12 research outputs found
Grafting of amino groups onto carbon fibers by bromination followed by ammonolysis
Because of the low content of chelating groups onto carbon fibers (CFs), their adsorptive parameters are poor, and this has negative effects on their applications as lightweight sorbents. In this work, we established a modification method to incorporate amine groups into carbon fiber surfaces by bromination followed by ammonolysis to create an interfacial layer which can adsorb heavy metal ions from solutions. The changed chemical composition, surface morphology, and thermal stability were investigated. Thermoprogrammed desorption mass-spectrometry and thermal analysis showed thermal transformation and interplay between forms of the grafted bromine groups of 0.5 mmol/g and the resulting amino groups of 0.44â0.56 mmol/g. After grafting, the surface chemistry parameters were improved due to the covalent bonding and grafting of the amine groups as interface modifier. Scanning electron microscopy observation also confirmed that the surface morphology maintains the same, without impairment of fiber properties. This work is therefore a beneficial approach towards enhancing the adsorption parameters by controlling the interface layer of CFs
Mathematical simulation of package delivery optimization using a combination of carriers
A variety of goods and services in the contemporary world requires permanent
improvement of services e-commerce platform performance. Modern society is so
deeply integrated with mail deliveries, purchasing of goods and services
online, that makes competition between service and good providers a key
selection factor. As long as logistic, timely, and cost-effective delivery
plays important part authors decided to analyze possible ways of improvements
in the current field, especially for regions distantly located from popular
distribution centers. Considering both: fast and lazy delivery the factor of
costs is playing an important role for each end-user. Given work proposes a
simulation that analyses the current cost of delivery for e-commerce orders in
the context of delivery by the Supplier Fleet, World-Wide delivery service
fleet, and possible vendor drop-ship and checks of the alternative ways can be
used to minimize the costs. The main object of investigation is focused around
mid and small businesses living far from big distribution centers (except edge
cases like lighthouses, edge rocks with very limited accessibility) but
actively using e-commerce solutions for daily activities fulfillment. Authors
analyzed and proposed a solution for the problem of cost optimization for
packages delivery for long-distance deliveries using a combination of paths
delivered by supplier fleets, worldwide and local carriers. Data models and
Add-ons of contemporary Enterprise Resource Planning systems were used, and
additional development is proposed in the perspective of the flow selection
change. The experiment is based on data sources of the United States companies
using a wide range of carriers for delivery services and uses the data sources
of the real companies; however, it applies repetitive simulations to analyze
variances in obtained solutions
Chemical grafting of sulfo groups onto carbon fibers
We proposed the brominated carbon cloth that made of polyacrylonitrile-based activated carbon fibers (PAN-ACFs) as a precursor to chemically and uniformly graft SO3H groups to prepare the solid acid catalyst. The thermal and catalytic properties of the sulfonated PAN-ACFs were examined by IR controlled catalytic measurements and thermal analysis. The catalytic test results showed that the sulfonated surface remarkably improved the operating efficiency in isopropanol dehydration by decreasing the reaction temperature. All PAN-ACFs with grafted SO3H groups prepared through brominated precursors can converse 100% of isopropanol into propylene at moderate temperature. They showed the highest catalytic activity compared to PAN-ACFs sulfonated with oleum and chlorosulfonic acid, which conversed only 40% and 70% of isopropanol into propylene and deactivated at the higher temperatures in the reaction medium
Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTICâHF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials
Aims:
The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTICâHF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTICâHF and how these compare with other contemporary trials.
Methods and Results:
Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA)ââ„âII, EF â€35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokineticâguided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50âmg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), nonâwhite (22%), mean age 65âyears] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NTâproBNP 1971âpg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTICâHF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressureâ<â100âmmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate <â30âmL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitrilâvalsartan at baseline (n = 1594).
Conclusions:
GALACTICâHF enrolled a wellâtreated, highârisk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation
State of Comorbidity in Patients with Hypertension under Conditions of Industrial Production
Comorbid conditions in patients with hypertension on the background of occupational hazards create additional problems in the treatment of hypertension. An analysis of working conditions in 76 workers of the Ivano-Frankivsk armature factory who underwent regular medical check-ups regarding first-/second-degree hypertension (the main group) showed that they were exposed to occupational hazards of chemical (acrolein carbon, iron oxide, chromium, fluorine compounds, sulfuric acid) and physical (high temperature, noise, vibration, electromagnetic radiation, dust) nature for a long period of time (from 4 to 11 years). Comorbid conditions were most often observed among the patients of the main group as compared to the patients of the control group (n = 17), who were not exposed to occupational hazards - 82.06% and 73.34% of cases, respectively. In the patients of the main group, chronic bronchitis was detected in 26.56% of cases and coronary artery disease was diagnosed in 25.09% of cases as compared to 8.33% and 18.34% of cases in the control group. At the same time, 38.89% of hypertensive patients of the main group were diagnosed with chronic bronchitis and concomitant coronary artery disease, which were not observed in the patients of the control group. The patients of the main group were more likely to have dyslipidemia, left ventricular hypertrophy, aortic fibrosis, hypertensive retinopathy as compared to the patients of the control group. In the control group, patients with overweight and type 2 diabetes mellitus prevailed. Quality of life assessment using the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey among the patients of the main group revealed a significant decrease in the indicators of physical and vital activity, fulfillment of daily professional duties. In the control group, a worsening emotional state prevailed
CO
Adsorption is currently the most promising capture technology to shorten atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2). In this article, we report on the adsorption of CO2 onto pristine, oxidized, and aminated activated carbon (AC) sorbents. From our findings, some functionalized AC sorbents have shown very promising results in the CO2 capture process. Their maximum adsorption capacity measured by the thermogravimetric method at 20 °C varies between 2.2 and 3.9 mmol CO2/g depending on the content of diethylamino and oxygen-containing groups. The functionalization of the carbon surface with diethylamino groups improves the adsorption capacity by 30â40%. The CO2 adsorption little depends on the texture parameters of the pristine AC sorbents. In the range from 20 to 100 °C, the CO2 thermodesorption showed the effective regeneration of the sorbents. The aminated carbon surface demonstrates the best CO2 adsorption but binds the adsorbed molecules stronger than the oxidized surface, which limits the sorbent regeneration
Additional file 1 of Surface Response of Brominated Carbon Media on Laser and Thermal Excitation: Optical and Thermal Analysis Study
Electronic Supplementary Material. (PDF 495 kb
Evinacumab for Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia
BACKGROUND Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia is characterized by premature cardiovascular disease caused by markedly elevated levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. This disorder is associated with genetic variants that result in virtually absent (nullânull) or impaired (non-null) LDL-receptor activity. Loss-offunction variants in the gene encoding angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) are associated with hypolipidemia and protection against atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Evinacumab, a monoclonal antibody against ANGPTL3, has shown potential benefit in patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. METHODS In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio 65 patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia who were receiving stable lipid-lowering therapy to receive an intravenous infusion of evinacumab (at a dose of 15 mg per kilogram of body weight) every 4 weeks or placebo. The primary outcome was the percent change from baseline in the LDL cholesterol level at week 24. RESULTS The mean baseline LDL cholesterol level in the two groups was 255.1 mg per deciliter, despite the receipt of maximum doses of background lipid-lowering therapy. At week 24, patients in the evinacumab group had a relative reduction from baseline in the LDL cholesterol level of 47.1%, as compared with an increase of 1.9% in the placebo group, for a between-group least-squares mean difference of â49.0 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], â65.0 to â33.1; P 0.001); the between-group least-squares mean absolute difference in the LDL cholesterol level was â132.1 mg per deciliter (95% CI, â175.3 to â88.9; P 0.001). The LDL cholesterol level was lower in the evinacumab group than in the placebo group in patients with nullânull variants (â43.4% vs. +16.2%) and in those with non-null variants (â49.1% vs. â3.8%). Adverse events were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS In patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia receiving maximum doses of lipid-lowering therapy, the reduction from baseline in the LDL cholesterol level in the evinacumab group, as compared with the small increase in the placebo group, resulted in a between-group difference of 49.0 percentage points at 24 weeks. (Funded by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals; ELIPSE HoFH ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03399786.