Dual-conditioning of Sludge using Chitosan and Metal Cations

Sludge dewatering is important in sludge management and disposal. In practice, chemical conditioners are often introduced to aid sludge dewatering. This study investigated the simultaneous application of chitosan and metal cations as dual-conditioners to improve sludge dewaterability. The dewatering performance of sludge was evaluated using three common measurements, i.e. capillary suction time, specific resistance to filtration, and moisture content of the filtered sludge cake. The effectiveness of metal cations in sludge conditioning and dewatering was found, in ascending order, to be Na+ < K+ ≈ Mg2+ < Ca2+ < Al3+ < Fe3+. Dual-conditioning using chitosan and metal cations further enhanced dewaterability. Cations may have significant effects on sludge conditioning by neutralization of negative surface charges, bridging of floc components, and the salting out effect, leading to improved dewaterability when used in conjunction with chitosan

Clinical and in vitro analysis of Osteopontin as a prognostic indicator and unveil its potential downstream targets in bladder cancer

YesOsteopontin (OPN) plays an important role in cancer progression, however its prognostic significance and its downstream factors are largely elusive. In this study, we have shown that expression of OPN was significantly higher in bladder cancer specimens with higher T-stage or tumor grades. In addition, a high level of OPN was significantly associated with poorer survival in two independent bladder cancer patient cohorts totaling 389 bladder cancer patients with available survival data. We further identified Matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) and S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8) were both downstream factors for OPN in bladder cancer specimens and bladder cancer cell lines. Expression of OPN was significantly positively associated with that of MMP9 and S100A8, while overexpression of OPN resulted in upregulation of MMP9 and S100A8, and knockdown of OPN showed consistent downregulation of MMP9 and S100A8 expression levels. Importantly, expression levels of both MMP9 and S100A8 were significantly associated with higher T-stage, higher tumor grade and a shorter survival time in the bladder cancer patients. Interestingly, OPN expression only predicted survival in MMP9-high, but not MMP9-low subgroups, and in S100A8-low but not S100A8-high subgroups. Our results suggest that OPN, MMP9 and S100A8 all play a significant role in bladder cancer progression and are potential prognostic markers and therapeutic targets in bladder cancer. The mechanistic link between these three genes and bladder cancer progression warrants further investigation.University of Macau Multi-Year Research Grant (MYRG2015-00065-FHS

Comparison of s- and d-wave gap symmetry in nonequilibrium superconductivity

Recent application of ultrafast pump/probe optical techniques to superconductors has renewed interest in nonequilibrium superconductivity and the predictions that would be available for novel superconductors, such as the high-Tc cuprates. We have reexamined two of the classical models which have been used in the past to interpret nonequilibrium experiments with some success: the mu* model of Owen and Scalapino and the T* model of Parker. Predictions depend on pairing symmetry. For instance, the gap suppression due to excess quasiparticle density n in the mu* model, varies as n^{3/2} in d-wave as opposed to n for s-wave. Finally, we consider these models in the context of S-I-N tunneling and optical excitation experiments. While we confirm that recent pump/probe experiments in YBCO, as presently interpreted, are in conflict with d-wave pairing, we refute the further claim that they agree with s-wave.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure

Changing incidence of oral and maxillofacial tumours in East Java, Indonesia, 1987-1992. Part 2: Malignant tumours

A total of 2193 tumours of the mouth and jaw diagnosed at the Laboratorium Patologi Anatomi Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia from 1987 to 1992, inclusive, was studied. Malignant tumours constituted 45.3 of the lesions. Almost 71 of the malignant tumours were squamous cell carcinomas. The remainder were salivary gland tumours (21.5) and sarcomas (4.5). The male to female ratio for malignant tumours was 5.1:4.7. The incidence of malignant tumours per 100,000 population over the 6-year study period was 2.64. The yearly incidence seemed to increase except in 1990, when it dropped. The incidence of squamous cell carcinoma over the 6 years was 2.1. Calculation of the odds ratio suggested that people aged 40 and over are 5.8 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma. Copyright 2001 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

A tachyonic scalar field with mutually interacting components

We investigate the tachyonic cosmological potential $V(\phi)$ in two different cases of the quasi-exponential expansion of universe and discuss various forms of interaction between the two components---matter and the cosmological constant--- of the tachyonic scalar field, which leads to the viable solutions of their respective energy densities. The distinction among the interaction forms is shown to appear in the $O_{m}(x)$ diagnostic. Further, the role of the high- and low-redshift observations of the Hubble parameter is discussed to determine the proportionality constants and hence the correct form of matter--cosmological constant interaction.Comment: 14 page

Unified phantom cosmology: inflation, dark energy and dark matter under the same standard

Phantom cosmology allows to account for dynamics and matter content of the universe tracing back the evolution to the inflationary epoch, considering the transition to the non-phantom standard cosmology (radiation/matter dominated eras) and recovering the today observed dark energy epoch. We develop the unified phantom cosmology where the same scalar plays the role of early time (phantom) inflaton and late-time Dark Energy. The recent transition from decelerating to accelerating phase is described too by the same scalar field. The (dark) matter may be embedded in this scheme, giving the natural solution of the coincidence problem. It is explained how the proposed unified phantom cosmology can be fitted against the observations which opens the way to define all the important parameters of the model.Comment: LaTeX file, 9 pages, no figure, version to appear in PL

Vertex functions for d-wave mesons in the light-front approach

While the light-front quark model (LFQM) is employed to calculate hadronic transition matrix elements, the vertex functions must be pre-determined. In this work we derive the vertex functions for all d-wave states in this model. Especially, since both of $^3D_1$ and $^3S_1$ are $1^{--}$ mesons, the Lorentz structures of their vertex functions are the same. Thus when one needs to study the processes where $^3D_1$ is involved, all the corresponding formulas for $^3S_1$ states can be directly applied, only the coefficient of the vertex function should be replaced by that for $^3D_1$. The results would be useful for studying the newly observed resonances which are supposed to be d-wave mesons and furthermore the possible 2S-1D mixing in $\psi'$ with the LFQM.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, some typos corrected and more discussions added. Accepted by EPJ

A Lorentz Invariance Violating Cosmology on the DGP Brane

We study cosmological implications of a Lorentz invariance violating DGP-inspired braneworld scenario. A minimally coupled scalar field and a single, fixed-norm, Lorentz-violating timelike vector field within an interactive picture provide a wide parameter space which accounts for late-time acceleration and transition to phantom phase of the scalar field.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in JCA

Spin Fidelity for Three-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger and W States Under Lorentz Transformations

Constructing the reduced density matrix for a system of three massive spin$-\frac{1}{2}$ particles described by a wave packet with Gaussian momentum distribution and a spin part in the form of GHZ or W state, the fidelity for the spin part of the system is investigated from the viewpoint of moving observers in the jargon of special relativity. Using a numerical approach, it turns out that by increasing the boost speed, the spin fidelity decreases and reaches to a non-zero asymptotic value that depends on the momentum distribution and the amount of momentum entanglement.Comment: 12pages, 2 figure