High-efficiency adsorption removal for Cu(II) and Ni(II) using a novel acylamino dihydroxamic acid chelating resin.

Cu/Ni-bearing wastewater contamination has recently been a challenge for the environmental protection worldwide. Herein, a novel poly(2-acrylamide-pentanedihydroxamic acid) (PAPDA) resin containing -CONHOH and -COOH groups was prepared and applied to effectively remove Cu2+ and Ni2+ from heavy metal wastewater. The batch adsorption experiments revealed that the maximum adsorption capacities of PAPDA resin for Cu2+ and Ni2+ were 436.08 and 195.05 mg·g-1, respectively, which were 10.20 and 9.45 times higher than that of polyacrylic resin. Specifically, the adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics of PAPDA were respectively consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Langmuir isotherm model, indicating that the adsorption is a single-layer chemisorption process. Besides, the adsorption mechanism was investigated by SEM, XRD, FT-IR, XPS, DFT calculations, suggesting that the PAPDA resin possessing abundant active sites could effectively adsorb the heavy metal ions. Noticeably, the -CONHOH groups represented the strong affinity towards Cu2+ and Ni2+ by forming stable five-membered rings. In addition, column experiments were conducted to study the practical adsorption process of PAPDA resin to heavy metal ions. Overall, the results proved that the novel PAPDA resin as a green and highly efficient adsorbent has a promising potential for the treatment of heavy metals-containing wastewater.

Highly efficient poly(6-acryloylamino-N-hydroxyhexanamide) resin for adsorption of heavy metal ions.

Heavy metal wastewater pollution has become an ecological challenge worldwide. This study reports the development of a novel poly (6-acryloylamino-N-hydroxyhexanamide) (PAHHA) resin for effective adsorption of heavy metal ions, including Cu2+, Pb2+ and Ni2+. The chelating resin was synthesized by the grafting reaction between 6-amino-N-hydroxyhexanamide and polyacrylic resin, thus containing the hydroxamate and acylamino groups. The batch adsorption experiments revealed that the PAHHA resin exhibited an excellent adsorption performance for Cu2+, Pb2+ and Ni2+. The maximum adsorption capacities of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Ni2+ were determined to be 238.59, 232.48 and 115.77 mg·g-1, respectively. Based on the adsorption kinetics, the pseudo-second-order kinetic model was noted to fit well for all metal ions. The metal ion concentration as a function of the equilibrium adsorption capacity fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm, thus indicating the single layer adsorption process. The adsorption mechanism was investigated by using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), density functional theory (DFT) calculations, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and adsorption isotherms. It was revealed that the PAHHA resin possessed multiple active sites, including -CONHOH, -CONH- and -COOH, which could strongly adsorb the metal ions. Specifically, the -CONHOH group displayed a high affinity by forming a stable five-membered ring with heavy metal ions. Overall, the developed resin exhibits advantages such as simple synthesis, inexpensive raw material and good recyclability, along with high adsorption ability, thus providing a new approach for efficiently treating wastewater contaminated with heavy metal ions.

Intermittent alien hand syndrome caused by Marchiafava-Bignami disease: A case report.

RATIONALE: Alien Hand syndrome (AHS) is characterized in most patients by seemingly purposeful, involuntary movements of the extremities. It is not well known among physicians on account of its diverse clinical manifestations. PATIENT CONCERNS: We present a 57-year-old Chinese man who could not stop or turn himself around as he involuntarily and uncontrollably walked forward, which had happened frequently in the month prior to treatment. He had been a heavy drinker for thirty years before the onset of the disease, with an alcohol intake of 600 to 800 ml/day. DIAGNOSES: History of alcohol intake and the brain magnetic resonance imaging findings indicated a diagnosis of Marchiafava-Bignami disease. The patient was additionally diagnosed with Alien Hand Syndrome according to his clinical symptoms. INTERVENTIONS: The patient was treated with high doses of vitamin B for 1 month. OUTCOMES: The patient's abnormal behaviors never appeared during the treatment, and no instance of recurrence was observed during the 6 months of follow-up. LESSONS: The clinical manifestation of AHS is non-specific. Only by considering its diverse manifestation can doctors better understand the disease and achieve early intervention.

Rare genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with E196A mutation: a case report.

Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (gCJD) accounts for approximately 10-15% of human prion diseases. It is an autosomal dominant disease caused by missense or insertion mutations of the gene that encodes prion protein (PRNP). In general, the manifestations and neuropathological changes of gCJD are similar to those of sporadic CJD (sCJD), and the diagnostic sensitivities of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) markers, electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are generally lower in gCJD than sCJD. Here we report on a 56-year-old Chinese woman who was diagnosed with gCJD and suspected to have thyroid cancer. The patient carried the glutamate to alanine substitution at codon 196 (E196A) of PRNP, which is quite a rare mutation and has only been reported in China. To our knowledge, this is the fourth case of E196A gCJD in the world. Here, we compared the manifestations and assistant examinations of the current patient with those of three previously reported Chinese patients with E196A gCJD in order to illustrate the common features of E196A gCJD.

[Clinical observation on time-dependent analgesic effect of acupuncture at Jiaji (EX-B 2) combined with superficial needling for lumbar disc herniation].

OBJECTIVE: To observe the difference of the therapeutic effect of acupuncture at Jiaji (EX-B 2) combined with superficial needling for lumbar disc herniation (LDH) and to explore the synergy effect between acupuncture at Jiaji (EX-B 2) and superficial needling. METHODS: Sixty patients with LDH were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. The observation group was treated with superficial needling at the corresponding myofascial fasciae trigger point (MTrP) and leave the plastic tube in the body for 6 hours, and then acupuncture at Jiaji (EX-B 2) and the needle was remained for 30 min. The control group was treated with superficial needling simply. Both groups were treated once daily, five days in succession with 2 days interval, 10 times constituting a treating course for 2 courses. The average onset time of analgesic effect and the effect-lasting time after the first treatment were observed. The mean pain scores after the first treatment and after two treatment courses were compared by McGill pain inquire scale. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the average onset time of the two groups [(5.10 +/- 3.70) min vs (5.93 +/- 5.09) min, P > 0.05]. But the effect-lasting time of (13.00 +/- 6.90) h in the observation group was longer than that of (6.27 +/- 3.98) h in the control group (P < 0.01). Compared with the scores of Pain Rating Index (PRI), Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Present Pain Intensity (PPI) after the first treatment, there were no significant statistical differences between the two groups (all P > 0.05). But the same comparison after 2 treating courses showed that the scores of PRI, VAS and PPI in the observation group were lower than the control group (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Acupuncture at Jiaji (EX-B 2) can extend the analgesic time and enhance the analgesic effect of the superficial needling.