Metal Extraction with Ionic Liquids-Based Aqueous Two-Phase System

Although ionic liquids (ILs) have excellent properties, their use as extractants in solvent extraction has not completely overcome the problems encountered when organic solvents are used. In conventional solvent extraction, a hydrophobic IL should be used to establish an IL/water biphasic system to replace the conventional organic solvent with ILs. However, the number of water-immiscible ILs is currently limited, and most contain fluorinated anions which are expensive and environmentally nonbenign. Furthermore, the use of an organic solvent as a diluent agent cannot be avoided because of the very high viscosity of ILs. An IL-based aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) can overcome these drawbacks. This chapter summarizes the use of an IL-based ATPS for the separation of metals used in various areas of human life

Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes for Metal Separation

Metals are widely used in various areas of human life, and their existence in the environment at high concentrations has become a cause for concern. Metals can enter the human body and disturb the human metabolic system. Therefore, research to recover metals from their matrix both from industrial wastewater and from ores or scraps containing metals is of great importance. One of the separation techniques proposed to overcome those issues involves using supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs). This chapter summarizes the recovery of metals using SILM. In SILM, an ionic liquid that acts as an extractant is embedded in small pores of a polymer support. The latest type of physical impregnation of ionic liquid, which is the type most commonly used in metal separation, is called polymer inclusion membrane (PIM). PIMs were prepared by casting a solution containing an ionic liquid, a plasticizer and a base polymer to form a thin, flexible and stable film. A PIM including ionic liquids has a similar configuration to SILM, and it is considered to be a kind of SILM. In this chapter, effects on the stability and selectivity in SILM and PIM for metal separation are reviewed

Extraction of Au(III), Pt(IV), and Pd(II) from Aqueous Media with Deep Eutectic Solvent Dissolved in <i>n</i>-Heptane as Extractant

Due to the scarcity, studying precious metals extraction such as gold, platinum, and palladium is very critical. Solvent extraction is one of the established methods due to its simplicity and quickness but the low operational cost. In this study, a deep eutectic solvent (DES) consisting of decanoic acid and lidocaine in the molar ratio of 2:1 was applied as an extractant to extract Au(III), Pt(IV), and Pd(II) from aqueous media. Au(III) was solvated and extracted with DES in the form of AuCl3. Pd(II) was extracted by the cation exchange reaction between Pd2+ and H+. Complete extraction of Au(III) 98.2% and Pd(II) 100% can be achieved using 500 and 300 g/L DES, respectively. This finding opens new opportunities for improving Au(III) and Pd(II) extraction using an environmental friendly and inexpensive extractant

Gastroesophageal reflux-associated chronic cough in an adolescent and the diagnostic implications: a case report

A 15-year-old girl was referred with a 2-year history of perennial non-productive cough, which had been preceded by Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia and subsequent asthma. Symptoms were only partially responsive to anti-asthma treatment including an inhaled corticosteroid and a leukotriene receptor antagonist. The patient's BMI was 27.8; she had gained over 10 kg in the previous two years. Typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease were not evident except for belch. Coughing worsened on eating and rising from bed. Although esophagography failed to disclose reflux esophagitis, esophageal pH monitoring revealed significant acid reflux. Asthma was considered well controlled. Treatment with the proton-pump inhibitor rabeprazole resulted in disappearance of cough. Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (FSSG) score, a questionnaire evaluating the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, was initially high but normalized after treatment. Capsaicin cough sensitivity also diminished with treatment

The development of a pollen information system for the improvement of QOL

The Kochi Prefecture Japanese Cedar and Cypress Pollen Information System (P-Net Kochi) was established in 1991 on the initiative of the Pharmaceuticals and Sanitation Division to improve the quality of life of people in Kochi Prefecture, particularly patients with pollinosis. Kochi Prefecture has the highest forests percentage (84%) in Japan. In addition, 40% of the population of the prefecture is concentrated in Kochi City. The average pollen count at 10 observation points an one year was about 20,000/cm2 during the observation period, but it exceeded 110,000/cm2 in 1995, when it was also high nationwide. Kochi Prefecture organized a system to promote people's understanding of pollinosis in connection with environmental problems, and to enlighten people on appropriate preventive measures. The system has been improved in the rapid and efficient transmission of information over the years with technological advances. The introduction of an automatic monitoring system not dependent on human labor and the support of the users proved to be indispensable for the maintenance of the system

Features of cough variant asthma and classic asthma during methacholine-induced brochoconstriction: a cross-sectional study

[Background]Little is known regarding mechanistic and phenotypic differences between cough variant asthma (CVA), presenting with a chronic cough as the sole symptom that responds to bronchodilators, and classic asthma with wheezing during methacholine inhalation. Here we reported airway sensitivity, airway reactivity, and as the main concern, the appearance of cough and wheezes during methacholine inhalation in patients with CVA or classic asthma. [Methods]We cross-sectionally examined the degrees of airway sensitivity, the point where resistance started to increase, and reactivity, the slope of the methacholine-resistance curve, and the appearance of cough and wheezes in steroid-naive adult patients with classic asthma (n = 58) or CVA (n = 55) while they were continuously inhaling methacholine during simultaneous measurement of respiratory resistance. [Results]Patients with CVA were less sensitive and less reactive to inhaled methacholine and wheezed less frequently but coughed more frequently during methacholine-induced bronchoconstriction than did patients with classic asthma. Multivariate analysis revealed that airway hypersensitivity and lower baseline FEV1/FVC were associated with the appearance of wheezes, whereas a diagnosis of CVA was associated with coughing. [Conclusion]There are mechanistic and phenotypic differences between CVA and classic asthma during methacholine inhalation. Frequent coughing during bronchoconstriction may be a distinctive feature of CVA

Prevalence and clinical manifestations of gastro-oesophageal reflux-associated chronic cough in the Japanese population

Gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) is one of the most common causes of chronic cough in Western countries, responsible for 10 to 40% of cases. In Japan, however, GOR-associated chronic cough (GOR-CC) has been rarely reported and its clinical manifestation including frequency of concomitant reflux laryngitis is poorly known. We have analyzed prevalence and clinical characteristics of patients who were diagnosed as having GOR-CC among adult patients with chronic cough (≥ 8 weeks) who visited our asthma and cough clinic over a period of 19 months. Diagnosis of GOR-CC was based on the response of coughing to a proton-pump inhibitor (lansoprazole™) and/or positive results of 24 h ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring. Laryngeal involvement was based on symptoms or objective diagnosis by specialists. GOR-associated chronic cough was diagnosed in 7.1% (8 of 112) of chronic cough patients. In addition to the demographic data which were consistent with the characteristics of patients with GOR-CC in the Western populations, including gender (6 females), age (mean ± SE, 56.9 ± 5.8 years), duration of cough (9.9 ± 3.3 months), lack of gastrointestinal symptoms (3 of 8) and complication with other causes of cough (5 of 8), we found the standard range of body mass index (23.9 ± 1.5 kg/m(2)) and high incidence of concomitant reflux laryngitis (5 of 8) in the present 8 patients. Among 4 patients who could stop treatment with temporal resolution of cough, cough recurred in 3 patients, 1 week to 8 months after the discontinuation. In conclusion, GOR-CC is a less frequent cause of chronic cough in Japan than in Western countries. Signs or symptoms of laryngitis may be important as clues to suspicion of GOR-CC

Vegetable juice preload ameliorates postprandial blood glucose concentration in healthy women : A randomized cross-over trial

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effect of drinking vegetable juice 20 min before carbohydrate on postprandial blood glucose concentrations in young healthy women. Method: In this randomized controlled cross-over study, 24 women (age 21.3 ±0.6 years, HbA1c 5.4 ±0.2 %, mean ± SD) consumed either 200 g of vegetable juice, vegetable (150 g of tomato and 40 g of broccoli), or water at 20 min before consuming 200 g of boiled white rice for 3 separate days. The blood glucose concentrations were measured by self-monitoring blood glucose pre- and post-breakfast at -20, 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 120, and 180 min. The glycemic parameters were compared among 3 days. Results: The incremental glucose peak at 45 min (vegetable juice 48.3 ± 4.1, vegetable 47.4 ± 3.3 vs. water 66.8 ± 4.3 mg/dl, respectively, both p < 0.01, mean ± SEM) and large amplitude of glycemic excursion (LAGE; vegetable juice 57.1 ± 3.1, vegetable 58.3 ± 3.6 vs. water 78.3 ± 4.3 mg/dl, respectively, both p < 0.05) in consuming vegetable juice and vegetable at 20 min before carbohydrate intake were all significantly lower than those of water. There was no significant difference between glycemic parameters of vegetable juice and vegetable. Conclusions: Drinking vegetable juice 20 min before carbohydrate ameliorates the postprandial blood glucose concentrations as well as vegetable preload, despite total amounts of energy and carbohydrate of vegetable juice or vegetable are higher than those of water

Effective and convenient treatment of Xultophy with lower doses for elderly diabetic patient

The case is an 82-year-old female patient with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) for 22 years. She developed right empyema in early January, 2021 and was treated by antibiotics and CT-guided drainage. After improving the status, she was transferred to Hayashi hospital, Tokushima, Japan. Treatment for T2DM was initially multiple daily insulin injection (MDI), but it could not continue because of injection several times a day by the family. Then, Xultophy was started once a day, which brought satisfactory glucose variability with lower doses. Consequently, Xultophy would be effective and useful agent from bio-psycho-social points of view