Effect of chitosan biopolymer and UV/TiO2 method for the de-coloration of acid blue 40 simulated textile wastewater

The purpose for this study is to de-color C.I. Acid Blue 40 simulated textile wastewater using chitosan and UV/TiO2 system. The methodology is to use chitosan biopolymer and UV/TiO2 to degrade textile wastewater and to measure the color removal by UV-visible spectrophotometer. The operational parameters are chitosan, TiO2, pH and reaction time. From the laboratory investigations, different efficiencies were observed according to different removal operating levels. Single chitosan of 2500 ppm dose was used to remove Acid Blue 40 textile wastewater and to obtain a better efficiency. TiO2 alone with UV light was also used with the dose of 2500 ppm to obtain a better efficiency. In acidity, both chitosan and TiO2 obtain better efficiencies under pH 4 operational condition. The best combination for UV/TiO2 system to de-color the 50 ppm Acid Blue 40 textile wastewater was TiO2 2500 ppm concentration with UV illumination at pH 4. The result shows that the de-colorization efficiency reached 98.8% elimination after 210 min of reaction time.Keywords: Chitosan biopolymer, UV/TiO2, Acid Blue 40, textile wastewater, spectrophotometerAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(34), pp. 5575-5580, 23 August, 201

Medical effects of poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabrics treated with bamboo activated charcoal

In this study, bamboo activated charcoal was mixed with acrylic resin in various proportions and deposited on poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET) non-woven fabrics. A series of characterizations were carried out to estimate the performances of PET non-woven fabrics such as far infrared ray emission, heat retention, negative ions, deodorization of ammonia gas and tenacity. The results obtained indicate that the temperature difference on the surface of treated non-woven fabrics after exposure to a halogen lamp was between 4.28 to 8.26°C. The test for negative ions demonstrated that the concentration of negative ions released from treated non-woven fabrics was 420 to 630 ions/cm3. The deodorization rate of the treated non-woven fabrics was found to be between 85 to 92% and the rate was the same for 5 and 10 g/L of bamboo activated charcoal addition. An increase in resin concentration increased the abrasion strength and tensile strength; and reduced the tear strength of the treated non-woven fabrics. The bamboo activated charcoal concentration exhibited no effect on the physical properties of the treated non-woven fabrics.Key words: Poly-ethylene terephthalate (PET), non-woven fabrics, bamboo activated charcoal, far infrared ray, negative ions, deodorization

Regulatory T Cells: Potential Target in Anticancer Immunotherapy

SummaryThe concept of regulatory T cells was first described in the early 1970s, and regulatory T cells were called suppressive T cells at that time. Studies that followed have demonstrated that these suppressive T cells negatively regulated tumor immunity and contributed to tumor growth in mice. Despite the importance of these studies, there was extensive skepticism about the existence of these cells, and the concept of suppressive T cells left the center stage of immunologic research for decades. Interleukin-2 receptor α-chain, CD25, was first demonstrated in 1995 to serve as a phenotypic marker for CD4+ regulatory cells. Henceforth, research of regulatory T cells boomed. Regulatory T cells are involved in the pathogenesis of cancer, autoimmune disease, transplantation immunology, and immune tolerance in pregnancy. Recent evidence has demonstrated that regulatory T cellmediated immunosuppression is one of the crucial tumor immune evasion mechanisms and the main obstacle of successful cancer immunotherapy. The mechanism and the potential clinical application of regulatory T cells in cancer immunotherapy are discussed

Paraoxonase-1 Is Not a Major Determinant of Stent Thrombosis in a Taiwanese Population

BACKGROUND: Clopidogrel is a prodrug that undergoes in vivo bioactivation to show its antiplatelet effects. Recent studies have shown that cytochrome P450 (CYP), ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABCB1), and paraoxonase-1 (PON1) play crucial roles in clopidogrel bioactivation. Here, we aim to determine the effects of genetic polymorphisms of CYP (CYP 2C19*2, CYP 2C19*3, and CYP 2C19*17), ABCB1 (ABCB1 3435C>T, ABCB1 129T>C, and ABCB1 2677G>T/A), and PON1 (PON1 Q192R, PON1 L55M, and PON1 108C>T) on the development of stent thrombosis (ST) in patients receiving clopidogrel after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated the incidence of ST (0.64%) in 4964 patients who were recruited in the CAPTAIN registry (Cardiovascular Atherosclerosis and Percutaneous TrAnsluminal INterventions). The presence of genetic polymorphisms was assessed in 20 subjects who developed ST after aspirin and clopidogrel therapy and in 40 age- and sex-matched control subjects who did not develop ST, which was documented after 9 months of angiographic follow-up. ST was acute in 5 subjects, subacute in 7, late in 7, and very late in 1. The presence of CYP 2C19*2 allele was significantly associated with ST (adjusted odds ratio [ORadj]: 4.20, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.263-9.544; P = 0.031). However, genetic variations in PON1 and ABCB1 showed no significant association with ST. CONCLUSION: We conclude that in a Taiwanese population, PON1 Q192R genotype is not associated with ST development after PCI. However, the presence of CYP 2C19*2 allele is a risk factor for ST development after PCI

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Is twin behavior of Nikkei 225 index futures the same?

[[abstract]]This study adopts the autoregressive conditional jump intensity (ARJI) model proposed by Chan and Maheu [J. Business Econ. Stat. 20 (2002) 377–389] to investigate the impact of news on SIMEX-Nikkei 225 and CME-Nikkei 225 (regards it as the twins). Empirical results demonstrate that the twins were captured by responses to various events; moreover, the twins have distinct jump intensity and risk. Finally, this investigation evaluates the lead–lag relationship between returns and jump behavior by the Granger causality test. Returns are based on unidirectional causality from two futures (the twins) to spot and feedback causality between the twins. Jump intensity reveal feedback causality between spot and the CME-Nikkei 225 and unidirectional causality from the CME-Nikkei 225 to in SIMEX-Nikkei 225.[[notice]]待補摘要[[journaltype]]國際[[incitationindex]]SSCI[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]NL

Natural Progression of Menstrual Pain in Nulliparous Women at Reproductive Age: An Observational Study

Menstrual pain can be alleviated after childbirth. The purpose of this observational study was to evaluate the natural progression of menstrual pain among nulliparous women at their reproductive age. Methods: A questionnaire-based study of perimenopausal women with a history of primary dysmenorrhea was performed. The study subjects were recruited between July 1, 2001 and June 30, 2005. Severity of menstrual pain was graded using a multidimensional scoring system. Results: A total of 247 nulliparous women with primary dysmenorrhea were enrolled, and of these, 218 patients were eligible for analysis. Patients who had more frequent intercourse (p = 0.016), fewer associated systemic symptoms (p = 0.028), and use of oral contraceptive pills (p = 0.039) tended to have a higher chance of an improvement in dysmen-orrhea after age 40. Multidimensional scoring distribution over chronologic age revealed that patients had significantly improved menstrual pain after 40 years of age. Conclusion: For nulliparous women with primary dysmenorrhea, the severity of menstrual pain decreased significantly after age 40. More studies are needed to explore this phenomenon from a biochemical or molecular basis

Treatment of Primary Deep Dyspareunia with Laparoscopic Uterosacral Nerve Ablation Procedure: A Pilot Study

This pilot study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of laparoscopic uterosacral nerve ablation (LUNA) for treatment of primary deep dyspareunia. Methods: Between July 2002 and June 2003, 12 consecutive patients diagnosed with primary deep dyspareunia were treated with the LUNA procedure. The evaluation scoring system included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale and the revised Sabbatsberg Sexual Rating Scale, done at baseline and 3, 6, and 12 months after LUNA. Results: At the initial 3-month follow-up period, 3 patients were very satisfied with their treatment, 5 were satisfied, 2 uncertain, 1 dissatisfied, and 1 very dissatisfied. The corresponding figures at the 12-month follow-up visit were 2, 4, 4, 1, and 1, respectively. Overall, 8 (66.7%) patients in this trial were very satisfied or satisfied at the initial postoperative evaluation and 6 of them (50.0%) remained satisfied at the final evaluation. Conclusion: Over half of the study patients felt satisfied with the results of treatment with LUNA. Further prospective controlled clinical trials are mandatory to validate its effectiveness

Role of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium in development of secondary calcium rise and early afterdepolarizations in long QT syndrome rabbit model.

BACKGROUND:L-type calcium current reactivation plays an important role in development of early afterdepolarizations (EADs) and torsades de pointes (TdP). Secondary intracellular calcium (Cai) rise is associated with initiation of EADs. OBJECTIVE:To test whether inhibition of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ cycling suppresses secondary Cai rise and genesis of EADs. METHODS:Langendorff perfusion and dual voltage and Cai optical mapping were conducted in 10 rabbit hearts. Atrioventricular block (AVB) was created by radiofrequency ablation. After baseline studies, E4031, SR Ca2+ cycling inhibitors (ryanodine plus thapsigargin) and nifedipine were then administrated subsequently, and the protocols were repeated. RESULTS:At baseline, there was no spontaneous or pacing-induced TdP. After E4031 administration, action potential duration (APD) was significantly prolonged and the amplitude of secondary Cai rise was enhanced, and 7 (70%) rabbits developed spontaneous or pacing-induced TdP. In the presence of ryanodine plus thapsigargin, TdP inducibility was significantly reduced (2 hearts, 20%, p = 0.03). Although APD was significantly prolonged (from 298 ± 30 ms to 457 ± 75 ms at pacing cycle length of 1000 m, p = 0.007) by ryanodine plus thapsigargin, the secondary Cai rise was suppressed (from 8.8 ± 2.6% to 1.2 ± 0.9%, p = 0.02). Nifedipine inhibited TdP inducibility in all rabbit hearts. CONCLUSION:In this AVB and long QT rabbit model, inhibition of SR Ca2+ cycyling reduces the inducibility of TdP. The mechanism might be suppression of secondary Cai rise and genesis of EADs