Behavior of hydrophobic ionic liquids as liquid membranes on phenol removal: Experimental study and optimization

Room temperature ionic liquids show potential as an alternative to conventional organic membrane solvents mainly due to their properties of low vapor pressure, low volatility and they are often stable. In the present work, the technical feasibilities of room temperature ionic liquids as bulk liquid membranes for phenol removal were investigated experimentally. Three ionic liquids with high hydrophobicity were used and their phenol removal efficiency, membrane stability and membrane loss were studied. Besides that, the effects of several parameters, namely feed phase pH, feed concentration, NaOH concentration and stirring speeds on the performance of best ionic liquid membrane were also evaluated. Lastly, an optimization study on bulk ionic liquid membrane was conducted and the maximum phenol removal efficiency was compared with the organic liquid membranes. The preliminary study shows that high phenol extraction and stripping efficiencies of 96.21% and 98.10%, respectively can be achieved by ionic liquid membrane with a low membrane loss which offers a better choice to organic membrane solvents. This record was migrated from the OpenDepot repository service in June, 2017 before shutting down

Functional mechanisms underlying pleiotropic risk alleles at the 19p13.1 breast-ovarian cancer susceptibility locus

A locus at 19p13 is associated with breast cancer (BC) and ovarian cancer (OC) risk. Here we analyse 438 SNPs in this region in 46,451 BC and 15,438 OC cases, 15,252 BRCA1 mutation carriers and 73,444 controls and identify 13 candidate causal SNPs associated with serous OC (P=9.2 × 10-20), ER-negative BC (P=1.1 × 10-13), BRCA1-associated BC (P=7.7 × 10-16) and triple negative BC (P-diff=2 × 10-5). Genotype-gene expression associations are identified for candidate target genes ANKLE1 (P=2 × 10-3) and ABHD8 (P<2 × 10-3). Chromosome conformation capture identifies interactions between four candidate SNPs and ABHD8, and luciferase assays indicate six risk alleles increased transactivation of the ADHD8 promoter. Targeted deletion of a region containing risk SNP rs56069439 in a putative enhancer induces ANKLE1 downregulation; and mRNA stability assays indicate functional effects for an ANKLE1 3′-UTR SNP. Altogether, these data suggest that multiple SNPs at 19p13 regulate ABHD8 and perhaps ANKLE1 expression, and indicate common mechanisms underlying breast and ovarian cancer risk

Developmental drift and the role of wnt signaling in aging

10.3390/cancers8080073Cancers887

The English and Chinese versions of the five-level EuroQoL Group's five-dimension questionnaire (EQ-5D) were valid and reliable and provided comparable scores in Asian breast cancer patients

10.1007/s00520-012-1512-xSupportive Care in Cancer211201-209SCCA

Measurement properties of the eight-item abbreviated functional assessment of cancer therapy - Breast symptom index and comparison with its 37-item parent measure

10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2012.03.012Journal of Pain and Symptom Management454782-791JPSM

Predictors of weight loss in obese patients with obstructive sleep apnea

Vol. 26 pp 753-762Purpose: Consistent predictors of weight loss outcomes with very low-energy diets (VLEDs) in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have not been identified. This study aimed to identify variables predictive of weight loss success in obese patients with OSA undertaking an intensive weight loss programme. Methods: We analysed biological, psychological, and behavioural variables as potential predictors of weight loss in obese patients with OSA after a 2-month VLED followed by one of two 10-month weight loss maintenance diets. Actigraphy, in-lab polysomnography, urinary catecholamines, and various psychological and behavioural variables were measured at baseline, 2, and 12 months. Spearman’s correlations analysed baseline variables with 2-month weight loss, and 2-month variables with 2–12 month-weight change. Results: Forty-two patients completed the VLED and thirty-eight completed the maintenance diets. Actigraphy data revealed that late bedtime (rs =  − 0.45, p =  < 0.01) was correlated with 2-month weight loss. The change in the time that participants got out of bed (rise-time) from baseline to two months was also correlated with 2-month weight loss (rs = 0.36, p = 0.03). The Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite questionnaire (IWQOL) Public Distress domain (rs =  − 0.54, p =  < 0.01) and total (rs =  − 0.38, p = 0.02) scores were correlated with weight loss maintenance from 2 to 12 months. Conclusions: Results from this small patient sample reveal correlations between actigraphy characteristics and weight loss in obese patients with OSA. We suggest the IWQOL may also be a useful clinical tool to identify OSA patients at risk of weight regain after initial weight loss.Thomas J. Altree, Delwyn J. Bartlett, Nathaniel S. Marshall, Camilla M. Hoyos, Craig L. Phillips, Callum Birks, Aran Kanagaratnam, Anna Mullins, Yasmina Serinel, Keith K.H. Wong, Brendon J. Yee, Ronald R. Grunstein, Elizabeth A. Cayana

Introduction: Mobile city Singapore

10.1080/17450101003665002Mobilities52167-17