or hydrous (for trachyte) conditions. At low pressure (200 MPa), temperatures below 850 °C, and anhydrous conditions, the degree of crystallization is extremely high (>90%), and the residual glass obtained from trachyte experiments is characterized by peralkaline and sodic affinity. This finding is consistent with natural eruptive products containing interstitial phonolitic glass within an anorthoclase framework. The shift from trachyte to phonolite is therefore interpreted as the result of open system interaction between trachytic magma and intercumulus phonolitic melt, as well as of dissolution of anorthoclase from a crystal mush.

Carboxylation of Benzylic and Aliphatic C-H Bonds with CO2 Induced by Light/Ketone/Nickel.

A photoinduced carboxylation reaction of benzylic and aliphatic C-H bonds with CO2 is developed. Toluene derivatives capture gaseous CO2 at the benzylic position to produce phenylacetic acid derivatives when irradiated with UV light in the presence of an aromatic ketone, a nickel complex, and potassium tert-butoxide. Cyclohexane reacts with CO2 to furnish cyclohexanecarboxylic acid under analogous reaction conditions. The present photoinduced carboxylation reaction provides a direct access from readily available hydrocarbons to the corresponding carboxylic acids with one carbon extension.

Acute kidney injury and adverse outcomes of critical illness: correlation or causation?

Critically ill patients who develop acute kidney injury (AKI) are more than twice as likely to die in hospital. However, it is not clear to what extent AKI is the cause of excess mortality, or merely a correlate of illness severity. The Bradford Hill criteria for causality (plausibility, temporality, magnitude, specificity, analogy, experiment & coherence, biological gradient and consistency) were applied to assess the extent to which AKI may be causative in adverse short-term outcomes of critical illness.Plausible mechanisms exist to explain increased risk of death after AKI, both from direct pathophysiological effects of renal dysfunction and mechanisms of organ cross-talk in multiple-organ failure. The temporal relationship between increased mortality following AKI is consistent with its pathophysiology. AKI is associated with substantially increased mortality, an association that persists after accounting for known confounders. A biological gradient exists between increasing severity of AKI and increasing short-term mortality. This graded association shares similar features to the increased mortality observed in ARDS; an analogous condition with a multifactorial aetiology. Evidence for the outcomes of AKI from retrospective cohort studies and experimental animal models is coherent however both of these forms of evidence have intrinsic biases and shortcomings. The relationship between AKI and risk of death is maintained across a range of patient ages, comorbidities and underlying diagnoses.In conclusion many features of the relationship between AKI and short-term mortality suggest causality. Prevention and mitigation of AKI and its complications are valid targets for studies seeking to improve short-term survival in critical care.

Arm-ECG Wireless Sensor System for Wearable Long-Term Surveillance of Heart Arrhythmias

This article presents the devising, development, prototyping and assessment of a wearable arm-ECG sensor system (WAMECG1) for long-term non-invasive heart rhythm monitoring, and functionalities for acquiring, storing, visualizing and transmitting high-quality far-field electrocardiographic signals. The system integrates the main building blocks present in a typical ECG monitoring device such as the skin surface electrodes, front-end amplifiers, analog and digital signal conditioning filters, flash memory and wireless communication capability. These are integrated into a comfortable, easy to wear, and ergonomically designed arm-band ECG sensor system which can acquire a bipolar ECG signal from the upper arm of the user over a period of 72 h. The small-amplitude bipolar arm-ECG signal is sensed by a reusable, long-lasting, Ag–AgCl based dry electrode pair, then digitized using a programmable sampling rate in the range of 125 to 500 Hz and transmitted via Wi-Fi. The prototype comparative performance assessment results showed a cross-correlation value of 99.7% and an error of less than 0.75% when compared to a reference high-resolution medical-grade ECG system. Also, the quality of the recorded far-field bipolar arm-ECG signal was validated in a pilot trial with volunteer subjects from within the research team, by wearing the prototype device while: (a) resting in a chair; and (b) doing minor physical activities. The R-peak detection average sensibilities were 99.66% and 94.64%, while the positive predictive values achieved 99.1% and 92.68%, respectively. Without using any additional algorithm for signal enhancement, the average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values were 21.71 and 18.25 for physical activity conditions (a) and (b) respectively. Therefore, the performance assessment results suggest that the wearable arm-band prototype device is a suitable, self-contained, unobtrusive platform for comfortable cardiac electrical activity and heart rhythm logging and monitoring.

Assessment of Biased Agonism among Distinct Synthetic Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist Scaffolds

Cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) is a key drug target for a number of diseases, including metabolic syndromes and neuropathic pain. Most of the typical cannabinoid ligands provoke psychotropic side effects that impair their therapeutic utility. As of today, it is not yet clearly known which structural features of cannabinoid ligands determine a preference toward specific signaling pathways. Distinct bioassays are typically used to elucidate signaling preferences. However, these are often based on different cell lines and use different principles and/or read-outs, which makes straightforward assessment of "ligand bias" difficult. Within this context, this study is the first to investigate ligand bias among synthetic cannabinoid receptor agonists (SCRAs) in as closely analogous conditions as possible, by applying a new functional complementation-based assay panel to assess the recruitment of Gαi protein or β-arrestin2 to CB1. In a panel of 21 SCRAs, chosen to cover a broad diversity in chemical structures, distinct, although often subtle, preferences toward specific signaling pathways were observed. Relative to CP55940, here considered as a "balanced" reference agonist, most of the selected SCRAs (e.g., 5F-APINACA, CUMYL-PEGACLONE, among others) displayed preferred signaling through the β-arrestin2 pathway, whereas MMB-CHMICA could serve as a potential "balanced" agonist. Interestingly, EG-018 was the only SCRA showing a significant (10-fold) preference toward G protein over β-arrestin2 recruitment. While it is currently unclear what this exactly means in terms of abuse potential and/or toxicity, the approach proposed here may allow construction of a knowledge base that in the end may allow better insight into the structure-"functional" activity relationship of these compounds. This may aid the development of new therapeutics with less unwanted psychoactive effects.

Evaluation of hydrological and erosive effects at the basin scale in relation to the severity of forest fires

This study aimed to assess the hydrological and erosive effects of different levels of the fire severity in the drainage basin of the Trionto River (Calabria, southern Italy), which was partially burned by intense fires during the summer 2017. The analysis focused on the identification of wildfire areas using a supervised classification of remote sensing images with the minimum distance algorithm. The level of severity of each fire was then discriminated based on a procedure proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and adapted to the study area. To evaluate how wildfire occurrence affects the hydrological behaviour at the basin scale, the SCS-Curve Number model was used to document pre- and post-fire conditions in relation with the level of fire severity. Finally, the influence on erosion was analysed for analogous conditions at the basin scale using the RUSLE equation. The effects on hydrological balance and soil loss were evaluated by comparing the pre-fire value with three different post-fire scenarios: (a) different levels of severity on the surface covered by the fire (real case); (b) maximum level of severity on the surface covered by the fire; (c) total loss of the canopy and formation of a hydrophobic layer on the surface soil. The results confirmed that the level of severity of the forest fires, combined with climatic factors, morphological conditions, and the pedological characteristics of the basin, significantly influence changes to the hydrology and rates of erosion. Moreover, these impacts proved to be mainly dependent on the consequent, often notable, heterogeneity in the spatial distribution of burned areas with different severity.

Hydroarylation of Alkenes by Protonation/Friedel-Crafts Trapping: HFIP-Mediated Access to Per-aryl Quaternary Stereocenters.

Upon treatment with a combination of HFIP and an organic sulfonic acid, alkenes behave as Brønsted bases and protonate to give carbocations which can be trapped by electron-rich arenes. The reaction constitutes a Friedel-Crafts hydroarylation which proceeds with Markovnikov selectivity and is orthogonal to traditional metal-catalyzed processes. Intermolecular transfer hydrogenation and hydrothiolation under analogous conditions are also demonstrated.

Fundamental niche unfilling and potential invasion risk of the slider turtle Trachemys scripta.

BackgroundHow species colonize new environments is still a fundamental question in ecology and evolution, assessable by evaluating range characteristics of invasive species. Here we propose a model approach to evaluate environmental conditions and species features to predict niche changes in non-equilibrium contexts. It incorporates potentially range-limiting processes (fundamental niche), hence allowing for better predictions of range shifts, differentiation of analog and non-analog conditions between the native and non-native (invaded) ranges, and identification of environmental conditions not currently available but likely in the future. We apply our approach with the worldwide invasive slider-turtle Trachemys scripta.MethodsWe estimated the native and non-native realized niches of T. scripta and built its fundamental niche based on key features of the turtle’s temperature physiological tolerance limits and survival-associated factors. We next estimated response functions adjusted to the physiological predictor variables and estimated habitat suitability values, followed by a comprehensive set of analyses and simulations to compare the environmental conditions occupied by T. scripta (at its native and non-native ranges).ResultsClimatic space analysis showed that the T. scripta’s non-native realized niche is 28.6% greater than the native one. Response curves showed that it does not use its entire range of temperature tolerances (density curves for native: 5.3–23.7 °C and non-native: 1.7–28.4 °C ranges). Whether considering the mean temperature of the warmest or the coldest quarter, it occupies a wider range of temperatures along its non-native distribution. Results of the response curves for worldwide (global) and across Mexico (regional) comparisons showed it occupies analog and non-analog conditions between its native and invaded ranges, exhibiting also unoccupied suitable climatic conditions.DiscussionWe demonstrate that T. scripta occupies a wider subset of its fundamental niche along its non-native range (within its physiological tolerances), revealing that the species observed niche shift corresponds to a different subset of its fundamental niche (niche unfilling). We also identified suitable environmental conditions, globally and regionally, where the slider turtle could potentially invade. Our approach allows to accurately predict niche changes in novel or non-equilibrium contexts, which can improve our understanding about ecological aspects and geographic range boundaries in current and potential invasions.

Bulky 1,1′‐Ferrocenyl Ligands Featuring Diazaphospholene or Dioxaphosphepine Donor Fragments: Catalytic Screening in Nickel‐Catalyzed C‐N Cross‐Coupling

1,1′‐Ferrocenyl ligands featuring either bulky dioxaphosphepine (L1) or diazaphospholene (L2) donor moieties have been prepared, crystallographically characterized, and tested in representative nickel‐catalyzed C–N cross‐coupling reactions. Ligand L1 proved competent in cross‐couplings involving primary/secondary alkylamine or indole nucleophiles with (hetero)aryl chlorides, with the catalytic performance of rac and meso‐L1 differing in the case of some substrate pairings. Conversely, L2 proved ineffective under analogous conditions.

On the Perron-Frobenius Theory of $M_v-$matrices and Eventually Exponentially Nonnegative Matrices

Mv−matrix is a matrix of the form A = sI −B, where 0 ≤ ρ(B) ≤ s and B is an eventually nonnegative matrix. In this paper, Mv−matrices concerning the Perron-Frobenius theory are studied. Specifically, sufficient and necessary conditions for an Mv−matrix to have positive left and right eigenvectors corresponding to its eigenvalue with smallest real part without considering or not if index0B ≤ 1 are stated and proven. Moreover, analogous conditions for eventually nonnegative matrices or Mv−matrices to have all the non Perron eigenvectors or generalized eigenvectors not being nonnegative are studied. Then, equivalent properties of eventually exponentially nonnegative matrices and Mv−matrices are presented.  Various numerical examples are given to support our theoretical findings.

On the Perron-Frobenius Theory of Mv-matrices and equivalent properties to eventually exponentially nonnegative matrices

Mv−matrix is a matrix of the form A = sI −B, where 0 ≤ ρ(B) ≤ s and B is an eventually nonnegative matrix. In this paper, Mv−matrices concerning the Perron-Frobenius theory are studied. Specifically, sufficient and necessary conditions for an Mv−matrix to have positive left and right eigenvectors corresponding to its eigenvalue with smallest real part without considering or not if index0B ≤ 1 are stated and proven. Moreover, analogous conditions for eventually nonnegative matrices or Mv−matrices to have all the non Perron eigenvectors or generalized eigenvectors not being nonnegative are studied. Then, equivalent properties of eventually exponentially nonnegative matrices and Mv−matrices are presented. Various numerical examples are given to support our theoretical findings.

A case study for identification of organic–silt bottom sediments in an artificial lake formed in gravel alluvium in the geotourism locality of Slnečné Jazerá in Senec (Bratislava, Slovakia)

This case study aims to identify the cubic capacity and geometry of the geological body of silt–organic sediments in the environment of a former gravel pit situated in a drainless depression of the alluvium of the Čierna voda River. It is located in the well-known geotourism locality of Slnečné Jazera in Senec, in the SW of Slovakia. To identify the body, electrical resistivity tomography was combined with the use of sonar. The research shows that this approach is appropriate for a number of activities that are subjects of engineering-geological investigations. The cubic capacity and geometry of specific aqueous engineering-geological environments must be determined in connection with the need for the management, control, quantification and extraction of selected sedimentary bodies. In addition, the management of sustainable development of reservoirs, sedimentation basins, industrial ponds, settling pits and natural pools for recreation (the subject of the case study) is important to control the limit amounts of sediments in such environments. The results of this study may be applied in analogous engineering-geological conditions. The drainless depression Slnečné Jazera contained a body of silt–organic sediments amounting to 23 000 m 3 (41 Olympic-size pools of 25 m × 12.5 m × 1.8 m). The maximum thickness of the bottom sediments was about 6.3 m on the alluvium with an articulated morphology owing to the submerged digging of gravel. The proposed approach improved the control of extraction of the sedimentary body and optimized the engineering-geological conditions in this geotourism locality.

Conditions on subgraphs, degrees, and domination for hamiltonian properties of graphs

Motivated by a hamiltonicity result due to Ageev, involving claw-free graphs with a small domination number, we study analogous conditions that guarantee different types of hamiltonian properties. In our first main result we relax the condition on claw-freeness and obtain a common generalization of the result of Ageev and a recent result due to Cai. Our other results deal with similar conditions that guarantee traceability, pancyclicity and hamiltonian-connectivity. We also leave some open problems.

Environmental Aspects and Energy Characteristics of the Combustion of Composite Fuels Based on Peat, Oil, and Water

The necessary conditions and integral characteristics of the ignition and subsequent combustion of mixed fuels prepared on the basis of peat, crude oil, and water were studied. Fuel mixtures were burned in the form of a layer (a weighed sample), slurry droplets, or pellets in a model combustion chamber at a temperature of 300–900°C. The results were compared with data obtained upon the combustion of lean coal under analogous conditions. The experimental results illustrate the energy and environmental feasibility of the combined burning of peat and oil-containing components in a fuel and energy cycle. As found experimentally, the composite fuels have a sufficiently high energy and environmental potential, and they can be used as a primary or secondary energy source.

Mice Exposed to Combined Chronic Low-Dose Irradiation and Modeled Microgravity Develop Long-Term Neurological Sequelae.

Spaceflight poses many challenges for humans. Ground-based analogs typically focus on single parameters of spaceflight and their associated acute effects. This study assesses the long-term transcriptional effects following single and combination spaceflight analog conditions using the mouse model: simulated microgravity via hindlimb unloading (HLU) and/or low-dose γ-ray irradiation (LDR) for 21 days, followed by 4 months of readaptation. Changes in gene expression and epigenetic modifications in brain samples during readaptation were analyzed by whole transcriptome shotgun sequencing (RNA-seq) and reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS). The results showed minimal gene expression and cytosine methylation alterations at 4 months readaptation within single treatment conditions of HLU or LDR. In contrast, following combined HLU+LDR, gene expression and promoter methylation analyses showed multiple altered pathways involved in neurogenesis and neuroplasticity, the regulation of neuropeptides, and cellular signaling. In brief, neurological readaptation following combined chronic LDR and HLU is a dynamic process that involves pathways that regulate neuronal function and structure and may lead to late onset neurological sequelae.

Environmental factors affecting greenhouse gas fluxes of green roofs in temperate zone

This paper investigates the full seasonal greenhouse gas (GHG) dynamics of fluxes from three green roof systems (lightweight clay aggregate-based green roof – LR; grass roof – GR; sod roof – SR) and natural control site on shallow Leptosol (NC), using closed static chambers in the period April 2014 to December 2015. CO2, CH4 and N2O fluxes are measured and their relationships to meteorological parameters and substrate physicochemical characteristics are quantified. Median CO2 flux values were 21 (LR), 38 (GR), 62 (SR), and 82 (NC) mg CO2-C m−2 h−1. The results show ecosystem respiration (Reco) clearly increased until July and then decreased until November. Net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE) was more variable than Reco, depending on plant growth phase and weather conditions. Median NEE values for study period (from April to November 2015) were −7 (LR), −17 (GR), −136 (SR), and −82 (NC) mg CO2-C m−2 h−1. The percentage of autotrophic respiration (Ra) in Reco showed clear rise from LR (35%) to NC (62%). CH4 consumption dominated resulting in median fluxes as follows: −2 (LR), −1 (GR), −15 (SR), and −23 (NC) μg CH4-C m−2 h−1. N2O flux was low and highly variable in time, with median values varying from −0.07 (GR) to 2.18 (NC) μg N2O-N m−2 h−1. During the maximum vegetation growth, NEE exceeded Reco value. Green roofs are effective CH4 sinks, but they do not significantly affect N2O flux. The main environmental factors determining GHG fluxes in linear models were parameters describing moisture regime, meteorological parameters and soil physical characteristics. These models can be used to predict GHG fluxes from similar green roof systems in analogous climatic conditions. We conclude that green roof technology may be used to mitigate excessive ambient GHG levels in urban areas.

Increased frequency of and population exposure to extreme heat index days in the United States during the 21st century

The National Weather Service of the United States uses the heat index—a combined measure of temperature and relative humidity—to define risk thresholds warranting the issuance of public heat alerts. We use statistically downscaled climate models to project the frequency of and population exposure to days exceeding these thresholds in the contiguous US for the 21st century with two emissions and three population change scenarios. We also identify how often conditions exceed the range of the current heat index formulation. These ‘no analog’ conditions have historically affected less than 1% of the US by area. By mid-21st century (2036–2065) under both emissions scenarios, the annual numbers of days with heat indices exceeding 37.8 °C (100 °F) and 40.6 °C (105 °F) are projected to double and triple, respectively, compared to a 1971–2000 baseline. In this timeframe, more than 25% of the US by area would experience no analog conditions an average of once or more annually and the mean duration of the longest extreme heat index event in an average year would be approximately double that of the historical baseline. By late century (2070–2099) with a high emissions scenario, there are four-fold and eight-fold increases from late 20th century conditions in the annual numbers of days with heat indices exceeding 37.8 °C and 40.6 °C, respectively; 63% of the country would experience no analog conditions once or more annually; and extreme heat index events exceeding 37.8 °C would nearly triple in length. These changes amount to four- to 20-fold increases in population exposure from 107 million person-days per year with a heat index above 37.8 °C historically to as high as 2 billion by late century. The frequency of and population exposure to these extreme heat index conditions with the high emissions scenario is roughly twice that of the lower emissions scenario by late century.

Revealing antimicrobial and contrasting photocatalytic behavior of metal chalcogenide deposited P25-TiO2 nanoparticles

Quantum dot (QD)-sensitized P25-TiO2 based nanocomposites were developed using the pseudo-successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (p-SILAR) technique and then applied in the photocatalytic degradation of an azo-type dye under visible and ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. The presence of PbS and CdS QDs on the P25-TiO2 nanoparticles facilitated visible light absorbance by P25-TiO2 and increased the photocatalytic activity under visible irradiation, whereas the efficacy of P25-TiO2 as a photocatalyst was reduced under UV light. We confirmed the successful deposition of PbS and CdS QDs on TiO2 under analogous QD sensitization conditions with p-SILAR, and showed that the PbS QD-sensitized TiO2 nanocomposite (TPbS) harvested more visible light than the CdS QD-sensitized TiO2 nanocomposite (TCdS), thereby resulting in greater dye degradation under visible light. In particular, TPbS degraded ˜57% of the dye acid orange-56 and TCdS degraded ˜16%. The nanocomposites exhibited antimicrobial activity against Bacillus subtilis (B. subtilis) where the most effective antimicrobial agent with the highest activity was TCdS.