Mercury Removal from Concentrated Sulfuric Acid by Electrochemical Alloy Formation on Platinum

Mercury is a highly toxic heavy metal, and improved removal processes are required in a range of industrial applications to limit the environmental impacts. At present, no viable removal methods exist commercially for mercury removal of aqueous solutions at high acidic conditions, such as concentrated sulfuric acid. Herein, we show that electrochemical mercury removal based on electrochemical alloy formation on platinum, forming PtHg4, can be used to remove mercury from concentrated sulfuric acid. Thin platinum film electrodes and porous electrodes with supported platinum are used to remove more than 90% of mercury from concentrated acid from a zinc smelter with an initial mercury concentration of 0.3-0.9 mg/kg, achieving high-quality acid (<0.08 mg/kg) within 80 h. The removal process is carried out in 50 mL laboratory-scale experiments and scaled up to a 20 L pilot reactor with retained removal efficiency, highlighting excellent scalability of the method. In addition, the removal efficiency and stability of different electrode substrate materials are studied to ensure high-quality acid and a long lifetime of the electrodes in harsh chemical conditions, offering a potential method for future large-scale mercury decontamination of sulfuric acid

Are team sport games more motivating than individual exercise for middle-aged women? a comparison of levels of motivation associated with participating in floorball and spinning

The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of motivation associated with participation in floorball (indoor hockey) and spinning, and how levels of motivation predicted continuation. A sample of 66 middleaged women participated in a 12-week intervention of either floorball or spinning. They filled out the Sport Motivation Scale in week 2 and week 11 of the intervention, and data on their continuation six and 12 months after the intervention was also collected. A repeated measures MANOVA showed that participants in the floorball group had higher levels of intrinsic and self-determined extrinsic motivation for the activity during the intervention period, suggesting that floorball is a more motivating activity. In addition, extrinsic motivation the introjected regulation increased in both groups during the intervention period. Intrinsic motivation, as well as extrinsic motivation introjected regulation, predicted participants’ continuation six and 12 months after the intervention, suggesting that motivation as viewed in a Self-Determination Theory perspective is important for continuation

Determination of the Wound Healing Potentials of Medicinal Plants Historically Used in Ghana

The present study was carried out to investigate the wound healing potentials of 17 medicinal plants historically used in Ghana for wound healing. Warm and cold water extracts were prepared from the 17 dried plant species and tested in vitro in the scratch assay with NIH 3T3 fibroblasts from mice. The wound healing scratch assay was used to evaluate the effect of the plants on cell proliferation and/or migration in vitro, as a test for potential wound healing properties. After 21 hours of incubation increased proliferation and/or migration of fibroblasts in the scratch assay was obtained for 5 out of the 17 plant species. HPLC separation of the most active plant extract, which was a warm water extract of Philenoptera cyanescens, revealed the wound healing activity to be attributed to rutin and a triglycoside of quercetin. The present study suggests that Allophylus spicatus, Philenoptera cyanescens, Melanthera scandens, Ocimum gratissimum, and Jasminum dichotomum have wound healing activity in vitro

Determination of the Wound Healing Potentials of Medicinal Plants Historically Used in Ghana

The present study was carried out to investigate the wound healing potentials of 17 medicinal plants historically used in Ghana for wound healing. Warm and cold water extracts were prepared from the 17 dried plant species and tested in vitro in the scratch assay with NIH 3T3 fibroblasts from mice. The wound healing scratch assay was used to evaluate the effect of the plants on cell proliferation and/or migration in vitro, as a test for potential wound healing properties. After 21 hours of incubation increased proliferation and/or migration of fibroblasts in the scratch assay was obtained for 5 out of the 17 plant species. HPLC separation of the most active plant extract, which was a warm water extract of Philenoptera cyanescens, revealed the wound healing activity to be attributed to rutin and a triglycoside of quercetin. The present study suggests that Allophylus spicatus, Philenoptera cyanescens, Melanthera scandens, Ocimum gratissimum, and Jasminum dichotomum have wound healing activity in vitro

Work stress and loss of years lived without chronic disease : an 18-year follow-up of 1.5 million employees in Denmark

We aimed to examine the association between exposure to work stress and chronic disease incidence and loss of chronic disease-free life years in the Danish workforce. The study population included 1,592,491 employees, aged 30-59 in 2000 and without prevalent chronic diseases. We assessed work stress as the combination of job strain and effort-reward imbalance using job exposure matrices. We used Cox regressions to estimate risk of incident hospital-diagnoses or death of chronic diseases (i.e., type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, and dementia) during 18 years of follow-up and calculated corresponding chronic disease-free life expectancy from age 30 to age 75. Individuals working in occupations with high prevalence of work stress had a higher risk of incident chronic disease compared to those in occupations with low prevalence of work stress (women: HR 1.04 (95% CI 1.02-1.05), men: HR 1.12 (95% CI 1.11-1.14)). The corresponding loss in chronic disease-free life expectancy was 0.25 (95% CI - 0.10 to 0.60) and 0.84 (95% CI 0.56-1.11) years in women and men, respectively. Additional adjustment for health behaviours attenuated these associations among men. We conclude that men working in high-stress occupations have a small loss of years lived without chronic disease compared to men working in low-stress occupations. This finding appeared to be partially attributable to harmful health behaviours. In women, high work stress indicated a very small and statistically non-significant loss of years lived without chronic disease.Peer reviewe

Persistent and changing job strain and risk of coronary heart disease. A population-based cohort study of 1.6 million employees in Denmark

Objectives This study aimed to examine the association between job strain and incident coronary heart disease (CHD) in Denmark, while accounting for changes of job strain. Methods We included all employees residing in Denmark in 2000, aged 30-59 years with no prevalent CHD (N=1660 150). We determined exposure to job strain from 1996-2009 using a job exposure matrix (JEM) with annual updates. Follow-up for incident CHD was from 2001-2010 via linkage to health records. We used Cox regression to calculate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between job strain and incident CHD. Results During 16.1 million person-years, we identified 24 159 incident CHD cases (15.0 per 10 000 person-years). After adjustment for covariates, job strain in 2000 predicted onset of CHD during a mean follow-up of 9.71 years (HR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07-1.13). When analyzing changes in job strain from one year to the next and CHD in the subsequent year, persistent job strain (HR 1.07, 95% CI 1.03-1.10), onset of job strain (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.12-1.29) and removal of strain (HR 1.20, 95% CI 1.12-1.28) were associated with higher CHD incidence compared to persistent no job strain. Associations were similar among men and women. Conclusions Job strain is associated with a higher risk of incident CHD in Denmark. As we used a JEM, we can rule out reporting bias. However, under- or overestimation of associations is possible due to non-differential misclassification of job strain and residual confounding by socioeconomic position.Peer reviewe