Advanced materials on the basis of nanostructured catalysed magnesium hydride for hydrogen storage

Philosophiae Doctor - PhDMagnesium hydride has long been regarded as a promising candidate for lightweight hydrogen storage applications, owing to reasonably high theoretical capacity (7.6 wt. %). It is burdened by slow absorption/desorption kinetics which has been the target for improvement of many research groups over the years. Nanostructured MgH2 prepared by high energy reactive ball milling (HRBM) of Mg under hydrogen atmosphere with the addition of V or Ti results in modified MgH2 that demonstrates superior hydrogenation/dehydrogenation kinetics without a crippling compromise in storage capacity. Mg – FeV nanocomposites prepared via ball milling of Mg and FeV raw materials demonstrated up to 96.4% of the theoretical storage capacity and comparable kinetics to Mg - V prepared via the same method using pure refined V (which is far costlier than FeV). In both cases, the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation kinetics was much improved than pure Mg alone, as evidenced by faster hydrogenation times. In terms of cyclic stability, Mg – 10FeV demonstrated improvement over pure Mg with final absorption and desorption capacities of 4.93 ± 0.02 wt. % and 4.82 ± 0.02 wt. % respectively over 30 cycles. When compared against Mg – V, Mg – FeV showed slightly inferior improvements, attributed to incomplete hydrogenation of V in the presence of Fe. However, they share similar crystalline BCC, BCT – V2H and FCC - VH phases with the size of less than 10 nm and demonstrated the same behaviour at high temperatures; at temperatures approaching 400 °C, particle sintering became an issue for both nanocomposites resulting in a drop in absorption capacity even in the first cycle. The further inclusion of carbonaceous species showed several effects, one of which was an improvement in hydrogen uptake speed as well as kinetics for the addition of 5 wt. % activated carbon. For the sample with 5 wt. % graphite, the appearance of an initial incubation period of up to 60 minutes was noted, presumably corresponding to the duration of time when the carbon was sheared and crushed before hydrogenation commences

Team climate and quality of care in primary health care: a review of studies using the Team Climate Inventory in the United Kingdom

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Attributes of teams could affect the quality of care delivered in primary care. The aim of this study was to systematically review studies conducted within the UK NHS primary care that have measured team climate using the Team Climate Inventory (TCI), and to describe, if reported, the relationship between the TCI and measures of quality of care.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>The databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched. The reference lists of included article were checked and one relevant journal was hand-searched. Eight papers were included. Three studies used a random sample; the remaining five used convenience or purposive samples. Six studies were cross sectional surveys, whilst two were before and after studies. Four studies examined the relationship between team climate and quality of care. Only one study found a positive association between team climate and higher quality care in patients with diabetes, positive patient satisfaction and self-reported effectiveness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While the TCI has been used to measure team attributes in primary care settings in the UK it is difficult to generalise from these data. A small number of studies reported higher TCI scores being associated with only certain aspects of quality of care; reasons for the pattern of association are unclear. There are a number of methodological challenges to conducting such studies in routine service settings. Further research is needed in order to understand how to measure team functioning in relation to quality of care.</p

Isolation And Selective Reduction Of Mitragynine, Synthesis And Characterization Of New Indole Derivatives And Their Selected Biological Activity Studies

Mitraginina (MGT) memiliki sifat analgesik yang poten tetapi ketoksikan MGT telah juga dilaporkan. Objektif utama tesis ini adalah untuk memencilkan MGT bagi pengubahsuaian lanjutan struktur dan juga untuk mensintesis terbitan indolnya bagi menilai aktiviti antiproliferatif, antioksida dan antinosiseptif masing-masing. MGT telah dipencilkan daripada daun M. speciosa dengan menggunakan prosedur penulenan yang ringkas dan berkesan. Pelbagai silana telah digunakan untuk menurunkan kumpulan karbonil dan ikatan dubel indol bagi MGT tetapi hanya ikatan berkembar indol telah berjaya diturunkan kepada indolina [CDR80 ((E)-metil 2-((2S,3S,12bS)-3-etil-8-metoksi-1,2,3,4,6,7,7a,12,12a,12b-dekahidroindolo[2,3-a]quinolizin-2-il)-3-metoksiakrilat)]. Tindak balas Pictet-Spengler telah diubahsuai dengan menggunakan 5-metoksitriptamina dan asid trifluoroasetik dalam medium akueus untuk mensintesis terbitan indol yang baru yang telah dicirikan dan dikenalpastikan sebagai CDR81 (6- metoksi-1-fenil-2,3,4,9-tetrahidro-1H-pyrido[3,4-b]indol) , CDR83 (6-metoksi-1-metil-2,3,4,9-tetrahidro-1H-pirido[3,4-b]indol), CDR82 (6-metoksi-1-(4-metoksifenil)-2,3,4,9-tetrahidro-1H-pirido[3,4-b]indol) dan CDR84 (2-metoksi-4-(6-metoksi-2,3,4,9-tetrahidro-1H-pirido[3,4-b]indol-1-l) fenol). Mitragynine (MTG) possesses potent analgesic properties but the toxic effects of MTG have also been reported. The main objective of this thesis is to isolate MTG for further structural modification and also to synthesize its indole derivatives and evaluate their antiproliferative, antioxidant and antinociceptive activities. MTG was isolated from M. speciosa leaves using a simple and effective purification procedure. Various silanes were used to reduce the carbonyl and indole double bonds of MTG but only the indole double bond was successfully reduced to indoline [CDR80 ((E)-methyl 2-((2S,3S,12bS)-3-ethyl-8-methoxy-1,2,3,4,6,7,7a,12,12a,12b-decahydroindolo[2,3-a]quinolizin-2-yl)-3-methoxy acryl ate)]. The Pictet-Spengler reaction was modified using 5-methoxytryptamine and trifluoroacetic acid in an aqueous medium to synthesize new indole derivatives which were identified and characterized as CDR81 (6- methoxy-1-phenyl-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole), CDR82 (6-methoxy-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole), CDR83 (6-methoxy-1-methyl-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole) and CDR84 (2-methoxy-4-(6-methoxy-2,3,4,9-tetrahydro-1H-pyrido[3,4- b]indol-1-l)phenol)

Stabilisation of an excavation by an embedded improved soil layer

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Factors predicting team climate, and its relationship with quality of care in general practice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Quality of care in general practice may be affected by the team climate perceived by its health and non-health professionals. Better team working is thought to lead to higher effectiveness and quality of care. However, there is limited evidence available on what affects team functioning and its relationship with quality of care in general practice. This study aimed to explore individual and practice factors that were associated with team climate, and to explore the relationship between team climate and quality of care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross sectional survey of a convenience sample of 14 general practices and their staff in South Tyneside in the northeast of England. Team climate was measured using the short version of Team Climate Inventory (TCI) questionnaire. Practice characteristics were collected during a structured interview with practice managers. Quality was measured using the practice Quality and Outcome Framework (QOF) scores.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>General Practitioners (GP) had a higher team climate scores compared to other professionals. Individual's gender and tenure, and number of GPs in the practice were significantly predictors of a higher team climate. There was no significant correlation between mean practice team climate scores (or subscales) with QOF scores.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The absence of a relationship between a measure of team climate and quality of care in this exploratory study may be due to a number of methodological problems. Further research is required to explore how to best measure team functioning and its relationship with quality of care.</p

6-Meth­oxy-1-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)-1,2,3,4-tetra­hydro-9H-β-carbolin-2-ium acetate

In the title compound, C19H21N2O2 +·C2H3O2 −, the 1H-indole ring system is essentially planar [maximum deviation = 0.0257 (14) Å] and forms a dihedral angle of 87.92 (7) Å with the benzene ring attached to the tetra­hydro­pyridinium fragment. The tetra­hydro­pyridinium ring adopts a half-chair conformation. In the crystal, cations and anions are linked by inter­ionic N—H⋯O, C—H⋯O and C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds into chains along the a axis

Are bond ratings informative? Evidence from regulatory regime changes

Published in Journal of Fixed Income, 2019, 29 (1), 6-13. https://doi.org/10.3905/jfi.2019.29.1.006</p

Biocontrol and plant-growth-promoting traits of Talaromyces apiculatus and Clonostachys rosea consortium against Ganoderma Basal Stem Rot disease of oil palm

Basal stem rot (BSR) disease caused by Ganoderma boninense basidiomycetous fungus is the most economically important disease in oil palms in South East Asia. Unfortunately, there is no single most effective control measure available. Tremendous efforts have been directed in incorporation of environmentally friendly biocontrol approaches in minimizing BSR disease. This study investigated the performance of two potential biocontrol agents (BCAs), AAT0115 and AAB0114 strains recovered from oil palm on suppression of BSR in planta, and also assessed their plant-growth-promoting (PGP) performance. ITS rRNA-sequence phylogeny discriminated the two ascomycetous Talaromyces apiculatus (Ta) AT0115 and Clonostachys rosea (Cr) AAB0114 biocontrol species with PGP characteristics. In vitro studies have demonstrated both Ta and Cr are capable of reducing linear mycelial growth of G. boninense. Inoculation of individual Cr and Ta-as well as Cr+Ta consortium-induced a significant increment in leaf area and bole girth of oil-palm seedlings five months post-inoculation (MPI) under nursery conditions. At five months post-inoculation, shoot and root biomass, and nutrient contents (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium and boron) were significantly higher in Ta-inoculated seedlings compared to control treated with non-Ta-inoculated maize. Chlorophyll and carotenoids contents in rapidly growing oil-palm seedlings challenged with Cr, Ta or a combination of both were not negatively affected. Cr, Ta and Cr+Ta consortium treated seedlings had 4.9-60% BSR disease reduction compared to the untreated control. Co-inoculation of Cr and Ta resulted in increased BSR control efficiencies by 18-26% (compared with Cr only) and 48-55% (compared with Ta only). Collectively, Cr and Ta, either individually or in consortium showed potential as BSR biocontrol agents while also possess PGP traits in oil palm