Cellulose nanocrystal-infused polymer hydrogel imbued with ferric-manganese oxide nanoparticles for efficient antinomy removal.

Antimony is a highly poisonous pollutant that needs to be removed from water to ensured safety. In this work, we have fabricated a novel adsorbent, the ferric-manganese oxide (FeMnOx) nanoparticles embedded cellulose nanocrystal-based polymer hydrogel (FeMnOx @CNC-g-PAA/qP4VP, denoted as FMO@CPqP), specifically engineered for the remediation of antimony-laden water. Comprehensive evaluations have been conducted to investigate the efficacy of the FMO@CPqP hydrogel in removal of antimony from water. The hydrogel exhibits superior affinity for antimony, with maximum adsorption capacities of 276.1 mg/g for Sb(III) and 286.8 mg/g for Sb(V). The adsorptive dynamics, governed by the kinetics and isotherm analyses, elucidate that the immobilization of both Sb(III) and Sb(V) is facilitated through a homogeneous and monolayer chemisorption mechanism. The hydrogel has a three-dimensional interconnected porous structure and exhibits good swelling behavior, which facilitates the rapid absorption of antimony ions by this high surface area hydrogel into the channels. Furthermore, various effects, including the oxidation and inner-sphere coordination mediated by FeMnOx NPs and the electrostatic attractions of the quaternized P4VP chains, promote the immobilization of antimony species. Owing to its high removal efficiency, stability and reusability, the FMO@CPqP hydrogel emerges as an exemplary candidate for the removal of antimony contaminants in water treatment processes.

Photoacoustic Spectroscopy-Based Breath Analysis for SIBO.

Breath hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4) monitoring play an important role in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disorders, such as lactose intolerance and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). In this paper, the photoacoustic spectroscopy method is used for H2 gas and CH4 gas detection. We present a novel approach for H2 gas concentration measurement, which is the linear relationship between the resonant frequency of breath carbon dioxide (CO2) and the H2 concentration in a resonant photoacoustic cell. Experimental results show that the minimum detectable limits of H2, CH4, and CO2 are calculated to be 8.86, 0.56, and 145.14 ppm, respectively, which can meet the requirements of breath diagnosis.

High-sensitivity all-optical PA spectrometer based on fast swept laser interferometry.

A high-sensitivity all-optical photoacoustic spectroscopy based on fast swept laser interferometry is proposed to trace gas detection. The momentary cavity length of the fiber-optic Fabry-Perot microphone is demodulated by a fast swept-laser interferometry with an instantaneous frequency demodulation algorithm. The all-optical photoacoustic spectroscopy based on the designed microphone was tested for trace acetylene gas detection in the near-infrared region. The normalized noise equivalent absorption coefficient for acetylene gas is achieved to be 1.06 × 10-9 cm-1 W Hz-1∕2.

Pyrolytic in situ magnetization of metal-organic framework MIL-100 for magnetic solid-phase extraction.

In this study, we report a facile, environmental friendly fabrication of a type of magnetic metal-organic framework (MOF) MIL-100 that can be used for magnetic solid-phase extraction (MSPE). The magnetic MOF composites were fabricated using in situ calcination method. The as-synthesized materials exhibited both high porosity and magnetic characteristics. They used for the MSPE of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from water samples. Such MOF-based magnetic solid-phase extraction in combination with gas chromatography equipped with a flame ionization detector (GC-FID), exhibited wide linearity (0.02-250µgL-1), low detection limits (4.6-8.9ngL-1), and high enrichment factors (452-907) for PAHs. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) for intra- and inter-day extractions of PAHs were ranging from 1.7% to 9.8% and 3.8% to 9.2%, respectively. The recoveries for spiked PAHs (1µgL-1) in water samples were in the range of 88.5% to 106.6%. The results showed that the special anion-π orbital (electron donor-acceptor) interaction and π-π stacking between magnetic MIL-100 and PAHs play an important role in the adsorption of PAHs.

[TLR9 expression is positively correlated with the levels of CD38, HLA-DR and CD95 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells in chronic HBV infected patients].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the expression of TLR9 and the levels of CD38, HLA-DR and CD95 on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected patients. METHODS: 70 chronic HBV infected patients and 12 healthy donors were enrolled in this study, and density gradient centrifugation was used to isolate PBMCs from peripheral blood with EDTA for anticoagulation. Flow cytometry was used to detect the levels of TLR9, CD38, HLA-DR and CD95 on PBMCs. RESULTS: Compared to the healthy donors, chronic HBV infected patients with low viral load or high viral load had significantly higher levels of TLR9, HLA-DR and CD95 on PMBCs. Furthermore, the co-expression rates of TLR9 and CD38, HLA-DR, CD95 on PBMCs were obviously higher than those of the healthy donors. Correlation analysis showed that the expression of TLR9 was positively correlated with CD38 (r=0.345), HLA-DR (r=0.334), CD95 (r=0.227) on PBMCs in the patients with chronic HBV infection. CONCLUSION: The expression of TLR9 increased and was positively associated with CD38, HLA-DR and CD95 on PBMCs during chronic HBV infection.

[Sleep quality and influencing factors of perimenopausal women in Ningbo region].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the sleep quality and influencing factors of perimenopausal women in Ningbo region. METHODS: A total of 527 perimenopausal women who lived in Ningbo for more than 5 years were enrolled in the study. The subjects were surveyed by self-designed questionnaire and Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI); PSQI > 7 was defined as the cut-off value for sleep quality. Data were analyzed by software SPSS 11.0. RESULT: The mean PSQI score was 5.79 ± 3.08 and 23.6 % of perimenopausal women in the study showed poor sleep quality. The proportion of poor sleep in 55-60 age group was 40.2%, significantly higher than that of 40-44, 45-49 and 50-54 age groups (P < 0.05). The sleep quality was associated with physical exercise, social activity, sleep circumstance, anxiety and family income in perimenopausal women. CONCLUSION: The sleep quality of perimenopausal women and the influencing factors are associated with mental health, life style and social environment, which suggests that some interventions should be undertaken to improve the sleep quality of perimenopausal women.

[Study of the acupuncture effect on monoamine transmitters in rabbit plasma and brain tissue by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection].

A rapid and simple method for the study of the acupuncture effect on monoamine transmitters and related compounds in rabbit plasma and brain tissue by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection was developed. An ODS column was selected as the separation column at 25 degrees C, and pH 4.50, 0.02 mol/L of trisodium citrate-0.05 mol/L sodium phosphate dibasic to methanol (95:5, volume ratio) without ion-pair at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. Four compounds, epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), were simultaneously separated and determined under the above conditions. Twenty rabbits were investigated after the acupuncture action upon the central neurotransmitters. The sufficient data showed that acupuncture could significantly affect the activities of the neurotransmitters including E, NE, DA and 5-HT, and the changed functions of the neurotransmitter systems induced by acupuncture not only lead to the neurotransmitter content increase both in brain and plasma but also cause the increase of rabbit breed ability. The results show that the method is very simple and fast. The method is valuable not only for clinical diagnosis but also for research work.