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We investigated the impact of serum cholesterol levels on 30-day mortality after ischemic stroke in dialysis patients.From the Taiwan Stroke Registry data, we identified 46,770 ischemic stroke cases, including 1101 dialysis patients and 45,669 nondialysis patients from 2006 to 2013.Overall, the 30-day mortality was 1.46-fold greater in the dialysis group than in the nondialysis group (1.75 versus 1.20 per 1000 person-days). The mortality rates were 1.64, .62, 2.82, and 2.23 per 1000 person-days in dialysis patients with serum total cholesterol levels of 120 mg/dL, 120-159 mg/dL, 160-199 mg/dL, and ≥200 mg/dL, respectively. Compared to dialysis patients with serum total cholesterol levels of 120-159 mg/dL, the corresponding adjusted hazard ratios of mortality were 4.20 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-17.4), 8.06 (95% CI = 2.02-32.2), and 6.89 (95% CI = 1.59-29.8) for those with cholesterol levels of 120 mg/dL, 160-199 mg/dL, and ≥200 mg/dL, respectively.Dialysis patients with serum total cholesterol levels of ≥160 mg/dL or 120 mg/dL on admission are at an elevated hazard of 30-day mortality after ischemic stroke.

Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) is the most commonly used electrolyte material for solid oxide fuel cells. The use of relatively inexpensive metal components would require a trade-off in the lowering of the operating temperature below 800 °C. However, the reduced temperature results in an increased resistivity of YSZ. This can be overcome by reducing the electrolyte thickness using thin film techniques. In this study, the preparation of a thin film of YSZ via the sputter deposition technique was reported. YSZ electrolyte films were deposited on anode substrates at 650/750 °C. The gas permeability test indicated a gas-tight electrolyte with a gas leak rate − 7 lcm − 2 s − 1 . The measured open circuit voltage was 1.1 V, while the maximum power density was 515 mW cm − 2 .

The anode-supported solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) with low-porosity anode structure is fabricated and the electrochemical characteristics are investigated. The electrochemical characterization of the cell shows a periodic oscillation phenomenon of the cell voltage under the constant current density operation. The low-porosity anode structure results in the decrease in the effective diffusion coefficient and the accumulation of water vapor. The cell voltage oscillation is mainly caused by the concentration polarization as well as the boundary migration of the reaction zone. The profound influence on the concentration polarization can be observed when the cell test is executed with operation condition of higher current density, lower hydrogen concentration, and lower hydrogen flow rate in the anode side.

Dense electrolyte films ∼15 μm thick made of samarium-doped ceria (SDC) are fabricated by spin-coating. The SDC powders are synthesized by the glycine nitrate combustion process. It is found that nanoscale SDC powders can be obtained at 1000 °C. Cells constructed with an SDC electrolyte, a NiO + SDC composite anode, and an SSC–SDC/SSC bi-layer cathode are fabricated and tested at temperatures from 400 to 650 °C. SEM micrographs show that the SDC electrolyte layer adheres well to the porous anode and the cathode. The maximum power densities of the cell are 38, 84, 185, 303, 438, and 549 mW cm −2 at 400, 450, 500, 550, 600, and 650 °C, respectively. Analysis of the impedance spectra indicates that the electrode polarization dominates the total cell resistance at temperatures below 550 °C, and the ohmic resistance dominates the total cell resistance above 550 °C. The activation energies of the resistances show that the cell performance is significantly controlled by the electrode polarization resistance. Durability tests are performed over 950 h and indicate that the power density and the voltage gradually degrade with time at a rate of ∼0.03 mW cm −2 h −1 and ∼0.07 mV h −1 , respectively. Hence, a low-temperature solid oxide fuel cell has been developed.

The various composite cathode layers on the solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with a dense electrolyte of yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) are investigated in this study. The ceramic powders of La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (LSCF), Ba0.5Sr0.5Co0.2Fe0.8O3−δ (BSCF), La0.9Sr0.1Ga0.8Mg0.2O3−δ (LSGM), and Gd0.2Ce0.8O3−δ (GDC) are prepared by the glycine-nitrate combustion process. The different formations of composite cathode layers are coated onto the NiO–YSZ/YSZ half-cells via a screen printing method. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs show that all of the samples can be well adherent to the YSZ electrolyte. From the energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) result, the undesired compound of SrZrO3 is formed between the YSZ electrolyte and the composite cathode layers with LSCF and BSCF at the sintering temperature of 1000 °C. According to the results of the electrochemical test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), the composite cathode layer with YSZ–La0.8Sr0.2MnO3−δ (LSM) interlayer exhibits the best electrochemical performance. The maximum power density can achieve the value above 400 mW/cm2 for the samples with YSZ–LSM interlayer.

Ba 0.5 Sr 0.5 Co 0.8 Fe 0.2 O 3− δ (BSCF) and gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) were synthesized via a glycine-nitrate process (GNP). A cubic perovskite of BSCF was observed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) at a calcination temperature above 950 °C. An anode-supported solid-oxide fuel cell was constructed from the porous NiO + YSZ as the anode substrate, the yittria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the electrolyte, and the porous BSCF-GDC layer as the cathode with a GDC barrier layer. For the performance test, the maximum power density was 191.3 mW cm −2 at a temperature of 750 °C with H 2 fuel and air at flow rates of 335 and 670 sccm, respectively. According to the AC-impedance data, the charge-transfer resistances of the electrodes were 0.10 and 1.59 Ω cm 2 , and the oxygen-reduction and oxygen-ion diffusion resistances were 0.69 and 0.98 Ω cm 2 at 750 and 600 °C, respectively. SEM microstructural characterization indicated that the fuel cell as fabricated exhibited good compatibility between cathode and electrolyte layers.

A novel heterogeneous magnetic nanocatalyst was designed by conjugating copper(II) ions with chitosan-bound magnetic nanocarrier. Its hydrolytic activity for phosphodiesters was evaluated by investigating the hydrolysis of secondary ester bis-(nitrophenyl) phosphate (BNPP) in aqueous media. The maximum hydrolysis rate of BNPP was observed around the p K a of nanocatalyst which was found to be 12. The kinetic studies revealed that the binding affinity of BNPP to the copper(II)-chelated chitosan magnetic nanocarrier was low as compared to other catalyst systems. However, the rate constants ( k cat ) and maximum reaction rate ( V max ) were found to be higher with lower activation energy for the developed nanocatalyst. Moreover, the developed nanocatalyst was magnetically recoverable and also had good reusability.

The solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) was constructed with NiO/YSZ (yttria stabilized zirconia) as anode supported substrate, with YSZ electrolyte, and La 0.8 Sr 0.2 MnO 3 (LSM) cathode. Here, we show a novel phenomenon of that original Ni grains of micron-scale size in anode of SOFC can be segregated to form nano grains by electrochemical reaction at 800 °C. This breeding function can enhance cell performance obviously. The mechanism for the breeding of nano-scale Ni grain involves two reactions of: 1. NiO + H 2 → Ni + H 2 O ; 2. Ni + O 2 - → NiO + 2 e - , and a non-fuel current can be generated by Reaction 2, which implies that Ni acts as not only a catalyst but also a reactant.

The magnetic chitosan nanoparticles of 13.5 nm were prepared as a magnetic nano-adsorbent by the carboxymethylation of chitosan and the followed binding on the surface of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles via carbodiimide activation. Their saturation magnetization, remanent magnetization, coercivity, and squareness were 62 emu/g, 1.8 emu/g, 6.0 Oe, and 0.029, respectively, reflecting their superparamagnetic property. The binding reaction of carboxymethyl chitosan on the surface of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles was much faster than the self-crosslinking of carboxymethyl chitosan, and the appropriate reaction time was 1 h. At low carboxymethyl chitosan concentrations, the binding efficiency could be as high as 100%. The maximum amount of chitosan bound on the Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles was 4.92 wt%. In addition, magnetic chitosan nano-adsorbent was shown to be quite efficient for the fast removal of Co(II) ions at pH 3–7 and 20–45 °C. The maximum adsorption capacity for Co(II) ions occurred at pH 5.5, and the adsorption process was exothermic in nature with an enthalpy change of −12.04 kJ/mol. The equilibrium was achieved within 1 min, and the adsorption data obeyed the Langmuir equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 27.5 mg/g (557 mg/g based on the weight of chitosan) and a Langmuir adsorption equilibrium constant of 0.034 l/mg at 25 °C. Such fast adsorption rate and high adsorption capacity could be attributed to the absence of internal diffusion resistance and the high specific surface area.

A novel magnetically recoverable Au nanocatalyst was fabricated by the simple adsorption-reduction of Au(III) ions on chitosan-coated iron oxide magnetic nanocarrier. Au nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 3.14 nm were well loaded on the surface of magnetic nanocarrier because chitosan layer provided an effective driving force in the formation and stabilization of Au nanoparticles. The resultant magnetically recoverable Au nanocatalyst exhibited excellent catalytic activity to the reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) with sodium borohydride. The rate constants evaluated in terms of pseudo-first-order kinetic model increased with increasing the amount of Au nanocatalyst, decreasing the initial 4-NP concentration, and increasing the temperature. Also, the kinetic data suggested that this catalytic reaction was diffusion controlled owing to the presence of chitosan layer. In addition, catalyst reuse showed no trace of deactivation or poisoning during the catalytic and separation processes, revealing the stable nature and good catalytic ability of this nanocatalyst.

The monodisperse chitosan-conjugated Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 13.5 nm were fabricated by the carboxymethylation of chitosan and its covalent binding onto Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles via carbodiimide activation. The carboxymethylated chitosan (CMCH)-conjugated Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles with about 4.92 wt.-% of CMCH had an isoelectric point of 5.95 and were shown to be quite efficient as anionic magnetic nano-adsorbent for the removal of acid dyes. Both the adsorption capacities of crocein orange G (AO12) and acid green 25 (AG25), as the model compounds, decreased with increasing pH, and the decreasing effect was more significant for AO12. On the contrary, the increase in the ionic strength decreased the adsorption capacity of AG25 but did not affect, obviously, the adsorption capacity of AO12. By the addition of NaCl and NaOH, both AO12 and AG25 could desorb and their different desorption behavior could be attributed to the combined effect of pH and ionic strength. From the adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics studies, it was found that both the adsorption processes of AO12 and AG25 obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, Langmuir isotherm, and might be surface reaction-controlled. Furthermore, the time required to reach the equilibrium for each one was significantly shorter than those using the micro-sized adsorbents due to the large available surface area. Also, based on the weight of chitosan, the maximum adsorption capacities were 1 883 and 1 471 mg x g(-1) for AO12 and AG25, respectively, much higher than the reported data. Thus, the anionic magnetic nano-adsorbent could not only be magnetically manipulated but also possessed the advantages of fast adsorption rate and high adsorption capacity. This could be useful in the fields of separation and magnetic carriers. [formula in text].

Monodisperse chitosan-bound Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles were developed as a novel magnetic nano-adsorbent for the removal of heavy metal ions. Chitosan was first carboxymethylated and then covalently bound on the surface of Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles via carbodiimide activation. Transmission electron microscopy micrographs showed that the chitosan-bound Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles were monodisperse and had a mean diameter of 13.5 nm. X-ray diffraction patterns indicated that the magnetic nanoparticles were pure Fe(3)O(4) with a spinel structure, and the binding of chitosan did not result in a phase change. The binding of chitosan was also demonstrated by the measurement of zeta potential, and the weight percentage of chitosan bound to Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles was estimated to be about 4.92 wt%. The chitosan-bound Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles were shown to be quite efficient for the removal of Cu(II) ions at pH>2. In particular, the adsorption rate was so fast that the equilibrium was achieved within 1 min due to the absence of internal diffusion resistance. The adsorption data obeyed the Langmuir equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 21.5 mg g(-1) and a Langmuir adsorption equilibrium constant of 0.0165 L mg(-1). The pH and temperature effects revealed that the adsorption capacity increased significantly with increasing pH at pH 2-5, and the adsorption process was exothermic in nature with an enthalpy change of -6.14 kJ mol(-1) at 300-330 K.

The anode-supported solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) with an yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte have been successfully prepared by the sequential steps of fabricating technique including tape casting, spin coating, and screen-printing. Two types of the SOFCs are manufactured and their cell performances are characterized via the detail analysis of the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The maximum power densities are 411 and 289 mW/cm 2 for the high and low performance cells at 800°C, respectively. According to the EIS analysis, the electrochemical performance of the poor cell is dominated by the anodic non-charge-transfer resistance, which is mainly resulted by the gas diffusion polarization due to the low porosity of the anode. The high performance cell is controlled by the simultaneous contributions of the ohmic resistance (R O ), the anodic polarization (R AP ), and the cathodic polarization (R CP ) at the operation temperature of 800°C. However, the R CP will dominate the performance of the cell as the temperature is lowered down to 700°C.

The monodisperse chitosan-coated Fe3O4 nanoparticles with a mean diameter of 13.5 nm and 4.92 wt% chitosan were used as an anionic magnetic nano-adsorbent for the recovery of Au(III) ions from aqueous solutions. It was found that Au(III) ions could be fast and efficiently adsorbed, and the adsorption capacity increased with the decrease in pH due to the protonation of the amino groups of chitosan. The adsorption data obeyed the Langmuir equation with a maximum adsorption capacity of 59.52 mg/g (1210 mg/g based on the weight of chitosan) and a Langmuir adsorption equilibrium constant of 0.066 l/mg. From the studies on the adsorption kinetics and thermodynamics of Au(III) ions, it was found that the adsorption process obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Furthermore, the time required to reach the equilibrium was significantly shorter than those using the micro-sized adsorbents due to the large available surface area.