Enhanced Performance of Fly Ash-Based Supports for Low-Cost Ceramic Membranes with the Addition of Bauxite.

Support is a necessary foundation for ceramic membranes to achieve high performance. Finding the optimum balance between high performance and low cost is still a significant challenge in the fabrication of ceramic supports. In this study, low-cost fly ash-based ceramic supports with enhanced performance were prepared by the addition of bauxite. The pore structure, mechanical strength, and shrinkage of fly ash/bauxite supports could be tuned by optimizing the bauxite content and sintering temperature. When the sintering temperature and bauxite content were controlled at 1300 °C and 40 wt%, respectively, the obtained membrane supports exhibited a high pure water permeance of approximately 5.36 m3·m-2·h-1·bar-1 and a high bending strength of approximately 69.6 MPa. At the same time, the optimized ceramic supports presented a typical mullite phase and excellent resistance to acid and alkali. This work provides a potential route for the preparation of ceramic membrane supports with characteristics of low cost and high performance.

Demographic, health behavioral, and self-management abilities associated with disease severity among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: An exploratory study.

This study aimed to identify the association between demographic characteristics, health behaviors, self-management abilities, and disease severity among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study was conducted from January to December 2015 in 4 hospitals in China. The DOSE index was assessed by grade of dyspnea (D), airflow obstruction (O), current smoking status (S), and frequency of exacerbation in the last year (E). Self-management abilities were assessed by the COPD self-management scale. DOSE index associations with demographic characteristics, health behaviors, and self-management abilities were examined with multiple regression analysis. In total, 100 participants were recruited into the study. In univariate analysis, higher symptom management, lower daily life management, and lower self-efficacy in self-management abilities were significantly related to higher DOSE index. In multiple regression analysis, physical activity, body mass index, and gender were negatively related to DOSE index. The study highlighted the importance of physical activity, nutritional status, and gender difference in managing disease severity in COPD. Professional nurses should develop individualized intervention programs and specifically increase physical activity for men and poor nutritional status for patients with COPD.