The uranium(VI) adsorption efficiency of non-living biomass of brown algae was evaluated in various adsorption experimental conditions. Several different sizes of biomass were prepared using ...pretreatment and surface-modification steps. The kinetics of uranium uptake were mainly dependent on the particle size of the prepared Laminaria japonica biosorbent. The optimal particle size, contact time, and injection amount for the stable operation of the wastewater treatment process were determined. Spectroscopic analyses showed that uranium was adsorbed in the porous inside structure of the biosorbent. The ionic diffusivity in the biomass was the dominant rate-limiting factor; therefore, the adsorption rate was significantly increased with decrease of particle size. From the results of comparative experiments using the biosorbents and other chemical adsorbents/precipitants, such as activated carbons, zeolites, and limes, it was demonstrated that the brown algae biosorbent could replace the conventional chemicals for uranium removal. As a post-treatment for the final solid waste reduction, the ignition treatment could significantly reduce the weight of waste biosorbents. In conclusion, the brown algae biosorbent is shown to be a favorable adsorbent for uranium(VI) removal from radioactive wastewater.
Stathmin1 is a microtubule-regulating protein that has an important role in the assembly and disassembly of the mitotic spindle. The roles of stathmin1 in carcinogenesis of various cancers, including ...prostate and breast cancer, have been explored. However, its expression and roles in gastric cancer have not yet been described.
Stathmin1 expression in paraffin-embedded tissue sections from 226 patients was analysed by immunohistochemistry. Roles of stathmin1 were studied using a specific small interfering RNA (siRNA).
The expression of stathmin1 was positively correlated with lymph node metastasis, TNM stages and vascular invasion, and negatively with recurrence-free survival, in the diffuse type of gastric cancer. The median recurrence-free survival in patients with a negative and positive expression of stathmin1 was 17.0 and 7.0 months, respectively (P=0.009). When the expression of stathmin1 was knocked down using siRNA, the proliferation, migration and invasion of poorly differentiated gastric cancer cells in vitro were significantly inhibited. Moreover, stathmin1 siRNA transfection significantly slowed the growth of xenografts in nude mice.
These results suggest that stathmin1 can be a good prognostic factor for recurrence-free survival rate and is a therapeutic target in diffuse-type gastric cancer.
We report solution-processed, amorphous indium-gallium-zinc-oxide-based (a-IGZO-based) thin-film transistors (TFTs). Our proposed solution-processed a-IGZO films, using a simple spin-coating method, ...were formed through nitrate ligand-based metal complexes, and they were annealed at low temperature (250 °C) to achieve high-quality oxide films and devices. We investigated solution-processed a-IGZO TFTs with various thicknesses, ranging from 4 to 16 nm. The 4 nm-thick TFT films had smooth morphology and high-density, and they exhibited excellent performance, i.e. a high saturation mobility of 7.73 ± 0.44 cm2 V−1 s−1, a sub-threshold swing of 0.27 V dec−1, an on/off ratio of ~108, and a low threshold voltage of 3.10 ± 0.30 V. However, the performance of the TFTs degraded as the film thickness was increased. We further performed positive and negative bias stress tests to examine their electrical stability, and it was noted that the operating behavior of the devices was highly stable. Despite a small number of free charges, the high performance of the ultrathin a-IGZO TFTs was attributed to the small effect of the thickness of the channel, low bulk resistance, the quality of the a-IGZO/SiO2 interface, and high film density.
Conformation-dependent properties of l-tyrosine and l-tryptophan in neutral and radical cations were studied by using the density functional theory (DFT) with a new density functional M05-2X. The ...results are compared with those obtained by using the conventional DFT (B3LYP). Results obtained by both types of DFT were in qualitative accord, including the existence of two conformational subgroups and their subgroup-dependent adiabatic ionization energy and hydrogen bonding. On the other hand, quantitative differences were found between the two DFT methods as well: the M05-2X method successfully reproduced experimental adiabatic ionization energy, whereas the B3LYP functional consistently yielded significantly lower values by 0.2–0.3 eV. More importantly, natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis for cationic conformers showed that all conformers of l-tyrosine and L-tryptophan undergo charge localization upon ionization regardless of the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonding, unlike the case of l-phenylalanine that was treated earlier by other studies. Different degrees of charge localization among all three aromatic amino acids are explained by employing a simple model in which the aromatic amino acid is assumed to consist of two submoieties of distinct cationic core: the backbone and aromatic side chain. The difference in adiabatic ionization energy between these two submoieties is found to govern the degree of charge localization.
Ramosetron is a new selective 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) receptor antagonist that reportedly has more potent antiemetic effects compared with other 5-HT3 receptor antagonists. The purpose of ...this study was to evaluate the efficacy of ramosetron for the prevention of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) with that of ondansetron or placebo in high-risk patients undergoing gynaecological surgery.
In this prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, 162 healthy patients who were undergoing gynaecological operation under general anaesthesia using sevoflurane were enrolled. Patients were divided into three groups: the ramosetron group (0.3 mg i.v.; n=54), the ondansetron group (8 mg i.v.; n=54), and the placebo group (normal saline i.v.; n=54). The treatments were given before the end of surgery. The incidence of PONV, severity of nausea, and the use of rescue antiemetic requirements during the first 24 h after surgery were evaluated.
The incidence of nausea was lower in the ramosetron (50%) and ondansetron (44%) groups compared with the placebo group (69%) (P<0.05). In addition, the incidence of vomiting was lower in both the ramosetron (17%) and the ondansetron (20%) groups than in the placebo group (44%) during the first 24 h after surgery (P<0.05). The visual analogue scale score for nausea was also lower in the ramosetron and ondansetron groups compared with the placebo group (P<0.05). The proportion of patients requiring rescue antiemetics was significantly lower with ramosetron (15%) when compared with the placebo group (41%) during the 24 h after surgery (P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the incidence of nausea and vomiting, severity of nausea, and required rescue PONV between the ramosetron and the ondansetron groups.
Ramosetron 0.3 mg i.v. was as effective as ondansetron 8 mg i.v. in decreasing the incidence of PONV and reducing nausea severity in female patients during the first 24 h after gynaecological surgery.
The effects of capsaicin (CAP), a transient receptor potential vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) agonist, were determined on nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) neurons in the ...1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD). The results showed that TRPV1 activation by CAP rescued nigrostriatal DA neurons, enhanced striatal DA functions and improved behavioral recovery in MPTP-treated mice. CAP neuroprotection was associated with reduced expression of proinflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β) and reactive oxygen species/reactive nitrogen species from activated microglia-derived NADPH oxidase, inducible nitric oxide synthase or reactive astrocyte-derived myeloidperoxidase. These beneficial effects of CAP were reversed by treatment with the TRPV1 antagonists capsazepine and iodo-resiniferatoxin, indicating TRPV1 involvement. This study demonstrates that TRPV1 activation by CAP protects nigrostriatal DA neurons via inhibition of glial activation-mediated oxidative stress and neuroinflammation in the MPTP mouse model of PD. These results suggest that CAP and its analogs may be beneficial therapeutic agents for the treatment of PD and other neurodegenerative disorders that are associated with neuroinflammation and glial activation-derived oxidative damage.
As the consumer market in the optics, electronics and aerospace industries grows, the demand for ultra-precision aspheric surface micro-lens increases. To enhance the precision and productivity of ...ultra-precision aspheric surface micro-lens, we present an ultra-precision grinding system and process for the aspheric surface micro-lens. In this paper, an ultra-precision grinding system for manufacturing the aspheric surface micro-lens was developed by considering the factors affecting the grinding surface roughness and profile accuracy. This paper deals with the mirror grinding of an aspheric surface micro-lens by resin-bonded diamond wheel and with the spherical lens of BK7. The optimization of grinding conditions with respect to ground surface roughness and profile accuracy is investigated by design of experiments.
Study of a large size double stack MRPC with strip readout Baek, Y.W.; Kim, D.W.; Williams, M.C.S.
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
06/2019, Letnik:
928
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Multigap Resistive Plate Chambers (MRPC) have been using in many experiments for the purpose of particle identification by the measurement of time-of-flight, thanks to its excellent timing ...performance. We present here a new design of a large size MRPC. It consists of double stack with three gaps of 250μm each with long readout strips. The sensitive area is 85 × 85cm2. The aim of this design was to reduce the applied voltage. Gas distribution tubes have been added to improve the uniformity of the gas flow to the entire sensitive area of large MRPC.
Average load forecasting errors for the holidays are much higher than those for weekdays. So far, many studies on the short-term load forecasting have been made to improve the prediction accuracy ...using various methods such as deterministic, stochastic, artificial neural net (ANN) and neural network-fuzzy methods. In order to reduce the load forecasting error of the 24 hourly loads for the holidays, the concept of fuzzy regression analysis is employed in the short-term load forecasting problem. According to the historical load data, the same type of holiday showed a similar trend of load profile as in previous years. The fuzzy linear regression model is made from the load data of the previous three years and the coefficients of the model are found by solving the mixed linear programming problem. The proposed algorithm shows good accuracy, and the average maximum percentage error is 3.57% in the load forecasting of the holidays for the years of 1996-1997.
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