Herein, we report the synthesis and characterization of Ce(iii)-doped UiO-66 nanocrystals, revealing their potential to efficiently remove organic dyes such as methylene blue (MB), methyl orange ...(MO), Congo red (CR), and acid chrome blue K (AC) from aqueous solutions. Specifically, the room-temperature adsorption capacities of Ce(iii)-doped UiO-66 equaled 145.3 (MB), 639.6 (MO), and 826.7 (CR) mg g
, exceeding those reported for pristine UiO-66 by 490, 270, and 70%, respectively. The above behavior was rationalized based on zeta potential and adsorption isotherm investigations, which revealed that Ce(iii) doping increases the number of adsorption sites and promotes π-π interactions between the adsorbent and the adsorbate, thus improving the adsorption capacity for cationic and anionic dyes and overriding the effect of electrostatic interactions. The obtained results shed light on the mechanism of organic dye adsorption on metal-organic frameworks, additionally revealing that the synergetic interplay of electrostatic, π-π, and hydrophobic interactions results in the operation of two distinct adsorption regimes depending on adsorbate concentration.
Excess iron has been shown to induce diabetes in animal models. However, the results from human epidemiologic studies linking body iron stores and iron intake to the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus ...(T2DM) are conflicting. In this study, we aimed to systematically evaluate the available evidence for associations between iron intake, body iron stores, and the risk of T2DM.
A systematic search of the PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE databases to the end of 22 April 2012 was performed, and reference lists of retrieved articles were screened. Two reviewers independently evaluated the eligibility of inclusion and extracted the data. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random-effects models.
We reviewed 449 potentially relevant articles, and 11 prospective studies were included in the analysis. A meta-analysis of five studies gave a pooled RR for T2DM of 1.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 1.48; P<0.001) in individuals with the highest level of heme iron intake, compared with those with the lowest level. The pooled RR for T2DM for a daily increment of 1 mg of heme iron intake was 1.16 (1.09 to 1.23, P<0.001). Body iron stores, as measured by ferritin, soluble transferrin receptor (sTfR) and the sTfR:ferritin ratio, were significantly associated with the risk of T2DM. The pooled RRs for T2DM in individuals with the highest versus the lowest intake of ferritin levels was 1.70 (1.27-2.27, P<0.001) before adjustment for inflammatory markers and 1.63 (1.03-2.56, P = 0.036) after adjustment. We did not find any significant association of dietary intakes of total iron, non-heme, or supplemental iron intake with T2DM risk.
Higher heme iron intake and increased body iron stores were significantly associated with a greater risk of T2DM. Dietary total iron, non-heme iron, or supplemental iron intakes were not significantly associated with T2DM risk.
Key to the mass adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is the establishment of successful business models based on sound understanding of consumer behavior in adopting this new technology. In this ...paper, we study the impact of two major barriers to mass adoption of EVs: (i) range anxiety, the concern that the driving range of EVs may be insufficient to meet the driving needs, and (ii) resale anxiety, the concern that used values of EVs may deteriorate quickly. Using a stylized model calibrated to a data set based on the San Francisco Bay Area, we show that although both types of consumer anxieties typically harm the firm’s profit, they often improve consumer surplus. In addition, we show that a business model that requires consumers to lease the EV batteries (rather than purchase them) may lead to a greater level of adoption and emission savings when the level of resale anxiety is high. Further, a business model that offers EV range improvement through enhanced charging infrastructure typically yields greater adoption and consumer surplus, but lowers the firm’s profit, compared with one that offers enlarged batteries. Overall, we find that the combinations of battery owning/leasing with enhanced charging service, referred to as the (O, E) and (L, E) models in our paper, typically yield the best balance among the objectives of EV adoption, emission savings, profitability, and consumer surplus, when the degree of resale anxiety is low and high, respectively.
Caudal autotomy in lizards has intrigued scientists for more than 100 years. Because of the relative lack of literature under natural conditions, the complicated association among field autotomy ...rate, real predation pressure, the long-term cost of tail loss, and the benefit of regeneration remains equivocal. In this study, we conducted a 7-year capture–mark–recapture (CMR) programme with a wild population of a sexually dichromatic lizard, Takydromus viridipunctatus. We used autotomy indexes and a contemporary bird census mega-dataset of four predatory birds as predictors to examine the association between tail loss and predation pressure. We further estimated the survival cost of tail loss and alleviation by regeneration under natural conditions through CMR modelling. We found that large and small avian predators affect lizard survival through the following two routes: the larger-sized cattle egret causes direct mortality while the smaller shrikes and kestrels are the major causes of autotomy. Following autotomy, the survival rate of tailless individuals over the next month was significantly lower than that of tailed individuals, especially males during the breeding season, which showed a decline of greater than 30%. This sex-related difference further demonstrated the importance of reproductive costs for males in this sexually dichromatic species. However, the risk of mortality returned to baseline after the tails were fully grown. This study indicates the benefit of tail regeneration under natural conditions, which increases our understanding of the cost–benefit dynamics of caudal autotomy and further explains the maintenance of this trait as an evolutionarily beneficial adaption to long-term predator–prey interactions.
This paper discusses the influence of firms' greenwash on their consumers' green purchase behaviour and explores the mediation roles of their green brand image and their consumers' green brand ...loyalty. This study focuses on Taiwanese consumers who have purchase experience of green products. This study uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to obtain empirical results. The results demonstrate that firms' greenwash negatively influences their consumers' green purchase behaviour. Besides, this research proves that firms' greenwash is negatively related to both their green brand image and their consumers' green brand loyalty that would positively affect their consumers' green purchase behaviour. This paper also verifies that firms' green brand image and their consumers' green brand loyalty partially mediate the negative relationship between their greenwash and their consumers' green purchase behaviour. It means that firms' greenwash does not only have a direct negative effect on their consumers' green purchase behaviour, but also has an indirect negative effect on it via their green brand image and their consumers' green brand loyalty. Thus, this research suggests that firms should decrease their greenwash behaviours and increase their green brand image and their consumers' green brand loyalty to enhance their consumers' green purchase behaviour.
It remains unclear how many hours of sleep are associated with the lowest risk of type 2 diabetes. This meta-analysis was performed to assess the dose-response relationship between sleep duration and ...risk of type 2 diabetes.
PubMed and Embase were searched up to 20 March 2014 for prospective observational studies that assessed the relationship of sleep duration and risk of type 2 diabetes. Both semiparametric and parametric methods were used.
Ten articles with 11 reports were eligible for inclusion in the meta-analysis. A total of 18,443 incident cases of type 2 diabetes were ascertained among 482,502 participants with follow-up periods ranging from 2.5 to 16 years. A U-shaped dose-response relationship was observed between sleep duration and risk of type 2 diabetes, with the lowest risk observed at a sleep duration category of 7-8 h per day. Compared with 7-h sleep duration per day, the pooled relative risks for type 2 diabetes were 1.09 (95% CI 1.04-1.15) for each 1-h shorter sleep duration among individuals who slept <7 h per day and 1.14 (1.03-1.26) for each 1-h increment of sleep duration among individuals with longer sleep duration.
Our dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies shows a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and risk of type 2 diabetes, with the lowest type 2 diabetes risk at 7-8 h per day of sleep duration. Both short and long sleep duration are associated with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes, underscoring the importance of appropriate sleep duration in the delay or prevention of type 2 diabetes.
Purpose
Previous systematic review suggested a beneficial effect of progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) for cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. However, poor quality of eligible studies which ...included in previous systematic review impaired the reliability and validity of findings. The aim of the present systematic review was to further assess the value of PMR in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Methods
We assigned two independent investigators to search potential studies in PubMed, Cochrane Controlled Register of Trial (CENTRAL), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), China Biomedical Literature database (CBM), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang Data database. We used data extraction sheet to extract essential information, and used the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool to appraise the quality of eligible studies. Finally, we qualitatively summarized the results of all included studies.
Results
Six studies enrolling 288 patients were included finally. Of these 6 studies, three were labeled as moderate quality and the remaining studies were low quality. All included studies consistently suggested that PMR has a positive effect on chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, especially on the incidence, frequency, and degree of delayed nausea and vomiting.
Conclusion
Independent studies indicated that PMR was a beneficial approach of preventing and alleviating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting among cancer patients. However, further studies enrolling other types of primary tumors should be designed in order to increase the generality of PMR because studies which were included in the present systematic review mainly considered patients with lung cancer and breast cancer. Moreover, future studies with high quality and large-scale are also warranted in order to address the limitations in the present systematic review such as poor quality and limited data of eligible studies.
The amorphous carbon was coated on the surface of the nano-silicon with citric acid by a simple mechanical stirring in water bath method and high temperature pyrolysis method, and then the ...carbon-coated silicon composite material(Si@C) was coated with polyvinyl alcohol by the secondary mechanical stirring and high temperature pyrolysis to obtain double carbon layer-coated silicon composite material (Si@C@C). The microstructure and surface morphology of Si@C@C were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical properties of Si@C@C were investigated by constant current charge–discharge, cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectra techniques. The study found that the first reversible specific capacity of Si@C@C was 1669 mAh/g at the current density of 0.1 C. The specific capacity remained at 1300 mAh/g, while the capacity retention rate was 77.9% after 200 cycles. The cyclic stability of Si@C@C was higher than that of Si@C, which greatly improved the electrochemical performance of silicon-based materials as anode materials for lithium ion batteries.
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