Synthesis and characterization of novel cardo-containing copolyimide membranes for gas separation and effect of bulky site in the polymer backbone

A significant issue in environmental science is the climate change caused by global warming. The increase in the global temperature could lead to a range of negative effects that include rising sea levels, changes in ecosystems, loss of biodiversity, and reduction in crop yields. Currently, it is generally accepted that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases from fossil fuels and industrial wastes are primarily responsible for global warming. One method of slowing the rate of global warming is to reduce carbon dioxide emission into the air and to substitute fossil fuel for alternative energy sources. There are many methods of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including improvements of energy efficiency, use of non-fossil fuel power sources, improved soil management, and the geological sequestration of carbon dioxide from significant greenhouse gas producing point sources. However, the most feasible and practical method at this moment is to capture the greenhouse gases from the fossil fuel combustion using amine absorption, physical adsorption, and membranes, etc. Membrane technology has been used for more than 50 years, and gas separation using membranes is used in several industrial processes such as the production of nitrogen from air, the separation of CO2 and H2O from natural gas, the purification of H2, and the recovery of vapors from vent gases, because it has various advantages such as low capital investment, ease of operation, and low energy consumption. To overcome the disadvantage of polyimide based materials in manufacturing and processing, researchers have developed various methods such as the introduction of flexible monomers, or chemical and thermal post-modification. One method to improve the properties of the membrane is the post-fabrication and thermal process, i.e. the thermally rearranged (TR) PBO membranes that exhibit excellent separation properties and superior thermal and chemical properties compared with commercialized engineering plastics. TR polymer membranes can be obtained from soluble polyimide containing functional groups such as –OH and –SH. The microcavity structure and distribution of soluble polyimide membranes are evolved during thermal treatment. In this study, we focus on the polyimide syntheses using both strategies of the introduction of bulky monomers and post-thermal treatments, yielding . synthesized 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl) hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA)-based copolyimide and hydroxyl monomer via polycondensation. In order to improve the gas separation properties and processability, we used highly CO2 permeable and selective monomers in the synthesis, and then evaluated the effect of the mole ratio monomers of the polymer on the gas separation performance. Finally, the copolyimide membrane was converted to a PBO structure via a thermal treatment in order to increase the rigidity and free volume of the polymer backbone. The degree of thermal conversion was controlled through varying the composition of the copolyimide. Then, the performances of the TR membranes were evaluated regarding their change in chemical structure, mechanical and thermal stability, and gas separation properties

Development and characterization of polymeric hollow fiber membrane with high CO2 separation performance

In this study, we prepared the polyimide based hollow fiber membrane with High CO2 permeance property. In other to prepare high permeable gas separation membrane, we synthesized novel polyimide material using 6FDA, Durene and PEG monomers. And then general property of the polyimide membrane is characterized using flat sheet type of membrane. The membranes were prepared under various controlled conditions such as retention time and concentration of the polymer. And then the hollow fiber membrane is also prepared and then characterized for confirmation of their potential. The Ionic liquid mainchain polymer is also developed to investigate the gas permeability and potential for utilization to coating materials of hollow fiber membrane. Polyimide with pendant ionic liquid (Im-PpC) membrane showed the high α(CO2/N2) value and the main chain polymer prepared by UV crosslinking with PEG & ILMP crosslinker also showed high α(CO2/N2). Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Copper nanofiber-networked cobalt oxide composites for high performance Li-ion batteries

We prepared a composite electrode structure consisting of copper nanofiber-networked cobalt oxide (CuNFs@CoOx). The copper nanofibers (CuNFs) were fabricated on a substrate with formation of a network structure, which may have potential for improving electron percolation and retarding film deformation during the discharging/charging process over the electroactive cobalt oxide. Compared to bare CoOxthin-film (CoOxTF) electrodes, the CuNFs@CoOxelectrodes exhibited a significant enhancement of rate performance by at least six-fold at an input current density of 3C-rate. Such enhanced Li-ion storage performance may be associated with modified electrode structure at the nanoscale, improved charge transfer, and facile stress relaxation from the embedded CuNF network. Consequently, the CuNFs@CoOxcomposite structure demonstrated here can be used as a promising high-performance electrode for Li-ion batteries

Traumatic Tricuspid Regurgitation Following Cardiac Massage

We report a 66-yr-old male patient who developed tricuspid regurgitation secondary to internal cardiac massage. After uneventful off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery, the subject experienced cardiac arrest in the intensive care unit. External cardiac massage was initiated and internal cardiac massage was performed eventually. A transesophageal echocardiography revealed avulsion of the anterior papillary muscle and chordae to the anterior leaflet after successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Emergency repair of the papillary muscle was performed under cardiopulmonary bypass

The Fingerprint of Climate Change and Urbanization in South Korea

Understanding long-term changes in precipitation and temperature patterns is important in the detection and characterization of climate change, as is understanding the implications of climate change when performing impact assessments. This study uses a statistically robust methodology to quantify long-, medium- and short-term changes for evaluating the degree to which climate change and urbanization have caused temporal changes in precipitation and temperature in South Korea. We sought to identify a fingerprint of changes in precipitation and temperature based on statistically significant differences at multiple-timescales. This study evaluates historical weather data during a 40-year period (1973–2012) and from 54 weather stations. Our results demonstrate that between 1993–2012, minimum and maximum temperature trends in the vicinity of urban and agricultural areas are significantly different from the two previous decades (1973–1992). The results for precipitation amounts show significant differences in urban areas. These results indicate that the climate in urbanized areas has been affected by both the heat island effect and global warming-caused climate change. The increase in the number of rainfall events in agricultural areas is highly significant, although the temporal trends for precipitation amounts showed no significant differences. Overall, the impacts of climate change and urbanization in South Korea have not been continuous over time and have been expressed locally and regionally in terms of precipitation and temperature changes

Lacrimal Silicone Intubation for Anatomically Successful but Functionally Failed External Dacryocystorhinostomy

PURPOSE: To investigate the efficacy of lacrimal silicone intubation for the management of epiphora in patients who have previously undergone anatomically successful dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). METHODS: The authors recruited 13 patients (4 male, 9 female) who had persistent epiphora after an anatomically successful primary external DCR and conducted lacrimal silicone intubation through the dacryocystorhinostomy site. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 54.2 years (range 42-80) and mean follow-up was 13.8 months (range 6-30). Epiphora was resolved in all 13 patients following silicone intubation. Spontaneous tube extrusion occurred in three patients, but a new one was easily reintubated. CONCLUSIONS: Lacrimal silicone intubation is a simple safe and effective procedure for patients with epiphora even after anatomically successful DCR

データウェアハウス化手法によるレセプトデータの日韓比較可能性の検討

日韓両国の公開されたレセプトデータをデータウェアハウスに加工し，性・年齢階級，傷病分類といった多次元分析を可能にした。傷病分類は，韓国の傷病分類(KCD-7)は世界共通の傷病分類(ICD10)に準拠していたのに対して，日本のデータは119 分類という独特な分類法を採用していることからそのままでは比較できないが，ICD10 を119 分類に翻訳することによって，韓国データを日本の傷病分類に近づけることができた。こうしたデータ加工により同一傷病，同一年齢階級間で，たとえば入院日数の割合を比較できることを示した