Removal of heavy metal ions by magnetic chitosan nanoparticles prepared continuously via high-gravity reactive precipitation method.

This study aimed to provide a continuous method for the preparation of magnetic Fe3O4/Chitosan nanoparticles (Fe3O4/CS NPs) that can be applied to efficient removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solution. Using a novel impinging stream-rotating packed bed, the continuous preparation of Fe3O4/CS NPs reached a theoretical production rate of 3.43kg/h. The as-prepared Fe3O4/CS NPs were quasi-spherical with average diameter of about 18nm and saturation magnetization of 33.5emu/g. Owing to the strong metal chelating ability of chitosan, the Fe3O4/CS NPs exhibited better adsorption capacity and faster adsorption rates for Pb(II) and Cd(II) than those of pure Fe3O4. The maximum adsorption capacities of Fe3O4/CS NPs for Pb(II) and Cd(II) were 79.24 and 36.42mgg-1, respectively. In addition, the Fe3O4/CS NPs shown excellent reusability after five adsorption-desorption cycles. All the above results provided a potential method for continuously preparing recyclable adsorbent with a wide prospect of application in wastewater treatment.

Clinical features and treatment strategies for older prostate cancer patients with bone metastasis.

To identify the clinical features and independent predictors of survival in older patients with bone metastasis from prostate cancer (PCa). We retrospectively analysed 205 older patients with bone metastases from PCa between 1997 and 2012. The Kaplan-Meier method was used with the log-rank test for survival rate calculations and to evaluate each variable. Multivariate analysis was performed with the Cox regression model. The chi-squared test was used to compare survival rates between older and younger (n=197) patients. All patients were followed up. The 1-, 2-, 3- and 5-year survival rates were 95.5%, 77.5%, 68.5% and 33.7%, respectively. Gleason score, radiotherapy of the primary tumour, the number of bone metastases, the alkaline phosphatase alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level, organ metastasis and regional lymph node metastasis were associated with the survival rates. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that Gleason score at diagnosis of the primary tumour was a significant predictor of overall survival following the diagnosis of bone metastases. In addition, the overall survival rates of older patients were higher compared with younger patients, but older patients who underwent radiotherapy had higher mortality. These data may serve as a guide for creating clinical prediction models in further studies.