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Water pollution caused by oil spills at sea and industrial and daily wastewater discharges are causing serious damage to the ecological environment, not only in terms of economic losses but also in terms of human health and survival, a problem that needs to be addressed urgently. Oil/water separation is a global challenge, and while these problems are frequent, various oil/water separation strategies have been extensively investigated in recent years. The efficiency of the materials prepared is a key factor, as are the environmental friendliness and low cost of the methods and raw materials used in the experiments. This work reviews methods and materials applied in oil/water separation in recent years, including natural textile materials, metal meshes, synthetic membranes, particulate adsorbent materials, foams, sponges, aerogels, smart controllable special wettable separation materials.

Ammonia volatilization, which is one of the main ways that nitrogen gas is released from farmland, restricts promotion of the utilization of nitrogen fertilizer and contains some potential environmental risks. To investigate the general pattern of ammonia volatilization under actual paddy field conditions, we designed an indoor simulated system to measure the amount of ammonia volatilized within a single time period by controlling the pH and concentration of NH4+ (c(NH4+)) in the solution, the gas–liquid interfacial gas velocity, and the ambient temperature. In this paper, the influence of these factors, the synergistic effect on ammonia volatilization, and their quantitative relationship are discussed. We used solutions of ammonium bicarbonate (SAB) and diammonium phosphate (SDP) for the simulation experiments, and the results showed that there is a significant linear relationship between the amount of ammonia volatilization and c(NH4+). The correlation coefficients were between 0.9214 to 0.9897 and 0.8932 to 0.9904 for SAB and SDP, respectively. The quantitative relationship between temperature and pH and the influence factor (CIF) and the initial ammonia volatilization fluxes (IAVFs) was analyzed by the least-squares method, and the degrees of polynomial were one and two, respectively. The regression equations of the SAB and SDP among the amount of ammonia volatilization with the concentration of ammonium nitrogen, the temperature, and the pH were calculated by using MATLAB. Considering the effects of temperature and pH on the CIF and IAVFs under individual conditions, we used a binary cubic model to fit the relationship between temperature and pH to the CIF and IAVFs. The simulation results showed that the correlation coefficients between the CIF and IAVFs for SAB were 0.9980 and 0.9680, respectively, and the correlation coefficients were 0.9946 and 0.9708 for SDP, respectively. The quantitative equation took into account the coefficient of determination and degrees of polynomial, and the ammonia volatilization fluxes can be calculated by using these equations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel plastic of polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) blended with starch was prepared in our research. Acrylic acid (AA) was added adequately in step of PVAc preparation as modifier, with emulsifier and initiator each occupied with 2.5 and 0.7 wt% of monomer. We used a capillary rheometer to evaluate rheological properties of PVAc and starch blends. The rheological behavior of the blends shows pseudoplastic and shear thinning. In this article, we also studied effects of AA content and temperature on viscosity. The results show that the viscosity of blends increased gradually as AA content increasing and it shows decreased as temperature increasing. The thermal behaviors of these materials were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The starch and AA content were considered to be the main influence factors. From the diagrams we concluded that the addition of adequate AA content could improve the compatibility and stability of the blends; however, the starch content was limited properly otherwise the stability of blends would be weakened., INTRODUCTION Acrylic acid (AA) is adopted to modify the blends, which are obtained by mixing the polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) with starch to prepare excellent-performance plastics [1], PVAc as white latex [...]

AbstractObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionTo evaluate the effects of argatroban on the levels of Hcy, hs-CRP and FIB in patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI).A retrospective analysis was performed on 382 patients with ACI who were hospitalized in the Department of Neurology of our hospital from January 2017 to December 2019. Among them, 158 patients received conventional treatment as the control group and 224 patients received combined treatment with argatroban as the study group. NHISS score, mRS score, Hcy, hs-CRP, FIB level, quality of life, adverse reactions were compared between the two groups after treatment. The levels of Hcy and hs-CRP in patients with different mRS scores were compared.A superior clinical efficacy of the study group was observed than the control group (p < 0.05). The study group witnessed a remarkably lower NHISS score, Hcy, hs-CRP and FIB level as compare to the control group (p < 0.05). The ADL and FMA scores in the study group were higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). The levels of Hcy and hs-CRP in mRS 0–2 patients were lower than those in mRS 3–6 patients (p < 0.05).Argatroban in ACI patients can significantly enhance the clinical efficacy and improve the quality of life. It is closely related to the reduction of Hcy and hs-CRP levels, but the mechanism needs to be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The nanocrystalline Co3O4 catalysts were prepared via wet-chemical precipitation and dry-solid-state reaction, respectively. To assess the suitability of such Co3O4 as an oxidation catalyst, CO oxidation was taken as model reaction. The best catalyst was obtained by dry grinding route calcined at 300°C, showing the 50% conversion of CO at −92°C, under a stream of normal feed gas containing moisture. Comparing the reaction rate per cobalt oxide mass unit at room temperature (ca. 1.53mmolg−1 s−1) with the Au-based catalyst in the current literature confirmed the exceptionally high activity of these new materials. The as-synthesized catalysts have been characterized by various techniques in a view of material characterization, as well as to investigate the mechanistic aspects of catalytic reactions. Examination of the surface nature of the materials by X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and temperature-programmed desorption of oxygen (O2-TPD) shows that O− and lattice oxygen (O2−) are the predominant species at the oxidized surface. In addition, a close parallel between the catalytic activity and the concentration of O− oxygen species indicates that a large amount of more mobile and reactive O− species is the main reason for its enhanced CO oxidation activity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Protection roles of serum vitamin D levels in the cardiovascular system. This observational study enrolled 286 young ACI patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in our Hospital from October 2016 to April 2020 as the study group. 127 healthy individuals as the control group. Serum levels of vitamin D and blood pressure indexes of the two groups were measured and the correlation between vitamin D levels and the clinical phenotype of young cerebral infarction was explored. Significantly higher 25-hydroxyvitamin D was observed in the study group vs. control group. During the day, The values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure and mean blood pressure was well-balanced between the two groups. However, at night and within 24 hours, significant differences in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and mean value were observed between the two groups. The higher the vitamin D level, the greater the decrease in blood pressure at night. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was positively correlated with the reduction of night systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Low levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D led to a small decrease in blood pressure at night, resulting in a vulnerable cardiovascular system and an increased incidence of cerebral infarction in the young population.

Objective: To determine the risk factors for cognitive impairment (CI) in patients with first-time ischemic stroke., Methods: The clinical data of 180 patients with ischemic stroke who were admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to December 2019 was retrospectively analyzed. Patients with MMSE score ≤24 were included into the CI group and the rest of the patients were placed into the normal group. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to describe risk factors for CI in patients with first-time ischemic stroke., Results: Among the patients with first-time ischemic stroke, 96 cases (53%) developed CI, 84 cases (47%) were normal. In different subtypes of TOAST classifications, patients with large-artery atherosclerosis had the highest CI incidence (66.96%). For different infarction sites, the highest CI incidence occurred in the frontal lobe (82.35%), and the lowest was from cerebellar infarction (37.50%). The difference of CI incidences in the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe and occipital lobe was significant between the two groups (P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis indicated that independent risk factors for CI in patients with first ischemic stroke include age ≥60 years old, diabetes history, CRP >6.53 mg/L, Hcy >13.84 μmol/L, NIHSS score >4.37, VD <45.16 nmol/L, and the difference was statistically significant ( P <0.05)., Conclusion: The study showed a high CI incidence in patients with preexisting ischemic stroke. Age ≥60 years old, history of diabetes mellitus, CRP >6.53 mg/L, Hcy >13.84 μmol/L, NIHSS score >4.37 score, VD <45.16 nmol/L are independent risk factors for CI in patients with first-time ischemic stroke., Competing Interests: None., (AJTR Copyright © 2021.)