Modification of Sodium Lignosulfonate and Evaluation of its Potential Use as Detergent Builders

<p>Sodium lignosulfonate (LS) was modified by polypropylene glycol diglycidyl ether (PPGDE) for the preparation of a surfactant (GLS), and firstly used for detergent builder. The effects of PPGDE content on the reaction and the properties of GLS were investigated. The structure of GLS was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR), ultraviolet spectrophotometer (UV), and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The surface tension, critical micelle concentration (CMC), emulsifying ability, lime soap dispersing power (LSDP), and detergency were characterized. The results showed that GLS had higher surface activity and better emulsifying ability, LSDP, and detergency than that of LS. After decolorized by H₂O₂, the whiteness retention value of decolorized LS on white cloth reached 91.9%, while that of decolorized GLS increased up to 99.4%. These results suggested that the decolorized GLS may provide a new perspective for detergent builders.</p

Infrared Image Deblurring Based on Lp-Pseudo-Norm and High-Order Overlapping Group Sparsity Regularization

A traditional total variation (TV) model for infrared image deblurring amid salt-and-pepper noise produces a severe staircase effect. A TV model with low-order overlapping group sparsity (LOGS) suppresses this effect; however, it considers only the prior information of the low-order gradient of the image. This study proposes an image-deblurring model (Lp_HOGS) based on the LOGS model to mine the high-order prior information of an infrared (IR) image amid salt-and-pepper noise. An Lp-pseudo-norm was used to model the salt-and-pepper noise and obtain a more accurate noise model. Simultaneously, the second-order total variation regular term with overlapping group sparsity was introduced into the proposed model to further mine the high-order prior information of the image and preserve the additional image details. The proposed model uses the alternating direction method of multipliers to solve the problem and obtains the optimal solution of the overall model by solving the optimal solution of several simple decoupled subproblems. Experimental results show that the model has better subjective and objective performance than Lp_LOGS and other advanced models, especially when eliminating motion blur

Reactive block copolymers for the toughening of epoxies: Effect of nanostructured morphology and reactivity

Block copolymers (BCPs) have stimulated widespread research interest due to their applications as facile templates in the fabrication of optimized thermosets with micro- or nanostructured morphologies. In the present work, a novel block copolymer was obtained from a commercial poly(styrene-block-butadiene-block-styrene) (SBS) triblock copolymer precursor by a two-step process including reaction with hydrogen peroxide in a water/dichloroethane biphasic system to achieve an epoxidized derivative with a 46mol% degree of epoxidation (thus denoted as eSBS46), which was then followed by reaction with 1-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine (AEP, thus yielding eSBS46-AEP) as a reactive functional group that was incorporated to prepare nanostructured epoxy thermosetting blends. As a result of the oxirane ring-opening achieved (to a conversion degree of 10mol%) by reaction with AEP, the nanostructured morphology was converted from spherical micelles in the case of eSBS46 to branched wormlike micelles for eSBS46-AEP. At 5wt% loading of this BCP material, the fracture toughness was improved by 51% over the neat epoxy. These findings were compared with data obtained from the same epoxy thermoset formulation containing the eSBS46. Various measurements including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and measuring stress field factor (K-IC) analysis were employed to investigate the morphology, fracture graph, storage modulus, glass transition temperature (T-g), and fracture toughness of the epoxy thermosets containing these BCPs. The specific side-groups of eSBS46-AEP containing secondary amines and ternary amines increased the reactivity to epoxy matrices. A combination of fracture mechanisms including shear deformation, crack tip blunting, and matrix ductility enhancement contributed toward helped enhance the toughness. These results demonstrate that the role of modulating the reactivity of BCP has a significant effect on the final morphology and properties of the epoxy composites

Cigarette smoking and pancreatic cancer: a pooled analysis from the pancreatic cancer cohort consortium.

Smoking is an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer; however, detailed examination of the association of smoking intensity, smoking duration, and cumulative smoking dose with pancreatic cancer is limited. The authors analyzed pooled data from the international Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium nested case-control study (1,481 cases, 1,539 controls). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression. Smoking intensity effects were examined with an excess odds ratio model that was linear in pack-years and exponential in cigarettes smoked per day and its square. When compared with never smokers, current smokers had a significantly elevated risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38, 2.26). Risk increased significantly with greater intensity (&gt; or =30 cigarettes/day: OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.42), duration (&gt; or =50 years: OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.62), and cumulative smoking dose (&gt; or =40 pack-years: OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.34). Risk more than 15 years after smoking cessation was similar to that for never smokers. Estimates of excess odds ratio per pack-year declined with increasing intensity, suggesting greater risk for total exposure delivered at lower intensity for longer duration than for higher intensity for shorter duration. This finding and the decline in risk after smoking cessation suggest that smoking has a late-stage effect on pancreatic carcinogenesis

Cigarette Smoking and Pancreatic Cancer: A Pooled Analysis From the Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium

Smoking is an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer; however, detailed examination of the association of smoking intensity, smoking duration, and cumulative smoking dose with pancreatic cancer is limited. The authors analyzed pooled data from the international Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium nested case-control study (1,481 cases, 1,539 controls). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression. Smoking intensity effects were examined with an excess odds ratio model that was linear in pack-years and exponential in cigarettes smoked per day and its square. When compared with never smokers, current smokers had a significantly elevated risk (odds ratio (OR) = 1.77, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.38, 2.26). Risk increased significantly with greater intensity (&gt;= 30 cigarettes/day: OR = 1.75, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.42), duration (&gt;= 50 years: OR = 2.13, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.62), and cumulative smoking dose (&gt;= 40 pack-years: OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.35, 2.34). Risk more than 15 years after smoking cessation was similar to that for never smokers. Estimates of excess odds ratio per pack-year declined with increasing intensity, suggesting greater risk for total exposure delivered at lower intensity for longer duration than for higher intensity for shorter duration. This finding and the decline in risk after smoking cessation suggest that smoking has a late-stage effect on pancreatic carcinogenesis

Meta- and Pooled Analyses Cigarette Smoking and Pancreatic Cancer: A Pooled Analysis From the Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium

Smoking is an established risk factor for pancreatic cancer; however, detailed examination of the association of smoking intensity, smoking duration, and cumulative smoking dose with pancreatic cancer is limited. The authors analyzed pooled data from the international Pancreatic Cancer Cohort Consortium nested case-control study (1,481 cases, 1,539 controls). Odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals were calculated by using unconditional logistic regression. Smoking intensity effects were examined with an excess odds ratio model that was linear in pack-years and exponential in cigarettes smoked per day and its square. When compared with never smokers, current smokers had a significantly elevated risk (odds ratio (OR) 1.77, 95 % confidence interval (CI): 1.38, 2.26). Risk increased significantly with greater intensity ( 30 cigarettes/day: OR 1.75