The aqueous degradation of bisphenol A and steroid estrogens by ferrate

Author name used in this publication: X. Z. LiAuthor name used in this publication: N. Graham2007-2008 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalAccepted ManuscriptPublishe

The aqueous degradation of bisphenol A and steroid estrogens by ferrate

The aqueous reactivity of five prominent endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) with potassium ferrate has been studied. The degradation kinetics and reaction pathways for bisphenol A (BPA) have been considered in detail, and the reaction rate constants for 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), estrone (E1), β-estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3) have been determined, from tests carried out in the pH range of 8–12 and at different reactant molar ratios. The rate constants were determined by a kinetic model incorporating the various species equilibria for the EDC compounds and ferrate, using observations of the temporal reduction in EDC and ferrate concentrations. (See Article file for details of the abstract.)Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringAuthor name used in this publication: X. Z. LiAuthor name used in this publication: N. Graha

A numerical investigation on the damage identification of timber utility poles based on wavelet packet energy

Timber utility poles are traditionally used for electricity and telecommunication distribution. Due to the old age of many distribution networks, the health condition of these timber poles needs to be assessed. Non-destructive testing (NDT) methods based on stress wave propagation have successfully been used in practice for the condition assessment of timber poles. However, for the successful application of these methods for damage identification, some limitations exist. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes the use of wavelet packet energy (WPE) for the stress wave data analysis and damage identification. WPE is a sensitive indicator for structural damage and has been used for damage detection in various types of structures. This paper presents a comprehensive investigation on the novel use of WPE for the damage identification in timber utility poles using finite element (FE) models. The research study comprises of the following investigations: i) a comparative study between 2D and 3D models, ii) a sensitivity study of mesh density for 2D models, and iii) a study of the novel WPE-based technique for damage detection in timber poles. The results of the new method clearly show the effectiveness of the proposed damage identification technique based on WPE

Specific neuroprotective effects of manual stimulation of real acupoints versus non-acupoints in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion

The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness and specific effects of acupuncture on ischemic-induced damage in rats after permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion. Cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into the following 4 groups: normal controls, ischemic, real acupuncture-treated (Shuigou, DU26), and non-acupoint-treated groups. On the third postoperative day, neurological deficit scores, cerebral blood flow, infarction volume, and neuronal cell death counts were measured. In the real acupuncture-treated group, the neurological deficit scores and cerebral blood flow were improved (p < 0.05) and the infarction volume and neuronal cell death counts were reduced (p < 0.01) compared to the ischemic and non-acupoint-treated groups. The present study demonstrated that real acupuncture was effective against focal ischemia-induced damage in rats after middle cerebral artery occlusion, and the effects were specifically related to the right needling location.Key words: specificity, real acupoint, non-acupoint, middle cerebral artery occlusion, animal experimentatio

Perovskite CsPbBr3 Solar Cells With Novel Hole-Transporting Layer of Metal Complexes

For the first time, the novel application of Schiff-base copper complexes in all-inorganic perovskite CsBrBr3 solar cells has been explored and turns out they could be utilized as effective hole-transporting materials. Schiff-base copper complexes with halogen ligands (R=Cl and Br) are synthesized with an ease approach at a low cost, both of which exhibit decent power conversion efficiency of 4.55% and 5.71%, respectively, when being constructed into solar devices as hole transport layers. Thanks to high thermal/chemical stability of those Schiff-base metal complexes, the strengthened stability was achieved which is comparable to that of carbon-based CsBrBr3 solar cells. Although the power conversion efficiency is not as competitive as expected, the great potential exists for further optimizing the functionality of perovskite solar devices by finely tuning the photovoltaic properties of those Schiff-base metal complexes through coordinating ligands or replacing with other transition metals

Geometric parameterisation of pelvic bone and cartilage in contact analysis of the natural hip: an initial study

Parameterised finite element models of the human hip have the potential to allow controlled analysis of the effect of individual geometric features on the contact mechanics of the joint. However, the challenge lies in defining a set of parameters which sufficiently capture the joint geometry in order to distinguish between individuals. In this study, a simple set of parameters to describe the geometries of acetabulum and cartilage in the hip were extracted from two segmentation-based models, which were then used to generate the parameterised finite element models for the two subjects. The contact pressure and contact area at the articular surface predicted from the parameterised finite element models were compared with the results from the segmentation-based models. The differences in the predicted results between the parameterised models and segmentation-based models were found to be within 11% across seven activities simulated. In addition, the parameterised models were able to replicate features of the contact pressure/area fluctuations over the loading cycle that differed between the two subjects. These results provide confidence that the parameterised approach could be used to generate representative finite element models of the human hip for contact analysis. Such a method has the potential to be used to systematically evaluate geometric features that can be captured from simple clinical measurements and provide a cost- and time-effective approach for stratification of the acetabular geometries in the patient population

Identification of genetic risk factors in the Chinese population implicates a role of immune system in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a leading cause of mortality among the elderly. We performed a whole-genome sequencing study of AD in the Chinese population. In addition to the variants identified in or around the APOE locus (sentinel variant rs73052335, P = 1.44 × 10−14), two common variants, GCH1 (rs72713460, P = 4.36 × 10−5 ) and KCNJ15 (rs928771, P = 3.60 × 10−6 ), were identified and further verified for their possible risk effects for AD in three small non-Asian AD cohorts. Genotype–phenotype analysis showed that KCNJ15 variant rs928771 affects the onset age of AD, with earlier disease onset in minor allele carriers. In addition, altered expression level of the KCNJ15 transcript can be observed in the blood of AD subjects. Moreover, the risk variants of GCH1 and KCNJ15 are associated with changes in their transcript levels in specific tissues, as well as changes of plasma biomarkers levels in AD subjects. Importantly, network analysis of hippocampus and blood transcriptome datasets suggests that the risk variants in the APOE, GCH1, and KCNJ15 loci might exert their functions through their regulatory effects on immune-related pathways. Taking these data together, we identified common variants of GCH1 and KCNJ15 in the Chinese population that contribute to AD risk. These variants may exert their functional effects through the immune system

SMARTARE M 6TEN MEET-MODELLEN

Smartare m\uf6tenmed MEET-modellenMEET-modellen bidrar till ett mer strukturerat arbeteg\ue4llande organisations- och informationsstruktur n\ue4rolika former av m\uf6ten skall planeras.M\ue5let \ue4r effektivare m\uf6ten, b\ue4ttre v\ue4gval g\ue4llandeorganisatoriska och informatoriska fr\ue5gor, \uf6katinformations- och kunskapsspridande i organisationensamt att g\ue5 fr\ue5n individuellt till organisatoriskt l\ue4rande

Observation of discrete time-crystalline order in a disordered dipolar many-body system

Understanding quantum dynamics away from equilibrium is an outstanding challenge in the modern physical sciences. It is well known that out-of-equilibrium systems can display a rich array of phenomena, ranging from self-organized synchronization to dynamical phase transitions. More recently, advances in the controlled manipulation of isolated many-body systems have enabled detailed studies of non-equilibrium phases in strongly interacting quantum matter. As a particularly striking example, the interplay of periodic driving, disorder, and strong interactions has recently been predicted to result in exotic "time-crystalline" phases, which spontaneously break the discrete time-translation symmetry of the underlying drive. Here, we report the experimental observation of such discrete time-crystalline order in a driven, disordered ensemble of $\sim 10^6$ dipolar spin impurities in diamond at room-temperature. We observe long-lived temporal correlations at integer multiples of the fundamental driving period, experimentally identify the phase boundary and find that the temporal order is protected by strong interactions; this order is remarkably stable against perturbations, even in the presence of slow thermalization. Our work opens the door to exploring dynamical phases of matter and controlling interacting, disordered many-body systems.Comment: 6 + 3 pages, 4 figure

Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy in Hong Kong: a review of 235 cases

published_or_final_versio