Catalytic decomposition of 2-chlorophenol using an ultrasonic-assisted Fe3O4-TiO2@MWCNT system: Influence factors, pathway and mechanism study.

As a reusable sonocatalyst, magnetically separable Fe3O4-TiO2@MWCNT (FMT) was synthesized by an ultrasound-assisted wet impregnation method and was evaluated in the removal of 2-chlorophenol (2CP). Physical and chemical properties of the catalyst composite materials were investigated by all catalysts were systematically characterized using Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX), Dynamic light scattering (DLS), and N2-physisorption. The efficiency and kinetics of 2CP removal by FMT-assisted sonocatalysis (FMT-US) was systematically investigated under various operational parameters i.e. pH, FMT and 2CP concentration, temperature and ultrasonic power. The results indicated that 0.4gL-1 FMT dosage, pH 5, temperature of 35°C as well as 50 w ultrasound power are the most favorable conditions for the degradation of the 2CP. Furthermore, both of the superoxide and hydroxyl radicals were produced in the reaction, however, superoxide radicals were assumed to be the dominating reactive species for the 2CP degradation, according to the scavenging tests and electron paramagnetic resonance tests. Moreover, the FMT catalyst exhibited a high reusability and stability in the US/FMT system during the five repetitive experiments. The intermediate products were identified by GC-MS, thereby a possible degradation pathway is proposed. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and corresponding total organic carbon (TOC) removal efficiencies were 64.9% and 56.7%, respectively. Finally, toxicity tests showed that the toxicity of the solution increased during the first 5min and then decreased significantly with the progress of the oxidation. The mechanisms of ultrasound irritation enhanced FMT activation were also proposed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Pneumothorax spontané et emphysème pulmonaire chez les consommateurs de cannabis

INTRODUCTION: If pulmonary complications of tobacco smoking are well documented, those associated with cannabis use are less known. OBJECTIVES: Systematic literature review of data on pneumothorax and lung emphysema in cannabis users. DOCUMENTARY SOURCES: Medline, on the period 1980-2018 with the following keywords cannabis or marijuana and pneumothorax or emphysema, limits "title/abstract". Among 97 articles, 42 abstracts have given use to a dual reading to select 20 studies. RESULTS: Eighteen case reports (8 with SP) showed bullae in the upper lobes in combined cannabis and tobacco smokers (CS) and in the 2 cannabis only smokers (COS). The risk of SP was increased in CS, but not in COS. In patients less than 35-years old presenting with SP, the incidence of bullae on thoracic computed tomography (CT) was higher in CS than in tobacco only smokers (TOS). CT in patients with SP showed no significant difference as regards of the prevalence, location and type of emphysema between CS and TOS. Proportion of low lung density areas was higher in CS than in non-smokers (NS), but was similar in TOS and NS. CONCLUSION: These results suggest a cumulative toxic effect of tobacco and cannabis on the risk of SP and lung emphysema

La Relación Entre la Motivación Docente y Variables de la Organización: Revisión de la Literatura

Abstract Teacher motivation plays a central role in education because ofitsimpacton student motivation. Previous reviews of teacher motivation have focused on individual variables and psychopathology indicators. However, it is also important to understand the effect of organizational variableson teacher motivationbecause these highlightthe contextthat the teacher is a part of(i.e.,the school). The literature review in this paper analysed studies related to teacher motivation and a pre-defined group of organizational variablesthat werepublished between 1990 and 2014 in several electronic databases.The study found that organizational culture was the most studied variable associated with teacher motivationand most studies in this area were published between 2010 and 2014.Further,there was a prevalence of quantitative studies. This paper concludes with the theoreticaland practical implications of the results,as well assuggestions for future research directions

Gis-based gully erosion susceptibility mapping: a comparison of computational ensemble data mining models

Gully erosion destroys agricultural and domestic grazing land in many countries, especially those with arid and semi-arid climates and easily eroded rocks and soils. It also generates large amounts of sediment that can adversely impact downstream river channels. The main objective of this research is to accurately detect and predict areas prone to gully erosion. In this paper, we couple hybrid models of a commonly used base classifier (reduced pruning error tree, REPTree) with AdaBoost (AB), bagging (Bag), and random subspace (RS) algorithms to create gully erosion susceptibility maps for a sub-basin of the Shoor River watershed in northwestern Iran. We compare the performance of these models in terms of their ability to predict gully erosion and discuss their potential use in other arid and semi-arid areas. Our database comprises 242 gully erosion locations, which we randomly divided into training and testing sets with a ratio of 70/30. Based on expert knowledge and analysis of aerial photographs and satellite images, we selected 12 conditioning factors for gully erosion. We used multi-collinearity statistical techniques in the modeling process, and checked model performance using statistical indexes including precision, recall, F-measure, Matthew correlation coefficient (MCC), receiver operatic characteristic curve (ROC), precision-recall graph (PRC), Kappa, root mean square error (RMSE), relative absolute error (PRSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and relative absolute error (RAE). Results show that rainfall, elevation, and river density are the most important factors for gully erosion susceptibility mapping in the study area. All three hybrid models that we tested significantly enhanced and improved the predictive power of REPTree (AUC=0.800), but the RS-REPTree (AUC= 0.860) ensemble model outperformed the Bag-REPTree (AUC= 0.841) and the AB-REPTree (AUC= 0.805) models. We suggest that decision makers, planners, and environmental engineers employ the RS-REPTree hybrid model to better manage gully erosion-prone areas in Iran

Potentiating Effects of MPL on DSPC Bearing Cationic Liposomes Promote Recombinant GP63 Vaccine Efficacy: High Immunogenicity and Protection

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL), a vector-transmitted disease caused by Leishmania donovani, is potentially fatal if left untreated. Vaccination against VL has received limited attention compared with cutaneous leishmaniasis, although the need for an effective vaccine is pressing for the control of the disease. Earlier, we observed protective efficacy using leishmanial antigen (Ag) in the presence of either cationic liposomes or monophosphoryl lipid A-trehalose dicorynomycolate (MPL-TDM) against experimental VL through the intraperitoneal (i.p.) route of administration in the mouse model. However, this route of immunization is not adequate for human use. For this work, we developed vaccine formulations combining cationic liposomes with MPL-TDM using recombinant GP63 (rGP63) as protein Ag through the clinically relevant subcutaneous (s.c.) route. Two s.c. injections with rGP63 in association with cationic liposomes and MPL-TDM showed enhanced immune responses that further resulted in high protective levels against VL in the mouse model. This validates the combined use of MPL-TDM as an immunopotentiator and liposomes as a suitable vaccine delivery system

Babassu aqueous extract (BAE) as an adjuvant for T helper (Th)1-dependent immune responses in mice of a Th2 immune response-prone strain

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aqueous extract of a Brazilian palm-tree fruit - the babassu - (BAE) exerts a clear immunostimulative activity <it>in vivo</it>. In the present work, the possibility that BAE can promote Th1 immune responses in mice of a Th2 immune response-prone strain - the BALB/c was investigated. BAE itself, and preparations consisting of <it>Leishmania amazonensis </it>promastigote extract (LE), adsorbed or not to Al(OH)₃, and in the presence or not of BAE, were used as immunogens. LE and Al(OH)₃have been shown to preferentially elicit Th2 immune responses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The addition of BAE to LE-containing immunogenic preparations, adsorbed or not to Al(OH)₃, clearly promoted the <it>in vitro </it>production of interferon γ (IFN-γ), a major Th1-dependent cytokine, and not of interleukin (IL-)4 (a Th2-dependent cytokine), by LE-stimulated splenocytes of immunized BALB/c mice. It also promoted the <it>in vivo </it>formation of IgG2a anti-LE antibodies. However, immunization with LE by itself led to an increased production of IL-4 by LE-stimulated splenocytes, and this production, albeit not enhanced, was not reduced by the addition of BAE to the immunogen. On the other hand, the IL-4 production by LE-stimulated splenocytes was significantly lower in mice immunized with a preparation containing Al(OH)₃-adsorbed LE and BAE than in mice immunized with the control preparation of Al(OH)₃-adsorbed LE without BAE. Moreover, an increased production of IFN-γ, and not of IL-4, was observed in the culture supernatants of splenocytes, from BAE-immunized mice, which were <it>in vitro </it>stimulated with BAE or which received no specific <it>in vitro </it>stimulus. No differences in IL-10 (an immunoregulatory cytokine) levels in the supernatants of splenocytes from mice that were injected with BAE, in relation to splenocytes from control mice, were observed. The spontaneous <it>ex vivo </it>production of NO by splenocytes of mice that had been injected with BAE was significantly higher than the production of NO by splenocytes of control mice.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on the results described above, BAE, or biologically active molecules purified from it, should be further investigated as a possible adjuvant, in association or not with aluminium compounds, for the preferential induction of Th1-dependent immune responses against different antigens in distinct murine strains and animal species.</p

Effect of a peer-educational intervention on provider knowledge and reported performance in family planning services: a cluster randomized trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Peer education is an interactive method of teaching or learning which is widely used for educating school and college students, in a variety of different forms. However, there are few studies on its effectiveness for in-service education. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an educational programme including peer discussions, based on a needs assessment, on the providers' knowledge and reported performance in family planning services.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>An educational programme was designed and applied in a random selection of half of in-charges of the 74 family health units (intervention group) in Tabriz at a regular monthly meeting. The other half constituted the control group. The programme included eight pages of written material and a two-hour, face-to-face discussion session with emphasis on the weak areas identified through a needs assessment questionnaire. The educated in-charges were requested to carry out a similar kind of programme with all peers at their health facilities within one month. All in-charges received one self-administered questionnaire containing knowledge questions one month after the in-charge education (follow-up I: 61 responses), and another one containing knowledge and self-reported performance questions 26 months later (follow-up II: 61 responses). Also, such tests were done for the peers facilitated by the in-charges one (105 responses) and 27 months (114 responses) after the peer discussions. Multiple linear regression was used for comparing mean total scores, and Chi square for comparing proportions between control and intervention groups, after defining facility as the unit of randomization.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean total percentage scores of knowledge (percent of maximal possible score) in the intervention group were significantly higher than in the control group, both at follow-up I (63%) and at follow-up II (57%); with a difference of 16 (95% CI: 11, 22) and 5 (95% CI: 0.4, 11) percentage units, respectively. Only two of the nine reported performance items were significantly different among the non in-charges in the intervention group at follow-up II.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The educational programme including peer discussions using existing opportunities with no need for additional absence from the workplace might be a useful complement to formal large group education for the providers.</p