Qualitative investigation of the factors that generate ambivalent feelings in women who give birth after receiving negative results from non-invasive prenatal testing

Background: Women who receive negative results from non-invasive prenatal genetic testing (NIPT) may find that they later have mixed or ambivalent feelings, for example, feelings of accepting NIPT and regretting undergoing the test. This study aimed to investigate the factors generating ambivalent feelings among women who gave birth after having received negative results from NIPT. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to women who received a negative NIPT result, and a contents analysis was conducted focusing on ambivalent expressions for those 1562 women who responded the questionnaire. The qualitative data gathered from the questionnaire were analyzed using the N-Vivo software package. Results: Environmental factors, genetic counseling-related factors, and increased anticipatory anxiety, affected the feeling of ambivalence among pregnant women. Furthermore, pregnant women desired more information regarding the detailed prognosis for individuals with Down syndrome and living with them and/or termination, assuming the possibility that they were positive. Conclusions: Three major interrelated factors affected the feeling of ambivalence in women. Highlighting and discussing such factors during genetic counseling may resolve some of these ambivalences, thereby enhancing the quality of decisions made by pregnant women

Activated Carbon Sphere with Antibacterial Characteristics

The activated carbon sphere containing zinc oxide was prepared by carbonizing a zinc ion-exchange resin at different temperatures in nitrogen gas. Zinc oxide of hexagonal type was detected in all carbon samples, the amount of which decreased with an increase in the carbonization temperature. However, the specific surface areas of carbon samples increased with increasing temperature of the resin. The antibacterial activity on their carbon samples was studied without the presence of light. The antibacterial activity on carbon samples containing zinc oxide increased with the amount of zinc oxide in the carbon samples. The antibacterial activity for Staphylococcus aureus was stronger than that for Escherichia coli. By an oxygen electrode analysis, it is shown that hydrogen peroxide was generated on the carbon samples. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide increased with increasing carbonization temperature of the resin. The antibacterial activity is found to be caused by the generation of hydrogen peroxide from zinc oxide dispersed in activated carbon sphere

Effect of reagents addition method in Fenton oxidation on the destruction of organics in palm oil mill effluent

H2O2 and Fe2+ are the reagents added in Fenton oxidation and their rapid consumption affects the oxidation performances. In this study, effect of reagents addition methods on the oxidation performances in Fenton process was studied considering the palm oil mill effluent (POME) degradation. POME is a thick, acidic, brownish and odorous wastewater containing high organics and nitrogen which generates during crude palm oil production process. Seven reagents addition methods as “conventional”, “continuous H2O2”, “fractional H2O2”, “continuous Fe2+”, “fractional Fe2+”, “continuous Fe2+ and H2O2”, “fractional Fe2+ and H2O2” were examined under COD:H2O2:Fe2+ molar ratio of 1:4:1 at pH 2-3 to identify the most effective methods. Identical experiments were conducted for methanol as a reference. Fe2+ addition methods heavily affected the organics degradation over H2O2 addition methods. The highest TOC and nitrogen reductions were obtained by “continuous Fe2+” addition. Higher concentration of Fe2+ during “continuous Fe2+” addition was detected over other methods, indicating the effective progressing of Fenton reaction. Fractional and continuous addition methods achieved higher organics degradations over conventional method except for the “continuous H2O2” addition. Our findings on the effects of reagents addition methods will assist on enhancing Fenton oxidation performances in future studies

Kinetic Analysis of Hydrogen Transfer Route from Hot-Compressed 2‑Propanol to Diphenyl Ether over NiCo/C Catalyst

Transfer hydrogenolysis of diphenyl ether (DPE), a lignin model compound, was studied from the viewpoint of the reaction kinetics. Nearly 90% of DPE degradation and formation of aromatic products were demonstrated at 235 °C with the combination of 2-propanol (IPA) as a hydrogen-donating solvent and NiCo/C as a non-noble metal catalyst. Kinetic modeling of reaction results indicated the dominance of direct hydrogen transfer from IPA to DPE over the other possible pathway (indirect transfer via H2 gas). However, H2 gas formation from IPA, which was assumed to be inactive for DPE hydrogenolysis in the model, was also confirmed as a side reaction in a non-negligible amount. DPE hydrogenolysis and H2 formation activation energies were estimated to be 1.2 × 102 and 73 kJ/mol, respectively