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Nowadays, global warming has become serious environmental issue that may affect humans and other living organisms. This is caused by the emissions of greenhouse gases. This problem has also led to climate change which will bring impacts to business, community and the environment. Therefore, it is everyone’s responsibility to face this environment issues. Top Glove contributes the emission of carbon dioxide as the employees operate the machines using fossil fuels. In 2018, their gas consumption was at 16.98kg carbon dioxide emissions per carton of gloves produced. In line with recognizing the effect of climate change, they aim to reduce 8% of carbon dioxide emission annually. Thus, they have applied biomass which is renewable energy at 6 factories to tackle this problem. However, we need to encourage more renewable energy by expanding the application of this green energy throughout Top Glove factories. Top Glove face the problem of insufficient financial capital to invest the modern technology for every factory. Hence, they need to solve the problem of their financial problem in order to improve environment issues. Next, Top Glove is the world’s largest manufacturer of gloves and it was founded since 1991. It has proficient experiences in manufacturing gloves. One of many reasons behind this success is they have an effective and efficient system in managing company. Besides that, they also take care of the well-being of their employees. Furthermore, they introduce environment friendly product to the community. As this paper will show, there is still changes and improvement that can be made, in order to integrate sustainability well into Top Glove’s business strategy.

Fe3+ ions play an important role in both biological and environmental field. In this work, two novel rhodamine-based colorimetric and fluorescent probes (RBA2 and RBA3) were designed and synthesized for the efficient detection of Fe3+. Upon the addition of Fe3+, the fluorescence intensity of RBA2 and RBA3 enhanced 108-fold and 222-fold, respectively. RBA2 and RBA3 exhibited a low detection limit which could achieve 12.8 nM and 11.0 nM. In addition, the binding modes of RBA2 and RBA3 with Fe3+ were proved to be 1:1 stoichiometry in the complexes by Job's plot, ESI-MS and 1H NMR results. The complexing ability of RBA3 with Fe3+ excessed to that of RBA2 that was determined by the binding association constants, and highly consistent with DFT calculations results. Furthermore, RBA2 and RBA3 were further utilized to detect Fe3+ in living cells and real water samples, indicating their promising prospects in biological and environmental field.

Four novel rhodamine-based fluorescent probes (RE1–RE4) were designed and synthesized for sensitive detection of Fe3+ in water. RE1–RE4 exhibited low detection limits in the range of 18.6 nM to 29.4 nM. In addition, the binding modes of the probes (RE1–RE4) with Fe3+ were proved to be 1 : 1 stoichiometry of the complexes by Job's plot and also their complexing ability was determined using the binding constants (RE2 > RE4 > RE3 > RE1). RE2 was selected to study the proposed binding mechanism with Fe3+ by ESI-MS, 1H NMR and DFT calculations. Furthermore, RE2 was further utilized to detect Fe3+ in living cells and real water samples, indicating its promising prospect in biological and environmental fields.

The piperazine ring is a very important factor in governing molecular structure to generate the special properties of a compound. New NBD-based fluorescent probes 1–3 were designed and synthesized for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) detection. Probe 1 showed high sensitivity and selectivity for H2S with a color change from yellow to pink for naked eye observation. However, the analogues (2 and 3) were response-negative toward H2S. In order to clarify the importance of the piperazine ring in the NBD-based H2S probe and the mechanism, the crystal structure of 1 was obtained and the piperazine ring was deemed to mediate H2S nucleophilic addition. In addition, probe 1 had limits of detection of 18.96 μM (UV) and 23.42 μM (FL), and the thiolysis rate for 1 was found to be 0.49 M−1 s−1. Living cell imaging results indicated that probe 1 could be utilized to trace intracellular H2S. This work has a great guiding role in the design of NBD-based fluorescent probes through a nucleophilic addition mechanism.

The zinc oxide-indium sulfide (ZnO-In2S3) composite nanofiber has been fabricated via a convenient and straightforward electrospinning process without using templates, and these unique structures represent promising candidates for application in highly efficient hydrogen evolution photocatalyst. Mixing appropriate amounts of In2S3 nanosheet into ZnO nanopowder to form ZnO-In2S3 composite nanofiber can enhance photocatalytic hydrogen production activity. In addition, ZnO-In2S3 composite can increase the separation of electron-hole pairs and the light absorption ability for progressing their photocatalytic hydrogen evolution under blue light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation.

Objective. To compareT2⁎value of healthy and diseased Achilles tendons (AT) with a recently introduced three-dimensional ultrashort echo time (3D-UTE) sequence and analyze the correlation betweenT2⁎value and clinical scores.Methods. Ten patients with symptomatic Achilles tendon and ten healthy volunteers were investigated with 3D-UTE sequence on a 3T magnetic resonance (MR) scanner.T2⁎values of four regions in Achilles tendons were calculated. The clinical outcomes of patients were evaluated according to the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score and Achilles Tendon Rupture Score (ATRS). An independent samplet-test was used to compare the differences ofT2⁎value and clinical scores between two groups. The Pearson correlation coefficient between clinical scores andT2⁎values was assessed.Results. TheT2⁎values of Achilles tendon were statistically significantly different between patients and volunteers. The Pearson correlation coefficients betweenT2⁎and AOFAS or ATRS scores of patients werer=-0.733andr=-0.634, respectively.Conclusion. The variability ofT2⁎in healthy and pathologic AT can be quantified by UTE-T2⁎.T2⁎may be a promising marker to detect and diagnose AT tendinopathy. UTE-T2⁎could give a precise guidance to clinical outcome.

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A pinned–pinned beam with one end fixed and the other end free to slide horizontally is studied. Dry friction damping is modeled at the support boundaries of the beam. In order to analyze the variation of the equivalent viscous damping caused by the presliding friction, the LuGre friction model is employed. The relationship between the equivalent viscous damping and the relative vibration amplitude ratio is obtained by using the moving autoregressive model (MARM) method. The equivalent viscous damping caused by both sliding and the presliding friction is obtained by numerical simulation.

In this paper a new time varying multivariate Prony (TVM-Prony) method is put forward to identify modal parameters of time varying (TV) multiple-degree-of-freedom systems from measured vibration responses. The proposed method is based on the classical Prony method that is often used to identify modal parameters of linear time invariant systems. The main advantage of the propose approach is that it can analyze multi-dimensional nonstationary signals simultaneously. A modified recursive least square method based on the traditional one is presented to determine the TV coefficient matrices of the multivariate parametric model established in the proposed method. The efficiency and accuracy of the identification approach is demonstrated by a numerical example, in which a TV mass-string system with three-degree-of-freedom is investigated. Satisfied results are obtained.

The placement of an enteral feeding tube is the foundation for providing enteral nutrition. But due to the anatomic complexity of the stomach and the duodenum, to a certain degree, there are some technical difficulties in the placement of postpyloric feeding tube, especially in critically ill patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of placing nasoenteral feeding tube with a transnasal ultrathin endoscope.Totally 49 patients, involving 46 (93.9%) being American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status (ASA-PS) grade III (n = 3) and grade IV (n = 43), in whom a nasoenteral feeding tube was placed with a transnasal ultrathin endoscope by using over-the-wire technique. The related clinic information during the procedure including success rate, time required, complications and monitoring results of vital signs was analyzed.The tube was placed at or beyond the Treitz's ligament in all of the 49 cases and the total tube-placement success rate was 100% including the one-time tube-placement success rate 95.9%. The tube placement was successful in 46 (93.9%) cases by transnasal method and 3 (6.1%) cases by transoral method. In the 47 cases whose one-time tube-placement success was obtained, the average procedure time was (6.2 +/- 5.6) minutes. For the 3 patients the endoscope inserted transorally due to the failure of transnasal insertion, the total procedure time was (12.3 +/- 2.1) minutes. In the period of nasoenteral tube placement, the average systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR) and average pulse oxygen saturation (SpO(2)) did not show any significant change. Apart from 3 patients in whom nausea occurred in the procedure and 2 nasal bleeding, no any other acute complications arose.The method of placing nasoenteral feeding tube with the transnasal ultrathin endoscope is not only efficient, time-saving, technically simple, and painless to patients, but also safe especially in critically ill patients.

To observe the influence of combined injection with human interferon (hlFNgamma) and human insulin-link growth factor-1 (hIGF-1) on regeneration and fibrosis of skeletal muscle after acute contusion.A standard contusion model was reproduced at the right gastrocnemius in 64 male mice of 7 to 12 weeks. All the mice were randomly divided into 4 groups, such as group A (injection with hIFNgamma), group B (injection with hIGF-1), group C (injection with hIGF-1 and hIFNgamma), and group D (injection with physiological saline as control). All injections were introduced on day 10 after injury at local injured gastrocnemius. Before intervention (7 d following injury), and 4 d, 18 d, 32 d after intervention, the local injured gastrocnemius were harvested from 4 mice of each group. Then the expression of MHC- II b and vimentin was detected by real time PCR and immunohistochemistry techniques.(1) At the each time following intervention, the expression of MHC-II b mRNA and protein in local injured muscle of group B and C were significantly higher than those of group A and D. (2) After intervention,the expression of vimentin mRNA and protein in local injured muscle of group A, group B, and group C were more inhibited than those of group D. The inhibition of vimentin expression in group A and C was significant.It is indicated that injection of hIGF-1 into the injured skeletal muscle following acute contusion could enhance muscle regeneration,and inhibit fibrosis to some extent. (2) It is identified that hIFNgamma injected into injured muscle has the effect of anti-fibrosis, which is more significant than that of hIGF-1. (3) Combined injection with hIGF-1 and hIFNgamma could improve muscle regeneration and inhibit fibrosis simultaneously, and promote the healing of injured muscle.

To explore the clinical value of endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) on early gastrointestinal cancer and precancerous lesion.The EMR data of 42 lesions from 28 patients, collected from Apr. 2001 to Dec. 2005, were retrospectively analyzed. All the lesions were confirmed histologically before and after operation.Forty-two lesions were removed by the EMR from 28 patients. Lesion types observed under endoscopy were as follows: type I 9 lesions (type Isp 2 lesions, type Is 7 lesions), type II 33 lesions (type IIa 23 lesions, type IIa + IIc 4 lesions, type IIb 6 lesions). Thirty-eight EMRs were performed by using snare resection techniques and 4 EMRs by using suction cap-assisted techniques. The size of lesions changed from 0.6 cm x 0.6 cm to 3.0 cm x 3.5 cm. Complete resections were achieved in 36 of 40, among them, 2 lesions were divided into 2 pieces and 1 lesion was divided into 3 pieces. Post-EMR histopathologic evaluation revealed the followingcarcinoma in 4 lesions, high-grade dysplasia (HGD) in 11 lesions, middle-grade dysplasia (MGD) in 17 lesions, adenoma in 6 lesions, non-adenoma in 2 lesions. The pathology match rate between local biopsy and EMR was 60.0%. The detection rates of cancer, HGD and MGD by EMR were higher than that by routine biopsy. No serious complications were seen in this study.Endoscopic mucosal resection has significant impact on the endoscopic intervention treatment of early cancer and precancerous lesion in digestive tract.

To evaluate the effects of folic acid on epithelial apoptosis and expression of Bcl-2 and p53 in the tissues of premalignant gastric lesions.Thirty-eight patients, with premalignant gastric lesions including 18 colonic-type intestinal metaplasia (IM) and 20 mild or moderate dysplasia, were randomly divided into a treatment group (n = 19) receiving folic acid 10 mg thrice daily and a control group (n = 19) receiving sucralfate 1,000 mg thrice daily for 3 mo. All patients underwent endoscopies and four biopsies were taken prior to treatment and repeated after concluding therapy. Folate concentrations in gastric mucosa were measured with chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay. Epithelial apoptosis and the expression of Bcl-2 and p53 protein in gastric mucosa were detected with flow cytometric assay.The mean of folate concentration in gastric mucosa was 9.03+/-3.37 microg/g wet wt in the folic acid treatment group, which was significantly higher than 6.83+/-3.02 microg/g wet wt in the control group. Both the epithelial apoptosis rate and the tumor suppressor p53 expression in gastric mucosa significantly increased after folic acid treatment. In contrast, the expression of Bcl-2 oncogene protein decreased after folic acid therapy.These data indicate that folic acid may play an important role in the chemoprevention of gastric carcinogenesis by enhancing gastric epithelial apoptosis in the patients with premalignant lesions.