Portable fizzy extraction ion-mobility spectrometry system.

Fizzy extraction (FE) is a technique that utilizes effervescence phenomenon to extract volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from liquid matrices for subsequent analysis. To induce effervescence, a liquid sample is first pressurized (at âˆ¼ 150 kPa) with an extractant gas (here, nitrogen), and then rapidly depressurized. In this work, we combine an in-house-built FE system with a commercial ion-mobility spectrometry (IMS) module in order to develop a portable analytical platform for in-situ analysis of VOCs in liquid samples. The size and shape of the FE-IMS platform are similar to those of a typical airline catering trolley. Its operation is enabled by several electronic and electromechanical components (a single-board computer, two microcontroller boards, a relay board, six DC-DC converters, a pressure regulator, a solenoid valve, and a pinch valve). The platform can carry out the extraction procedure as well as acquire, process, and transmit the data to a cloud-storage service. A custom-designed graphical user interface allows the user to select one of the available operation modes: full spectrum mode, ion current profile mode, and cleaning mode. The interface also allows one to follow the analysis progress, display the final result, and upload it to the Internet cloud. The platform has been characterized using three standards: ethyl acetate, ethyl propanoate, and butanone; and their limits of detection are 4.51 × 10-8 M, 2.74 × 10-8 M, and 1.26 × 10-7 M, respectively. Furthermore, its ability to analyze real samples (alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages) has been demonstrated.

Hazard Management Dealt by Safety Professionals in Colleges: The Impact of Individual Factors.

Identifying, evaluating, and controlling workplace hazards are important functions of safety professionals (SPs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the content and frequency of hazard management dealt by safety professionals in colleges. The authors also explored the effects of organizational factors/individual factors on SPs' perception of frequency of hazard management. The researchers conducted survey research to achieve the objective of this study. The researchers mailed questionnaires to 200 SPs in colleges after simple random sampling, then received a total of 144 valid responses (response rate = 72%). Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the hazard management scale (HMS) extracted five factors, including physical hazards, biological hazards, social and psychological hazards, ergonomic hazards, and chemical hazards. Moreover, the top 10 hazards that the survey results identified that safety professionals were most likely to deal with (in order of most to least frequent) were: organic solvents, illumination, other chemicals, machinery and equipment, fire and explosion, electricity, noise, specific chemicals, human error, and lifting/carrying. Finally, the results of one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated there were four individual factors that impacted the perceived frequency of hazard management which were of statistical and practical significance: job tenure in the college of employment, type of certification, gender, and overall job tenure. SPs within colleges and industries can now discuss plans revolving around these five areas instead of having to deal with all of the separate hazards.

Developing an industry-oriented safety curriculum using the Delphi technique.

In this study, we examined the development of industry-oriented safety degree curricula at a college level. Based on a review of literature on the practices and study of the development of safety curricula, we classified occupational safety and health curricula into the following three domains: safety engineering, health engineering, and safety and health management. We invited 44 safety professionals to complete a four-round survey that was designed using a modified Delphi technique. We used Chi-square statistics to test the panel experts' consensus on the significance of the items in the three domains and employed descriptive statistics to rank the participants' rating of each item. The results showed that the top three items for each of the three domains were Risk Assessment, Dangerous Machinery and Equipment, and Fire and Explosion Prevention for safety engineering; Ergonomics, Industrial Toxicology, and Health Risk Assessment for health engineering; and Industrial Safety and Health Regulations, Accident Investigation and Analysis, and Emergency Response for safety and health management. Only graduates from safety programmes who possess practical industry-oriented abilities can satisfy industry demands and provide value to the existence of college safety programmes.

Efficiency improvement of GaN-based ultraviolet light-emitting diodes with reactive plasma deposited AlN nucleation layer on patterned sapphire substrate.

The flip chip ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (FC UV-LEDs) with a wavelength of 365 nm are developed with the ex situ reactive plasma deposited (RPD) AlN nucleation layer on patterned sapphire substrate (PSS) by an atmospheric pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (AP MOCVD). The ex situ RPD AlN nucleation layer can significantly reduce dislocation density and thus improve the crystal quality of the GaN epitaxial layers. Utilizing high-resolution X-ray diffraction, the full width at half maximum of the rocking curve shows that the crystalline quality of the epitaxial layer with the (RPD) AlN nucleation layer is better than that with the low-temperature GaN (LT-GaN) nucleation layer. The threading dislocation density (TDD) is estimated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), which shows the reduction from 6.8 × 10(7) cm(-2) to 2.6 × 10(7) cm(-2). Furthermore, the light output power (LOP) of the LEDs with the RPD AlN nucleation layer has been improved up to 30 % at a forward current of 350 mA compared to that of the LEDs grown on PSS with conventional LT-GaN nucleation layer.

Serum lipid profile could predict the inception and impacts of violent behaviors among acute psychiatric inpatients.

BACKGROUND: The prediction of violence among psychiatric inpatients using biophysiological indicators is warranted for re-examinations longitudinally. This study aims to explore factors associated with the occurrence of violence and subsequent medical impacts in psychiatric inpatients. METHODS: Inpatients diagnosed with either schizoaffective disorder or bipolar mania were admitted to acute wards in a professional psychiatric care setting. A longitudinal analysis was applied to construct predictive models with blood biochemistry tests upon admission. Medical records and an administrative database were used for analyses. RESULTS: Triglycerides were found to be a significant predictor of violence inception, which demonstrated a multivariate-adjusted odds ratio of 0.988 per mg/dL increment. Psychiatric inpatients with a higher level of triglycerides were less likely to have violent behaviors while more serious medical impacts were found once violence occurred. The elevated medical expenses derived from violence were negatively correlated with the level of cholesterol upon admission. A U-shape relationship was found between medical impacts and the combination of serum triglycerides and cholesterol. CONCLUSION: The study provides useful predictors for early pre-screening of potential violence cases among acute psychiatric inpatients and therefore offers various angles for future strategic management of care plans in psychiatric medical settings.

Developmental toxicity of arecoline, the major alkaloid in betel nuts, in zebrafish embryos.

BACKGROUND: The major alkaloid in the betel nut, arecoline, has been reported to be potent in inducing developmentally toxic effects by generally lowering the embryo weight and retarding development of the embryo. This study examined the adverse effects of arecoline and tried to unravel the mechanism through the tools of molecular biology. METHODS: Arecoline was administered to zebrafish embryos by incubation at concentrations ranging from 0.01-0.04% (wt/vol) and lethality and morphological changes were recorded. The expression of genes was analyzed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and whole-mount in situ hybridization. In addition, the protective effects of several antioxidants were tested. RESULTS: The survival rate of treated embryos during a three-day incubation significantly declined as the arecoline concentration increased. Treated embryos showed general growth retardation and lower rate of heartbeat. When examined at the 24-hr stage, the relative amounts of transcripts of p53, p21, and cyclin D1, and the spatial expression patterns of these genes in treated groups, were comparable to those of the untreated early stages of embryos. Finally, the addition of glutathione (GSH) or its precursor, N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC), ameliorated the developmental retardation of embryos by arecoline. CONCLUSIONS: Arecoline-treated embryos exhibited general developmental retardation in a dose-dependent manner. Our results from RT-PCR, in situ hybridization, and antioxidant-protection experiments indicate that the mechanism underlying growth retardation by arecoline in embryos is predominantly due to a general cytotoxic effect induced by depletion of intracellular thiols.