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Purpose: The aim of this study was to test whether or not a strong static magnetic field (SMF) had a positive effect on the survival rate of frozen erythrocytes., Materials and Methods: Human erythrocytes were slow freezing at a rate of -1°C/min, to a final temperature of -20°C. During the freezing process, the cells were simultaneously exposed to an SMF with a magnetic induction of 0.2 or 0.4 T. After the cells were thawed, the survival rate, morphology, and function of the thawed erythrocytes were evaluated. Furthermore, tests of membrane fluidity were performed to assess the effect of the SMF on the cell membrane., Results: The slow freezing process coupled with an SMF increased the survival rate of frozen erythrocytes, without any negative effect on the cell morphology or function. The increases in relative survival rates of frozen erythrocytes were 5.7% and 9.1% when the cells were frozen in 0.2 T and 0.4 T groups, respectively. In addition, the 0.4 T group significantly increased the membrane rigidity of the erythrocytes., Conclusions: Slow freezing coupled with a strong SMF produced positive effects on the survival rate of thawed erythrocytes, without changing their normal function.

Taiwan's resource recycling program was formally established in 1989, starting with the mandatory recycling of polyethylene terephthalate bottles. The number of mandatory regulated materials was extended to 8 categories with 27 items by 2002. Because of false data reporting, financial scandal, lack of transparency of the system, and the demand from parliament, the recycling policy has gradually changed from entirely privatized to being nationalized. Currently, the structure is built on six main bodies: fund management committee, consumers, industries responsible, recyclers, fee reviewing committee, and auditing agents. The industries that are responsible submit a fee, which is set by the fee reviewing committee, to the waste recycling fund (WRF), which is operated by the fund management committee. The auditing agents routinely check the responsible industries by documentation review as well as on-site counting to ensure that the fee is correctly submitted. The WRF provides initiatives to collect and dispose of the end-of-life products. The fund is split into a trust fund and a nonbusiness fund to deal with the collection, disposal, and treatment of the listed materials. The latter deals with the supporting works and ensures that the system runs effectively. The ratio of trust fund to nonbusiness fund is 80-20%. It is no doubt that the current practice achieves some improvements. Household waste has been reduced by 22%. And, most importantly, the benefit-to-cost ratio was as high as 1.24. However, similar to other state-owned systems, the resource recycling program has been criticized for false reporting from the responsible industries, a rigid system, and complicated procedures. To build a sustainable enterprise, the recycling program should be privatized as the recycling market and operating procedures are well established and fully mature.

Three columns each with 770 cm2 of surface area and 60-105 cm effective depth were set up for this study. These columns were filled with compacted, stabilized refuse. High-strength brewery wastewaters were uniformly trickled down the medium. Overall, 16 runs with various organic loadings were tested and the results demonstrated that the stabilized refuse had excellent capability in removing chemical oxygen demand (COD). The COD removal efficiency reached 95% at a depth of 60 cm at Q = 8 L/day for the initial COD of approximately 6000 mg/L and the efficiency increased to >99% at a depth of 90 cm (organic loading of 0.69 kg/m3/day). As would be expected, the filter performance is a function of flow rate, influent COD concentration, and bed depth. The Schulze equation is able to predict the COD removal performance well. The variations of pH, oxidation reduction potential, and volatile fatty acids indicated that the acidogenesis reaction occurred in the upper layers.