The Use of Chinese-language Internet Information about Cancer by Chinese Health Consumers

We investigated the use of Chinese-language Internet information about cancer by Chinese health consumers, and its impact on their cancer care. We applied a grounded theory approach and undertook semi-structured interviews with 20 participants in China to learn their experience of using the Internet for cancer information as a patient or a family member. Thematic analysis of the interview data identified three key themes: (1) information needs evolve during the treatment journey; (2) Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and adverse effects of treatment are the topics of greatest interest; and (3) most participants have encountered Internet health information with questionable quality. These findings suggest that although Internet has great potential to empower Chinese cancer patients and their family through cancer care journey, the information quality issues, cultural considerations and current health care paradigm constrain this potential. Further research is needed to address these issues in improving cancer care in China

ANION PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY: LESSONS LEARNED

A combination of various ion sources, a reaction cell, mass spectrometry, anion photoelectron spectroscopy and theoretical calculations has been utilized to study cluster anions belonging to a variety of categories. Emphasis has been placed on the rich information and potential applications that one can obtain from these techniques. Obtaining as much information as possible, pushing the boundary of chemistry, designing materials and studying reaction mechanisms are the aspects that one can learn from these experiments and calculations, which are discussed in the introduction and five chapters of this thesis. In Chapter 1, cluster anions showing very special bonding between TM and hydrogen are discussed. The interaction between transition metals (TM) and hydrogen has always been an intriguing research topic for such applications as hydrogen storage and catalysis of hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions. Special bonding features between TM and hydrogen other than the simple M-H σ bond are interesting not only because they are scarcely reported but also because they could help to discover and understand the nature of chemical bonding. In chapter 2, by inserting a reaction cell between the ion sources and the Wiley-McLaren region of the time-of-flight mass spectrometer, various reactions between cluster anions and neutral molecules have been studied. The oxidation reactions of aluminum hydride cluster anions and boron aluminum hydride cluster anions give insights about their potential applications as highly energetic materials. The reactions between aluminum hydride cluster anions and commonly used organic ligands shed light on the synthesis of never-existed low oxidation state aluminum containing materials. Chapter 3 discusses the mechanism of CO2 activation and fixation by coinage metal anions and platinum hydride cluster anions. Recycling CO2 is a hot topic by itself, however, our focus has been put on the mechanism of the interactions and reactions. Chapter 4 further stretches the material designing efforts into group 13 elements, aluminum and boron. Study on stable aluminum hydride cluster cations (4.1), o-carborane anions (4.5) and carbon aluminum hydride cluster anions (4.6) promises potential energetic materials. The derivative of AlH4-, AlH2Cp*Cl-, can be used as a building block for ionic liquid or salt (4.2). Li2Al3H8- in section 4.3 shows an unprecedented homocatenated chain, Al-Al-Al. By obtaining electron from Li, Al transmutates into C, and the Al3H83- kernel mimics propane. This discovery sheds light on the synthesis of a new salt, Li3Al3H8, an extension of an existing salt, LiAlH4. In section 4.4, a new precursor, Al+Ph2CO-, for synthesizing low oxidation state Al containing compounds is discussed. Al+Ph2CO- is similar to the famous monovalent AlCl, but the synthesis should be much simpler. Chapter 5 presents the very special chemical bonding features of LiOH2- cluster anion, known as the double Rydberg anion. In history, LiOH2- is the second experimentally observed double Rydberg anion only after the NH4-(NH3)n family. This finding, essentially a new type of chemical bonding, is viewed to have pushed the boundary of chemistry

Single-Loop Full R Joints of Multi-Mode Omnidirectional Ground Mobile Robot

In order to solve the problem of loss of locomotion ability due to overturning and instability during the movement of a mobile robot, a multi-mode omnidirectional ground mobile robot with a deformable structure is proposed. Single-loop is used as the unit, and the three-direction geometric deformation can be realized by controlling its R joints in time sharing. The 4-RRRRRR parallel mobile robot formed by two closed-loops orthogonally has four different rolling modes, and each mode can be switched between each other. Once the robot is overturned and unstable during the movement, it can be deformed into other modes and continue to move. After the description of the robot, the DOF (degree-of-freedom) is calculated based on the screw theory. Gait planning and locomotion feasibility analysis indicate that the robot can realize four locomotion modes and their mutual switching. Finally, the simulations and prototype experiments are presented to verify the feasibility of the different locomotion modes and the ability of the obstacle crossing

Cholesterol provides nonsacrificial protection of membrane lipids from chemical damage at air–water interface

The role of cholesterol in bilayer and monolayer lipid membranes has been of great interest. On the biophysical front, cholesterol significantly increases the order of the lipid packing, lowers the membrane permeability, and maintains membrane fluidity by forming liquid-ordered–phase lipid rafts. However, direct observation of any influence on membrane chemistry related to these cholesterol-induced physical properties has been absent. Here we report that the addition of 30 mol % cholesterol to 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) or 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-(1′-rac-glycerol) (POPG) monolayers at the air–water interface greatly reduces the oxidation and ester linkage cleavage chemistries initiated by potent chemicals such as OH radicals and HCl vapor, respectively. These results shed light on the indispensable chemoprotective function of cholesterol in lipid membranes. Another significant finding is that OH oxidation of unsaturated lipids generates Criegee intermediate, which is an important radical involved in many atmospheric processes

Exploring multi-band excitations of interacting Bose gases in a 1D optical lattice by coherent scattering

We use a coherent Bragg diffraction method to impart an external momentum to ultracold bosonic atoms trapped in a one-dimensional optical lattice. This method is based on the application of a single light pulse, with conditions where scattering of photons can be resonantly amplified by the atomic density grating. An oscillatory behavior of the momentum distribution resulting from the time evolution in the lattice potential is then observed. By measuring the oscillating frequencies, we extract multi-band energy structures of single-particle excitations with zero pseudo-momentum transfer for a wide range of lattice depths. The excitation energy structures reveal the interaction effect through the whole range of lattice depth.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Synthesis of Na-Doped Lithium Metatitanate and Its Absorption for Carbon Dioxide

Na-doped lithium metatitanate (Na-doped Li2TiO3) absorbent was doped with Na2CO3 and lithium metatitanate (Li2TiO3) was prepared by a solid-state reaction method from mixture of TiO2 and Li2CO3. The Na-doped lithium metatitanate was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and surface area. Carbon dioxide absorption on Na-doped lithium metatitanate was investigated using TG-DTA. The results reveal an increase of the CO2 absorption capacity of the Na-doped materials with respect to pure Li2TiO3. XRD patterns of the doped samples suggest a limited substitution of Li by Na atoms within the Li2TiO3 structure. The results of experimental and modeling work were summarized to better understand the relationship between the sorbent microstructure and carbon dioxide absorption kinetics