The hydrothermal synthesis of hydrotalcite by using different partially soluble and insoluble in water mangesium and aluminium components

In this work, the influence of different partially soluble and insoluble in water Mg and Al components on the formation of hydrotalcite by using only hydrothermal synthesis was examined. Hydrothermal synthesis duration was 4, 24 and 72 h at 200°C and Mg/Al ratio was equal to 3:1. The starting materials were: 4MgCO3•Mg(OH)2•5H2O, Mg5(CO3)4•(OH)2•4H2O, Al(OH)3 and γ-Al2O3. It was determined that Mg and Al containing compounds have most important influence on the formation of hydrotalcite by hydrothermal conditions. 4MgCO3⋅Mg(OH)2⋅5H2O as raw material is not recommendable for the synthesis of hydrotalcite, because even after 24 h of isothermal curing at 200°C temperature hydrotalcite is not formed and magnesium aluminum hydroxide hydrate is dominant in the synthesis products. Besides, initial magnesium containing component is decomposed into magnesium carbonate and hydroxide. It was examined that hydrotalcite is formed already after 4 h of hydrothermal synthesis at 200°C temperature when Mg/Al molar ratio is equal to 3:1 in the Mg5(CO3)4•(OH)2•4H2O - γ-Al2O3/ Al(OH)3 - H2O system. However, together with this compound a fair amount of an intermediate compounds (boehmite and magnesium carbonate) are formed. The duration of isothermal curing determines the formation of a hexagonal plates which are characteristic to hydrotalcite

Chronic kidney-disease screening service quality: questionnaire survey research evidence from Taichung city

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a serious public health problem in Taiwan and the world. The most effective, affordable treatments involve early prevention/detection/intervention, requiring screening. Successfully implementing CKD programs requires good patient participation, affected by patient perceptions of screening service quality. Service quality improvements can help make such programs more successful. Thus, good tools for assessing service quality perceptions are important. Aim: to investigate using a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire in assessing patient expectations, perceptions, and loyalty towards kidney disease screening service quality.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>1595 kidney disease screening program patients in Taichung City were requested to complete and return a modified kidney disease screening SERVQUAL questionnaire. 1187 returned them. Incomplete ones (102) were culled and 1085 were chosen as effective for use. Paired t-tests, correlation tests, ANOVA, LSD test, and factor analysis identified the characteristics and factors of service quality. The paired t-test tested expectation score and perception score gaps. A structural equation modeling system examined satisfaction-based components' relationships.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The effective response rate was 91.4%. Several methods verified validity. Cronbach's alpha on internal reliability was above 0.902. On patient satisfaction, expectation scores are high: 6.50 (0.82), but perception scores are significantly lower 6.14 (1.02). Older patients' perception scores are lower than younger patients'. Expectation and perception scores for patients with different types of jobs are significantly different. Patients higher on education have lower scores for expectation (r = -0.09) and perception (r = -0.26). Factor analysis identified three factors in the 22 item SERVQUAL form, which account for 80.8% of the total variance for the expectation scores and 86.9% of the total variance for the satisfaction scores. Expectation and perception score gaps in all 22 items are significant. The goodness-of-fit summary of the SEM results indicates that expectations and perceptions are positively correlated, perceptions and loyalty are positively correlated, but expectations and loyalty are not positively correlated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results of this research suggest that the SERVQUAL instrument is a useful measurement tool in assessing and monitoring service quality in kidney disease screening services, enabling the staff to identify where service improvements are needed from the patients' perspectives.</p

The formation of different Mg-Al LDHs (Mg/Al=2:1) under hydrothermal conditions and their application for Zn2+ ions removal

The formation of different Mg-Al LDHs (Mg/Al = 2:1) under hydrothermal conditions (200°C; 4-24 h) was investigated in the 4MgCO3⋅Mg(OH)2⋅5H2O - γ-Al2O3/Al(OH)3 - H2O and Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2•4H2O - γ-Al2O3 - H2O systems. It was determined that chemical nature of the initial Mg containing components changes the formation mechanism of the synthesis products during isothermal curing. Magnesium aluminum hydroxide hydrate is crystallized by using 4MgCO3⋅Mg(OH)2⋅5H2O as starting material while hydroxide hydrate in the Mg5(CO3)4(OH)2•4H2O presence. The sequence of the compounds formation is presented. It should be noted that different modifications of Al containing components have only a slight influence on the meixnerite-type LDH hydrothermal synthesis. It was determined that after 45 min of sorption all Zn2+ ions are incorporated into the crystal structure of hydrotalcite. It should be underlined that crystallinity of the latter compound do not change during ion exchange experiments. Thus, the latter compound can be used as adsorbent for Zn2+ ion removal. Synthesized samples were characterized by powder X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), simultaneous thermal analysis (STA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)