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Electrochemical precipitation (EP) is recognized as a promising technology for its facile removal of metal ions via electrochemically-driven precipitation or reduction reactions. This article summarizes a comprehensive overview of its current advances. Three types of EP, i.e., cathodic EP, membrane-separated seed system, and membrane-based EP, are presented, with particular interest focusing on their principles, kernel components, scale detachment methods, reactor configurations, and industrial applications for water softening and heavy metal ion removal/recovery. In addition, the remaining challenges and perspectives in the future EP development are described.

Since the mass production and extensive use of chloroquine (CLQ) would lead to its inevitable discharge, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) might play a key role in the management of CLQ. Despite the reported functional versatility of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) that mediate the first step for biological nitrogen removal at WWTP (i.e., partial nitrification), their potential capability to degrade CLQ remains to be discovered. Therefore, with the enriched partial nitrification sludge, a series of dedicated batch tests were performed in this study to verify the performance and mechanisms of CLQ biodegradation under the ammonium conditions of mainstream wastewater. The results showed that AOB could degrade CLQ in the presence of ammonium oxidation activity, but the capability was limited by the amount of partial nitrification sludge (∼1.1 mg/L at a mixed liquor volatile suspended solids concentration of 200 mg/L). CLQ and its biodegradation products were found to have no significant effect on the ammonium oxidation activity of AOB while the latter would promote N2O production through the AOB denitrification pathway, especially at relatively low DO levels (≤0.5 mg-O2/L). This study provided valuable insights into a more comprehensive assessment of the fate of CLQ in the context of wastewater treatment.

Chronic pain after spine surgery (CPSS) is often characterized by intractable low back pain and/or radiating leg pain, and has been reported in 8–40% of patients that received lumbar spine surgery. We conducted a literature search of PubMed, MEDLINE/OVID with a focus on studies about the etiology and treatments of CPSS and low back pain. Our aim was to provide a narrative review that would help us better understand the pathogenesis and current treatment options for CPSS. This knowledge will aid in the development of optimal strategies for managing postoperative pain symptoms and potentially curing the underlying etiologies. Firstly, we reviewed recent advances in the mechanistic study of CPSS, illustrated both structural (e.g., fibrosis and scaring) and non-structural factors (e.g., inflammation, neuronal sensitization, glial activation, psychological factor) causing CPSS, and highlighted those having not been given sufficient attention as the etiology of CPSS. Secondly, we summarized clinical evidence and therapeutic perspectives of CPSS. We also presented new insights about the treatments and etiology of CPSS, in order to raise awareness of medical staff in the identification and management of this complex painful disease. Finally, we discussed potential new targets for clinical interventions of CPSS and future perspectives of mechanistic and translational research. CPSS patients often have a mixed etiology. By reviewing recent findings, the authors advocate that clinicians shall comprehensively evaluate each case to formulate a patient-specific and multi-modal pain treatment, and importantly, consider an early intraoperative intervention that may decrease the risk or even prevent the onset of CPSS.

The purpose of this trial was to assess the safety and effectiveness of a paclitaxel-coated balloon catheter in Chinese patients with de novoor nonstented restenotic femoropopliteal atherosclerotic lesions.

The potential coexistence and interaction of bromine and polyamide membranes during membrane-based water treatment prompts us to investigate the effect of bromine on membrane performance. For fully aromatic polyamide membrane NF90 exposed under a mild bromination condition (10 mg/L), bromine incorporation resulted in more negatively charged (−13 vs −25 mV) and hydrophobic (55.2 vs 58.9°) surfaces and narrower pore channels (0.3 vs 0.29 nm). The permeabilities of water and neutral solutes were reduced by 64 and 69–87%, respectively, which was attributed to the decreased effective pore radius and hydrophilicity. NaCl permeability was reduced by 90% as a synergistic result of enhanced size exclusion and charge repulsion. The further exposure (100 and 500 mg/L bromine) resulted in a more hydrophobic surface (61.7 and 65.5°) and the minor further reduction for water and solute permeabilities (1–9%). Compared with chlorine, the different incorporation efficiency and properties (e.g., atomic size, hydrophilicity) of bromine resulted in opposite trends and/or different degrees for the variation of physicochemical properties and filtration performance of membranes. The bromine incorporation, the shift and disappearance of three characteristic bands, and the increased O/N ratio and calcium content indicated the degradation pathways of N-bromination and bromination-promoted hydrolysis under mild bromination conditions (480 mg/L·h). The further ring-bromination occurred after severe bromine exposure (4800–24,000 mg/L·h). The semi-aromatic polyamide membrane NF270 underwent a similar but less significant deteriorated filtration performance compared with NF90, which requires a different explanation.

This study aims to demonstrate the application of deep learning to quantitatively describe long-term full-scale data observed from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) from the perspectives of process modeling, process analysis, and forecasting modeling. Approximately, 750,000 measurements including the influent flow rate, air flow rate, temperature, ammonium, nitrate, dissolved oxygen, and nitrous oxide (N2O) collected for more than a year from the Avedøre WWTP located in Denmark are utilized to develop a deep neural network (DNN) through supervised learning for process modeling, and the optimal DNN (R2> 0.90) is selected for further evaluation. For process analysis, global sensitivity analysis based on variance decomposition is considered to identify the key parameters contributing to high N2O emission characteristics. For N2O forecasting, the proposed DNN-based model is compared with long short-term memory (LSTM), showing that the LSTM-based forecasting model performs significantly better than the DNN-based model (R2> 0.94 and the root-mean-squared error is reduced by 64%). The results account for the feasibility of data-driven methods based on deep learning for quantitatively describing and understanding the rather complex N2O dynamics in WWTPs. Research into hybrid modeling concepts integrating mechanistic models of WWTPs (e.g., ASMs) with deep learning would be suggested as a future direction for monitoring N2O emissions from WWTPs.

Chemical absorption–biological reduction based on Fe(II)EDTA is a promising technology to remove nitric oxide (NO) from flue gases. However, limited effort has been made to enable direct energy recovery from NO through production of nitrous oxide (N2O) as a potential renewable energy rather than greenhouse gas. In this work, the enhanced energy recovery in the form of N2O via biological NO reduction was investigated by conducting short-term and long-term experiments at different Fe(II)EDTA–NO and organic carbon levels. The results showed both NO reductase and N2O reductase were inhibited at Fe(II)EDTA–NO concentration up to 20 mM, with the latter being inhibited more significantly, thus facilitating N2O accumulation. Furthermore, N2O accumulation was enhanced under carbon-limiting conditions because of electron competition during short-term experiments. Up to 47.5% of NO–N could be converted to gaseous N2O–N, representing efficient N2O recovery. Fe(II)EDTA–NO reduced microbial diversity and altered the community structure toward Fe(II)EDTA–NO-reducing bacteria-dominated culture during long-term experiments. The most abundant bacterial genus Pseudomonas, which was able to resist the toxicity of Fe(II)EDTA–NO, was significantly enriched, with its relative abundance increased from 1.0 to 70.3%, suggesting Pseudomonascould be the typical microbe for the energy recovery technology in NO-based denitrification.

Biofilms can retain microorganisms with very different growth kinetics and different electron acceptor preferences, due to their natural redox zonation. Denitrifying biofilm processes are crucial biological processes for the treatment of nitrogen-polluted water. Heterotrophic, autotrophic, and methane-supported denitrifying biofilms have been widely utilized for removing nitrogenous contaminants in recent years. Heterotrophic denitrification is a conventional approach to conduct a respiratory process with nitrate or nitrite as the terminal electron acceptor and organic carbon serving as the main electron donor. Autotrophic denitrification is a cost-effective process for nitrogen removal with reduced inorganic compounds acting as the electron donor, such as hydrogen and sulfur. Methane could also be used directly as an electron donor to drive denitrification in the methane-based denitrification process. While the controlled biofilm-based systems are capable of enhancing the nitrogen removal efficiency by these denitrifiers, this review aimed to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of these important denitrifying biofilm processes in attached-growth reactors from the perspectives of microbiology, reactor configurations, controlling factors, nitrous oxide emissions, and coexistence with other microorganisms. The technical challenges and associated strategies towards improving the performance of each denitrifying biofilm process are then discussed. The outlook for the larger engineering scalability of these processes is also put forward to facilitate their applications for higher treatment capacities.

As a promising technology for sustainable nitrogen removal from wastewater, the membrane-aerated biofilm reactors (MABRs) performing autotrophic deammonification are faced with the problem of unwanted production of nitrous oxide (N2O, a potent greenhouse gas). As a common tool to study N2O production from such an MABR, the traditional one-dimensional modeling approach fails to simulate the existence of longitudinal gradients in the reactor and therefore might render N2O production significantly deviated from reality. To this end, this work aims to study the influences of key longitudinal gradients (i.e., in oxygen, liquid-phase components, and biofilm thickness) on the N2O production from a typical MABR performing autotrophic deammonification by applying a modified version of a newly developed compartmental model. Through comparing the modeling results of different reactor configurations, this work reveals that the single impact of the longitudinal gradients studied on the N2O production from the MABR follows the order: oxygen (significant) > liquid-phase components (slight) > biofilm thickness (almost none). When multiple longitudinal gradients are present, they become correlated and would jointly influence the N2O production and nitrogen removal of the MABR. The results also show the need for multispot measurements to get an accurate representation of spatial biofilm features of the MABR configuration with the membrane lumen designed/operated as a plug flow reactor. While the traditional modeling approach is acceptable to evaluate the nitrogen removal in most cases, it might overestimate or underestimate the N2O production from the MABR with at least one of the longitudinal gradients in oxygen and liquid-phase components. For such an MABR, the longitudinal heterogeneity in biofilm thickness and the number of biofilm thickness classes to be included in the model would also make a difference to the simulation results, especially the N2O production. The work also proposes that under the studied conditions, proper design/operation of the MABR in consideration of longitudinal heterogeneity has the theoretical potential of reducing the N2O production by 77% without significantly compromising the nitrogen removal.

The continuous increase of nitrous oxide (N2O) in the atmosphere has become a global concern because of its property as a potent greenhouse gas. Given the important role of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) in ammonia oxidation and their involvement in N2O production, a clear understanding of the knowledge on archaeal N2O production is necessary for global N2O mitigation. Compared to bacterial N2O production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), AOA-driven N2O production pathways are less-well elucidated. In this Critical Review, we synthesized the currently proposed AOA-driven N2O production pathways in combination with enzymology distinction, analyzed the role of AOA species involved in N2O production pathways, discussed the relative contribution of AOA to N2O production in both natural and anthropogenic environments, summarized the factors affecting archaeal N2O yield, and compared the distinctions among approaches used to differentiate ammonia oxidizer-associated N2O production. We, then, put forward perspectives for archaeal N2O production and future challenges to further improve our understanding of the production pathways, putative enzymes involved and potential approaches for identification in order to potentially achieve effective N2O mitigations.

A newly simplified electrodeionization (SEDI) system was proposed and tested for the removal of Cr(VI) from synthetic wastewater. By comparing with the conventional electrodeionization, our SEDI has no anion exchange membranes. It only used a pair of cation exchange membranes to separate the resin from the electrodes. The experimental results indicated that the exhausted resin could be effectively regenerated at high current density. The average concentration of Cr(VI) in the regeneration solution was 724 mg/L. 44% of the resin was regenerated, and the power consumption was only 8.4 kWh/mol Cr(VI). The regenerated resin exhibited a good performance for Cr(VI) removal. After treatment, the Cr(VI) concentration decreased from the initial 50 mg/L to less than 0.5 mg/L. The regeneration solution was further concentrated by electrodialysis (ED) to 17.5 g chromic acid/L and only consumed about 1.1 kWh/mol Cr(VI). The method we developed has the potential to be used in engineering.

This study was performed to summarize our experience in treating acute superior mesenteric artery embolism (SMAE) by percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy (PMT).

This work aims to obtain full-scale N2O emission characteristics translatable into viable N2O control strategies and conduct full-scale testing of the proposed N2O control concepts. Data of a long-term monitoring campaign was first used to quantify full-scale N2O emission and probe into the seasonal pattern. Then trends between N2O production/emission and process variables/conditions during typical operating cycles were revealed to explore the dynamic N2O emission behavior. A multivariate statistical analysis was performed to find the dependency of N2O emission on relevant process variables. The results show for the first time that relatively low/high N2O emission took place in seasons with a decreasing/increasing trend of water temperature, respectively. Aerobic phase contributed to N2O production/emission probably mainly through the hydroxylamine pathway. Comparatively, heterotrophic bacteria had a dual role in the anoxic phase and could be responsible for both net N2O production and consumption. Incomplete denitrification might contribute mainly to the N2O production/emission in the anoxic phase and the accumulation of N2O to be significantly emitted in the following cycle due to the competition between different denitrification steps for electron donors. Therefore, properly extending the length of anoxic phase could serve as a potential control means to regulate N2O accumulation in the anoxic phase. The full-scale testing not only verified the efficacy of reduced dissolved oxygen set-point in reducing N2O emission by 60%, but also confirmed the proposed concepts of control over the aerobic and anoxic phases collectively.

Inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) migration to the right ventricle is a life-threatening condition. Conventionally, on-pump ventriculotomy is required if the endovascular retrieval is compromised. However, for patients in fragile physical condition, the complications of myocardial revascularization are unacceptable. We herein present a case of IVCF migration to the right ventricle in which the hook of the filter was tilted against the anterior wall of the right ventricle. The IVCF was successfully removed via a hybrid technique combining an off-pump microincision of the right ventricle with direct-vision snare capture. This hybrid technique avoided the complication of myocardial revascularization, shortened the operation time, and reduced the amount of blood loss.

A single Nitrospirasublineage I OTU was found to perform nitrite oxidation in full-scale domestic wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the tropics. This taxon had an apparent oxygen affinity constant lower than that of the full-scale domestic activated sludge cohabitating ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) (0.09 ± 0.02 g O2m–3versus 0.3 ± 0.03 g O2m–3). Thus, nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) may in fact thrive under conditions of low oxygen supply. Low dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions selected for and high aeration inhibited the NOB in a long-term lab-scale reactor. The relative abundance of Nitrospirasublineage I gradually decreased with increasing DO until it was washed out. Nitritation was sustained even after the DO was lowered subsequently. The morphologies of AOB and NOB microcolonies responded to DO levels in accordance with their oxygen affinities. NOB formed densely packed spherical clusters with a low surface area-to-volume ratio compared to the Nitrosomonas-like AOB clusters, which maintained a porous and nonspherical morphology. In conclusion, the effect of oxygen on AOB/NOB population dynamics depends on which OTU predominates given that oxygen affinities are species-specific, and this should be elucidated when devising operating strategies to achieve mainstream partial nitritation.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) represents an important neurostimulation therapy for pain. A new ultra‐high frequency (10,000 Hz) SCS paradigm has shown improved pain relief without eliciting paresthesia. We aim to determine whether sub‐sensory threshold SCS of lower frequencies also can inhibit mechanical hypersensitivity in nerve‐injured rats and examine how electric charge delivery of stimulation may affect pain inhibition by different patterns of subthreshold SCS. We used a custom‐made quadripolar electrode (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA) to provide bipolar SCS epidurally at the T10 to T12 vertebral level. According to previous findings, SCS was tested at 40% of the motor threshold, which is considered to be a sub‐sensory threshold intensity in rats. Paw withdrawal thresholds to punctate mechanical stimulation were measured before and after SCS in rats that received an L5 spinal nerve ligation. Both 10,000 Hz (10 kHz, 0.024 msec) and lower frequencies (200 Hz, 1 msec; 500 Hz, 0.5 msec; 1200 Hz; 0.2 msec) of subthreshold SCS (120 min) attenuated mechanical hypersensitivity, as indicated by increased paw withdrawal thresholds after stimulation in spinal nerve ligation rats. Pain inhibition from different patterns of subthreshold SCS was not governed by individual stimulation parameters. However, correlation analysis suggests that pain inhibition from 10 kHz subthreshold SCS in individual animals was positively correlated with the electric charges delivered per second (electrical dose). Inhibition of neuropathic mechanical hypersensitivity can be achieved with low‐frequency subthreshold SCS by optimizing the electric charge delivery, which may affect the effect of SCS in individual animals.

Here, the influences of artificially treated dolomite on the quality of osmosis-desalinated water are explored. The scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis patterns of dolomite were used to measure the physical and chemical characteristics of the reverse osmosis-desalinated water, and its water quality effects were assessed by measuring pH, hardness, alkalinity, Mg2+, and Ca2+contents. The optimal calcinations condition of dolomite is at 750°C for 1 h. At a retention time of 3 min, Ca2+and Mg2+ions in the effluent reached 18.15 and 2.26 mg/L, respectively, which are 7 and 1.5 times the concentrations observed in raw dolomite. Hardness of the effluent reached 56.59 mg/L as CaCO3and alkalinity concentrations of the effluent reached 68.11 mg/L as CaCO3, which are about 3.5 and 3.7 times the concentrations observed in raw dolomite, respectively. The resultant pH reached 11.12. When the dolomite was acidized at 50°C for 3 h, the effluent pH reduced down to 10.59, and the Mg2+content increased to 20.42 mg/L. Proper aeration can achieve the requirement of pH in Israel criteria.

Electrochemical precipitation is an attractive method in recirculated cooling water treatment. However, the currently available single electrochemical precipitation reactors are usually poor in softening performance. In this paper, we presented a multistage electrochemical precipitation reactor with eight series-wound cells for water softening. Hydraulic characterization showed that the new reactor proposed had less back mixing, short circuit, and dead zone. Softening investigation further demonstrated that the new reactor had better performance. The precipitation rate, energy consumption, and current efficiency were 71.1 g/h/m2, 3.17 kWh/kg CaCO3, and 37.6%, respectively. It was also found that the multistage reactor could run steadily, with almost no deterioration in softening efficiency detected after long-term operation.

Membrane-free electrodeionization (MFEDI) has been proven effective in desalination of water similar to the effluent of one-pass reverse osmosis (RO) in our previous work. In this work, we investigated MFEDI for use as a polishing desalination process after two-pass RO. In addition to the difference in simulated feedwater, we increased the flow velocity significantly from previous 15 to 70 m/h. An appropriate resin layer structure was selected to enhance resins regeneration, especially to obstruct the backward migration of cations in resin phase. Parameters of regeneration were adjusted to be more effective and energy efficient. The system was tested for over 60 operational cycles. After such a long-term service, the effluent conductivity still maintained below 0.060 μS/cm. Water recovery rate and energy consumption of the system were around 93% and 0.14 kWh/m3water, respectively. MFEDI was proven to be an economic and quality assured alternative for high-purity water production.

AbstractIn China, the need to integrate the air and rail networks has been identified and dozens of transport hubs that include air and HSR links have been built or are planned. In this research, which is complementary to Chen and Lin, the level and potential for air–rail integration at Shanghai Hongqiao Integrated Transport Hub is examined and analyzed. The results show that despite the excellent infrastructure the actual level of integration is low, while the potential benefits from such integration could be very large. It seems that in China the main barrier for air–rail integration is institutional and stems from the institutional (and cultural) division between air and rail transport and from the importance placed on promoting competition almost at any cost – both of these barriers can be said to be ‘imported’ to China from (especially) the U.S. and Europe. But with the infrastructure for air–rail integration in place, the potential to realize such an integration is far greater. A move away from the uni-modal governance and planning of transport can open the door not only to air–rail integration but to the creation of a truly integrated transport system in China.

Electricity-driven microbial metabolism relies on the extracellular electron transfer (EET) process between microbes and electrodes and provides promise for resource recovery from wastewater and industrial discharges. Over the past decades, tremendous efforts have been dedicated to designing electrocatalysts and microbes, as well as hybrid systems to push this approach toward industrial adoption. This paper summarizes these advances in order to facilitate a better understanding of electricity-driven microbial metabolism as a sustainable waste-to-resource solution. Quantitative comparisons of microbial electrosynthesis and abiotic electrosynthesis are made, and the strategy of electrocatalyst-assisted microbial electrosynthesis is critically discussed. Nitrogen recovery processes including microbial electrochemical N2fixation, electrocatalytic N2reduction, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), and abiotic electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonia (Abio-NRA) are systematically reviewed. Furthermore, the synchronous metabolism of carbon and nitrogen using hybrid inorganic-biological systems is discussed, including advanced physicochemical, microbial, and electrochemical characterizations involved in this field. Finally, perspectives for future trends are presented. The paper provides valuable insights on the potential contribution of electricity-driven microbial valorization of waste carbon and nitrogen toward a green and sustainable society.

The field of research on pain originating from various bone diseases is expanding rapidly, with new mechanisms and targets asserting both peripheral and central sites of action. The scope of research is broadening from bone biology to neuroscience, neuroendocrinology, and immunology. In particular, the roles of primary sensory neurons and non-neuronal cells in the peripheral tissues as important targets for bone pain treatment are under extensive investigation in both pre-clinical and clinical settings. An understanding of the peripheral mechanisms underlying pain conditions associated with various bone diseases will aid in the appropriate application and development of optimal strategies for not only managing bone pain symptoms but also improving bone repairing and remodeling, which potentially cures the underlying etiology for long-term functional recovery. In this review, we focus on advances in important preclinical studies of significant bone pain conditions in the past 5 years that indicated new peripheral neuronal and non-neuronal mechanisms, novel targets for potential clinical interventions, and future directions of research.

•The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) stipulates the provision of complementary paratransit to people who cannot use regular fixed-route public transportation due to their disability status. However, implementation of this provision is both expensive and difficult to coordinate and operate.•The Greater Richmond Transit Company (GRTC) has a significant operating deficit in providing its paratransit service, which is about seven times the cost per trip of the fixed‐route service.•It is possible to transfer the successful policies or strategies from other peer agencies to GRTC, including intramodal shift from paratransit to fixed-route transit, use of taxi.•The goal for the near future would be to reform GRTC’s fare structure for eligible ADA paratransit riders by imposing distance-based paratransit fare for the service area outside the 3/4 mile buffer zone of the fixed-route service as well as offering fixed-route service free of charge.

Iliac vein compression syndrome is a rare disorder that causes oedema of one or both legs, with or without thrombosis. This current case report describes a 71-year-old male patient with left iliac vein compression caused by a bladder diverticulum that occurred secondary to chronic prostatic hyperplasia. The patient presented with left leg oedema without deep vein thrombosis. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis, Doppler ultrasound imaging of the lower limb veins and magnetic resonance imaging helped confirm the diagnosis. The patient initially underwent urinary catheter placement, which relieved urinary retention and iliac vein compression. He subsequently underwent bladder diverticulectomy and transurethral prostatectomy. The postoperative clinical course was uneventful. During the 1.5-year follow-up, the patient did not have lower extremity oedema. Bladder diverticulum is an extremely rare cause of iliac vein compression syndrome, and only five such cases, including this one, have been reported to date. This article presents a literature review of these cases and a summary of the diagnosis and treatment experience.

AbstractA novel combined electrochemical-biological method for non-biodegradable pollutants degradation using a new Ti/SnO2–Sb–Mn electrode as the anode was studied. The electrode characterization showed a good formation of SnO2–Sb–Mn film and compact structure of electrode. The experiments of orangeII electrochemical conversion demonstrated that the Ti/SnO2–Sb–Mn electrode could increase the bio-degradability of the simulated orangeII wastewater effectively due to converting the orangeII into small molecule organics. Finally, the residual solution could be degraded by aerobic biological treatment.

Amid increasing global economic competition, both the United States and China are investing in high-speed rail (HSR) as a national strategy to enhance their competitiveness. China is rapidly advancing by laying down HSR tracks, while the United States is deliberating the environmental, social, and economic implications of HSR development before embarking on actual construction. With the California High-Speed Rail Project and the Beijing-Shanghai Express Railway Project as case studies, this paper juxtaposes the HSR development processes concerning investment decisions, planning, and implementation in the United States and China and draws lessons informative to strategic infrastructure investments in both countries.

N-substituted 1,4-dihydropyridines bearing a carboxyl group at the 4-position were synthesized in solvent-free conditions with Cu2+ as the catalyst, imine and β-ketoester as starting materials. The possible mechanism which consists of addition-rearrangement process was proposed and examined by the reaction of isolated product of first addition to β- ketoester.

Objective:To study the clinical features, diagnosis, and management of the extracranial head and neck schwannomas.

Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) is a rare medical disorder, which is most often found in the immediate postpartum period. OVT is rarely considered idiopathic. We report a case of idiopathic OVT with pulmonary embolism in a 33-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain. Computed tomography and postoperative pathology confirmed the diagnosis of idiopathic OVT. To date, only 12 cases of idiopathic OVT have been reported. In this case report, we present a summary of these cases and a review of literature regarding management of idiopathic OVT.

The wounding effects of small fragments of the same weight 0.44 gm but different shapes and at different impact velocities 7081,560 ms on the soft tissues of the hind legs of 156 dogs were studied. The experiments showed that velocity was the major factor in causing wounds. For fragments of the same shape, the energy transmission, volume of wound cavity, sectional areas at entrance and exit, and amount of tissue that had to be excised increased rapidly with increasing velocity. In particular, as the velocity reached about 1,500 ms, a shallow and wide wound tract was liable to occur, peripheral tissue lesion was relatively apparent, even extended to the whole leg, and the rate of occurrence of bone fracture was high. The wounding effect of the shape of the fragment closely related to its sectional specific weight W and drag coefficient CD. Given the weight of the projectile and the density and thickness of the tissue, the energy transmission E was directly proportional to the square of the velocity and to the drag coefficient, and inversely proportional to the sectional specific weight of the fragment. Therefore, under certain conditions, reducing the sectional specific weight often increased the drag coefficient, in favour of causing a wound. In this experiment, the extent of wounds caused by the triangular, the square, and the cylindrical, and the spherical fragments decreased in that order, in agreement with their values of sectional specific weight and drag coefficient.

Electrode polarity reversal has been widely employed to inhibit membrane fouling and induce scale detachment during electrodialysis and electrochemical precipitation, respectively. However, frequent polarity reversal shortens the lifetime of traditional dimensionally stable anodes. In this study, a novel titanium electrode that employed a ternary iridium, tantalum, and rhodium oxide mixture (IrO2–RhOx–Ta2O5) as an active electrocatalyst film was investigated for polarity reversal applications. It was found that the Ti/IrO2–RhOx–Ta2O5electrode with an Ir/Rh/Ta molar ratio of 3:3:4 had a service lifetime of 1030 h in a 20 g L–1Na2SO4solution at a current density of 2000 A m–2and a polarity reversal frequency of 12 h–1. In contrast, a Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5electrode with an Ir/Ta molar ratio of 6:4 under the same conditions exhibited a service lifetime of only 275 h. Physicochemical characterization revealed that the IrO2–RhOx–Ta2O5film has a compact microstructure, solid solution characteristics, and contains both Rh3+and Rh4+which contributes to the stability during polarity reversal. Moreover, the Ti/IrO2–RhOx–Ta2O5electrode showed better chlorine evolution performance than the Ti/IrO2–Ta2O5electrode.

Microplastics in wastewater inevitably accumulate in waste activated sludge (WAS) via wastewater biological treatment, potentially affecting the subsequent sludge treatment unit. Nevertheless, all previous research studies focused on the impacts of the direct addition of one type of model microplastics on the sludge anaerobic treatment process. This approach actually cannot reflect the real situation where multiple different microplastics simultaneously get into the wastewater treatment unit prior to the sludge treatment unit. Herein, this work innovatively proposed a more realistic method to assess the real toxic influences of microplastics on anaerobic WAS fermentation for short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production by initially adding four typical microplastics (i.e., polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, and polypropylene) to the biological wastewater treatment system. Results showed that four microplastics initially entering the biological wastewater treatment reactor had little influence on the subsequent anaerobic SCFA production since WAS solubilization increased but hydrolysis and acidification decreased. In contrast, when the four microplastics were directly dosed in a WAS anaerobic fermenter, although there was no effect on WAS solubilization, the bioprocess of hydrolysis–acidification was clearly suppressed, ultimately significantly (P= 1.86 × 10–7) inhibiting the maximal SCFA production from WAS by 21.5 ± 0.1% compared to the control without microplastic addition. The excessive oxidative stress and toxic leachates from these typical microplastics reduced the relative abundances of key anaerobes (e.g., Longilineasp.) involved in the anaerobic fermentation. This work revealed that the different pathways of microplastics entering the sludge treatment system had different impacts on anaerobic sludge fermentation processes and selecting a more realistic and accurate approach was important to evaluate the true toxicity of microplastics on the sludge anaerobic treatment system.

ABSTRACTBackgroundEpidemics are associated with increased burden of psychological distress. However, the role of boredom on mental health during epidemic periods has seldom been explored.ObjectiveThis study attempted to examine the effect of state boredom on psychological outcomes, and the role of media use and meaning in life among the indirectly exposed Chinese adults in the initial phase of the COVID-19 outbreak.MethodAn online survey was administered to 917 Chinese adults on 28 January 2020 (1 week after the official declaration of person-to-person transmission of the coronavirus). Self-report questionnaires were used to assess state boredom, anxiety, depression, stress, media use and meaning in life. Moderated mediation analysis was conducted.ResultsOur results indicated that the effect of state boredom on anxiety and stress, but not depression, were mediated by media use and that sense of meaning in life modified this association. Meaning in life served as a risk factor, rather than a protective factor for the negative psychological outcomes when people experienced boredom. The association between boredom and media use was significant for high but not low meaning in life individuals.ConclusionThese findings demonstrated that boredom and media use were associated with an increased burden or psychological distress in the sample. It is important to pay attention to the possible negative impact of boredom and media use during COVID-19, and find more ways to cope with boredom, especially those with high presence of meaning in life.

Antimony-doped tin oxide films were successfully deposited on Ti substrates by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis at . The physicochemical and electrochemical properties as well as the electrocatalytic activity of electrodes were investigated. It was found that the electrodes prepared had compact microstructure, high overpotential for evolution, and superior activity for pollutant degradation. Over 95% chemical oxygen demand removal was achieved for degradation of phenol, with current efficiency of 53% obtained.

As one of the most traditional and ubiquitous elements in architecture, atrium design has remained an imperative topic. With the growing concerns of energy conversation, carbon emission, comfort, and well-being recently, atrium design optimization to match the new crises and demands becomes a big challenge. This study investigated the impact of atrium shapes and building heights to daylighting performance. It was found that round atrium performs the best, next is square, and the worst one is the rectangle. And the higher the buildings are, the worse the daylight performance is. To further guide design work, generic atrium design criteria from a view of balancing daylight performance and visual comfort was proposed. The more reliable and valid annual dynamic simulation methods and climate-based daylighting modeling metrics are adopted.

This pilot study investigated the safety and efficacy of a novel shunt surgery combined with foam sclerotherapy of varices in patients with prehepatic portal hypertension.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 100 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

Antimony-doped tin oxide Ti/SnO2–Sbfilms were successfully deposited on Ti substrates by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis at 600°C. The physicochemical and electrochemical properties as well as the electrocatalytic activity of Ti/SnO2–Sbelectrodes were investigated. It was found that the Ti/SnO2–Sbelectrodes prepared had compact microstructure, high overpotential for O2evolution, and superior activity for pollutant degradation. Over 95% chemical oxygen demand removal was achieved for degradation of phenol, with current efficiency of 53% obtained.

Boron-doped diamond film grown on a titanium substrate (Ti/BDD) has shown certain stability with superior activity. The causes of its eventual failure may be the large thermal residual stress in the diamond film, which leads to the delamination of the film. A dissociation of TiC layer would collapse the diamond film also. Ti/BDD stability is expected to be improved by coating a thin layer of silicon on the titanium before growing the diamond film at a relatively low temperature. Hot filament chemical vapor deposition was used to grow the diamond film. Ti∕Si∕BDDelectrode has an accelerated lifetime of 320h, over 20% longer than that of the Ti/BDD. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy examinations demonstrated that the films had well-defined diamond features. Ti∕Si∕BDDanodes also showed excellent activity in anodic oxidation of typical pollutants like phenol, acetic acid, and maleic acid. A pollutant removal efficiency as high as 90% can be obtained with the effect of pH being insignificant. The current efficiency of slightly over 50% was observed when 90% phenol was degraded in terms of chemical oxygen demand at a current density of 200A∕m2.