HYDROGEN-PLASMA-TREATED NANO TIO2 FOR PHOTOCATALYTIC OXIDATION OF VOCS IN AIR STREAM

Unlike water treatment processes, the photocatalytic oxidation of VOCs in air stream exhibits many challenges. This study will develop the hydrogen-plasma-treated TiO2 with improvement in photocatalytic activity. The hydrogen-plasma-treatment was carried out in the non-thermal atmospheric pressure reactor at room temperature or above. The catalysts were prepared and analyzed by advanced techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electro-microscopy (SEM) and transmission electro-microscopy (TEM). The photocatalytic activity of the catalyst has been investigated under UV light with various reaction conditions such as different initial toluene/formaldehyde concentrations and water content. Significantly, the conversion of toluene by a plasma-treated sample was 1.5 times higher than the bare TiO2 in a similar reaction condition

Crystal structure of two <i>N</i>'-(1-phenyl-benzyl-idene)-2-(thio-phen-3-yl)acetohydrazides.

The synthesis, spectroscopic data, crystal and mol-ecular structures of two N'-(1-phenyl-benzyl-idene)-2-(thio-phen-3-yl)acetohydrazides, namely N'-[1-(4-hy-droxy-phen-yl)benzyl-idene]-2-(thio-phen-3-yl)acetohydrazide, C13H10N2O2S, (3a), and N'-[1-(4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)benzyl-idene]-2-(thio-phen-3-yl)acetohydrazide, C14H14N2O2S, (3b), are described. Both compounds differ in the substituent at the para position of the phenyl ring: -OH for (3a) and -OCH3 for (3b). In (3a), the thio-phene ring is disordered over two orientations with occupancies of 0.762 (3) and 0.238 (3). The configuration about the C=N bond is E. The thio-phene and phenyl rings are inclined by 84.0 (3) and 87.0 (9)° for the major- and minor-occupancy disorder components in (3a), and by 85.89 (12)° in (3b). Although these dihedral angles are similar, the conformation of the linker between the two rings is different [the C-C-C-N torsion angle is -ac for (3a) and -sc for (3b), while the C6-C7-N9-N10 torsion angle is +ap for (3a) and -sp for (3b)]. A common feature in the crystal packing of (3a) and (3b) is the presence of N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds, resulting in the formation of chains of mol-ecules running along the b-axis direction in the case of (3a), or inversion dimers for (3b). The most prominent contributions to the surface contacts are those in which H atoms are involved, as confirmed by an analysis of the Hirshfeld surface

Synthesis, crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis of 4-[3-(4-hy-droxy-phen-yl)-4,5-di-hydro-1H-pyrazol-5-yl]-2-meth-oxy-phenol monohydrate.

In the title pyrazoline derivative, C16H16N2O3·H2O, the pyrazoline ring has an envelope conformation with the substituted sp 2 C atom on the flap. The pyrazoline ring makes angles of 86.73 (12) and 13.44 (12)° with the tris-ubstituted and disubstituted benzene rings, respectively. In the crystal structure, the mol-ecules are connected into chains running in the b-axis direction by O-H⋯N hydrogen bonding. Parallel chains inter-act through N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking of the tris-ubstituted phenyl rings. The major contribution to the surface contacts are H⋯H contacts (44.3%) as concluded from a Hirshfeld surface analysis

Some chalcones derived from thio-phene-3-carbaldehyde: synthesis and crystal structures.

The synthesis, spectroscopic data and crystal and mol-ecular structures of four 3-(3-phenyl-prop-1-ene-3-one-1-yl)thio-phene derivatives, namely 1-(4-hydroxy-phen-yl)-3-(thio-phen-3-yl)prop-1-en-3-one, C13H10O2S, (1), 1-(4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)-3-(thio-phen-3-yl)prop-1-en-3-one, C14H12O2S, (2), 1-(4-eth-oxy-phen-yl)-3-(thio-phen-3-yl)prop-1-en-3-one, C15H14O2S, (3), and 1-(4--bromophen-yl)-3-(thio-phen-3-yl)prop-1-en-3-one, C13H9BrOS, (4), are described. The four chalcones have been synthesized by reaction of thio-phene-3-carbaldehyde with an aceto-phenone derivative in an absolute ethanol solution containing potassium hydroxide, and differ in the substituent at the para position of the phenyl ring: -OH for 1, -OCH3 for 2, -OCH2CH3 for 3 and -Br for 4. The thio-phene ring in 4 was found to be disordered over two orientations with occupancies 0.702 (4) and 0.298 (4). The configuration about the C=C bond is E. The thio-phene and phenyl rings are inclined by 4.73 (12) for 1, 12.36 (11) for 2, 17.44 (11) for 3 and 46.1 (6) and 48.6 (6)° for 4, indicating that the -OH derivative is almost planar and the -Br derivative deviates the most from planarity. However, the substituent has no real influence on the bond distances in the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moiety. The mol-ecular packing of 1 features chain formation in the a-axis direction by O-H⋯O contacts. In the case of 2 and 3, the packing is characterized by dimer formation through C-H⋯O inter-actions. In addition, C-H⋯π(thio-phene) inter-actions in 2 and C-H⋯S(thio-phene) inter-actions in 3 contribute to the three-dimensional architecture. The presence of C-H⋯π(thio-phene) contacts in the crystal of 4 results in chain formation in the c-axis direction. The Hirshfeld surface analysis shows that for all four derivatives, the highest contribution to surface contacts arises from contacts in which H atoms are involved

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

The impact of eWOM information in social media on the online purchase intention of Generation Z

AbstractThis research aims to investigate the impact of characteristics of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), including Information Quality, Information Credibility, Information Quantity; and consumer behavior, including Needs of Information, and Attitudes towards Information, on the online purchase intention of Generation Z consumers in the context of social media. The research used a quantitative approach with a Likert scale questionnaire to collect the data from 280 Vietnamese Generation Z individuals. Statistical techniques, including Cronbach’s Alpha Test, Exploratory Factor Analysis, Confirm Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling, were used for data analysis. The findings indicated that Information Quality, Information Quantity, and Needs of Information significantly influenced Information Usefulness. Moreover, Information Quality, Needs of Information, and Attitudes towards Information had a significant impact on Information Adoption. Notably, Information Quality exhibited the strongest positive influence on both Information Usefulness and Information Adoption. The study found that Information Usefulness had a significant impact on Information Adoption and on Information Adoption had a significant impact on purchase intention. This result illustrated that information adoption and information usefulness act as partial mediators in the relationships between the independent variables and purchase intentions. This research distinguishes itself from previous studies by simultaneously identifying independent factors that affect Information Usefulness and Information Adoption. This provides marketers with better understanding the important of eWOM information on consumer purchase intention on social media. To address limitations and enhance the overall understanding of the research area, future studies should increase the sample size, diversify geographical representation, and conduct comparative analyses across different generational cohorts

Quantifying Horizontal and Vertical Movements in Ho Chi Minh City by Sentinel-1 Radar Interferometry

Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), the most populous city and the economic center of Viet Nam, has faced ground subsidence in recent decades. This work aims at providing an unprecedented spatial extent coverage of the subsidence in HCMC in both horizontal and vertical components using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) time series. For this purpose, an advanced InSAR technique PSDS (Permanent Scatterers and Distributed Scatterers) was applied to two big European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-1 datasets composed of 96 ascending and 202 descending images, acquired from 2014 to 2020 over HCMC area. A time series of 33 Cosmos SkyMED images was also used for comparison purpose. The combination of ascending and descending satellite passes allows the decomposition of the light of sight velocities into horizontal East-west and vertical components. By taking into account the presence of the horizontal East-west movement, our finding indicates that the precision of the decomposed vertical velocity can be improved up to 3 mm/year for Sentinel-1 data. The obtained results revealed that subsidence is most severe in areas along the Sai Gon river in the northwest-southeast axis and the southwest of the city with the maximum value up to 80 mm/year, consistent with findings in the literature. The magnitude of horizontal East-West velocities is relatively small and a large-scale westward motion can be observed in the northwest of the city at a rate of 2-5 mm/year. Together, these results reinforced the remarkable suitability of ESA's Sentinel-1 SAR for subsidence applications even for non-Europe countries such as Vietnam and Southeast Asia