Determination of Water Uptake of Polymeric Ion-Selective Membranes with the Coulometric Karl Fischer and FT-IR-Attenuated Total Reflection Techniques

The water uptake of plasticized poly­(vinyl chloride) (PVC) and silicone rubber (SR) based calcium-selective membranes which are commonly used in solid-contact and coated-wire ion-selective electrodes (SC-ISEs and CWEs) was quantified with the oven based coulometric Karl Fischer (KF) technique. Two different membrane types were studied: (1) the plasticized PVC or SR (RTV 3140) membrane matrix without other added membrane components and (2) the full Ca²⁺-selective membrane formulation consisting of the membrane matrixes, potassium tetrakis­[3,5-bis­(trifluoromethyl)­phenyl]­borate and calcium ionophore IV (ETH 5234) or calcium ionophore I (ETH 1001). The membranes were contacted for 24 h either asymmetrically from one side or symmetrically from both sides with deionized water (DIW) or 0.1 M solutions of CaCl₂, KCl, or NaCl. It was found that the water uptake was higher for symmetrically contacted membranes. The highest water uptake (0.15–0.17 wt %) was obtained for the plasticized PVC based Ca²⁺-selective membranes in DIW, whereas the water uptake was lower in 0.1 M electrolyte solutions. Symmetrically contacted Ca²⁺-selective SR membranes had much lower water uptake in 0.1 M CaCl₂ (0.03 wt %) than their plasticized PVC counterparts (0.1 wt %). However, the (noncontacted) SR membranes contained initially much more water (0.09–0.15 wt %) than the PVC membranes (0.04–0.07 wt %). Furthermore, in good accordance with the KF measurements, it was verified with FT-IR-attenuated total reflection (ATR) spectroscopy that the water content at the substrate/membrane interface and consequently in the whole membrane was influenced by the electrolyte solution

Table_2_The relationship between tobacco and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.docx

BackgroundThe effect of tobacco on breast cancer (BC) is controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tobacco and BC.MethodsA search was conducted in PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases before February 2022. The adjusted odd ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to examine the relationship between active or passive smoking and BC risk.ResultsA total of 77 articles composed of 2,326,987 participants were included for this meta-analysis. Active (OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.11-1.20, pConclusionSmoking (active and passive) increased the risk of BC in women. The effect of smoking on BC was influenced by smoking-related factors (duration, intensity, years of quitting), population-related factors (fertility status), and BC subtypes.Systematic Review Registrationidentifier CRD42022322699.</p

Table_1_The relationship between tobacco and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.docx

BackgroundThe effect of tobacco on breast cancer (BC) is controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tobacco and BC.MethodsA search was conducted in PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases before February 2022. The adjusted odd ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to examine the relationship between active or passive smoking and BC risk.ResultsA total of 77 articles composed of 2,326,987 participants were included for this meta-analysis. Active (OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.11-1.20, pConclusionSmoking (active and passive) increased the risk of BC in women. The effect of smoking on BC was influenced by smoking-related factors (duration, intensity, years of quitting), population-related factors (fertility status), and BC subtypes.Systematic Review Registrationidentifier CRD42022322699.</p

Table_3_The relationship between tobacco and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.docx

BackgroundThe effect of tobacco on breast cancer (BC) is controversial. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between tobacco and BC.MethodsA search was conducted in PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases before February 2022. The adjusted odd ratio (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to examine the relationship between active or passive smoking and BC risk.ResultsA total of 77 articles composed of 2,326,987 participants were included for this meta-analysis. Active (OR=1.15, 95% CI=1.11-1.20, pConclusionSmoking (active and passive) increased the risk of BC in women. The effect of smoking on BC was influenced by smoking-related factors (duration, intensity, years of quitting), population-related factors (fertility status), and BC subtypes.Systematic Review Registrationidentifier CRD42022322699.</p

Comparison of Hg²⁺ removal ratio and Hg²⁺ biouptake by R1 from aqueous solutions containing different concentrations of organic substances.

<p>The control was made of ddH₂O and contained no organic substance. 0.1YPD and 0.01YPD represented diluted (1:10 and 1:100) YPD media. All solutions were complemented with 10 mg/L Hg²⁺.</p

XPS analysis of R1 before/after Hg²⁺ uptake.

<p>a: XPS spectra of R1 and Hg-laden R1. b: Calculation of peak area based on origin fitting.</p

Hg²⁺ removal and Hg²⁺ biouptake from 10 mg /L Hg²⁺ solution by unmodified R1 cells (control) and R1 chemically modified to block carboxyl, amino and hydroxyl, and phosphate groups, respectively.

<p>After chemical modification, the cells were washed twice with ddH₂O, harvested by centrifugation and resuspended in10 mg/L Hg²⁺ solution for 2 h biouptake.</p

Equilibrium biouptake of Hg²⁺.

<p>Equilibrium biouptake of Hg²⁺.</p

MOESM1 of Increasing the bioflocculant production and identifying the effect of overexpressing epsB on the synthesis of polysaccharide and Îł-PGA in Bacillus licheniformis

Additional file 1: Table S1. Provides the related primers used in the Fig. 5

Simultaneous process of cell propagation and Hg²⁺ removal by actively growing R1 from 0.1YPD media.

<p>a: Time course of the simultaneous process of cell propagation and Hg²⁺ removal. 0.1YPD medium was complemented with 10 mg/L Hg²⁺. b: Comparison of Hg²⁺ removal and cell growth by actively growing R1 under different concentrations of Hg²⁺ after 30 h cultivation.</p