Activated Carbon and Process for Making Same

A process is described for the manufacture of activated carbon in the form of a powder, as granules or as extrudates. The process includes treating a biomass feedstock, such as woods, coconut shells, fruit pits, peats, lignites and all ranks of coal with a processing agent and an activation agent. The processing agent may be a natural or synthetic monomer, oligomer, polymer or mixtures thereof capable of interacting or co-polymerizing with the biomass feedstock. The activation agent may be, for example, phosphoric acid, zinc chloride or mixtures thereof. A high surface area, high hardness extruded activated carbon may be produced by this process. The activated carbon is generally characterized by a BET surface area between 600-2500 m2 /g, a mesopore surface area between 80-900 m2 /g and for extruded or granular carbons, a Takeda hardness of between 10-50%

Process for Removing Sulfur and Producing Enhanced Quality and Environmentally Acceptable Products for Energy Production from Coal

A process for producing enhanced quality adsorbent carbons and environmentally acceptable materials for energy production from coal includes an initial step of physically cleaning the coal to remove organic sulfur and mineral tailings. Next, a coal slurry of feedstock and water is prepared. Phosphoric acid is then mixed into the water of the coal slurry to provide by volume 15-85% and more preferably 50-85% phosphoric acid. The slurry is then heated and held in a temperature range between 85° and 230° C. for a period of at least five minutes to allow the phosphoric acid to penetrate deeply into the coal. Then the coal slurry is carbonized at a temperature of between 200°-700° C. for at least five to sixty minutes. The processing produces unique products including a low ash content, low sulfur content carbon solid, a tar with a sulfur content of less than 0.05% of the original feedstock and a gas product having a hydrogen to methane ratio of at least 4:1

Not Representing Jesus: Fictional Approximations of Jesus in Contemporary Literature

In this thesis I begin by showing that historical, theological and fictional representations of Jesus are often based on reductive readings of the Gospel narrative and can lead to dogmatic statements about who Jesus was. I argue that some authors of contemporary fiction approach the biblical text in a more imaginative way, and that by misreading the Gospels they are able to approximate the teachings of Jesus, without depending on the creation of explicit Christ-figures. I have called these narratives fictional approximations of Jesus. I use Harold Bloom’s theory of misreading, George Steiner and Valentine Cunningham’s notions of heresy, and Frank Kermode, Geoffrey Hartman, and Terry Wright’s use of Midrash as a way to set out a methodology for reading contemporary fictions by Marilynne Robinson, Denis Johnson, Tim Winton and J. M. Coetzee in conjunction with the Gospel narratives. I show how they misread and rewrite the biblical text, explore the way in which they approximate Jesus’s teachings about forgiveness, love, grace, and hope, and how such misreadings allow for a fresh appreciation of the Bible. In the Introduction I show how Reza Aslan’s Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth is a contemporary example of a reductive way of reading the Gospels and contrast that with the way the fictional approximations of Jesus misread the biblical narrative. In Chapter One I set out in more detail the parameters of the fictional approximation as a method of misreading that moves towards, but never arrives at, a complete identification with the source. In Chapters Two to Five I show how the fictional approximations of Jesus respond to the Gospel narratives by close-reading Robinson’s Gilead and Home, Johnson’s Angels and Jesus’ Son, Winton’s Cloudstreet, and Coetzee’s The Childhood of Jesus in parallel with relevant passages from the Bible

Carbon Fiber Filters

Disclosed is a filter comprised of activated carbon fibers, wherein said filter has a Virus Removal Index (hereafter “VRI”) of at least about 99%, as measured in accordance with the test method described in the specification. The filter may comprise unbound fibers, or the fibers may be bound with a binder to form a composite of fibers. Also disclosed is a method of removing viruses from a liquid, the method comprising contacting the liquid with a filter comprising activated carbon fibers wherein said filter has a VRI of at least about 99%. Also described is an article of manufacture comprising: (a) a filter comprising activated carbon fibers, wherein said filter has a VRI of at least about 99%; and (b) instructions which inform a user that the filter may be used to remove viruses from a liquid

The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of a eukaryotic guanylate cyclase

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Soluble guanylate cyclases generate cyclic GMP when bound to nitric oxide, thereby linking nitric oxide levels to the control of processes such as vascular homeostasis and neurotransmission. The guanylate cyclase catalytic module, for which no structure has been determined at present, is a class III nucleotide cyclase domain that is also found in mammalian membrane-bound guanylate and adenylate cyclases.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have determined the crystal structure of the catalytic domain of a soluble guanylate cyclase from the green algae <it>Chlamydomonas reinhardtii </it>at 2.55 Å resolution, and show that it is a dimeric molecule.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Comparison of the structure of the guanylate cyclase domain with the known structures of adenylate cyclases confirms the close similarity in architecture between these two enzymes, as expected from their sequence similarity. The comparison also suggests that the crystallized guanylate cyclase is in an inactive conformation, and the structure provides indications as to how activation might occur. We demonstrate that the two active sites in the dimer exhibit positive cooperativity, with a Hill coefficient of ~1.5. Positive cooperativity has also been observed in the homodimeric mammalian membrane-bound guanylate cyclases. The structure described here provides a reliable model for functional analysis of mammalian guanylate cyclases, which are closely related in sequence.</p

***TEST SUBMISSION*** BMJ-15: Acceptance within last 3 months (01/03/2020); Online publication within 12 months (10/12/2020); Embargo (10/09/2021) less than 12 months from pub date; VoR

From UAT Test publisher via Jisc Publications RouterHistory: accepted 2020-03-01, epub 2020-12-10Article version: VoRPublication status: PublishedAbstract: TEST: THIS IS A PUBLICATIONS ROUTER TEST SUBMISSION. Objectives: To quantify post-colonoscopy colorectal cancer (PCCRC) rates in England by using recent World Endoscopy Organisation guidelines, compare incidence among colonoscopy providers, and explore associated factors that could benefit from quality improvement initiatives. Design: Population based cohort study. Setting: National Health Service in England between 2005 and 2013. Population: All people undergoing colonoscopy and subsequently diagnosed as having colorectal cancer up to three years after their investigation (PCCRC-3yr). Main outcome measures: National trends in incidence of PCCRC (within 6-36 months of colonoscopy), univariable and multivariable analyses to explore factors associated with occurrence, and funnel plots to measure variation among providers. Results: The overall unadjusted PCCRC-3yr rate was 7.4% (9317/126 152), which decreased from 9.0% in 2005 to 6.5% in 2013 (P<0.01). Rates were lower for colonoscopies performed under the NHS bowel cancer screening programme (593/16 640, 3.6%), while they were higher for those conducted by non-NHS providers (187/2009, 9.3%). Rates were higher in women, in older age groups, and in people with inflammatory bowel disease or diverticular disease, in those with higher comorbidity scores, and in people with previous cancers. Substantial variation in rates among colonoscopy providers remained after adjustment for case mix. Conclusions: Wide variation exists in PCCRC-3yr rates across NHS colonoscopy providers in England. The lowest incidence was seen in colonoscopies performed under the NHS bowel cancer screening programme. Quality improvement initiatives are needed to address this variation in rates and prevent colorectal cancer by enabling earlier diagnosis, removing premalignant polyps, and therefore improving outcomes

Development of an approach to forecast future takeaway outlet growth around schools and population exposure to takeaways in England

Background: Neighbourhood exposure to takeaways can contribute negatively to diet and diet-related health outcomes. Urban planners within local authorities (LAs) in England can modify takeaway exposure through denying planning permission to new outlets in management zones around schools. LAs sometimes refer to these as takeaway “exclusion zones”. Understanding the long-term impacts of this intervention on the takeaway retail environment and health, an important policy question, requires methods to forecast future takeaway growth and subsequent population-level exposure to takeaways. In this paper we describe a novel two-stage method to achieve this. Methods: We used historic data on locations of takeaways and a time-series auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model, to forecast numbers of outlets within management zones to 2031, based on historical trends, in six LAs with different urban/rural characteristics across England. Forecast performance was evaluated based on root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute scaled error (MASE) scores in time-series cross-validation. Using travel-to-work data from the 2011 UK census, we then translated these forecasts of the number of takeaways within management zones into population-level exposures across home, work and commuting domains. Results: Our ARIMA models outperformed exponential smoothing equivalents according to RMSE and MASE. The model was able to forecast growth in the count of takeaways up to 2031 across all six LAs, with variable growth rates by RUC (min–max: 39.4-79.3%). Manchester (classified as a non-London urban with major conurbation LA) exhibited the highest forecast growth rate (79.3%, 95% CI 61.6, 96.9) and estimated population-level takeaway exposure within management zones, increasing by 65.5 outlets per capita to 148.2 (95% CI 133.6, 162.7) outlets. Overall, urban (vs. rural) LAs were forecast stronger growth and higher population exposures. Conclusions: Our two-stage forecasting approach provides a novel way to estimate long-term future takeaway growth and population-level takeaway exposure. While Manchester exhibited the strongest growth, all six LAs were forecast marked growth that might be considered a risk to public health. Our methods can be used to model future growth in other types of retail outlets and in other areas