Methane Gas Adsorption Capacity Of Carbon Materials For Adsorbed Natural Gas Applications

Adsorbed natural gas (ANG) technique was used in this study to test the adsorption capacity of carbon materials fro methane gas storage. An adsorption system based on volumetric method was designed and fabricated for this purpose. The carbon materials used were Malaysian industrial activated carbon produced from palm kernel shell and coconut shells. These materials have not been thoroughly investigated for ANG applications. Also a new material which is a composite of CNTs and activated carbon (ACNT) produced in this work along with commercial CNTs were investigated as ANG storage media. ACNT was produced using chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method using activated carbon as catalyst substrate. The presence of activated carbon, besides being substrate, served as auxiliary storage media. This method successfully produced CNTs with diameters ranged form 25 to 70 nm and lengths, mostly, of more than 10 μm. These long tubes could be a result of the long reaction time (3 hours), thus if shorter CNTs are required, shorter reaction times should be applied. The adsorption storage experiments were run at pressures up to 50 bar and temperatures of 30, 40 and 50 °C. The adsorption capacity on mass basis (at 35 bar and 30 °C) ranged from as low as 1.48 mmol/g for com-CNT to 6.20 mmol/g for CSAC3. ACNT showed a relatively high adsorption capacity of 4.51 mmol/g. The results indicate that there is a general trend of increasing in adsorption capacity with increasing micropore volume. However, micropore size distribution (MPSD) must be taken into account in evaluating the adsorbents. The adsorption capacity on volume basis (V/V) ranged from 51.57 for com-CNT to 106.46 for CSAC2. These values are still below the targeted 150 V/V. While some adsorbents showed the highest adsorption capacity on mass basis compared to others (CSAC3 versus CSAC2), yet their capacity on volume basis was lower as a result of their lower bulk density. This showed the importance of this parameter in ANG applications. The methane delivered values were 7-25% lower than the volumetric methane storage capacity. The high retention of methane gas at atmospheric pressure by some adsorbents could be explained by their narrow MPSD. Accordingly, the narrow MPSD helps in increasing the adsorption capacity, yet, the very narrow MPSD will increase the amount of gas retained.Several single component isotherm models were used to fit the experimental adsorption isotherm data. All the adsorption isotherm models used showed a good fit to the experimental data. However, Langmuir isotherm model was chosen to be used in the dynamic model to restrict the already heavy computational load from being unrealistic. The experimental data obtained from the storage and delivery tests were compared to those obtained from process simulation using a dynamic model. The simulation model was run using the measured equilibrium data as input parameters. A good agreement was observed between experimental and simulated results. Pressure and temperature histories were acceptably well predicte

Wet Weather Impact on Trihalomethane Formation Potential in tributaries to Drinking Water Reservoirs

During rain storm events, land surface runoff and resuspension of bottom sediments cause an increase in Trihalomethane (THM) precursors in rivers. These precursors, when chlorinated at water treatment facilities will lead to the formation of THMs and hence impact drinking water resources. In order to evaluate the wet weather impact on the potential formation of THMs, river samples were collected before, during and after three rain storms ranging from 15.2 to 24.9 mm precipitation. The samples were tested for THM formation potential and other indicators including UV254 absorbance, turbidity and volatile suspended solid (VSS). Average levels of THMs increased from 61 microg/l during dry weather to 131 microg/l during wet weather, and then went back to 81 microg/l after rain ended. Wet weather values of THM are well above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) 80 microg/l, set by EPA for drinking water. THM indicators also exhibited similar trends. Average levels increased from 0.6 to 1.8 abs; 2.6 to 6 ntu; and 7.5 to 15 mg/l respectively for UV254, turbidity and VSS. A positive correlation was observed between THM formation and THM indicators. The t-test of significance (p-value) was less than 0.05 for all indicators, and R values ranged from 0.85 to 0.92 between THMs and the indicators, and 0.72 to 0.9 among indicators themselves

AAPM Medical Physics Practice Guideline 2.a: Commissioning and quality assurance of X-ray–based image-guided radiotherapy systems

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a nonprofit professional society whose primary purposes are to advance the science, education, and professional practice of medical physics. The AAPM has more than 8,000 members and is the principal organization of medical physicists in the United States. The AAPM will periodically define new practice guidelines for medical physics practice to help advance the science of medical physics and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the United States. Existing medical physics practice guidelines will be reviewed for the purpose of revision or renewal, as appropriate, on their fifth anniversary or sooner. Each medical physics practice guideline represents a policy statement by the AAPM, has undergone a thorough consensus process in which it has been subjected to extensive review, and requires the approval of the Professional Council. The medical physics practice guidelines recognize that the safe and effective use of diagnostic and therapeutic radiology requires specific training, skills, and techniques, as described in each document. Reproduction or modification of the published practice guidelines and technical standards by those entities not providing these services is not authorized. 1

Smoking and tooth discolouration: findings from a national cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Smoking is a risk factor of a number of oral diseases; the extent to which tobacco products influence dental aesthetics has not been widely investigated. The aim of this study was to determine satisfaction with own tooth colour of smokers and non-smokers and to investigate whether smokers have higher levels of self-assessed tooth discolouration compared to non-smokers METHODS: A cross sectional national study was conducted on sample of 6,000 UK adults. A total of 3,384 adults was interviewed. Smoking behaviour was recorded together with satisfaction with own tooth colour. Prevalence of perceived discolouration was measured by asking respondents to match their own tooth colour to one of a set of seven photographs of differing severities of discolouration. RESULTS: Twenty eight percent of smokers reported having moderate and severe levels of tooth discolouration compared to 15% in non-smokers. As well as more often perceiving discolouration smokers were also more likely to be dissatisfied with their own tooth colour compared to non-smokers. CONCLUSION: The study provides further evidence of the negative impact of tobacco smoking on dental aesthetics in the general public. The evidence provided by the study may be of value in short interventions for smoking cessation in the dental setting

Modulation of the virus-receptor interaction by mutations in the V5 loop of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) following in vivo escape from neutralising antibody

<b>BACKGROUND:</b> In the acute phase of infection with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), the virus targets activated CD4+ T cells by utilising CD134 (OX40) as a primary attachment receptor and CXCR4 as a co-receptor. The nature of the virus-receptor interaction varies between isolates; strains such as GL8 and CPGammer recognise a "complex" determinant on CD134 formed by cysteine-rich domains (CRDs) 1 and 2 of the molecule while strains such as PPR and B2542 require a more "simple" determinant comprising CRD1 only for infection. These differences in receptor recognition manifest as variations in sensitivity to receptor antagonists. In this study, we ask whether the nature of the virus-receptor interaction evolves in vivo.<p></p> <b>RESULTS:</b> Following infection with a homogeneous viral population derived from a pathogenic molecular clone, a quasispecies emerged comprising variants with distinct sensitivities to neutralising antibody and displaying evidence of conversion from a "complex" to a "simple" interaction with CD134. Escape from neutralising antibody was mediated primarily by length and sequence polymorphisms in the V5 region of Env, and these alterations in V5 modulated the virus-receptor interaction as indicated by altered sensitivities to antagonism by both anti-CD134 antibody and soluble CD134.<p></p> <b>CONCLUSIONS:</b> The FIV-receptor interaction evolves under the selective pressure of the host humoral immune response, and the V5 loop contributes to the virus-receptor interaction. Our data are consistent with a model whereby viruses with distinct biological properties are present in early versus late infection and with a shift from a "complex" to a "simple" interaction with CD134 with time post-infection.<p></p&gt

Palestinians and the Question of Refugee Resettlement

Scholars of international law and US politics discuss the question of refugee protection and resettlement in the wake of the war in Gaza. With the deaths of tens of thousands, the displacement of approximately two million, and the widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure in Gaza since October 7th, the international community faces a long-term humanitarian crisis. What does the future hold for Palestinian refugees and IDPs created by the current conflict? Many Palestinians justly insist on their right to return and rebuild their society. But how can the international community protect their lives and dignity in the meantime? Sensitive to the complexities involved, scholars of international law and US politics discuss the question of refugee protection and resettlement as a partial response to this urgent crisis, recognizing that all people have a right to safety and home. Panelists Include Prof. Wale Olumodimu (Gonzaga University) - will provide the international law context Dr. Shyam Sriram (Canisius University) - will provide the US social and political context Moderators Include Dr. Shannon Dunn (Gonzaga University) Dr. Brian Siebeking (Gonzaga University) with Dr. Ramadan Alkhatib of Gonzaga University providing additional comments. This opportunity is a feature of the Conversations on Israel and Gaza program, hosted by the Provost’s Office

Impact of chemotherapy for HIV-1 related lymphoma on residual viremia and cellular HIV-1 DNA in patients on suppressive antiretroviral therapy

The first cure of HIV-1 infection was achieved through complex, multimodal therapy including myeloablative chemotherapy, total body irradiation, anti-Thymocyte globulin, and allogeneic stem cell transplantation with a CCR5 delta32 homozygous donor. The contributions of each component of this therapy to HIV-1 eradication are unclear. To assess the impact of cytotoxic chemotherapy alone on HIV-1 persistence, we longitudinally evaluated low-level plasma viremia and HIV-1 DNA in PBMC from patients in the ACTG A5001/ALLRT cohort on suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART) who underwent chemotherapy for HIV-1 related lymphoma without interrupting ART. Plasma HIV-1 RNA, total HIV-1 DNA and 2-LTR circles (2-LTRs) in PBMC were measured using sensitive qPCR assays. In the 9 patients who received moderately intensive chemotherapy for HIV-1 related lymphoma with uninterrupted ART, low-level plasma HIV-1 RNA did not change significantly with chemotherapy: median HIV-1 RNA was 1 copy/mL (interquartile range: 1.0 to 20) pre-chemotherapy versus 4 copies/mL (interquartile range: 1.0 to 7.0) post-chemotherapy. HIV-1 DNA levels also did not change significantly, with median prechemotherapy HIV-1 DNA of 355 copies/106 CD4+ cells versus 228 copies/106 CD4+ cells post-chemotherapy. 2-LTRs were detectable in 2 of 9 patients pre-chemotherapy and in 3 of 9 patients post-chemotherapy. In summary, moderately intensive chemotherapy for HIV-1 related lymphoma in the context of continuous ART did not have a prolonged impact on HIV-1 persistence. © 2014 Cillo et al

CCL3L1 copy number, CCR5 genotype and susceptibility to tuberculosis

Background: Tuberculosis is a major infectious disease and functional studies have provided evidence that both the chemokine MIP-1α and its receptor CCR5 play a role in susceptibility to TB. Thus by measuring copy number variation of CCL3L1, one of the genes that encode MIP-1α, and genotyping a functional promoter polymorphism -2459A > G in CCR5 (rs1799987) we investigate the influence of MIP-1α and CCR5, independently and combined, in susceptibility to clinically active TB in three populations, a Peruvian population (n = 1132), a !Xhosa population (n = 605) and a South African Coloured population (n = 221). The three populations include patients with clinically diagnosed pulmonary TB, as well as other, less prevalent forms of extrapulmonary TB. Methods and results: Copy number of CCL3L1 was measured using the paralogue ratio test and exhibited ranges between 0–6 copies per diploid genome (pdg) in Peru, between 0–12 pdg in !Xhosa samples and between 0–10 pdg in South African Coloured samples. The CCR5 promoter polymorphism was observed to differ significantly in allele frequency between populations (*A; Peru f = 0.67, !Xhosa f = 0.38, Coloured f = 0.48). Conclusions: The case–control association studies performed however find, surprisingly, no evidence for an influence of variation in genes coding for MIP-1α or CCR5 individually or together in susceptibility to clinically active TB in these populations

The Prognostic Significance of the Depth of Cervical Stromal Invasion in Women with FIGO Stage II Uterine Endometrioid Carcinoma

Purpose/Objective(s): To explore the prognostic significance of the depth of cervical stromal invasion (CSI) on survival endpoints in women with FIGO stage II uterine endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Materials/Methods: A total of 117 patients were included in this retrospective review. Between 1990 and 2021, all patients with FIGO stage II endometrial cancer (EC) underwent hysterectomy and oophorectomy at our institution, with or without lymph node dissection. Patients with synchronous ovarian or breast cancer, as well as those who had undergone adjuvant systemic chemotherapy for EC, were excluded from the study. Pathologic slides were retrieved for these patients and were reviewed by a gynecologic pathologist to determine stromal thickness and the depth of CSI. The depth of CSI was then measured as a percentage of invasion (% CSI) and used in the analysis as a continuous or dichotomous variable (\u3c 50% vs \u3e = 50%). Patients\u27 demographics, pathologic, and treatment characteristics were analyzed using univariate and multivariate analysis to calculate recurrence-free (RFS) and disease-specific (DSS) rates. Results: The median age for the study cohort was 65 years (range, 34–96), and the median follow-up was 131 months (range, 9–334). A total of 90 patients (77%) had lymph node dissection, with a median of 8 examined lymph nodes (range 0-18). Adjuvant radiation therapy (RT) with pelvic or vaginal cuff HDR brachytherapy, or a combination of the two, was completed in 92 patients (79 percent). The median % CSI was 27% (range, 1-100) with 68% of patients having ≥ 50% CSI. While there was a trend for a worse 5-year RFS and DSS for women with ≥ 50% CSI (69% vs. 83%, p = 0.093) and (78% vs. 91%, p = 0.034), respectively, the depth of CSI was not statistically significant as an independent predictor of 5-year RFS, DSS, or OS. The depth of CSI was not associated with a difference in the recurrence pattern (vaginal cuff, pelvic, paraaortic, or distant). In multivariate analysis, FIGO grade was the only predictor of 5-year OS. FIGO grade and the presence of lympho-vascular space invasion (LVSI) were independent predictors of 5-year RFS and DSS. Conclusion: Deep cervical stromal invasion does not appear to be an independent predictive factor for survival endpoints in women with stage II uterine endometroid cancer, according to our findings. The presence of LVSI and tumor grade were both independent predictors of recurrence-free and disease-specific survival. Pooled data analysis may be needed to validate our study findings

Removal of imidacloprid from polluted water using adsorption and membrane separation technologies

In this work, the stability of imidacloprid in fresh water and sludge was studied. The results revealed that the pesticide is unstable in both media. In freshwater, it underwent hydrolysis whereas a degradation to several metabolites has been observed in sludge. The rate constants for the hydrolysis and degradation at 25°C were 0.0.0067 and 0.0.0099 d–1, respectively. Monitoring the degradation of imidacloprid in sludge by high-pressure liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) revealed that five metabolites have emerged during the study. These metabolites include imidacloprid urea, imidacloprid-guanidine, 6-hydroxynicotinic acid, an olefin, and 5-hydroxy, 1-(6-chloro-3-pyridylmethyl)-2-(nitroimino)-imidazolidin-5-ol. The efficiency of Al-Quds University Wastewater Treatment Plant towards the removal of imidacloprid indicates that the ultrafiltration-hollow fiber unit was insufficient, whereas the ultrafiltration-spiral wound, activated carbon, and reverse osmosis units were efficient for complete removal of the pesticide. Adsorption experiments of imidacloprid using either activated charcoal or micelle-clay complex were found to fit Langmuir isotherms better than Freundlich isotherm. The data demonstrate a higher Langmuir Qmax value for the activated charcoal (126.6 mg g–1) when compared to the micelle-clay complex (11.76 mg g–1). Filtration column experiments, conducted with mixed micelle-clay complex and sand (using a ratio of 1/50 by mass) at a flow rate of 2 mL min–1 and influent concentration of 50 mg L–1, revealed that a sufficient removal of imidacloprid was achieved in the first fraction of 100 mL elution. These findings indicate that the adsorption technology using the micelle-clay complex provides efficient removal of imidacloprid in continuous flow mode