Postconsumer waste wood is one of the most highly generated and yet overlooked waste streams that are typically sent to landfills or hazardous incineration facilities. This study presents the ...valorization of real postconsumer metal-contaminated waste wood as viable biorefinery feedstock using the ionoSolv process. Waste wood characterization showed high levels of heavy metal contamination originating from preservatives, paints, and pigments. Several ionic liquids (ILs) were screened to investigate their effectiveness in fractionating waste wood quantified by lignin and hemicellulose removal, glucan recovery, enzymatic saccharification yield, and their effectiveness in extracting the heavy metals from the biomass. 1-Methylimidazolium chloride H1CimCl IL was shown to be the most effective in fractionating the waste wood, achieving quantitative glucose yield, while simultaneously extracting 84–96% of heavy metals under optimum conditions. The effect of increasing the solid loading on pretreatment fractionation efficiency also was investigated, as well as on heavy metal extractions, with 74–95% extractions being achieved at solid to solvent loadings of 1:2 g g–1. Electrodeposition of Pb was also demonstrated at low overpotentials. This is the first example of turning hazardous waste wood that has low to negative value to its producers into value-added products in a biorefinery scheme.
ObjectiveTo develop an Overall Pediatric Health Standard Set (OPH-SS) of outcome measures that captures what matters to young people and their families and recognising the biopsychosocial aspects of ...health for all children and adolescents regardless of health condition.DesignA modified Delphi process.SettingThe International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement convened an international Working Group (WG) comprised of 23 international experts from 12 countries in the field of paediatrics, family medicine, psychometrics as well as patient advisors. The WG participated in 11 video-conferences, through a modified Delphi process and 9 surveys between March 2018 and January 2020 consensus was reached on a final recommended health outcome standard set. By a literature review conducted in March 2018, 1136 articles were screened for clinician and patient-reported or proxy-reported outcomes. Further, 4315 clinical trials and 12 paediatric health surveys were scanned. Between November 2019 and January 2020, the final standard set was endorsed by a patient validation (n=270) and a health professional (n=51) survey.ResultsFrom a total of 63 identified outcomes, consensus was formed on a standard set of outcome measures that comprises 10 patient-reported outcomes, 5 clinician-reported measures, and 6 case-mix variables. The four developmental age-specific packages (ie, 0–5, 6–12, 13–17, 18–24 years) include either five or six measures with an average time for completion of 20 min.ConclusionsThe OPH-SS is a starting point to drive value-based paediatric healthcare delivery from a global perspective for enhancing child and adolescent physical health and psychosocial well-being.
Current methods for high resolution imaging of neural activity, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging and penetrating electrode arrays, are not well suited for chronic patient monitoring in ...clinical settings. The ability to locally monitor neural activity in the brain would benefit doctors and surgeons treating and diagnosing neurological diseases such as epilepsy. Measurement of the intrinsic optical signal offers a high resolution (better than 100 µm) for the localization of brain activity. The localized detection of seizures in rats using an implantable optical sensor is demonstrated. The implantable optical sensor is fabricated on a 25 µm thick, flexible polyimide substrate and uses micro‐LEDs to measure localized changes in reflectivity due to cerebral blood flow when attached to the surface of the brain. Quantum dot coatings are applied directly to the micro‐LEDs via pneumatic printing for wavelength conversion by photoluminescent re‐emission.
An implantable, flexible sensor for the optical measurement of activity in the brain using microlight‐emitting diodes (micro‐LEDs) is presented allowing for high spatial and temporal resolution measurement of blood flow on the surface of the brain. Printed quantum dot composites are used to vary the emission wavelength for the LEDs, allowing for the measurement of several forms of hemoglobin.
Introduction. Understanding the role of epigenetic regulation and studying how it affects the pathogenesis of many polygenic diseases have become a breakthrough in modern medicine over the past ...decade. Today, it is obvious that epigenetic mechanisms, despite their inheritable nature, can become modified under the influence of lifestyle and environment. Epigenetics is the science of inherited body properties that are not related to any changes in the actual nucleotide DNA sequence and can be encoded in the genome rather indirectly than directly. Gaining the knowledge on these mechanisms opened up new opportunities for understanding the origin of some cardiovascular diseases. Promoting this trend has serious consequences for the development and progression of diseases, as well as creates possible new strategies for preventing cardiovascular diseases. Due to this, some fundamental epigenetic regulation mechanisms in the development of coronary heart disease were identified in recent years, which disease is one of the leading causes of mortality in today’s context. Aim. To study the role of the epigenetic mechanisms of early vascular inflammation in the development of coronary heart disease and the prognostic value of epigenetic biomarkers in diagnosing this disease. Material and Methods. We analyzed the findings of studies conducted in 2001-2022 regarding epigenetic mechanisms and their role in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of coronary heart disease, using new epigenetic markers. Sources. PubMed, ResearchGate, eLibrary, Cyberleninka. Results and Discussion. Among all epigenetic mechanisms, DNA methylation, histone modification, and transcription of non-coding RNA sequences, particularly micro-RNA, are currently considered to be most extensively studied and most significant. Conclusion Understanding the basic regulation mechanisms of epigenetic modifications in the development of coronary heart disease will increase knowledge about the etiopathogenesis of this disease and facilitate the transition to personalized medicine.
One-per-mil tumescent technique could provide local anesthesia in surgical procedures despite using low lidocaine concentration. Tumescence environment within the tissue may play a role in supporting ...local anesthesia effect. This study aims to delineate whether the tumescence environment, created by one-per-mil solution without a local anesthetic agent, had a local anesthesia effect.
Four different compositions and volumes of tumescent solutions containing 1:1,000,000 epinephrine were injected into 50 Swiss Webster mice. The animals were divided into five groups: group A, a tumescent solution with 0.2% lidocaine; group B, a tumescent solution with 0.04% lidocaine; group C, a tumescent solution without lidocaine; group D, a doubled volume of tumescent solution without lidocaine; and group E, controls. Local anesthesia effects were tested by using the formalin test (n = 25) and tail immersion test (n = 25). Pain response behavior in the form of paw licking duration and tail withdrawal latency was observed. The analysis of variance and Kruskal-Wallis tests were used to test the statistical difference. Significance was set at P < 0.05.
The four interventional groups showed less pain response behavior and significantly longer tail withdrawal latency (P < 0.05) than the control group. However, the groups showed nonsignificantly shorter paw licking duration than the control (P > 0.05). Group A had the fastest onset of the local anesthesia effect.
The tumescence environment was potentially able to provide a local anesthesia effect, although the solution did not contain a local anesthetic agent as proved by the tail immersion test.
The paper reports the synthesis of carbon nanotubes from ethanol over group VIII (Fe, Co, Ni) catalysts derived from corresponding metallocenes. Several unexpected cooperative effects are reported, ...which are never observed in the case of individual metallocenes such as the commonly used ferrocene catalyst Fe(C5H5)2. The formation of very long (up to several µm) straight monocrystal metal kernels inside the carbon nanotubes was the most interesting effect. The use of trimetal catalysts (Fe1-x-yCoxNiy)(C5H5)2 resulted in the sharp increase in the yield of carbon nanotubes. The electrical conductivity of the produced nanotubes is determined by the nature of the catalyst. The variation of individual metals in the Ni-Co-Fe leads to a drop of the electrical resistivity of nanotube samples by the order of magnitude, i.e., from 1.0 × 10−3 to 1.1 × 10−5 Ω∙m. A controlled change in the electrophysical properties of the nanotubes can make it possible to expand their use as fillers in composites, photothermal and tunable magnetic nanomaterials with pre-designed electrical conductivity and other electromagnetic properties.
This study examines the role of social support in the relationship between work family conflict (work to family; WFC & family to work; FWC) and family satisfaction for private sector employees. Using ...simple random sampling, data were collected from 260 employees from eight private companies in Terengganu, who responded to the Job Content Questionnaire, Work Family Conflict Scale and Family Satisfaction Scale. Results indicate that both WFC and FWC had significant relationships with family satisfaction. The results of the regression analysis confirmed that FWC was a significant predictor of employees’ family satisfaction. However, social support did not buffer the relationship between work family conflict and family satisfaction. Implication of this study indicates that the organizations need to emphasize the effective strategies of development and implementation for work family balance in improving family satisfaction among employees. The suggestions for future research are also addressed, especially in the Malaysian context.
Ultralong carbon nanotubes (UCNTs) are in high demand for nanocomposites applications due to their magnificent physical and chemical properties. UCNTs are synthesized by the catalytic chemical vapor ...deposition (CCVD) method and, before use as fillers in nanocomposites, should be purified of residual catalyst and non-CNT particles without significant destruction or scissoring of the UCNT. This study investigates the role of water vapor for purification of UCNTs from iron catalyst particles and the importance of water assistance in this process is confirmed. It was shown that wet air treatment of products of UCNTs CCVD synthesis under mild conditions can be used to sufficiently decrease residual iron catalyst content without significant carbon losses in comparison to the results obtained with dry air, while the residual iron content was shown to significantly influence the subsequent oxidation of different forms of carbons, including UCNTs. The increasing of D/G ratio of Raman spectra after wet air treatment of products of UCNTs CCVD synthesis makes it possible to conclude that iron catalyst particles transform into iron oxides and hydroxides that caused inner structural strains and destruction of carbon shells, improving removal of the catalyst particles by subsequent acid treatment. UCNTs purification with water assistance can be used to develop economically and ecologically friendly methods for obtaining fillers for nanocomposites of different applications.
The loading of copper (Cu) into cytochrome c oxidase (COX) in mitochondria is essential for energy production in cells. Extensive studies have been performed to characterize mitochondrial ...cuproenzymes that contribute to the metallation of COX, such as Sco1, Sco2, and Cox17. However, limited information is available on the upstream mechanism of Cu transport and delivery to mitochondria, especially through Cu-impermeable membranes, in mammalian cells. The mitochondrial phosphate transporter SLC25A3, also known as PiC2, binds Cu
and transports the ion through these membranes in eukaryotic cells, ultimately aiding in the metallation of COX. We used the well-established differentiation model of primary myoblasts derived from mouse satellite cells, wherein Cu availability is necessary for growth and maturation, and showed that PiC2 is a target of MTF1, and its expression is both induced during myogenesis and favored by Cu supplementation. PiC2 deletion using CRISPR/Cas9 showed that the transporter is required for proliferation and differentiation of primary myoblasts, as both processes are delayed upon PiC2 knock-out. The effects of PiC2 deletion were rescued by the addition of Cu to the growth medium, implying the deleterious effects of PiC2 knockout in myoblasts may be in part due to a failure to deliver sufficient Cu to the mitochondria, which can be compensated by other mitochondrial cuproproteins. Co-localization and co-immunoprecipitation of PiC2 and COX also suggest that PiC2 may participate upstream in the copper delivery chain into COX, as verified by
Cu
-transfer experiments. These data indicate an important role for PiC2 in both the delivery of Cu to the mitochondria and COX, favoring the differentiation of primary myoblasts.
This study investigates the mall's Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) to compare changes in levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) concentration in the morning and evening. It also explores the sources of ...emission released that could be related to occupants' health status (dizziness, headaches, flu, running nose, nose stuffy, nose irritation, eye irritation, watery eye, and eye reddening). A questionnaire survey approach was used to collect quantitative data involving 32 workers from malls in Malacca, Malaysia. This study established models to measure changes in VOCs level in two different sessions for a given area. Also, predictors related to the work context (human performance and condition) were found to be significantly related to occupants' symptoms. Two significant values identified the changes in VOCs concentration for morning and evening sessions in the lobby, bakery, eye ware shop, mobile centers, and supermarket. No evidence supports the exposure towards the personal individual in the present findings. This study contributes to the literature on levels of VOCs in the shopping mall as well as the emission sources. It also suggests that more comprehensive monitoring can be achieved, particularly in the context of Malaysia.
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