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•Chemically enhanced primary sedimentation (CEPS) was combined with sludge fermentation for wastewater treatment.•CEPS significantly improved the organic and phosphate removals from ...wastewater.•27% of organic carbon was recovered as VFAs from influent sewage via sludge fermentation.•24% of phosphorous from influent sewage was recovered for making P-fertilizer.
A new chemically enhanced primary sedimentation (CEPS) and sludge fermentation process are developed for improved nutrient removal, energy saving and resource recovery in municipal wastewater treatment. The FeCl3-based CEPS with a dosage of 20mg-Fe/L can remove 75.6% of organic pollutants and 99.3% of PO4-P on average from wastewater. Under natural fermentation conditions, the CEPS sludge undergoes effective hydrolysis and acidogenesis to produce volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and release phosphate as valuable resources. By using CEPS, around 27% of the organic carbon in wastewater influent can be recovered via sludge fermentation, mainly in the form of VFAs, and about 23% of phosphorus recovered for making vivianite fertilizer. In comparison, both the organic and phosphorus recovery ratios from wastewater are under 10% with conventional primary sedimentation and sludge fermentation. CEPS combined with side-stream sludge fermentation can be readily applied in new treatment plants or in a retrofit of existing treatment systems.
The eurozone crisis has spectacularly increased the European Union's (EU's) institutional demand for expert knowledge. While the crisis has challenged the legitimacy of the EU in many ways, it has in ...contrast amplified the visibility and the role of Brussels-based think tanks as laboratories of ideas that think ahead about eurozone governance and policies. Drawing on the analysis of more than 450 expert reports produced by two leading Brussels-based think tanks, over 300 CVs and biographical notes as well interviews, this article explores when, how and why Brussels-based think tanks expand their networks in times of crisis. While the article leaves aside the question of their ideational impact upon agenda-setting and the policy formulation process leading to the new European economic governance, it shows how think tanks adapt to crises and how they seek to have a voice in thinking about the future of the EU's economic governance.
This article explores the evolving relationship between China and CARICOM countries. It discusses how China has been using regional soft power to influence educational mobility. It speaks to the ...tensions inherent in debt diplomacy and educational mobility as economic and political regional integration (Caribbean exceptionalism) is engendered. As China pursues bilateral relations under South-South Cooperation rather than multilateral relations through CARICOM, we argue that China uses soft power through infrastructural loans and scholarships to influence regional educational policy. It concludes by suggesting that a common bilateral China-CARICOM policy of economic and political engagement is preferable for all CARICOM states.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Adolescent depression has become a public health issue in China. Family environment and school life play important roles in shaping adolescent mental health. Our study aimed to examine the effect of ...parent-adolescent communication, school-life experiences, learning difficulties, and confidence in the future on depressive symptoms. We also examined the mediating effects of school-life experiences, learning difficulties, and confidence in the future on the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and depressive symptoms.
Data on depressive symptoms, parent-adolescent communication, and mediating variables were obtained from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), including baseline data (2013-2014) and follow-up data (2014-2015). Mixed-effect models were used to evaluate the effects of parent-adolescent communication, school-life experiences, learning difficulties, and confidence in the future on depressive symptoms, and path analyses were performed to determine the mediating roles of school-life experiences, learning difficulties, and confidence in the future on the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and adolescent depressive symptoms.
More father-adolescent communication, better school-life experiences, and higher confidence in the future were protective factors for depressive symptoms among all boys and girls, and learning difficulties were a risk factor for depressive symptoms among all boys and girls. School-life experiences, learning difficulties, and confidence in the future had statistically significant mediating effects on the relationship between parent-adolescent communication and depressive symptoms.
More father-adolescent communication, higher confidence in the future, better school-life experiences, and fewer academic difficulties were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. Both mother-adolescent communication and father-adolescent communication affected depressive symptoms through their effects on school-life experience, learning difficulties, and confidence in the future. This finding highlighted the importance of parent-adolescent communication and its impact on depression.
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Omniligase-1 is a broadly applicable enzyme for peptide bond formation between an activated acyl donor peptide and a non-protected acyl acceptor peptide. The enzyme is derived from an ...earlier subtilisin variant called peptiligase by several rounds of protein engineering aimed at increasing synthetic yields and substrate range. To examine the contribution of individual mutations on S/H ratio and substrate scope in peptide synthesis, we selected peptiligase variant M222P/L217H as a starting enzyme and introduced successive mutations. Mutation A225N in the S1′ pocket and F189W of the S2′ pocket increased the synthesis to hydrolysis (S/H) ratio and overall coupling efficiency, whereas the I107V mutation was added to S4 pocket to increase the reaction rate. The final omniligase variants appeared to have a very broad substrate range, coupling more than 250 peptides in a 400-member library of acyl acceptors, as indicated by a high-throughput FRET assay. Crystal structures and computational modelling could rationalize the exceptional properties of omniligase-1 in peptide synthesis
As China's urbanization process deepens, more and more residents of small and medium-sized cities are moving to large cities, and the number of left-behind children is increasing. In this paper, ...using data from the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), a nationally representative survey sample, we examine the well-being of left-behind children with urban household registration at the junior high school level and the causal effects of parental migration on their well-being. Research findings indicate that children who are left behind in urban areas are at a disadvantage in most aspects of their well-being compared to urban non-left-behind children. We examine the determinants of urban household registration for left-behind children. Children in families with lower socioeconomic status, more siblings, and poorer health were more likely to be left behind. In addition, our counterfactual framework reveals that, on average, staying behind negatively impacts the well-being of urban children, based on the propensity score matching (PSM) method. Compared to non-migrant children, left-behind children had significantly lower physical health, mental health, cognitive ability, academic performance, school affiliation, and relationships with their parents.
The introduction of the "maximum tolerated dose" in usual treatment protocols (and its concomitant overt toxicity) made necessary the imposition of rest periods between cycles of therapy-a practice ...that not only involves re-growth of tumour cells, but also growth of selected clones resistant to the therapy. To avoid the problems caused by traditional chemotherapeutic regimens, a new modality of drug administration called "metronomic chemotherapy" has been proposed. This name makes reference to the chronic, equally spaced administration of (generally) low doses of various chemotherapeutic drugs without extended rest periods. The novelty of this treatment modality lies not only in its antitumour efficacy with very low toxicity, but also in a cell target switch, now aiming at tumour endothelial cells. The knowledge acquired in the experimental field of metronomic chemotherapy, plus the increasing experience that is being obtained in the clinical setting, will help to lead a change in the design of therapeutic protocols against cancer.
•This study extends the current literature on student-teacher gender match that mainly focuses on academic achievement outcomes by further including direct measures of students’ perception of a ...subject as well as classroom interactions with the subject teacher.•This study is conducted within an experimental condition where junior high students in China are randomly assigned to teachers.•We base our study on a unique source of data, China Education Panel Survey (CEPS), a recent and large-scale nationally representative survey of junior high students in China.•We document gender-differences in academic performance, self-perceived ability and perceptions of different subjects in China.•We find substantial gender academic achievement gaps in favor of girls in all of the three main subject areas, although the sizes of the gaps are substantially smaller in math than in literacy.•Our results suggest that teacher gender has little impact on boys. In contrast, having a female teacher noticeably improves girls’ self-reported student-teacher interactions, self-perceived ability, and academic performance, although the effect is only robust and persists over time in the subject of math.
Based on a nationally representative data of middle school students from China, this paper intends to document gender performance gaps among middle school students in China and the role of teachers. gender in either reducing or perpetuating such gaps. We find substantial gender academic achievement gaps in favor of girls in all of the three main subject areas, although the sizes of the gaps are substantially smaller in math than in literacy. Exploiting the fact that middle school students in China are randomly assigned to classes, we then examine the impact of student-teacher gender match not only on academic performance, but also on students. self-perceived ability in each subject area and self-perceived interactions with the teacher teaching that subject. Our results suggest that teacher gender has little impact on boys. In contrast, having a female teacher noticeably improves girls. self-reported student-teacher interactions, self-perceived ability, and academic performance, although the effect is only robust and persists over time in the subject of math.
Congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (CEPS) is a rare malformation of the mesenteric vasculature, which may lead to severe complications. In this report, we describe a case series of three ...children with type II CEPS (presenting as hypoxemia) and hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS). The first patient was a 4-year-old male who did not receive any specific treatment and subsequently died of brain abscess 5 years after the diagnosis. The second patient was a 10-year-old female with a 5-year history of cyanosis and dyspnea on exertion. She had partial regression of hypoxemia and improved exercise tolerance at 8 months after a surgical shunt closure. The third patient was a 4-year-old male with a 3-year history of cyanosis and decreased exercise tolerance. He had full regression of hypoxemia at 3 months after a transcatheter shunt closure.
Conclusion
: These results indicate that CEPS may present in children with unexplained hypoxemia, which may lead to devastating clinical consequences. Closure of portosystemic shunts may result in resolution of HPS in type II CEPS and the length of period for resolution varies depending on the severity of HPS.
What is Known:
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Congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt (CEPS) is a rare cause of hepatopulmonary syndrome (HPS).
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There have been few reports in the literature about the management and outcome of HPS in children with CEPS.
What is New:
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CEPS may present in children with unexplained hypoxemia, which may lead to devastating clinical consequences.
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Closure of portosystemic shunts may result in resolution of HPS in type II CEPS.
This study examines whether information about the winners of the Sustainability Reporting Award (SRA) contributes to the usefulness of the information in financial statements. This study used a ...sample consisting of 110 winners of SRA (SRA firms) and 110 companies that did not receive SRA (non-SRA firms) from 2008 to 2016. The study found that earnings per share (EPS), earnings per share change (EPSC), and book value per share (BVPS) are value-relevant information. Results of comparison between SRA firms and non-SRA firms show that the positive association between EPS and stock price (P) and the positive association of EPS with stock returns (R) for SRA firms are higher than that for the non-SRA firms. In addition, findings of this study indicate that EPSC is positively associated with R when EPSC and R are measured by Indonesian rupiah (IDR) instead of by percentage, and the positive association between EPSC and R for the SRA firms is higher than that for the non-SRA firms. Thus, the results are sensitive to measures of the variables. However, this study found that value relevance of BVPS for SRA firms is lower than for non-SRA firms. Implication of this study is that information about the winners of SRA contributes to the usefulness of financial statements, especially the information of EPS and EPSC.