Investigation of mass transport processes in a microstructured membrane reactor for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide

Microstructured membrane reactors present a promising approach to master the productivity and safety challenges during the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide. However, various mass transport processes occur in this complex system. In order to gain a deeper understanding of these processes, the saturation and desaturation behaviour of the liquid reaction medium with the gaseous reactants is investigated experimentally to examine possible cross-contamination. Moreover, the employed PDMS membrane’s permeances to hydrogen and oxygen are researched at different pressures, by using a variable-pressure/constant-volume setup for the behaviour at ambient pressure and a constant-pressure/variable-volume setup for the behaviour at elevated pressures. A mathematical model in MATLAB is applied to simulate the results. It is shown that a certain desaturation of the gasses through the membrane occurs, and the results are underlined by the modelled ones using a solution-diffusion model in MATLAB. Thus a constant flushing of the gas channels of the reactor is required for safety reasons. Moreover, the measured permeance values indicate that the species transport is mainly limited by the diffusion in the liquid phase and not the membrane resistance

Disposable sensors in diagnostics, food and environmental monitoring

Disposable sensors are low‐cost and easy‐to‐use sensing devices intended for short‐term or rapid single‐point measurements. The growing demand for fast, accessible, and reliable information in a vastly connected world makes disposable sensors increasingly important. The areas of application for such devices are numerous, ranging from pharmaceutical, agricultural, environmental, forensic, and food sciences to wearables and clinical diagnostics, especially in resource‐limited settings. The capabilities of disposable sensors can extend beyond measuring traditional physical quantities (for example, temperature or pressure); they can provide critical chemical and biological information (chemo‐ and biosensors) that can be digitized and made available to users and centralized/decentralized facilities for data storage, remotely. These features could pave the way for new classes of low‐cost systems for health, food, and environmental monitoring that can democratize sensing across the globe. Here, a brief insight into the materials and basics of sensors (methods of transduction, molecular recognition, and amplification) is provided followed by a comprehensive and critical overview of the disposable sensors currently used for medical diagnostics, food, and environmental analysis. Finally, views on how the field of disposable sensing devices will continue its evolution are discussed, including the future trends, challenges, and opportunities

Effects of Anacetrapib in Patients with Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease

BACKGROUND: Patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease remain at high risk for cardiovascular events despite effective statin-based treatment of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. The inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) by anacetrapib reduces LDL cholesterol levels and increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. However, trials of other CETP inhibitors have shown neutral or adverse effects on cardiovascular outcomes. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 30,449 adults with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive atorvastatin therapy and who had a mean LDL cholesterol level of 61 mg per deciliter (1.58 mmol per liter), a mean non-HDL cholesterol level of 92 mg per deciliter (2.38 mmol per liter), and a mean HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg per deciliter (1.03 mmol per liter). The patients were assigned to receive either 100 mg of anacetrapib once daily (15,225 patients) or matching placebo (15,224 patients). The primary outcome was the first major coronary event, a composite of coronary death, myocardial infarction, or coronary revascularization. RESULTS: During the median follow-up period of 4.1 years, the primary outcome occurred in significantly fewer patients in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (1640 of 15,225 patients [10.8%] vs. 1803 of 15,224 patients [11.8%]; rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.85 to 0.97; P=0.004). The relative difference in risk was similar across multiple prespecified subgroups. At the trial midpoint, the mean level of HDL cholesterol was higher by 43 mg per deciliter (1.12 mmol per liter) in the anacetrapib group than in the placebo group (a relative difference of 104%), and the mean level of non-HDL cholesterol was lower by 17 mg per deciliter (0.44 mmol per liter), a relative difference of -18%. There were no significant between-group differences in the risk of death, cancer, or other serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease who were receiving intensive statin therapy, the use of anacetrapib resulted in a lower incidence of major coronary events than the use of placebo. (Funded by Merck and others; Current Controlled Trials number, ISRCTN48678192 ; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01252953 ; and EudraCT number, 2010-023467-18 .)

Adopting and Combining Strategies of Sustainable Intensification An Analysis of Interdependencies in Farmers Decision Making

Sustainable intensification (SI) of agriculture covers a broad range of practices that in an optimal combination should contribute to environmental protection as well as to the economic viability of farming. Farmers are likely to make a simultaneous adoption decision on a utility maximising set of SI practices. The aim of this study is to (i) detect which SI practices are adopted, (ii) analyse the influence of farmers characteristics as well as farm attributes on the adoption decision and (iii) evaluate whether the selection of different SI practices is interdependent. We draw on farm survey data from 2017. We use a SI conceptual framework that assigns practices to four fields of action (FoA) from farm to landscape level and land use to structural optimisation. Using multivariate probit modelling, we assess the determinants of adopting SI within each FoA, controlling for possible correlation of the adoption of practices across FoA. Results indicate that most farmers apply SI practices in a combined portfolio. Farmers are more likely to apply field-level interventions than SI practices that require regional cooperation. Decisions show dependence on each other with a tendency for complementarities and path dependencies in SI adoption. Acknowledgement : This research was financially supported by the European Commission under grant agreement 652615 and conducted in the context of the ERA-Net FACCE SURPLUS project VITAL, with the national funders NWO (Netherlands), BMBF (Germany), INIA (Spain), ANR (France)

Transition Experiences of Nurses as Students and New Graduate Nurses in a Collaborative Nurse Residency Program

Background:A small Midwestern college of nursing and an affiliate hospital partnered to design a nurse residency program where students are extended pre-hire job offers in a practice area of their choice and are then partnered with a preceptor who they will work with in a clinical immersion experience during the last semester of their nursing program and in their orientation period as new nurses.Purpose:The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of a cohort of nurses as students and new graduate nurses during transition in this collaborative nurse residency program. Method: A transcendental phenomenological qualitative approach using Meleis\u27 Transition Experience Theory as a theoretical framework is used for this study. Results:Themes of feeling overwhelmed, supported, and confident were identified. A finding unique to the literature and this nurse residency program model is a theme of overwhelming support.Conclusions:This information can be used to improve the nurse residency program and its outcomes and also further the advancement of nursing knowledge of the transition experience of new nurses

Urban Agricultural Practice in Residential Areas of Pune (India) and the Contribution to Urban Sustainability

Urban agriculture (UA) is regarded as an emerging tool and strategy for sustainable urban development as it addresses a wide array of objectives, such as climate change adaptation, social equality, food security or the restauration of environmental and living conditions. This is particularly important in the case of rapidly growing cities and metropolitan regions of developing and transition countries. Therefore it gains increasing attention among the academic and planning community. We have carried out a survey among 120 gardeners in residential neighbourhoods of the city of Pune (India). We investigated prevailing UA cultivation practices, socio-economic situations, motivation, knowledge and networking of individual household and external framework conditions to analyse the contributions to the environmental, economic and socio-cultural dimensions of urban sustainability. An analytical framework using composite indicators with index values was applied to enable comparability between the two UA types of terrace / rooftop and backyard / kitchen gardens. Our results show that both types contribute differently to urban sustainability at indicator level, but rather similarly at the aggregated level of the sustainability dimension. Sustainability benefits can be expected for the environmental and socio-cultural side, especially for urban biodiversity conservation and aesthetic green urban spaces, but less for economic contributions. Acknowledgement : The authors would like to thank FLOW social sciences research organization for their kind support to conduct the survey among urban gardeners. This work was supported by a fellowship within the Postdoc-Program of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)