Material Discovery and High Throughput Exploration of Ru Based Catalysts for Low Temperature Ammonia Decomposition

High throughput experimentation has the capability to generate massive, multidimensional datasets, allowing for the discovery of novel catalytic materials. Here, we show the synthesis and catalytic screening of over 100 unique Ru-Metal-K based bimetallic catalysts for low temperature ammonia decomposition, with a Ru loading between 1–3 wt% Ru and a fixed K loading of 12 wt% K, supported on γ-Al2O3. Bimetallic catalysts containing Sc, Sr, Hf, Y, Mg, Zr, Ta, or Ca in addition to Ru were found to have excellent ammonia decomposition activity when compared to state-of-the-art catalysts in literature. Furthermore, the Ru content could be reduced to 1 wt% Ru, a factor of four decrease, with the addition of Sr, Y, Zr, or Hf, where these secondary metals have not been previously explored for ammonia decomposition. The bimetallic interactions between Ru and the secondary metal, specifically RuSrK and RuFeK, were investigated in detail to elucidate the reaction kinetics and surface properties of both high and low performing catalysts. The RuSrK catalyst had a turnover frequency of 1.78 s−1 , while RuFeK had a turnover frequency of only 0.28 s−1 under identical operating conditions. Based on their apparent activation energies and number of surface sites, the RuSrK had a factor of two lower activation energy than the RuFeK, while also possessing an equivalent number of surface sites, which suggests that the Sr promotes ammonia decomposition in the presence of Ru by modifying the active sites of Ru

Infection Control and SARS Transmission among Healthcare Workers, Taiwan

This study found infrequent transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus to healthcare workers involved in the care of the first five case-patients in Taiwan, despite a substantial number of unprotected exposures. Nonetheless, given that SARS has been highly transmissible on some occasions, we still recommend strict precautions

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Reverses Ischemia-Related Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Remodeling: Molecular-Cellular and Functional Assessment

An optimal treatment for patients with diffuse obstructive arterial disease unsuitable for catheter-based or surgical intervention is still pending. This study tested the hypothesis that extracorporeal shock wave (ECSW) therapy may be a therapeutic alternative under such clinical situation. Myocardial ischemia was induced in male mini-pigs through applying an ameroid constrictor over mid-left anterior descending artery (LAD). Twelve mini-pigs were equally randomized into group 1 (Constrictor over LAD only) and group 2 (Constrictor over LAD plus ECSW [800 impulses at 0.09 mJ/mm2] once 3 months after the procedure). Results showed that the parameters measured by echocardiography did not differ between two groups on days 0 and 90. However, echocardiography and left ventricular (LV) angiography showed higher LV ejection fraction and lower LV end-systolic dimension and volume in group 2 on day 180 (p<0.035). Besides, mRNA and protein expressions of CXCR4 and SDF-1α were increased in group 2 (p<0.04). Immunofluorescence staining also showed higher number of vWF-, CD31-, SDF-1α-, and CXCR4-positive cells in group 2 (all p<0.04). Moreover, immunohistochemical staining showed notably higher vessel density but lower mean fibrosis area, number of CD40-positive cells and apoptotic nuclei in group 2 (all p<0.045). Mitochondrial protein expression of oxidative stress was lower, whereas cytochrome-C was higher in group 2 (all p<0.03). Furthermore, mRNA expressions of MMP-9, Bax and caspase-3 were lower, whereas Bcl-2, eNOS, VEGF and PGC-1α were higher in group 2 (all p<0.01). In conclusion, ECSW therapy effectively reversed ischemia-elicited LV dysfunction and remodeling through enhancing angiogenesis and attenuating inflammation and oxidative stress

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Role Attitudes and Role Play Experiences of Female Breadwinner in Economically Disadvantaged Family

近年來，女性勞動參與率的提高使得雙薪家庭的比例逐漸攀升，而隨著男性失業風險的增加以及女性薪資能力追趕的情形下，「女性養家者」的角色亦開始被重視，女性養家者的出現在個人的角色經驗與認同、家庭性別分工與權力關係、婚姻品質與滿意度、勞動市場結構與社會政策等層面皆有影響，然而有關女性養家者的角色態度與角色實踐經驗在現有研究中均較少被提及。由於在社會工作的實務領域中，不少經濟弱勢家庭都倚賴女性作為家庭的主要養家者，故本研究以經濟弱勢家庭內的女性養家者為研究對象，探討她們在角色就位的歷程、性別角色態度變化、家庭角色實踐的經驗。 本研究採用質性研究的深入訪談法，透過立意抽樣的方式，訪談七位在經濟弱勢雙親家庭內至少有一名18歲以下子女的女性養家者。研究發現「養家者」角色的形成歷程受到外在情境因素與內在自我就位的趨力影響，包含先生就業力減弱、家人期待、性別社會化、母職動力、夫妻相對責任等因素。受訪者在性別角色態度方面則呈現「傳統保守型」、「突破改變型」、「現代開放型」等三種樣貌，影響其差異的原因可能來自於文化與性別規範、年齡及教育程度、經濟力的相互角力。實踐家庭角色時，經濟弱勢家庭女性養家者有傳統與現代價值並存的現象，既維持傳統照顧子女及從事家務的女性角色，和先生互動與決策時卻又開始展現其權力與主動性。而這群女性養家者除須負擔經濟重任外，亦有焦慮及疲累等內在心理壓力。 依據研究結果，本研究在政策制度面與社會工作實務面分別做出建議，政策制度面建議應去除以「身分」為主的社會政策迷思，並提升女性薪資水準和就業支持制度、加強性別平等教育。社會工作實務應落實「以家庭為中心」的服務思維、關注女性養家者的情緒壓力、加強宣導婦女服務資源。In recent decades, we have witnessed an upward trend of female labor force participation rate, and the number of double income families has increased. However, due to the rising male unemployment rate and female earning ability, more and more women take the role “female breadwinner (FBW)” in a family. The development trend may have impact on the female role experience, the quality of marriage, labor market structure, and family policy. This study intends to examine how women would adjust the new FBW role in economically disadvantaged family in terms of gender role attitude and role taking experience. This study adopted a qualitative research approach. Seven women were in-depth interview who have been the breadwinner in two-parent families with at least one child aged below 18. The results showed that these women taking the role of FBW were drived by external and internal forces, including lessening earning ability by their husbands, meeting family anticipation as a daughter-in-law, conforming gender role expectation, concerning children needs as a mother, and fulfilling marriage responsibilities as a wife. Moreover, taking the FBW’s role changed their attitudes toward female role in a family. Three categories of the role types were extracted from the interviews as traditional, changing, and modern styles. And their new FBW role experiences in marital and parental subsystem were shaped by traditional culture and gender norms, However, these women were so busy to work to make the ends met that they did not have time and energy to pursue their personal needs. Based on the findings, suggestions regarding family policy and social work practice were included

A latent class generalised nested logit model and its application to modelling carrier choice with market segmentation

This article develops a new latent class (LC) model with a generalised nested logit (GNL) formulation to enhance the methodology of market segmentation analysis. The standard generalised nested logit (or the cross-nested logit model) is a special case of the latent class generalised nested logit model (LCGNL) that accounts for heterogeneity in individuals’ preferences by a number of segments and simultaneously identifies segment sizes and individual profiles. In addition, the LCGNL model allows flexible substitution patterns among alternatives. This extends the standard LC model with the multinomial logit formulation, such that the independence from irrelevant alternatives property does not hold within segments. The proposed model was used to identify potential segments of travellers’ preferences towards air and bus carriers. The estimation results of the LCGNL models indicate that degrees of competition vary across carriers and that differential sensitivity in preference parameters exists between segments. The LCGNL model outperforms the other models; therefore, it is a better approach for analysing carrier choice behaviour