Kinetic Study on Absorption of SO2 and NOX with Acidic NaClO2 Solutions Using the Spraying Column

The operating conditions of this study are close to the typical operating conditions of flue gas desulfurization system in coal-fired power plants. The aim of this study is to investigate the absorption kinetics of SO2 and NO from simulated flue gas into an aqueous solution of acidic sodium chlorite using a bench-scale spraying column. The range of absorption rates measured in this study is between 1.91×10?11 and 9.59×10?10?mol?s?1?cm?2. The range of rate constants measured in this study is between 1.32×107 and 1.21×108?(L?mol?1)1.9?s?1, and the average rate constant is 6.16×107?(L?mol?1)1.9?s?1. The activation energy and frequency factor are 129 Kcal/mol (53.97 KJ/mol) and 6.93×1016?[(L/mol)1.9/s], respectively.     

西安市水问题现状分析与节水对策研究

西安市是严重缺水的城市,水资源紧缺已经成为制约其发展的因素之一。本文通过调查研究,对西安市水问题进行了现状分析,并从节约用水、推广使用再生水、开发利用雨水等三个方面提出可行的节水对策。     

Traffic grooming on WDM rings using optical burst transport

A sublambda traffic-grooming scheme on wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) rings, which is called optical burst transport (OBT), is proposed. The network protocol and architecture allow increased flexibility to tailor the transport network behavior for efficient delivery of bursty data traffic. Using different network parameters, its performance is analyzed via simulation, and the implementation issues including the media-access-control (MAC) protocol, tunable-filter controller, and burst-mode receiver are addressed. Finally, the feasibility of the OBT with an experimental testbed built by the authors is demonstrated and a streaming-video application is used to present its overall functionality.     

Invasive group A streptococcal disease in Taiwan is not associated with the presence of streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin genes

We reviewed the clinical features of 44 patients with invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease who were treated at two teaching hospitals in southern Taiwan from 1991 to 1994. Genes encoding streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin types A (speA), B (speB), C (speC), and F (speF) and serotypes of M1, M6, and M12 were determined by polymerase chain reaction to target specific sequences in the 44 isolates recovered from these patients and in 28 isolates recovered from upper respiratory sites in 28 additional patients during the study period. The protease activity of these isolates was tested by using the casein plate method. Of the 44 patients with invasive diseases, 25 (57%) had no obvious underlying diseases, and 14 (32%) had preexisting neoplastic diseases or had previously used steroids. Twenty-five patients (57%) presented with cellulitis or necrotizing fasciitis, 24 (55%) had bacteremia, and eight (18%) had streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS). Eight patients (18%) died of invasive GAS disease; seven had STSS, and seven had underlying diseases. All eight patients died within 48 hours after hospitalization. The presence of speA, speC, or speF was not implicated in any particular clinical syndrome in patients with invasive GAS disease. High-level protease activity and the M1 serotype of the isolates were significantly associated with the clinical signs of STSS and with mortality. M1 serotype and protease activity, as well as host immune status, might play significant roles in the pathogenesis of invasive GAS disease in Taiwan.     

Pathogenic Hydrogel? A Novel-Entrapment Neuropathy Model Induced by Ultrasound-Guided Perineural Injections

Entrapment neuropathy (EN) is a prevalent and debilitative condition caused by a complex pathogenesis that involves a chronic compression–edema–ischemia cascade and perineural adhesion that results in excessive shear stress during motion. Despite decades of research, an easily accessible and surgery-free animal model mimicking the mixed etiology is currently lacking, thus limiting our understanding of the disease and the development of effective therapies. In this proof-of-concept study, we used ultrasound-guided perineural injection of a methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-b-Poly(lactide-co-glycoilide) carboxylic acid (mPEG-PLGA-BOX) hydrogel near the rat’s sciatic nerve to induce EN, as confirmed sonographically, electrophysiologically, and histologically. The nerve that was injected with hydrogel appeared unevenly contoured and swollen proximally with slowed nerve conduction velocities across the injected segments, thus showing the compressive features of EN. Histology showed perineural cellular infiltration, deposition of irregular collagen fibers, and a possible early demyelination process, thus indicating the existence of adhesions. The novel method provides a surgery-free and cost-effective way to establish a small-animal model of EN that has mixed compression and adhesion features, thus facilitating the additional elucidation of the pathophysiology of EN and the search for promising treatments.     

Association of IgG1 Antibody Clearance with FcγRIIA Polymorphism and Platelet Count in Infliximab-Treated Patients

The FcγRIIA/CD32A is mainly expressed on platelets, myeloid and several endothelial cells. Its affinity is considered insufficient for allowing significant binding of monomeric IgG, while its H131R polymorphism (histidine > arginine at position 131) influences affinity for multimeric IgG2. Platelet FcγRIIA has been reported to contribute to IgG-containing immune-complexe clearance. Given our finding that platelet FcγRIIA actually binds monomeric IgG, we investigated the role of platelets and FcγRIIA in IgG antibody elimination. We used pharmacokinetics analysis of infliximab (IgG1) in individuals with controlled Crohn’s disease. The influence of platelet count and FcγRIIA polymorphism was quantified by multivariate linear modelling. The infliximab half-life increased with R allele number (13.2, 14.4 and 15.6 days for HH, HR and RR patients, respectively). It decreased with increasing platelet count in R carriers: from ≈20 days (RR) and ≈17 days (HR) at 150 × 10⁹/L, respectively, to ≈13 days (both HR and RR) at 350 × 10⁹/L. Moreover, a flow cytometry assay showed that infliximab and monomeric IgG1 bound efficiently to platelet FcγRIIA H and R allotypes, whereas panitumumab and IgG2 bound poorly to the latter. We propose that infliximab (and presumably any IgG1 antibody) elimination is partly due to an unappreciated mechanism dependent on binding to platelet FcγRIIA, which is probably tuned by its affinity for IgG2.     

Interfacial Peeling Moments and Shear Forces at Free Edges of Multilayers Subjected to Thermal Stresses

Stresses normal to interfaces, i.e., interfacial peeling stresses and interfacial shear stresses, exist locally at edges of multilayers because of both the thermal mismatch between layers and the free-edge effect. These peeling and shear stresses can result in modes I and II edge delamination, respectively. However, because of the complexity of the problem, exact closed-form solutions for these stresses are very difficult if not impossible to derive even for bilayered systems. Hence, instead of the detailed stress field at edges, both the interfacial peeling moment resulting from the localized peeling stresses and the interfacial shear force resulting from the localized shear stresses are analyzed here. Exact closed-form solutions for the peeling moment and the shear force at each interface in elastic multilayered systems are derived. To illustrate the application of present closed-form solutions, specific results are calculated for five-layered thermal barrier coating systems, and a finite-element analysis is also performed to confirm the analytical results.     

Properties and pervaporation separation of hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene‐based polyurethane/poly(methyl metharcylate) interpenetrating networks membranes

Hydroxyl‐terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), 4,4′‐dicyclohexyl methane diiscyanate (H₁₂MDI), and 1,4‐butane diol are used to synthesize polyurethane (PU) solutions by two‐stage process. Interpenetrating networks (IPNs) of HTPB‐based PU and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with HTPB/MMA (wt/wt % ratio) = 2.0, 1.5, 1.0, 1.5, 0.8, and 0.6, which are designated as IPN1 to IPN5, respectively, are synthesized by sequential polymerization technique. Thermal properties, tensile strength, and contact angle of membranes increase with the increase of MMA content, while the elongation of membranes show the reverse trend. Characterization of membranes are investigated by C?C/C?O absorption ratio and infrared absorption frequency shiftment. These PU and IPN membranes are used for the separation of ethanol/water and isopropanol/water solution by pervaporation test. IPN3 membrane possesses the largest pervaporation permeability and the separation factor. The pervaporation results of ethanol/water feed has the same trend as that of isopropyl alcohol (IPA)/water solution. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007     

Group identification as a mediator of the effect of players’ anonymity on cheating in online games

This study aims to add to the discussion about the applicability of the classical deindividuation theory and social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) in explaining online behaviours. It explores the effect of anonymity in facilitating social influence of group identity in online game cheating. A nationally representative survey was conducted face to face. Results from the survey administered in Singapore confirm predictions derived from the SIDE and challenge the classical deindividuation theory. Specifically, it was concluded that the frequency of gaming with online strangers (anonymous gaming) significantly predicted the frequency of cheating in online games. The effect of anonymity on game cheating was found to be significantly mediated by the group identification with online gaming communities/groups. Gender differences were found. Male gamers cheated more frequently than female gamers. Female gamers are more likely to cheat as a consequence of group identification than male gamers. Implications and future research are discussed.